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4 hours in. The charcoal snake is burning slower than I expected so I’ll leave it on the grill & check it at 6 hours.

It's snowing today. Temperature has been around 30 degrees all day. Makes for a wet, heavy snow that gets greasy on the road surface. I had to drive 40 miles to a rural client today. Router issues. We had a couple inches of snow and the roads had not been plowed. I was driving about 10-15 mph below the posted limit, yet quickly caught a guy driving 20 below at best. His speed changes were erratic. I didn't like the idea of having to brake to avoid him on those roads. There was a paved county road that would add about a mile or so to my drive, but it beat following this clown! Plenty of tire tracks on the county road going North. I was able to drive at the speed I had been driving on the highway. Then I had to turn West. No one had been on that road yet. Solid snow cover! At this point, turning back wasn't a great option. I decided to drive carefully as it was only about 3-4 miles on this road. Initially things went well. I was keeping the speed below where the traction control would light up and staying towards the middle so I could straddle the crown of the road. Kept my inputs to a minimum. Tried to keep things steady. The car veered left. I got off the gas and kept steering more to the right, but it was not responding. Shit, shit, shit, shit! I was figuring I was going to have to call my boss to let them know I was in a ditch. Just then the front tires bit and, you guessed it, it veered to the right. I think at that point, the car had slowed enough, and the drag had increased on the tires to where I was able to collect the car again. I crawled along the road until I connected with the highway. This highway didn't get the same amount of traffic as the first one. There were tire tracks and you needed to stay in them. if you didn't, it would pull your car to the ditch or oncoming traffic. Based on the swerve marks, I wasn't the only one experiencing this! I drove out of the worst of the snow about 5 miles from my destination. Took care of the client and headed back. In that hour, a good portion of the highway snow had melted down. It was much safer driving back. Only the last 7 miles to town still had significant cover. Got back to the store safely. Luckily most of my work has been remote sessions since then..

Just went on the grill. I’m gonna give it about 5 hours on the grill and then instead of redoing the charcoal I’m going to transfer it to the oven to finish off another 4-5 hours. I did a lot of YouTubing on slow cooking on a Weber kettle grill so practiced with a pork shoulder Thursday. I think I have it dialed in so well see later I cut some of the fat cap off and placed it on top so the fat will render into the brisket.

So, the forms for the concrete footers are ready. It snowed last night. They have covers on the work zone, as it waits for concrete to be poured into the lovely lumber channels. Next step, Stem walls. Hubby has been running the backhoe around. He has moved a ton of dirt. We have plenty of it to be relocated. He still needs to move a whole bunch. That is about all the progress. Oh, I picked out a stove. https://www.donsappliances.com/product/bertazzoni-master-series-30-stainless-steel-free-standing-dual-fuel-range-mast305dfmxe-159921 I am sure that @bikeman564™ will be pleased with the choice. Also, I picked backsplash tile https://www.tilebar.com/jamesport-sage-6-x-12-glazed-porcelain-tile.html?gclid=CjwKCAiA4o79BRBvEiwAjteoYKvlFzTq53Qokoxs0qTxjd0ayryH-f6R3E2tBJRYgqtSwNCt0q9b9hoCxRsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds Bright white cabs and a marble looking Quartz will be my counter. Floor that waterproof vinyl stuff. Easy, durable. Yes, please. We got commercial quality and it will be a warm wood color. Walls, this Chantilly lace color https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/oc-65/chantilly-lace?color=OC-65 Still considering exterior color for the home. I am leaning to a straw color. Hubby wants bright white.

My Dad is really struggling today. Can’t really wake up, couldn’t eat much lunch. Even with oxygen, he struggles to catch his breath after the slightest exertion. He’s dozing now, but I wonder how many days or weeks are left. Almost lost him in July and again in October.

I’ve had good experiences smoking on a Weber kettle. You’ll be fine.

Had dinner..finished just in time for a birthday zoom...touched base with a few people..and sipped a Scotch TV was boring..so I loaded my dishwasher..and washed the bits..then bleached my tea pot to prepare for some awesome tea RG sent me ....and I got out the old blade and went to work on my stovetop....yeah I got more to do..but these are usually morning chores

click here to see his shirt.

The same sun and the same chickens but I did take these pictures tonight while I was bringing in wood. The chicken kept coming over to see what I was doing.

Drink coffee, run on the treadmill, work in the garage, watch a movie, spank the monkey

Our second winner will be drawn between the 2 other correct choices. @Zephyr and @jsharr I think jsharr may have figured it out from my facebook but I didn't post any rule against that and I also even posted a picture here with a spoon with the dark edge showing so you all had a chance at the clues. I think @Airehead is a very fair and unbiased person so I would like to ask her to draw a straw, flip a coin or some way pick our winner from those two. I didn't think that I may have the expense of postage to the Great White North Land, (Canada) but I will keep my word and ship a spoon to which ever one she draws as the winner. The spoons available will be posted in a couple days when I have them both carved so @ChrisL can have first choice of spoon as our grand prize winner. If @Airehead will do this great service for me there will also me a small spoon for her. This spoon would be suitable as a Christmas tree ornament, breakfast cereal spoon to eat your cheerios or maybe even a dog medicine spoon. I hope everyone (even @Kzoo) enjoyed the contest. Picking the wood or bitching about how it was run.

Sons GF and WOChrisL just finished. We let my sons GF decorate the tree as her mom is kinda of a humbug. She chose the lights & ornaments. The tree is seriously crooked tho! 😂

You are wise to the ways of nature, smudge! Hummingbears and all.

4:24 am. Contest is closed. First place winner is (drum roll) @ChrisL with his correct choice of walnut. the bowl and both boards came from the same 2 foot long section of walnut log.. I like carving the sapwood, green. before it dries then microwave drying it.

A guy I know had a power port fail and rather than spend big bucks replacing the mother board the port was part of, he soldered a few wires on and let a jack hang out the side of the lap top. Worked a charm, life was good, then TSA got real interested in the wires hanging out of the laptop....

Steak 🥩 Baked Potatoes 🥔, Asparagus with Red Wine. At my parents.

I spent the whole day sorting through paperwork and cards and whatnot that my wife had stacked by her chair back when she was handling all her own bills and insurance and stuff. I’ve been putting off messing with her personal stuff but she wasn’t going to do it. I put up our Christmas tree, she liked that. I have a roast in the oven for dinner.

So I'm in a meeting for work and I gotsta tinkle, so I pause the video, get up and go use the bathroom. I return in haste and sit down quickly before I had proper leverage and somehow I manage to sit down on my left testicle. It hurt like hell and I involuntarily exclaimed, "Ugh. I crushed my balls". It was only then I realized in horror that my mic was not muted.

Zero miles today. It has been raining here. We put up our 8th and last Christmas tree.

No dog walks today. It rained yesterday afternoon, over night, and it just quit raining less than an hour ago. I got to help WoBG put up Christmas tree #8. I'm DONE with trees. Next we will celebrate our dog Parker's birthday. 1 year ago today, he came to live with us. He was 12 last year an we rescued him from the local vet. Bella will get some treats too...

I did some nose work practice with each dog. We are going to try to earn some titles in scent work. Container trials first. 12 boxes that look the same. One has birch oil on a swab in it. Lindy likes to signal the find by banging it with his paw. Apparently this is ok unless he flips the box. I am trying to teach him to be gentle. If he titles in containers, outside searches and buried searches, he will move up a notch toward getting his Airedale Versatility award. I like the idea of him being well rounded in multiple dog sports.

Now I'm hungry for buttered toast.

For those who like to buy a Christmas ornament to commemorate each year....

Still sipping coffee..., and it turns out I have turned watching our new robot vacuum clean downstairs into something of a spectator sport

FIFY @Razors Edge

Trying to drink coffee, cook my wife’s breakfast, give her medicine, try to drink coffee, put wife on bed pan, try to drink coffee.

I am sure I have told this story too many times already, but what the hell. I knew it was going to be trouble when my father bought a chartreuse Fiat 850 Spyder with the rocker panels kicked in. One look at that and I knew it was trouble, and sure enough, it was! That ()*&^ car started only when it damn well felt like it. (Oh, it' snot so bad, just once. )

Mrs was getting the same screen on her new work lap top. But it wouldnt restart. After she and her IT fought and messed with it for over a week, they just sent her another new one. While shopping for a replacement, I'd avoid any refurbished Surface that looks like someone threw it against wall several times. Just sayin....

My guest room is ready. I hope we can have guests again in 2021.

This isn't the most expensive cut but it is so good tasting and tender with great texture - BBQ beef roast marinated in the bag you buy it in (3.04 lb that's 1 lb of marinade). This is what the 2 lb Tri Tip Beef Roast looks like while baking: Here's the bag it came marinating in: Here's a plateful of 8 oz. of beef -before I added a little A1 Sauce to it- along with 1/3 of a box of Kraft Thick N Creamy Mac & Cheese with half a chopped fried sweet onion added, 8 oz. of steamed broccoli, and a handful of shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Fiber, in broccoli and onion, knocks way down the rate carbs get absorbed into my diabetic bloodsteam and is the reason I can eat that much mac & cheese and not see my blood sugar spike way up from the pasta.

Things I would never get refurbished include anything that power is constantly cycled on. Laptops, TVs, smartphones, etc just do not seem worth the hassle. They are refurbished for a reason, and you are reasonably certain to be getting someone else’s problem that nobody bothered to fix properly. I would go to Costco and get a new laptop. They will happily take it back if it doesn’t work right or even if you say you didn’t like how the box it came in smelled.

This one is more my speed.

That method doesn’t work on my road. If the bumps go away you are in trouble because you are off the road.

Jeeps are for driving; not for prissy man-cave kitchens. Kitchens are for cooking, eating, and socializing in. That example works for none of those. As far as looking for junk Jeeps I know of, So7 has in the carport, a Dana 60 axle on an engine hoist, a 99 Cherokee on a trailer, an 07 Wrangler daily driver with 2-year old expired tags from OH, and another Dana 60 axle in Fredericksburg waiting for trusses to be welded. Then there is the rock buggy, also in Fredericksburg waiting for minor items like an engine, brake and steering systems, seats with harnesses and some other stuff. I’m good with junk Jeeps right now TYVM.

Along with the logistics peeps. The Pfizer COVID vaccine is manufactured here and everyone has their toe on the starting line waiting for the gun to go off. Air and ground distribution nationally and international carriers lined up to fly in and get their share.

Jalapeno Poppers from the place around the corner, and a new to me beer, Founders Jefferson Golden Ale. The poppers are so so but the beer is excellent.

I just put ours up.

Yeah I struggled with the meat purchase. I went to Costco & the Pre trimmed brisket was the right sized but I figured I needed the fat to smoke it and it was pretty lean. So I got the smallest whole brisket that was 17 lbs. But I probably paid $10 for fat... It’s basically the same group as my thanksgiving bubble so 8 people but I’m assuming there will be a lot left over. My daughters MIL really loves brisket & we were all hankering bbq so I thought I’d give this a go. Daughter’s MIL is doing the sides.

Ran errands. Deposited cash and made a $100 charitable donation to a local group helping the food insecure. The credit union I work for gave all employees $100 to “pay forward”. Traded two boxes of books for two vinyl albums and two quilting books at the used book store. We are moving in March and packing, donating and selling stuff we don’t want to move again. First round of shingles vaccine and heating chili for lunch. School work is in the near future.

When reading the story it was like I could smell and taste butter.., then realized I was eating a piece of buttered toast at the same time.

Don't bother me for a while. I need to go get some spoons carved.

@Airehead asked for a picture to show the difference in some of the wood. I don't have a piece of white pine or hackberry here in the house so you will see the rest. From left to right Mulberry, Cherry, Eastern Red Cedar, Black Walnut, Maple. You can see the difference in the ERC and walnut between the sapwood and the heartwood. Eastern Red Cedar is not a true cedar but a juniper. It is the aromatic cedar you would find in a cedar chest or closet lining. The other woods do not have a huge difference in color of the sapwood or heartwood.

I think you are onto something. Every load I take to the woodshed when I come back the chickens are rooting around where I just removed the wood. I saw one of the chickens catch a mouse. It ran away from the other chickens, it didn’t want to share it’s meal.

It’s going to be home.

What planet do y’all live on

Hydroplaning on water is bad enough, but wet heavy snow can be the worst for traction. I've lived in rural IL for a while now. When the snow gets bad, it best to avoid some of the country roads. Unless you like driving by the brail method. If you are too far to the right it gets bumpy. Too far to the left it gets bumpy. No bumps... you are probably on the road.