Ribs

I smokt me up sum-muh dem ba-ba-que pok ribz fo suppa tonigh...mmmmmmm mmm mm thayza mightee fine eatin

Happy Hallomas

Last night, Claire and I celebrated All Hallow's Eve with our traditional pumpkin whittling festivus. Below is Claire's great pumpkin "goofy man."

When it comes to pumpkin carving, I give a hoot.

good boy

Mr. Bojangles said, "I'm a good boy. I only chase the chickens because they like to run and fly and squawk."

State College

I spent last week in State College at the annual blendedschools.net conference. Adding online and onsite participants, it was our best attended conference yet. I guess the free registration this year made it more affordable.

On Tuesday, I drove by our old house. Seven years after we moved, it looks exactly the same. Just like me.

new mexican restaurant

There is an excellent new, authentic Mexican restaurant in town. I'm not gonna tell you where, because the seating is limited and I'm hungry again. Okay, I'll give you a hint: previously, the building housed a cowboy bar. If you find it, bring your Spanish, so you can communicate with the service staff. Pointing works, too. Yup, that fish was breaded and fried whole.

Fritz n Wanda

Claire and I drove 461 miles north on Friday night to eat my parents' famous apple pie a la mode. On our way home on Saturday night, we stopped at Spaghetti Works in Omaha's Old Market for a couple plates of comfort food.

Claire and Grandpa Fritz swapped fishing stories.

Grandma Wanda and Claire pose for a picture after collaborating on the preparation of some world-class, German pork wiener schnitzel, or more formally called schnitzel wiener art.

Roots 'n Blues 'n BBQ 2009

This year's Roots n Blues n BBQ Festival was fantabulous! Below, Pat and Claire are giddy about BBQ.

Mike Zito hosted the after party on Saturday night. Pictured below, he is rocking long past midnight.

With her ripping guitar play, Ana Popovic stole my heart!

The one and only Booker T was as good as it can get. If you can only see one concert in your life, there's no choice, you need to see Booker T.

Pat, Claire and Mizuho, grinning to the tunes.

The Music Maker Revue performance was a ton of fun. if you are looking for a charitable foundation to help this holiday season, please consider the Music Maker Relief Foundation.