Hot sauce!

The other night we had "breakfast dinner" at our house. It's a favorite of the kids. Nothing special about it, but we have breakfast for dinner. Scrambled eggs, bacon, and potato rounds fried in the bacon grease until they were brown and crispy. Mmmmm. I decided to have some La Preferida Louisiana Hot Sauce on my eggs. The kids were appalled, but it was awesome.

That got me to thinking about hot sauce and New Orleans. While there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, or sauces out there that claim to be New Orleans or Louisiana style hot sauce there's only one Tabasco. What, if any, impact did Katrina have on my beloved Tabasco? Should I stock up and prepare for future shortages?? I checked their website this morning and found the following message:

McIlhenny Company continues to operate normally at its headquarters and factory on Avery Island, Louisiana, which is located 135 miles west of New Orleans and was spared the devastation suffered by much of the southeastern part of Louisiana. The production of TABASCO® brand products is unaffected by Hurricane Katrina. Our New Orleans Office employees are all accounted for and have been relocated to our Corporate Office on Avery Island. We truly appreciate the many calls and emails of concern and best wishes we’ve received since the storm.


I think we can all sleep a little easier now.

Photographer in the making

The girls love, love, love taking pictures with our digital camera. Most of the pictures are really goofy shots of their feet, the inside of our refrigerator, wicked close-ups of their own eyes (I'm surprised they haven't gone blind from the flash), that sort of thing. But every so often a great shot results.

Flopsy, wearing Morgan's glasses

(by Morgan, our living room, 9/14/05)

This is Morgan's newest and most-loved stuffed animal. August was the Month of Ick for three out of the four of us: Emma got sick with a horrible terrible bug and gave it to Morgan, and then Morgan gave it to me. Sadly, Morgan's time with the Ick happened to coincide with what would have been a long camping weekend with Uncle Matt and Auntie Mandy, and so she had to...sniffle...stay home while Emma went camping. Oh, the humanity!

But by that Sunday morning she was so clearly on the mend that, to try to make her feel better about missing all the camping fun, we took her to Build-A-Bear Workshop*, a place she'd been begging to go to for months. It's quite a process--and not for the faint of heart, as not only is it in the Mall of America (one of my least favorite places in the world) but it involves long lines, many small children, giant machines of fluff, more long lines, critter birth certificates, and racks and shelves of stuffed animal clothing, shoes, and accessories. But Morgan was thrilled with the entire process.

And thus was Flopsy born.

(And wow, was Emma's little nose out of joint when she got home and discovered that Morgan had gone to Build-A-Bear Workshop while she was having camping fun! But we're about to level that playing field, as this Sunday Morgan will be off at a birthday party for one of her school friends [the girls are in separate classes] and Emma and I will be off at Build-A-Bear, building a bear. Or maybe a kitty. Or something.)

*The name is something of a misnomer, as Morgan did not build a bear but a bunny. She has since declared that "Build-A-Bear Workshop" should be renamed "Build-A-Friend Workshop," as one's critter choices are a bewildering array of bears, bunnies, kitties, doggies, giraffes, hippos, elephants, and many, many other beasts.

Empty Nest Update

Well, the empty nesters are doing quite well. There are some pros to being empty nesters, too:

1. No time schedule on weekends (or any other time for that matter).
2. Only cooking for two...or not cooking for two, just picking up whatever, whenever.
3. No adverse comments when Patsy Cline is singing her heart out! (Or me!)
4. No competition for the washer/dryer.
5. No role model duties.
6. Clothing optional.
7. Enjoying a good book without interruptions.

I just named a few...does anyone else have any pros to add to the list?

Thanks...And, By the Way, I'm Lovin' It!

Thanks to all of you that not only write great stuff (along with wonderful pics), but to those of you that read the blog, too! I feel like I am getting to know all of you better and that is what family "is."

Gary does get a little extra tip of the hat from me as to all his efforts to get this not only up and running, but by writing many interesting posts, too. I foresee this as a ongoing, wonderful for tool for all of us!

I AM loving it...when two or three days go by and I haven't read our blog, I can hardly wait to read what you've written! So, as Bob Hope said, "Keep those cards & letters coming!" Or, was that Dean Martin?

Daddy's little helper

Emma loves helping Pete with outside chores. Of course, it helps that Daddy lets her wear nifty gear like his goofy hat and ear protectors: