Puckering Toddler

This is what happens when a toddler insist on chewing on that "yellow thing" in her mommy's glass of iced tea. Now that's perfect!

Hudson Bay Point Blanket Update

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Hudson Bay point blanket was essentially the primary form of currency between European traders and Canada's First Nations (Native Canadians) and Native Americans (Native Americans). The blankets were used as trade for assorted goods but primarily for beaver pelts, which at the time were highly sought after for use in the European hat making industry.

These blankets from Hudson Bay first appeared in the 1780's and are still available today in various colors and sizes. They aren't cheap and you're not likely to find them anytime soon at Walmart, Canadian Tire, or even Tim Horton's-although you may want to stop by Tim's at your earliest convenience and wash down a maple sugar donut with a piping hot cup of Tim's finest roast bean.
At the time of this post, I'm giving consideration to making it official that every cabin and cottage in North America should not be considered "fully outfitted" until it's home to at least one of these darn blankets. I'll of course let you know if I make that declaration official.

During our recent stay at the Blickstead Cottage in the Highlands of Halliburton, I had the pleasure of reading up on the HBC point blanket, compliments of our good friend "Martimus" who strategically and thoughtfully placed a book about its history on the nightstand beside our most comfortable guest bed. I know it must have been Martimus who put it there because had it been her life partner (husband if you prefer) Major Rick, it would have likely been either a sword, a Cuban cigar or perhaps a nearly consumed bottle of very expensive single malt/single batch Scotch whiskey (not that there would have been anything wrong with that).

In any regard, should you decide to look into purchasing a point blanket for your private use, I recommend you not just grab your mobile device and jump on Amazon.com, hellbent on rushing into a purchase without clearly and soberly thinking it through; that would not be prudent. From what I understand, these blankets are one-of-a-kind and come in many colors, shapes and sizes, like some of the Canadian CEO's I've ran into over the years.

As I conduct further research into Hudson Bay's most famous wool widget "Of All-Time", I'll keep you posted....

Fireplace

 It looks like you won't be needing this much longer unless you live substantially further north than California, Missouri. Spring has apparently arrived in the Ozarks. If you're not sure where the Ozarks are, give my friend Big Bear a call. He can be reached by yelling out your back door, providing you live in Rogersville, Missouri and don't spend most of your time in China looking for a factory guy who can make your widgets for less than the other guys are making their widgets. Which brings me to the point: we need more Chinese made spatulas!
I'll keep you posted....

Walking in Venice

I wonder what the folks in Venice do when they want to go for a walk? I'll ask Klietus to do some leg work on that. I'll keep you posted regarding what he comes up with: I'm sure it will be good.

Codeman and Gary

Renowned Texas exotic animal whacker, Gary Mack (Loadie Lou's father-in-law) made his first appearance at the cabin recently along with his youngest son, Codeman, and my son-in-law, Stinger. At the time this shot was taken, Gary was telling a story about the first time he drank a beer. He wasn't able to recall all the details, which is understandable considering most of us would also have a difficult time recalling the specifics of things we did when we were 8 years old.

In the event Gary ends up remembering more details surrounding his first beer, I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, it's beginning to feel like spring in Southwest Missouri...

Big O Happy Head

This reminds me of the old saying "A face only a mother could love". But in reality, Bulldogs are very well tempered and all things considered make a much better house critter than the average goat, based on what I understand about the average goat. Since Judy Judy won't allow Klietus to have a dog in the house, maybe she'd rather he get a goat. I'll do some leg work on that and of course will keep you posted...

Between None And A Bunch

Somewhere right now someone's thinking about Spring. Once Spring's here they'll start thinking about Summer and when Summer's finally here they'll start thinking about Fall.
Right now I'm thinking about March 3rd and enjoying the small respite we have today before getting blanketed with the ice and snow they're predicting locally. Considering the weather gal's calling for 2-4", we'll likely get somewhere between none and 3 1/2 feet. If I were in the weather business, I think I'd forecast something in the range of negative 23 inches to possibly so much snow you won't be able to find your house even if you're in it. That would be a pretty safe forecast and might even result in  keeping most of the old guys off my case who have a long collective history of complaining about the weather.
If Marsha ends up getting a lot more snow at her place than we do, I'm going to be pretty upset. I suppose it is possible, considering she lives so much further north than we do.

I'll try to keep you posted on current and future weather related goings on, but if I forget, you should be able to get a pretty good idea by just looking outside.