Isn't that adorable?

Mike might kill me for this one, but I couldn't resist. So cute! Jez just loves to snuggle in the winter. Her amazing cat powers can get us to adjust to her every whim. She has trained us that when she tickles our face with her whiskers we lift up the blankets so she can crawl in. If we are in too deep of a sleep to feel the whiskers she resorts to licking the nose or eyelids. I think a person in a coma would wake up when that tongue scrapes across their eyelids. When she get too hot under the covers she finds her way to the pillow (usually mine because she knows she can take it over and leave me with a corner...maybe).

Good thing she is so soft and furry and cute.

Sad Sunday

Otto

A puppy abused and broken.
In need of rescuing.
Saved by love and tender care.

A brave character stoic and forgiving.
Suffered through surgery and rehab.
Always ready with a kiss.

A dog hyper and rambunctious.
Too smart for the average owner.
Patience and training prevail.

A friend playful and fun.
Always ready for a game.
Too cute to ignore.

A companion steadfast and loyal.
Ever present concern without judgment.
Unconditional love.

An old soul painful and failing.
In need of relief.
Laid to rest with unselfishness and grief.

For those of you who do not know the story of Otto I will briefly explain. He was rescued by my Mom and Tom when he was a about 6 mo old. The original owner kicked him and dislocated his hip and on another occasion broke his leg. When I told my mom and Tom about the situation they decided they would rescue him. He required surgery and rehab which they paid for and patiently preformed.

His back leg never did heal correctly, but that didn't stop Otto. He was a crazy puppy. Since he had field dog blood(meaning he was bred to be a hunting dog, not a house dog) he was extra energetic. My mom and Tom got him into training classes asap. This helped, but he was a smart dog and needed proper stimulus. So they gave him things to do like getting slippers(he knew which ones were Tom's and which were my mom's).It took many years but he started to calm down.

He was there for my mom and Tom through my mom's cancer ordeal. He gave them each what they needed from him. After my mom died we were glad Tom had Otto to help him through it. Unfortunately, Otto started having problems shortly there after. It turned out he had prostate cancer that spread to the bones. He was in much pain. A few weeks later, Dec 6th, we had to put him down. Otto will be missed.

The Supper Club Phenomenon

Mike and I went to Simpson's Red Ox last night for supper. It is a local supper club. To the locals a supper club is nothing new or interesting. However, my brother mentioned that the rest of the country really has no idea what one is. He was asked, "Are there dues to pay?", "Is it an elitist club?" (Remember he live in MS, so it was assumed supper clubs were for whites only.) Amusing as this was to us Midwesterners, when we thought about we could see why they would think that. Club would normally indicate some kind of membership.



Here is a little history on supper clubs. Supper clubs in United States are a dining establishment generally found in the Upper Midwestern states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. They were traditionally thought of as a "destination" where patrons would go to spend the whole evening, from cocktail hour to enjoying night club style entertainment after dinner. I found this interesting as there is not any after dinner entertainment anymore. They feature a casual and relaxed atmosphere. Menus included dishes such as prime rib, steaks, chicken, and fish. An "all you can eat" Friday fish fry is common at supper clubs in Wisconsin. They are normally family owned and can be found in every town small or large.



As we were waiting to to be seated, Mike and I were talking about what makes a supper club a supper club. We noticed the bar area is bit darker then other restaurants. It is definitely a social place as you will commonly see generations of families frequenting a particular supper club. Drink of choice? Old Fashioneds for the adults and Shirley Temples for the kids. For those of you who don't know what Old Fashioneds are, they are another Midwestern favorite. A drink normally made as a brandy sweet, or a whiskey sour. A more involved explanation will have to be for another blog.



Growing up in WI, supper clubs have been a way of life. Every Friday night as a kid waiting up to an hour or so in the bar with my parents to be seated to eat deep fried Perch or another fish of some sort. Fond memories? I am not a patient person when it comes to eating, but I did love my Shirley Temple.

A headless deer

A recap of Deer hunt '09

On opening day the areas we scouted on our trip to the cabin a few weeks ago had several cars parked near the trail entrance. This is a sure sign there are already hunters in your prime spot. Prime spot unfortunately does not be secret spot.

After stumbling around the woods in the dark, Mike finds a spot he feels is adequate. It in fact turns out to be more then adequate as three doe walk by him. The problem is, it is only 9 am on opening day.

He asks himself, "Do I take her now and ruin my chances at a buck?" "No, this must be a good sign that deer are in these woods, it is only 9 am. I will have another chance at a deer, maybe a buck."

After he basically shoos her away, he sits and sits and sits. No more deer seen that day or the next. Not even a deer seen the following weekend. Well, he did say he kicked one up during a drive (walking through the woods to push deer to other hunters). I guess it was too far in the distance or too deep in the brush to take a shot.

Not only is he kicking himself for passing on that doe opening day, but I am kicking him too. I told him before he left for the hunt, "it's not about a trophy it is about food on the table". We have a pretty sparse freezer at the moment.

So, what is this about a headless deer you ask? Well, his uncle has more time and land and friends with land to hunt. This allows him to harvest multiple deer. More then he needs, since his wife hunts as well. He had an extra deer he gave to Mike. Again, you ask "why no head"? He shot a nice 8 pointer. Since it was a nice rack he cut the head off so he could mount it European style(remove all flesh and bleach the skull nice and white). That is how we ended up with a headless deer. He was a big boy so it will mean lots of venison for us.

I had planned on taking a picture of the deer if Mike got one, but I decided a headless deer would not make a good picture. So I just added a picture of deer from the Internet. Much nicer.