Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Holidays

Labor Day Weekend 2022

Our weekend is going to be about feasting, as usual. And, with the extra Holiday, we’ll be doing three meals! In the (clickable) image above, we show a beef tenderloin steak and salad from a previous holiday that is likely to be served on the holiday, but can change on a whim – hold on a second . . . OK, speaking of whims, I’ve just been notified that there will be a substitute side dish with the steak, to wit: Lobster and Bacon Mock* and Cheese. Sounds delicious.

* Instead of Macaroni it uses Chopped Cauliflower

The meals for Saturday and Sunday will be in keeping with our quest to find new and interesting recipes as well as bringing back some of our old favorites. We’re going on three years now of adhering to the low-carb and low-sodium diets, so all of our recipes, new and old, conform to those guidelines (mostly – we’re not above cheating now and then). Regardless of the constraints, Damsel finds some pretty tasty recipes for preparing what should be taboo dishes while conforming to the diet rules. Think “pizza-topped chicken.”

Many in our country equate the Labor Day Holiday with end-of-summer and that was true for us when we lived in PRK* but after migrating to Arizona, summer keeps on going for a while after the first weekend of September. We love the climate here and look forward to real seasons as opposed to the coastal area where we lived before where the seasons were cool, cooler, overcast and smoke.

* Peoples Republic of Kalifornistan

We wish all of you who celebrate the holiday to have a good one and to those who are on duty or otherwise unable to enjoy the festivities, God speed.

UPDATE 09/05/2022: This is the actual meal we enjoyed today – Grilled Filet Mignon Steaks and Lobster/Bacon Mock and Cheese. Click on the image to enlarge.

02 Sep 2022 by Food & Dining Holidays

Independence Day 2022

Happy 246th Birthday to our great Nation – America the Beautiful! May God’s blessings continue to flow throughout the land! Damsel and I wish you a peaceful and Happy Independence Day!

Babylon Bee Headline:

Flash Flood Warnings Issued As

Liberal Tears Continue To Soak Nation

Although the BEE headline is tongue-in-cheek, there are some seriously anguished folks out there in the wake of Dobbs and Bruen SCOTUS rulings. So, keep safe and watch your 6 if you are in a place where violence may occur during the holiday.

We’re safe at our little home in the desert and have plans for a 4th of July BBQ by grilling Steaks and serving them with Fauxtato Salad* and Beans on the side. We figure to have a safe and sane holiday here at home.

In the highly unlikely event that trouble comes calling, we’re in a Constitutional Carry place and are perpetually prepared for such eventualities. We just don’t post about our equipment, preparations and practice sessions any longer. Nobody needs to know what we have and how many.

Take care and enjoy the holiday.

Photo at the top: Cherry Red Cactus Flowers and Old Glory. Courtesy Damsel. Click to enlarge.

* A Keto diet salad with cauliflower instead of actual potatoes.

03 Jul 2022 by Arizona Flowers Holidays Patriotism

Mise Èireannach

The title is Gaelic for “I Am Irish.” While that assertion is partially correct, both the wife and I are descendants of Scots, Irish, Welsh and English for the most part with traces of Native American and other (mostly) European ancestors. With all that disclosure out of the way, we will identify as Irish this week when we celebrate the cross-quarter feast of Beltane, about halfway between spring equinox and summer solstice.

Modern cultures that recognize Beltane typically celebrate on May Day (01 May), but the actual cross-quarter doesn’t occur until the fifth of May which is coincident with “Cinco de Mayo,” but since we have no Hispanic ancestry that we could find, we’re going with the Celtic celebration. However, due to our busy and crowded schedule as retirees, we have to postpone the festivities until the weekend (of May 07/08). Weekends are when we usually celebrate midweek holidays.

So, we will celebrate Beltane by having a traditional Irish dinner entrée of Shepherd’s Pie. Damsel found a simple recipe for “upside-down” shepherd’s pie, so we will be preparing it that way. We may also indulge in an Irish Cocktail at that time.

Sunday the 8th is, of course, Mother’s Day. Most of us retirees will wish our heavenly Mom’s a happy day in Heaven. Our Sunday meal will be Grilled Tri-Tip roast with braised cabbage and asparagus.

Cheers and Happy Cinco de Beltane to all the Mothers and Others out there.

05 May 2022 by Ancestors Culture Holidays Notions Retirement

St. Patrick’s Day 2022

Cheers and Happy St Patrick’s Day! Damsel and I enjoyed traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner and a nice Irish Cocktail this afternoon.

It’s a spring-like day with high of 78 and forecast low of 51 overnight. We’re having a little wind out of the west with peak gusts up to 20 mph and mostly 5-10 mph in between gusts. There is no precipitation forecast until maybe a trace next week. This is normally a pretty dry time of year. In the past 30 years it rained 5 out of 30 times on this date.

Technically, Equinox hasn’t come yet (still 3 days off) but according to the solar ephemeris, our days are now showing over 12 hours of sun above the horizon. Sunrise is at 06:38, transit is at 12:39 and sundown is at 18:40 for our long/lat. That’s just a shade over 12 hours.

A word about progress of restoring our Stars and Stripes Theme: Shamefully, I haven’t done much to troubleshoot the theme other than to remove some offensive code that needs to be overhauled for the functions removed. Life gets in the way, and we seem to gravitate to doing chores around the house and RV rather than work on the blog themes. Maybe over the summer we can get some things done with the old theme restoration – if we’re not on the road, that is.

17 Mar 2022 by Arizona Food & Dining Holidays Notions

2022 – Happy New Year!

Wishing you a very happy and prosperous New Year in 2022! We don’t have a lot of news to report for the past year and, at our ages, that’s a good thing, I expect. In the coming year, we are hoping to resume some travel in the big RV which has been sitting for way too long. Meanwhile, we’re biding our time until the traveling weather gets here, hopefully sooner than later.

31 Dec 2021 by Holidays Notions

Christmas 2021

Image credit Wallpapers Access.

Christmas is here and we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. —Luke 2:4-5

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. —Luke 2:6-7

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” —Luke 2:10-12

May the Joy of Christmas be in your hearts in this Holy Time.

24 Dec 2021 by Holidays Religion

Happy Thanksgiving 2021

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.” —Psalm 100:4-5

Thanksgiving 2021

Well, here we are once again entering the Holiday season with the first big eating day upon us. Damsel and I will be celebrating with a fairly standard Thanksgiving Dinner consisting of (subject to last-minute changes): Smoked Turkey Breast with Cranberry Sauce, Collard Greens, Andouille and Cornbread Stuffing, and Mashed Fauxtatoes.

The Fauxtatoes are actually Mashed Cauliflower and the Cornbread, similarly, is a Keto Diet friendly mix of low carb items. The Cranberry Sauce is sugar free (mostly) and the gravy is made with almond flour and low carb ingredients. All of this while keeping an eye on the sodium content. Nonetheless, our experience is that Thanksgiving Dinner will be just as delicious as anybody could want.

We hope that you all will have a very Happy Thanksgiving Day! Now, excuse me – I have to get the turkey breast ready for the smoker.

25 Nov 2021 by Food & Dining Holidays

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