Hello all

Josh, well done in joining our little blog party here. By the way, that article about toothlessness was revolting. 43% of people in West Virginia have lost 6 or more teeth? That can't be right. How expensive is a toothbrush and some toothpaste?

Kristin, good to hear from you, and that is exciting news about the house! I'm sure it's a little bit of a headache right now, but hopefully it will all be worth it. I actually made some progress on my own house this weekend for a change. I put the final coat of paint on the "workout" room, so this evening I plan on moving everything into it and setting things up. Also, my brother and a couple friends helped me make another run with furniture from my apartment. Basically all that is left to move is my bed, and then I'll be completely out. I had wanted to just move one room at a time, after I had removed flowery wall paper and ghastly carpeting from the new place. But that was just taking too long, and I was sick of having my stuff in two places.

Well sorry for the long blog. It's a slow day at work so far, and I figured if anyone else gets bored at some point this week, at least you'll have a little BLD soap opera reading for entertainment. I'll be sure to keep you posted if there are any further developments (or disintegrations, as the case may be).

JH

Hello hello

Hi All,
Sorry I've been neglectful of our blog, Jon and Jill. But, long story shorter: Jay and I were contemplating buying the duplex that we currently rent because the landlord said that he was going to sell it and we could buy it or move on. We didn't feel like moving, so we considered buying it. The whole situation was suspect, though, because our landlord's lawyer tried to get us to sign a contract at our first meeting. Needless to say, even though Jay has the bar next week, we didn't need that hurdle over to know we had to get the place inspected. To quote the inspector: "Not only would I not buy this place, but I would also move out as soon as I could." I guess our crawl space (a stupid thing they do instead of basements in the South) has the worst mold that he's ever seen. I'm pretty crazy neat in our living area, so I was angry to learn that my living situation is likely the reason that I've thought I was allergic to AL all year. Good news is, we've found a house that we like and we're set to close on August 8. But, it's been very very busy.
Miss you guys,
K

Speaking of Lincoln...

I'm sure we've all heard his many boasts regarding the state of Delaware (most chickens, corporations, and annoying tolls), but now he can add in some pride for that other state dear to his heart, West Virginia. According to CNN, the state that brought us Lincoln is also the most "toothless" state in America.

Just a little tid-bit, FYI.

You should have known...

That Lincoln is a huge proponent of scrapple. I think it was at the New Year's we had at his parents' house that they cooked scrapple one morning as part of breakfast (i stuck with eggs & toast). you should email that recipe to lincoln and see how it compares with what his pop makes. :)

Scrapple Anyone?

When my grandmother moved out of her house, my parents boxed up all her books and put my name on them. This morning, I opened the first of many boxes to find the Prairie Farmer -- WLS Family-Tested Cook Book Centennial Edition dated 1941. I was flipping through the Centennial Recipes (which I guess are ones they had printed previously and found worthy of repeating for posterity) when I found a recipe we just had to share with the BLD from 1905.

Scrapple

Boil a pig's head until the meat will strip from the bones. Chop or grind the meat fine. Skim fat from the broth, return the meat, season highly with salt and pepper, and add corn meal until of the consistency of mush, and cook slowly for 1 hour. Turn into a pan and set in a cool place. Slice and fry.

On that disgusting note, we begin our day.

Long time no blog

What's going on, loyal readers? I had the privilege of meeting up with Josh/ Jill/ Caleb last Friday as they were making their trip to Kansas through Cleveland. I also got to meet several parent/ grandparent/ aunt/ uncle/ neighbor people, so it was an enjoyable evening. Josh bestowed upon me much sage advice during the course of the night, with such nuggets as, "enjoy your time [being single]" and "see this kid here, don't have one." Hahaha. He said it with much love in his heart, however.

Also, Josh suggested that I check out God of War on PS2. Doug, have you or your video-game crazed brothers played this game? I may pick it up this weekend.

I've gotten two rooms done in my house, and the carpet/ wallpaper has been removed from two others (one of which is the "workout" room which is the next priority on my list). A couple more pool cues have arrived, as has the dartboard, so the gaming room is nearing completion. Keriann's boyfriend Mark, who is an excellent carpenter on the side, is going to build me a bar. I'm looking at some of his sketches this weekend. Should be interesting.

Hope you all have great weekends.

JH