Speaking of the weather....it's 11pm and still 80 freaking degrees....with 79% humidity! In other words.....typical Fall weather in Florida...... Oh well....at least last week we had a preview of what is to come! On the way home from my last project for the day I stopped at the Dollar General for a few food items. Avocados were (finally) 2 for a dollar, so I grabbed 4! Not sure if your local store will also have this but wanted to give you a head's up. Oh - a good Gunsmoke episode today. Two-parter with Part II airing tomorrow. Donna Mills and Paul Stevens as guest stars along with Morgan Woodward, who was a regular on quite a few episodes. Paul Stevens' character was the aide to George C. Scott's character in "Patton", if you recall. His character's name in this Gunsmoke episode is Cicero Wolfe. You don't hear that name "Cicero" very often. I thought it might be a cool name for a future dog but I think you'd have to use both names (Cicero Wolfe) to really make it work. But using "Wolfe" as part of your dog's name might be asking for too much aggravation, so maybe not such a great idea. But I do like the name.....
Baz— One of my favorite 2-part episodes of Gunsmoke is “The Train”—a train is disabled in the winter mountains with a gravely wounded Matt Dillion on board….
I know that episode well, Bill. It's a good one. A lot of people don't know that James Arness surfed and his son (Rolf) won the world championships in '70, which was held in Australia. His son kept the "U" in their last name "Aurness". In 1970 Rolf Aurness won the Surfing World Championship at Bells Beach and his father James Arness the Hollywood actor (he featured in the tv western drama 'Gunsmoke' as Marshall Matt Dillon) travelled with him to Victoria (Australia). The pair surfed at Bells in the lead up to the event. This footage from John Bennett's film Blue Cool shows James Arness surfing Bells on his Bing Foil.
Tonight it’s round 2 on the pot of white chicken chili- The thunderstorms are hanging around pretty good up here intermittent all day and all night. It’s always good to get to spend quality time with your family. Life is good in Gator Nation!
That's cool video. My first thought was he had to be pretty old, but looked it up and he was only 47 in 1970
Tonight I am making pork loin roast with cabbage, onion and carrots with molasses and beer. And a few other ingredients.
Tonight we’re going to be treated to Ms. Jan’s smothered fried cubed steak and gravy with mushrooms & onions, homemade mashed potatoes, and fresh petite butter beans and whole kernel yellow corn. I will be in charge of frying the cornbread. Ice cold longnecks and chilled wine are also on hand for your pleasure. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Good Rawhide episode on this morning. Guest star was Simon Oakland. Little trivia......Oakland was the narrator for FedEx during the "When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight" campaign. Advertising has really gone down the drain in the modern era. I got stung by a Yellow Jacket this morning while working at one of my accounts. Hit me right on my left cheek up high. I keep one of these in the glove box and immediately sprayed it on the sting which helped with some of the pain/itch but the sucker still swelled up and it's blocking some of my sight right now. I blasted the Jacket's nest with some wasp spray we keep on the premises. And of course the heat and humidity is back. It's always something.... The good news (back on topic too) is I made a killer batch of egg salad last night!
Baz— Sure am glad that you clarified the blocked eyesight—I was kinda wondering what you were working on at a client’s yard with your cheeks exposed…
You guys been hitting the Apple Cider lately? I picked up some at Publix that is a Honeycrisp Blend.....yum!
Today I am smoking a chicken and making a poblano gratin. The gratin has rajas (sautéed onions mixed with poblanos that have been blistered and peeled, deseeded, and sliced thin). Then it is like thinly sliced potatoes with the rajas mixed in with heavy cream and milk and put into a hot oven. Tomorrow I will smoke some pork ribs.
You are always welcome. I have stayed in the panhandle many times visiting Eglin AFB. Usually in Niceville, but sometimes on the beach. Never Destin. Fort Walton Beach was nice enough. The one time it wasn't paid for I was hauling some stuff from Austin to Gainesville right before I started work at UF. Earlier in the year I had driven my stereo (not MacIntosh level, but really good) to Austin to be with my wife to be. I then drove to Gainesville with my stereo to leave in a garage of a guy I knew very well on the faculty at UF, but stayed in DeFuniak Springs (did I spell that right?) in a flea bag motel on the way to Gainesville. I think that I listened to the 1982 All-Star driving that night. The next night I took off at 7 EDT and arrived in Austin around noon CDT the next day. I tried to sleep at the rest stop on I-10 on the Atchafalaya. Too many bugs and too many air boats to get any sleep. And I heard at a phone booth near Biloxi about the birth of what would be a niece later in life. On balance a good night. I know that it should have been faster, but back then the speed limit was double nickel and I didn't push it very hard. I had a truck with Texas plates so maybe a State Trooper from the panhandle would have given me some leeway, but I didn't know. LOL.
