GONE FISHIN'

Instead of just a wishin'

It's A Big Ol' Goofy World

OK, so I hauled off yesterday and made some homemade Caesar salad dressing. It wasn't planned, it just happened when I took quick inventory of ingredients I had on hand ... and it just clicked. So, now I got a quart of really good creamy homemade Caesar salad dressing ... and no romaine, etc. So off to the groceria I go, to git some salad fixins.

As I was leaving the store (this is where the plot thickens) ... dat grocery bagger fella was helpin' me load everything into the back mah pickup truck ... and I ask him to put dat 12 pk NA beer I'd just bought in the cooler ... all the sudden he starts bustin' my chops about why was I drinkin' NA beer!! I mean, he was really givin' me the bizness ... "why don't ya just drink water or tea" he ask me all snarky-like.

Now me, not being one to shy away from a mildly interesting conversation in the groceria parkin' lot, I ask dat fella (he wadn't no kid, either ... prolly 40-35 yrs old or so, him) "you drink a lot of beer, do ya podnah?" and he commences to turn up his nose at the notion of drinkin' beer, let alone NA beer ... sayin' how he much prefers vodak and tequila, yeh ~ braggin' how he drinks a whole bottle of vodak or tequila every night when he git off work! I din't have the heart to ask him if mebbe all dat vodak drinkin' might have something to do wit the fact he was 40 years old, and still baggin' groceries fer a living....

It's a big ol' goofy world, ain't it? Sho'nuff is.

(Clean & sober since 1991, me)

Meat & Three ~ $4.95

Today's Lunch Special ~ cold fried chicken platter with pasta salad, cukes & onions, cold baked beans, a couple pepperoncini peppers and a grape Kool-Aid ~ y'all be sure and save room for some homemade lemon meringue pie!

Plowboy's Sunday Vittles

Sunday is pan-fried chicken day ~ especially in the summertime.

My favorite *snack* is cold pan-fried chicken thighs. Splashed wit a lil' Texas Pete's ~ that's just how I roll.

Found some great garden fresh cukes at a lil' farmer's veggie stand ~ whooped up an old-fashioned cuke & onion salad to go wit dat fried chicken.

Also put up a few quarts ice-water pickle chunks wit dem fresh cukes ~ gonna wait until 4th July to crack open a jar.

Sunday Morning Gospel Hour

Sweet Holy Spirit

The Bible it tells us, in God's word so true
The sweet Holy Spirit is promised to you
It sat upon Jesus in the form of a dove
When John was baptizing God's dearly beloved

Sweet Holy Spirit ... I'm down on my knees
I'm low in the valley, I'm so weak you see
I know I can make it, for I trust in Thee
The sweet Holy Spirit is falling on me

Sweet Holy Spirit, Oh how I love Thee
For being a comfort and for strengthening me
For I could not make it across life's troubled sea
If the sweet Holy Spirit should ever leave me

(chorus)

So sweet Holy Spirit ... don't ever leave me.

Weekend Grab Bag

Made this killer pasta salad today ~ good hot weather grub. Also made a cucumber & onion salad, some baked beans, several quarts of homemade half sour dill chunks ... and also pan fried 2 whole chickens. Cold fried chicken and lotsa salads & pickles ... that should get me thru this heat wave we're having.

My buddy, CowboyUp Eric, brought me these hot sauces ~ he just returned from a vacation in Mexico - think mebbe I'll make some kicked-up chicken wings today.

Grits, Maters & Stuff

Went out this morning, for to pick a couple green t'maters to fry fer supper ~ din't have the heart to pick the lil' buggers afore they reached their full ripe, red potential. Couple mo' weeks and it's BLT city, baybee!!

Cooled off this evening wit a homemade strawberry shake, made with fresh strawberies and dat good Blue Bell vanilla ice cream ~ served up in a frozen mug. Delicious!

KC Strip Steak Au Poivre, sided up with some kaw-cajun shrimp & bacon on asiago grits and some roasted brussel sprouts. It ain't often a steak on my plate plays second fiddle to a side dish ... but the shrimp & grits stole the show.

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Amazing Rhythm Aces ~ King Of The Cowboys

R.I.P. ~ Farrah Fawcett

Report Card

This is the front and back of my 7th grade report card ~ signed by my dad (reluctantly every time, I might add) and Ethel Griffing, who was my 7th & 8th grade teacher. Her husband, Leo Griffing, was the school principle.

What? I never said I was the sharpest tool in the shed!! LOL The irony here is that I graduated from Washburn University cum laude, earning 2 degrees in 4 years & making the Dean's List every semester. I guess you CAN teach an old dog new tricks, eh?

Defying All Logic

Fresh ground chuck burgers ~ homemade chili.

Yeah, it tasted as good as it looks.

Sometimes you just gotta fight fire with fire. It's been hotter'n blue blazes here last few days, temps over 100* with heat index in the 110* range & humidity thru the roof ~ not exactly ideal weather for an ol' fat guy. I been whining about the weather like everyone else, but today I decided to cowboyup and meet it head on. Or ... mebbe it's just plain stupidity, call it what you will ~ went to the groceria and came home wit all the fixins to make a big ol' batch of 5-alarm chili con carne ... AND ... makins for a bunch of big fat burgers for the grill. What's illogical (stupid) about that, you ask? It's 100 degrees outside, dat's what!!

Retro Pepper Steak

Tender strips of sirloin steak in a savory sauce, with fresh garlic, onions, peppers, fresh mushrooms, soy sauce & a splash of oyster sauce ~ served up over fluffy white rice.

Well, I hauled off and bought a nice big thick top sirloin steak a couple days ago ~ plan was to fire up a grill & grill it ... but the weather been so dang hot last couple days I just couldn't brang myself to go out in the 100* heat & fire up the grill ... so I went this route ... pepper steak over rice. This is one of the very first *exotic* dishes that I learned to make, some 40 years ago. I loved it then, and I love it now.

Ramblin' Jack Elliott

Weekend Grub

Three-cheese omelette w/green peppers & onions, buttered grits and homemade breakfast sausage.

Egg salad on toasted bacon/asiago bread.

Honey ham & Tillamook cojack on homemade bacon/asiago bread.

Ballgame Tonight

Dad loved sports & athletics of any kind. He was a great athlete when he was younger, and also loved coaching and officiating. He officiated high school football games, and coached Little League baseball, men's fast pitch softball and women's slow pitch softball. This is a pic of him, taken around 1963-64 when he was coaching a women's softball team ... setting out the sign on game day.

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Neil Young ~ Daddy Went Walking

My old dad went a walkin' one day

Pushing tall weeds right outta his way

My old dad went a walkin' one day
Hey now, hey now

Corduroy pants and an old plaid shirt
Daddy went a walkin' just to feel the earth
Got a little dirty but that's all right
Hey now, hey now

Old man crossin' the road

You've got to let him go
Old man crossin' the road
He's feelin' fine

Daddy went a ridin' in his old car
Took the dog with him 'cause it ain't too far
Daddy went ridin' in his old car
Hey now, hey now

Brown leather boots and an old straw hat
Daddy's getting wood with the barnyard cat
Got a little dirty but that's all right
Hey now, hey now

Old man crossin' the road

You've got to let him go
Old man crossin' the road
He's feelin' fine

Mama's waiting at the top of the hill
They'll be laughing, oh the stories they'll tell
When he holds her in his arms again
They'll be sweethearts, they'll have time on their hands

My old dad went a walkin' one day
Pushing tall weeds right outta his way
My old dad went a walkin' one day
Hey now, hey now

Corduroy pants and an old plaid shirt
Daddy went a walkin' just to feel the earth
Got a little dirty but that's all right
Hey now, hey now

Daddy went a ridin' in his old car

Took the dog with him 'cause it ain't too far
Daddy went ridin' in his old car
Hey now, hey now

Brown leather boots and an old straw hat
Daddy's getting wood with the barnyard cat
Got a little dirty but that's all right
Hey now, hey now....

The Thrill Is Gone

Bacon/Asiago Bread

Bacon and asiago bread ~ hot out the oven.

Flaky and yummy ~ bacon bread ... gotta love it!

Loaded up with fried/blackened boloney & cheese ... whooooboy, who's makin' fun of boloney sandwiches now, huhhhhhh???? Ain't no fancy city vittles. Slide show <---click

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Jesse Winchester ~ Rhumba Man

Capitol Q

CAPITOL Q from Joe York on Vimeo.

Be True To The 'Que

Whole Hog from Joe York on Vimeo.

A PoBoy's Lunch

Thick sliced, crisp & crunchy radishes - 2 kinds

Garden fresh radishes & homemade pimento cheese on white bread. If that ain't country, I'll kiss yer grits!

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Dean Martin ~ Tiny Bubbles

Logic Would Suggest

An 86-year-old man went to his doctor for his annual check-up...

The doctor asked him how he was feeling, and the 86-year-old said: "Things are great and I've never felt better. I now have a 20 year-old bride who is pregnant with my child. So what do you think about that, Doc?"

The doctor considered his question for a minute and then began to tell a story:

"I have an older friend, much like you, who is an avid hunter and never misses a season. One day he was setting off to go hunting. In a bit of a hurry, he accidentally picked up his walking cane instead of his gun. As he neared a lake, he came across a very large beaver sitting at the water's edge. He realized he'd left his gun at home and so he couldn't shoot the magnificent creature. Out of habit he raised his cane, aimed it at the animal as if it were his favorite hunting rifle and went 'bang, bang'. Miraculously, two shots rang out and the beaver fell over dead. Now, what do you think of that?" asked the doctor.

The 86-year-old said: "Logic would strongly suggest that somebody else pumped a couple of rounds into that beaver."

To which the doctor replied: "My point exactly."

What About It, Hag?

Mochaccino Cobbler

Well, this was good ~ I took an old southern chocolate cobbler recipe, kicked it up a couple notches ... and came up with this chocolate/mocha cappuccino cobbler & served it with a couple scoops of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream. Wow ... death by chocolate.

From The Farmer's Market

Went down to the Wednesday farmer's market today & found some dandy salad fixins, including these good looking radishes and some nice ripe cantalopes. The radish tops (greens) were very fresh, so I picked & rinsed them ... gonna put some of the youngest/freshest ones in a salad tonight, and use the rest of them to make a radish leaf/asiago pesto.

Norman Blake ~ Jimmy Brown The Newsboy

Jimmy Brown The Newsboy

"I sell the morning papers sir, my name is Jimmy Brown
Everybody knows that I'm the newsboy of the town..."

Mance Lipscomb

We Knew He Was Dying....

The Death Of Common Sense

Common Sense lived a long life but died in the United States from heart failure on the brink of the new millennium. No one really knows how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He selflessly devoted his life to service in schools, hospitals, homes and factories, and helping folks get jobs done without fanfare and foolishness. For decades, petty rules, silly laws, and frivolous law- suits held no power over Common Sense. He was credited with cultivating such valued lessons as to know when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, and that life isn't always fair.

Common Sense lived by simple credos: sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn), reliable parenting strategies (the adults are in charge, not the kids), and winning isn't everything (it's okay to come in second).

A veteran of the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, and the Technological Revolution, Common Sense survived trends including body piercing, whole language, and "new math." But his health declined when he became infected with the "If-it-only- helps-one-person-it's-worth-it" virus. In recent decades his waning strength proved no match for the ravages of well intentioned but overbearing regulations. He watched in pain as good people became ruled by self-seeking lawyers. His health rapidly deteriorated when schools endlessly implemented zero-tolerance policies.

Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, a teen suspended for taking a swig of mouth- wash after lunch, and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student only worsened his condition. It declined even further when schools had to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student but could not inform the parent when a female student was pregnant or wanted an abortion.

Finally, Common Sense lost his will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses, criminals received better treatment than victims, and federal judges stuck their noses in everything from the Boy Scouts to professional sports. Finally, when a woman, too stupid to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, was awarded a huge settlement, Common Sense threw in the towel.

As the end neared, Common Sense drifted in and out of logic but was kept informed of developments regarding questionable regulations such as those for low flow toilets, rocking chairs, and stepladders. Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by two stepbrothers and a stepsister: My Rights, Only Me and Ima Whiner.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

~Lori Borgman

Steak Fajitas

KC Strip steak, marinated in homemade chile oil & fresh lime juice then seasoned with cracked black and DP Jamaican Firewalk and broiled medrare ... sliced thin for fajitas.

Had some homemade pimento cheese, so made a lil' cook's snack by rolling up some dat pimento cheese in thin slices of steak. Very tasty. Here's a few more pics <---click

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Paul Butterfield Blues Band ~ One More Heartache

Kaw-Cajun Feesh Taco

Blackened striper on a warm flour tortilla schmeared with spicy homemade remoulade, shredded lettuce, diced/fried potatoes, shredded cojack cheese, homemade black bean/chipotle salsa, a few jalapenos and diced tomatoes, splash of Texas Pete and a cold beer chaser. It's now official ... I like feesh.

Is This A Beautiful Day, Or What?

Sometimes the magnificence of it all just humbles me.

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

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata

Blackened Feesh & Cornbread

This is some striper ol' Hawgeye Mike caught, dat ended up in my fryin' pan wit a lil' homemade blackening seasoning ~ sided up wit some pan fried taters & onions and mile-high cornbread slathered wit butter and dat good Steen's cane syrup. Slide show <---click

Sunday Morning Gospel Hour

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Rank Stranger Enshrined By Library Of Congress

The Stanley Brothers’ classic 1960 recording of Rank Stranger has been chosen by The Librarian of Congress as one of the culturally-significant audio recordings to be added to their famed National Recording Registry for preservation. Each year 25 new pieces of audio are added to the archive - some from commercial recordings, others from radio broadcasts or field recordings.

Savannah

This is my heritage ~ I have this original lithograph that was used in "The Official Atlas Of Kansas 1887" ~ these scenes depicting my great grandfather T.I. Eddy's original homestead on the farm where I grew up. Below is an excerpt taken from: OLD SETTLERS' TALES by F.F. Crevecoeur, 1902

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Among the earliest settlements made near here was that at America City. The 25th of May, 1856, there arrived at that place eight families, who drove through from Iowa with oxen. These families were as follows:

Sanford H. Eddy and his wife, Caroline, who were natives of New York, and who had gone to Iowa in 1855 with their children, Theodore Ira (T.I.), Eugenia, and Julius.

Hiram Dean, his wife and three sons, John, Frank, and Oscar, and a daughter, Margaret.

Daniel Arnold, his wife and child, Willie.

Daniel Benthusen Benson, his wife and son, George, and daughter, Susan.

Hezekiah Scrutchfield, his wife and three daughters, Mary, Alice, and Martha and Mary.

Garrett Randall, his wife, Sarah, and two sons, James and Robert.

George Randall, son of Garrett, and his wife, who was a daughter of James Armstrong.

Harve Randall, his wife and son, Kimball, and daughter, Mary.

These all located in or near to America City.

Sanford Eddy, his wife and three children, moved from America City to Savannah in 1866, where he bought out John Wilson. His daughter, Eugenia, was married the same year he moved to Savannah to (sic) Harve Armstrong, and died in 1876. His son, Julius, died here in May, 1873, aged 18 or 19 years. Mr. Eddy died in Havensville, in 1897. His wife had preceded him, having died in 1879, His son, T. I. married Martha Jacoby, of America City, in the Spring of 1866, and located on his father's farm and lived a number of years in a log house, as did his parents. He built the stone house which stands on his farm in 1874. Some Swedes by the name of Tureen did the mason work. His father built a frame house in 1877. T. I. Eddy is the father of twelve children, all living. We make room to mention the six oldest, who are: Ira, Delia (Mrs. Mel J. Thompson), Ernest, Hattie, Josie (Mrs. Lem Talbott), Julius, and Dora (Mrs. Ad Harris).

For several years after the pioneers located at America City they had to go to Missouri for provisions, as they had not yet raised any, and they also got their hogs there, for there was no one here of whom they could get any. Commencing with 1861, T. I. Eddy and others did freighting for a living from Atchison to Salt Lake City, and to a place 150 miles this side of the city. The trail they followed went by Marysville, Fort Kearney, and along the Platte river, and was known as the Mormon or Fremont trail. Two trips would be made a year, and it took them three weeks to make the trip one way. Oxen were used to do the hauling. Indians were thick in the country traversed by the freighters, and reports of murders and massacres were frequent, but the train that Mr. Eddy was in seemed to be a lucky one, as they were never molested, though rumors of killings either ahead of them or after they had passed were plentiful. The graves of those dying along the way, or who were killed, were marked by pieces of board, and these had the same effect on our freighters that the barrel of a revolver or a gun has on those into whose face it is thrust, when they seem to look as large as a stovepipe, for they appeared to be as numerous as the palings in a fence. On their first trip there would be stretches of country along the road traveled of 200 miles where not a house or ranch was seen. The boys, while freighting, made two trips to Denver. In 1866, in which year Mr. Eddy says we had the first grasshoppers, he made a trip in company with Harve Armstrong, William McKee (a brother of Eph), Pat Riley, and two others, one by the name of Cheatham and the other Runyan. In May, 1868, Mr. Eddy was out plowing when he saw the woman folks coming out of the house, which they stood and looked up at. He wondered what fancy they could have taken, and on making inquiries he was informed that the house had been shaking, which was so, as there had been a slight shock of earthquake, which made the dishes rattle and things generally move around. As Mr. Eddy was walking in loose dirt, he did not notice it as did those who stood on solid ground.

John Wilson came to Savannah, from Indiana, in 1861 or 1862, and settled on what is now the T.I. Eddy farm. The house where he lived stood west of the present Eddy house, near the creek. He was accompanied by his wife and several children, two of whom were boys (Marion, who is now dead, and Lafayette, at present living in Soldier). He also had a daughter, Savannah, after whom the postoffice (sic) at that place was named, and two other children, who died while he was living here and who were buried where Mr. Eddy's garden now is. A Peter Prow brought a sawmill to that place, and had Mr. Eddy secure a payment on it. The mill eventually became Mr. Wilson's property, and he leased it one year to Eph McKee and Thomas Cross. He afterwards sold the mill to Heath & McComas, who moved it to Missouri. Mr. Wilson went from here to Circleville, Jackson County, in 1866, where he died.

Friday Night Fish Fry

Well, it's actually gonna be a Saturday night fish fry ... retro style, with old fashioned 3-bean salad that I just made, fried taters & onions, skillet cornbread w/some dat good Steen's cane syrup to drizzle on it, fried green t'maters, corn on the cob, sweet tea ... and mebbe a good cold watermelon if I can find one at the local farmer's market tomorrow morning.

Lil' Missy Lands A Lunker

I recon this lunker weighs about 27-28 pounds ~ caught it on ultralight gear with 2# test line ... must be a kosher katfish, on account she was using hebrew national hot dogs fer bait. Me, I wasn't catching any fish ... and Lil' Missy was catching them left and right ... later I found out she was puttin' mustard on her hot dogs, so dat prolly why she was catching all the fish (I was puttin' relish on mine). My favorite thing about this pic is dat ol' barnyard cat sneaking down there to investigate dat fish.

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Little Pink Anderson ~ St. James Infirmary

HEY ULIKA

See what you made me do? LOL Homemade pimento cheese ~ cream cheese, Tillamook cheddar, mayo, roasted pimentos, lil' dill pickle, onion, lotsa fresh cracked black and a splash of Texas Pete. Gonna let it git happy for a few hours, then run a lil' quality control on it about lunchtime ... mebbe on some pumpernickel? Sourdough??

Cobb Caesar?

Is it a Caesar's Salad ... or is it a Cobb Salad? Romaine hearts and red tip lettuce, cucumbers, green peppers, homemade sourdough croutons, red onions & shredded asiago tossed with Newman's Caesar dressing then topped with tomatoes, shredded cheddar, grilled chicken breast, black olives and bacon. My kinda salad.

Evangeline ~ Steep Canyon Rangers

Fun With Sourdough

Black olive & asiago primavera toast on roasted garlic sourdough.

This definitely did not suck.

Baked bean & bbq chicken sandwich on toasted roasted garlic sourdough. Short slide <---click

Devil Got My Woman

Baked Bean Deviled Eggs

No mayo in these deviled eggs ~ mashed some leftover baked beans & added a lil' bbq sauce to get the consistency of mayo, then added that to the mashed yolks ... topped with a few more baked beans & drizzled with a lil' bbq sauce. Pretty tasty.

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Jimmy Martin & Ralph Stanley ~ Roll On Buddy, Roll On

Nine Below Zero

Yes, We Have No Bananas

Banana cake, hot out the oven ... flavored with (among other things) some dat good Steen's cane syrup.

Cooled and topped with smooth, cool cream cheese frosting wit a lil' lemon zest in it.