I Think That I Shall Never See...

Here's a shot off my front porch, right out the front door ... entire front yard covered with tree branches about 3 feet deep! LOL Sure din't look like *all that much* when it was still up in the tree, some 40-60 feet in the air. Upshot is, it will make some excellent firewood and bbq smokin' chunks for my WSM ~ maple is said to be really good smokin' wood.

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The Freight Hoppers ~ Backstep Cindy

Mr McBeevee

I hired a tree service to trim back a big norway maple tree in my front yard ~ they came today and did a great job. Some of the huge limbs were hanging over my house ... and after cutting them all down, the guy got out the bucket onto the roof of my house, and with a leaf blower he blew all the leaves & sawdust off my roof ... and even blew out my gutters while he was up there. I was very impressed ... nice to see a company do good honest work for an honest price. I highly recommend these guys ... Capitol City Tree Service in Topeka, Kansas - owner's name is Craig.

Chiefs Win!! Chiefs Win!! Chiefs Win!!

And somewhere tonight ... pigs are flying out of some dude's ass.

Sunday Morning Gospel Hour

Kris Kristofferson ~ Why Me Lord

Paul Newman ~ R.I.P.

Plastic Jesus ~ From Cool Hand Luke

Dig This Groovy Retro BBQ Cookbook

Cool stuff from Lileks Gallery Of Regrettable Food
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Chubby Checker ~ Limbo Rock

The Bailout (simplified)

Fat Johnny's Bayou Thunder Gumbo

First ... You Make A Roux

I Will Play For Gumbo

Smoked Turkey & Sausage Creole Gumbo
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Jimmy Buffett ~ I Will Play For Gumbo

Justin Wilson - Gumbo

This ol' coonass sure could spin a yarn, ah garrontee!

Cornbread Meatballs & Cajun Gravy

Cornbread-stuffed meatballs on top some dat good Louisiana rice pilaf ~ smothered with a cajun onion gravy. Slide show <---click

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Fingers Taylor ~ Dixie Diner

Fingers Taylor ~ Dixie Diner

Chicken Fried Steak Sandwich on Homemade Sourdough Bread

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Fingers Taylor ~ Dixie Diner

Gimme Cornbread When I'm Hungry

Scratch cornbread muffins w/cheddar cheese, cut corn & onions ~ made for some mighty fine pinto bean soppin'.

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John Fahey ~ Gimme Cornbread When I'm Hungry

Sam Chatmon ~ Blues Man

Discography <---click

Sunday Morning Gospel Hour

Norman Blake ~ Heavenly Sunlight

Walking in sunlight all of my journey
Over the mountains, through the deep vale
Jesus has said, I’ll never forsake thee
Promise divine that never can fail

Chorus:
Heavenly sunlight, Heavenly sunlight
Flooding my soul with glory divine
Hallelujah I am rejoicing
Singing His praises, Jesus is mine

Shadows around me, shadows above me
Never conceal my Savior and Guide
He is the light, in Him is no darkness
Ever I’m walking close by His side

Chorus

In the bright sunlight, ever rejoicing
Pressing my way to mansions above
Singing His praises, gladly I’m walking
Walking in sunlight, sunlight of love

Cheesy Beef Enchiladas

Made some great cheesy/beef enchiladas, using the beef carnitas made with chuck braised in homemade adobo sauce ... sided with some kicked-up mexican rice & pintos ala Bigwheel. Slide show <---

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Derek Trucks Band ~ Drown In My Own Tears

Beef Carnitas

Beef chuck roast, seared ... braised tender in homemade adobo sauce, then shredded for to make some homemade cheesy beef enchiladas. Will side'em up with pintos & mexican rice.

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Los Lobos ~ Mustang Sally

Beef Stroganoff

Tender creamy beef stroganoff, made with beef chuck-eye steak, fresh mushrooms, garlic, onions, homemade beef stock, sour cream, thyme ... peas with bacon, mushrooms & onions ... black forest girl noodles, tossed with lotsa butter & poppy seeds.

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Walter Trout ~ Sweet Little Angel

Poor Boy - Lomax Prison Recording

Those Who Came Before Me

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Ola Belle Reed ~ I've Endured
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Dem Beans W/Smoked Hamhocks & Homemade Sausage

Homestead On The Farm

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Norman Blake ~ Homestead On The Farm

Well I wonder how the old folks are at home
I wonder if they miss me while I roam
I wonder if they pray for the boy that went away
And left his dear old parents all alone

Chorus:
You can hear the cattle lowing in the lane
You can almost see the fields of bluegrass wave
You can almost hear them cry as they kiss their boy goodbye
Well, I wonder how the old folks are at home

Just a village and a homestead on the farm
And a mother's love to shield you from all harm
A mother's love so dear and a sweetheart brave and true
Just a village and a homestead on the farm

Chorus

Sour Cream Catheads & Bacon/Sausage Gravy

Made scratch sour cream catheads yesterday morning, for to have some biscuits & gravy fer breakfast ~ fried up some homemade sausage & whooped up some bacon/sausage gravy and sided it with a nice ripe homegrown tomato ~ made fer some mighty-fine grindin' ah garrontee. My Daddy, him, he used to love gravy on his sliced tomatoes ... usually chicken gravy, but he'd put any kinda gravy on 'em he could git his hands on. I always thought that kinda odd, him puttin' gravy on sliced tomatoes ~ but come to think of it ... he put gravy on just about everything!!

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Johnny Irion ~ Thirty Inch Coal

Sunday Morning Gospel Hour

Carol Elizabeth Jones ~ Comin' Down From God

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Hot Out The Oven ~ Sunday Sour Cream Catheads

The Real Deal

Yeah, I'm a sucker for a real country chick that sings REAL country music. Patty Loveless is the real deal ~ not one of them pseudo-country, dime store darlings that Nashville clutters the airwaves with these days. I've been a Patty Loveless fan for a long time, and just today I found out about her new album: Sleepless Nights ~ a covers album of traditional country standards. Here's a cut from the new album ... I first heard this song done by Jeannie Kendall (The Kendalls) and her version is still my favorite ... but Patty Loveless does it justice, ah garrontee.

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Patty Loveless ~ Don't Let Me Cross Over
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Patty Loveless ~ Sleepless Nights

Stone Cold COUNTRY!!

Red Friday ~ Raider Week!!

OK, so the Chiefs suck this year ... but guess what ~ the Raiders suck even more! I found a bookmaker that has the Chiefies -3 ... whooooboy, I'm all over that ... are you kiddin' me ... Chiefies at Arrowhead with 70,000 Raider Haters in the stadium, and they're only giving 3 points? Prolly because Brodie Croyle is hurt and Huard is going to start ... but that's a positive, not a negative. I'm bettin' the farm on this one <---click. My boy Damon Huard will rise to the occasion, as he always does ~ Go Chiefies!!

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James Gang ~ Funk #49

BBQ Command Center

Here's a pic of my lil' command center out in the smokeshop, which is attached to the garage. The entire east wall is a sliding garage door that opens up out onto the back yard, making it a groovy spot to sit & have my morning coffee ... or sit in the evenings & have a cold one while listening to the baseball game on one of my antique radios. I also have my old Kenwood stereo/turntable set up out there & tons of good music to bbq by. Today, I'm gonna fire up the old red Weber kettle & cook some fresh ground bacon-wrapped hamburger steaks.

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Waylon ~ I Recall A Gypsy Woman
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Mais, these really turned out great ~ fresh ground chuck-eye steak charbroiled & served up with grilled/caramelized sweet onions, homemade mustard potato salad, chipotle baked beans and sliced homegrown tomatoes. Slide show <---click

Tomato/Herb Bruchetta

Baked some fresh breads today ~ a loaf of white pullman for sandwiches, and a homegrown tomato/herb bruchetta. The bruchetta was outstanding ... dipped it into a lil' good EVOO ~ mighty tasty, indeed. Slide show <---click

James Gang Rides Again

James Gang ~ Tend My Garden

Shepherd's Pie

I was informed today that this is not shepherd's pie, but rather cottage pie, on account I made it with beef and not lamb. In any case, it was good eats ... made it with some leftover beef/veggie soup that I thickened up & topped it with some real homemade cheesy horseradish mashed potatoes w/lotsa sour cream and butter ... then baked it till it was hot and bubbly. Countdown to Porterhouse ~ 38 days.

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Buddy Miles ~ Down By The River

3-V Cola

Any you ol' geezers remember 3-V Cola, huhhhhhh?? This was my favorite sody pop when I was a lil' peeshwank growin' up on the farm, tru dat. Why? Because it was bottled in these cool bigassed 16 oz. bottles, and all the other colas ( Coke, RC, Pepsi ) was still just being bottled in 12 oz bottles, dat's why. I grew up on a farm & we lived smack dab between 2 little towns called Onaga (where I went to school) and Havensville (where my family was from ~ they founded the town, actually ~ owned the bank, grain elevator, brought in the railroad, etc. ) So I had a couple sources where I could score a big cold bottle of 3-V iffin I had fifteen cents.

In Onaga, I had to walk from the school, or my Grandpa's house, all the way down to the edge of town to Kilowatt's Sinclair gas station. Old Kilowatt was a creepy ol' geezer & was scary as hell to a lil' kid ... but worth the risk going down there for a 3-V ... and iffin I had a whole quarter, I could get me a 3-V AND a Cherry Mash candy bar!! In Havensville, the source for 3-V was Harley Davis' drug store ~ another creepy ol' geezer that was mean to lil' kids ... but he had a great selection of penny candies and had a neat old metal cooler that he kept his sody pop cold in ~ not refridgerated, but well insulated & he kept the bottles of pop in ice-water & ice ... so you had to slide the lid open on top & reach down into the cold ice-water to git yer bottle of pop ~ was always easy to find the 3-V Cola bottles, because they were bigger/taller than all the others & stuck up a couple inches above all the others.

I recall many a hot summer afternoon, riding my old Schwinn bike (wit big fat maypop tires) all the way to Havensville, which was a lil' over 3 miles ~ dusty old gravel country road ~ to git me a cold bottle of 3-V at Harley's drug store. Often dat trip was a complete leap of faith, on account I din't have NO money, so I had to hope I could find enough pop bottles alongside the road & cash them in to git enough money (return was 3 cents) for a bottle of pop. It was a lotta hassle ... Harley din't cash in empties, so had to take them down to Fordham's General Store to cash them in ... then ride back up to Harley's to git my 3-V Cola. Sheesh ... now tell me, do you think a kid would go to that much trouble now-days for a bottle of sody pop???

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Leslie Gore ~ She's A Fool

The Peasall Sisters

Sunday Morning Gospel Hour

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Peasall Sisters ~ Where No One Stands Alone
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The Sunday Soup Pot - Beef/Barley/Vegetable

Mais, I been neglectin' my veggies of late on account I don't particularly like MUSHY veggies in my oatmeal ~ kwim? ~ so I hauled off and made some hearty homemade beef/barley/veggie soup ~ kicked up a few notches, Kaw-Cajun style. Had'ta cut everything real small & cook the bejesus out of everything, but it is mighty tasty ... good vittles on a cold rainy day ~ beef/marrow bone, barley, taters, onions, broccoli, carrots, swiss chard, turnip greens, brussel sprouts, homegrown tomatoes, mushrooms, fresh garlic, beef stock, worchestershire, cajun power garlic sauce, splash or three of tabasco, bay leaves, celery leaves, thyme, salt/pepper....whooooboy, din't even need to git the wonderful soup stone out for this one, ah garrontee!

Join My NFL Football Pick-Em Group

Think you can pick the weekly NFL games? Join my group & let's see what you got ... just register, sign in & join my private group called Gridiron Geezers: password to join my group is brisket

Click here to sign up <----click

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann

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The Wailin' Jennys ~ Bring Me Water Silvy

Farmer's Blues

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Marty Stuart & Merle Haggard ~ Farmer's Blues

Smoked Chicken Salad

Mais, I had me a powerful ahnvee for some smoked chicken ... and since I'm still unable to eat *real* food because of some dental work, I hauled off and smoked a whole chicken & made chicken salad, stuffed it in a ripe homegrown tomato. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's girly foo-foo food ... but it beats the hell out of oatmeal!! After smoking the chicken yesterday, chilled overnight, pulled the meat off the bones today & coarse ground with some green and black olives, sun-dried tomatoes, onion, peppers and a lil' chipotle mayo.

Ode To Barns Past

Old barn in Marshall County, Kansas

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Ode to Barns Past

Conceived in need, and built with pride
By careful loving hands
Mystique, with styles of purpose blend
From your ancestral lands

Your mow and stall made food for all
With plenty left to sell
You’ve sheltered countless herds and flocks
And served your masters well

Technology, or laziness
It’s hard to trace the blame
For our neglect of your distress
We all share common shame

As future craftsmen reconstruct
Your every joint and truss
May history be as kind to you
As you have been to us

A death no reason justifies
A tragic way to end
So as we say our last goodbyes
We must add, "Thank You, Friend"

Richard Talada

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Jimmy Elledge ~ Funny How Time Slips Away
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Daddy's Little Pumpkin

"Yeah, you never do nuthin' to save yer doggone soul..."

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John Prine ~ Daddy's Little Pumpkin

You must be daddy's little pumpkin
I can tell by the way you roll
You must be daddy's little pumpkin
I can tell by the way you roll
Well it's quarter past eleven
And you're sleeping on the bedroom floor

I can see the fire burnin'
Burnin' right behind your eyes
I can see the fire burnin', baby
Burnin' right behind your eyes
You must of swallowed a candle
Or some other kind of surprise

I'm going down to Memphis
I got three hundred dollars in cash
Yeah I'm going down to Memphis
Got three hundred dollars in cash
All the women in Memphis
Want to see how long my money can last

Well I'm going downtown
Gonna to rattle somebody's cage
Yeah I'm going downtown
I'm gonna rattle somebody's cage
I'm gonna beat on my guitar
And strut all around the stage

If you see my baby comin'
Don't tell her that her daddy's in jail
If you see my baby comin'
Don't tell her that her daddy's in jail
She'd sell her little pumpkin just to raise
Her sweet daddy's bail

You must be daddy's little pumpkin
I can tell by the way you roll
You must be daddy's little pumpkin
I can tell by the way you roll
Yeah, you never do nothing
To save your doggone soul

GONE FISHIN'

Instead Of Just A Wishin'