Happy New Year

As the sun sets on another year, we marvel at what a year holds in store. We began with a cruise from Hawaii to Tahiti and then wintered in southern Florida spending time with family and friends. Spring came and we moseyed on up to northern Minnesota stopping near St. Louis to visit my dad for the very last time. Summer at our lake spot near Duluth, MN, close to family and friends, was warm and wet--the lake being over flood stage for most of the summer. By mid-August we began the fall migration south to Florida which took three months and 16 states via Albuquerque, NM for the Balloon Fiesta, again spending time traveling with friends. December found us on another warm Caribbean cruise and back “home” to spend Christmas with family. God blesses.

As the sun rises on Galveston Bay and the year 2013 we have a lot to look forward to. Of course the New Year’s resolutions are usually the “GO” words--GO on a diet, GO to the gym more often--I found my new resolution on the back of a pick-up truck: GO braless, if pulls the wrinkles out of your face!

Wishing you a year full of love and laughter,

Mitch and Barb

PS: For our RV friends who might be looking for a warm spot to park for next winter, there may be some open spots in our little RV park here in Homestead, FL. Google Earth to check out the park at 28300 SW 147th Avenue, Homestead, FL 33033, or give Manager Glen a call at 305-247-8915 for information.

Merry Christmas!!

Praying your Christmas is filled with the joy of Jesus!

Caribbean Cruise Dec. 2012

We had a great week long cruise of the western Caribbean. We stopped in Cozumel, Belize City (where this great little island on the barrier reef is located),  Honduras, and Grand Cayman. The weather was great, the ocean calm, and we enjoyed our time at sea!

We're finally in Homestead

Ahhh, we're home again, at the southern one anyhow.

We moved into Homestead then went to see the boys--and Caryn and Jason too.

Our projects for the day: making party mix and baking sugar cookies. Rylan and Brayden enjoyed the frosting the best!

Wauchula, November 2012

We are finally in Florida, but we have a lot to do. One is visit our Quebequois friends, Francine and Gilles, at their park in Okeechobee. We had a great visit which included a bike ride along the ridge of Lake Okeechobee and a great picnic half way through. We like ice cream at our half way stops, but some nice red wine is even better!










The other thing we had to do was visit Jan and Marshal and do a little Bradenton: lunch at the Star Fish for some great grouper, and of course, the Wine Tasting at the Yacht Club. Too bad I forgot my camera, the wine and the food was fantastic and the company was the best, Jan and Marshal, Debbie and Cliff, Emily and Steve, and Sandra and Dave. What fun!!!

A Chopped Champion

We got back to the Cities for our last dinner with the kids, but schedules were hectic, and the girls got fed an put to bed before Shayne got home with a dinner plan. He always has an interesting "dinner plan". Tonight he decided to give Mitch the a rendition of the Chopped competition. He had purchased the mystery ingredients and Mitch had 30 minutes to cook a dinner for four. Shayne, Sarah, and I critiqued, ridiculed, commented, and drank wine while he cooked with fresh wahoo, dates, napa cabbage, and basmati rice.

 

Hands up at three seconds left and he had plated his four meals.

Our dinner consisted of a napa cabbage salad with spicy peanut sauce (topped with apple jelly for color--one of Sarah's complaints) served with a bed of basmati rice cooked with chopped dates, soy sauce, and worchestershire sauce, and topped with grilled wahoo with an Asian glaze.

It was a lot of fun and it tasted really good!

Next time Sarah and I do the shopping and Shayne is in on the competition.

A Dark Rum Dinner "Up North"

Jim's favorite venison dinner is Rum Spiced Venison Chops and since we had to purchase a new bottle of  dark rum, Carol and I decided to "add" rum to the rest of the meal. We tried different drinks to start with and the Mumsicle, a takeoff on a Manhattan, with dark rum, bourbon, a splash of bitters, garnished with a cherry, hit the spot.

We ended the meal with a French Apple Custard Pie, delightfully rum sautéed apples with a vanilla custard topped with a sliced almond crunch. YUM!