Love is Boss

Review and Reccomendation

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 09:27:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

Thanks for joining me today. In honor of America's birthday week, I am doing a brief review of the children's animated series entitled Liberty's Kids. I first saw the program on PBS kids when I was in high school. I later rented the DVD set from my local library, several times, but couldn't locate a copy to buy. While I was working at Menards, I saw the box set on the DVD rack for Five dollars, and couldn't pass it up. The shows are all there, but the trivia and quizzes that aired when the show was on PBS were missing from the boxed set (it's certainly not a major detractor from the version put out by Mill Creek entertainment, but having them as a special feature certainly would have enriched the educational aspect of the DVD set). That said, the lack of quizzes is my only real gripe, because the series is masterfully put together.

Liberty's Kids follows three young journalists, James (a patriot), Sarah (a British subject), and Henri (a young French boy), who work for Benjamin Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette as they experience the American Revolution first hand. Starting with the Boston Tea Party the show highlights many major events all the way through the ratification of the new Constitution through the eyes of our three protagonists. The complete series is comprised of forty episodes that stretch over four DVDs. Benjamin Franklin is voiced by Walter Cronkite, and several other famous actors and actresses provided their voices in guest appearances, such as: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Billy Crystal, Annette Bening, and Whoopi Goldberg just to name a few. The series also received several Emmy nominations as well as a nomination for the Humanitas award, and not just because of the big names. The animation style is artful, and the writing is superb.

There is violence, but it is quite tasteful, I really enjoyed how the animators used scenes of dropping of rifles to symbolize the deaths of soldiers rather than showing the carnage first hand. Some might say that the choice of not showing people getting shot detracted from the emotion of the moment, but I disagree. The emotion is still there, and I even think that the dropping rifles served a purpose, because I noticed that whether the American patriots or the British red coats are dying, the rifles are usually pointing to the left of the screen. I don't know if it was intended or just a way of cutting costs, but I take the uniformity direction of the falling rifles as a way of showing the human cost of the conflict.

I applaud the series for taking such a tasteful approach in the way it addressed the conflict and politics. While Liberty's Kids did show a slight bias toward the side of the Patriots, it did not demonize the English. The series also had a couple episodes that addressed the expansion into the west, and the plight of the Native Americans at the hands of the colonists in the Ohio frontier. Another issue that the show brought up was the legality of slavery in the new world. One of the arcs in the series follows Ben Franklin's employee, Moses (a free man), who is in search of his brother Cato, who is in slavery, but joins the British army in a bid to earn his freedom. It is interesting to see how the conflict pans out, I'm not going to spoil it, I promise.

In one of my favorite episodes, James has a big growing up moment when he learns the difference between Patriotism and mob rule. In the episode, a seaman is in a tavern and refuses to raise his glass in a toast to independence. One of the men in the bar takes umbrage at the sailor's choice not to drink, and condemns the sailor as a Tory (a British sympathizer) and incites the rest of the men at the bar to tar and feather the poor sailor. James happens upon the commotion as the men are calling the sailor a tory, and beating him. Due to his own desire to be a part of the seemingly patriotic goings on, James quickly gets swept up in the fervor, and begins making fun of the sailor. A doctor in the show then details to James exactly what tarring and feathering does to a person––James is horrified. I think the lesson he learns is one that is especially relevant today.

The thing that intrigues me the most about the show, is exactly how relevant the whole thing is. Sure it's an historical fiction, but the overarching themes are ones that still need to be taught to this day. Now for my recommendation. If you are interested in American history and the Revolutionary war, I recommend finding and watching Liberty's Kids––I won't stop there. In fact I recommend this series to everyone in and outside of the United States, but citizens of the USA should definitely watch the show. You won't be disappointed.

Sincerely,
NSB

Today's Challenge: Go find a copy of Liberty's Kids and start watching.

Happy Independence Day

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 04 Jul 2016 23:56:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

Thank you for joining this Forth of July. I hope you are doing well. In honor of the anniversary of the declaration of American Independence, this Wednesday's post will be a review of one of my favorite children's television series, Liberty's Kids. Until then, happy independence day, please enjoy the fireworks as we celebrate the birth of the United States. Party safely.

Sincerely,
NSB

Today's Challenge: Have fun setting off fireworks (if it's legal where you live), or just watching them.

Outdoor Adventure [Part 2]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 06:54:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

Apologies for the delay. The summer heated up quickly, and working outside is quite draining. This being said, I am scaling back on my posts. Expect new posts on Sundays and Wednesdays. I intend to resume Serial Sundays next week. Today, please enjoy today's overdue post, part two of the outdoor adventure.

Fishing

After a surprisingly restful night's sleep, I woke up at 05:30 to the brightening sky, and the chirping of birds. Ashley lay asleep beside me, and I rolled onto my right side and put my arm around her. She mumbled sleepily, and I closed my eyes again, contented to doze off until I got uncomfortable. Being a somewhat squirmy person, it didn't take too long, and I rolled onto my back once again. Propping my head up on the backpack, I looked briefly at my phone, and deleted some useless emails. Not too long after that, Ashley rolled towards me, and I gave her a good morning kiss on her forehead. We talked for a little, before putting on our shoes and exiting the tent in order to tend to our morning routine. We returned to see the leafy silhouettes of trees edged in early morning gold, as the rays of the cresting sun glanced off of the water in the river pond behind them.

Ashley and I cleaned up from the previous night, and gathered our things, placing them in a neat pile next to the tent. We put on some sunscreen, and let it soak in while we retrieved our fishing equipment from the car. I replaced the line in her reel with some new ten pound test Spider Wire (a high strength braided line with little to no memory). After tying on a new hook, and went to pull the kayaks off of the roof rack. I unstrapped the tie downs, and she and I unloaded hers first, put Soccer inside the cockpit and filled it with some of our gear, and carried it across a little foot bridge, and over to a patch of grass near the boat ramp. Soccer stayed with Ashley's boat while we went to get my kayak. Most of the gear rides with me, so we put in the anchor, some short tie-off ropes, bait, water and the tackle box into my kayak, as well as our waterproof camera, before carrying the kayak to the ramp as well.

At the ramp, we placed her kayak into the water, then went to get mine. I took a cute picture with soccer laying down in the kayak with only his ear tips visible. Can you see them? After the picture, we assembled our paddles, and Ashley climbed into her now floating kayak. I took off my shoes, and strapped them under the webbing on the stern of my kayak before entering the water myself. Soccer took his place at the bow of Ashley's yak as we paddled toward our favorite fishing cove. Thankfully the breeze over the water was cool, despite the sun's hot rays and the cloudless sky. Our cove is surrounded by trees, and I dropped anchor in the shade, before having Ashley paddle up beside me. I leaned forward, and used a short rope to lash her kayak's stern to my bow, and vice versa. We quickly found (from experience) that that is the best way to keep from crossing our lines. It's also nice because we can look at one another when we converse. Soccer likes it, because he can easily hop from one boat to the next as he pleases.

We baited our hooks with some Bee-Jay stink bait, and cast our lines into the water. Ashley told me she was getting bites. I shook my head, pulled in my line, and said, "It's probably just the fact that the bait is too mushy to stay on the hook." We had a hard time keeping the bait on our hooks despite the little built in bait holder, it was quite frustrating (and the main reason that I prefer using chicken livers to dough bait). Anyhow, she put her line back into the water, and I recast mine too. Ashley sat back in her kayak and put her feet up, ready for a snooze. I fiddled with my line, and relaxed as well. A second later, I heard a woosh of air, and looked towards her. Her rod is bent in half, and she's yelling "Fish on!" She fought the fish, and the line started pinging with tension. "Loosen the drag," I said. She handed me the rod, and I turned down the tension, and the line zinged off of the spool. I guess it was my turn to fight the fish for a while. She grabbed the net, as the fish circled toward my side of the boat. I saw the anchor line moving, and laid down the rod. "Grab the net, it's wrapped up in the anchor." As I hoisted anchor, I saw the fish. I brought the anchor line to her side, and she landed the fish in the net, it took up the whole net. She doesn't like dealing with the spines, so I unhooked the big channel cat, and put it onto our stringer.

There's an old adage, that comes to mind, "never bring a woman fishing, if you expect to catch anything." It held true, I didn't get so much as a bite the whole day. She caught two more fish, both of which she landed herself. She says I'm too impatient to catch anything, but I'm not so sure about that. Despite not catching anything myself, we had a great time paddling and fishing. By noon, the heat started getting to us, and we pulled up anchor, and started for shore. After beaching the kayaks back at the boat ramp, I took a picture with Ashley and her fish. We (soccer included) left the kayaks in the grass by the ramp, and took the fish over to our camp. We put the fish into the water and staked the stringer behind a root on the shore.

We broke camp quickly, occasionally glancing over toward the ramp in order to make sure nobody touched our kayak. About the time we got all of our equipment into the car, Ashley started complaining of a headache, and I too was beginning to feel the heat. I filled up our five gallon bucket with pond water, and pulled up the stringer of fish. I put the fish into the bucket, and carried it over to the car, where I put it into the front passenger seat of my little Civic, right next to Ashley's legs. We said good bye to our campsite, and drove around to the boat dock, where I loaded the kayaks onto my roof rack. I opened and closed the doors several times, as I left the car on so Ashley and Soccer could enjoy the A/C while I strapped the kayaks to the car. "Nicholas, cut that out," she said, looking at me through the window, "every time you shut the door, the fish move." I laughed, and said, "it's not like I'm doing it on purpose. I'm just trying to keep the cool air in the car."

On our way home, we stopped at Sonic for limeades, in order to cool off and get a little more hydrated. While we waited for the carhop, the big fish propelled its head and pectoral fins clear of the water's surface. Ashley gasped and pulled her legs away from the bucket. "It's not going to hurt you," I said. She then told me that as a child she saw a catfish cut her dad's hand open with one of its fin barbs, and it left her a little traumatized. "It's in the bucket, it won't stab you," I reassured her. She shook her head, and winced once more when the big one made another sudden movement.

By the time we walked in the door at home, all three of the fish were dead in the bucket. That is all well and good to me, because I don't like to hurt or kill living things, not even spiders or insects––mosquitos and biting flies are an exception, and I swat them with relish. Being somewhat rusty in the art, I practiced my fish cleaning skills on the two little catfish first. Ashley is an expert dissector, and we had used the opportunity to examine the anatomy of a catfish, just like when my dad and I came home from fishing when I was younger (fond memories). After developing some confidence, it was time to cut into the big fish. I am always a little paranoid of rupturing the gall bladder whenever I clean fish, and I really didn't want to mess up Ashley's big catch, so I took a lot of extra time cleaning it, and apparently turned a little green once or twice (according to Ashley, who swears its the truth). After work the next day, we used our cast iron skillet to fry up the catfish for dinner. It was delicious, and between the three fish, we wound up with with nearly four days worth of left overs.

We can't wait to go outdoor adventuring again. Perhaps next time I'll even catch a fish of my own.

Sincerely,

NSB

Today's Challenge: Go fishing with friends!

Outdoor Adventure [Part 1]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 17:46:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

Camping

Back in my younger days, when I was in boy scouts, I really enjoyed camping. Sadly though, until last weekend, I hadn't camped in well over a decade. Yes, I've pitched a tent in my living room for a few nights a couple times in the past few years, but it just isn't the same. Ashley and I had two days off together, and we decided that it was time to break the drought for both of us. We ran some errands that morning, and got the supplies we were missing, as well as our fishing licenses. Once we had what we needed from out and about, we strapped my Walmart luggage rack to the top of my little Honda Civic with some ratchet straps (I'm too cheap to buy one of those fancy universal Thule rack kits) and loaded up our kayaks. Then we put all of our other stuff in the car, and got ready to leave. We completely filled the back seat of my car with supplies, it was pretty disorganized, but definitely a learning experience. Then we hit the road.

We decided to make camp near our favorite fishing spot at the river pond beneath the dam at the Tuttle Creek reservoir. The camping permit thing was simple enough, but finding a place to pitch our tent was a little complicated, we being first timers and all. We drove around, for what seemed like an hour, in our excitement. I even asked someone for help, but it was his first time, too, and no help at all. We drove around a little longer, and found a couple tents set up in the grass, but we didn't want to be close to other people, so we went a little farther. Ashley spotted some unused fire rings, near to the water, I agreed it looked like a good spot, so we decided to pitch camp there.

I used a wet finger to figure out which way the wind was blowing, and placed our tent across wind from where we placed the fire ring. After everything was set up, we looked around for some wood to burn, but there was none to be had, and we discovered our lack of condiments for the weiners that we brought with us, for dinner. She volunteered to watch camp, while I went to the store to get the things we'd forgotten. It was getting darker when I left. By the time I got back, the sun had nearly set. Ashley and I collected any twigs, dry grass, and leaves we could find for tinder, and placed them in the center of the logs, which I had stacked in the cabin style criss/cross. Ashley pulled two of the oil-cotton, plug style tinder starters we'd purchased, and frayed them out a little, and we lit them. We didn't use enough tinder at first, and the fire went out pretty quickly. Luckily (for us) the people who picnicked in the area before we got there left all of their trash in the middle of another fire ring, and I scavenged some used paper towels for tinder.

Once we got our fire started, Ashley pointed out that instead of being across the wind like I'd thought, our tent was in fact down wind of the fire, and catching all of the smoke and any potential embers. We quickly got out our flashlights, and I used the back of my hammer to pull up the tent stakes. We moved the tent so that it was, in fact, across the wind from the fire. After that commotion, we settled into our folding chairs, skewered a couple weiners, and roasted them over our fire. Soccer almost became a hotdog himself, getting a little too close to the fire ring a couple of times while trying to steal a bite of our weiners. We put him a little farther away from the fire. He behaved himself quite well from then on, and I gave him the very last of our hotdogs once it cooled down a bit.

After our weiner roast, we made s'mores. I did anyway. Ashley prefers the marshmallows by themselves. We both agree that it is necessary to catch the marshmallows on fire in order to achieve the optimum flavor––the bitter charmel (char and caramel), from burning, mellows and enhances the over-sweet flavor of the mallow, while also providing the perfect crunchy contrast to the gooey molten center. Culinary perfection.

Once dessert ended, we continued to sit and watch the fire as it burnt down to embers. It was time for bed. We picked up the wrappers and things left over from dinner, and I extinguished the remnants of our fire with water, before entering the tent. Soccer insisted on sleeping on Ashley's pillow, I guess the ground was too hard for him. Speaking of discomfort, the breeze which mitigated the humidity outside of our tent did not do so inside of our tent, despite the tent having a mesh top and two smaller mesh inlets one at the head and one at the foot of the tent. Why? Because I didn't know that the tent's orientation in regard to the wind would be such a big deal, and set it up so that the breeze hit the solid side of the tent, rather than blowing through the mesh. Don't get me wrong, there was airflow in the tent, but there could have been more. The lesson: in the summer, when the air is sticky and you feel soggy, always align your tent so that the mesh panels are facing the oncoming breeze. Ashley fell asleep before I did, which is due in large part to the fact that I neglected to bring a pillow of my own. I decided to use her backpack for a pillow, not the most comfortable arrangement, I'll admit, but soon I too fell fast asleep.

Be sure to stop in on Friday to see what we did on the second day of our outdoor adventure!

Sincerely,
NSB

Today's Challenge: Plan an outdoor activity with friends!

A Wonderful Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 05:00:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

Please excuse the lack of a Serial Sunday this week, I will resume the story next week. I promise.

Ashley and I went camping yesterday, and had a really wonderful two days off together. We relish every moment that we have together, and this was time well spent. Unfortunately, we wore ourselves out with today's activities, and I am very much ready for bed, even after a three hour nap, which I woke up from just a short while ago. My posts for Wednesday and Friday this week will revolve around our camping experiences and ambitions. The posts will be sufficiently long to make up for today's brevity, and contain several awesome pictures. Thank you for stopping in and I will see you this Wednesday. I may post a small thing on Monday or Tuesday, but please don't hold your breath.

Sincerely,
NSB

Today's Challenge: Spend quality time with someone you care about.

Integrity: Intention and Execution

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 08:14:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

Despite the fact that this blog serves primarily as a hobby and a way to keep up on my writing, and even though none of my content is paid for (except by my own time and energy), I've been thinking, and I realize that I haven't been holding to my updates quite as well as I should be. My posts are sometimes late, and sometimes don't happen at all, even when I've clearly stated that posts will be up on a specific day. Serial Sundays are a good example, I've missed several. I realize that I am not just failing you, the reader, I am failing myself. Why? Because I am not keeping my promises.

You may wonder, why I am bringing this up. It is because I've had a lot of time to think these past two weeks. I've thought about my blog, and my own personal aspirations, and failings. The more I explored, the more similarities I found. One that came up time and again was a lack of integrity. I'm not saying that I break every promise that I make, or even most of them, but the thing that concerned me, was that though I've always had high aspirations and good intentions, but I regularly fail to take action on my intentions.

Ashley has been on me for some time now about cleaning my car. Believe me, it needs to be emptied in the worst way (well, the junk isn't quite to the level of the windows yet, but it's pretty awful). Even before she started mentioning the mess, I intended to keep the car clean. What went wrong? I started coming up with excuses (to my self at first, and then to her): It's too cold outside, I'm going to wait for the sun to warm up the car. It's too hot outside, I'm going to wait until the car is in the shade or the sun goes down, just to give a few examples.

It's not just for the car, either. Early on in the life of this blog, I said I was going to start reconnecting with people I hadn't talked to for a long time. I didn't. What happened? I could say that life just got in the way, or come up with any number of excuses, but that wasn't it at all. The reason was that I didn't make the effort to follow through with my intentions. No excuse in the world can change the fact that I didn't put forth the effort, and I can't find any justification. I lacked the integrity to back up my intention with action. And, for that, I am ashamed.

But, I am not alone. In this world of ours, which has become so fast paced with all of the instant media, everyone falls through where execution of intent is concerned. We as well meaning people want to make believe that we can help everyone. We want to believe that we can meet all of our commitments, and then some on top of those (even when we know that we can't), but we as people also like to take the path of least resistance, that is where the problem lies. We go into a situation, or make a plan, only to see ourselves failing to rise to our intentions for any number of reasons (we know what they are). But it is certainly not the end of the world, because acknowledging and analyzing our shortcomings is the first step in conquering them.

For me, rekindling old connections is difficult (especially by phone), because I always feel like I am imposing on people when I call them. I think that part of it stems from being raised in the pre-cellphone era, when the person I was talking to face to face was given preference over whoever happened to be calling at the moment. Yes, I am that old (I may only be 30, but I feel all 90 years of it). I didn't buy my first cell phone (a trakfone) until I was twenty-two. I don't particularly care for being reachable twenty-four hours a day/365 days a year, and find phone calls to be more of an annoyance than anything (I quite enjoy being left alone). I also tend to feel that I annoy people. I don't know why, perhaps it is because I sometimes find myself to be annoying; I am definitely awkward when talking to people on the phone. I may even have a bit of a phobia of calling people, it often takes me a few (even several) minutes to work up the courage to dial a number and hit the call button (Ashley and my parents are the rare exception), but I digress. The point I am trying to make is that I could keep on my current trajectory, not talking to anyone over the phone, but it won't serve me in the long run. I need to say, "Enough, Nicholas. Stop worrying about bothering people, and give them a call. The worst thing that will happen is that they won't respond, or will tell you to call them later."

For the sake of pointing out the obvious, the last sentence of the previous paragraph is an intention, and a good one at that; the trick will be following through. I also intend to clean my car this morning, no excuses. I'll even post an after picture next Wednesday, as Mark Twain once said, "do not do tomorrow that which can be put off until the day after tomorrow." I will not succumb to the urge to procrastinate. I will not succumb to the urge to procrastinate. I will not succumb to... well, you get the drift. Integrity demands deliberate and immediate action.

A car doesn't just turn itself on and drive away after you fill it with gas, you first have to turn the key––integrity works the same way, a person can be filled with good intentions, but in order for him to get anywhere he has to act on them. Maintaining your integrity is an excellent way of showing love, not only for others, but for yourself. Be wise in your commitments––make sure that you are ready and capable of fulfilling your promises before you make them (don't over extend yourself), and proceed with confidence, and love.

Sincerely,
NSB

Today's Challenge: Examine your integrity, where are some areas you can improve?

Back in Action

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 21:13:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

Thank you for your patience. After what turned into a long two week break, I am happy to say that I am back. I apologize for falling through on the Serial Sundays however, I got a little caught up in my mini vacation and forgot to put them up. Not to fear, just stop in this coming Sunday, and see the latest installment.

I had a lot to think about these past weeks. Memorial day weekend was a lot of fun. My parents came up for a visit, and we took a trip to see relatives in western Kansas. I showed Ashley the schoolyard where I used to play during the family reunions of my childhood. Ashley and I played a couple games of tetherball (my favorite childhood sport). I won one game, and she won the other; we called it a draw. Family reunions are wonderful, but I always feel so awkward, because I'm terrible with names (doubly so this year, because I had to introduce them to Ashley. Boy was I lost in the dark). Once the reunion ended, we put flowers on grandma and grandpa's grave just in time to out run a huge pop-up thunderstorm that rolled toward us across the Kansas Prairie.

We didn't miss out on all of the fun, though. About an hour or so outside of Salina, we ran into the edge of another storm's hail core. We were lucky that it was just the edge, with dime to penny sized hail, and not quarter or half-dollar sized hail. Even still, we wound up with two or three little stars in the windshield. Back to family, however. It was really nice to catch up with everyone, and everybody had a blast. I finally gave dad his birthday present from last year; I'd had many opportunities, but always managed to forget to bring it with me when I traveled to see him and mom. I guess it was my subconscious way of saying, come and see me more often.

I hope that everyone had a good memorial day, and I know I'm late in saying it, but Happy Memorial day. It is important that we remember those who've gone on before us, and those who made so many sacrifices to allow us to have and share the quality of life we have today. On that note, thanks again for stopping in, and I will see you on Friday.

Sincerely,
NSB

Taking a Break

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 26 May 2016 14:34:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

I will be taking a break from the blog this week, in order to develop some new ideas that I've had recently. Serial Sunday will still appear this week, as promised, so be sure to stop in then. I may extend the break into next week, as well, but rest assured I will be back with lots more Love is Boss.

Sincerely,
NSB

Anniversary Weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 22 May 2016 05:00:00 +0000

Four Day Weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 20 May 2016 07:37:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

Today's post will be brief, on account that this is the first day of a four day anniversary weekend for Ashley and myself. We have now been married for one year, and I am simply astounded at how quickly the time goes by. I wish it would slow down, so I could enjoy it more. Unfortunately, that is only wishful thinking. Even as I write this little post, time is escaping, and so, I will cut it short by saying, "Have a great weekend." Thank you for stopping in, and I hope to see you on Wednesday!

Sincerely,
NSB

Today's Challenge: Have a great weekend, and try to make some new friends.

New Grill

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 19 May 2016 08:38:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

I'm really excited, because I just bought a new grill. It is a Char-Broil Patio Bistro electric grill. Yes. An electric grill. This is no glorified George Foreman fat-reducing panini press, either. It is a fully fledged barbecue grill. To some who know me, the fact that I willingly bought myself an electric grill might come as a shock. The fact that I am excited about owning an electric grill, however, is nothing short of a miracle.

Back when I saw my first electric grill (which also happened to be a Patio Bistro by Char-Broil), I remember turning to my friends at the hardware store, and saying, "Why in the hell would anyone buy that worthless piece of crap. Real barbecue is cooked over charcoal." I meant it too. Even propane was a copout for the sake of convenience (it still is). Propane is good for two things, wieners and burgers. That's it. I was convinced that electric grills were utterly worthless to anyone, save for those poor apartment dwellers whom I pitied on account that their complexes forbade the use of grills with an open flame (charcoal and propane).

Despite moving into an apartment, in college, I brought out my charcoal powered eighteen and a half inch Weber kettle grill, and used it on a regular basis. I managed to skirt the, "no open flame grills on the patio," stipulation without breaking the lease, because I lived on the ground floor, and could easily roll my grill out onto the grass, and into the nearby designated grilling area. After Ashley and I got married, we moved into a new, second floor apartment. Because of the stairs, it is a lot more of a hassle to move the grill to a safe area, and due to the nature of charcoal (it takes a long time to start up) and due to the subsequent planning required, I found myself grilling much less frequently (if at all). This spring, I got frustrated, and started researching electric grills, but I really liked the look of the Patio Bistro grill, because has a very similar aesthetic to my platinum edition Weber kettle (the price was quite reasonable, too), and it doesn't look like a cheap flying saucer on a stick like the outdoor grill George Foreman is endorsing nowadays. Yes, I became the very apartment dweller that I pitied.

I am glad to say however, that I am happily eating my harsh words against electric barbecue grills (this one at least). The Patio Bistro grill is well constructed, and took me thirty to forty-five minutes to put together out of the box. It requires a screwdriver and a couple of wrenches to assemble, but the grill went together easily. The frame is robust, and the grill has plenty of surface area to cook on. The lid of the Char-Broil electric grill has a handy temperature gage built into it (my Weber kettle does not, though I could easily install one on it). Char-Broil's claim to fame on this grill is their patented infrared cooking technology (I don't know if I buy into the marketing, but the grill definitely yields good results). Tuesday evening, I cooked chicken breast (even though I prefer dark meat because white meat is always so dry), and it turned out succulent and juicy (the juiciest barbecued chicken breast I've eaten). Tonight I cooked some pork loin steaks (pork also tends to be quite dry whenever I cook it, but not today). With nothing more than some apple cider vinegar, salt, and freshly ground black pepper, the pork steaks came out tender and dripping with juices (I have stains on my shirt to prove it). What about the smoky flavor?

Originally, the lack of a smoked flavor was one of my main points of contention with the electric grills, but it is one that is easily solved. You just take a handful or two of whatever type of hardwood chips you want to use, and sprinkle them onto the grate of the grill along side of whatever food you are cooking. For the chicken, I used a handful of hickory chips, and for the pork, I used a little more wood than I did yesterday: one handful of applewood and a handful of hickory. No, there isn't the extra flavor from charcoal, but the flavors from whatever sort of wood chip you are using really come out in full form, you don't even have to bother soaking the chips before you stick them on the grill.

I've said all these lovely things about this electric grill, but I do have two gripes. Firstly, the grill's cord is too short, it ought to be at least two or three feet longer. The cord length isn't a huge complaint, but if you get one of these amazing electric grills, make sure to get a heavy duty three pronged extension cord (14ga at the least, 12ga is even better. Anything thinner, and you risk having your cord melt or worse). My next gripe is also fairly minor, the grill looses heat pretty quickly when the lid is open, and it takes a bit longer for the heating element to recover the lost heat than a charcoal grill, so be sure to close the lid when you are cooking. The electric grills work best if you use the set it and forget it method (don't open the grill every ten seconds to see if the food is done, or it won't cook efficiently).

It is essential to preheat the grill on high for at least ten minutes, before cooking (I usually preheat mine for about 15 minutes). After the pre-heating process, I have found that searing each side of the the meat, on high (with the lid closed) for three minutes, and then reducing the temperature dial to half way between 3 and 4 works best; from there I set a timer for ten minutes, then five, then three then two, checking on the food each time the timer goes off (it may not be the right way to go about it, but it has worked for me thus far). I cooked the chicken in about 20-30 minutes, and the pork took about the same length of time to cook through. I have yet to cook steak, burgers, or bratwurst on the grill yet, but I will definitely let you know when I do.

Before I go, there are a few more things that I really love about this grill. The setup time is minimal, when you want to cook something, just plug it in and turn it on. You don't have to worry about running out of energy half-way through the cooking process (unless you haven't been keeping up on your electric bill). And last, but not least, cleanup is a snap: just turn the burner on high after you're done cooking your meal, and burn off any residual food from the grate. Then, you turn off and unplug the grill, let it cool down all the way, and hit it (scrub it) with a non-metallic grill brush. I hope you found this information useful, if not entertaining. Until next time, happy grilling.

Sometimes Love means eating your words. If you ever do, I sure do hope they're as tasty as mine were.

Sincerely,
NSB

Today's Challenge: The weather is turning nice. That means it's time to fire up the old barbecue, and invite some friends or family over for a Q-licious get-together!

P.S. Pictures to follow.

Serial Sunday Information

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 17 May 2016 05:04:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

I apologize for the lack of a Serial Sunday post this week. This coming weekend is also going to lack a Serial Sunday on account that it is Ashley and my first wedding anniversary. Serial Sunday will resume the following week, and will likely be another double feature. The Wednesday and Friday posts will appear as usual. Thanks.

Sincerely,
NSB

Dottie Eating

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 15 May 2016 07:14:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

I love watching Dottie zap her food with her tongue, it never gets old. She's even shot my hand a time or two during feedings (it feels like one of those sticky hands that you see in the coin-op vending machines at grocery stores). The worms we feed her are purpose-bred in captivity, wild caught hornworms are toxic (a result of munching on tomato plants) and should not be fed to pet lizards. Serial Sunday will post some time after I get off of work today. Until then, here is the video I promised, though I do apologize for the lowish quality and lack of audio. Be assured however, that I will be posting another, better video in the next couple of weeks.

Sincerely,
NSB

Dottie the Chameleon

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 May 2016 17:39:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

Ashley and I love our pet chameleon, Dottie. Dottie doesn't always feel the same, however. In fact, that is just how she got her name, because when Dottie gets upset, she turns black (more of a dark grey-brown) speckled with dots that are darker still. As she aged, and got her adult colors (little splotches and stripes of yellow), we noticed that when she is feeling contented, little blue (almost teal) dots appear in the green fields of color. Why did I choose to make a post about Dottie today? Well, If you look closely at her yellow splotches, one of them is in the shape of a heart. Also, if you don't mind me anthropomorphicizing a little, I didn't want her to get too jealous of all of the attention I've given Soccer, on the blog. Soccer always gets jealous when we take Dots out of her cage.

I hope you enjoyed these photos. I'll post a video of her eating a hornworm, tomorrow. It's really cool. I'll even shoot it in slow motion.

Sincerely,
NSB

Today's Challenge: Do something nice for someone else.

Love and Political Discussion

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 11 May 2016 11:21:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

I love a good political discussion, despite the fact that they can become quite heated (even violently so). I am proud to say that I have, and maintain friendships with quite a politically diverse group of friends. Would it be easy to keep only friends of my own political perspective? Probably––perhaps even gratifying to have lengthy discussions solely with people who agree with the things I believe. Yes. But I find it more fulfilling to have lengthy discourse with those whom I do not agree with on certain matters, perhaps even most matters. Why? Because it allows me to broaden my vision, and to better understand why I believe the things I believe. Despite this benefit, it is quite easy to loose sight of the person, in favor of the opinion (doing this will quickly destroy weak relationships, and can even wear away at strong relationships over time). I see it happen every election year, and even between years, not just between friends, but between parties and even families as well.

It saddens me to see how polarizing the political spectrum is this year––with both parties standing on two sides of a forked pier, and fishing towards opposite banks for their base, rather than casting their lines towards the center, America is sure to loose in this tournament, because true salmon of knowledge prefer the cool, deep waters of moderation to the hot shallows of either side. I am mortified at the implications of this coming election, as it is quite apparent that we American citizens will be left to choose on which of these two bony fish we must choke.

The American media (nearly all of the media) is apparently too busy playing ratings games to take a vested interest in objectivity (NPR tries, at least). Thankfully fact checker sites exist on-line, otherwise there would be no real counter to Facebook and Twitter, which have apparently become reliable news sources in the eyes of many. I don't blame people for getting enthralled by all of the hype and attention surrounding various causes and candidates on-line and in the news––having a say in the future and the world around us is an exciting thing. It is also a very serious thing, and great care must be taken when discerning fact from fabrication, and opinion. In today's fast paced and information swamped society however, it is becoming less convenient to take the time to sift through every single meme and blip in our feeds. I noticed that when I scroll through my Facebook page, it only takes me a second to decide whether to hit the like button or not, it is almost as if I'm on autopilot, but I've found that, in that instant, it is emotion that drives me to hit like or not. Often times, I'll go back and read the thing again, and, after thinking about the meme or comment logically, hit unlike. Public policy can be like that, albeit policy is a bit more difficult to reverse than hitting an unlike button (understatement of the year). Just look at prohibition.

But where does love fit into all of this? Having a good (fruitful) political discussion requires Love, in that it requires the participants to respect each other's right to an opinion, even if that opinion opposes his or her own. It also means caring enough to listen to the other party's opinion and reasons for thinking that way, because one person may find that the other's opinion is not too vastly different from his or her own, or at least provides a path to mutual understanding. The goal of political discourse should never be to lambast the other person into a submissive puddle of jello, but rather to find common ground within disagreement. For example: I have a friend who is an avid supporter of the pro-choice movement; I on the other hand, am vehemently anti-abortion (medical necessity and rape excluded), but we both agree that abortion shouldn't be banned (albeit for differing reasons). We are still friends to this day, despite many heated debates.

I am certain that America, and indeed all of humanity will rise to untold heights, but only if all sides can love each other enough just to listen and to understand one another's viewpoints and reasons. Yes, there will still be disagreements. No, all wars won't magically end (probably not even most). But, at least there will be a little more Love, hope and understanding in the world. It is ok to dislike ideas, but don't let your dislike of an idea cause you to hate the person. Please remember that everyone has their own opinions, and they have a right to those opinions, just as much as you have a right to yours. Also, even though a person registers with a particular party, doesn't mean they agree with everything that party stands for, it simply means that they felt that they had more of a connection to one party than the other, it doesn't make them bad or stupid. We are all people and we are all imperfect, and we all have our reasons for why we believe the things we do.

Sincerely,
NSB

Today's Challenge: Go on a hugging spree: Free hugs today!

P.S.

Serial Sunday #16

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 09 May 2016 06:14:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

Thank you for joining me once again. I apologize for the lack of a second post on Friday, but we really had a lot of fun with our good friends, and wore ourselves out. We went on a little tour around town. Unfortunately the Konza was closed for repairs, due to damage done by the storms we had a couple weeks ago. However, that did not stop us from seeing the flint hills. We drove over plenty of hills on our way to Pillsbury Crossing, which is a shallow ford across Deep Creek, just outside of town. It was quite crowded with people, and we saw a cardboard canoe race, probably projects from an engineering class at Kansas State University.

Since there were so many people, we decided to leave and wound up back at the apartment, where we fed Dottie (Ashley's Chameleon) a large horn worm caterpillar. It took a couple of shots with her tongue, but Dottie snagged her snack, and ate it too. We played with Soccer too, gently kicking his youth sized soccer ball around the livingroom (Soccer is great at defense). After that, we and our friends went to meet another good friend who we hadn't seen in a while at Radina's, a local coffee shop. We talked for hours. It was a wonderful experience, and we hope to see each other again, soon. Ideally less than six months from now.

It is Serial Sunday, and now, without further digression, on with the story.

–––––––––––

On the Mend (part 8)

“Alright, Alex,” Samantha said, “just let me finish this chapter.”

“But.”

“It’s a short one,” she said, flipping several pages until she found the next chapter. That’s a few more pages than I anticipated, “besides it’s getting really steamy.”

“And your french toast will be cold again.” Alex said.

“Oh, fine.” She quickly read until the end of the page, put in the bookmark, and set the book on the end table before heading to the dining room with a sigh.

Alex stacked the plate of french toast on top of two other plates, and brought them to the table.

“Two plates?” she asked, “you said you weren’t hungry, earlier.”

“Minds are subject to change.”

“Just serve the food.” Sam winked, and took the empty plate when he handed it to her.

“Okay. Okay.” Alex placed three pieces of toast onto her plate, and two pieces onto his own.

“Guess that hunger got to you. Where’s the syrup?”

“Oh. Dang. I’ll go grab it.”

“Hurry before it’s cold.”

“Go stick your head in the oven,” he laughed.

Sam got up from her seat, and rushed him playfully. “We’ll see who’s head gets stuck in the oven.”

Alex grabbed the bottle of syrup and brandished it. “You’ll have to unstickify yourself, before you’ll put my head in the oven.”

“Just give me the syrup, so I can eat my french toast. Before it gets cold,” she said, reaching for the bottle.

“Oh, no you don’t,” he said, trying to hold it out of reach.

“Come on,” she said, standing on her tippy toes.

“Say the magic word.”

“Fine. Please.”

“Ok,” he said, still holding it out of her reach.

“My toast had better not be cold,” she said, stretching out as far as she could.

“I’ll heat it up for you,” he said, stealing a kiss as she pressed against him.

“That will wait until after breakfast,” she said, pushing him away, and pointing at him.

“Here you go, Sammie.”

“Thank you. Now. Let’s eat.”

Be sure to come back next week.

Sincerely,

NSB

Today's Challenge: Smile, life is much too short to be glum.

Announcement

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 06 May 2016 08:22:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

If you look on the right side of this page, just beneath the translate button, you will notice that I have installed a temporary poll. I would like to know what sorts of things you would like to see in future posts. I value your opinion, and am looking forward to seeing what everyone thinks. Also, if you select the "other" option, please type a brief description of what you would like to see into the provided text box before you click submit. The poll will be open until next Friday, so there should be plenty of time for you to make yourself heard.

The main post for today will be delayed until late this evening, because a good friend of Ashley's and mine is coming up to visit us, later today. Thank you again.

Sincerely,
NSB

Today's Challenge: Go and give someone a hug.

Cloud Watching

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 04 May 2016 08:41:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

Thank you for stopping in. I anticipate that the about the about the author page will post either Thursday or Saturday. As for today, I'd like to share with you one of Ashley's and my favorite spring pastimes.

While spring thunderstorms are a joy to watch as they roll along the prairie, drenching and pummeling the earth with torrents of water and hail, there is nothing like laying in the grass on a warm spring day and looking up at the peaceful, spun sugar clouds. I remember that when we first started dating, Ashley and I loved to talk and eat string cheese as we sat on the hill at the Junior College, content to imagine what the puffy, or wispy clouds could be––"Those clouds look like the British Isles," or "that one looks like a ship sinking into the sea," and even things like "you'd better hold your nose, that elephant must have had a few too many beans for lunch," (we have a crude sense of humor, sometimes).

On one occasion, we (Ashley) even invoked a tempest (no lie). "Nicholas," Ashley said, as we drove to the local Target, "Look at that cute baby storm cloud, floating along all by it self." I looked up, and sure enough a tiny, grey little anvil drifted overhead––a solitary puff in an otherwise clear blue sky. I imitated a soothing TV painter voice, and said, "He seems lonely. Let's give him a friend, right over here." Ashley laughed, made a painting motion with her hand, and said, "we'll put another one right there, let's make it a mommy cloud," the strokes of her hand got bigger and more violent. We went into Target for fifteen or twenty minutes, got our stuff, and as we left the building, a flash of lightning branched across the heavy, cloud covered sky. The fist few drops of rain hit us as we fought to open the doors of our car against a strong wind that came up suddenly. We threw our stuff into the car, got in, and closed the doors, hoping to get home before the rain came on in full force. I started the car, and we drove back to the dorms. Another flash of lightning zipped directly over our heads, and the ensuing thunderclap opened up the sky, and the rain came down in sheets. Thankfully a bunch of people went home that weekend, because we got a parking spot really close to the dorm's side entrance. We ran inside with our goodies from Target, but it didn't do us much good. We were drenched. Once we dried off a little, we joked about how little storm clouds grow up so quickly. The storm wound up being a real gully washer, and I think it was just one of those moments when you try to channel Bob Ross, but wind up calling on Prospero instead.

I hope that Love falls upon you in torrents.

Sincerely,
NSB

Today's Challenge: Go outside today and look upward. What do the clouds look like to you?

May Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 02 May 2016 06:44:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

Happy May Day! (belated)

Please excuse the lack of a Serial Sunday this week––as much as I love writing for this blog, family comes first. Lately, Ashley and I have had conflicting work schedules, and we finally managed to get a day off together (mostly). After church, we made a day of it, and jaunted over to Topeka for a May Day feast at a wonderful restaurant and brewery called The Blind Tiger (blind tiger is another term for a speakeasy). Fittingly, a poster poking fun at the hatchet wielding heroine of the temperance movement, Mrs. Carrie Nation, who wreaked havoc in bars across Topeka in the late 1800s hung next to our table. Next to the Carrie Nation sign was a phrase that, as we learned from Ken Burns' documentary Prohibition, was prominently displayed in saloons throughout Topeka during the time of Carrie's many, bottle smashing acts of protest as she attempted to "Carry A. Nation to temperance."

The portion sizes were wonderfully large, the food was especially delicious, and the prices quite reasonable. Ashley had a chicken fried steak which took up almost the whole plate (I am ordering that next time, which is not to say that I disliked my entree, in fact quite to the contrary). I was feeling a little homesick from a culinary standpoint, and so I ordered the Que-intessential (quintessential) dish of Kansas City barbecue tradition. Burnt ends (my mouth is watering as I type this). My plate came out with what must have been at least a half a pound of the delectable cubes of brisket point which are given extra love, attention and cooking time in the smoker, for extra flavor and tenderness. Their steak fries are crispy and delicious, and their barbecue beans are fantastic, I highly recommend them. We washed down our tasty food with water, and shared one flight of four of their little one dollar taster sized beers. Our favorites were the Raspberry Wheat, and the Kona Porter, their Zweigel (I'm probably spelling this wrong) Kölsch was pretty good too (very similar in tone and temper to the Raspberry Wheat). Their award winning basil beer was interesting––we didn't really care for it, but it grew on me after a couple sips (it is novel to try, but I still wouldn't order a pint of it).

After lunch, we ran some errands while still in Topeka, before we headed home. We had a good conversation on the way to Topeka, and on the way home, we listened to one of the Irish Tenors CDs we got when they came to McCain auditorium several years ago, while we were still in college. Some of our favorite songs are Galileo, Feels like Home, and Westering home. Ashley likes Feels like Home the best, and I like Galileo the best (though I am quite bad at picking favorites).

Next week, Serial Sunday will resume as normal. Remember that despite how easy it is to get wrapped up in busy day to day schedules, the truly important thing in life is to enjoy and make the most of the time we have with the people we care about.

Sincerely,

NSB

Today's Challenge: Make time to go on a day trip the next chance you get (be it with family or friends).

Photo Friday #4

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 29 Apr 2016 07:48:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

Yet another month has come and gone faster than you can say Photo Friday. A couple weeks ago, I surprised Ashley with dinner, and here are a couple photos I took right before she got home. Dinner was quite delicious, despite this being my first attempt at making lasagna all by myself.

Sincerely,
NSB

Today's Challenge: Try cooking a new food.

Love of Letters

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 05:38:00 +0000

I hope that all of you are doing well, and I apologize for the lack of a post last Friday. Before I get into the meat of today's post however, I'd like to announce that the long overdue About the Author page will be posted some time next week, so please keep an eye out.
–––––––––––

Letters

Written personal correspondence has changed a lot, over the years. First it was letters by post, then e-mail came along, instant messaging became texting and picture messaging. All of these options are viable means of communication to this day. I feel however, that letters are a much more personal way of communicating, sure texts and picture messages are good for quick blurbs of information, but typing on a phone keyboard is cumbersome and slow even with auto-insert and auto-correct (auto-awkward). Besides, who has time for novel length texts anyway? E-mails are nice, because they allow for quick communication, and are easy to use when you are on the computer, and allow the writer to type at length about whatever it is that he or she wants to say, and even attach media: music, pictures and other electronic facsimiles. All in all, e-mails are pretty sweet, but traditional letters can be and often are more meaningful.

What advantages do traditional letters have over their electronic brethren? Well, tangibility for one thing, sure you can print off an e-mail and its attachments (even make 3-D printings), but with a traditional letter, a person can enclose pressed flowers, and other original artifacts that might have a significant value to the sender and/or the recipient, rather than cheap duplicates. Another advantage of the traditional letter, more specifically a love letter, is that the sender could include a lipstick print, or even spritz the letter with perfume or cologne as an added level of intimacy; the e-mail analogue would require the recipient to shell out extravagant sums of money for some obscure technology such as a scent replication printer (while cool, these have yet to be perfected or made commercially available). I would go so far to say that even with the advent of such a technology for home use, a traditional letter is still more personal.

Sure choosing a cool font can give a personal e-mail flair, but writing a letter by hand, feeling the strokes while forming the letters (be they cursive or print) is a visceral experience. Writing a letter can be as simple or as artful as the author wants. For a casual letter, a convenient piece of lined paper, or even just a blank sheet of A4 printer paper will suffice, but the letter could also be written on an expensive piece of imported paper, or even paper that the writer made by hand. Numerous too, are the choices of writing implement, which range from traditional pencils and pens, to sharpies and crayons––if it makes a mark on paper, you can use it to write a letter, even lipstick (even though I love them, I am leaving typewriters out of the equation on the assertion that hand-written letters are the most personal).

Despite the cost of stamps, letters are an inexpensive and meaningful way to communicate with people whom you care about. I understand that overseas correspondence can get quite pricy, but there is nothing quite like getting a letter from a friend. One of my excuses for not writing letters is that I don't know where to begin, and I don't know what to say. Here's my advice for starting a personal letter (I'll take it to heart too), think of a letter as one side of a conversation: after the salutation, ask the reader a few questions like, "how are you," or "what have you been up to?" Then pretend that your friend asked you the same questions, and write down your answer. After you've answered the imaginary questions, talk about whatever you want to. After you've said everything that you feel needs saying, close the letter. I know that this year is already a third of the way past (Where does the time go?), but in the spirit of this post and taking my own advice to heart, I hereby resolve to send more letters to my friends and family this year. Reader, that means you too (I know it's in electronic form on this blog, but I hope to provide much more content as the year progresses). Thank you again for your continued readership. See you Friday.

Sincerely,
NSB

Today's Challenge: Write a letter to a friend!

Serial Sunday #14 (Double Feature: Part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 17:04:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

Welcome back, I hope you had a wonderful night, mine was quite nice. Without further ado, here is part 2 of the Double Feature.
–––––––––––

On the Mend (part 7)

Samantha smiled and asked, “would you like me to help?”

“Nah, go read a book or something. I’ve gotta break a few eggs,” Alex raised his fists and threw a few shadow jabs and finished with an uppercut.

Samantha rolled her eyes, “you’re trying too hard.”

“A guy’s gotta have a little fun,” Alex said, placing the icepack on his finger as he headed to the fridge, “go read something, I’ll call you when I’m done.”

“I’d rather stay here and watch,” she said.

“To supervise?” he asked, sticking his head into the open door. He pulled out the milk and carton of eggs with his uninjured hand, and set them on the counter.

“No.”

“It’d be so boring though.”

“Au contraire,” she said, seductively pointing her right finger at her him as she leaned on the counter, “It’s better than any steamy novel I’ve read.”

“Now who’s trying to hard,” Alex asked, cracking an egg on the edge of the dipping bowl, opening it with one hand and tossing the shell into the sink in one fluid motion.

Samantha watched him break a few more eggs into the bowl. She laughed as he started pouring the milk from high above the bowl. Now he’s just showing off, I really hope this doesn’t lead to more trouble. “You know I would actually like some food this time, please don’t do anything stupid.”

Alex burst out into laughter, and began whisking the eggs and milk together with the fork. Turning to face her, he slowed the whisking motion, letting her watch the stringy bits of albumen and yolk as they slipped over top of the tines when they lifted out of the concoction.

“I’m gonna go read a book, so you don’t hurt yourself.”

“Aww, but you said you wanted to watch,” he winked at her, and began to beat the eggs in an extremely vigorous fashion.

“Oh, God,” she said, covering her face with her hand, “you’re really intent on killing this experience for me, aren’t you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I like it better when you cook like a normal person, and not like some sideshow act at a carnival.”

“Fine.” Alex said, setting down the bowl with dramatic melancholy.

“I guess I was wrong about men and cooking,” she said with a wink, “I’ll be reading in the living room if you need me.”

“Don’t get too hot and bothered,” he chuckled and waved her off, “I won’t be that much longer.”

“I won’t,” she said, looking over her shoulder and sticking her tongue out at him, as she walked out of the kitchen.

After dumping the pan into the trashcan and scraping out the char with the plastic spatula, Alex returned to the stove and started cooking again, making sure to keep his hand far back on the handle. After browning a few new pieces of french toast to perfection, he called out to her, “Breakfast is ready!”

Be sure to tune in next Sunday for part eight of On the Mend.

Sincerely,

NSB

Today's Challenge: Start a book club with your friends.

Excitement in Manhattan

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 01:46:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

This is not quite the double feature that I thought it would be. We have a tornado warning in Manhattan currently, and my attention has been diverted from writing about Alex and Samantha. I am currently under cover in our interior bathroom with Ashley, Soccer (our dog), and Dottie (my wife's adorable and moody pet chameleon). As you know from previous posts, I love storms, and I only wish I could go out and watch it, but today we are playing it safe.

Apparently this T-storm, the first big one of the year, felt like making real a splash. We've got all kinds of fun warnings, flash flooding and the like. Thankfully the tornado warning got bumped down to a watch, but we remain under a severe thunderstorm warning. Since the danger is over, for now, (a line of storms is developing behind this one), I will resume working on part 2, but I may be posting it late tonight or even some time tomorrow depending on if we have power or not. Please consider this to be an intermission. As always, thanks for stopping in, your continued readership means a lot to me.

Sincerely,
NSB

Serial Sunday #13 (Double Feature: Part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 24 Apr 2016 09:03:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

Here is the opening half of our Double Feature (I suppose episode is more accurate, but feature sounds better).
–––––––––––

On the Mend (part 6)

Alex looked over at the stove and saw a cloud of smoke coming up from the toast. Nearly tripping over her foot as he jumped into action, he reached out for the skillet with his left hand. Grabbing it too far up on the handle, in his haste, he burnt his finger badly, nearly dropping the pan as he flicked it over onto a cold burner.

“Are you ok?”

“I’ll be fine,” he said, quickly turning off the hot burner, before heading to the sink.

“How bad is it?”

Alex pulled his finger out from under the soothing flow of cold water for a moment, and winced when he prodded the small blister that formed on his reddened finger, quickly placing it back under the stream. “I’ll live.”

Samantha shook her head, “I’ll get you some ice.”

“That would be wonderful.”

Samantha smiled as she pulled a zippered baggie out of the drawer, and headed toward the refrigerator. “Does this mean that french toast is off?”

“Nah, it’s just a minor setback,” Alex said, blowing her a kiss from across the room, “but I think the french kisses should be postponed until after breakfast.”

“I guess,” Samantha sighed, and closed up the bag of ice, “but I’m holding on to this bag until I get a kiss.”

“A ransom is it?”

“Yes, and if you don’t pay, you’ll have to stand there running your finger under the water forever.” Samantha moved to accept a kiss yet to be offered, turning her side to him as she held the bag up at arms length so he couldn’t get it from her.

“Fine, I’ll pay,” he said. He made a quick snatch toward the bag, as he went in to kiss her with lips puckered, but she fended him off.

“That wasn’t part of the deal.”

“But I was going to kiss you.”

“Kisses first. Then you get the icepack.”

“Fine.” Alex smiled mischievously.

“No tricks, this time.”

“No tricks, dear.” Alex pursed his lips, and went in for the kiss.

Samantha met him, and when their lips touched, she threw her arms around him. Squeezing him tightly, until she felt his right arm wrap around behind her. She swatted his hand away when she felt him try to squeeze her bottom, and pulled away long enough to say, “You owe me three extra minutes, and no funny stuff.”

“Mhmm.”

The two of them sank deeper into the kiss, and once she felt he’d paid the ransom in full, she exited the kiss, and handed him the bag of ice.

“I think it’s melted,” he said holding up the baggie which now sloshed with a roll of water and ice crescents when he gave it a little shake.

“Oh, you stop that.”

“I just… Oh, never mind.” Alex turned off the water, went back to the stove, and with a quick wink over his shoulder, said, “I’ll just get cooking, then.”

Be sure to stop in later, for the second half of today's Double Feature!

Sincerely,

NSB

Today's Challenge: If the weather is nice, invite a friend for a picnic lunch!

A Recent Visit to The Konza

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 07:34:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

Not too long ago, I posted about my love for the area of the Konza Prairie Reserve that has been so graciously opened to the public by the land's owners (The Nature Conservancy). My wife's aunt came up to Manhattan this past weekend, and we had the pleasure of going a couple days after the annual burn (The prairie is systematically burned a section at a time, this time it was the third nearest the entrance). Due to time constraints, we hiked the short trail, but we had a lot of fun. Unfortunately, this may be one of my last visits to the beautiful Konza, as the public portion of the Konza may be shut down indefinitely.

Why? It is with great sadness and some anger that I must inform you that people are not following the simple rules laid forth to protect the sanctity of this wilderness refuge. The first of which being that No Dogs are allowed on the Konza, because they disturb the native species (I will spare you the diatribe about the rampant abuse of the ~~service dog~~, save to say that the practice is a worse than a spit in the face to the people who actually require Service Dogs for assistance). It just amazes me how the thoughtless actions of a few people can have such a negative impact on everyone. The opposite is also true, so it is important to always be thoughtful of the greater picture––doing so will ensure that others will be impacted in positive ways.

In order to end on a happier note, here are a few pictures I took on the nature hike. I hope you enjoy them.

Sincerely,
NSB

Love is Boss

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