Birthday/Christmas in February!

We had about one inch of heavy snow fall overnight, which made the trip into work on Friday a bit dicey, but by noon the roads were just wet, here.

5:00 PM and I hit the road for home (yes, banging the drum). I got home, turned the broiler on and just finished changing clothes when Jake and Carla pulled in the driveway.

This requires some background information. Three or four years ago, I saw an article in an upscale gardening magazine about a rather well-to-do couple and their yard. The one thing that interested me was that they had a wire metal frame of a pig, that they trained ivy to grow around. The pig's curly tail ended upward, and was sharpened. So, on the first party of spring they held each year, they would open a ceremonial bottle of wine and stick the cork on the pig's tail. I really liked both the look of that pig and the tradition of the first cork.

At the time, I was still building the armored Lincoln Continentals and had numerous fabricators working for me. So, I printed the photo from the magazine and asked the most creative one to make me that pig. He agreed and proceeded to make the framework on his own time. Meanwhile, I planted English ivy in the front garden in preparation for the framework. The last time I saw it, my fabbie had all the hoops made and the front of the pig and had just begun to weld it together. Unfortunately, the program ended and he was laid off! I never saw my pig again...

Flash forward to tonight. I got home and turned the broiler on, then changed my clothes. I sprayed the broiler pan with Pam, laid out the chicken wings and stuck them under the broiler. Jake and Carla just pulled up and I let them in. We chatted a while to catch up until the timer went off (10 minutes on the first side). I pulled out the pan and flipped them over (8 more minutes on this side). Meanwhile they brought in my birthday/Christmas present. The big box was wrapped on one half with Christmas paper and the other with birthday paper. There was a sign on top that said:

Merpy
Chrishday

Without much ado, I tore off the sign and paper. Inside was a wire sculpture of a pig! It was filled with moss and the idea is that you stake it in your garden, water the moss and plant something in the pig (ivy in my case!) Sweet!!! I gotta tell you, the one in the magazine, and the one my guy was welding, both kinda gave the "impression" of a pig. But, this guy really looks like a pig. I can't wait for Spring and to get him out there. Oh, yeah, I checked and his tail is too fat and pointing downward. Oh well, I don't drink that much wine, anyway! Thanks, guys. It was worth the wait!

We started to eat the chicken wings. Spicy, but I gotta say I like the McCormick's Jamaican Jerk Seasoning better. This did have a nice, hot after-bite to it, but it was a lot more "chunky" and messy.

We talked about maybe a pizza or something, but decide to give it up and go our separate ways. So, they left around 7:00 PM. I checked the TV and saw that Terminator II (Judgment Day) is coming on at 8:00 PM (I think it's the BEST of that series, BTW - I love the chase scene with the motorcycle and 18-wheeler!) so, I hurried up to clean up and get ready for an evening of pure escapism TV.

When that ended, I switched to ESPN's Friday Night Fights (which I set to tape). I was impressed with the Cuban fighter in the first match. I don't remember his name but he was a featherweight. However, he reminded me of a tiny Mike Tyson; same aggression and a wicked left hook. The fight was over before two minutes. He will be one to watch.
I turned off the TV and lights and went to sleep.