A Winter Wonderland

A dog, two kids, and a LOT of snow!

On the road again...

"...I just can't wait to get on the road again...."

The kids arrived in from Australia the Thursday before Christmas and early Monday morning we hit the road for our long road trip south to New Orleans for Christmas.

The truck was packed to the roof with all our gear - and poor Miles had to sit on the back seat all the way to the kennel. Originally we were going to take him with us, but his coat is so thick right now because of the cold weather - and with it being in the late 20sC in the south we realized it would just be miserable for him - so, off to the kennel for two weeks for him!

The trip took us almost directly south - through Chicago, then into Missouri, on Interstate 55 to Memphis then New Orleans. It was a beautifully clear day but there had been freezing rain the night before so almost all the way through southern Illinois the roadside looked like this - trees with icicles on all the branches, turning the countryside into a scene straight out of some macabre horror movie.

With the help of the iPhone, and the good folks who post reviews and recommendations on the great food website Chowhound, I spent most of the trip searching for gourmet adventures along the way. We have a rule that we never stop at fast food joints - especially when on a road trip - and always like getting off the interstate to find a local diner or
hangout. First stop for lunch was Blue's Cafe in Kankakee, IL.
The famous pies, as mentioned on all the websites, were great - at least from the cherry one we shared!...super flakey and buttery crust with just the right amount of sugar.

Mid December in Okauchee

Some pics from mid December as we deal with the snow and get ready for Christmas!
Robbie and a couple of our neighbors in the background, grooming the snow in preparation for establishing our ice skating rink in front of the houses...there is already between 6-8 inches of ice on the lake in front and every winter the neighbors set up a rink for the kids.

I'm in there somewhere!...this was one of our last walks - it was about -25C windchill!!!!

How the roads look (driving isn't a lot of fun when it's like this)

Our street...

And the same view in the spring!
The last morning snow blowing before our roadtrip south
Post-walk...and he couldn't give a damn!
And on the nights before Christmas....I was baking up a storm to take south - profiteroles for Christmas Day dessert, pralined almond crisps (dozens of them!) for gifts, cranberry relish, and BBQ spice rub for gifts.

Lovin life...

This dog is in his element - the colder it gets, the friskier he gets. -25C - no worries! And his coat is now equivalent of 3 cashmere sweaters, with rabbit trim, and a merino spencer underneath - he is TOASTY!

The bottom shot is his usual position when we get home from a walk - lies in the snow and buries his face and nose in the snow - some kind of snow facial I think!

Men won't give up sex for their internet connection...

...but stick a giant plasma screen in front of them and it's a whole new story!

Interesting snippet of new research out today from Harris Interactive saying that close to half of women surveyed said that they would choose to abandon sex for two weeks rather than give up their internet access. 

Although nearly 46% of women respondents showed their willingness to give up their sex life over web access only 30% of men surveyed would do the same.

However according to Reuters, an earlier survey said that nearly half of men would forgo sex for six months if they could have a 50-inch plasma TV. Only just over a third of women said they'd do the same...

Wonder what Kevin Roberts will have to say on this one relative to his thoughts on sisomo...!

No words - the picture will do!

Whopper Virgins

Oh dear...a sad and disturbing example of Americans trying to dominate other cultures - this time with a hamburger. This is sickening but delightful at the same time - not least of which is the look of disgust on the Romanian mens' faces when offered a burger to try...

From the Hartford Courant:

"While (Burger King) spent millions of dollars happily tracking down people with no 'hamburger awareness' the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has to go begging because they can only get one-thirtieth of the money they need to rebuild the developing world's shattered food systems," said Food First, an advocacy group that fights hunger.

Barbara Lippert, a columnist for Adweek, called the ads "culturally tone-deaf." But Russ Klein, Burger King's president of global marketing strategy, defended the campaign in a news release: "During a time when consumers are craving it most, honesty and transparency are the heart and soul of this campaign. By embarking on a voyage of this magnitude that held no guarantees and left us open to vulnerabilities, we took a leap of faith that our signature product would win people over at first bite."

We are told that the burger virgins preferred — surprise, surprise — Whoppers to Big Macs, but we are only left to wonder how American-style junk food, laden with hormones, steroids and saturated fats, was received by their pristine digestive systems.