Returning to the Mountain, My Queen’s Birthday, Godzilla, PVHT Engagement, A Few Words on Hunting

"I ask people why they have deer heads on their walls. They always say it because it's such a beautiful animal. There you go. I think my mother is attractive, but I have her photographs."
— Ellen DeGeneres

I am back on top of our mountain, purple bean bag chair, coffee, fireplace, my cat to my left brushing her tail on the floor. My wife is getting up; we got in about 9:00 last night, 11:00 E.T. we got to bed and had a decent night. I’m also a little off my deep sleep pattern the day of a flight.

My Queen worked at the office on her birthday, I worked from home, and our daughter took us to the airport. I took her to a swanky brewhouse in the terminal for her birthday dinner.  The flight was bumpy, with no drinks but water served; I watched a movie on the plane, a Godzilla flick with many monsters. I had not watched a Godzilla movie for years. Of course, the woke story was that the demons were good, and the humans were imperfect.

In the end, Godzilla is the King of the Monsters, and all return to their hiding places until forces larger would call on them to reset the environment.  Climate change baby, one of NPR’s trifectas. Our black car picked us up once we landed. We now use a car service instead of our old school drive to the condo and pick up an Uber. It’s nice to have door-to-door service.

Nick was previously in the restaurant business; he had a knack for being able to open a new restaurant and get it rocking. He was also a turnaround master of a restaurant if it was having trouble. Nick has three kids all over the world, one in New Zealand. He had been the driver of our kids a couple of weeks back, so we talked about our girls and his joyful ride with our children.

We will go over and pick up our pup from Melissa. We got the news that Parker Van Halen’s boyfriend Jack had proposed, she had accepted, and they are working on picking a date. They are registered at pets.com and would appreciate an RSVP if you plan to come to the ceremony. I think they want something in a large field; our little lady is growing up. I’ll post their engagement photo with this soup.  I’m so happy for her, and we love Jack.

I got a little pushback for my soup yesterday, not about my words but the photo I selected. I wanted to explain why I used it and my thoughts on hunting. Keith is a friend and a large game hunter. He has traveled the world and has a house full of large trophies. He eats what he kills, and I think he plays a vital role in the balance of nature.

Monday night, he killed a 6-foot mountain lion on his property.  He has goats; the mountain lion was eating his goats; in addition to getting food for himself and his community, he was protecting his property. I don’t hunt, but I respect those who do. Without hunters, our ecology would not function. We need to thin the herds of wild beasts and if a man, woman, or transgender is passionate enough about the sport, thank you for your service.  

Last year Keith traveled to Florida and got a tag to kill an alligator. I wonder if I would have used the shot of him calling a sea creature if it would have earned the same response? In Yellowstone, there is a scene when Kevin Costner’s character talks to an environmentalist. She is against meat-eating, and he shares that more animals die in farming wheat, corn, and beans than in actual meat production. He asked how cute an animal must be before someone cares about them.

I’m sorry if my photo offended me; I never thought it was terrible in my wildest dreams. I got the shot as I was finishing my soup and thought, what a great thing for my friend; I don’t always hit a home run, sometimes I strikeout, but here I am again, willing to put some words on paper expressing my thoughts, ideas, and logic. I never mean to harm, dump the contents of my mind, good and bad.

We are going to get our water tested this week. It’s a two-step process; I must pick up a sanitary canister, fill it with our mountain water, and return it within 24 hours. The test will show all the minerals in our water and hopefully allow me to copy the flavor profile. I did speak to a canning company the other night; each day, I move my craft water dream closer to reality.

We will work here and pick up the pup, get some lunch, and return early afternoon. We have three full days of work before heading into the weekend; I’m working on a couple of projects that seem lucrative. Have I told you lately I love my job? Our team is humming; we are doing a bit of a reorganization, and our new operations manager is killing it as our new fresh faces; it’s an exciting time to be a part of our firm.

I’m happy to be back west; I miss our midwestern friends and family but will soon journey back to welcome Bo Anson into our family. I hope to see my two granddaughters when I return; I was unsuccessful this last trip, but I just wish I get to hold them both before my birthday. I hope your life is a stunning expression of joy, beauty, and happiness, and if not, I trust you know how to do the work to move from where you are to where you should be.

"I ask people why they have deer heads on their walls. They always say it because it's such a beautiful animal. There you go. I think my mother is attractive, but I have her photographs."
— Ellen DeGeneres