King Cake & Jambalaya

I keep hoping someone else will get the baby in their slice of King Cake, so I don't have to make it again. At least Bud got it, so maybe I will be the recipient of some fall-out good luck. Maybe next year I'll have more people over to improve the odds of someone else getting the baby. The Jambalaya was yummy. I just don't care for de-veining the shrimp. Whoever thought such ugly little things would be good to eat.
Happy Fat Tuesday to Everyone. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. Biblical foundation for this practice comes from Job 42:5-6 "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."

 
The Lyons joined us for Fat Tuesday Celebration.

 

Snow Days/Los Alamos

Unlike many we know, Snow Days in California consist of rummaging through the garage for old snow gear, collecting beat up sleds, maybe even wrapping your feet in baggies and then putting on your shoes, then heading for the mountains for a few hours in the snow. We "go" to the snow, rather than it coming, and coming, and coming to us. Chili and Hot Chocolate are usually involved at some point, as well. We spent an afternoon at LaPorte with the Lyons - kind of a preview day for the upcoming Church Mutual activity. The kids had a great time.
Then last weekend we traveled to Los Alamos, NM to visit the Tripps. They live in one of those places where the snow comes to them! On Saturday, we spent an hour or so sledding at a local park with a nice little hill. It was great fun! The one nice thing about living close to the snow, or in it, is once you are cold, you hop in the car and drive a few blocks home. Where we live, there are winding roads involved - but oh the views!
We reminisced about the "K-Mart Hill" that was behind our house when we lived in Iowa many years ago. I think it was more of a ditch than a hill, but our kids sure had lots of fun there with their sleds.
We sure enjoyed our weekend at the Tripps. When we visit our family across the country, we usually like to see at least one thing of interest in their locale. I recently read about these statues placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution, across the USA. They were done in the late 1920's and are mostly along the old route 66 and I-40 and are intended to pay tribute to the pioneer women who sacrificed so much to settle the west. There are 12 Madonna of the Trail statues from Bethesda, Maryland to Upland, California. This one is in downtown Albuquerque, so we stopped to see it on our way to the airport.