Today was a very special day.  

The only visitor we had today was Andrea, the health aid, who gave Dick his bath.   We were pretty well rested when she got here as both of us had a reasonably good night's sleep.

I DID have to get up at 5AM to put the venison roast in the crock pot.   I fixed it as a pot roast this year and it had to cook for at least 9 hours.   After I got it started, I fed the cat and went back to bed until 7AM.

When we got up, we had breakfast and then I baked some Irish Brown Bread to take along too.  

I left for Eileen's house at about 12:30PM.    Everybody gathered between 1 and 2PM.   We had a nice crowd.   Randy and Donna,  all three of their girls, Erin and her Jon, Becky, Brian and Elizabeth and Jessica,   Jeff, Kathy and Shane, Dolores, Ken, Kurt and Jody with Evan and Sean and Todd's Morgan, John and Holly (who came late) and, of course, Eileen and Fred.

Jeff brought me two of the greatest presents EVER.    Remember when I was deer hunting.   The last year, Jeff set me up closer to the road than I had been and just over the hill from his stand.    A perfect buck came over the ridge from my left and ran across in front of me.  I got three shots off at the darn thing but he ran faster than I could shoot.   BUT, I drove him over the hill right to Jeff who got him.   Jeff always said that that was OUR deer and I loved that.   He proved it today by bringing me the antlers mounted on a plaque for hanging.   It has the year and our names carved above and the names of all my fellow hunters on the bottom.   I will take a picture and post it soon.   He also gave me a picture from 1993 of one of the first sausage tasting days after rabbit hunting.  Kenny, Jeff, Randy, LeRoy Kramer, Jim Karls and  wonder fully, Tim are on that picture.    I will treasure it and frame it.

Only 15 contestants were in the beer tasting contest.  There were 21 beers.  Since Bing and Bobbie weren't there, Eileen helped me serve the beer to the enthusiastic crowd.    When we were about half way through, Jody arrived with Evan and the two of them helped wash the glasses as the rounds finished.   We really could have used more glasses.  

Little Elizabeth was a lot of help too.  She helped put the glasses on the trays for us.    Her only question was why we did not have root beer.  

The final winner was Kurt with a taste off with Becky and Jon.    Jon and Kurt tied on the taste off and since Jon and Erin aren't going to get married in the next 24 hours,  Kurt was declared the winner.

The we dined and we dined and we dined.   We had the pot roast, vegetarian taco soup, turkey in gravy, pheasant enchiladas, Brunswick stew, beans, potatoes, 7 layer salad, smoked fish, chips and dip and steak sandwiches.   I hope I didn't forget anything.  Everything was spectacular.   I told everybody that if they send the recipes, I would be glad to put together a little family cookbook for us.

I was done eating and able to leave at about 5:20PM.   So I got home very close to the 5:30PM that I told Dick would be the time.    He did OK while I was gone.  That is comforting, but of course, I don't like to be gone for quite that long a time.

So it was a perfect day from my point of view.  I found out that Nora and Leif will be in Wisconsin for St. Patrick's Day so that will be another family get together.     So cool.

Tomorrow will be much quieter.   I will go to Mass at 9:30AM and pick up a couple of Brats from the KC's Winter Brat Fry.   So I won't even have to cook.  

Ken and Dolores gave me an absolutely delicious hunk of smoked trout.   They got it from a friend.   It is SO delicious.   Bobbie, I will share if you would like.

So. until tomorrow.

Dia Dhuit

Mary