The girls drug us along for the Christmas home tour on Friday night. Originally Mendy and Heidi said we could wait at the tavern while they toured the homes. Using better judgement, they adjusted to go on the tour and maybe skip the last couple of houses and go to the tavern. (Probably a good idea.)

The 🎄 Christmas trees at Lanthier Winery and the beautifully decorated homes were impressive and fun to see. Then, Bruce and mine’s instructions were to drink a 🍺 beer at the Mad Paddle and then order food at Shipley’s. So, we had a tasty pint each of Blood 🍊 Orange for $14. Then we had a pint each of Amber Bock at Shipley’s for $3.50. We like the Mad Paddle, but we may make a business decision next time and stick with Shipley’s Tavern. On a side note, Shipley’s has been there since 1867.

Notice the ALL CAPITAL LETTERS!!! It’s because this Bad Boy deserves the recognition. This thing is two inches thick with a bourbon 🥃, 🍍 pineapple, brown sugar glaze and is out of this 🌎 world. To quote Charlie Stahl of Wegan, Indiana when he ate one: “I didn’t even need my teeth.” 🦷 It is that tender and delicious 😋.

Reed’s also has a nice beer menu featuring Quaff On! Strawberry 🍓 Blonde and Kirkwood Cream Ale. 🍺 🍻

There was a great crowd there on a Friday night with several familiar faces in the crowd. Along with a friendly staff, there is no reason not to try it.

Shawn Malone has got the home town theme going strong at Brooklyn Pizza and Harmony Park! Pictures, paintings, clever names for his micro brews; to name a few. Oh, I guess he has some fantastic 🍕 pizza on the side.

What has me thinking the most is the beer mug program. You buy a big 🍺 mug for $X. {Pretty sure he said $55 and I think the mug is 20 ounces.} So when you come in you drink from your own mug, as well as get an extra 4 ounces each time you fill it up. It is good for a year. There may be some other perks but I didn’t write anything down.

Also, you can buy a beer for someone and put the coupon on the bulletin board for when that person comes in they can enjoy a free beverage. However, it would probably be courteous to return the favor.

Upcoming events that I am interested in are a release of The Hustler hibiscus 🌺 beer along with “Hustler” Rip Rogers there to sign autographs etc. on the Friday after Thanksgiving. 🦃 And if you want one of those mugs for 2022, be there on December 11 and get the party started.

Last week Heidi and I salvaged one last pick of 🫑 peppers from the garden before the frost. She had been talking about Stuffed Peppers for a while and I wasn’t really buying into the program. However, these bad boys were incredible!!!😋

There was a combination of ground beef, 🌾 rice, seasoning and spaghetti sauce stuffed into the hollowed out pepper and topped with cheese. Heidi has been patient with my food preferences and I have come a long way on what I have and will try with her guiding me. Thank goodness I listened to her tonight!

With an outstanding meal in my belly I am getting back to the Cigar Ring and 🥃 Bourbon label table I have been working on. Most of the cigar rings are from Dr. David Wintin and the bourbon labels that I boiled off the bottles are from Jon Tilmon. After tonight all that will be left is the epoxy resin top. This will be a great euchre table when completed.

Hard Truth Hills is an excellent restaurant as well as a distillery. Throw in the Quaff On! Brewery with the good food and this place has got it going on.

Hard Truth Hills is an excellent restaurant as well as a distillery. Throw in the Quaff On! Brewery with the good food and this place has got it going on.

The 6-1 Packers travel to the desert 🌵 to take on the 7-0 Cardinals. Green Bay has been my favorite team since about 1968 when I got Paul Hornung’s autograph. Paul was in Seymour to promote Kentucky Fried 🍗 Chicken as I recall and came by the stadium to visit the team. My Dad was on the Seymour football staff at the time and I got the signature.

It is my duty, as a 53 year Packer fan to do what I can to support my Cheese 🧀 Head brothers from the Wisconsin. Thus, my excellent dinner consisting of a Johnsonville sausage from Sheboygan, slices of some Wisconsin Farms Muenster cheese, and a Pabst Blue Ribbon, brewed in Milwaukee. (The Packers used to play some home games in Milwaukee.)

Did you know? Pabst Beer won a blue ribbon in 1893 for the title of America’s finest 🍺 beer. And since then has been known as Pabst Blue Ribbon.

The sausages were slow cooked in a bed of 🧅 onion and peppers 🫑. Darn good!

These 🍎 apples were grown and harvested in Driftwood Township, just a mile and a half from my home in Grassy Fork Township in Jackson County by Barry Melloncamp. He delivered them to us a couple of days ago and Heidi made apple crisp tonight. Ingredients: 🍎 apples, oats, brown sugar, 🧈 butter and cinnamon. Pretty basic and delicious!!!

I thank the Lord for her every day of my life for Heidi Hackman! Maybe 17 years ago my neighbor growing up, Pam Hess Baker, gave me her number and said, “Call her.” No ifs, buts, or maybes, just “Call her.”

I did as I was told and here in 2021 I am having apple crisp and ice cream for dessert. Enough said. After dinner and apple crisp we went out together and picked some green 🫑 peppers from what is left of the garden before it freezes and Heidi said, “I guess we will have stuffed 🫑 peppers for dinner tomorrow.” I have scored the biggest basket of my life with her. Because of Heidi, I am teaching at Lutheran Central with students that I love and enjoy every day and have also just begun my 36th year of coaching basketball 🏀.

I found this quote recently from Pablo Picasso: “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away. “ I believe I have reached that point.

Just last week, I joked with a fifth grade student that I would probably attend her wedding. Her classmate(Morgan Wessel) grinned as big as Texas and said, “If you are still alive.” So, there is the challenge. Continue to give this gift of Reading/Language Arts/Writing/Basketball away for as long as I can and in 15 years, attend Ava Brock’s wedding.

What a woman that Heidi Wintin is. She works all day at the hospital and then comes home to cook me a meal 🥘 like this.

She diced a giant sweet potato given to us by her uncle, Barry Melloncamp. Then she melted butter 🧈 , added oil, 🇮🇹 Italian seasoning, minced 🧄 garlic and shredded Parmesan, put it all in a bag to coat the sweet potatoes and baked it on a cookie sheet for 25 minutes. It turned out tremendous!!! The dogs were crazy about it as well.

Heidi also put some Buttery Steakhouse rub on some chicken and fried it up in the skillet. I added some Kansas City BBQ sauce that Sophie had given me a while back and it was also a hit.

We both packed a container for our lunch tomorrow.

I had only eaten a handful of nuts and an ice cream drumstick all day and it was 6:30 when we got there. Every item I 👀 saw at Sam’s club appeared delicious.

With that, the peanuts 🥜 and hot rolls with cinnamon butter were incredible as I anticipated the steak. Smothered in mushrooms and onions was the way to go. And, we didn’t even spend all of the gift cards.

The best news yet, I will probably have steak and eggs for breakfast. 🥩 🍳

The consistency of Texas Roadhouse is my favorite thing about the place. However, that Ranch dressing can stand on its own as well.