Mission Mountains at Sunset

Our Back Yard

Texas Chilli Meatballs AKA Swedish Meatballs

Three Ingredients only for this Receipe

1 large container Picante Sauce Mild-Medium
1 reg size grape jelly
3-4 packets frozen pre-made meatballs

Method is Bachelor proof

Put all ingredients in large pan, bring to boil, simmer for 40 minutes. Cool. Reheat next day and serve with rice.

Great for last minute potlucks. Best flavor on second day, not so grapey.
Enjoy
SSG Oz

Recent Pictures of Me

I've noticed that my most recent posts have been a little short on pictures, so to rectify this and to give you something to add to your screensavers, I am submitting some recent pictures of yours truely.
Enjoy,
SSG Oz

2 Lanes, or 4? SSG Oz, Funny Bone

The jokes keep coming. When you think that you have heard all the best ones out there, someone sends you another that makes you laugh. This was sent today from Lois, a dilligent sender and collector of jokes and inspirational spam.
Enjoy
SSG Oz

2 Lanes or 4?

A man walking along a California beach was deep in prayer. Suddenly, the sky clouded above his head and, in a booming voice, God said, "Because you have TRIED to be faithful to me in all ways, I will grant you one wish." The man said, "Build a bridge to Hawaii so I can drive over there any time I want." God said, "Your request is very materialistic. Think of the enormous challenges for that kind of undertaking. The supports required to reach the bottom of the Pacific. The concrete and steel it would take! It will nearly exhaust several natural resources. I can do it, but it is hard for ME to justify your desire for worldly things. Take a little more time and think of something that would honor and glorify Me." The man thought about it for a long time. Finally he said, "God, I wish that I could understand my wife I want to know how she feels inside, what she's thinking when she gives me the silent treatment, why she cries, what she means when she says nothing's wrong, and how I can make a woman truly happy." God replied, "You want two lanes or four on that bridge?"

How to Survive in Texas

For those who have been reading my blog, I took a few days off. I came across this e-mail from my friend in Texas, Mike. The funny thing about this is that most of it is true.
Enjoy
SSG OZ

o Armadillos sleep in the middle of the road with all four feet in the air.
o There are 5,000 types of snakes and 4,998 live in Texas. *STANTON TEXAS TO BE EXACT!
o There are 10,000 types of spiders. All 10,000 live in Texas, plus a few no one has ever seen
before.
o Raccoons will test your melon crop and let you know when they are ripe.
o If it grows, it will stick you. If it crawls, it will bite you!
o Nothing will kill a mesquite tree.
o There are valid reasons some people put razor wire around their house.
o A tractor is NOT an all terrain vehicle. They do get stuck.
o In West Texas the wind blows at 90 mph from Oct 2 till June 25; then it stops totally until
October 2.
o "Onced" and "twiced" are words.
o "Coldbeer" is one word.
o People actually grow and eat okra.
o Green grass DOES burn.
o When you live in the country you don't have to buy a dog. City people drop them off at your
front gate in the middle of the night.
o The sound of coyotes howling at night only sounds good for the first few weeks.
o When a buzzard sits on the fence and stares at you, it's time to see a doctor.
o "Fix-in-to" is one word.
o There ain't no such thing as "lunch". There is only dinner and then there's supper.
o "Sweetened ice tea" is appropriate for all meals and you start drinking it when you are two.
o "Backwards and forwards" means I know everything there is to know about you.
o "Jeet?" is actually a phrase meaning, "Did you eat?"
o You don't have to wear a watch because it doesn't matter what time it is. You work until
you're done or it's too dark to see.
o You measure distance in minutes.
o You can switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.
o Stores don't have bags, they have sacks.
o You will see a car with the engine running in the Wal-mart parking lot with no one in it, no
matter what time of the year.
o All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, a vegetable or a varmit.
o You install security lights on your! house and garage and leave both unlocked.
o You carry jumper cables for your own car.
o You know what "cow tipping" and "snipe hunting" are.
o You only have four spices in your kitchen: Salt, Pepper, Catsup, and Tabasco.
o You think everyone from north of Dallas has an accent.
o Sexy underwear is a tee shirt and boxer shorts.
o The local papers covers national and international news on one page but requires six pages to
cover Friday night high school football.
o The first day of deer season is a national holiday.
o You know which leaves make acceptable toilet paper.
o You find 100 degrees a "tad" warm.
o All four seasons are: Almost summer, summer, still summer and Christmas.
o You know whether another Texan is from East, West, North, or South Texas as soon as he
opens his mouth.
o Going to Wal-mart is a favorite past-time known as "goin Wal-Martin" or "off to Wally-world." o You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees) as good chili weather.
o A carbonated soft drink isn't a soda, cola, or pop ... It's a Coke regardless of brand or flavor.
o Baby outfits and bibs, say "I messed in Texas".

Family Rules and Expectations

lot of people say you shouldn't discipline your kids, but I say it is good to give them rules, so that they can learn the consequences of good behavior verse bad behavior. We sat down as a family and made a list of expectations that were fair and gave them consequences if those expectations were not met. We are fair parents. Kids can't be perfect all the time, but at the same time we are not doing them a service if we don't teach them how to function properly in our family as well as in our society. Think of all the people in prison right now who somewhere in their life made a poor decision or series of bad judgements that ultimately led to their incarcination. Rules have their place but ultimately it comes down to our choice wether we obey them, and if we are willing to accept the outcome that will follow.

Family Expectations

1. BODY
A. Shower every day by 8:00 p.m.
B. Extra time (beyond the regular one hour allotted to you) on any electronic device can only be earned by fresh air and exercise. A half hour walk = one hour of earned time, etc.
C. Clean your bedroom and bathroom. Inspections will be on Sunday nights.
D. In bed by 9:00 p.m. on weekdays, or 10:00 p.m. on weekends.
E. Out of bed at least 45 minutes before you have to leave. Manage your own time. If you are still in bed past the set time, a glass of water will be poured on you (you must wash your own sheets).

2. MIND
A. Have a good attitude
-no excuses when you are in trouble (just admit you were wrong and take responsibility for your actions)
-no grumbling
-no angry looks
*Silence is good.
B. Finish your homework
-finish homework right after school every day
-bring home everything you need to work on, plus assignment sheets and journal
C. Grades
-a "C" or below means no friends and no privileges until the grades are all at least "B"s
-a "D" or "F" will require additional, more drastic measures (to be decided later)
D. No music or lights on in bedrooms after 9:00 p.m.
E. Treat your siblings with respect. Absolutely no jokes or sarcastic remarks at their expense.

3. RESPONSIBILITY
A. Chores must be done daily. If you don't know your chore, ask.
B. Animals must be fed before you are fed.
C. Extra chores may be assigned on weekends. (See 2A above)

4. OBEDIENCE
A. Obey everyone in authority over you without question.
B. Be truthful at all times.

Family Plan

1. Each day you will get a checkmark for any infractions to the above expectations.
2. Checkmarks cost 50 cents.
3. If you have 3 days during the week with at least 1 checkmark, you will spend Saturday without any electronic devices or friends.
4. If you have 5 days during the week with at least 1 checkmark, you will spend Sunday the same way.
5. No earning back privileges. (See 2A above - get over it and drive on)
6. Saturday is the first day of the week for this. (A checkmark on the weekend counts for the next week)
7. We will try not to yell at you when you are in trouble, but you will still be punished. :-)
8. Family game nights are on Saturdays, all are expected to attend.
9. If we have a family mealtime, you are expected to be there on time.
10. The above rules may be suspended upon occasion, with advance permission. If our answer is no, see 2A above.

Poem: Christmas in Australia

Christmas in Australia
In the Southern Hemisphere,
We'll celebrate under the sun
There'll be no snow down here.

The kids arise with starry eyes
The presents 'round the tree,
Excitement on their faces
Oh what a joy to see.

Breakfast time it's ham and eggs
Traditional morning meal,
Good on you mum oh what a feeling
How do you feel.

We all get dressed in Sunday best
It's time to go and visit,
A little burp and my three year old
Says "that's not manners is it ?"







We pack our bags with aeroguard
Our block out and akubra,
We're off to see the Grandparents
Who live up at Maroubra.

The sun the surf and beach brolly
And the esky will not fail 'ya,
Spend Christmas Day out in the sun
With your family in Australia!
~author unknown~













I found this neat little Aussie Christmas site, which gives a pretty good overview of Christmas in Australia. Worth the look for the curious.
SSG OZ

Have You Sent Your Christmas Cards Out Yet?

I remember as a young lad when every Christmas my Mum would string out a hundred or so cards around the walls, from all our friends and family. I remember seeing pictures of snowmen, Sleighs, Holly and Snow Flakes, and thinking it seemed so foreign. Little did I know that one day I would be living in the mountains, waking up to Christmas with snow piled up to the door, and making snowmen and snow angels with the kids, as our noses froze. I even have a sister in law (SIL) named Holly. Back to Australia. One of our famous Aussie cards showed Santa wearing shorts and boots, (see picture to left). Do people still send Christmas (Chrissy) Cards? We usally try and send a newsletter or a family photo, but it is usually well into the New Year before it gets sent out.

It seems that in this e-mail age that people are more likely to send e-mails then post via snail mail, so as a back up for you busy folks out there, I will send a link to a free e-christmas card site from Nurnberg, the home of the largest Christmas store in Germany. It is in both German and English, and I have included a few pics as well. Stay tuned for more Chrissy Blogs, as the season progresses. (This feature is dedicated to my friend CJ, one of the world's living dinky di Santas)

Enjoy
SSG Oz

Congratulations to the arrival of Rose Jessica

This is an Announcement of the safe arrival of Rose Jessica, born on Sun 23rd Oct, weighing in at 8lb, 7.5oz, and length 52cm, to her proud parents Kate and Graeme, and her big sister Amy.

Lots of love from us all.

How to Build a House; A Slightly Different Twist

Alot of people have commented on our little house, and are suprised when we tell them that part of it was built as a modular home in Idaho, and then brought over and placed on a daylight basement. The whole house from start to finish took less then 13 weeks to build and for us to move in, and is as good and we think better than a stick built house. The crane operators said that we had the rolls royce of modular houses, based on the weight far exceeding other houses they move, plus other builders have said that the type of material used and the specs are the same for non-manufactured houses. Us? Well we just like it because it fits us, our budget and it doesn't look like a shoe box with doors. The best part of this is that we got to design everything from scratch (thanks Scratch), and even added a laundry chute from our bedroom to the laundry down stairs. Here is a photo essay of the steps of building our house. Notice the MIL door (sorry Joan):)
SSG Oz

Breaking ground, and laying forms

Building foundation

Forming daylight basement walls

Bringing in top part of house.

Using crane to off load house segments

Tying parts together

Inside of house, notice joist spacings.

Upstairs

Shaping roof

Siding house together

View of house from back including MIL door.

Finished house from front








Go to http://www.stratfordhomes.com for more info on the design and types of houses available.

Some of My Paintings

Having a very talented artist for a MIL (Mother In Law) has it's advantages. One is the occasional painting lesson. Here are a few of the 30 or so paintings I have done. Most have been given away as gifts, but one I did sell to a mate. Guess which one.
SSG Oz

Siblings

The Roundup














Big Tom










Spackle Bird











Geese in The Fog
















Abstract Wolf













Boy and His Grandpa


















Three Friends

Kitty Litter Cake: A Really Gross But Fun Receipe

If you want to gross out your guests for a Sunday Church lunch, this will do it. You may want to warn someone first, so it doesn't get thrown into the trash before you eat it. Alot of fun for parties and Halloween as well.
SSG OZ.

INGREDIENTS:
1 (18.25 ounce) package German chocolate cake mix
1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (12 ounce) package vanilla sandwich cookies
3 drops green food coloring
1 (12 ounce) package tootsie rolls

DIRECTIONS:
Prepare cake mixes and bake according to package directions (any size pan). Prepare pudding according to package directions and chill until ready to assemble.
Crumble sandwich cookies in small batches in a food processor, scraping often. Set aside all but 1/4 cup. To the 1/4 cup add a few drops of green food coloring and mix.
When cakes are cooled to room temperature, crumble them into a large bowl. Toss with 1/2 of the remaining cookie crumbs, and the chilled pudding. You probably won't need all of the pudding, you want the cake to be just moist, not soggy.
Line kitty litter box with the kitty litter liner. Put cake mixture into box.
Put half of the unwrapped tootsie rolls in a microwave safe dish and heat until softened. Shape the ends so that they are no longer blunt, and curve the tootsie rolls slightly.

Bury tootsie rolls randomly in the cake and sprinkle with half of the remaining cookie crumbs. Sprinkle a small amount of the green colored cookie crumbs lightly over the top.
Heat 3 or 4 of the tootsie rolls in the microwave until almost melted. Scrape them on top of the cake and sprinkle lightly with some of the green cookie crumbs. Heat the remaining tootsie rolls until pliable and shape as before. Spread all but one randomly over top of cake mixture. Sprinkle with any remaining cookie crumbs. Hang the remaining tootsie roll over side of litter box and sprinkle with a few green cookie crumbs. Serve with the pooper scooper for a gross Halloween dessert.