WOW - ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!

I give up.  Just when I thought warmer weather was here to stay - down goes the temp.  I woke up this morning to 27 degree temp and awful looking white stuff on the back porch.  The white stuff was a cross between sleet and snow.  It made it up into the mid-high 40's.  Tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same.  Guess I'll not put my long johns away anytime soon. 
So - since we were gonna put can or recessed lighting in Cathy's kitchen, I figured this would be a good time to put in an attic ladder for easier access to the attic space and possibly provide some additional storage space.  I needed to look at the install area from the attic so up I went.  Our insulation is a blown-in variety rather than the batting.  It's pretty messy and awfully dusty but I made it across 25 feet of attic to take a look.  I'll need to clear all that insulation away from the install area so I can see what I'm doing for the ladder instal, then I need to clear smaller spots for the recessed lights to avoid a really dusty, dirty mess in the kitchen.  Took most of the needed measurements, then came back down and buttoned up the small closet access hatch to the attic.  Surprisingly, even without insulation against the upper steel roof, the attic space was just about the same temp as the inside of our house.  Now - while I was doing all this stuff, Cathy was preparing for our evening meal - Korean Barbeque.  Thin strips of beef are marinated in mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar. chopped scallions, sesame seeds, garlic and a few other odds and ends.  Before adding the meat to the marinade, about a half cup is set aside to be used as a sauce for the rice.

The meat strips are then cooked in a electric skillet, dipped in the sauce and laid over the bowl of rice.  The sauce, which you will remember was set aside from the marinade, mixes with the rice, giving it a super flavor.  Combine that with an excellent wine of your choice, which can also be your favorite beer, and you have a meal to remember.

Of course Cathy seldom stops until she's completely surprised me.  And she did it again!!!

Apple pie from the apples she had canned last year.  Man was that a super feast.  Topped it off with a lively cup of java and that made my day, Cathy's too.  We're both sitting back quite content with ourselves.  In Japan that same meal is served in the restaurants where you sit on cushions on tatami mats at little tables barely a foot off the ground.  There's a gas hibachi grill in the middle of the table and all the food is brought to your table where you cook it yourself, to your taste. Of course, neither Cathy not I are flexible enough anymore to sit at a table that low.  But we used to and we took the kids with us.  Well that'll just about do it for tonight and hopefully no heartburn.

First Arrow Head of 2015

Saturday was such a nice day, which lately has been very unusual, - so I decided to go hunting for arrow heads on the logging road below the house.  We've had some torrential down pours and that's what usually brings them to the surface, especially near steep embankments.  Anyway - I hadn't been on the road more than 20 minutes when I spied this.

If you look closely you can see a grey area in the middle of the picture.  That is what you usually see.  An old timer once told me to look for color not shape cause shapes are harder to find and you seldom see them fully on the surface.  

 This is what I uncovered from that flash of color.

And after washing it off I have a rough point.  It's badly worn and all the breaks and badly worn areas are really old -  so this was probably discarded as of no use.  But I like it and it will add to my collection.  Starting to get that ole spring fever.  The grass is greening up and trees are budding out and they're predicting freezing temps for Thursday - Saturday, with snow likely.  Now ain't that the HOOTS (substitute your own word here).  This same scenario happened a couple of years ago and killed off a lot of plants, not to mention that years production of walnuts, hickory nuts and berries of all kinds.  We'll just have to wait and see what the impact is.  That's that old Global Warming for ya!!  Yuk Yuk

Almost Spring???

Ah well - Here we are now thinking it's Spring already and what happens.  It starts raining again and the temp drops to around 35 overnight.  Ain't we had enough of this crap.  It's not just the weather so much as it is being cooped up in the house.  I really truly prefer being outdoors doing outdoor stuff.  Patience is truly a virtue and I gots not virtues, therefore no patience.  COME ON SPRING - WHERE ARE YOU...
Cathy finally got her dining room set that was being held pending the sale of our old set.

It's smaller and takes up a lot less room than our older set.  It even gives us room to hang a picture on the wall and we can actually walk around the table without turning sideways.  It's really a nice set and it's solid oak furniture made right here in Tennessee.  FINALLY - something that ain't made in China.
Yesterday, when the weather was oh so much nicer, I was looking out off the back porch and saw the annual turkey rites being held on the hill behind our house.

This was the perfect opportunity for me to try out my 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens.  Didn't have time to set up the tripod and the longer you move around the more likely they're gonna spot you.  So I just squatted down and used the porch handrail as a rest.  Still didn't get the sharp focus I wanted but it was close.  There were about 6 or 7 hens feeding about 70 feet below this guy and they seemed to be completely ignoring him.  He sure was strutting his stuff.  I'd say he was about 600 feet away when I took this photo.

Cathy and I have been having a little evening sit down in our living room every Friday night for well over 10 years.  We call it our Friday night Soiree.  We started this back when we were both still working and seldom got to spend quality together so we decided we'd reserve our Friday evenings for just the two of us.  Cathy usually prepares something, we have a nice bottle of wine and watch a movie on the TV after we've eaten.  It's just a nice quiet way to cap off what usually was a hectic week.  Now lately - it's just a nice tradition we intend to continue.  This particular meal was buffalo wings and potato salad with a bottle of Riunite Moscato.

Another Exciting Adventure

Our next excursion is to the 1983 Sapporo Snow Festival.  Ok, Ok, quit laughing.  I told you when I started this that these stories would be from years past - So - get with the program.  Hokkaido is the northern most island of Japan, which is located a few short miles from what was then the USSR.  Each year in early February, the city of Sapporo hosts the Snow Festival which is a huge international draw.  People come from all over the world to visit and compete in this festival.  It starts with the local Japanese Defense Force loading tons and tons of snow into huge forms, based on the size requirements of the carving.  They may form several blocks and set them together for the larger and more detailed structures.  The snow is tightly packed and left to sit for awhile until it hardens enough for the carving to begin.  It may take a month or so of trucks hauling snow before all the forms are filled in preparation for carving.  Then teams of snow carvers converge on these preformed blocks to carve their entry for the festival competition.  I'm not sure but I believe that 1983 was the first year that the USA entered a team but forgive me if I'm wrong.
Actually I didn't go - Cathy and her friend, Maddy, flew up to Sapporo and stayed about 3 days to tour this event.

They stayed at the Sapporo Luna Hotel in downtown Sapporo, which is right where the action is.  This is Cathy standing at the hotel entrance.  This festival actually occupies three different sites - the Odori  site is right downtown and close to all the hotels. 

Maddy, Cathy's friend, is standing in front of an advertisement for a Hong Kong something-or-other.

This is one of the main streets in Sapporo during the evening.  I' not sure if this is normally a sidewalk only or if it's closed to vehicle traffic only during the festival.

 Now remember - these things are huge.  You may be able to judge their size based on the people standing in front of the structures.  This  structure is at least 2 stories tall. 

This is a cathedral but I'm not sure of its name.  It stands about 3 stories high.

This carving is of Osaka castle and it's really detailed.  Next I'll show this castle after dark:

Almost all of these large sculptures are lighted as soon as it gets dark.  People are touring almost round the clock.

Not all the sculptures are gynormous (huge).  These are traditional Japanese figures carved from smaller snow blocks.

This was the USA's entry and it just had to be football.  The Japanese liked it and it was quite detailed.

Not all the sculptures or carvings are made from snow.  There are many smaller ice carvings lining the walkways and they are just as detailed as the larger sculptures.

Nothing like a locomotive to pike your interest!!!

And here we have Cathy showing off and wasting film.  Yup - this was before the era of digital cameras.  Cathy is standing in front of a Japanese Brown bear which is native to the Northern Hokkaido island area.  They're comparable with the American Brown bear and can stand over 7' tall, weigh over 1,000 lbs and have claws up to 4inches.

This is an interesting concept.  Sapporo has an underground mall for shopping during really inclement weather.  They're exactly like the main street shops but are located underground for easier access.
And that just about does it for this adventure.  Ah nope. Not quite.  I found a neat photo that we took while touring around the Misawa area in 1983.

This is the Hirosaki castle located in Tohoku in northern Japan near the US Air Force Base at Misawa.  This castle was originally built in 1611 but was reconstructed in 1810.  There are numerous castles through out Japan and many are more elaborate than this one.  Very traditional architecture.  And that will end it.  Until next time  - - - Ta Ta