What I Learned At A Wobig Family Thanksgiving

(Warning: this may only make sense to a limited number of people)

10. Lisbon is the capital of Portugal

9. Jake makes the best mashed potatoes, which apparently includes approximately 12 tablespoons of butter per every 10 potatoes

8. purple hair is NOT the same thing as pink hair

7. Somethings just shouldn't be roped

6. You can balance a spoon on your nose no matter how big or heavy the spoons are

5. If you need to know where our fathers are, you'll most likely find them "staring a GIANT jug of wine in the basement."

4. You can watch the movie 'Up' three times in two days (including once in French)

3. Greeks made columns, Egyptians made pyramids

2. It is actually physically possible to get a drinking glass stuck to your face

1. I have the most entertaining family on the face of the earth.....

Open Season

I really don't know what it is about deer that makes grown men go a little bit crazy for about 10 days every fall - yet, it never fails. Nick starts salivating about the beginning of September and it carries right through November. Every weekend he makes the rounds between the motion sensitive cameras he posts all over the ranch to watch for any "monster bucks" that might wander into view. He'll spend hours sitting on a hilltop watching deer through his spotting scope. Why, you might ask? I have no idea - but it seems to make him happy.

This weekend was the opening of rifle hunting for deer in Nebraska. About the middle of the week hunters from Wisconsin, California, and West Virginia descended upon the Simmons Ranch, ripe with the anticipation of a child on Christmas morning. For three days, they scouted, they set up tree stands, and deer blinds (if there is such a thing), they sat in pick-ups studying herds of deer off in the distance, and who knows what else.

Saturday morning started off early, with Nick waking up at 5:45a.m. to go out and put Gimli in the barn so he wouldn't run around and bother the hunters OR the deer. I had strict instructions to watch him at all times if I let him out, or to just bring him in the house (which I found amusing since Nick is very anti-dog-in-house on any normal occasion). A couple hours later, Nick came back in, flushed with excitement, and quietly called me to come to the back door. Apparently a "really big" deer had bedded down in the ravine close behind our house. Why was it important I know this? It seems that he wanted to be sure I didn't stomp around the house, start slamming doors, or spontaneously decide to take up a new hobby of playing bagpipes - lest I scare it away. Sheesh.

i REALLY need to get out more

So last week I woke up on a random Tuesday morning to the following announcement from my loving husband "So...what are we doing this weekend?" Seeing as this was at about 6:00am , my response was something to the effect of "Prrwhffft?" Not one to be phased, Nick forged ahead with, "Can we go somewhere to get a refrigerator?"





Now before I go any further with this story, perhaps I should back up about 3 years. You see, when Nick and I got married, the ranch (very kindly) renovated the house we lived in. At the time, we didn't have a refrigerator. My parents had (also, very kindly) purchased a dishwasher and stove for us, but refrigerators were just so...well...expensive. Actually, there was a fridge in this house, but it was older than Nick and I put together, so Nick's mom stepped in (again, very kindly) and offered to take the ancient refrigerator off our hands. In return, we could have a (slightly) newer model out of a house on the ranch that no one lived in and was only used when hunters came for a week or two every fall. She then, in turn, gave our original fridge to the hunters, and for three years, we've used a small, white refrigerator that really didn't match my red kitchen and stainless appliances, but managed the task of cooling our food very decently. Actually a little too well, as anything that managed to get shoved to the back ended up frozen no matter what setting it was on - but then again, beggars can't be choosers and frankly, we were lucky to have it!





Now back to last Tuesday and Nick's question, "Can we go somewhere to get a new refrigerator?" As I'd longed for a new fridge for 3 years, and had steadfastly saved for it, despite my sleepy stupor, my interest was peaked. It seems that the old refrigerator in the hunters cabin had finally quit, and with deer season looming and hunters imminently on their way, my husband had suddenly decided it was crucial we buy a new refrigerator so the hunters could have ours. After all, what sense did it make to buy them a new one when it would only be used once a year? I certainly couldn't argue with that logic - not that I would've wanted to.





So, after spending a couples hours at the office neglecting my real work and researching refrigerators that happened to be in stock locally, I found one that fit what I wanted perfectly. So, off we went to fetch it. (Has it occurred to anyone else yet that my excitement over a household appliance might be just a little bit sad???) Of course, when we got home, Nick decided he'd rather spend time stalking deer with his bow and arrow and archery permit in hand, so my pretty new stainless, french door and bottom freezer refrigerator sat quietly in the shop and waited....and waited....and waited.





Ultimately he did finally return, and the two of us somehow managed to get the 33 inch wide appliance through a doorway that was approximately 33 and 5/8 inch wide, with only minimal cursing and argument.

And Now, for the first time, I present to you:

Of course, that was before we realized that the water hook up we had installed 3 years ago in anticipation of an occasion such as this was hooked into the HOT water line.....