Greetings and Salutations!!

Good Afternoon!!! Lots of "winfunder" (as Paige would say) last night! Red Oak schools are closed today because of power outages and Waxahachie schools were on a delay. St. Joseph started on time, but Paige didn't! We had a power outage, so Juicy went in a little late. We didn't have near the damage as other areas in Western Ellis Co, just lots of wind, thunder and rain. We normally get the brunt of it but it went around us this time. The golf course in Ferris got an ass whipping from the wind. The nets were all torn and the poles were bent and broken. Damnit.

We had a really nice weekend - busy, but nice. Friday night Gary and I picked up our new bedroom furniture, did the chili grocery shopping and got sushi from The Bristol Store. That place was PACKED!!! Beware the Volcano Roll....LOL....pretty damn hot!! Saturday morning we picked up Ray and headed to Traders Village. It was so windy!!! Everyone fought with their EZ Ups, but in the end, the wind won! We had so much fun; even though it was hot as hell!!! Below are the winners:

Traders Village CCO
98 Chilis Judged

1. Gary Brignon
2. Mike Rogers
3. Bob Coats
4. Ray Calhoun
5. Kasey Hudspeth-Waters
6. Ron Baker
7. Roger Foltz
8. Gerald Casey
9. Greg Goodwin
10. Johnnie Sullivan

Show:

1. Soggy Bottom Bacon Boys
2. Blind Witch Chili
3. Bull Rush
4. Chuggers Whorehouse
5. American Legion

And yes, Gary...the man who has never mixed his own spices, doesn't know what he cooks, starts his chili late and rarely ever tastes it, won $1000!!!! And, he won the El Renegado Guerrero Trophy....Bastard.....LOL!!!

I just wanted to reiterate what Doris stated Saturday during announcements - North Texas should be grateful for the hard workers (including Doris who always runs that cook off!!) who help make such a large cook off so successful!

We were so hot and tired, plus Gary was a little out there from celebrating, so we decided to have his celebration meal at home. I made filet mignon, potatoes gratin with Gruyere, roasted cauliflower with walnuts and lobster tails. It was all soooo good!!! I kind of winged it with the gratin potatoes, so I need to make them again and share the recipe. I used butter and flour to make a roux, then added cream, Gruyere and White Cheddar cheese as well as sliced shallots. We ate the leftover potatoes yesterday with our ribs that we smoked in our Cajun Injector Smoker :) We got out yesterday and bought tomato and pepper plants along with herbs and lettuce seeds. I also grabbed some Miss Saigon Iris bulbs, Canna bulbs and some garlic to plant. My dreams of a bountiful garden this year have been shelved, along with most of my dreams....LMAO...kidding! But yeah, we figured it was just going to be too much to deal with. I didn't get a lot of pepper and tomato plants, so I can just put them in containers again this year. I also bought some beautiful red Asiatic Lilies and two gorgeous pots of petunias. My front porch is in serious need of some flowers :)

My mom and I took Paige out for Bluebonnet pics. She was not a very cooperative subject!! The grass was itchy, the sun was too bright...and she kept smiling this goofy, goofy smile. Here are some of the good ones:





Then we went home and after dinner made cheesecake:


She was rocking her Hooters tank top last night. She loves Owls, so therefore she loves Hooters. I don't know many 7 year olds who have a Hooters tank top and I really don't know what that says about me as a parent...but hey....she likes it!!!

We are going to Seguin Friday morning, so I'll be getting ready for TLS this week. Since I REFUSE to eat the Friday night meal, we're going to have Italian Friday night. I'll make breakfast casseroles for Saturday morning and Gary always grills steaks for us Saturday night. I'm really looking forward to this weekend. Vicki will be with us, so I know we'll have a great time! I'm also glad that I won't be stressed out over our tax return, either now that we decided to file an extension. I hate this time of year....LOL!!!

I am reading the most AMAZING book right now. The name of it is The Hangman's Daughter and the author is Oliver Potsch. (The "o" in his last name has an umlaut (the two little dots over it), but I couldn't figure out how to get them there on my computer!!) It is translated from German to English by Lee Chadeayne. It is about a Hangman/Executioner in 1600's Bavaria and it is sooo good! The beginning started out a tad graphic for me and I was really worried that the whole book would follow the same course, but it doesn't and it is wonderful! I highly recommend it :) I've been reading it on my nifty little Kindle!

I hope everyone dries out from all the rain last night. Have a great day :)

Spreading my own special brand of kindness and joy....

Kelly