Continued....Grutz says, "Midwest weather is NOT for the faint of heart." or "Chicago-style deep dish pizza is NOT for the faint of heart."

We're all getting older.

Carleen and I had the great pleasure of welcoming her brother, Matt Healy, and cousin, Rob Healy, to our fine home for a little bachelor party get down.  I've known about this for some time and was a little nervous about trying to pull it off.  I was a bit concerned that I would have to come up with some crazy debauchery that really isn't my forte.  I'd ask myself, "Is Matt kinda hoping for 'The Hangover' type bachelor party?"  See, I'm more of a "let's drink some beers, maybe catch a show or hit up a couple bars" kind of guy, not a "let's get out of our minds, drop huge bank, yes, yes, yes, strippers, strippers, strippers, woo-hoo, partee (with a double 'e')" kind of guy.

Thank goodness, everyone is getting old.  And frequenting a music festival the previous days and getting no sleep.  Matt, Rob, and Andy (Maggie's brother) all went to Summer Camp '11 Friday and Saturday (I didn't go,  I'm 33.  You don't go to a giant camp-out-in-the-rain-with-thousands-of-hippies music fest when you're 33).  Papadosio played and so they all got to hang with Michael (Carleen's brother) when he wasn't banging the drums.  This also means they stayed up real late, partied pretty hard in they're own right, and 'slept' in a tent with tens of thousands of other party-goers.  When they arrived Sunday showers were had, naps were taken.

When the energy levels increased enough to get out and about, we settled on a Chicago tradition, deep-dish pizza.  Now for those that call Chicago home, we don't really eat this all that often.  Actually we never eat it.  Only when we have visitors, so it's always associated with good times.  So Carleen kindly joined us for some Gino's East artery clogging loving.  It is ridiculous.  It is grand.  It is pretty good.  It is something you have to do at least once in you life.

Enjoy it.  Don't think about.  Just enjoy it.

After dinner, Carleen left us boys to our own terrible selves.  Oh the mayhem that would ensue.  Ok, actually is was pretty calm and really fun.  We hit a couple bars, played some darts, and had a blast.  No, nothing juicy, no broken bones/lost body parts, no tattoos or pierced nipples, no hickeys, no herpes, just 4 guys having a great time.  We got back to Pilsen around 2, I woke up around 3:30 to get Rob to the Blue Line to catch is very, very early (but very cheap) flight back to DC.  Got to sleep.  Woke to Carleen making some the best waffles I've ever had.  Spent some time with Matt before he headed back to Cincinnati and enjoyed the afternoon with Carleen.  Bliss.

And then I was tired.  Dead tired.

As we get older, we might slow down a bit lot.  But we're more sensible and the things we choose to do, we appreciate them more. 

Also, I can't wait for Matt and Maggie's wedding.  

Grutz says, "Midwest weather is NOT for the faint of heart." or "Chicago-style deep dish pizza is NOT for the faint of heart."

From frostbite to heatstroke.

The past Tuesday I was visited by a great blast from the past, Tony Welter. He and I go way back to our high school days and we hadn't seen each other in over 4 years. How time flies! Carleen and I met him at his hotel downtown and had dinner. Tony and I then hopped the Red Line to Wrigley to catch the Cubs v. Mets. It was a great game. It was a cold game. Very cold. Like see-your-breath-why-didn't-I-bring-mittens cold. Heck, I had to bring a jacket for Tony!

Notice all the hoods and caps. My favorite is the the guy straight ahead with his shirt tucked into his hat. It was a frigid fun game. It was almost a record low that day. And the wind off the lake, yikes!

While we enjoyed the game we caught up on our families and whatnot. We all have friends like Tony, the great ones, that regardless of the time or distance, the second you're together it's as if nothing has changed. Just wonderful.

The Cubs won 11-1 and we stuck around to sing Steve Goodman's "Go Cubs Go" (which they play at the end of a Cubs victory) and to watch the Bulls v. Heat playoff game. It was pretty exciting to watch the final seconds with a couple hundred fans in the concessions area at Wrigley. Even though the Cubs game ended, the ushers allowed folks to stay and watch. Too bad the Bulls didn't pull it out, but it was fun.

Cubs Fans rooting for the Bulls at Wrigley. A big city celebrating its teams is a good thing.

So in less than a week we went from near freezing, and mind you this is late MAY, to good ol' hot times, the 90s. Whew, what a turn around, and going from Tuesday to today we endure some ridiculous storms. What's that they say about Chicago weather? If you don't like it, wait an hour or so? Yeah that's it. Arnie, as we've discovered is not a fan of the heat, but he does like the cool tile of our kitchen.

Nick: "Hey Arnie, who's a hotdog?" Arnie: "Hey Nick, who's a jerk? You are! I don't have sweat glands and I'm covered in fur! It's 90º out for god's sake! Hotdog?!? You jackass."

Apparently, Arnie gets mean when he's hot. Ahem.

Speaking of hot, we have to go to the store to buy some fans, but I'll continue later with all the dirty details of Matt Healy's bachelor night out yesterday. Uh-huh!

memorial day barbequed eggs

To lighten up the mood a little bit, 

this needed to be shared.  I truly cannot wait to try out these recipes.  Thanks NPR!  We are off to breakfast with our favorite family in chicago, Julie Ann, Dan, Nora and Levi.  And then my brother will arrive in town to commence the Chicago leg of his bachelor weekend.  Oh joys.  

A Vegetarian Barbecue

by MARK GARRISON

May 28, 2011

Here are two vegetarian barbecue options that go well beyond veggie burgers and grilled vegetables. Oddly, I first tasted both on a meat-filled trip to Argentina. — Mark Garrison, TheSporkful.com

EnlargeJason Gardner/TheSporkful.com

Yes, you can barbecue an egg.

Barbecued Eggs

Argentine engineering makes it possible to cook an egg over the coals without a mess, and you've never tasted eggs so smoky and delicious.

Ingredients

• 1 large bell pepper, the bigger the better
• 2 eggs
• hot sauce, salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

You'll need the bell pepper to sit stably on the grill, or else the raw egg will spill out and make a tragic mess. Place the pepper flat on your cutting board and slice in half parallel to the board. Scrape out the seeds and placenta (yup, that's really what it's called), being careful not to pierce the outer wall.

Crack an egg into each half of the pepper. Try to distribute the egg into the whole cavity.

Place the filled pepper over the hottest part of the grill. It tastes best with the pepper's skin charred. Close the grill. If you're going to eat it with a knife and fork, cooking it to over-easy is fine. But if you're going to serve it as finger food, cook it a bit longer, so you don't have a runny yolk. It's great on its own, but better still with hot sauce, salt and a little black pepper on top.

---

Grilled Provolone

Ingredients

• provolone cheese, sliced about 3/4-inch thick
• 1 tablespoons oregano
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
• olive oil

Directions

Let the cheese slab sit and come to room temperature. Rub a thin layer of olive oil on it. Then press in oregano on both sides, adding red pepper flakes if you want a bit of heat.

The fastest and smokiest way would be to put it directly on the grill over the coals. But if you're a minute late pulling it off, you've got a gooey mess all over your grill. Best bet is to put a layer of aluminum foil over the grill, or watch it very carefully.

Cook it until it's a hot, gooey puddle of melty, cheesy joy. No need to flip it. Serve it hot with crackers, crusty bread or all by itself.

Grutz says, "I love you." or "I wonder what they could possibly be hunting in the city at 3 a.m.?"

Hot lead? No thank you.

Last night/early this morning Carleen and I were awaken by gunshots. They were far off, a couple of blocks. A half hour later some more, within a 100 feet of our home. There were no squealing tires, so the shooter(s) were on foot. Later, we heard a man shouting for help. Summer time in Pilsen.

I have personally never been fearful for my life while in Chicago, be it Logan Square, Lincoln Park, any where. I also make a point of not being in places where I ought to be fearful.

Life is too precious to squander it with violence. As I stared at the ceiling, my heart pounding, I thought of losing Carleen. I don't want anything bad to ever happen to her. I don't want anything bad to happen to anyone, for that matter. Life can end like that. For you or the people you love. Tell everyone you care about that you love them. Do it. Don't wait till it's too late.

Grutz says, "First my favorite hat. Now the new bed?!?!" or "How I learned to like the crate."

You're an animal but I want you to act like a person.

As Carleen mentioned, Arnie has be having some issues.  After yesterday's fiasco I purchased some new chew toys and a new bed.  Drove Carleen to work this morning and in 25 minutes he had the bed in ruins.  (Sigh).  I'm not upset with the dog, I'm upset with myself.  It's a dog and should act like one, not expected to act like a person.

I didn't initially go for crating, but boy oh boy, I do now!  So I ordered one, real cheap from Petco.  Memorial Day sale and free shipping (yeah) won't get here until next week (boo).  Aunt Jill mentioned some good things about crates and Maggie.  Also, I figured that with moving soon and me working (hopefully) next school year, we got to get him used to it.

Needless to say, I am very drained by all these recent events.  Love the pup.  Reading a lot.  Learning a lot.  Really love the pup.  Loved that hat, too.  But still, very drained.

Separation Anxiety, Morning Glory, and brownies make life so much better.

Well, it appears that our dog suffers from separation anxiety.  According to the vet, dogs have no sense of time lapsed and when we leave, Arnie can't understand that we won't be gone forever, ultimately, that we will always come back.  Apparently, we have to wean him in into associating us leaving with something positive.  So now the plan is to pretend like we' re leaving: prepare with a coat (on a wintery day like today), keys, shoes etc. and then take it all off and stay for a while.  In steps, Arnie will begin to understand that leaving isn't always a bad thing, and that we will come back.  Geez, it's like having a kid.  We have to trick him into letting us leave, and then reward him for not chewing up our shoes.

Yes, all of the separation anxiety diagnosis comes from 2 days of casualties in our household.  The first being Nick's "Pauls Big Game Room" hat.  Some of you may fondly remember it by the picture of me at a Reds game in Cincinnati.  Arnies blanket was the second to go to shreds, and last night he chewed up Nick's jump drive, one of my pens, and he tore up paper in the garbage.  Then today, the kicker.  We were gone for about 30 minutes; Nick drove me to school because it was raining, and this year, I am a wimp, and I don't ride in the rain.   He came home to my sneakers missing a heel.

I never wanted that heel anyway. 

No really, it's a fashion statement. 

Needless to say, post vet, Nick decided to go all out on chew toys, a new, real, dog bed, and duck jerky chewies.   We still love him, but are utterly surprised by this recent turn of events.  He gets over 4 walks a day for goodness sakes!  Not sure how to exercise him more, so it must be separation anxiety.  We are hoping it's rapidly treatable because we have some trips to take coming up and cannot have our dog eating my families shoes!


In other news, we have MORNING GLORY!

Nick fashioned this amazing situation by pouring plaster into a milk jug, and then sticking a sturdy, non buggy filled branch.  The glories started to quickly wind their way up to the top and suddenly, we have morning glories!  I know how short their season is, enjoy them while you can! 

 And to finish off the week, brownies have been on my mind for a while now, and it came to be necessary that I bake some.  These turned out amazingly.  Chewy, moist, creamy frosting.  SO delicious. This was the recipe I used,  Best Brownies .  Of course, we didn't have any Vanilla extract, so I used some of the pear/ mango syrup I created with my pear tart (a while ago) to add flavor if needed. They were amazing.

I can't keep my eyes open, bed is calling me.

Love, Carleen

Grutz says, "Kate Smith is much, much faster than you." or "Saints are better than Gamblers." or "Sports, sports, sports, sports."

You're a Champion, Kate!

Kate celebrating with her Wahlert teammates at the Iowa Class 3A Championship.

Hot damn!  Little cousin Kate is a State Champ!  I couldn't believe my eyes reading the Telegraph Herald.  Dubuque Wahlert Girls won it's first team title, on the back of their sprint medley win on Saturday.  Kate ran the third leg and the team finished 1:49.13, just beating out Mt. Vernon/Lisbon by 0.73 seconds!  All the hard work and dedication payed off for Kate and the rest of the Wahlert team.  Give Kate a shout out.  We're so proud of you, Kate!

Dubuque tops Green Bay, 6-1 to with the Clark Cup.

.....and we'll keep on fighting to the end.  'Cos we are the Champions, we are the Champions!

And continuing with the sports theme... The Dubuque Fighting Saints won the USHL Clark Cup last night in Dubuque, over Green Bay, to win the best of 5 series, 3-1.  This is the first title for the Saints in 26 years (mind you, the Saints left Dbq for about 9 or 10 years).  It's been an amazing first season back in Dubuque at their new rink.  Of course, I don't want to take credit for anything, buuuuuuuuut......

A Fighting Saints promo back in August.  Who's giving the lucky, Clark Cup Champion high-five?  Nick is, that's who.

Well, I'm bushed.  That's my Dubuque sports fix for the week.  Have a beautiful Sunday, and once again, WAY TO GO KATE!!!!