I am dumb but not so dumb

For years I have tried to convince Nery that I needed to have a snake, I would really like to have a Ball Python, but for years I have been told that we have enough pets, once she said ok but if you get a snake I won't be here anymore. I have tried so many ways to win her over to the idea that a snake would be the perfect pet but I have found that not only her but people who don't like snakes just can't see the attraction. Personally I think snakes get a bum rap, they are really beautiful animals, they do a lot for us humans that we just don't appreciate, like keeping rodents that stink and spread disease under control. Snakes don't make any noise, they don't mess up the house, they don't stink, etc. but all to no avail. Then a little over a month ago Dave, Catie's husband came to me and asked ,if he got a snake would he be able to keep it here at our house. I almost passed out with excitement at the prospect of geting a snake, somehow thinking that if it were Dave's Nery just might agree. And I knew this was not a decision that would be mine to make, because in our house I am the head but Nery is definitely the neck that turns the head. I told him he would need to ask Nery, so he did ask Nery and she agreed so fast my jaw must have dropped to the floor. Well now we not only have one snake but four. So you see I may be dumb but I am not so dumb and Nery as the neck is still in charge. Everyone is happy!!!

Now if I can convince Dave that he needs a Ball Python everthing will be perfect.

Love at first sight

About 32 years ago I was at the airport in Bacolod Philippines and saw this petite Filipino beauty walk across the tarmac, there was something about her that not only attracted me physically but she had an aura about her the struck me as well. I looked at her and deep inside I knew this girl would be my wife. 2 years later I returned to the Philippines and we were married. And just like the song from the sixties "I love you more today than yesterday but not as much as tomorrow", I do. Nery is my whole life, she puts up with all my crap and still loves me. She has been a great mom to our children, and is now a wonderful grandma. Thanks for everything, I love you!!!

Teban

New Life Bird

Birders are always on the look out for a new lifer or life bird, a bird that is new to their life list. As I have added more and more life birds to my list they become harder to find. I watch the bird list serves for birds that have been spotted that I have never seen in the field and sometimes take a whole day traveling to find a bird that has been reported. Last year
Frank and I took a day off work to drive out to Fish Springs in the west desert to see a Painted Bunting, and we did see it.

Well last Friday I found a new life bird for Utah. Though I have seen this bird before down in Arizona, this was the first time I had seen it in Utah. The bird was the Eurasian Collared Dove. There were 30 or more in the big tree at the gate of Farmington Bay. It is always a thrill to get a new bird on my list. My target bird for this winter is the Evening Grosbeak, a bird that has eluded me for many years.

My Hook Bird The Western Kingbird

A few years ago I was asked to write a short piece for the SL Tribune to add to an article from several birders about their "Hook Bird" a hook bird is the bird that first got a person interested in Birding as a hobby. Birding is one of the fastest growing hobbies in the world and one that I am hooked on. People of all ages and backgrounds are becoming fascinated with birds and keep a life list of the birds they see.

Here is my "Hook Bird" story:

When I was about 10 or 11 years old I got a BB gun for my birthday. Back in those days we would take our BB guns down to the cemetery in Centerville where I grew up and shoot sparrows. One day the next summer I was in my backyard and and a bird we called a yellow breasted robin landed on the telephone wire. I raised my BB gun and shot it. The bird fell to the ground but did not die. I picked it up and looked at it and all the sudden felt very sorry for what I had done. I remembered an episode of the Andy Griffith show where Opie shot a mother bird and left a nest full of babies crying for food. Opie took the babies in and fed them and raised them until they were grown and turned them loose. I took this bird in and put it in a box and nursed it for a few days until it was strong enough and took it out and let it go. The bird hung around our yard the rest of the summer and became my friend. From that time on I have had a soft spot for birds and used my BB gun for shooting cans and not birds.

A few years later my brother Ken and I raised pigeons and had a great time learning about birds and their habits. I also liked going down to Farmington Bay Bird Refuge and watching the birds.

Many years later my brother in law Frank Clawson gave me my first bird field guide and I started keeping a life list. I have been passionate about birds ever since. Once I learned to identify birds in the field I learned that my "Yellow-breasted Robin" was actually a Western Kingbird, so my hook bird is the Western Kingbird.

Belle

Belle came to us in May. Our little beloved Pug Cece was failing fast. Cece was 12 years old and had been a very important member of our family. It was so sad to watch her slipping, she had been blind for a couple of years and had been deaf for several months. For the last week or so she had dementia, she could no longer find her way around and she didn't seem to know where she was.

Cece loved to lay on the grass or on the front porch and soak in the sun. We had taken her out and she was laying on the front porch so Nery and I left the front door opened so we could hear her if she whined and we went in the kitchen to eat dinner. While we were eating this little black and white Papillon puppy came running in the kitchen and ran around our feet. I picked her up and ran outside. surely and expensive puppy like a Papillon wouldn't be too far from it's owner. I went up and down our street and around the block but no one knew who this puppy belonged to. We put up a flyer in the neighborhood market and posted a found puppy add on the local news lost and found, we contacted vet offices and took her to our vet and had her scanned for a micro chip, but nothing. We called the animal shelter and asked if anyone had called looking for their Papillon puppy, I checked with the Humane Society but know one ever called.

After 2 months of searching with no luck finding her owner we decided to adopt her our selves.

Cece passed away just 4 days after Belle came to live with us. Nery calls her our puppy from heaven, although sometimes she seems more like a puppy from somewhere else. She is a rascal and keeps us on our toes. We have had a Lab, 2 Bassett Hounds and our Pug Cece but Belle is the most "dog" of any dog we have owned. She loves bones and loves to bury them and then dig them up and chew them, she has the energy of 10 dogs, she loves to play with the neighbor's dogs one is a Belgian Malinois (Mac), the other is a Mastiff mix (Max), both much, much bigger than her and she literally runs circles around them. The Malinois tires of her very quickly but she has become good friends with the Mastiff mix.

We love Belle, her coming to stay with us has eased the pain of loosing Cece and she keeps us very entertained.

Video of Lisa's Visit

Nery's sister Liza and her two sons McSteven and Mcwynn visited us from Fukuoka Japan in August. It was so nice to see her again and to spend time with them. We went to Las Vegas, Bryce and Zions National Parks and several places around Salt Lake. The boys were able to attend school at Woods Cross Elementary and made a lot of new friends, they were very popular with the kids from school. This is a slideshow of some of the things we did.

West Virginia Hot Dogs

My Mother's family came from West Virgina. As a kid I loved get togethers with the Casdorph's, (my mom's family). I used to love to listen to my aunts and uncles tell stories with their West Virgina southern accent. For some reason I have always thought funny things sounded funnier and stories are more interesting when told with a southern accent.

Two foods that were family regulars when I was growing up were, Barbeque Pulled Pork sandwiches with coleslaw on the sandwich not on the side and "West Virgina Hot Dogs" with beanless chile and cole slaw on the dog not on the side. Pulled pork is still a family favorite, my mom still fixes it for just about ever family get together as does my sister and Nery and I. I have created my own version by putting a rub on the pork and letting it sit overnight or for at least 3 hours and then I slow cook it in a Dutch Oven. It is wonderful and if you have never put cole slaw on your pulled pork or sloppy joes you are really missing a treat, so let your western inhabitions go and put the slaw on the sandwich, you will be glad you did.

After all these years we still have pulled pork several times a year, it has become a favorite even 4 generations after my grand parents have gone to watch over us. But for some reason West virgina Hot Dogs have kind of been forgotten. Well last week I was visiting my parents and my mom was telling me how she had been trying to get some of their friends together to have West Virgina Hot Dogs but could not get them excited enough about it to commit. I said why don't we get all of our extended family together and have a family home evening and have West Virgina Hot Dogs. That was Friday, on Monday evening we all met at our house, and for the first time since I was a kid the whole family got together and the first time in 15 years for me we had West Virgina Hot Dogs.

Some of our western raised relatives were quite leary of putting cole slaw on a chili dog but we were able to convince most to try it. They were all surprised at how good they were. It was great for me and brought back memories of a simpler time as a child being amused by my West Virgina relatives accent and stories and eating good old fashioned West Virginia Hot Dogs with chili and coleslaw.

I am grateful to Grandma and Grandpa Casdorph for making the pilgrimage to Salt Lake about 60 years ago. I am grateful for my heritage from both the Coleman's and the Casdorph's. My middle name by the way is Casdorph, something that was a source for teasing by my friends and embarasment to mewhen I was a kid but a name I am very proud to carry now.

West Virgina Hot Dogs:
Mom says the dogs should be boiled, I prefer mine grilled, I suppose it's just a matter of prefrence. Take a hot dog bun and garnish it with what you like, mustard, ketchup, relish onions. Place the dog on the bun and spoon a generous spoonful of beanless chile over the dog then a healthy spoonful of cole slaw and enjoy.

West Virginia Hotdog Chili
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup shortening
2 TBSP. onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
5 lbs. ground beef
1 1/2 TBSP. paprika
2 1/2 TBSP. chili powder
1 1/2 TBSP. black pepper
1 TBSP. cayenne pepper (can use 1/2 TBSP. - 2 TBSP.)
2 TBSP. salt
2 1/2 TBSP. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 - 1 cup cracker meal DIRECTIONS:
Saute meat, garlic and onions till browned
Add spices, stir well
Add about a quart of water and cook over low heat for 3-4 hours
Add a little water occasionally to keep from sticking
When chili is cooked, remove from heat and add 1/2 to 1 cup of cracker meal & stir well
Another trick that you can do is place the pot in the bottom of the kitchen sink and run an electric hand mixer around briefly - this makes for a finer ground meat texture & is closer to the "real thing"
After the first batch you will learn to vary (slightly) the blend of peppers and cumin...the cinnamon is critical but your chili should never have a cinnamon taste.
This chili freezes well and you may cut the recipe in half, but NO more!

My Cole Slaw Dressing:
1 cup of Miracle Whip, 1 cup of Mayonaise,
2 or 3 Tbl spoons of cider vinegar
2 or 3 Tbl spoons of sugar
a pinch of black pepper
a pinch of paprika
1 onion finely chopped.

Place the dressing over a head of chopped cabbage and 3 or 4 chopped carrots and mix well. Let it marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and serve cold.

Try it on the dogs you will love the West Virgina Hot Dogs