A menagerie of activities!

After returning from our respective trips, it was time for some football!  Thankfully the NFL ended their lockout and the schedule permitted our attendance at the Bucs' first preseason home game.

Our tailgate group has dwindled to a party of 2 and so our tailgate was, how shall I say, less than spectacular.

The saddest Bucs tailgate, EVER!

Team warming up.

Geno Hayes - enjoyed watching him play for FSU and

now we get to cheer him on with the Bucs.

 Team running on the field.  Sadly, I think there were more Pats fans than Bucs fans.

And unfortunately, the Bucs lost.  (But we did escape the stadium, arriving home before a huge storm hit!)





A few weeks ago, after watching the Today Show (more specifically Giada D. I think), Frank was inspired to make home made pasta.  As usual, he did his research on the best brand of manual pasta machine and where to get it.









Note to self - a "suction cup" bottom machine might be a little better.  This one comes with a clamp, but the counter overhang wouldn't accommodate so we attached it to a cutting board.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!

Mixing it up just like Giada and the recipe.

(Yes, I got over the whole "work directly on the counter" situation.) 

The next steps are sans pictures.  It was really a two-person job (one to crank the handle and the other to feed/catch the dough) and we didn't have our paparazzi on hand.

Cheese filled ravioli

Four foot long linguine

Then, a few days later, Frank saw Martha whip up a few one skillet meals.  We haven't used the cast-iron skillet in forever so it was a perfect opportunity. He decided we'd try the braised chicken (with olives, lemon, thyme and roasted potatoes).

Yummy! 

I've been thinking a lot about the upcoming FSU football season and tailgates.  Now that we have the TeePee with lots of good freezer space, I've wanted to "upgrade" our tailgate cocktails.  Knowing it will be rather warm the first few games, I thought about Popsicles and found some good recipes for the appropriately colored treats. 

Garnet and Gold Margarita Popsicles

(Pretty tasty and refreshing, if I do say so myself.)

 For a while, we've been having some problems with one of the older sets of doors.  The stars finally aligned for it to be replaced.

Inside - before

Outside - before

Matt Warhola (Palma Vista Properties) and Paul Martin taking out the old door and sidelights.

New frame in

View from the outside.

New sidelights in.

Sidelights and doors in.

Doors securely in.  Trim up.  Caulking and finishing touches to be done tomorrow.

New doors and sidelights with blinds inside. 

Little touch-up paint around the doorway and we'll be back in business!

So, as you can see, things have been quite busy with the Crazy Travelers!