TIME HAS COME TODAY

There it is!


Thanks to those of you who have stuck with me during my silent time... and your well wishes for my Ducks!


As for my silence on Funch, well... this was a difficult holiday season for me.
The first time away from my kids at Christmas since they were born.
I had a yo-yo work schedule. I'd stay until close, then be back to open in the morning. Did not leave a lot of time for much of anything.


Shoot, I didn't even bake anything!
The Bear tells me... "Well, the toys arrived but the UPS guy ate my cookies!"
Oops!

But the holidays are over... Hooray!
Now on to more important matters, like football.

Finally the day has come. What a long, long wait for a bowl game.
Sheesh!

We are almost so revved up that we can't stand ourselves. Yesterday the entire day of television was Duck dedicated. We topped it off with a video of a Beaver VS Duck game from 2008. The cheering was my lullaby.
I woke up to Ducks on ESPN. Now all I have to do is wait for 7 hours, 53 minutes and if Mickey would only hold his hand still I'd tell you the seconds.

Commentators have said wonderful things about the Ducks and Auburn.
But I have noticed something. When they talk about Auburn, its as if no other valuable Auburn team member exists but Cam Newton. Hey... the guy is a freaking monster! He earned his Heisman. But he has to have a team to support him.
Not even a freaking monster alone can carry a game.
I feel a bit bad for those other good players who have been reduced to shadows by the super nova Newton.

I find that I feel that way about the way the ESPN media hype also began to present this as a "Cam Newton VS LeMichael James" game.


EXCUSE ME???????

They must have bumped their quacking heads!


How can you be a sportscaster and not notice the obvious about the Ducks?
Ok, maybe not obvious to anyone who does not pay attention to them or who is busy rooting for their team. So let me tell you what makes the Ducks someone to contend with now.


The Ducks play as a real team. There is not a super star mentality here.
There is a team mentality that works like a marvelous Rube Goldberg Machine.
The action is fast, you never know which way what is going to happen...
but the Ducks do. Each one is focused, knows his job and the jobs of those around them so that on a split second notice, they can make alterations with confidence.


While I am glad that we have LeMichael James, I am equally glad that we have so many others as well... all who make a huge difference in game play. You have heard some of those names... Darren Thomas, Jeff Maehl, Josh Huff, D.J. Davis,
Brandon Bair, Terrell Turner, Kenny Rowe, Spenser Paysinger, John Boyette, Cliff Harris and Casey Matthews... to mention more than a few! And so many other that I have not mentioned. But you hear those names up there, all of them, not just DT or LeMichael. Because they are a diverse team, who had deep reserves and a whole lot of talent.

That is the point. The Ducks have more than a few good players... and they all play as a team for the team.

Cam Newton may be a freaking monster... my Ducks will be David to Auburn's Goliath.


I BELIEVE!


Now I'm off to don my Duck earrings, just purchased at the Duck Store at Autzen for this special occasion, my fighting Duck tye-dye tee and get ready for the Duck game party at T and K's house.
I have no doubt at all that it will be loud there today.
Very loud.

Let the battle begin!

HUNGRY

Imagine him seasoned with bits of parsley, sauteed to perfection and then liberally dipped in garlic butter.
Joy!

I'm off on a food trek.
I admit that for years all I truly did in the kitchen was make very large meals for a large family with a limited budget on a daily basis.
Not much fun, a chore for the most part.
It takes the thrill out of food when you come home from work tired and do not really feel like making a Thanksgiving sized meal, but someone has to feed the masses I call my family.
I fell into a pattern of making many of the same things over and over.
Blah.

Since my resurrection from the dedicated and somewhat depressed mom in charge into a single person with no more obligations to rear children and became a happy singleton, I have found renewed interest in the delights of food exploration.


Much of this is due to Randy, who is a great cook as well as back yard griller. I have always loved to eat food... which as you know can be a problem. The fact is that feeding children is not exactly a task that involves much praise from the eaters. You set something in front of them and they eat it.
Randy is generous with compliments and suggestions. We often cook together and for each other. Add into this our friends, T & K... who have a great recipe box as well and are generous with offerings... and we are all off and running. Especially with the new to me event of tailgating and game day BBQs.

Still, much of what is prepared involves store bought products that come out of a jar or bottle. For example, the guys like to make appetizers. We do muscles, clams or oysters on the grill and then dip them in a Thai Sweet Chili Sauce or like the smoked steelhead on crackers with cream cheese and the Red Pepper Jelly.

My new food trek is about making those jar items fresh myself.
So I've collected recipes for both, as well as Spring Rolls and I can hardly wait to try them out. I am sure that we will prepare them as directed the first time and then tweek them until they are to our liking.
For me, that's the fun part. But then, that is what is fun about cooking here... being able to present something that delivers satisfaction and pleasure to my eaters.

Its been a food sort of summer for me and I'm thinking that will continue for a long time. You know about the berries, the green beans and other various foods that I've been packing away in the freezer.
Yesterday I did up a bunch of corn for freezing... shucking, blanching and cutting nibblets off of fresh organic cob corn.
These were all grown at Mom and Ron's in their huge garden.
Next summer, armed with my compost efforts, I will have one of my own.
All I have to do is get through winter.

This year, Randy and T are not hunting.
Next year they will again.
I love the idea of giving my market less money.
By growing, hunting and fishing... well there will be much to play with in the kitchen. Plenty to share!

The Duck news is good. The Ducks, though behind at the end of the first half did what they do very well... that is to own the second half of any game. Final score, Ducks 52...Stanford 31. Both the Ducks and Stanford are ranked in the top ten nationally. This latest victory... and a heck of a game it was... pushed the Ducks up from their rank of 4th into the rank of 3rd. WOOT!

Unfortunately, next week our game will not be televised.
You can bet our ears will be glued to the radio.

On the issue of employment, I think I may have hit a bit of luck.
I am at this point willing to do just about any honest work to be able to contribute and then take my time finding a better job.
We happened to be in the liquor store yesterday and on impulse, I asked if they were doing any hiring.
She said that there was a part time job opening up, to drop by a resume.

Its only part time, but here... I can get part time employment benefits, which would resolve the issue of my qualifying for them.
The liquor store is quiet. Here, they are state controlled.
You don't go to the market for hard liquor, only beer and wine.
Hard liquor is all they sell.
Its small and as I said, quiet and calm.
I think that might be a good fit for me.
But then, maybe something better will show up too.
For now, that would do.


I hope you all had a fun weekend. Let us know what you were up to or what your hobby or passion is these days.

GAME DAY

Since Blogger has some issue with uploading my photo... sorry, just words today,

and quick ones at that.

The biggest news here is that ESPN's 

Game Day

has come to broadcast from Autzen Stadium.

Fans were up way before dawn flooding Autzen's outer areas to show their passion.

And passion we have here!

Today's game... our Ducks vs Stanford

will be aired on ESPN.

Kick off here is at 5:00 and I've no idea how that translates for any of you, but if you can catch it

it should be a hell of a game.

Stanford is ranked 9th and the Ducks moved up one space to be ranked 4th.

Don't let that fool you, it could go either way.

On the opposite coast... best of luck to 

Boston College's Eagles today too!

If I can, I will try to catch that game on TV.

This morning Randy and T are working on some cabinets, until its time for T to go to Autzen.

We'll be staying at home for this one.

No worries... we will do it right.

On the menu: 

Cony dogs with lots of onions,

smoked steelhead with cream cheese on crackers with hot pepper jelly.

Adult beverages of course.

Today the side by side cities of Springfield and Eugene will be LOUD.

Tomorrow I expect near silence...

voices will be left behind in Autzen

and all that will be left will be the horse whispers of fans... and hopefully the legacy of another win, evidenced by the big grins on local faces.

Whatever you do this weekend, enjoy and stay safe.

If you have a game... good luck to your teams.

If you have someone you care about...

be sure to show it and be thankful.

Life is sweet!