Blast from the Past - Stuck in the Desert

Stuck in the Desert, originally uploaded by Snakelover61.

OK, first of all, I have been thinking about the giveaway that I mentioned in my last post. I realize that some people may "follow" on other blog sites. Also, some people keep up with my blog through ways other than following. I don't want to make the drawing a complicated process. So I've decided to take out the follower element and just do the drawing based on comments only. Of course, being a follower probably means you read more and thus leave more comments, so in that sense, it still does give a better chance of winning. I'm still thinking of what I want to give away. There may be more than one winner and there may be a choice of prizes. Haven't decided; the wheels are still turning!

I'm also thinking about occasionally blogging a "Blast from the Past" photo like the one above. What do you think? Good idea or no? If this one is well received, perhaps more will follow.

This photo was taken many, many, MANY miles from the nearest civilization in the desert of Big Bend National Park. For those who may not be familiar, this is out in west Texas as Johnny Rodriguez sang, "Down by the Rio Grande." It was the early 80's, before the days of cell phones. We took a wrong turn to a primitive campsite and ended up with more primitive than we bargained for. When all traces of anything resembling a road vanished, I tried to turn around but the back wheels of the car dropped off into a depression.

As you can see, I was still in my redneck phase. My then girlfriend (later to be ex-wife) snapped this picture when I stopped to take a break. I had to jack up the car, one side at a time and put rocks under the rear tires until I could drive it forward. All this with an old bumper jack that had no base, so I had to place the jack on a flat rock and balance the car as I jacked it up. I also had to weight down the trunk with rocks to get traction.

When I first started, both the trunk and the center of the car were completely on the ground with no weight on the back tires at all. We had to pitch our tent and camp out here overnight. The entire community of Panther Junction was just a tiny flicker of light in the distance. No other signs of civilization at all. Got it out bright and early the next morning. Good times!

OK, what do you think? Would you like to see more of these kinds of old photo scans? Or should I stick to modern photography?

My New Mesquite Wood Diploma Frame

Mesquite Diploma Frame by Texas Wild Wood, originally uploaded by Snakelover61.

Handsome, isn't it? My friend, Trey, recently started a new business. It's called Texas Wild Wood and he makes things out of mesquite wood. It's not cheap, but it's expertly crafted. Mesquite wood has a lot of character. Every piece is a little different. I like the fact that he can make many diploma frames, yet mine has a unique character due to the wood used.

I like this frame so much that he is now working on another frame for me. It will also be in my office, but on the adjacent wall and will house the matted photo of the pair of foxes that I took at Mindy's house.

On a side note, I don't have very many readers or followers and I'd like to do something about that. I know that it is traditional to give away something for the 100th post. I'm not anywhere close to that yet! But I do encourage you to add me to your following and to post comments.

At some point, I'm just going to give something away. It will be something very nice. I won't announce the exact time frame in advance or even make a big deal about it. One reason is that's just not my style. Another is I don't want anyone to follow my blog or comment just to get a prize and then fall away. What I'll probably do is put a name in the hat for each comment that has EVER been made to my blog since I started. I'll probably exclude Primitiques 'n Poetry for obvious reasons! (No offense, honey!) ;-)

Then I'll have some way of giving followers extra chances. Like maybe if you're a follower, I'll make each of your comments count twice. Something like that; I haven't gotten it all worked out in my mind yet and I reserve the right to decide the particulars later. But, whatever I do, it will be fair. And then one day, I'll just draw a name out and give something away by total surprise. Well... I guess it won't be a TOTAL surprise now that I've told a rough idea of my plans. But you won't know when or what the prize will be!

So if you're reading this, consider being a follower and/or leaving some comments rather than just lurking. Who knows, it might pay off someday!

No Surprise. Venison is GOOD for you!

I was inspired by FringeGirl's blog to post this today! If you haven't already, be sure to read of FringeMan's success!

I originally found this out when I was looking for some nutritional information about venison for my daughter, who was at the time on Weight Watchers. Thought I would share a little of what I found.

First of all, a lot of the information about venison doesn't seem to agree precisely, although all the news is "good." I think the slight differences in nutritional info is partly because the name "venison" can encompass a wide range of different deer-like animals. And farm raised venison is obviously not going to be as good for you as the venison that you and I are most accustomed to, namely wild whitetail deer meat. Also, it would have to vary somewhat by how you process the meat, how much fat and muscle lining you trim off, etc. So take these "facts" with a grain of salt, but here's some general guidelines.


OK, let's talk nutrients. One 3-ounce serving of venison has approximately:

130 calories
26 grams protein
2 grams of fat
67 milligrams cholesterol
0.9 grams saturated fat
3.5 milligrams iron
26 milligrams magnesium
338 milligrams potassium
3 milligrams zinc
11 micrograms selenium
0.24 milligrams thiamin
0.4 milligrams riboflavin
9 milligrams niacin
0.6 milligrams vitamin B6
1.6 micrograms vitamin B12
1.2 micrograms vitamin K

Source


Venison has fewer fat grams, less calories and more protein than chicken (yes, that's right, I said chicken), beef, veal, lamb or pork. In fact, it has about 1/3 the fat of beef. WOW!

Oh... and regarding Weight Watchers... the nutritional numbers in venison calculate to one weight watcher point per ounce. So you can have a very generous portion for not a lot of points. Good for most diets.

This blog has been a public service announcement! ;-)

It's so great that something this tasty is so good for you! Pass the A-1!

How To Give a Cat a Haircut

Start with an overly fluffy cat. This is my white persian, Jazz...



Next, prepare the equipment. A 15-year-old Robocut and a 1965 model Rainbow vacuum cleaner...



Fire up the Rainbow. Turn on the Robocut. Go over all parts of the cat with the Robocut clippers. Empty the Rainbow each time the water container gets filled with hair. The result...



A happy kitty!

Wordless Wednesday - A Story Without Words

Shrimp Diavolo

Shrimp Diavolo - Served, originally uploaded by Snakelover61.

SHRIMP DIAVOLO
Hot and Spicy Shrimp Over Linguini

INGREDIENTS:
• 1 LB. MEDIUM RAW PEELED SHRIMP
• 1/3 CUP MARGARINE
• 1 TSP WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE
• 1/4 CUP WHITE WINE
• 1/2 TSP PEPPER
• 1/2 TSP CRUSHED RED PEPPER
• 1 TSP GROUND (CAYENNE) RED PEPPER
• 1/2 TSP SALT
• 1 TSP BASIL
• 1/2 TSP THYME
• 1/2 TSP OREGANO
• 1- 1/2 TSP GARLIC (CRUSHED OR MINCED)
• 1 LARGE CAN DICED TOMATOES
• 1 SMALL PACKAGE LINGUINI

DIRECTIONS:
• In a pot, melt margarine. Add Worcestershire sauce and wine. Add the seasonings (pepper, crushed red pepper, basil, cayenne pepper, salt, thyme, oregano and garlic), heating this mixture as you go.
• Add the tomatoes, continuing to heat.
• While all this is going on, cook your linguini in a different pot per directions on the package.
• When the sauce mixture reaches boiling, add the shrimp.
• Cook until the shrimp are pink.
• Serve over the linguini.


Variations and Serving Suggestions:

This is an Italian dish and you have probably had some variation of it at your favorite Italian restaurant. Most of the variations revolve around what kind of meat is used. You can remove the tails from the shrimp or leave them on at your discretion. You can even use unpeeled shrimp, making it a "peel and eat" sort of dish. The more traditional way is to leave the tails on. But I prefer not to have to remove anything while I'm eating it, so I carefully pull the tails off before cooking.

You can also use already cooked shrimp if you want. In that case, as soon as the shrimp is hot it's ready to serve. You can also add slices or chunks of cooked Italian Sausage in lieu of or in addition to the shrimp. Also scallops or even squid can be used. Some restaurants serve a variation made with pieces of cooked chicken. Use whatever meat you want; the secret is in the sauce!

Click here for an easy to download and print PDF file of this recipe.

Funky Cold Patina

Funky Cold Patina, originally uploaded by Snakelover61.

You know, with Mindy around, I sometimes have to move very quickly if I want to blog one of my own photos! ;-)

Kathie, Mindy and I did a little reset at Primitiques on Saturday. My tiny contribution to this little display was the placement of the crate on the right side and leaning the piece of door up against it. The price tag says the champagne bucket is only $55.00. Can that be right?

Christmas Sampler

This is a compromise. I could bore you out of your mind with lots and lots of my Christmas photos. Or I could skip it entirely. I decided to try for something in between those two extremes. I limited myself to six photos. Short and sweet. Here goes.

The now-famous cardboard fireplace.


My son, Dustin.


My daughter, Alissa.


My beloved.


OK, two of her cause she's so darn cute!


And my mom.


If you're a glutten for punishment, you can click on any of the photos and start browsing my Flickr photostream. Otherwise, until next year...

Santa has left the building.

Slowing Down

Absolutely, originally uploaded by Snakelover61.

Wow! Christmas! New Years! Crazy busy! But a very GOOD kind of busy! Now that things are beginning to slow down a tad, I thought I'd just get a quick blog posted. But I took gobs of pictures during the Christmas season and I reserve the right to bore you with them at a later date!

This holiday season was an important milestone for me in that Mindy and I shared it completely. She accompanied me to all my family's gatherings and I to all of hers. Family is extremely important to both of us. So to include someone so completely in it is just about the ultimate compliment. We did share Christmas last year, but not quite to this level.

Anyway, my holiday season was FANTASTIC and the beautiful lady in this picture is largely to blame! Thank you, Mindy!