From My Mind to....

Pig Roast ... and Things.

So, again, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Did it seem like 2008 went by a little quickly?  I always thought my folks were full of shit when they mentioned how fast the years seemed to pass as they got older.  Damn--they were right!  Funny how 'age' tends to really drive some points home now.  Frankly, I don't like it--not one bit.

I haven't seen the Curious Case of Benjamin Button yet, but maybe that writer had a good idea.  Imagine starting out older, knowing what you know now, and getting younger with all the abilities you need to actually use that knowledge.  Sweet!  Well, I guess I should actually see the movie to be sure it's 'sweet.' 

That chicken is rearing its ugly head again (see my earlier blog for that explanation)--I hadn't planned to talk about this.  I was supposed to tell about the Pig Roast, or something.

Anyway, so I go to Pennsylvania right after Christmas to deliver a desk I made to my oldest daughter's fiance.  Two weeks before Christmas, John decided he wanted a desk made by Yours Truly for his newly re-modeled office.  Jenna and he came up with a design, I shot him a price with delivery costs, and his boss approved the estimate.  I build it, stain it, finish it, load it, and drive more than 1000 miles to set it up for him.  What do you think?

Okay, it really wasn't that bad.  I factored in the gas, meals, and overnight stays, and I knew I'd get to stay and party with some very good friends while there.  Tom and Ann, the future in-laws, and friends throw the best New Year's bash I've attended in a long time, complete with a Pig Roast.

Wait--before I go into all that, perhaps I should note quickly why I was even building the desk in the first place.  I own a custom woodworking shop in south central Missouri.  It's not big.  But it pays the bills, AND I absolutely love what I do.  While I primarily build and install kitchen and bath cabinetry, I have one of the very few shops in the area in which I will build almost ANY custom item you want.  Now, I'm interstate!  Oh yeah, John's boss wants a bigger and better desk than John.  "It's good to be the king."  Jenna's helping with the design for that one too--I may have to open a branch office. 

Huh?  Oh yeah ... Pig Roast.  Seems my friends have a tradition--two years makes it a tradition, right?--of roasting a pig for New Year's Eve.  Take one 50-lb pig complete with head and tail, sans inards, fire up the grill, and cook slowly for nine hours.  Works great ... if you don't forget to factor in 25 degree temperature and 35 mile-per-hour winds.  The pig looked fabulous (for a pig) when it came off the grill--a deep golden brown, ears and tail covered with tinfoil to keep from being cooked off, and an aroma to die for. Mmnnn.

Pork, my friends, is most edible when properly cooked.  The meat thermometer said all the right readings ... but she, or he wasn't done.  The pig was drawn and quartered, and back to the grill she went.  Miraculously, trays of fresh veggies found their way to the tables to tide the hungry masses over till the pig returned about three hours later.  I say miraculous, because despite the vegetables I was already consuming--barley and hops--I actually ate something that was good for me while on my liquid diet.

The whole evening was full of visiting, games, music, drinking ... and FUN.  A young man in his early twenties who had just completed his final guitar as an apprenticed Luthier (guitar and stringed instrument maker) brought his piece de resistance--a hard-top, curly Birds-eye Maple guitar with a Purpleheart inlay neck, and real Mother of Pearl inlay designs on the frets.  This young man has a real talent.  I really sounded great on his guitar.  Of course, it may have been the alcohol ... nahh, it was still early in the evening.

I can't remember the last time I had such fun.  At one time there may have been close to thirty folk, from late teens to almost sixty, crowded into Tom and Ann's kitchen.  Tom even made sure no inebriated one left his party with keys.  What a host!

Three of us--Tom, Bridget (my future in-law) and I--wound up the evening about 4 am after dipping candles.  We made 30 pair of real beeswax 18" tapered candles, which turned out remarkably well notwithstanding the amount of drink we had imbibed.  Damn, I just realized I left my candles in PA.    When I deliver John's boss's desk, I'll pick them up then.

I hope each of you had a wonderful new year, full of joy, fun and celebration.  And may your coming year be blessed, both on WDC and in all aspects of your lives.  Love you guys.