As you all know, Paladins have little or no reason to like a volcano–beautiful they might be, but treacherous to say the least.  However, Alexis dragged me down to Crater Lake in Oregon, and I have to admit that place is unbelievably gorgeous.  Breathtaking. Mind boggling.  Amazing.  Well, you get the idea . . .
The name of the volcano is Mt. Mazama.  It is not an extinct volcano, but it’s been dormant for thousands of years.  When it last blew, it threw up enough ash that if you gathered it up, it would cover the entire state of Oregon with several inches of ash.  Then, when it had emptied the caldera of magma, the mountain sank, creating an enormous crater.  Between snow melt and rain, water gradually filled the crater, at points to a depth of 1600+ feet.  The small peak in the front of the lake is another volcano that came up after the lake was formed.
Enough of geology lesson.

DJ

Here’s a picture:

Reggie and I went out for pizza Friday night.  Anytime neither of us have to cook or clean up is a good thing.  Then Saturday, I dusted off the old grill and spent almost eight hours slow cooking a brisket.  Add in some calico beans on the side  (fancy pork ‘n beans), and life is good all around.

All of that left plenty of time for some hardcore sports watching.  This time of year Alexis struggles between watching football and baseball.  I don’t find it a problem.  I listened to the Chiefs’ game on the computer (they lost) and then watched the Seahawks on tv (they won.)  The Mariners’ game was delayed for two hours for rain, but I still managed to see a good part of it.  They almost rallied in the ninth, but alas, victory was not theirs.

Hope everyone else had a great weekend, too.

DJ

Morning, everybody!

Sorry to be posting so late, but Reggie dragged me down to Portland for the weekend, and we got back pretty late.  She needed to check in with her old boss about a case she’d worked on for him.  She’s still doing some free lance work for him on occasion.  He and I are on cool but polite terms.  He’s never quite forgiven me for stealing away two of his best employees.
While we were there, we checked out a barbecue restaurant we’d heard about on television.  Whoa, momma, the food was great.  Reggie seems to think I made a bit of a pig of myself, but we’re talking some of the best brisket I’ve ever had.
I know I’ve posted pictures in the past of Mt. Rainier hovering in the background of Seattle, but the picture above is Mt. Hood.  It makes a gorgeous backdrop for the city of Portland.  It’s another one of the volcanoes here in the Northwest.
Hope your week is off to a great start.  My Seahawks, Chiefs, and Mariners all lost yesterday. I’m really hoping that’s not an omen about how the rest of my week is going to be.

DJ

For those of  you who follow American football, I hope you’re happy with the results of Sunday’s games.  Both games were hard fought and went right down to the wire–and beyond, since one went into overtime.  The Superbowl should be fun, although often the playoff games to get to the Superbowl are often the better games.  Not sure yet whether I’ll be cheering for New England or New York.  I have two weeks to make up my mind.

But I do need your opinions on something.  In honor of the playoffs, Reggie and I decided to make our own pizza from scratch.  We conquered the dough, which turned out great.  The sauce was fine, as was the cheese for the top.  But here’s the thing–she’s decided she doesn’t like meat on pizza.  Yeah, you heard me–no meat: no pepperoni, no sausage, no nothing.  Instead she wanted to screw up my pizza with stuff like artichokes and spinach.  Seriously–spinach.  What’s up with that?  Do I look Kalith?  I know Larem and Barak like all kinds of weirdness on their pizza, but I expected better of Reggie.

She thought I should eat healthier stuff.  Fine.  But I like my salad on the side, not on the pizza.

What do you think?

DJ

I hope everyone has had a great time celebrating the holidays!  Alexis has a houseful of company, so she’s feeling a bit scattered.  The baking alone has kept her hopping–she made her family’s favorite cookies, a pumpkin pie, and a blueberry pie.  The blueberry recipe came from the same aunt who made the snowflakes.  That pie disappeared completely as soon as it was time for dessert.  Yum!

Reggie and I cut our own tree–first time I’ve ever done that.  We bought decoration–and the ones representing my favorite football teams were given prominent display.  Reggie is an understanding woman, don’t you think?

Take care–I’ve got today off and I’m going to make the most of it.

DJ

Alexis has had me toting boxes and crates so she can get her holiday decorating done.  I’m happy (and relieved) to say that the last tatted snowflake got hung on the tree this morning. Unless she goes on a binge and buys a bunch of new decorations, we can all rest easy for now.  She made me promise to post this picture again.  He’s always one of her favorites–she grins like a loon when she unwraps him.  Despite the truly manliness of myself, I have to admit I kind of like the little guy myself.

Her favorite ornaments are the tatted snowflakes that her aunt made for her years ago.  Although her aunt is gone now, each snowflake Alexis hangs on the tree shines and polishes all of her favorite memories of her.

So does anyone else have a special ornament/decoration that means a lot to you?

DJ