Rotties make poor floaties

Tried to teach Ms. Mina to swim yesterday. I kind think she'd have just sunk like a stone. She was not a fan.

She kept circling the pool trying to drag out any other dog that decided to get in. Very concerned.

The House Painting

This was the house before prepping began. The whole house was pretty much just a solid creamy/buttery color that was pretty gross. Not quite beige, not quite off white, not quite anything. When we moved in I stained the front rails and did a little bit of black trim.

Prepping

Priming

Trimming

Accenting

June photoblog

Summer and I did a smash-and-grab trip to Memphis for a day to see Eddie Vedder play at The Orpheum. Liam Finn opened and came back later to join him. Great show, pretty weird town. Made Nashville feel like a major metropolis.

The next week my good pal Paul took me and Shawn to see our first MLB game at the Trop, along with Paul's brother.

I was going to put the pictures of the house painting here, but this post is already a little epic. Look for a new post the house pictures in it ...

Photoblog: Yard Stuff

If I had to guess now, we're too into a rainy season to get the house painted. Pablo the Painter hasn't even been by since he was supposed to come give me the estimate, but with all this wet - there's no way he could do it anyway. Next year!

But, here are some new additions to the yard. Well, they're used, but still - new to me!

Rockers and table on the front porch

Solar lights on shepherd hooks and a bird bath

A new mailbox

And now a small update on the last three rescued rose bushes. First, the one that has come along the most, the only one I know what it is - the Wild Blue Yonder.

This is what it looked like a few days after I'd picked them up and repotted it.

Here is the same plant about a month later.

One of the blooms.

And now the other two, which I have no clue as to what they are. One produces a white rose, but I don't remember which. I was scared to cut these back too much when I started, they barely had leaves and were just transplanted. I thought that might be too much shock. as they are filling in, I am trying to cut them back little by little. They'll get solid cutbacks at the end of this season.

Before

After

Before

After

Oh, heck, and while I'm at it, here are a few other random pics of some recent roses.

I just call this plant my red rose since it's unmarked and, well, red.

And the always-popular Double Delight.

Closure

You can't always get what you want, and things are not even supposed to always go your way.

That much is a certainty.

I could to say a lot about my Dad's passing.

He could have gone sooner, or he could have never told me what was going on. We could have spent more time together. We could have gone the better part of '06 and '07 without both being a baby about calling the other. Someone could have found the letter or otherwise honored his wishes about how he wanted some things happened.

None of that really matters anymore, and I ended up making a decision on Thursday night to push everything else aside and just go be with family and honor his memory. To console his sister, brother, father-in-law and family. To make sure to tell each and every one of them what a good man he was despite some of his choices and his temperament in a lot of situations. He was always good to me. He was my father. The only one I'll ever know.

Though not bound by blood or law or anything else, he chose to treat me as his own when my biological father never even made an attempt, not only while he was married to my mother but up to the day he died. He gave my mother money from time to time when we needed and he had without hesitation. He taught me a lot, either by just watching him live his life or by direct instruction. He gave me a love for science fiction, taught me how to ride and how to respect and use a firearm. He pressed me to move on past Jax and be my own man and live the life I wanted to lead despite any pressure to the contrary. He (tried to) give me my first car. He also (tried to) leave me his last two remaining possessions of value. He watched me graduate high school, undergrad and grad school. He was proud of what I've done since college.

We are products of our environment and of our upbringing. My dad is partially responsible for who I am today and all that I have done. He will live with me always and forever. Literally, even.

He wanted to be cremated and to be sent up to the Ridge in TN in a bottle of Crown Royal as an urn and given final rest up in those mountains.

At the end of the day yesterday, after it had dwindled down to a core group of friends and family, we honored his wishes and collectively helped put him in the biggest bottle of Crown I believe they make. He not only filled it, but there was still a lot of the big fella left. I'd brought a small bottle with me, and after the majority of him had been prepared for his final ride, my uncle, aunt and one of dad's oldest and closest friends loaded up my bottle for me to take home. After we all passed it around and each toasted him, of course.

The big bottle is sitting on my aunt's mantle, they said they'd put a can of coke next to it until the drive to TN.

I have more than one piece of my dad - the piece I carry inside and the piece of him that sat in the passenger's seat and is now in my living room. I am sure that sounds totally creepy or possibly totally trashy and I honestly couldn't begin to care.

In the end - who he was to me, the memories I carry and knowing that part of him literally and figuratively will stay with me is really worth more than any possessions.

I needed yesterday, and I'm leaving it at that. The past two weeks are at a close and I am in every way ready to move on.

Michael Glenn Jenkins, RIP

This is the second obit that I've written in as many days, but this one is way more impacting.

My dad passed away this afternoon. He'd been fighting cancer for almost a year and a half. I got the news about his condition last year while doing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. I wasn't allowed to act like I knew for months (which was upsetting and awkward), which may sound absurd, but it's what he wanted. Some others in my immediate family weren't told until just a few weeks ago. That's just how he was.

I'm thankful for the time we had, particularly last Christmas. Originally the doctors had only given him until roughly Nov. or Dec. of last year. Initially refusing treatment, he went on to get help from a doctor he trusted and who worked with him on a plan that took care of his health and what he was and wasn't ok with as far as how that treatment went (He was hellbent on no chemo). Also very indicative of my dad's stubbornness in a way. I was just happy he was getting some help, and in the end I have to think it accounted for these past 6 months which could have been looked at as borrowed time.

It was hard for me to be working with a death clock in the back of my head, and just tried to stay positive and make the time we had as meaningful as possible. We'd even been trying to arrange meeting in Jacksonville some time between last month and June.

He had planned on leaving Savannah and retiring up to the Blue Ridge Mountains by summer to live with family. He had some loose ends to take care of and was also trying to sort out some financial issues that would allow him to leave and not have to come back. He loved it up there.

Despite some doctor warnings he continued to work. He said he just couldn't sit around, and there was also money at stake - which he needed. I know he messed up his rotator cuff on two separate occasions, lifting more than he was supposed to. Did I mention the old guy was stubborn?

He worked right up to the end. The story, as my uncle Craig told my mother, is that he was out at a woman's house today working on her roof and began to not feel well and so he knocked off. After coming down the ladder he collapsed and was unresponsive. He was also unresponsive when the paramedics came, and after they got him to the hospital they still couldn't revive him.

It was a massive heart attack.

No one, my mother and I included, knows of any history of heart issues with him. He just had a full transfusion last week and was talking about how great he felt, and had spoken to my mother both Thursday and Sunday.

I talked to my mom right after that yesterday, and she passed on a message to tell me he loved me and to call him. I didn't call him back last night, which I'm not going to tear myself up over or anything, I couldn't have known, and had fully intended to call him tonight when I got home from work.

It just goes to show though how things can go down, and that when you have chances to connect with those around you whom you love to take those opportunities at every turn.

I've never been the best person at keeping up with people, making time when I need to, and I'm certainly not typical when it comes to dealing with grief (though I'm not sure if there is any typical way).

I'm torn - on the one hand I think I've been preparing for this since last April. I knew his time was going to be limited, but it really seemed his health had improved so much and the treatment he was getting really seemed to be making him better and certainly had him in much better spirits. Maybe I thought there'd be signs, some degradation first. The other part of me is really in shock right now that it was a heart attack, which I'm not even sure has a relation to the cancer. I know he was under a lot of stress, I know he had a tendency to work himself too hard.

I know my dad though, and I know for a fact he'd have far rather gone down on his own terms and on his own feet than in a bed or otherwise at the mercy of doctors. I have to think he'd be ok with the way he passed on. From what I'm told it was extremely quick.

And that's really all I know now. My uncle Craig and aunt Linda are driving up to Savannah right now to take care of things at the hospital as his next of kin. I know his wishes were to be cremated and taken up to the Blue Ridge Mountains. He didn't want a service or ceremony, and he didn't want to be buried in Georgia.

I doubt I'll get a call tonight, but I'll likely call them in the morning if I don't get a call first and see what's been sorted out.

I'm sure I'll post more later, but this is all I think I have in me right now. It's still settling in, processing.

I'll sign off with some pictures from Christmas. These are the last photos I have of the two of us.

I love you, Dad.

I'm smokin' now ...

Home Depot has these cool locker-style smokers on sale for like $63 (down from what was $160), and I had room on my mighty grill platform to fit something like that. Simple enough, the smoker was mine.

I decided to put it to the test last night for a Friday Night Recession Drinking Club meeting (I think I might have just made that sound more official than it actually is). Allow me to step back.

See, a few weeks back our pals The Culinary Sherpas decide to have us over for drinks and food as a thank you. We had a great time, lots o' drinking was done and I think we finally got around to eating around 11 or 11:30 that night. A great time was had by all.

Little did we know then, but it may become "a thing."

We decided to return the favor and have them over last night. At first, I thought about getting all fancy and fusiony as I am typically want to do. The longer I thought about it though the more appealing southerny comforty food sounded. Earlier this week, I made a casserole of onions and broccoli for dinner (hey, it's what we had, don't judge) during the week that totally put a crazing in my head that I haven't had in at least 15 years - Vidalia Onion Pie. It's a savory pie - all onions and cheese and sour cream with some eggs, butter and a few other tidbits that kick it up and make it awesome.

I couldn't shake the onion pie craving for a few days, even though Summer sounded horrified about it (*squishes up face* "It's NOT going to be sweet? Are you sure?"), but what to make around it?

I wasn't initially going to test the smoker on invited guests - I've never used a smoker in my life - but I made myself up for the challenge (making two things I'd never made before - definitely not my way). Add to that SteamyKitchen's Wasabi-Lime-Cilantro butter that rocks the husk off of some grilled corn, old-skool fresh green beans with nothing more than white onion and smoked hamhocks (seriously, there was nothing else in there) and a cole slaw I made up (ok, so it was a little fusiony - used sesame oil, cilantro and red wine vinegar with a ton of white onion in it, which I really dig in slaw) and it was a menu I was pretty stoked over and totally reminded me of food I grew up on.

Not much in the way of frills, and for the most part utilizing slow-cooking that takes care of most of the flavor.

A few notes from my first experience smoking:

• If you buy a Brinkmann and it says in your manual you can cure the smoker AND still have enough coal left to prepare food in it - it is lying. Big, fat lie. I started losing heat maybe 4.5-5 hrs after I lit it up (which was maybe 2.5-3 hrs into cooking). As a result, a 4 hour smoke job turned into a 6 hours smoke job to get the meat right.
• If you get a Brinkmann locker style smoker and are having trouble getting the heat right with a full pan of coals and all 4 vents open, you can crack the door to the coal pan to give it a bit more oxygen to feed on and you should see a rise in temperature.
• Or, as I just learned, you might want to drill a few holes in the bottom of the coal pan to allow for better air circulation in your fire. Seems most experienced smokers who get this model agree this is the mod you want to make.
  
• Leave the goddamn thing alone. This is the hardest part for me. As a test, I decided to do nothing to the meat (leaving the chickens whole) apart from a dry-rub (paprika, garlic powder, pepper, onion powder, salt, pepper, thyme, chili powder) to see what it would be like. Whole chickens are way cheaper than parts and it stands to reason they'd hold up better in for long smoking, staying juicier). I resisted all temptation to look at the meat (opening the door loses heat and smoke), turn it too often (ditto), or just stare at the bloody thermometer for 10 minutes every time I made a small adjustment to try to raise the heat. You can't Jedi mind-trick a thermometer. I know, I tried. Greg had come by shortly after my heat crisis and gave me sage advice - walk away from it for at least 5 minutes if you make any kind of modification to the temperature. As a griller, this is hard. I'm used to moving things a lot, riding each piece around the grill almost like a game, and mopping the whole way through.
• Don't underestimate the power of real quality lump hardwood charcoal and actual hardwood for your smoker. Just don't cheap out - a lot of the flavor of your food comes this part. Again, my chickens came out delicious and all I did was rub spices on them before the smoking process.
• This was a tip from Greg - let the chickens sit for at least 10 minutes before carving, it helps level out the temperature inside the birds (and will likely avoid you getting squirt with molten juices). I think the easiest way to carve them it is to just quarter the chickens. If properly smoked, they come right apart. Quarters can then easily be made into individual pieces.
  
• Save the carcass! One it's quartered, there's still that part you might think to just toss - but don't. That business right there makes great stock!

I am still reveling in my smoky goodness. Ok, I still smell like my smoky goodness to tell you the truth. So does my oven where I stored the 6 chickens until we ate and the sink where I cut up and bagged the remaining chickens. I guess I'll eventually hit the shower today at some point.
And, while I'm thinking about it, there's some real merit in the FNRDC. In addition to just hanging out and talking with feriends without all the distractions and hassles of going out - I spent roughly the same amount of money on groceries and on beverages at Total Wine as I would have spent on our tab at New World and a late night trip to Memas's or La Teresita. That covered food and drinks for four people instead of just 2 and left me with 4-point-something remaining chickens and a SLEW of other leftovers (We never even got around to eating the corn last night. Twice.) - which is cool since the girl is headed to New York for a week on Sunday. I know what I'm eating while she's gone, and I'll be happy as hell about it.

This smoking thing could be dangerous. I see how wives lose their men to backyard beasts and how guys get all McGyver on converting drums and whatnot into smokers. I guess it's like how certain stoners start looking at how everything could be made into a bong.

Smoking takes time, and couldn't possibly ever take the place of the grill, but I'm already thinking of what I can put in the magic box next. A pork butt? Fish? A couple of racks of ribs?

I'll be sure to update, next time hopefully with pictures.

What now?

Since Inishmore closed, a whole whopping 7 days ago, I have pretty much gotten everything back to normal in the house. It's clean, there's no piles of laundry or dishes, the yard's been groomed etc.

Still trying to revive the 3 rose bushes dug up from theonebob's yard. The rest are all lovely right now. I will get up more pictures when they are all show-worthy.

I also did some work on the pond - installed barley pads after a few people all swore by them. Planeted caladium on the shelves, covered the external filter and added a nifty tiki god torch in the rock area. If the algae ever decides to clear it will actually look nice.

I also dug up the weird landscaping stuff and bleeding heart out of the front yard (a way bigger project than I imagined) and replaced it all with 4 azaleas (two white, two lavendar). The landscaping items all went into the back yard in the corner, where they will hopefully thrive.

Items on a short list:

• Replace kitchen drawer that's been broken since sometime in 2008. Need to measure it all out and get the specs to HD for custom build. I measured the drawer itself before going in, so I get a do-over. I should get out there for that this week, this weekend at the latest.
  
• Put a 42" French gothic fence around the front yard - one gate in the front and a gate on the side. Once that's up it will help me figure out what I really want to do to the front yard. I priced it all out this weekend and plan on doing that May 2-3.
• Weighing gazebo/furniture options for the back. Either some stuff will come through from theonebob, or I'll be purchasing new. Would rather get the used stuff for less, so will wait on that.
• Sent a list of electrical work I need done outside to a friend of a friend, waiting on a quote. Ideally I would sort the gazebo out first since I'm sure I'll want electrical in that.
  
• Painting the house is still on the table for this year, but I should talk to that guy fast before we get into rainy season.
• Add a picnic table in the front driveway corner of the backyard.
• Build runway that goes from main deck to grill deck, then a T section that will go to the pond, thus establishing "rooms" in the back. As with the fence in the front, this should give me a better idea with what I want to do to each.
• Get that rope-a-dope smoker "locker" before grilling season!
• I still really want a rain barrel. There is no reason not to have one except I wish they were just more convenient to pick up.
• Add a gutter to the front of the house and the back, eliminating the "waterfall" at either exit of the house. If rain barrels are procured, they will be emptied into those.
  

That's honestly more than I'll actually do in the next two months before I pick up Pericles rehearsals, but it's good to have goals and who knows what I'll do once I get going.

I will surely be posting lots of photos once I get going.