Elks Prom

We went to the Purple Ball again this year. It's typically the weekend nearest Valentines Day. Fellow Elks Brian and Kristin, the parents of our very soon to be born grandson went as well. We had a nice dinner and went next door to the dance. It's just kind of fun to get dressed up and go out and have a good time. Nothing dramatic. Just some good, clean fun.

Look. We clean up ok, don't we?

I Think We'll Go on a Walkabout

So Ryan called saturday morning and wanted to know if we'd like to met him & Kristie at "the new spot". I had other stuff to do, but since the ladies were to come on this one I thought it sounded like fun.

So we went. We hiked in from Rutherford while RyKri hiked in from Boydsville. We met around 11:00 and set about gathering wood and starting a fire.

Several weeks ago Ryan and Kristie had gone there and apparently some... I assume juveniles, had been there with a hatchet and hacked down a small but living tree, and hacked into the bark of a couple of the nice ones by the fire ring. We're not too happy about that.

We cooked food over the coals, sat and talked in the 50 degree sunshine, and shot at soda cans (which we do clean up!) Vicki shot my .45 revolver and Ryan's .40 automatic. She thought she might want to handle the revolver since ... well, it's there to use in a home defense situation and it's good to have fired it and know what to expect.

A sharp cold front arrived around 2:20 pm and it started falling through the 40's. We left around 3:30 for the hike out.

It was a good day to be out.

One More Superbowl Observation

I'm not a huge sports fan anymore, but I can appreciate a good game. I can appreciate talent, heart, and effort.

All of which were summed up on one play in the Giants' final drive. I believe it was a third and a not-so-trivial 5 with 1:15 left to play. It looked for all the world that Manning was going to be sacked for a hefty loss bringing up a fourth and very long. He was sandwiched between three defenders with maybe one of his guys. One defender had a good hold on his jersey.

And somehow, in a Tarkenton-esque manner, he managed to twirl and pop out of the crowd. He found Tyree 30 yards downfield. Tyree, in turn, was well-covered and jumped to catch a high pass, ultimately holding the ball against the top of his helmet with two hands as he was brought to the ground. The ball didn't come out. That's tenacity.

If I were going to make a "who wants it more?" video, the slow-motion footage of that play would be a top choice.

(while it lasts, here it is in German)

Best Superbowl Commercial

This one made watching the game worth it. Oh yeah, it was a good game, too. We were both rooting hard for the Giants in the end. And we were rewarded ;-)

I absolutely lost it over this commercial. I inhaled salsa. It hurt.

The Rest of the Weekend

When I got back from walkabout, Kevin and Angela were here, as expected. They're moving the last stuff out of their old house here before the lease is up. They loaded up the old Toyota truck and drove it over here. Kevin fixed some chicken taco stuff and we had that, then stayed up to about midnight talking.

Went to the Elks for breakfast this morning where Brian and Kristin joined us to make it a complete family affair.

I suppose we'll watch the Superbowl this evening, though I don't think either of us really cares who wins. Vicki's leaning Giants.

Rapelling?

Me?

Ryan wanted to show me how to do it. I suppose it isn't like rock climbing, or especially cliff-climbing -- which I can't see myself doing.

We went on walkabout yesterday to the New Spot. Ryan brought ropes, a carabiner, and a decender. And of course all the usual walkabout stuff.

We hiked in in the snow -- about an inch fell on Thursday night, but the day warmed to 48 degrees and all the snow on the southern slopes melted off.

It was sunny enough to start a fire with a magnifying glass and some dry leaves. Ryan brought his grill and made a poor boy packets, and I brought a cornish game hen.



Also used up a bunch of old .22LR ammo Ryan said he needed to use up. I did my best to chase an empty soda can around on the ground with some hand-to-eye coordination practice.


We did the rapelling while lunch cooked. And passed the time with a little Wild Turkey and a pipe and before we knew it it was time to go.

16 Years