A living legend at Rock Ledge Ranch

Last weekend we had a very cool opportunity. The Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site, the area's wonderful living history ranch, conducted a free concert on its lawn. 

The man himself. Willie Houston stole the show with an unbelievable blues sound. Think B.B. King with a raspier voice and less name recognition.

This wasn't just some local country group that's trying to get off the ground: It was a living musical legend. It was Willie Houston and the Blues Prowlers. 

Willie Houston and the Blues Travelers

Willie is 82 years old. As they told us at the event, he was born in the Louisiana cotton country and steeped in southern folk and blues music. Eight decades later, the man can still wail! He played for probably two hours from a mobile trailer stage. His band was very good, as well, but Willie was really the star of the show. Think B.B. King with a raspier voice and less name recognition. If you get the chance to check out Willie, I guarantee that you won't be disappointed. (And no, that wasn't meant to sound dirty)

We met up with our new friends Travis and Ree and their cute 14-month-old son Sammy. They caught the tail end of the show before inviting us over for ice cream and gluten-free beers. 

Travis and Ree, some new friends of ours who just moved here from Massachusetts, joined us for the concert. 

All-in-all, I can think of no better way to spend a warm Saturday evening than watching the sun set over the mountains and listening to magnificent live music. The fact that we were doing so on the front lawn of an 1800s orchard home with a trio of new pals just sealed the deal for me.

Andy entertains Sammy while the sun sets behind them. It's important to introduce children to good music early.

Hangin' with the "in" crowd

My 10 year high school reunion was July 4. I didn't go. The reasons are plenty: It was too expensive; I was too new at my job; I just didn't give a damn. I really didn't like high school much, and I certainly keep in touch with the people from my graduating class whom I care about. In part, my complete and utter ambivalence kept me from being considered "popular" in the traditional sense. 

High school popularity, at least at Sioux City North High School between 1994 and 1998, is a ridiculous-but-complicated social structure based largely on your parents' income. I should have been a cheerleader, a tennis player, a member of the student council and one of the kids who spent her weeks planning school dances and weekends drinking booze in the corn fields. Instead, I chose to ride horses, travel across the country and participate in the school music, drama and honors programs. National Honor Society was considered an acceptable thing for the "cool" kids to involve themselves in; theater was border-line; and choir was a flat-out no. Unless you wanted to slack off for an hour a day. If you actually cared about the music, you were a "choir queer," just a step up from a "band geek." 

 

Andy claims to have been a shy kid in high school, although you'd never know it now. He says he kept mostly to his circle of friends, and he left a legacy in the Prospect High School theater department for his technical theater work. It's not every day that they create a senior award for you! But I can only imagine where this accomplishment - that I consider remarkably cool - would have ranked on the North High School cool-o-meter. 

So it strikes me as ironic that, now that we're all grown up, Andy and I are part of the "in" crowd! I had to laugh about that Saturday, after I got home from work. The apartment complex was hosting a resident appreciation pool party. I missed the entire thing but was pleased to see my husband represented our family with flying colors. When I arrived at the aftermath of the shindig, Andy was lolling in the pool, talking to some friends of ours. Other friendss were playing poker around a table reserved for apartment staff members, while still others were relaxing - and wrestling - in the hot tub. My dear friends Eve, Mallory and Ashley reserved a lounge chair for me, and greeted me with hugs and kisses. There were lots of "hi"s, "I'm so glad you made it"s and "come have a drink"s. There were also plenty of hugs and knuckle bumps to go around.

Inexplicably we are part of the "cool" clique: the group that everyone knows and that always seems to be having exorbitant amounts of fun together. Other residents kept a watchful eye on our antics - and there were plenty, mind you - from a distance. When I invited one young woman to join us, she got embarrassed and said she was waiting for her friends to show up. 

What a comic, or cruel, genius fate can be. After all this time, the social structure still exists, albeit now based on individual merits and personality. My hope is that eventually we can all learn to infiltrate into the "in" crowd, and that the hierarchy fades away. 

In the meantime, my new friends and I are going shopping!

A (potential) new challenge?

I hinted a few days ago that there may be something to tell about new job opportunities. I'll continue to hint, because I haven't gotten the job yet, but I am interviewing on July 31 for what may be the biggest move of my career. And I'm preparing for it with a book on forensic auditing and the patient guidance of my kind and generous in-laws. 

Let me explain: A forensics auditing firm called NIA Consulting is searching for a financial reports editor. They are only looking for someone in the Springs and only someone with a proven track record of writing and editing experience. An advanced degree is on their "preferable" list. Given that I live in the Springs, have been reporting and editing for nearly six years and do, in fact, have that master's degree, I decided to throw my name into the hat. The problem is, while I'm a bang-up reporter and editor, forensic auditing ain't exactly my thing. And I want to knock this one out of the ballpark - the salary alone (double what I made as a full-time reporter) is worth it!

My father-in-law, Paul Peterson, found a book for me to read in preparation of the big day. It, honest to God, is called "Forensic Auditing for Non-Experts." Which is basically the politically correct way of saying "Forensic Auditing for Dummies!" I expect the book to arrive on my doorstep any day now, and am eagerly looking forward to the 31st. 

Please keep your fingers crossed and send your positive thoughts out west for a successful interview. I'll keep you all informed. 

Of birthdays and broadcasts...

Hi, friends and family!

Well, it's Monday, July 14, and I'm coming off a busy, busy two weeks. 

Andy's birthday barbecue was smashing. The brisket turned out WONDERFUL, although it was a little difficult and required my committing to spending the entire day at the apartment. No worries, I'd done my 18 mile walk on Thursday instead of Friday. Thanks to all who called or sent e-mails to wish him a happy birthday! I know he was really touched to hear from everyone: Especially the different renditions of the birthday song. :) 

It was a super busy weeknd for me. The station decided to put me on the air for the first time anchoring newscasts. My news director's suggestion was I would do the bottom of the hour (on the 30s) and my trainer, Jim, would do the top of the hour. Jim felt otherwise and just had me do all of them. That meant I cut and played two newscasts an hour for eight hours straight. In between, I was writing scripts, updating stories and just struggling to keep afloat. All went well (only a few flubs) for my first weekend on the air, and I'm picking up weekday hours cutting voicers for the station. Working in Hannity-land is definitely not something I intend to do forever, but it's OK until something better comes along. (More on that later.) 

So now we're off to the races for another week. I was supposed to start training for the U of Phoenix position this week, but it looks as though my transcripts didn't make it there in time, so I'll start next week. That's actually preferable, since I'll be wrapping up round one just before the start of the 3Day. I'll walk and hit round two of training as soon as I get back. 

Hope you're all doing well. Love and miss y'all,

Regan

Easy weekend recipes

It's been a while since I posted any new recipes, but in honor of Andy's birthday - and the fact that it's Friday - here are a few new ones. These are for side dishes. 

Andy's scientifically-proven-to-be-the-very-best-in-the-world potato salad

I'm a journalist. Ergo, I'm not allowed to have any opinions at all, everything that I say is proven fact. (Can you hear the sarcasm dripping, yet?) Thus, this is, in fact, the very best potato salad in the world. The recipe is super easily doubled for big parties, and guaranteed to disappear. The trick is the ice cold water on both the front and back end of cooking the potatoes. 

Serves: 5 to 10 fairly comfortably, although you always run out. Always. Without fail.

Preparation time: Do yourself a favor and give yourself an hour before you serve this salad: You'll understand why once you try it. 

Ingredients: 

• 2 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes

• 6 radishes

• 3 stalks celery

• 3 eggs, hard boiled

• 1/2 large or one small golden onion

• 1/2 C Miracle Whip or mayonnaise

• Seasoned salt to taste

• Fresh ground pepper to taste

• Course salt, either Sea salt or Kosher, to taste

• Sweet Paprika to taste

You'll also need: A large bowl of ice-cold water in which to soak the potatoes.

Directions

1) peel and quarter potatoes. Immediately soak the sliced potatoes in the ice water for at least 30 minutes. 

2) While potatoes are soaking, clean and finely chop the onion, radishes and celery. 

3) Heat about a gallon of water to boiling. Salt with a dash of table salt and carefully lower in potatoes. DO NOT DISCARD THE ICE WATER. You'll want it later. 

4) Return water to boiling and boil the potatoes to desired doneness. For firmer potatoes, 7 minutes; for softer, more creamy potatoes, about 10 minutes. 

5) While potatoes are boiling, hard-boil eggs in a smaller pot. Add a pinch of table salt to boiling water to help with shell removal. Hard boiled eggs take about 10 minutes.

6) Remove both potatoes and eggs from boiling water and immediately place in the ice water you saved from first soak. This will stop them from cooking immediately. Allow them to sit for five minutes or so, then remove eggs and drain potatoes into large colander.

7) Allow potatoes to stay in colander until dry. Peel eggs and slice them into thin rings while the potatoes dry. 

8) Once the potatoes are dry, build your salad. Mix together in a large bowl potatoes, celery, onion and radishes. Add Miracle Whip or mayonnaise and mix well. It will be coated, but not overly creamy. If desired, add more dressing.

9) Season with salt, pepper and seasoned salt to taste. 

10) Top salad with sliced eggs to cover. Sprinkle with as much paprika as you desire. 

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Chopped Coleslaw with apples and celery

This tangy, vinegar-tinted coleslaw is simply the best I've ever had. I will never, ever serve another slaw as a side dish. It's another Steven Reichland masterpiece. (I owe him, and BBQ USA so much.) I made this for the first time on July 4, and it went over gangbusters. Too bad it was left out and not good the next day. :( It will make a second showing tonight alongside my inaugural brisket and some of Grandma Foster's Chocolate Pie.

Serves: A hell of a lot, depending on how much they've had to drink. (A dozen-plus easily)

Preparation time: No advanced preparation required.

You'll also need: A large, non-conductive (plastic or ceramic) mixing bowl.

Ingredients

For the slaw: 

• 1 medium sized head of cabbage (1 1/2 to 2 pounds)

• 2 stalks celery

• 1 red delicious apple

• 1 small onion

For the dressing: 

• 1/2 C Miracle Whip or mayonnaise

• 3 T apple cider vinegar

• 3 T sugar

• 1 tsp. celery salt

• 1 tsp. black pepper

Directions: 

1) Make the dressing by combining all the ingredients in a large, non-reactive bowl. Whisk well until the salt and sugar dissolve. Set aside. 

2) Core and chop the cabbage as course as desired. Reichland suggests processing it in the blender until it's fine: I prefer to shred mine with a heavy kitchen knife. 

3) Peel, core and finely chop the apple.

4) Clean and finely chop the celery. 

5) Clean and finely chop the onion. 

6) Fold the vegetables and fruit together in a large, non-conductive bowl. 

7) Drizzle with the dressing, toss to make sure all is getting coated. 

8) Set aside for 10 minutes to allow the vinegar to "cook" the cabbage. Then try it. If you want, add more vinegar, celery salt or pepper to taste. 

9) Let sit for at least 30 minutes before serving. This can be made up to 4 hours in advance of serving and refrigerated.

Great grilling birthday, Benz-Man!

Today, Friday, is Andy's 30th birthday. Officially three decades for my hubby and best friend. I'm looking forward to at least seven more decades, but that's not the point of this entry. 

For his 30th, my parents bought him a gas grill. Now, anyone who has watched Andy at the helm of the barbecue knows that he says charcoal is the only form of grilling. But our new apartment managers tend to disagree because, as it turns out, you're more likely to set your home on fire with charcoal than propane. So at my recommendation and their generosity, my folks opted to introduce him to the wonderful world of gas grills.

 

Yay a grill we can use! Some assembly required.

They assigned me the task of finding said grill and picking it out, so we wouldn't have to pay for shipping. I found the Mother Ship of all apartment grills on sale at Target. It's a three-burner Amana with side grate and a five-foot wingspan: Truly an impressive monstrosity on our small balcony. I'm breaking it in today, with my first ever smoked beef brisket. Adjusting the temperature so it cooks low and slow is proving a bit more of a challenge than I had anticipated, but so be it. 

Here's the good part of the story. My friend Eve went with me to pick it up. We knew we were in trouble when it took two burly college-aged guys to lift the damn thing into the back of the pickup. There was no way that Eve - a willowy 21-year-old who looks like a supermodel - and I were going to get it out of the truck, up three flights of stairs and into the apartment by ourselves. We debated getting a couple of the maintenance guys to help out, but opted against it. 

Instead, we wrapped it in the bed of the truck and left it there. When Andy got home from work, this is what he saw.

 

If lifting it out ain't an option, leave it in. Those little black specs are pirate stickers, and there's a gigantic bright pink bow on top of the gift. Eve and I were a little slap-happy when we undertook this wrap job. 

P.S., hour one down and the brisket is looking AWESOME! It sat in a pretty intense flavor rub for 12 hours. Now it cooks for seven more hours, being - get this - misted with apple cider vinegar every hour, and this 12 pound monstrosity of meat should be ready to be pulled apart and made into sandwiches. I'll let you know how it turns out. If it's as well as every other recipe from Steven Reichland's barbecue bible, I will post it later.  

P.P.S., if you're reading this and get the chance, give the man a call and wish him a happy 30th! 

Happy Fourth!

Happy Fourth of July, everyone! 

Just a brief post to tell you all that we love you and are thinking of you on this Independence Day. And also to remind everyone that, as we're sitting by pools, watching parades and sopping up barbecue, there are thousands of patriots who are unable to celebrate with us because they are busy defending our nation's freedoms. We've made some wonderful friends since we've moved here who are desperately missing their soldiers. 

May the Gods, in whatever form they take for you, watch over our troops and keep them safe today and every day.