From Marcus

For Marcus, to Marcus, and now from Marcus....

I went to the mail box and instead of my notice that I won the Global Power Lotto prize of ten gazillion dollars, I found a non descript envelope from Austin Texas. Marcus wanted to be sure I was able to fix up some ribs with the proper rub on them. I think a trip to the butcher for a slab or two is in order for this weekend.

Thank you Marcus. I am very grateful...

For Marcus

As many of you know Anna is winterized and sitting out in the middle of a field. It would literally require a tractor to get it out for the ground is as wet as can be. Central Maryland is definitely not lacking in precipitation. So what does a guy with a seriously itchy foot do? He goes on a trip to someplace else. Well, not this time around, maybe in a few weeks, but travel can happen in the mind and also on the dining room table. My buddy Marcus keeps inviting me to come down to Austin where it is nice and warm. I did the next best thing and brought Austin to Baltimore. Through careful and detailed instructions I was able to fix up a little slice of Texas for some dinner guests. Even in Maryland we can have a tasty meal of BBQ. I know BBQ has been discussed on this blog before. I also know I have thanked Marcus at least three time previously for his help at re creating a national treasure in my own home.

What you are looking at is the best ribs I have ever served. Marcus's coaching paid off in spades for sure. The meat just fell off the bones. On the side is pinto beans cooked up in the slow cooker, old fashion baked macaroni and cheese, creamed spinage, and white bread to soak up the sauce. It is the sauce I want to focus on. A true Texan always has sauce with his BBQ, but never on the meat. The meat is always so lovingly prepared that it can stand alone. Sauce is eaten with the meat, but it gets to the mouth via some white bread. Sounds like a strange way to do it, but I would never question how they do it in the Republic. It works, it tastes great that way and I just do it. But the sauce.... Marcus shared with me his Fathers recipe. I have made it a number of times and this is the finest BBQ sauce you will ever try. Funny thing is that for Marcus's family it is no family secret. They give it out freely and encourage others to do the same. I believe in giving credit where it is due, so Mr Moyer, thank you for sharing your killer sauce with me. There is more to the sauce story though. My hard drive crashed a few months back and the recipe was lost to the hard drive goblins. Marcus emailed me a new copy. While typing the email he left off one important ingredient and I took that as an opportunity to make the sauce my own thing. Good thing I make the sauce in double or triple batches so we can keep it in the fridge because my dinner guest all went home with a jar. I am going to pass on the recipe to all of you. However you will need to make it your own too. My 1 1/2tsp of unknown ingredient was Penzey's chipolte powder. That made the sauce a wee bit on the fiery side. So here you all go...

1 pint ketchup

1 1/2 pints water

1/3 cup flour

1 tablespoon salt

4 teaspoons sugar (I usually omit this because the ketchup has a lot of sugar in it)

2 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons Liquid Smoke

1 cup Worcestershire sauce

Combine ketchup and water in large pot. Bring to a boil. Mix dry ingredients together. Add mustard, Liquid Smoke, and half of the Worcestershire sauce. Stir into a paste, then add remainder of Worcestershire. Pour this into heated mixture and boil slowly for 20 minutes. Refrigerate any unused portion. Keeps for several weeks. Sauce recipe makes approximately one quart.

Sam sent me a few more photos of his Boles. As I think everyone realizes, Sam is a very talented man. He is enjoying his retirement to the fullest and he sure has enjoyed working on this trailer of his.

There is that tall refer cabinet you saw as a skeleton. I like his comment he sent with the photo... "Freezer compartment is holding at about minus 5 degrees ...... just right for the ice cream with that warm cherry pie."

Sweet little sink. Remember these trailers had just the basic of services. They really were designed as a place to sleep while on a fishing trip or while hunting. My airstream is a house compared to the appointments in these little canned hams.

Now that is something I hope Sam never does. Keep on trucking Sam, you are doing a hell of an good job.

Sa Wheat...

If you go way back to the beginning of my blog you will read me mention Sam. He was kind enough to help me with some parts for Anna. We have never met face to face, but what I do know about him I do not just like, I envy. He has sent me pictures of his strip canoes and many of him hiking in some extreme mountain setting. But what always takes me by short and curlies is photos of his 1948 Boles. He sends me photos of this trailer in places only God, mountain goats, and winter blizzards belong.

He posted this photo on Airforums and my commentary got me a stack of photos of the nine week complete restoration he just did on that sexy little Boles. I asked him if it would be alright to share them with you, and in a usual Sam response he saw "no problem in that. " Folks enjoy, this is a super sweet little trailer.

I cannot find the first set he sent that show the exterior and new flooring, but there she sits in his barn.

Take note, that is all new wood you are looking at there. Very tight crisp construction.

New plumbing and cushions on top of all new wood fixtures.

Refer cabinet and wardrobe...

That is all spalted birch. I am telling you that is very tight! Not just run of the mill birch, he used spalted. Sam is a man that loves wood.

Sam is a man that knows how to work with wood. I have very inappropriate expletives I want to insert, but I am trying to keep it clean.

I would love to sit there and eat a plate of bacon and eggs... cream in the coffee...

Big snow Big show

Many of you will read this and say 20+ inches? What is the big deal? But here in Maryland 20 inches of snow is our normal snow fall totals. Where I live we felt the brunt of the storm and got the most of all surrounding areas. My unofficial yard stick in the snow just outside the shop door read 26". The airport, where weather is made official is about 4 miles away said it was 20.5".

Not sure how you see it but that looks like a lot more than 20.5" sitting on top of LuLu.

I love a big snow because all the neighbors pull together and work toward getting us cleared out. In Baltimore, when we get an inch the entire city comes to a grinding halt. Schools are closed and will most likely be for the rest of the week. My oldest has been saying "Christmas break came early this year, there really is a Santa Claus."

My youngest has been saying "Daddy I have stepped into the snow and I can't get out!!!"

Something that did warm my heart during the blizzard was my Mail Man coming on foot to bring the mail. He is getting a big gift this year. In his hand among the bills and junk mail was a copy of the Vintage Advantage. This is my last issue due to me resigning from the WBCCI. I really like the Vintage Advantage. This issue contained a very special photo.

Tim had been talking about how difficult it was to find a real beret. All he had been able to find were the polyester one that the Club now sells. I had bought vintage ones for Beth and I but she refused to wear it. It had been riding around in Anna for a few rallies. I went in the closet and presented it to Tim. There was a need and I was able to fill it. I made his day and his gratitude made mine. I really love that photo. I was riding on cloud nine at that moment. I had spent five days caravanning to Madison with very good friends. Dale Schwamborne had been riding with me telling me all kinds of great stories about his life, and it had been one super adventure up till this moment. We were all lined up to parade through the International rally grounds. It was 11 in the morning and we were all so glad to be there. This photo was taken a half hour before I went from club zealot to a disillusioned member.

Sunday Driver

I have always been the type that works just about seven days a week. Often the family just has to deal with this fact. Recently, I have been trying hard to make Sunday, family day. This past Sunday was family day for sure. We hopped in the car and went for a Sunday drive. It sounds so spontaneous as I write it, but it was actually very premeditated. We were to meet our very dear friends Jenny and Robert at the Museum of Natural History. Washington DC is about 45 minutes drive from my door to the door of the President, so going to DC is a piece of cake. Jenny is Beth's oldest and dearest friend. She is called Auntie Jenny by both our daughters and her new man Robert is an awesome guy.

Seeing your kid enjoying what they are seeing is an awesome sight, especially if they are learning something in the process. Ava is very bright and knew a lot about the fossils and dinosaurs we were looking at. She made honor role this quarter. I am still waiting for my bumper sticker that reads " my kid is an honor student at..." I told her I would put it on my truck with pride. The sticker I really have my heart set on is "my kid is the smartest kid in the whole damn school" Hey now, a father can dream.

Halle was even learning some stuff about whales. Did you know how the right whale got it's name? I do. They had a good deal of oil to them. The Whalers(not Bob Marley and Peter Tosh) sought them out due this and they were then called the right whale.

The museum was unusually quiet for a Sunday. That made the entire experience so nice. Last time we were here it was so packed you could barely move.

Since the day was so nice, we decided to walk to our next destination instead of driving and dealing with parking. If you ever go to DC the parking of the car is ten times worse than negotiating all the one way and angled streets. Being able to walk and just leave the car parked was indeed a luxury.

We took a short cut through the sculpture garden at the National Gallery of Art(short cut, yeah right, we spent a half hour there. We would have stayed longer had the security guy not gotten so upset with Halle walking on the grass so I could take he picture next to a Roy Lichtenstien sculpture).

I was most enamored by this new piece that just was added. It is full size tree made of aluminum. I was so captivated I never say who it was by.

We walked up to Chinatown for a Chinese( and Yensan) family tradition of Dim Sum. For many years we have topped off a museum visit with a meal in China town. Unfortunately real estate is so hot in this area that China town has become one block long. At one time is was very large, but now it has been condensed down to just this one section of G street.

The place we usually go to has the best roast pork. I always get a plate of roast pork when we come here. Two years ago I forced some upon a friends son. He is a big fan now too. From what I understand they do not serve pork like this in Wisconsin.

For those who do not know, Dim Sum is a traditional Sunday meal in China. It is little plates of food served to you from a cart. Women push the carts around to the tables and you choose what you want to eat. At the end you pay for what you had. The meal can go on for a long time. There is always something new to try.

If anyone is looking to go try Dim Sum while at the Cherry Blossom Rally next April, I would be glad to take you. I would tell you how to get there, but then I might miss out.

A plug

To the left of this post, you will see my blog list. One of the blogs is by my internet friend Chris Vile. I have plugged his blog before due to it being an excellent read filled with vivid photos of his Airstream restoration. I am sure that most of you reading this have seen his blog and enjoyed it. Chris is a professional cinematographer that specializes in documentary work. His Most recent project is called Airmen and Headhunter. It aired on PBS's Secrets of the Dead. I hope will take some time out of your day to watch it. The documentary examines a part of World War II history very few people know about.

I do not want to spoil anything for you, but it involves a plane crash, a rescue, and some decapitations followed by guerrilla warfare, more headhunting and more rescuing.

Chris is one lucky guy to have a job that takes him to such wonderful locations. Maybe he will take on the real exotic local of Jackson Center and tell the story of Wally Byam someday. Oh, Chris, if you need someone to clean your camera lens or fetch your coffee for you when you do your next project, well, I could be hired cheap.