Absaraka

While being driven across the state, I couldn't help but snap a passing shot of this exit sign to Absaraka. Perhaps this is alphabetically the first town in North Dakota.
Zap is probably the last.

It seems one of my favorite morning radio personalities in the area is always talking about Absaraka, North Dakota.
How else would I know their team name is The Crows?
And how else would I know this town has an airport?
Last Saturday when this photo was taken,
the landscape and sky looked very Vikings!

Dining Room

Last night, Kit wanted to start getting the table ready for Thanksgiving Day.

If you're having folks over for Thanksgiving dinner, it's nice to have a Dining Room. Not until recently, did we add a dining room table and chairs to this space. For quite some time, this was merely a walk-through area between our foyer and our main upper level. You had to watch your head as you passed under the hanging fixture.

I would like to give thanks for owning a home, that has a Dining Room, which now also has a dinner table. Now, I just have to wait until 4 o'clock to make use of it. :o)
Happy Thanksgiving everybody.

Rising Water

Travelling east-west across North Dakota, there appear to be a lot of bigger lakes where there used to be smaller lakes or ponds. It's pretty evident that the water is on the rise due to all the treelines that are newly standing in water.

The increase in the amount of water would be great if you're a duck or a migrating goose. It wouldn't be so great if you're a road, railroad track, farmer's field, or someone's home near water.

Maybe global warming will make North Dakota a popular year-round vacation destination.

Remembering Winter

It's been so mild here during the month of November, I had to look back at pictures of last winter to remember what it was like.

If memory serves, this was a very cold winter morning. Just as the driveway got shoveled clear, the plows came by clearing our street, and left behind a huge hard-packed snownami ridge. Besides building character, our North Dakotan winters do help keep out the Riff-Raff.
I still like to do it the old-fashioned way: with a big shovel and a hot cup of chocolate milk coffee.

Keep On Truckin

We drove across North Dakota this weekend. Luckily, the weather cooperated. Fargo to Bismarck can be a nice three hour drive. The clouds of geese in the sky just to the north of I-94 looked like locust swarms, just west of Tappen. On the return trip, there was a very strong wind out of the south (from right to left in this picture).
Every time we passed a truck, we had to try and time it in between gusts, in case the truck blew over.

That's a big 10-4, good buddy.

Egg Nog

This could be called my Nog Blog.

I know the year-end holidays are getting close when Eggnog starts showing up. It's probably not the healthiest thing to drink in the long-run, but who doesn't like Eggnog? A tasty combination of milk, cream, sugar, and beaten eggs, along with nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla, it's my favorite Chistmas-time treat. Eggnog Recipes

Snow Flakey

This 6-sided snowflake was created at this website. You can cut, preview, cut some more, and then save and/or send snowflakes to your scissor's content. There is also a gallery of 20 million flakes to look through. Tis true, no two flakes are the same.

Where Zen Is

An Add-On Poem by Kit & Johnnny.
Title: Where Zen Is.
Date Written: November 11, 2009.
Copyright © 2009. All rights reserved.
{Line 1: Johnnny, Line 2: Kit, and so on and so forth.}

Title: Where Zen Is.

Take me to the beach
Where Zen is within reach
Everything is here
Which leaves nothing to fear
Write a paragraph, then a book
Tuck it into a secret nook.

An Add-On Poem by Kit & Johnnny.
Title: Where Zen Is.
Date Written: November 11, 2009.
Copyright © 2009. All rights reserved.
{Line 1: Johnnny, Line 2: Kit, and so on and so forth.}

Space Elevator

It's been called the Beanstalk, Space Bridge, Sky Hook, Space Lift, Orbital Tower, Space Ladder, Orbital Elevator, but I like Space Elevator.

At the recent Space Elevator Games in the Mojave Desert, competitors have been experimenting with bold new technologies to bring this idea from Science Fiction to reality. Just imagine, no more space shuttles having to blast off in order to gain access to orbital space. Vehicles would be power-beamed up a cable anchored in space. I would not want to be stuck in the Space Elevator on the 4,000th floor in case of a technical malfunction, but I'm sure the view would be fantastic.

Olive Oil

Just like Popeye, we love Olive Oil.

ChiliTown

Tonight, Kit made a batch of chili!

This will be my department's entry into my company's chili contest luncheon for United Way fundraising.

Kit stirs the pot full of secret ingredients. However, for this special occasion, the official ingredients list will be disclosed (without amounts, of course):

London Broil steak, diced tomatoes, onion, green pepper, garlic, beef broth, kidney beans, oregano, paprika, and a pat o' butter.

The final ten ingredients all start with the letter "C":

Chili beans, Coriander, Cumin, Cinnamon, Cayenne pepper, Cholula hot sauce, Chili powder, Chocolate, Corona, and a home-grown poblano Chili.

Thanks for the chili, Kit!

Study In Contrasts