Picture Sunday

Hello, end of weekenders. It's back and badder than ever, welcome to this week's round of Picture Sunday.

Well, I would tell you about my weekend, but you already know. Up the mountain, down the mountain. But wait! I did do something new! I spent Saturday at my annual band geek paradise, the Virginia State Marching Band Festival. Yes, watching the nephew in his last-ever marching band competition. It didn't go well. Now, let me correct that. I had a great time all day, and Taytie's band did a nice job, but they didn't get their third "superior" rating, they got "excellent," which is one down the rung. I wasn't surprised; judging was pretty strange, and the fact that the GHS Band didn't get a superior wasn't that big a deal until I heard a couple of the four bands on the day that did.

Anyway, here you have it, somewhere in that throng is a picture of the nephew in his final competition with the marching band.



Oh, and there at the back of the field are the two giant flugelhorns I drew.

I spent most of the day sitting with Jude the Corruptor, whose son (Corruptor, Jr) was playing in another of the bands. And you know, he actually had me convinced to head up the mountain for a Saturday Oktoberfest, I had my stuff with me in the car, but it came to pass that by the time it was all over with and I got back to my car, it was 6:45, so Sauerkrauting it was right out. I came home and had something of a Saturday Chill instead, drinking coffee and watching movies, and it was nice to have a weekend night home.

OK, those of you who listen to the hucklebug podcast, and you know who you are, remember my story of the baby mug I was given at Oktoberfest. It was a very sweet surprise, and turned out to be the highlight of the week on that week's podcast. I promised Stennie I'd publish a picture of it, and, hey, I'll bet you forgot, didn't you, Stenns? Well, I didn't.



There it is. Right beside its big brother, the Sauerkraut Band mug.

The last two pictures come from last weekend. We were blessed to have a special guest with us on the mountain, in the name of one Huckleberry Hound. If you'll recall, he was interested in coming to an Oktoberfest and hanging out with Sherman and Peabody, but was a little worried about the trip up the mountain (the motion sickness, you know). Well, he faced his fears and joined us last week, and although he spent the beginning of the night cowering under the music stands shielding his ears from the trumpet blares...



...he eventually came out of his shell a little, had a piece of apple pie, and I even saw him dancing the polka at one point.

That same night, Hiram, Mr M's new rubber vulture, joined us as well. He spent the evening in the rafters, looking for dropped pieces of food and frightening people.



Nothing says "fun and festivities" like a rubber vulture, I say.

Well, it was absent last week, but it's back this week, the recipe du jour. You know, my boy Sherman is a weird kid. Everytime I ask him, and I do this about every week, what the recipe du jour should be, he answers, "Me!" He desperately wants to be a recipe - fried Sherman, sauteed Sherman, Sherman ka-bobs, Sherman soup. I reminded him that he was once a Sherman sandwich for us, but he says that doesn't count because he wasn't actually cooked, just laid on a piece of bread. He wants to be cooked.

And I love my boy and all, but i can't bring myself to cook him, no matter how hard he begs. However, in an effort to appease him, I decided to do a Sherman recipe. Safely. From the "Good Boy! Tasty Boy!" file in cardland, say hello to Sherman Cookie.



All it takes to make a Sherman Cookie is some sugar cookie dough and icing. And the patience to cut out a Sherman. And yes, I know the little tyke's hands are burned, but it's OK. They don't hurt. You know, I've heard many people say Sherman's so cute they could just eat him up. Now it is possible.

Happy week.

Betland's Olympic Update:
* One more week of Oktoberfest! Then I get my life back! And my podmobile2 serviced!