Hoerman's House

Air Show

I know I have mentioned that I don’t really want to talk about work on here but today was a different kind of day, work wise anyway.  I worked in the mobile command bus at the air show at Whiteman Air force Base today, and will again tomorrow.  It is a joint effort between the air force and the agency that I work for.  It was a long day but I had such a good time watching the military stress out while I sat and watched them.  And, I have to say, the people watching was primo. 

I didn’t get many pictures taken today.  I was very bummed that I didn’t get one of the B2, but will try again tomorrow. I was also disappointed to the point of tears, that I couldn’t manage to get a picture of the people dressed up as Darth Vader,  Boba Fett, and a storm trooper.  I kid you not!!  They were there and I didn’t get the picture!  I doubt that I will be lucky enough for them to show up again tomorrow. Huge bummer! Anyway, this was my view….a hot dog and nacho’s stand.  Wow, I know!

Another vantage point of my view….

Hopefully I will have better shots to share with you tomorrow.  Is it terrible that I would rather get the shot of Darth Vader over some fancy billion dollar airplane?

Never Ending Hair

Tis the season for shedding.  Petey seems to have a never ending supply of hair.  It truly amazes me that he can lose so much and not be bald. I don’t brush him daily like I should, but Glen took him out on the back deck and let the fur fly.

Petey doesn’t mind being brushed, except for his backside and back legs, and then he growls and carries on.  But a good brushing wouldn’t be good without getting those areas too.  So, Glen brushed him and listened to Petey’s protests.

It wasn’t all bad.  There was a good belly rub afterward so all was forgiven.

Snuggle Buddies

Lilly really loves Petey.  Petey tolerates Lilly….but deep down I think he loves her too.

Trapped in the 80’s

This is Lila.

Lila is a female Eclectus, and true to her species, she has a serious bad attitude.   She is a total perch potato and screams her displeasure if she doesn’t like what she is listening to.

I have discovered that she adores listening to music from the 80’s.  I have also discovered, that although I like that genre of music, after a while, I would really like to listen to something else.  Or even, (gasp), silence.  My bird vet told me that a lot of birds really enjoy listening to children’s music.  I gave it a shot, and thank you God, she doesn’t like it any more than I do.  So bring on the 80’s….just not the fashion or big hair.

Playing with fire

I often wonder what goes on in my critters brains.  For example, Lilly has quite an expression on her face in this picture…..what could she be thinking about?

Thoughts put into action = kitty being put in time out.

Venison Kebobs

Glen and I had a nice venison loin that we needed to decide how to cook.  After looking around both online and in some cookbooks we finally decided on the marinade recipe.  It came out of one of my cookbooks, Barbecue Nation by: Fred Thompson, (not the actor/senator).  I made the marinade and introduced it to the venison last night so they could get nice and acquainted.  It turned out so yummy! The meat was so tender and paired with bell pepper, mushroom and bacon….well, how can you go wrong?

These weren’t kebobs in the traditional sense.  They were half a piece of bacon wrapped around a piece of marinated venison loin, bell pepper chunk and half a crimini mushroom secured with a toothpick and grilled.

Petey felt it was his duty to guard the grill.  Doesn’t he look so refined with his legs crossed?

Here is the recipe for the venison kebobs.

Venison Kebobs
From: Barbecue Nation by: Fred Thompson

Marinade:
¾ cup canola oil
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dry mustard
¾ tsp dried parsley flakes
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
 1 garlic clove crushed
¼ cup bourbon

2 pounds boneless venison loin
2 green peppers, seeded and sliced into thick strips
2 large Portobello mushrooms, sliced
1 pound bacon, cut in half

1.  Combine the marinade ingredients in a blender or food processor.  Blend on high for 1minute.

2.  Cut the venison into ½ inch wide strips and place in a zip lock bag.  Pour over the marinade, seal the bag, squish everything around to coat, and let marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

3.  Remove the venison from the marinade, keeping the marinade.  Take a piece of venison, a piece of bell pepper, and a slice of mushroom and wrap it with a bacon strip.  Secure with a toothpick.  Place these “kebobs” back in the marinade for another 30 minutes at room temperature.

4.  Meanwhile, light a charcoal fire or preheat your gas grill on high.  Oil the grill’s cooking surface.

5.  Remove the kebobs from the marinade, discarding the marinade.  Place them in the grill and cook, turning just once, for a total of 5 to 8 minutes. 

Bentley

Went to my mom’s house after work this morning to help her clean her house.  She is a serious neat freak, so needless to say I was not optimistic that I would clean up to her standards.  Things went better than I expected and she tolerated me pestering her beloved dog, Bentley.  By pestering I mean, trying to get the little guy to stand or sit still long enough for me to take a half way decent picture.  He is a medium sized long hair dachshund who, by the way, greatly dislikes the hustle and bustle of housework, (my kind of dog).

I finally managed to get a picture of him as he was trying to avoid me.

So, in an effort to get him to quit avoiding me, I went back to ignoring him and cleaning things.  Next thing I know he is posing like the little playboy that he is.

nap time

I have been working the overnight shift this week.  Tonight is my last night for a while, thank God.  I slept good today, but after eating I felt pretty darned sleepy, so I decided a nap was in order.  Petey thought that was such a good idea he almost beat me to the bed.

Lilly came in after I got all nice and comfortable and snuggled up behind my legs.

Eva…..well, she never wants to go night night….ever!

I need to go shopping and get a new blanket to cover her cage.

resistance is futile

Oh Mr. Doughnut….why do you tempt me so?

Even though yesterday was a state holiday, (Truman’s birthday…I think), there was a training class during the day and someone, an evil someone, had brought doughnuts.  So when I got to work, there they were, staring at me.  I swear I have not one shred of will power and my resolve quickly broke down.

I couldn’t just stop with one, that would be too practical, so I had two. 

E-reader vs Library

It was about a year ago that I made the decision to buy myself an e-reader.  It was a difficult decision to make because I do love to read books.  I love the feel of a book.  Being able to curl the left side of a paperback and turning pages of a good “page turner”.  A good friend had an e-reader, (Kindle), and she said as much as she also loved books she loved her e-reader more.  So, after longingly looking at the Kindle on Amazon, I just bit the bullet and bought one. 

Today, I went to the library to pick up some books for my mom to read while she recuperates from her back surgery.  I realized that I miss going to the library.  I miss the atmosphere that the library has.  I also realized, the library missed me.  I had a nice conversation with the librarian about why she hadn’t seen me in so long.  As much as I do love my Kindle, I may just have to continue getting my mother books to read, even after she has gotten better.