After Xmas

Jonathan Bartlett stealing my artwork

waiting for a shuffleboard court at the royal palms, playing hedbandz

The last season's shuffle board league standings.  I have been strong armed into being in the Gravy Train with Biscuit Wheels shuffleboard team with J Bartlett this season

That Scorpion Bowl at The Zombie Hut was a bad idea.  

New Year's eve with this guy and Jen's fam.  Korean BBQ and Karaoke in Annendale, VA

Met Jen's younger sister for the first time, it was freaky all weekend seeing them next to each other.

Eric broke out his cigar stash after midnight

Zachary's first time ice skating and my third time.  I had to stop after a while because of the injuries sustained just a week earlier.  That's what happens when you're living life to the extreme, on ice.

So close to having the same haircut if they would let me buzz the sides

I tried to make the wheels on his kiddie car chromed out.  He loved playing with a sheet of foil more than any toy.

Well that's it for 2014.  I'll have the 2014 year in review post up next.

Christmastime in the Valley - Part Five

red rocket red rocket

a journey into our 30+ acre forest

what animal would do this.

doing a "The Walking Dead" test to see if a zombie could get me in this deer hunting tree stand.  Not unless they were a basketball player.

So I guess this is the last Christmas photo.  Merry Christmas.

Christmastime in the Valley - Part 4

When I say Christmastime in the valley I mean the Canisteo Valley in western new york.  Canisteo is home of the "world famous" living sign that spells out the village's name in evergreen trees on this here hill.  Canisteo is a town with a population of 3,391 according to the 2010 census.  That's how we grew up.

Bob hates ice skating so much.  He says its the most terrifying thing you can do.  Eventually he could go super slow without holding on to the sides.  He's concentrating really hard here.

on the opposite end of the spectrum is the lovely Jennifer K Yoo, always the picture of style and grace

and somewhere in the middle is me, shredding it up like a super trick skater.  But no not really, it's just if the camera snaps you at the right moment it looks like you knew what you're doing.

but then some people do know what they're doing like Steven Hedley aka the Ice Wizard.  Look at that hang time!  He didn't have on his crystal studded show belt that he usually wears because he didn't know he would be casting spells on ice that weekend but he did have his signature "back in black" costume on.  

oh look its Yukon Cornelius from that stop motion classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

oh look its the young astronomers club.  Dorks.

So on our final night we recreated our gingerbread Christmas village atop some huge rocks and an old door.  We scattered some kindling and wood but didn't expect the results below.  We originally wanted to blow up the houses but fireworks are illegal in NY and we didn't have any knowledge or access to explosives so burning down the village was the best we could come up with.  Better than throwing them in the garbage.  There's something cathartic and primal and child like about setting your creation ablaze.  It also brought us all closer together and warmed the cockles of our holiday hearts.

In the documentary about McDonald's, "Super-size Me", Mickey Ds fries and a burger get put in a jar and never break down over a month compared to the same from a real restaurant that does of course decompose.  Here these M&Ms lived quite happily in Christmas village while it burned and didn't even melt.  Perhaps there is some kind of truth to the melts in your mouth not in your hand saying, or maybe you shouldn't eat these anymore.  We ate more of them.  And we ate McDonald's too.  

well here is your final holiday image of burnt destruction and embers.  Hope your holidays were as swell as ours.

Christmastime in the Valley - Part 3

We decorated gingerbread houses and constructed a Christmas village again.  This time we used a recipe called "structural gingerbread" because no one wanted to eat the houses last year.  Except Jen.  She really really wanted to eat everything.  Maybe next year we'll make real gingerbread again.  But wait....what do you do with a Christmas village that you can't eat?  You can't just throw it away.  See what plans we had for it in the next post.

Jen and Jason's house

Parent's deluxe sized house

Bob's Bachelor pad with Landseer Newfoundland dog pooing in the yard.

Steven and Sophie's house

A game of Zombies!!!  Screw people over, help each other out of go solo whilst the die determine your post apocalyptic zombie fate.

Bob got Cinelinx for christmas where you use your film knowledge to link up actors, directors, movies, genres together.  

we visited our grandfather, Bob Raish Sr. who together with his brother Tom won the Irish sweepstakes in 1959.  They went to collect their winnings in Ireland and had a ball and lots of adventures. It was quite a bit of money, he bought their house, a car, and paid for all his kids.

He was in the paper in his hometown but also in the paper in Ireland.

Hashbrowns first try with the stainless steel professional Miu mandoline slicer that Bob got me for Christmas.  Thanks bobbles