Busy

One of our neighbors took pity on me this morning. He saw me mowing the front yard on Thursday with a (gasp!) push mower, and inquired as to the status of our riding mowers. Neither one was working. So he came over this morning and did some troubleshooting and gave me a first rate lesson in mower maintenance. First he charged up the battery. The mower started, and died. We commented on the age of the gasoline and poked around a bit. The air filter look okay, but I cleaned it anyway. Then the neighbor noticed a stray piece of fuzz, or something else suspicious, and popped the cover off. We found this:

The critter nest covering the air-cooled engine might have had something to do with it not running. We put in fresh gas and changed the oil, and low and behold, it seems to be working great. I'll find out for sure tomorrow afternoon.

This afternoon was spent doing errands in town, and I OC'd. Kohl's, Target, the mall (from one end to the other (including JCPenney and Chick-fil-A) and Lowes. The only comment I got was from the cashier at Target.

Her: "Nice gun."
Me: "Thanks!"
Her: "Are you a cop?"
Me: "No. SD, what's the best defense against a bad guy with a gun?"
SD: "A GOOD guy with a gun!"
Me : "Cops can't be everywhere all the time, and it's my job to keep her safe."
Her: "You can do that?"
Me: "Yes. Open carry is legal here without a permit. I also have a permit so I can carry concealed."

So, yay. A positive experience and maybe someone new is considering options she didn't know she had.

UPDATE: Lunch on Sunday?

The Unofficial "Hey, Look! Nobody is Running Away Screaming When I Open Carry Day" is this Sunday. A couple of us located in the DC/Fredericksburg area are planning on getting together for lunch in the Stafford/Quantico area. Anybody want to join us?

Any input on time and place? I know nothing about the area, but found these:

Dougherty's Tavern

Globe & Laurel Restaurant

Jimmy The Greek Family Restaurant

County Fare

I know nothing about any of these places ... I just did a search on "Stafford VA dining" and these came up. Let me know if you have any preferences, otherwise I'll draw a name from a hat.

Forty-eight

When I turned 35, my father informed me that I was officially middle-aged. I begged to differ. Since he was 72 at that point, I told him I wasn't there yet -- and he almost made it to 95. Both of my mother's parents (born in the 19th century) lived into their 90's.

But today I completed my 48th trip around the sun. There's no denying I'm middle-aged -- whatever that means. Most of my contemporaries have kids in college, not kindergarten. I'll be 60 when Sweet Daughter graduates from high school. Hopefully, I'll be able to pass on some of what I've learned to smooth her path just a little, and encourage her to find her own way, wherever that takes her.  And if nothing else, maybe I can pass along a little wisdom from the Duke.

"Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learnt something from yesterday."  ~John Wayne

You make the diagnosis

Sweet Daughter and I did our annual strawberry picking trip yesterday, and it was HOT. We got home in the early afternoon and Shorter Half was getting ready to go troubleshoot why the riding mower wasn’t working. After cooling off a bit, SD asked if she could go play in the wading pool, so I went outside to fill it up. I noticed the lawnmower battery plugged in to the battery charger just outside the door, but didn’t see SH. I walked around behind the house and saw him flat on his back. This, I believe, is what they call a “clue” that something might be amiss as was the fact that he was in the grass, in the sun, was sweating profusely, and had his left forearm in the air with the hand curled up like a claw and didn’t answer the first couple of times I called his name. Near as we can tell, he was sitting down in the shade, stood up too quickly, started walking, got dizzy and passed out, and fell on his hand.

SH was convinced it was just soft tissue damage, but I called our Friend-the-Paramedic who advised us to head into town to the urgent care center. In under 5 minutes, Sweet Daughter threw together a “go bag” that consisted of a paper box lid, 5 stuffed animals, two packages of cheese crackers, a bottle of water, and two other small toys. She did a great job -- those toys (and snacks) kept her busy for the first two hours of our wait. The last hour was spent with us girls outside and SD using the box lid like a sled to slide down a small hill.

During those 3 hours SH got x-rayed, splinted, and other assorted tests run. Now he has to go make an appointment with a specialist to get it set properly. The question is, is his hand broken in 2 or 3 places?

Click for a better view.

In memoriam: Joseph G. Kriss

Joseph G. Kriss: June 1, 1916 – May 16, 2011

Joseph Gibb Kriss, 94, of Byron, MN, died Monday, May 16, 2011, in Rochester, MN.

Joseph Kriss was born June 1, 1916, in Pittsburgh, PA, where he was raised and educated. After attending Carnegie Tech, Joe worked as an engineer at KQV radio station in Pittsburgh.

In 1942, after Pearl Harbor, Joe joined the Army Air Force and was stationed in Big Springs and Midland, Texas, where he trained bombardiers. In April 1944, he went overseas with the 8th Air Force at Deopham Green, England. As a B-17 bombardier, he flew 30 missions over Germany; 15 missions as lead bombardier. He was awarded the Air Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, for exceptional bombing ability over Berlin, Germany. In the spring of 1945, Captain Kriss returned to Eglin Field, FL, where he was later discharged.

He was a member of the Mighty 8th Air Force Historical Society, the Distinguished Flying Cross Society and the 8th Air Force 452nd Bomb Group.

After WWII he returned to his job at KQV. In July 1946, he went to work in Washington, DC, for WRC television. In those early days of television, he worked several different jobs from cameraman to video engineer. He also spent time at the White House and met Presidents Truman through Carter.

In 1947, he married Barbara Alexander, and they raised their four children. After 33 years with NBC, they retired to Rochester, MN, where Barbara passed away in 1984.

In 1985 he married Elaine Wangen. They traveled from coast to coast visiting their children and attending his 8th Air Force Bomb Group reunions. They moved to Byron, where they celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary last year.

He is survived by his wife; son, three daughters, his three “bonus children”, 10 grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and his dear cousin.

Prayer to St. Peter

A drink in need of a name

Lemon Balm on the left,
Bergamot on the right.

Being a rum drinker, but never having had a Mojito, I decided that needed to be remedied. So, I went out looking for recipes. I found that Mojitos require light rum. Michael W. has introduced me to Black Strap Rum, and I now find light rum to be an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. And I didn't think that dark rum and mint would go together too well. So, what do do about that Mojito? Why, substitute ingredients, of course!

For a Mojito, one generally muddles together mint leaves, sugar or simple syrup and lime juice. Then you add light rum, club soda and ice.

I substituted lemon balm or bergamot (yes, like in Earl Grey tea) leaves for the mint, used a simple syrup made with raw sugar and kept the lime juice. Then I added dark rum, tonic and ice.

It's looks like something that came out of the bottom of a cypress swamp, but oooh, it's lovely. The lime juice and quinine in the tonic keep it refreshing, and the bergamot or lemon balm add another nice citrusy layer. Now I just need a name for it. "Swamp Water" misses the mark entirely. Michael W. suggested "Cypress Cooler" or "Noise Suppressor". "Noise Suppressor?", you ask. Two of these and the noise of every day life just sort of fades into the background.

What should I name it?

UPDATED to add: A naming contest!