Thanksgiving 2012 Has Come And Gone

One more day 'til Thanksgiving.  And like every year, we've got two refrigerators crammed to the limit.  Same with the pantry and just about every cubbyhole in the house.  No, it's not just for us two, it's for two more: Joyce and Allen will be here tomorrow and lay over until Saturday or Sunday before heading back to Metairie.

Yes, we'll be cooking a turkey.  18 pounder and a bunch of side dishes that amplifies the turkey flavor a lot.  I guess the turkey also amplifies the side dishes too.  Anyway, it will be good for sure.

I'll return here and add some photos later.  Right now I'm obligated to make sure the rum is still good.

Here are some photos...

Jim and Julie Roberts Visit

We had company yesterday, Jim and Julie Roberts from Alexandria, VA.  They were in town visiting relatives before heading to San Antonio to visit more relatives.  Judy is a cousin of Jim's and they wanted to stop by the Chicken Ranch for a quick visit.

We had some pulled pork and slaw on Hawaiian rolls for them to snack on.  The day was absolutely beautiful so we did it picnic style.

I didn't get seated before the auto timer went off but it's still the best photo.

Jim and I enjoy our conversations about a lot of topics.  I wish we could have had more time but eventually we would have had to talk about politics and that may have charged the atmosphere.  Even so, he is a logical thinker and is able to clearly see both sides of an issue without resorting to fisticuffs or gunplay.  In Texas, that's important...

Knee Surgery Update

Knee replacement surgery is a piece a' cake for some and not for others.  I fit into the 'not for others' category. Mine still hurts like a SOB at times and is quite annoying when I try to sleep.  But it seems to be getting better very slowly each day.  At least I can do most normal activities again.

According to the surgeon, I'm coming along great.  Well, that's a relief.  I thought I was going to die of old age before I got well.

Meanwhile, the burning/tingling pain in my lower legs and feet is getting worse.  I saw the back surgeon who fixed my back two years ago and he ordered a nerve test done.  I'll know the results soon.  The doctor who performed the test traced the problem to L5/S1 in my lower back, probably from a pinched nerve.  It could be that a simple steroid shot will fix it.

I'm off the Ambien sleeping pills as of a few days ago, so sleep is not coming easy.  The pills are a prescription only narcotic and have some dangerous side effects, including of all things "burning/tingling sensation in lower legs and feet."  But they did allow me to sleep soundly, often for six or more hours straight.  They also prevented me from having dreams.  I loved that...  but the pills can blow out a kidney over time.  That's why my doctor reluctantly prescribed them in the first place and has since discontinued the prescription.  I'm okay with it.

At least I'm alive, mostly well, up and about and doing things.  Some people would give anything to be  able to do that.

Plano Outlaw Eggfest 2012

Once again we had a wonderful time at the Plano Outlaw Eggfest in Plano, Texas, this time on November 3rd.

Of course, a few of us met up at Twin Peaks on Friday for lunch and eye candy.  The girls like it too.

And Friday night we had a little Meet & Greet at the American Legion Hall.

Then Saturday morning about 40 of us fired up the Eggs and fed well over a hundred 'tasters' who stopped by throughout the day.  The food was good so everyone was satisfied that they came.  A few even won some nice door prizes, including three Big Green Eggs.

 
We saw some old friends and met some new ones.  One couple lives here in Spring, less than a mile from us.  Ricky and Dee Cobb.  They are Eggheads but this was the first Eggfest they attended.  They had a great time and will be attending the Salado Eggfest in March.

Of course there was an After Party at the hotel.  We cooked some more food and drank a lot of liquid while rooting for LSU to beat Alabama.  No, LSU lost in the last few seconds.

We headed home early the next morning and had pretty much everything back in place by the afternoon.

I'm working of a video of it.

Fun trip...

Knee Surgery Update

It has now been 79 days since my knee replacement surgery.  I'm fine, still a little stiffness and restricted range of motion but not enough to worry about.  I figure it will take about six months to get back to normal, maybe longer.  It really doesn't matter how long at this point because I can pretty much do what I want to do.

We will be taking our first long-drive in a couple of weeks for the Plano Eggfest in Plano, Texas.  Two weeks ago I probably would have had a problem sitting for that long but I'm thinking it shouldn't be a problem by November 2nd when we leave.

Meanwhile, I have little moments where the knee will suddenly become painful.  It happens mostly when I first go to bed.  But that's why I take a couple of Tylenol and an Ambian to help me get to sleep.  Maybe in a few more weeks I'll be able to discontinue both drugs.  As Martha would say, "That would be a good thing."

Knee Surgery Update

It has now been 40 days since my knee replacement surgery.  And I'm still having problems with pain and swelling.

They tried all the well known, high-octane pain meds but none of them worked as expected.  No pain relief at all but all of the negative side effects worked, including a couple of scares that almost resulted in a 911 call.  One even had me hallucinating.  That was enough to make me stop taking anything but Tylenol.  And even Tylenol isn't working well.  It just takes the pain level down from an 8 to maybe a 6 or 7.  It doesn't help at all on days when I have physical therapy.

So here I sit with my swollen knee and foot, in about a level 6 pain, all the while wishing this little adventure would be over.  But, like they say, it could be worse.

Tomorrow starts a new week of therapy and they are not giving me any mercy.  They want me back to normal as bad as I do but they don't have to suffer the rest of the day, all night and into the next day from an hour of flexing, bending and other forms of torture.

At least I can still wear my "Temporarily out of Service" shirt.

Meanwhile, we've had visitors.  Our long time friend Wanda from Jacksonville came to spend a few days the week before the Labor Day weekend.  She's a lot of fun and we really enjoyed her visit.

The following weekend, Joyce and Allen flew in from New Orleans to celebrate Allen's and Judy's birthdays.  New Orleans had just experienced Hurricane Isaac and getting away for a few days seemed like a good idea.  We had a great time and everyone except me pitched in to do some of the little jobs that I haven't been able to do.  As it turned out, remodeling the guest bath wasn't such a little job after all.  Allen changed out the light fixture and sink faucet.

My Sweetie also had another birthday but she worked to make sure everyone, especially me, was well fed and comfortable.  She's a Saint, for sure.

Finally, life is getting back to half way normal.  I even cooked a pizza in the Coop yesterday.

I now have a new right knee.  And it hurts like a SOB.  Just like last time.  Surgery was non-eventful and I woke up in my room at TOP's Surgery Center with tubes and hoses and drip-bags everywhere.  I wasn't hurting then but all the good stuff wore off and I was reduced to only the prescribed pain meds.  They weren't working very well.  Still aren't.  And they make me feel strange.

The Doctor let me come home Saturday morning.  Meanwhile, I have to perform a lot of therapy here and at KSF's Therapy Center starting tomorrow.  The staff knows me well from two years ago when I was having some major problems with anemia, and inflammation in my leg.  The doctor gave me almost two units of the blood I donated before surgery but it didn't help much.  Plus, the hydrocodone pain meds were simply not working to relieve my pain.  I was in a real mess and got behind on my therapy at the most critical period.  It took almost a year before I could start seeing some improvement.  I sure don't want that to happen this time so they prescribed percoset this time.

Here's some pictures...

Yeah, I threw the one with the zipper in myself.  Gotta have some humor in everything we do or it just isn't worth doing.

Oh, and I learned today that replacement knees don't hold up forever.  Twenty years is about tops.  I'm not sure I want to do it again.  For one thing, it's even more complicated, and the success rate is much lower.  I may just have to squeak when I wear these out.

Visit to Casa de Ranger for the Belifest

Over the weekend we drove to San Antonio to visit with some long-time friends and fellow Eggheads for a small gathering at Casa de Ranger, the fitting name for Lawn Ranger's home and outdoor kitchen.  Although it was quite warm and the air filled with smoke from multiple Big Green Eggs going full blast, it was a most enjoyable two days.

In as much as the people's names won't mean that much to anyone except Eggheads who already know who they are, I just decided to create a little video of the event.

Hope you enjoy it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NLISt1qUQU&feature=g-upl

Knee Replacement Surgery

Two years ago when I had my left knee replaced with an artificial one, my doctor said it's just a matter of time before I will need the right one replaced.

Well, that time will be August 1st, hopefully real early in the morning.

I've already done much of the paperwork and lab tests, started taking iron supplement pills and donated my first unit of blood.  I donate the second one next week.  And a few days before surgery i have to have another blood test and start injecting a form of blood thinner into my stomach.

Meanwhile, I've been trying to get done what will need doing for the next couple of months.  Nothing serious because we pretty much keep everything up to snuff around here.  But we did want to do some landscaping of our front entrance.  And as usual, we picked the hottest, most humid days of the year to do it.  But it sure looks better than before.  It has been raining lot lately.  We're not complaining, for sure. 

Visit With Elvis

While on our way to Hiawassee, Georgia, we stopped in Memphis to tour Graceland.  It was exactly what we expected and a lot that we didn't expect.  Elvis fan or not it's worth the trip.

We didn't take our camera in, although we quickly learned that we could have so long as we didn't take flash photos.  So we used our iPhone.  A big difference in quality but the photos still came out pretty good.

Judy assembled this video entirely by herself.  I think she did a really good job.

Enjoy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgqFX71YIA8&feature=g-all-u

Georgia Mountain Eggfest 2012

After leaving Athens, Texas, Judy and I made our way to Hiawassee, Georgia for the Georgia Mountain Eggfest.  

Here's the morning view from our hotel balcony.  Nice huh...

We arrived on Wednesday and left for home Sunday morning, driving 600 miles to New Orleans with only two stops.  (It was all downhill). We wanted to say hi to Judy's sister, Joyce and husband, Allen, who had just returned from an Italian vacation.  We were all tired so we went on to our hotel and left them to get some sleep before having to return to work.

We spent a few hours putting together a video of the Georgia Mountain Eggfest.  Here's the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5IisF7huo4&feature=g-upl

Judy put this video together of our boat ride on the lake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJTCCOD4oTI&feature=g-all-u

I'll see what I can do about adding photos of our visit with friends, Richard and Charlotte in Lewisville, Arkansas and our tour of Elvis' home in Memphis.

I think it's safe to say that we could live in Hiawassee.  We may go again next year and spend more time looking around.

Athens Eggfest

Judy and I attended the second annual Athens Eggfest in Athens, Texas.  It was on Mother's Day. 

As expected, we saw a lot of old friends and met some new ones, not to mention eating a lot of really nice food that was cooked on the Big Green Eggs. 

It is hard to describe what an eggfest really is so I usually take a lot of photos, borrow photos from others and add some music to a video I post on YouTube for all the world to see.  Here's the link to this year's Athens Eggfest 2012 - The Movie.

http://www.youtube.com/?utm_source=navclient

We left Athens driving to Hiawassee, Georgia for the North Georgia Eggfest.  Since we had a few days to get there we stopped to visit friends, Richard and Charlotte, in Lewisville, Arkansas, then stopped in Memphis to visit Elvis (he wasn't home), then spent the night in Huntsville, Alabama before driving some serious mountain roads on into Hiawassee on Wednesday.  I should be posting something about that part of the trip later.

Enjoy the Athens Eggfest video...

Cooking on the Mini Egg

The Mini Big Green Egg is just one of four that we have in our outdoor kitchen, The Chicken Coop.  We call her Maggie Mini and she is a real trooper when it comes to quick meals.  Since returning from the Salado Eggfest we have kept her pretty busy.

Here are some Shrimp Kisses that were very easy and very tasty.

And a pizza

Even some 'Chicken' biscuits

And some shrimp

And some Kashi Heart Healthy cereal  

Of course, we did the usual hamburgers and hotdogs too.  It's a fun little cooker.

Salado Eggfest 2012 was loads of fun

We're home and 'almost' recovered from one really fun-filled weekend in Salado.  It could not have been nicer.  The weather was great, the crowd was large and the food was delicious.  Lots of men in kilts, including me.

Anyway, here's the movie I put together with photos taken and shared by everyone.

http://youtu.be/ZR85iXQ2eiQ

The next Eggfest is in Austin in late April. We may drive over for the day and not cook because the one in Athens, Texas is soon after that and we will likely be cooking there.  Plus, we leave from Athens headed to Lewisville, Arkansas to visit some friends, then on to Memphis to speak to Elvis, then to the North Georgia Eggfest.  By then our travel budget will be shot and we will still have two more Eggfests to go: Texarkana and Plano.

Can't stop having fun now...

Salado Eggfest 2012

We're about 90% packed but not quite loaded for the first Eggfest of the season.  This one is in Salado, Texas and starts tomorrow.  Here's the link to the site if you're interested: http://saladoeggheadgathering.blogspot.com/

The weather promises to be good but up until two days ago there was a 30% chance of thunder storms.  Not good for an outdoor event.

Because this Eggfest is on St. Patrick's Day, there will be lots of Irish Green.  And a few of us with Scots blood will be wearing kilts.  Since I'm Scotch/Irish I'll be wearing both: Bottom Half - Scotch and Top Half Irish.  Here's me in a test run of my outfit. 

Cute ain't I?  Wait 'til you see me with all my accessories on.

Just like all Eggfest, Judy and I will be cooking on the Big Green Egg and serving to other Eggheads, Egghead Want-to-be's and people who are just curious about what the heck we're doing.  With 40 cooks cooking an average of 2.5 recipes with about 50 bite-size servings each there will be about 5,000 snacks served. 

No, we're not trying to make money or feed the crowd, we just want to introduce them to some of the stuff we can and often do cook on the Egg.  For many of the 'tasters'  it gets them to thinking and before long some of them actually purchase an Egg of their own. 

A few of us will have arrived from as far away as Old Mexico, Canada, New Mexico, Colorado, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Pennsylvania and Louisiana.  Most are from Texas.  We usually start our party early with a Friday night Meet & Greet.  Yes, we do a lot of meeting and greeting, especially greeting.  Then after the Eggfest itself on Saturday, we meet up again for an After Party.  In other words, we will be doing a lot of partying  come Friday and Saturday.

I usually take a lot of photos and video and make them into a YouTube video.  It should be pretty interesting.  Stay tuned.



New Coop Weathervane

When Hurricane Ike came through a few years back it did a number on our stained glass weathervane on the Coop. 

Up 'til now it has either been too cold or too hot or too wet or too windy or I was too lazy to do anything about it.

But food cooked in the Coop just doesn't taste as good when you know something is amiss.

So I loaded up on strong caffeinated coffee this morning and took on the task of replacing the old weathervane with a new brass one Spring Hen gave me for Christmas.

Knowing I could possibly break some flagstone if I should fall I thought it through and made me a type of chicken ladder to get from the bottom of the roof to the top. I included a hook on the upper end to keep it from sliding and installed some speed bumps to slow my slide should I fall.

Then I had to climb up with a sack of tools to remove the old and see what I needed to install the new one.

After a few trips back and forth, I finally got 'er done and survived for another day. Here's some photos.











We won't know for a bit if the food tastes better but the rum and coke I'm drinking tastes wonderful. I'm thinking the second and third one's will too.

I should point out that No Flagstone Was Injured During This Event...

David and Rhonda's Wedding

Judy and I drove to New Orleans to attend the wedding of our nephew, David Ranlett, to Rhonda Ramos.  The night wedding took place in the small town of Mandeville which is across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans.  There was a great turnout of family and friends in spite of a Saints playoff game that night just a few miles away.  It was a nice wedding.

Here they are as Husband and Wife.

We returned home Sunday to await the LSU/Alabama BCS Championship Game also being played in New Orleans. 

It was a fun trip. 

New Year - 2012

First of all, Happy New Year.

Second, we're both happy to see 2011 go.

That being said, we did nothing and went nowhere to ring out the old and in the new.  Well, we did watch the ball drop in NY on TV but three minutes later I was asleep and remained that way until 6:00 AM. 

Meanwhile, I ended the year in a doctor's office.  Yep!  My 'good' knee is really acting up and causing some serious pain.  It may also be causing some back pain that literally puts me down.  The only way I can get relief is to lie flat on the floor for fifteen or twenty minutes.  Of course, the back pain and knee pain could be totally separate from each other. 

The doctor was concerned that I may have a blood clot in my right leg so he made immediate arrangements for me to get a 'doppler scan.'  I won't know officially until tomorrow or Tuesday but unofficially, it's not a clot.  Otherwise I would have been kept at the hospital for treatment. 

The first treatment option will likely be a cortisone injection in my knee.  He's thinking that by taking away the knee pain I will walk normal again which, in turn, will reduce the back pain.  If not, we can tackle the back to see what's causing it.

Anyway, it would appear that I'll be seeing doctors during 2012, just like 2011, 2010, etc. 

Happy New Year

Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve here at the Chicken Ranch and all is quiet.  It's a real wintery day with rain and wind and getting colder.  Perfect weather to stay inside until Santa gets here.  At least I think he's stopping here.  I could be wrong.

Meanwhile, the Chicken Coop is sitting idle because of an electrical problem.  It appears that a rat chewed through an electrical wire 'under' the flooring.  I can't remove the flooring to get to it so I'm having to re-wire around it.  But I only got about halfway done before my knees and back gave out.  Plus, we had to go to New Orleans for a wedding shower.  It was a fun trip which we will repeat in three weeks for the wedding.

Then I'll wait for a nice warm sunny day when my bones aren't creaking to tackle the Coop project again.

Maybe there's some football on TV to keep me occupied this weekend.  If not, there's always a book to read, movie to download or a nap to take.

Merry Christmas all...

Thanksgiving 2011

Most Americans have plenty to be thankful for.  So 'Thanksgiving' is truly a day to celebrate.  And that's exactly what we did this year.

Judy's brother, Curtis, and his wife Sandra drove over from Kerrville, Texas. Her sister Joyce, and husband Allen flew over from New Orleans.  Actually, they live in Metairie. 

Needless to say, the kitchen got a workout, as did all four of the Big Green Eggs in The Coop.  The smells in the air was wonderful and all of the food turned out delicious.

We also took advantage of the occasion to celebrate Sandra's 70th birthday.  That meant extra dessert for everyone (who can turn down birthday cake?).  By the end of the day we were all popping but we still had to watch some football to complete the day.

Here are a few photos of the occasion.

Yes, we had a good time.