24. Mission Accomplished

Well, Merry Christmas to me...
Yes, it took me four months, but as of this morning those pesky extra 20 lbs are gone! Buh-bye!!!

Now on to phase two...maintaining my healthy eating habits/exercise and KEEPING them off for good. God, I hope I've finally learned my lesson.

23. Brrrrrrrr-isket Baby!

It might be freezing up here in Minnesota, but that doesn't stop us for firing up the the smoker. We decided to do up a beef brisket.Can you spot it? It's tucked in between two pork spare ribs. We tossed in the ribs cause we couldn't waste perfectly good shelf space, now could we???

OK, let's add a little more smoke.
OK, maybe more than a little. But look at the results!

Now, that is some gorgeous barbecue.

But, the brisket needs a little more time.

There...a nice big blackened hunk of beef. Perfect!

Now, let's slice up that bad boy and see how we did.

Wow! (If I do say so myself.) Note the perfect pink smoke ring.

So, how shall we serve this? Howze about we take a baked potato...top it with butter, cheese, sour cream, and chunks of brisket. Wait, not done yet...let's drizzle just a bit of barbecue sauce over the top.And presto...brisket boats! Ah yes, I do believe that does it justice, indeed.

21. Snow Snake

While walking Reservoir Woods, we came upon this rare sight. The elusive snow snake...a big one too! Luckily, they are harmless.

20. Drilling for Fish

Now, this is something I've never been able to quite comprehend.Someone actually drilling a hole in a frozen lake.
Just to drop a line in. Wow...now this is someone who really loves to fish!

19. Smoking up the Spares

We don't let a little snow and cold stop us from firing up the barbecue.
We had some gigantic spare ribs to smoke up.

We have a pretty good size smoker, but still had to fold over the ends to fit these bad boys in.

Sure look pretty though.

Especially after 7-8 hours of smoke!

17. Turkey Town

While we were at the doctor's office today we heard some scurrying and a few "gobble-gobbles" coming from the nearby woods.
Yup, a wild turkey.

He was a big boy.

And...not alone.

Where we they going in such a hurry you might ask?

Why to a post-Thanksgiving turkey party! Now, I must say, watching these guys certainly makes a doctor visit much more fun.

12. Hardcore

We knew it was coming...big time snow is here.
Time to shovel the driveway. Now, most would assume we want to keep the driveway clear of snow for the car. Granted, that's one reason.

But, here's another reason to shovel all that snow.

We need a spot to pull out the Weber!

Ok, it might be just a tad windy...no problem, we can handle it.

Plus, here is an extra benefit of wintertime grilling.

The neighbor's have turned on their Christmas lights. What a lovely setting for a little "thrill of the grill."