Requiescat In Pace ~ Pat Bell

A few days ago my ol' friend Pat Bell passed away ... after many years of battling his demons, the sweet angels of mercy came and took him home. He was a good man, a kind and gentle soul ... and I will miss him greatly. Lay down your weary load ol' friend, and suffer no more ~ go rest high on the mountain ... your work on earth is done. I'll see you on the other side.

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Green Pastures

Troubles and trials often betray those
On in the weary body to stray
But we shall walk beside the still waters
With the Good Shepherd leading The Way

Those who have strayed were sought by The Master
He who once gave His life for the sheep
Out on the mountain still He is searching
Bringing them in forever to keep

Going up home to live in green pastures
Where we shall live and die never more
Even The Lord will be in that number
When we shall reach that Heavenly Shore

We will not heed the voice of the stranger
For he would lead us on to despair
Following on with Jesus our Savior
We shall all reach that country so fair

Going up home to live in green pastures
Where we shall live and die never more
Even The Lord will be in that number
When we shall reach that Heavenly Shore

Senor Johnny's Quesadillas

Snackins for the KU/MU border showdown today ~ chorizo, caramelized onion, cheddar & candied jalapeno quesadillas ... served up with some homemade chipotle/black bean salsa & sour cream. Sure made dat cold beer taste good!!

Living With The Blues

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Duke Robillard ~ Painful Memory

Delaney & Bonnie w/ Clapton 1969

The Odd Couple

Sweet potatoes & apples ~ who knew they'd be so good together??

Candied Sweet Potatoes w/Apples & Cherries

Well, these turned out to be the best sweet potatoes I ever made ~ made with fresh sweet potatoes, tart Granny Smith apples, locally grown cherries, butter, brown sugar, spices ... and some homemade apple/maple syrup. I never had none better. Slide show <----click

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Jimmie Vaughn / Fabulous Thunderbirds ~ True Love

Happy Thanksgiving

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Fat Johnny ~ Albuquerque Turkey

Alice's Restaurant

Chicken Fried Steak w/FF & Gravy

Was in a Texas state of mind ~ so hauled off and whooped up some Texas grub ... chicken fried steak, made with a KC Strip steak ... and some homemade french fries with cream country gravy. All I needed was a Lone Star beer. Slide show <---click

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Jimmie Dale Gilmore ~ Train Of Love

Sweet Potato Fries

Is there anything better with a bbq pigmeat sandwich, than fresh cut homemade sweet potato fries? Nope.

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Jimmie Vaughn / Fabulous Thunderbirds ~ I Don't Care

Sunday Morning Breakfast Fritatta

Made with fried potatoes, onions, green peppers, bacon, cherry tomatoes & dat good Tillamook cheddar.

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Gary Primich ~ That's What Love Is Made For

War Against The Weak

Mais, here's a lil' light reading for a cold winter night ... I just finished this book ~ a real eye-opener.

Macho Nachos

Made some kicked-up nachos yesterday, for gametime snacks ~ fried some fresh corn tortillas & made fresh hot nacho chips, then topped with dat good Tillamook cheddar, ripe olives, green onions and homemade chipotle/black bean salsa ... sour cream, candied jalapenos and hot sauce on the side. Slide show <---click

Sunday Morning Gospel Hour

Alison Krauss ~ Heaven's Bright Shore

Out on the hills of Glory Land
So happy and free at God’s right hand
They tell of a place of marvelous grace
On Heaven’s bright shore
Pilgrims on earth someday will go
To live in that home forever more
Trusting in Him who died for sin
And rose from the grave

On Heaven’s bright shore (on Heaven’s bright shore)
There’s gonna be no more dyin’ (over there)
Not one little grave (not one little grave)
In all that fair land (that wonderful land)
Not even a tear will dim the eye
And no one up there will say goodbye
Just singing His praise through endless days
On Heaven’s bright shore (on Heaven’s bright shore)

When I must cross that rolling tide
There’ll be someone on the other side
Welcoming me to that fair land, made perfect by love
When I walk up the milky white way
I’ll see that home coming in a ray
How great it must be for angels to see
A pilgrim reach home

On Heaven’s bright shore (on Heaven’s bright shore)
There’s gonna be no more dyin’ (over there)
Not one little grave (not one little grave)
In all that fair land (that wonderful land)
Not even a tear will dim the eye
And no one up there will say goodbye
Just singing His praise through endless days
On Heaven’s bright shore

Just singing His praise through endless days
On Heaven’s bright shore

Lasagna ~ Kicked Up To The Moon!

Homemade lasagna bolognese, made with spicy Italian sausage & 5 cheeses ~ mighty good stuff. Slide show <---click

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Down On The Farm

A young boy comes down for breakfast. Since they live on a farm, his mother asks if he has done his chores.

'Not yet,' said the little boy.

His mother tells him no breakfast until he does his chores.

Well, he's a little ticked off so when he feeds the chickens, he kicks a chicken.

When he feeds the cows, he kicks a cow.

When he feeds the pigs, he kicks a pig.

He goes back in for breakfast and his mother gives him a bowl of dry cereal.

'How come I don't get any eggs and bacon, and why don't I have any milk in my cereal?' he asks.

'Well,' his mother says, 'I saw you kick a chicken, so you don't get any eggs for a week.

I saw you kick the pig, so you don't get any pork or bacon for a week either.

I saw you kick the cow, so for a week you aren't getting any milk.'

Just then, his father comes down for breakfast and kicks the cat halfway across the kitchen.

The little boy looks up at his mother with a smile, and says, 'You gonna tell him or should I?'

Solo Cajun Guitar ~ 1957

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David Doucet ~ My True Love

Lasagna Bolognese

Made some lasagna bolognese with Italian sausage and 5 cheeses ~ lotsa fresh garlic & fresh herbs from Lil' Missy's garden ... served it up with a crisp romaine salad and garlic toast. Magnifico!!

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David Doucet ~ Cowboy Waltz

Big Ol' Honkin' Man Steak

Over 2 pounds of choice grade, aged angus porterhouse t-bone love ~ charred to a precise turn, med/rare over hot, hot hardwood coals ~ dressed with mushrooms sautee'd in roasted garlic compound herb butter and sided with thick cut homemade steak fries. It was a beautiful thing. Here's a lil' slide show <---click

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David Doucet ~ Midland Two-Step

Want Some Rhythm With Them Blues?

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The Groove Hogs ~ Too Little Too Late

Combo BBQ Plate W/Fries

Smoked pulled pork & homemade smoked sausage, tossed with dat good Arthur Bryants Original bbq sauce ... plated up with some homemade french fries and pickled garlicky green beans. Click here for a lil' slide show.

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The Groove Hogs ~ Waiting On You

Kristofferson - Here Comes That Rainbow Again

Ain't No Damn Egg McMuffin

Fluffy andouille & cheddar omelette w/onions and green peppers on a savory fresh-baked black pepper cathead biscuit.

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Omar And The Howlers ~ Omar's Blues

Homemade Olive/Pimento Cheese

This is some homemade olive/pimento cheese spread ~ made with cream cheese, Tillamook cheddar and good Herkimer aged white cheddar, lil' mayo, chopped cured olives & pimentos, and a lil' seasoning. I went thru a whole sleeve of Ritz crackers running my quality control check on this stuff!!

Ian Siegal - Mary Don't You Weep

Hot Off The Breakfast Griddle

Smoked andouille & cheese omelette w/onions and green peppers, fried cajun 'taters & scratch black pepper catheads ~ much mo'bettah than good, ah garrontee!!

Sunday Morning Gospel Hour

Eva Cassidy ~ Amazing Grace

Fat Johnny's Soup Kitchen

This cold weather got me in the mood for soup ~ so I hauled off and made this chowder ... corn & andouille chowder. It's thick and creamy as all git out, hearty chunks of dat good Fritz's smoked andouille, new garden potatoes, corn, bacon, onions & celery, fresh garlic and fresh herbs, chicken stock and whole milk ~ liquid love in a bowl. NO SOUP FOR YOU!!!!

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Omar Kent Dykes & Jimmie Vaughn ~ Jimmy Reed Highway

Norman Blake ~ Jimmy Brown The Newsboy

Muffaletta Pasta Salad

Made this kicked-up muffaletta pasta salad yesterday, with homemade giardeneria/olive salad, fresh herbs and peppers from Lil' Missy's garden, hard Italian salami, provolone & asiago cheeses, EVOO, red wine vinegar, lil' dollop dat good dijon mustard, fresh garlic, red pepper flakes, etc. Mighty Good!

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Omar & The Howlers W/Jimmie Vaughn ~ Change My Style
(props to mah frien, Rawtalent Gary, for turnin' me on to this band)

Country Music: R.I.P.

Well, country music is now officially dead ~ I watched some dat CMA Awards Show last night, and what a damn freak show it was. Hootie & The Blowfish? Kid Rock & Lil' Wayne?? Kenny Chesney & THE WAILERS??? Come on, man ... there wasn't a real country artist in the whole damn building ~ sheeeeit, it's no mystery why all the REAL country artists avoid that freak show. Nashville has finally gone completely Hollywood ... one mah friends said it best, when about halfway thru dat glammed-up parade of pimped out posers he said: "I'm still waiting to see someone who knows where the feed store is." LOL ~ I don't think Hank done it that a'way....

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Hank Williams Sr. ~ Lost Highway

Walnut Maple Pie

Think pecan pie, only made with walnuts instead of pecans & real maple syrup instead of corn syrup ~ whooooboy, talk about kicking it up a notch ~ can you say: ala mode??

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Cat Stevens ~ Miles From Nowhere

"Miles from nowhere ... not a soul in sight
Oh yeah, but it's alright
I have my freedom ... I can make my own rules
Oh yeah, the ones that I choose"

At Long Last

Mais ... 3 months and $8K later my dental work is completed. How do I look ... huhhhhhh? No more oatmeal for me!!!

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Derek & The Dominos ~ Have You Ever Loved A Woman

Homemade Maple Breakfast Sausage

Had a big ol' country breakfast yesterday, and fried up some maple breakfast sausage that I made a while back ~ boy howdy, this is the way breakfast sausage is supposed to be. We don't need no steenkin' Jimmy Dean, no.

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Ry Cooder ~ Slide Guitar Blues

Ry Cooder-Vigilante Man

Grits And BBQ

Made some cheesy grits with caramelized onions & garden fresh green pepper ... dredged in seasoned flour and fried in butter ~ topped with some pulled pork & smoked sausage bbq tossed with dat good PoBoy's Mustard BBQ Sauce ... then topped the whole thang with a funky slaw I made with julienne homemade garlicky pickled green beans, carrots, onion & fresh herbs. Grits and bbq is good groceries, ah garrontee.

Sunday Morning Gospel Hour

Ricky Skaggs ~ Have You Someone In Heaven Awaiting

Eat Your Fruit

Here's a couple good ways to sneak some fruit into yer diet ~ the scratch brownies above have a couple of ripe bananas mashed into the batter, and the oatmeal had a handful of locally grown cherries folded in during the last couple minutes of cooking ~ both turned out very good. Also ... the oatmeal is drizzled with some homemade apple/maple syrup ... definately not yer father's oatmeal.

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Long John Baldry ~ The Midnight Special

How Much Wood Would A Woodchuck...

Maple, pecan and apple wood chunks ... bbq smokin' chunks, that is ... just the right size for my WSM ~ next project will be smoked turkeys and hams for the Holidays. Ain't no fancy storebought smokin' chunks, I garrontee ... the price was right on these.

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Lightnin' Wells ~ I Been All Around This World

Goodbye Daddy

A father put his three year old daughter to bed, told her a story and listened to her prayers which she ended by saying: "God Bless Mommy, God Bless Daddy, God Bless Grandma and good-bye Grandpa."

The father asked, "Why did you say good-bye grandpa?"

The little girl said, "I don't know daddy, it just seemed like the thing to do."

The next day grandpa died. The father thought it was a strange coincidence. A few months later the father put the girl to bed and listened to her prayers which went like this: "God Bless Mommy, God Bless Daddy and good-bye Grandma."

The next day the grandmother died. Oh my gosh, thought the father, this kid is in contact with the other side. Several weeks later when the girl was going to bed the dad heard her say: "God Bless Mommy and good-bye Daddy."

He practically went into shock. He couldn't sleep all night and got up at the crack of dawn to go to his office. He was nervous as hell all day, had lunch sent in and watched the clock. He figured if he could get by until midnight he would be okay.

He felt safe in the office, so instead of going home at the end of the day he stayed there, drinking coffee, looking at his watch and jumping at every sound. Finally midnight arrived, he breathed a sigh of relief and went home.

When he got home his wife said "I've never seen you work so late, what's the matter?"

He said "I don't want to talk about it, I've just spent the worst day of my life."

She said "You think you had a bad day, you'll never believe what happened to me. This morning the milkman dropped dead on our porch."

Chez & Deck Dork

A couple of wild and crazy guys .... LOL ... was lookin' thru some family pics last night, and ran across this pic of me & my brother-in-law, Clarke aka "Deck Dork" ... he's a good man. BTW, I'm the good-lookin' one on the left.

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Gram Parsons / Flying Burrito Bros ~ Break My Mind

Lightnin' Wells: Cross The River Jordan

Creole Swiss Steak

Developed an ahnvee for some swiss steak, so I hauled off and made some ... kicked up Fat Johnny style ~ Kaw-Cajunized in a fantastic homemade Creole tomato sauce made will all kinda good garden veggies from the Perrydize Garden. I ain't never ate none better. Slide show <----click

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Lavay Smith - Honey Pie