bigugli

They were holey and dirty. That boy's feet can curdle milk!

Yup! My son has brought 2 pairs back thus far. The one time he was actually wearing them into the store when we made an unscheduled stop at BPS. I felt sorry for the poor guy behind the counter.

I hope you read them the story first.

All I seem to need is a pair of ice cleats and good gloves. My son has been very good at keeping his Dad well equipped with rods and reels. That aside, I guess the best present would be an invite to another fishing lodge/camp north of the 17.

Love liver as long as it is not overcooked, tender with a hint of pink, served with a mountain of fried onions and bacon. I have no problem chowing down on that for breakfast, lunch or supper.

As a scoutmaster, I would usually organize a stone soup cookout during campouts . They would get told a version of the story, and as the story was told, each cub or scout would take their turn adding their contribution to the pot. There was just one twist. Scouter Bruce contributed the meat, and that remained a big secret until all had stuffed themselves full. I was also known for serving up breakfasts of "train smash" or "Green eggs and ham"

Sorry to hear that about your mother. I am thankful that in our household life centered in the kitchen. Long before my grandmother developed alzheimers and dementia, I had already learnt and mastered most of Gram's old favourites. Part of growing up meant sitting yourself in the kitchen to "help" Gram with the baking. At 5 or 6 that meant "testing" the batter and helping to decorate the cookies, making your own personal sticky bun, and scraping the bowls clean when all was done. Man, what a sugar fix that was. By age 13 it meant you were doing the mixing and kneading of the dough, and shaping the loaves of bread when Gram's arthritis started to bother her hands. Going to the meat shop to pick out the biggest and best turkey and ham under My Gram's watchful eye and helping her prep the beast for the oven. Same went for Swedish meatballs or cabbage rolls. There was/is no recipe. it's all about taste and texture. I'd give up everything just to relive one of those Christmases with my Gram

Two days before Christmas, one of the co-workers at the "clock" would come around work with a big roasting pan full of fresh ollie bollen and a bowl of icing sugar to share with every one.

A couple of times a year, I start off making a pot of soup. By the time I go through the cupboard and the freezers, cleaning out remnants, I wind up with this massive pot of stew. Never turns out the same, but it always tastes darn good and never lasts long. Kinda like making "stone soup"

In the last snow storm, I sat comfortably at home. Listening to the radio news as they were talking to a supervisor at an accident reporting centre. He was asked if snow tires were having an impact on accident rates. His response was that "there were almost equal numbers of vehicles with, and without snow tires", showing up at the reporting centre. The officer also stated that many people have a "false sense of security" when driving on snow tires or operating 4WD/AWD vehicles. Just reinforces the idea that the driver is the problem.

Out in the KW area, a number of quality meat and poultry shops had to be a little innovative. Not only do they have their home shops. Some have taken to expanding their businesses through St Jakobs and Kitchener markets. I also prefer the local free range eggs I pick up at market. Mind you some of the best meat around comes from the local Mennonites, and that is strictly word of mouth. I spend a lot of time at the market, both selling our produce, and doing most of my shopping. I really believe in knowing where and who your food comes from. Of course, we are pesticide free growers, as are the friends we barter with.

Not all farmers participate in the factory system. There are still a lot of independent family farms turning a good business. They are doing OK because they do not participate in the "conglomerate" as you call it. Being independent of that system also means having to work harder, and being more creative.

Almost forgot the Mrs' peanut brittle. She wasn't well enough last year to make any, but the smell in the house, right now, is heavenly.

Oh My! Some one has dared to eat the sacred cow/muskie/pig/trout/whatever. Same argument, only a different season and species.

Livestock theft happens more often than you realize. One fellow, a few years back, was brazen enough to steal straight from the auction yard. They finally caught him, but who knows how often he had done it before.

Can't beat a breakfast of eggs taters and bass cooked in bacon grease. My arteries are cracklin just thinking about it.

And the prices at the St Jakob auction have been a little crazy some days because the numbers of animals are not there.

Check with some of the bakers at St Jakobs for your #1 pick. I know some of the bakers make a wicked German poppyseed cake

last year, there was a long winter, and a feed shortage. That forced a lot of livestock farms to seriously cull down their numbers. Pork was quite cheap last year. Roll into 2014, and the price of beef and pork goes up considerably because there just aren't the numbers of animals available for the slaughter house. Some of the prices at the auction got kinda crazy. I buy meat in bulk every fall. Last year I bought bulk lean ground beef at $1.29lb, this year$1.99lb. Whole pork leg went from $.99lb to $1.49lb

Looks like you're doing just fine out there.

Mine can't wait to get me out of the house. I drive her nuts when I gets restless.

Seeing as Simon started the Xmas music thread... It's only 2 weeks til Christmas. In my family, that means getting very busy in the kitchen, preparing a feast of Christmas goodies. Like most Finns and Swedes, there is no shortage of comfort foods in the household. Last night we started by making 5lbs of Swedish meatballs. I still have to crank out 4 or 5 batches of cookies, 1 or 2 batches of pulla (Christmas bread), pumpkin pie, turnip and squash casseroles, devilled eggs, etc... From the store I need a supply of fresh nuts, ambrosia, and 3 or 4 types of sil. This list does not include all the favourites that mother has started to prepare. She already started a week earlier.

Got about 6" so far. perfect day for painting and tying bucktail jigs.

That was a long, long time ago.

I have a habit of finding the rotten board on the dock. My son has his own special curse while icefishing. If there is any open water nearby he will find it.