Charcuterie

Stephanie, Yuko and I had a day of sausage making. It started with 21 lbs. of pork which had to be cut up and ground twice

The easy part, adding herbs and spices - here it's all about taste. We experimented with three different batches. We made one batch with lots of fresh herbs, paprika, garlic, and sherry, and another batch had bay leaf, white wine, garlic, red pepper flakes and fennel seed - really anything goes. It was fun to cook a little up and taste and adjust seasoning as we went along.

The tricky part was mastering the stuffing in the casing. This was definitely easier with two people working together.

Evening out the thickness of the links

The final result - Oh yeah!

Give It Up to Dana Dee

Some of my most inspiring friends are those I made while attending Warren Wilson College in the Blue Ridge Mountains. One of my very first friends at school was Dana Dee, who has now bought herself some acreage in those mountains and is working on building herself a homestead. She's picked the spot of her future home and garden and is working to clear that area, felling trees and even brought a portable sawmill to cut the boards for her future house. It's a huge amount of work which I've been watching from afar, luckily she keeps an awesome blog. She's been hosting weekend work parties and has been involved in every little aspect. I can't wait to go visit and see the progress for myself and lend a small hand. I'm so happy for her and had to share a few of her pictures to show off her handiwork.

One of the large burn piles from the clearing

That's D tiding up a burn pile

Felled trees which she's using to build her home

A local bad ass named Carl who's working with D to saw and stack her lumber

Some of her stacks

Dana in front of boards which will become her new house looking pretty dang happy.

Water Dog

I love outings when Hazel Roy gets to come. He's a great companion and is always up for an adventure especially when water's involved. This weekend we went out on the Little Miami on the stretch from the covered bridge to the Old Mill, about 8 miles. Hazel's preference was to swim alongside the canoe.

Clare Bear, Dog Whisperer

Cornhole in Chattanooga

I just got back from a work trip in Chattanooga. We were busy the whole time and I didn't get many pictures except a couple from playing a few rounds of cornhole in the middle of the night in the middle of downtown. Who knew the reaches of our local cornhole game? Apparently those Chattanoogans love the game. So did the other folks we were with from Detroit.

Oh yes, that is the Chattanooga Choo Choo sign off in the distance.

Picking Figs - Hickory Grove, South Carolina

Ashvegas

On our drive down to South Carolina this past weekend we stopped through Asheville, North Carolina to visit the Houstons. It was a good ol' time visiting with family. All of Andy's cousins grew up in Asheville (which is why this post is called Ashvegas - i've heard tell that local teens who grow up in the area refer to Asheville as Ashevegas - is this true?). We tried a bit of T. Mox's homebrew, some moonshine and watched the cousins do some fourwheeling in the yard. Here's a video of some typical Houston fun.

The Romance of Cabbage

Tearing Up the Front

I have wanted to plant our front yard for a long time but have been more focused in the back. Well I finally decided to just give it a go. I am starting small - just in the shaded area to the right of the sidewalk, below the Japanese Maple to begin. It will be a work in progress but it is exciting!

My friend Karen brought over her tiller to help loosen the soil and the uproot the grass. More pictures to come soon!