Cracking Crab

Just in case you have not seen enough crab pics, here are more. I think the haul on this day was 30+. After they cook them, they crack them so they are ready to eat at the table. That's Jim, my Dad, my Uncle Dave and cousin Matt.

Jim went out today and it was really rough. It will probably be the last time out for a little while until the weather settles down.

Handsome Hunk of Cousin

This is Matt, my hillbilly cousin from Kentucky. Actually he is not a hillbilly but a rather handsome guy - with all his teeth! He is here visiting for 8 days. Jim took him out crabbing the first day he was here and they had a great time. They went out again two days later and it was not so good. One of the first lessons you should learn about being out on the ocean is don't go out when you have a hangover! There can't be much worse then being sea sick on top of a hangover. If you have any doubt, ask Matt.

Give Thanks

Thnaksgiving was wildly sucessful! The 14 pounds of prime rib and 30+ crabs were devoured. The appetizers were outstanding and dessert was scrumpcious! The 22 people who were here seemed to be happy. I was so busy that I did not get many pics, but the one here is the most important....it is the centerpiece that Gracie made for one of the tables.

Handsome!

I know I am his mom but this is one handsome rugged almost 11 year old boy! This is from crabbing yesterday. Check out the California weather in the background - 5 days before Thanksgiving!

Annual Crab Feed

Every year since Jim started crabbing, we have had a big crab feed at the beginning of the season. Last night we had about 50 people over for an all out crab feeding frenzy! Menu included all you can eat crab, bread, pasta pesto, mac and cheese, fruit and salad.

I didn't take any pics of the actual party because I was too busy melting butter and cutting bread.....but here are some pics from earlier in the day when the guys were catching and preparing the crab.

The weather out on the ocean was amazing - like a lake, clear and sunny!

That is a pic of Drew getting read to grab a bouy and haul in a pot. And that is Paul wearing a plastic garbage bag while cracking crabs....and his "safety glasses"!

The latest haul....

Here are a couple of the pots from yesterday. Big crabs - full pots! All in all.... a happy fisherman!

Tsunami

Yesterday there was a 8.3 earthquake in Japan which led to tsunami warning in Japan, Hawaii, Alaska and the West Coast of California. Jim was out pulling crab pots yesterday afternoon and heard nothing about it on the radio....

I was at work (someone needs to support his fishing habit) and I heard about the earthquake but had heard that the tsunami warning for the west coast was canceled -- so I thought nothing more about it.

But when he came into the harbor at about 3:30 pm after pulling pots, he noticed a really weird swirling in the water and water rushing out of the harbor. At one point a 70 foot commercial boat in front of him was pushed completely sideways by the water. He said he had never seen anything like it. He had to give his boat full throttle and was not moving anywhere.

The funny part is he did not realize what it was until last nite when he was watching the news and heard about the tidal surge that hit the west coast. Some harbors experienced 6 foot waves, but luckily the Half Moon Bay Harbor didn't get hit as hard as Jim was literally coming into the harbor when it hit! Talk about timing!!!

My life....

I was out running this morning and started thinking about how I keep hearing about this person or that person who is training for a marathon or triathalon. I have always thought I would like to do a marathon or better yet, a half marathon. It would just take some focus to increase my running distances over time.

But then I kept thinking....my LIFE is a marathon and I train for it everyday...not just the physical part of it but the emotional and mental part of it also. Anyone who works fulltime, has kids, gives a 100% to those kids and helping them develop into responsible adults, tries to spend meaningful time with friends and family, cares for chickens and a dog, works out everyday and also tries to give back to the world.....is in a marathon! You just don't get the t-shirt!

So at the end of my life, there will be no regret about not running a marathon.

The Latest Haul...

Jim just pulled into the driveway with 20 crabs. He and the kids are cooking them up in the back yard.

Dog in a bunker

The kids described this as "the dog in a bunker". If it were me, I would think someone in a bunker should look more alert and not be laying around on their back hoping someone was going to stop by and rub their belly!

She is ferocious!

A new view?

We are looking at buying a piece of property in the mountains near the cabin. It is 128 acres that are surrounded by National Forest. This is the view from to spot where we would put a cabin. The mountains in the far distance are Yosemite!

We are very interested in purchasing it but we are doing research on what is required in regards to permits, power, water, building a road, etc.

Everytime I look at this pic, I want to buy it even if I have to put a tent and a porta potty on the property!

Girls Weekend

So far so good - still in the mountains for girls weekend. On Friday on the way up here we stopped at the GAP and did some power shopping. That night we went to the yummy mexican place for dinner. OUTSTANDING! Yesterday, we went for a long walk and then went to the movies. We saw "Stranger than Fiction", the new Will Ferrell movie. It was really good. It had some funny parts but was a movie that you have to think about too. We came home from the movie and watched the movie Hitch - a feel good movie.

Last night we went to the Iron Door Saloon for dinner, came home and played rummikub. So far we are having a delightful time.

Thanksgiving Menu

Just to get you drooling, here is our menu for our non-traditional Thanksgiving:

Crab (caught fresh that day)
Prime rib
Butternut squash risotto
Spinach casserole
veggie ?
salad
cranberry sauce - the only thing really traditional
garlicky dinner rolls
homemade pies --- made by my husband!
garlic garlic dip appetizer with carrots and homemade beer bread
lumpia - home made by my sis in law
and maybe some pumpkin soup!

I have friends who indicated they wanted to ditch their families and come to our house for dinner!

Hallelujah

Hallelujah is defined as "a shout of joy, praise or gratitude. ". When I screamed hallelujah today, it was for all those reasons......because......someone other than Maverick laid an egg!!!!!!

You see....I run an assisted living home for young hens who think they are too good to lay eggs. Only Maverick lays eggs regularly which means I get 7 eggs a week instead of 21! So basically Rowdy and Betty are "kept" hens. I guess that makes me their "sugar mama"!

So I go out there this afternoon and there are 3 eggs: 2 of Mavericks and one from someone else. It has been so long since the other two laid that now I can not remember who lays to light tan oblong egg s....so I am not sure whose it is.

But rest assured after screaming hallelujah, I informed them all that the egg was beautiful and that they were chickens and should be laying one each day.

Let's see if that works to motivate them!

All they did was cluck and wonder where the treats were!

Amelia can sit!

Check out Amelia's new seat! She can't sit up yet on her own, but this little seat cradles her to hold her up in a sitting position. She is 4 months old already!

ketchup and jockey

Here are the kids on Halloween nite. You can see Gracie's horse and riding crop in her candy bucket. And you can see Drew's hanmburger and fries hanging around his neck.

A girl in charge!

This morning on the way to school, Gracie asked me if the mail lady had come yet today. I said no and asked why....She said, "Because I have not been getting ANY of my American Doll magazines and Drew had been getting ALL his boy mail. I need to find out what is going on!"

That type of take charge personality is going to get her places in this tough world!

Gait Analysis

Yesterday I had a gait analysis done for running. It was really interesting.

They look at your shoe and where it is worn, how you walk, how your arch is and take careful measurements of your feet. Turns out that I have mild pronation and they recommend a certain type of insert to make me run in a more neutral position. This more neutral psoition may help my IT band pain.

But that most interesting piece of data is I have been wearing shoes that are to small! Although they fit fine when standing around, when you run your feet swell (makes perfect sense) and if the shoes are too small it puts pressure on your toes and feet in general....thus that is why I have foot pain.

Well worth the 15 minute investment to go talk to a professional!