The trusty Nissan hit 70k miles!

Glacier Point might have been our number one highlight at Yosemite... Half Dome, waterfalls, vistas and valleys!

Our Older House is Not Looking Good!

Our old house in Cameron Park, 3649 Millbrae Rd. is not looking too good these days.  We drove by on our trip and it is in a slight bit of disrepair.

Somewhere, over the ...

We had a vibrant rainbow a few days ago!  Now all the talk is Hurricane Dorian!

Science marches on: Sausage biscuits tested

Here's another old "draft" post that I published on Dad's behalf.  Don't know if he ever published a different version of this or not.  Regardless, Happy Birthday Dad!

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It rained today, so I did a research project: How do sausage biscuits from Hardee's, Mickey D, and Burger King compare? The prices were $1 at McD and BK, $1.50 at Ha. Here are the weights, in grams.

ordered as follows:  BK Ha McD

Overall weight 116 118 112

Sausage weight 43 30 42

Sausage degreased 37 21 33

Degreasing was accomplished by microwaving each patty for ten seconds and then giving it a maximal napkin squeeze with which my readers are familiar. BK is a clear winner here with both the biggest patty and the least squeezable fat.

Next I tested for taste. My personal ratings were McD 9, BK 8, and Ha 4. McD had a nice spicy kick while Ha had an unpleasant mushy texture and very little taste.

I also let my dog Jake test these for flavor. To do this, I placed a small sample of each meat patty on the laundry room floor and then opened the door to the dog. The samples were placed left to right about a foot apart in the order BK Ha McD. I recorded the order in which Jake snarfed them up as 1, 2, or 3. I then repeated this in the order Ha McD BK, and finally in the order McD BK Ha. I added the order numbers as preference scores, and then repeated the whole test. Thus little Jake (a Boston Terrier) tried 18 sausage samples in all. Here are the total scores: McD 9 Ha 13 Bk 14. Jake likes McD the best followed by Ha narrowly over BK.

Here are the overall conclusions: Go to BK for this item and if it's not too far out of the way, swing through McD on the way home to get a treat for your dog. Avoid Hardee's.

First Day of School 2019!

The Folsom Staybridge Suites

Where desks are manned by dogs....!

This pooch was "working the back desk" of the Staybridge Suites on our recent trip to Folsom. 

The pooch was well-mannered and liked scratches.  Was cool they let him come in with one of the employees.

Jack Turns 12!

Here are a few pics of Jack celebrating his twelfth birthday with a chocolate cake!

Ready for 3rd Grade!

Elle scored a good desk spot (until she gets moved) and a great teacher in Mrs. Davis!

Burning Half Dome

One of my favorite Yosemite pictures.  Sun is descending and only the tip of Half Dome is in the sun!

Charcuterie Platter

Steph made a fancy platter of hors d'oeuvres!  Note the little mice! 

Jonesboro One of The Cheapest Places to Live!

Jonesboro ranks as one of the more inexpensive cities to live in!

Million Dollar Quartet!

We got to see the Million Dollar Quartet musical at the Hippodrome.  Pictures during the show weren't allowed but here's the set - Sun Studio on Union Ave. in Memphis.  The show, featuring Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley - along with Sam Phillips was excellent!

Horse Camp

Elle scored a horse named Jewel and her team got to paint a horse!

Tesla Model X Invasion!

We went in to Looseys for dinner and when we came out our car was surrounded by White Teslas!

The Vacuum Store!

This place appears to be legit.  They have an Oreck in the window.  

Always Coca-Cola!

Happy 4th!!!

Birdie and Bear!!!

We finally got to meet the good dogs (Australian Shepherds) that are Birdie and Bear!

Reading Buddy

Elle had a reading buddy a few months back that would make Petey jealous.  Our neighbor's friendly pooch Bruno!

Gainesville’s Solar Walk

We finally did Gainesville's Solar Walk this morning.  Actually, we ran it!

The Gainesville Solar Walk is a 4 billion to 1 scale model of the solar system situated on NW 8th Ave.

Spanning nearly a mile, you can see the entire solar system and even a few stars on the Gainesville Solar Walk. Each planet is represented with its own monument designed by artist Elizabeth Indianos. Each planet also has a bronze plaque designed by Tim Malles.

Laura Branigan's Gloria Chartbound in 2019!

I find it curious that Laura Branigan's Gloria - yes that one from 1982 has been hanging around on the iTunes charts this Summer - even reaching #10 in mid-June!

Jack Anchors with Mr. T. / Dressed to Kill

One of Jack's final days of 5th grade afforded him the opportunity to do announcements with Mr. T. while dressed up for graduation and also be presented his runner up trophy for the 5th grade car race!  A big day indeed!

Link to Youtube Here

Ready for Band and Art Camp!

Off to Dinner with Mimi and Grandpa!

Off to our favorite, Loosey's!

Turtle in the “zen garden”

Curiously, we found a turtle in our fully enclosed zen garden. No one knows how it got in??.! She was safely relocated to a nearby pond.

April in Florida

We started swimming in April this year!  Elle, our true waterdog, was the first to brave the water.  Petey still keeps his distance but is slowly inching closer.

Jack's Final Newscast!

Jack's final newscast at Lawton Chiles!

Getting a Jump on the Dog Days!

We went to Crescent Beach and decided to take Petey!  It wasn't his favorite thing to do but we all had fun. 

Here's to kicking off Summer!

Chicken with Coconut Rice and Chili Lime Sauce

Steph whipped up the excellent recipe pull from a Food & Wine magazine.  We followed the recipe to a T including quarter a young chicken.

The sauce below ended up making the dish.  It was great on everything but especially the jasmine rice.

You could the chicken indirectly so it take longer.  I have a 3 burner grill so turned the two outer burners on and cooked in the middle.  The ideal cooking temp is 400-450 degrees.  The key is getting the chicken to over 165 degrees which took right at 40-45 minutes.

Done and ready!

The final plated dish!  It was excellent!

Fifth Grade Track and Field Day!

Jack got to participate in the track and field event today... after a field trip to Wild Adventures yesterday.  It's fun to be in your waning days of elementary school!

Spring Piano Recital!

The kids and Mom knocked it out of the park at their recital this afternoon. 

Great Pitcher of Margarita Recipe

Here's a proven recipe for whipping up a pitcher of real margarita's on the fly.

2 cups of tequila - reduce to 1.5 cups if you don't want them quite as strong
1 cup of triple-sec
3/4 cup sweetened lime juice
3 cups of ice

To make it early put in all of the ingredients except the ice.  Then stir and refrigerate.  When ready to serve add the ice, stir again and enjoy! 

UF Vet School Open House

Lots of fun at the UF Vet School open house!

The kids got to put their hands / arms up a simulated horse butt to feel the innards!

Dunkin and Peeps!

Dunkin' is doing a donut with a Peep!  You can also get a keychain type fob featuring the combination!

Happy Easter!

The Palmer Bunny is Alive and Well....

We would often get these Palmer brand hollow chocolate bunnies at Easter when we were kids! They weren't high quality but we still loved them.

Happy Easter!

Winners at the Dog Track!

With greyhound racing coming to an end in Florida soon, I figured it was now or never of the kids where going to witness such a spectacle!  We watched a couple of races and bet on two of them.  Elle one both including one where she and Jack both called the right dog to win!  We left with more money than we came in with.

New Golf Cart...

Rick and Barb were excited to get a new golf cart. Jack and Elle got to go on the inaugural ride!

On the Road: Spring Break 2019!

Pete got to come with us on our Spring Break trip!  He's a good passenger!

Steph and Pete!

Pete is getting pretty big - though there is a lot of fluff to him as well!

St. Patty’s Day Doughnuts!

Krispy Kreme does a nice green doughnut for St. Patty's Day!

Inside Your Cat’s Mind

Elle Celebrates St. Patrick's Day at School

2nd Grade Celebration with Mrs. Deane's class:

Big Winner @ McDonalds

I was picking up some burgers at McDonalds for the kids and the cashier gave me most of my change in nickels.  As I was waiting for the food I decided to try my hand at their coin game.  On the 2nd try I hit the winner!  The price was free food of which I chose a side salad.

Now the service and experience at McDonalds are still as poor as ever.   The lady gave me the food without Jack's quarter pounder.  Dad taught me years ago that you always check your order at McDonalds before you leave the counter.   The other thing interesting about all the McDonalds around us is their shake machines are always broken.   I usually inquire and they say only corporate can clean them and they don't come around all that often to do it.... Not sure on that.  Either way - if you want a shake do not go to McDonalds.