Porkopolis Eggfest - Cincinnati, Ohio

We go to a lot of Eggfests around the country. Over 50 so far.  All are different with totally different personalities.  Naturally, we've met a lot of people over the years and we see them often on the Eggfest circuit.  But we also meet a lot of new people too.  And since we all share the same enthusiasm for the Big Green Egg, we get along great.

We were told by many people that the Porkopolis Eggfest was a good one and we should attend as soon as we can.  So this year we decided at the last minute to go.  We left Tuesday morning last week and drove to Lewisville, Arkansas to spend a few days with our friends Charlotte and Richard Harris, aka Kolb Driver.  You can read about that part of the trip in the previous post.

Then on to Cincinatti, via Memphis to Nashville where we stopped for the night, and then on to Cincinnati.

     

After arriving and unpacking in Cincinnati, we found a grocery store and bought a few items to cook at the Eggfest.  Simple stuff, just some bourbon meatballs.  We really hadn't planned to cook but quickly jumped in to assist when a friend didn't have time to pre-process the items she wanted to cook.  We just kept the Egg warm for about an hour, served it, and then spent the rest of the day meeting people and tasting food.

I took about 800 photos and almost immediately edited those down to 400 (mostly duplicates and really bad shots).  I'm still working on a video collection of the remaining photos and will add the YouTube link here as soon as I finish it.  Meanwhile here are a few memorable moments.

I'll be back with more photo and updates as soon as I finish them.

First Stop on the Road To Porkopolis

We have had many Egghead friends tell us that we should attend the Porkopolis Eggfest in Cincinnati, Ohio.  They said it was a lot of fun and it would give us a chance to meet people we've chatted with on facebook and the forums.  We always said maybe one day.

Well on Monday of last week, Judy said, "Let's go to Cincinnati and the Eggfest."  We quickly packed and left the next morning for the 1,057 mile trip with planned stops in Lewisville, Arkansas to stay a couple of days with Charlotte and Richard, aka Kolb Driver.

They fed us well, took us to Texarkana to the Mall to shop for candy, then a tour of the town to show us the famous Town Hall that sits on both Arkansas and Texas soil.

Richard drove us all over Texarkana, telling us the history of many of the places.  It was definitely an interesting tour.

They also took us to a restaurant right on the Red River near their home.  I was roaming around looking at the assorted stuff on the walls (mostly Arkansas Razorbacks related) and happened on a newspaper article about a huge catfish caught on Tew Lake in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, right where I was born and raised.  I told the restaurant owner about what I found and she asked if it was a true story.  I told her no, but it was a fun story, and that some folks back in Catahoula Parish still think it's true.  In truth, it was just a couple of local boys having fun.  The Catahoula News, the local weekly newspaper there ran the story and it instantly became the stuff of legend.

By the way, the Catahoula News (now called Catahoula News Booster) operates out of Jonesville, Louisiana.  But it's roots can be traced back to the mid-19th century (1854 I think).  My maternal grandfather was the owner and publisher back in the 1930's.  The offices were in Harrisonburg, Louisiana at that time.

On Thursday left them there at their house on the lake and headed to Hope, Arkansas to pick up I-35 to Memphis and then on to Nashville by dark on Thursday.  We made it and slept soundly in the hotel.

The next morning (Friday) we drove on up through Louisville, Kentucky to Cincinnati.  Found our suite at Residence Inn on the north side of Cincinnati and went looking for a grocery store to purchase what we needed to cook the next day at the Eggfest.

The story about the Porkopolis Eggfest picks up in the next post, hopefully with a video collection of the many photos I took.

New Smart Phone

After many years of see-sawing back and forth over which new smart phone was a good replacement for our First Generation iPhone (yes, first generation), we finally decided to go with a Samsung Galaxy S5.  We already had our account at AT&T, so we kept the account but had to contract for two years.

It's pretty cool.  Definitely cooler than our iPhone I.  And it's larger too, something both of us need really bad these days.

It's taking a bit of adjusting to the latest Android technology but we're coming around.

We get so few calls on our cell phone that when it rings (Rooster Crowing ring tone, naturally), we look at each other with that, "What do we do now?" look.  It's even funnier when we're in the car with the cell phone and car phone speakers ringing at the same time.  

And being as though I'm driving, I'm not about to answer the thing.  By the time I collect myself enough to turn off the ringing sound coming out of the car speakers by using the button on the steering wheel, Judy has pressed the wrong button on the phone and we're disconnected anyway.  Fortunately, nine out of ten of the calls are from someone trying to sell us something.  If it's someone we know, they know enough to call us back and be patient while we figure it out.  

Maybe the new phone is smart enough to recognize that old people are using it and automatically switches to "Old Phart Mode" or something.  

Heck, we still talk loud because our brain says the caller is from far away and may have trouble hearing us.

We didn't buy any accessories yet but if the standard battery starts to lie, I might upgrade to one that doesn't lie.  I hate it when the phone says it won't rain and then it rains.  Lying SOB!

I'll keep you posted on our progress.

Georgia Mountain Eggfest 2014

It was a long, almost 1,000 mile trek but worth it to attend the Georgia Mountain Eggfest for the third time in as many years.  I'll have lots more to say about it and the 1,800 people who showed up to eat and check out the EGGciting Big Green Egg in action.

Overall, we were gone 11 days and were EGGhausted by the time we got home.  But we're back in form now and ready for even more adventures.  I'll bring this post up to date when I get some time.

First things first, I have to edit about 2,000 photos of all we've been doing this Spring .

Now we're talking about going to Ireland and Scotland next year.  We're really looking forward to that.

Created Some More Eggheads

We packed the Toyota and headed toward Hiawassee, Georgia for the Georgia Mountain Eggfest.  But we had a couple of things to do in Baton Rouge and Metairie, Louisiana first.

We went over to see Nephew Chase and fiancee, Sheryl.  We said we wanted to see the new floors they installed in their home.  But Judy and I had a surprise for them.  And after some excited moments we were all on our way to the Big Green Egg dealer to bring home their new Large Big Green Egg.  Yes, they are now Eggheads.

That done, we headed to see Judy's sister, Joyce in Metairie to celebrate mine and her birthdays.  Yes, same day, but ten years apart.  It was fun.  It was also Mother's Day, so Joyce doubled up on gifts.

More information and some photos will follow soon.

We headed out early Monday morning for Hiawassee, Georgia.  We stopped for the night just north of Atlanta.

Texas Eggfest 2014

The 11th Texas Eggfest was a hoot this year.  Bigger and Better that ever.  This year for the first time it was held at historic Camp Ben McCullough a few miles south of Austin.  A beautiful setting.  I took a lot of photos there and I'm still working on some of them.  I'll get back here when I've got some time.

I'm back, and this time with video proof that we had a good time.  Here's the link to YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu0PFG-Ldj4

Leroy
aka Spring "Fifteen Year Egghead In Training" Chicken
Spring Texas USA

Athens Eggfest 2014

No sooner than getting things back in order around here after Roger's visit and the Salado Eggfest, we began packing again, this time for the Athens Eggfest in Athens, Texas.  And, as is easily predicted, we had a great time again.  Cooked a lot, ate a lot, and enjoyed a lot.  More information to follow as soon as I get some time to sort photos and recall stories to write about.

Salado Eggfest 2014

Once again the Salado Eggfest was great.  We had a lot of people attend and it would seem that all were pleased that they came.

Our friend Roger "IrishRog" Beck from Limerick Ireland joined us and fit right in among all the Eggheads.

I'll have to add more to this post later because I'm way behind and wanted to get something posted in order to maintain the proper chronology of all that we've been doing lately.  It's a lot...

A Real Irishman Visits

Have you ever met someone on-line and felt comfortable with them?  Roger Beck, aka IrishRog on our GreenEggers forum, is an Egghead like us, but he happens to live 'across the pond' in Limerick, Ireland.  There was very little chance that we would meet in person unless one of us crossed that pond.

After years of inviting him, he decided that 2014 was the time to make the trip and timed it so that he could attend the Salado Eggfest on March 15th in Salado Texas.  But he arrived early enough for us to show him around Texas and let him taste some real Texas BBQ.  We think we selected the right agenda, at least from a 'food' standpoint.

Tuesday, on the way home from the airport, we stopped at Texas Roadhouse.  We all ordered the Chicken Fried Steak, and as it turns out, he loved it.

He slept well but was up early in order to soak in as much 'Texas' as he could.

Wednesday, I cooked my famous EggMcMillins for breakfast.  He loved them too.  Judy and I pretty much decided that the man loves his food.

So we joined our neighbors, Tom and Pam, and had lunch at Papadeaux's, a favorite Cajun restaurant, and, not surprising, he loved the food there too.

Early the following morning, Thursday, we headed toward San Antonio with a stop at Buc ee's in Seguin and a detour to Lockhart where we ate at Black's BBQ, one of the famous BBQ joints on the famed Texas BBQ Trail.

Naturally, there was a line and we made good use of the time to talk to others in the line.  It only took about two seconds for folks to figure out that Roger was not from around there.  We had a great time and ate a lot.

 

Bearing in mind that we are Eggheads, our critique of the meal was more negative than positive.  As others later told us, it must have been an off day for Black's BBQ because it is usually quite good.

An hour later we were driving in front of The Alamo on our way to our hotel along the famous San Antonio Riverwalk.  After checking in and getting settled, we walked along the Riverwalk for a short distance as we headed for Mi Tierra Restaurant to meet our friends Mike "Lawn Ranger" Schweitzer, his wife, Sharon, and daughter, Marina, for a true Mexican dinner that was outstanding, complete with the wonderful music of a strolling Mariachi band. Then the Market to shop for authentic Mexican items.  Roger was visibly fascinated by all that he saw.

But he also got to experience the noise and excitement of a real Tejano Festival with a full-blown 'Battle of the Bands' going on, all at the same time.  It was extremely crowded, extremely noisy and a whole lot of fun.

The hotel bed was a welcome sight by the time we returned to our hotel.

Friday morning came early because we had to be on the road early in order to reach our next stop, Franklin BBQ in Austin, the Capital of Texas.  His BBQ is so famous that if you expect to be served at all, you need to be in line by 8:00 am to 9:00 am at the latest.  We arrived at 8:15 and were 125th in line.  Fortunately, the weather was cool and dry, and the crowd pleasant.

I had emailed Aaron Franklin a few days earlier to see if he would be there and asked if we could introduce Roger to him.  He emailed back that unless something came up he would be happy to meet us.  But so I could come bearing gifts, I made some wooden tokens to give to Aaron.

We got in line like everyone else, arriving about 8:15.  The crowd was very laid back and there were no 'cut-in-line' jerks at all.  It took us until about 11:15 just to get inside, and another 25 to 30 minutes before we could sit down to eat.  Long time waiting, I know, but it was worth it.  The food, especially the brisket, was delicious.

Aaron Franklin himself came over to talk to us and invited us out back to see the smokers in action.

There's more photos to see of the visit at Franklin BBQ but it's easier to watch the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9SuzYR-5WA

After leaving Franklin's, we headed straight up to Salado, Texas where the Salado Eggfest would be held.  We arrived early enough to visit the Big Green Egg dealer and visit with some other early arrivals before heading to the Meet & Greet Party.

This is where it's easier to watch the video of the Salado Eggfest but I haven't compiled it yet.  

Unusual Winter Coming To An End

This winter has been one for the books.  Endless days of sub-freezing temperatures, icy conditions, and generally, 'stay inside' conditions, most of the time.

But now we're having some really nice weather and we are taking full advantage of it to clean-up and fix-up what needs cleaning and fixing.

Among the long list of things-to-do, I'm down to two final 'fixes,' both involving outdoor lighting.  One is a simple bulb change that requires some getting down on the ground like a reptile in order to reach under the step fixture to pull and replace the bulb.  Piece 'a cake.

But the other has turned into a major project.  A few days ago we noticed the bulb was not burning at night.  I gave it a rather low priority because it was a three minute fix at the most.  Just change the $#@* bulb.  So I took out the old 'cloudy and obviously burned out' bulb and went to the garage to get a replacement.  None to be had, so off to Lowe's to buy a bulb.  Judy went with me, and $160 later we were home with 20 bags of mulch, a bunch of flowers, garden plants, and my bulb.

So I once again postponed fixing the light while I unloaded and placed the truck load of stuff in position for later doing.  After all, I had the bulb and only needed to insert it and replace the cap.

Finally, I went to replace the bulb but when I went thru the side gate, it would not latch.  It had been giving me problems forever and this time I had had enough of dealing with it.  So I got my tools and removed some boards that apparently had rotted in an invisible spot, thereby making the gate sag.  One thing led to another and another and another and I eventually got it to close and latch with the slightest touch.

Then I had to put the tools away and clean up the sawdust and store the leftover pieces of lumber in the leftover lumber pile.

Then I headed directly to the garage to get the bulb to fix the light but on my way out, Judy said, "You need to light the Egg to cook the chicken."  So I went to the Coop to light the Egg, only it needed cleaning out a bit and new lump charcoal added, which I did, but I had to go get the trash can to put the ashes in.  And on the way to get the trash can I happened to notice that the other gate, the really pretty one, had a gap at the top which would require some weather proof glue and overnight clamps to fix.  So I did all of that but when I got ready to go back to fixing the light it was time to put the chicken on the Egg.  That meant cleaning and cutting the backbone out of the chicken so I could spatchcock (butterfly) it.  Then stand by while I cooked the meaty side directly over the flames for one minute before converting the Egg to indirect and flipping the chicken over for the remainder of the cook,which I did.

Then I headed back to the task of replacing the bulb.  I inserted the new bulb and checked it by turning the light controller to manual.  Nothing!!!!  So I shook it, my usual first attempt at fixing stuff.  Nothing!!!!  Then I banged it a little, my second approach to fixing stuff.  Suddenly, I saw a very faint orange glow... WTF!!!  So I go into my troubleshooting mode (and mood) and after some long and difficult minutes I determined that the fixture itself was bad and in need of replacing.  So that project is on today's list of things-to-do after another trip to Lowes.  Meanwhile, I used my meter to check the bulb I took out and it was fine in spite of being a little cloudy.  #$&@!)$$$!!!

So I'm starting off today with a yesterday project.

Then it started to rain......

New Floors Project

A couple of years ago we had new floors installed in all rooms except the guest bath and our office.  We're glad we waited for those two rooms because we finally saw the type tile we wanted to put down.  But we would probably still be putting off the decision had we not received a call from the tile guy who did the other rooms.  He said he was between jobs and was looking for something to do until his next job.

We thought about it for a couple of seconds and said come on...

By the next morning we had the tile, thin set, and grout waiting for him to do the guest bath.  No sooner than we started to see how the new tile looked, we told him to do the office too.  And off to Home Depot for more tile.

It took him all day to take up the old flooring (tile in the bath and wood parquet in the office) and install the new tile.  But he did each room in a single day.  We were quite pleased.

He came back the next day and laid the grout and cleaned everything.  He also replaced a couple of broken tiles on our porch and repaired some missing grout.

Here's some photos:

We really love the grain texture and light color of the tile.

Two more projects out of the way.

8 Days into the New Year

About four weeks ago my Ophthalmologist determined that the pressure inside my right (bad one) eye was getting too high and scheduled me for a laser treatment/surgery to reduce the pressure.  It's called trabeculoplasty and only takes a minute or less.  There are some zapping sounds as the laser burns away tissue that is clogging areas of the eye where fluids drain.  It's not the tear ducts which perform an entirely different function. I was given some numbing drops before hand but I still felt a sort of 'mild mosquito bite' each time I heard the zap.  I was able to drive home and never suffered any pain or blurriness.

I returned today for a routine followup visit and pressure check.  The right eye seems to be doing what he expects at this point.  It will probably drop another point or two over the next six months.

But the left (good one) eye also has some pressure buildup and he doesn't want to take any chances that it might damage my eye.  So I'm set to go back Saturday morning to have it treated.

Good way to start the New Year - surgery within the first few days.  But I'm very lucky that I have a doctor that pays close attention to something that blinds thousands of people around the world who do not have access to either the doctors or the treatment.

2013 Was A Good Year

In a few hours 2014 will be here and 2013 will live only in our memories, good or bad, and in history books with little emphasis given to what actually made up all the events of the year.  Some events will be singled out and discussed at length while others, often with more profound results will hide between the lines of everyday life.

Among other things, Judy and I celebrated our 41st year of marriage in 2013.  That alone made it a good year for us, but there were some medical issues, unusual expenses to deal with, a new car to get used to, places to visit and things to do that kept us on the go.  I can't think of a single complaint with any of them. 

And we're both ending the year with modest success in our diets.  But today we decided to treat ourselves to some Chinese food.  Aaaaaaaaa... yes, it was good, and we even had leftovers for tonight. 

By 9:00 pm we will feel the weight of heavy eyelids a lot more than the desire to watch the ball drop. 

And tomorrow morning we will start all over again.  Perhaps 2014 is the year that all the people on Earth will stop fighting.  I know it won't happen, but if it's not to be, there's always 2015 when we can try again.

Happy New Year everyone...

Christmas 2013

Once again we drove to New Orleans (actually Metairie) to celebrate Christmas with Judy's sister, Joyce, husband Allen, Sons David and Chase, and Chase's girlfriend, Cheryl. 

Allen was still laid up from surgery on his ankle and shoulder, so we helped Joyce with the cooking duties.

As usual, we all had a great time opening gifts Christmas Eve.  So Christmas Day was a little more laid back and relaxing.  But we did stay busy.

I took almost 300 photos and edited them down to enough to make a movie that will pretty much show how much fun we had.  Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3T7ZADJBb0

The drive over was peaceful but the drive home was a tad crowded.  But we made it home safe and sound and are ready to ring in the New Year.  Well, maybe let someone else actually 'ring' it in because by 9:00 pm the bed is looking really good.  Plus, we already know the New Year is going to be a good one.  It always is...

Happy New Year

My Magic Toboggan

by Leroy McMillin

 

'twas the night before Christmas,

and all through the Coop,
not a pot needed stirring,
not even for some soup...

I was 'a nap'n all snug in my chair,

and Judy was up and about but I'm not sure where.
Suddenly, visions of Christmassy stuff flooded my noggin',
And Vixen was needing a ride on my toboggan...

She had been with Rudolph out on a date

and had returned home much too late.
But Santa had a tight schedule to keep,
and he flew off with a frown and a (bleep)...

It was too late for the Elves to start a search,

Santa would just have to be in a lurch.
Could Santa's seven other reindeer keep up the pace,
could they make it in time to every last place???

I could just hear Santa grumble about the schedule to keep,

"On Dasher, and Dancer, and Prancer, and (Bleep),
On Comet, and Cupid, and Donner, and Blitzen"
With a lot of luck his schedule he might keep...

"WAKE UP LEROY... Here in your chair you can't be staying."

The strange little voice in my head was saying.
"We have to hurry fast or this could be Christmas last!"  
Christmas Last, Christmas Last!!! I've got to wake up fast...

I awoke with a startle to say the least.

And suddenly thought why am I talking to a beast?
Then Vixen explained what we had to do,
And I said, "Not until I've been to the loo..."

I jumped in my pants and pulled on a sweater,

Then I thought I should write Judy a letter.
But what could I say that made any sense?
So I just wrote "I'm off to catch Santa whence..."

Then off to the garage to get my toboggan,

with Vixen's words still in my noggin'.
Then it dawned on me that toboggans can't fly right,
to which Vixen said, "This one will tonight..."

And with a twitch of her tail and in a blink of her eye,

we were way, way up into the night sky.
We immediately headed north toward the Pole,
Hoping to catch Santa while he was still in the cold...

LOOK!  LOOK!  There off to the right!

It was Santa ready to stop at the house with the light.
We landed on the roof right next to his sleigh.
And we all knew at once that we had saved the day... 

With Vixen now in her harness and Santa all aglow

I knew it was now time for me to go.
And on my way home on my Magic Toboggan,
I thought of what a glorious night and my eyes started fogg'n...

I made it home just in the nick of time.

My Judy was just waking and everything was just fine.
I waited a bit before I told her my story.
And she listened and let me bask in my glory...

Then she said, "But you have no toboggan."

All of this was just a dream in your noggin'."
I suddenly realized that she must be right.
No matter though, It was a wonderful night...

 

 

 

New Furniture for the Back Porch

Well, not really 'New' but it's new to us, and it was free. 

It all started when Judy saw it listed on FreeCycle.  It's a site where you can offer pretty much anything of value for free to someone who might can use it.  Of course it works both ways so those who receive items are expected to donate things too.  It's a good way to keep one person's "trash" out of the landfill by making it someone else's "treasure."

In this instance, a woman advertised that she had a "Solid Oak Sideboard" she was offering to the first person who wanted it and could come get it.  She did not post a photo so our first thought was that it was in such bad shape that we might be able to get some good oak lumber out of it.

Boy were we wrong...  This thing was built "at least 70 years ago" according to the owner.  It has hardware that dates it to about the 1930's or 40's.  Yes, it was a bit beat up but all the parts were in place and were solid.

I briefly worked on it to fix one of the drawer-pulls but that was it.

Take a look at our really nice (free) treasure.

 

Looks like it was made for our porch.

Danger Averted Due To An Electrical Problem

Yes, the Chicken Ranch was in serious danger of going up in smoke due to an unknown/unseen electrical problem.

I finally called an electrician after my low-level troubleshooting efforts did not determine why there was a power failure in one line of wall plugs in our detached garage/workshop. It should have been a routine fix for me but nothing made sense about it.

We still had power everywhere else, just not that particular line of wall plugs.

So the young man came and patiently listened to my troubleshooting story, then started looking for himself.  But it took a few minutes to figure out where the problem was. And it wasn't in the garage. It was in the main electrical panel where all those 'flipper' things are located. Not only that but it was the Big-Daddy Flipper, the Main Breaker. Here's a photo of what was happening:

Smoke marks...

And here's the breaker.

Melt marks...

And here's the young man installing a whole new box with more horsepower than the old one.

Dollar marks...

$1,700 and change. But we'll sleep better for it.

Just saying, if you live in an older house that was built for 1980's or before technology, you may want to get a licensed electrician to inspect your house, especially if you tend to be a do-it-yourselfer electrician.

Scary stuff, electricity.

40th Wedding Anniversary

Today is our 40th wedding anniversary.  Yep, December 1, 1973, Metairie, Louisiana.

I like to think that we have been married all our lives but it wasn't until 40 years ago that we found each other.  And things just got better and better after that.

Today we started off our day with two new rings with the endless Celtic knot, a fitting example of our endless love and devotion to each other.

Instead of a spectacular cruise to celebrate our 40th year, we opted to buy a new car earlier in the year.  Hopefully, both of us and the car will still be running when we celebrate our 50th.  If so, we will plan one hum-dinger of an anniversary treat for ourselves.

Thanks for all the congratulations and best wishes.  They mean a lot to us.

Oh, even though we're celebrating our 'wedding' date, I will probably keep telling everyone I won Judy in a poker game in New Orleans.  Some of those I've told that story to actually asked if I won or lost. 

Just so everyone will know, I WON!!!

Diet Time Again

Judy and I both decided today that we don't care for what we see in the mirror - US...  There's way too much of us...

Not only do we not like what we see in the mirror, but our clothes don't fit, we can't sleep well, we have no energy, our muscles ache and we generally feel miserable.  Even my shoes don't fit, making daily life even more miserable.  And that's not the worst of it - our health is probably taking the brunt of all that is wrong with our current lifestyle.

So back to the drawing board.  This picture has got to change.

Where do we start?  Well, we re-read the first (and most important) part of The South Beach Diet.  It's the only diet book/plan that ever made sense/worked for us.

 

 

We both did this diet a few years ago and found it to be purposely easy, not difficult or stressful to follow as with many other diets, and it produced noticeable results in a short period of time.

 

And wouldn't you know it, we picked that worst possible time to make the decision to go on a diet - Thanksgiving is only ten days away.  And we're having family over for the holiday and that means two days of food and more food.  And four weeks later we will be in New Orleans for Christmas and another round of 'food.'

 

But we're determined to make this work and get us back down to a reasonable size, so we'll be going light on all the things that make Thanksgiving what it's known for - food. 

 

If things go well over the next ten days we will be smaller by a few ounces, if not pounds, and we will feel a lot better both literally and about ourselves.

 

I'm keeping a record of my weight and blood pressure starting this morning.  I want to be able to see my progress on a chart that I can share with my cardiologist and my regular doctor, both of whom are encouraging me to lose weight. 

 

If we keep to it like before, we will both notice physical changes in our bodies within a couple of days, followed quickly by weight loss.  But we know this fast weight loss is not to be confused with real weight loss.  It's mostly water.  But we also know that as our body adjusts to the daily lack of carbs and becomes more accustomed to matabolizing food that is healthy without the heavy penalty of carbs, we will begin to see noticeable changes.

 

By two weeks we will be able to re-introduce carbs back into our diet.  Only we won't be craving them as we do now.  This is the key to the lifestyle change South Beach promises and lives up to.  And it works just as they say it will. 

 

Last time, after the initial two week weaning off carbs period, I was consistently losing two pounds a day and felt good about it.  I didn't miss my bread or potatoes or grits or any of the 'white' foods I was so used to eating, more out of habit than anything else.  I was not hungry either.  And I could have skipped the mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks entirely but I was determined to stick with the plan.  I'm glad I did.  My blood pressure settled down, I had more energy and stamina, my brain functioned better, my muscles didn't ache and I slept better.  And more important, I was losing weight instead of adding it.

 

So now I'm off to weigh and take my blood pressure after having my scrambled egg, orange juice and coffee breakfast.

 

I'll keep you posted...

 

Update: 11-21-13

 

Here's what the diet results are as of this morning:

 

   Date           Blood Pressure         Pulse       Weight

11-19-13            118/52                     68           311.8

11-20-13            123/59                     71           309.2

11-21-13            124/62                     76           304.6

11-22-13            120/57                     72           303.0

11-23-13            114/52                     76           301.0

11-24-13            125/64                     73           299.4

 

Uh Oh!  Looks like Thanksgiving got in the way of my diet.

 

11-30-13          127/66                    72          301.2

 

Back on track

 

12-05-13            116/61                     69           295.2

12-06-13            120/58                     78           296.2

12-07-13            119/60                     68           295.8

12-08-13            124/54                     72           294.2

 



Bank Fraud Attempt on Me with Follow-ups

With all the unabated crime in the world we consider ourselves lucky to have avoided becoming a victim to it.

But today we apparently became a victim of some form of identity theft when someone requested to open an account with Capital Bank using our name and personal information.

As we understand it, when anyone tries to open an account, a routine check is made with the credit bureaus to make sure there are no problems. Apparently, someone with our personal information applied for an account and a Red Flag prompted the bank to call us to confirm whether or not we had tried to open an account. We had not, so that made it a fraud matter, and the account was promptly stopped before any charges occurred.

Then we were turned over to a credit bureau where we were asked questions related to the incident. We knew nothing and gave an affidavit attesting to our lack of knowledge or involvement in the matter.

Now the credit bureau will flag our name so that whenever any new account is opened in our name, we will be immediately contacted to confirm or deny that we are opening the account. This action will be shared with the other credit bureaus and continue for seven years.

Besides scaring the peanut butter out of us thinking it might be someone phishing for our information (which they already had) or trying to confirm it for some other ulterior motive, such as issuing a credit card which we don't need or want, we were reluctant to answer questions without a lot of questions of our own.

We were also encouraged to file a report with our local police department so that they will have the incident on record should fraud activity be detected that is associated with our name.

We promptly received a confirmation via email of the incident report and instructions on how we can protect ourselves.

Within minutes I received a call from American Express's Fraud Division asking if we had recently tried to open an account with them. No... So they killed the account before any approval was given and will call us in the future anytime an account is requested in our name.

I'm sure we will be receiving more calls in the next few days.

I'm still worried that something might get through the crack and put a blemish on our credit history, but I'm also relieved that the system is working to protect me.


12/9/13 4:30 pm

The Police just left after taking our statement and gathering information about the fraud activity.  We had called them after receiving a copy of a denial letter saying the request for credit to purchase a car in Laporte, Texas (Near Houston) was turned down.  The guy said he was calling from Florida to buy a car for his son in Texas.

The girl at the car dealer smelled a rat and rejected the credit request and we received the notice.  It was the only way we knew what was going on.

But Detective Trainee Judy saw the letter as an opportunity to gather more information about the SOB trying to pull this crime off.  So she called the car dealer.  He immediately referred her to their accountant.  Judy explained everything and was successful in getting more information emailed to us, including an AOL email address of the Perp.  I promptly notified AOL that we are not the person claiming to be us and asked them to take appropriate action.  I probably should have waited because the Police may have been able to trace the email address back to a computer, and thus to the Perp. I still haven't heard from AOL as of 5:25 PM today.

While I was doing that, Judy was calling the Police.  The Police lady arrived about five minutes later, apparently thinking there was a crime in progress at our address.  It took a few minutes to explain everything, and wouldn't you know it, we got another call while the Police was still here. This time it was from Capital One Bank wanting to confirm that we had applied for a credit card.  Of course we had not and the application was rejected when I explained what was happening.

So this Perp is trying hard to make it work, but keeps running into rejections.

I wish he would give up and leave us alone.

Now I've got to sign some documents to mail to the credit bureau confirming that I am a victim and an affidavit saying I had no part in the fraud attempt.

I'm sure there are lots of flags up beside our name by now.  Good... Makes me feel better.

Celebration of Life for a Friend

While we were in Florida for the Mini-Fest, enjoying food and fun with some of our many Egghead Friends, another friend was dying of a heart attack back in my old home town of Harrisonburg, Louisiana where he and his wife settled.

 

Joe Leonard Green 1936 - 2013

 

We learned of it the following day while in route home to Texas.  It was a shock of course, but as a 77 year old with a number of medical issues, not totally unexpected.

So we made our way home and left a few days later to attend a Celebration of Life for him.  There was no funeral because he donated his body to science, a sort of unselfish final act of generosity so that something good could come of his passing.   That's the kind of man he was.

His wife of 50 years and I grew up together in that small town and have been 'forever friends' as we went our separate ways.  She and Joe retired and moved back into her family home overlooking the Ouachita River just above the Village of Harrisonburg.  It is a beautiful and tranquil place far removed from the fast pace of city life.  And it was well suited to his naturally curious and friendly way with people.

Harrisonburg is also where Joe began his career coaching basketball, all the while continuing to grow his academic career, and eventually moving to college and university campuses in a number of cities.  In each place they landed, they made new friends.  It was their nature to do so.

A lot of those friends also came to Harrisonburg to celebrate his life.  We can easily understand why they came, they too loved the man.

I took the liberty to bring a camera to capture some of the event to show to those who could not be there.

Here is the link to the video I assembled:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsirC20eu-Y

I hope you enjoy it.

Mini Fest 2013 - Melbourne, Florida

We promised ourselves to one day attend the Mini Fest in Melbourne, Florida.  So this was the year and we had a great time.  Saw some old friends and made some new ones, ate some fabulous food, consumed a lot of adult beverages and just took advantage of the Atlantic Ocean being right outside our window.

 

Naturally, there were Big Green Eggs and Eggheads and food.

 

 

There's more but I'm tired and need a nap.

 

 

 

Birdhouses

As a woodworker, I enjoy making things because some of those 'things' can be beautiful, like these birdhouses.  For the last few days I've been making these:

 

Building them isn't that difficult but does required a certain amount of patience.  I'm not known for having patience so the level of difficulty goes up the moment I start to saw the parts.

 

I'm trying to decide if I want to sell them on the side of the road.  Probably not, but I'm curious as to how much people would pay to own one.  It really doesn't matter because I've already had my joy in building them.

 

 

Judy wanted an elevated bed garden

So I put on my 'thinking cap' and went to work.  Here's a pictorial account of my efforts.

And I didn't do it alone.  Judy helped all the way.

Come harvest time, we will be known as the Thousand Dollar Tomato.  But it will have been worth it to keep my Sweetie happy.

CNN News iReport on Eggheads

In July 2009, we headed to Alaska for that long awaited Alaskan Cruise.  It was fun for sure and I compiled a series of videos of the trip that can be seen on YouTube.  Just click on the "My YouTube Videos" link on the home page if you would like to see them.

But before we left, we learned that CNN was doing a special on back yard grill masters and we thought we would enter something to show how much we enjoy barbecuing and grilling in our own back yard.  So I signed up as an iReporter and submitted my version of back yard cooking.

Naturally, I spiced the story up a bit telling about the Chicken Ranch and Coop and Big Green Eggs and Eggheads and anything else I could throw in, along with photos and videos.

Well, wouldn't you know it, we received an email back from the Producer, saying they wanted to do a spin off on just Eggheads, and asked me to send more information. 

I didn't have much time to send anything else because we were packing to leave for Alaska, but I threw together some more information and suggested they contact BGE in Atlanta. 

Then we left for 10 days.

When we returned home the answering machine was full, there were lots of emails to read and a friend from Florida said she saw the CNN show.

Well, we couldn't figure out how to see anything other than the hard copy on CNN's site but it was fun to read.  Here's the link: http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/07/09/eggheads.irpt/

Every once in a while I check to see how many people have clicked on my contribution to the article.  As of today, four years later, it has gown to 11,658 hits on mine alone. 

But that's not the end of the story.  Nope, it was such a hit that the Producer wrote later to ask if I could put together any other newsworthy articles about Eggheads for them.  I probably could have but I got wind that the number of hits on the Big Green Egg web site crashed the site, all because of the CNN article.  This was confirmed by a BGE executive earlier this year when the subject came up at an Eggfest.  Her exact words were, "So YOU'RE the guy!!!....."

Needless to say, I'm sure there were a few, if not thousands of Big Green Eggs sold as a direct result of mine and other Egghead's participation and contribution to the CNN piece.  But did we get an 'attaboy' or 'thank you' or maybe even a gift certificate from Big Green Egg?  Nope!  Not a single word of thanks from them.  So there's not a lot of incentive for me to do anything that might further enrich BGE. (although like all Eggheads, we still talk it up a lot).

But I've been thinking on it some, and with the constantly growing popularity of Eggfests, now may be a great time to do another story for CNN. 

We'll see....

Leroy's Stress Test

It all started last week when I visited my cardiologist's office for a routine checkup.  He was out and had made arrangements for his Medical Assistant, Tina, to check me over.  I actually considered it to be a good sign that he really wasn't worried too much about the outcome.  Otherwise, he would have referred me to another cardiologist or postponed the appointment until he returned.

But the visit went very well.  Judy and I liked Tina very much.  She was very professional and very thorough with her questions of me and with her answers to our questions.  She took her time with us, a rarity in the medical field, and even hugged us on the way out.  Yes, we enjoyed the visit.

However, during the course of the exam it became increasingly clear that I should have more than just this brief visit.  After all, it had been over six years since my heart attack in January 2007.  In addition to becoming seven years older, I had grown a lot, about forty pounds to be exact.  And in spite of all my blood-work numbers being good, my blood-pressure readings being in the 125/56 range and my quarterly visits to my doctors being normal, there was enough concern that I should undergo a carotid duplex to measure blood flow in my carotid arteries, and a stress Echocardiogram to view the wall motion of the heart before and after the exercise, along with my ECG and blood pressure being monitored while on the treadmill.

In other words, the first steps toward seeing if more steps were necessary.

Well, I did all the tests today and we won't know the actual results for a few days but so far, so good.  My cardiologist was in the room monitoring my progress during the stress test and he mentioned repeatedly that it looks good, my heart is strong and he sees no problems so far.  We'll know more after he analyzes the data.

However, I ran out of steam on the treadmill at a few heartbeat points below where they would have liked me to have reached.  His conclusion was that it was because I'm out of shape.

I was about to mention that 'round' is a shape and I'm pretty round, but I thought better of it.  He could easily see that. 

So I'm guessing that when we see him again in about three weeks I believe he will tell me my heart is good while strongly encouraging me to lose some weight.

I can live with that...


PS... I had my follow-up visit with my doctor and he confirmed what he said during the tests, that the test results were good and my heart is strong.  I'm just overweight and out of shape.  So it's back to eating bushes, fruit and smaller portions of everything.  I also switched to wine rather than my rum and cokes, but even then it will be less frequent and less volume.  Bread and pizza will have to be reduced too, as will Cheetos and cheese and greasy hamburgers and bacon and ........  KRAP!!!  I'm gonna die...

Magic Mini Moments VI - The Movie

Since most of you know me for my enthusiasm for the Big Green Egg, you are probably aware of the videos I have assembled over the years highlighting the wonderful images of cooks done on the Mini Big Green Egg by Mini owners.

There are now six movies reflecting between 150 and 200 photos each and I must say, I'm always amazed at the creativity my fellow Eggheads have when it comes to cooking on the Mini.

But along with their creativity I think there's some magic involved too... probably from the Mini itself.  Once you watch my latest Magic Mini Moments VI movie, I think you may agree.

http://youtu.be/3-wFZ3MdCxY

Oh, and if you are looking to purchase a really nice Christmas gift for someone special, this is one gift that will keep on giving for the rest of their lives.

Click here to find the Big Green Egg Dealer closest to you:

http://www.biggreenegg.com/locator/

And be sure to tell the lucky person to visit the Big Green Egg chat rooms where we Eggheads will gladly help them get started.

GreenEggers.com             http://www.greeneggers.com/

EggheadForum.com         http://eggheadforum.com/

These sites are the best place to grow their cooking skills and see fantastic recipes, usually with photos of the entire process from start to finish.  And they can always ask questions without feeling embarrassed.  We Eggheads truly want them to enjoy the Big Green Egg EGGsperience from their very first day as an Egghead...

50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration and Weekend On The Guadalupe River

Judy's brother, Curtis and his wife, Sandra, from Kerrville, Texas are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this month.  Their son and daughter decided to surprise them with a nice gathering of friends and family at their favorite restaurant, Mamacita's.

Judy decided to add to the festivities by renting a cabin on the Guadalupe River in nearby Center Point, Texas. 

It turned out to be a very nice weekend.

Here are two videos I put together to better explain why it was so much fun.  

The first is at the restaurant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMQ4FWV4pBQ

The second one is at the cabin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQt-VWg4vLc

Congratulations Sandra and Skipper.