turkey slathered under the skin, inside and out with a compound butter of garlic, sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley, salt and pepper.
Turkey slathered in butter.
Time to pull the turkey from her overnight brine.
Turkey coming out of brine.
After many years of driving my faithful 1995 Chrysler LeBaron and driving a hand-me-down car gifted to me by my beloved father for a few years, it was time to finally get a new ride. Brandee had been encouraging me to do this for a long time but I kept resisting. I just wasn’t into status of a new car when the car’s I had still worked well.
So on one fine Saturday morning in the summer of 2014, Brandee, my parents and I head out to the dealerships. I had no intention of making a purchase. It was my plan to just do some investigation. Others had different ideas apparently :-).
I was very open-minded in my choice of cars but I knew I wanted a muscle car for sure. I narrowed-down my selection to 3 different manufacturers and models. These were a Chevy Camaro, Ford Mustang or Dodge Charger/Challenger.
In the end I selected the Dodge Charger. Of all the choices this was the one car that had the best combination of sporty and practicality. I like the fact that the Charger is a four-door and, in retrospect, this was a wise choice. I couldn’t have imagined trying to chauffeur business associates in a two-door or lift Jack’s 95-pound body into a two-door.
The Dodge Charger is worthy of 9 out of 10 Steeler Stars.
2012 Charger, V8, 395HP, Hemi
Oct. 8, 1918-Oct. 25, 2014
Carl Cook, 96, of Sallisaw passed away on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2014, in Talihina. He was born on Oct. 8, 1918, in Brent to Lewis and Georgia Cook. He married Christine Dotson on Dec. 31, 1939, in Sallisaw. She preceded him in death on March 31, 2001.
Mr. Cook was the founder of Blunt Baptist Church, a teacher of Veteran’s Agriculture Training Program, a caseworker for the State of Oklahoma and a furniture and mattress maker. He served in World War II in General Patton’s 3rd Infantry.
He leaves to mourn his passing, one daughter, Georgia Christine McAlister of Oklahoma City; one son and daughter-in-law, Lewis C. Cook M.D. and Janie of Texarkana, Texas; seven grandchildren, Les Ruark of Tulsa, Greg Ruark of Mustang, Kurt Ruark of Sallisaw and John Cook, Dr. David Cook, Lisa Soyars and William Cook all of Texarkana; 10 great-grandchildren, Elizabeth, Sarah, Maggie and Harris Cook, Ben, Will and Sophia Jane Soyers, Rachel Ruark Byrd, Steven and Sean Ruark, Tabitha Ruark Kreilaus and Hannah and Emily Ruark; three great-great-grandchildren, Nathan Daniel Byrd, Noelle Christine Byrd and Bonham Reid Ruark; one brother, Floyd Neal of Colfax, Calif.; and one sister, Mary Alice Blackford of Sallisaw.
It’s the strange time of year for me. As fall sets-in and we start considering what Halloween costume we are going to wear or we start planning our feast for Thanksgiving and business generally slows down, it’s always just the opposite for me – and I love it!
This is where a competitive advantage can set you ahead. Before the end of 2014 I have much activity planned and many initiatives to take care of. I’m really excited about these great opportunities. Also, the clarity of a mid-term plan into 2015, and even further ahead is becoming clear through effective communication. This is absolutely refreshing.
Lotsa Family Events still in 2014
But, of course, the work-life balance comes into play and family is the first priority. So between now and end of year my schedule goes something like this:
So, here’s wishing you a terrific closing to 2014 and great opening to 2015 no matter how you choose to spend your time. Your time is precious so spend it how YOU choose to.
-Kevin
When I started my KevinNeal.com blog in 2009 I made a personal commitment to share my life. The Good, The Bad and some of The Ugly.
While I’ve shared many of ‘The Goods’ there must be balance so I would like to share a recent scary recent experience with our cat (aka ‘daughter’), Bella Neal.
First of all, I would like to announce that she seems well on her way to recovery so this information is all past-tense. Brandee described the situation in a Facebook post well so I will let her words describe Bella’s status:
I am recovering from an abscess due to a fight I had couple of weeks ago. Gotta protect my family from pirates and scourge!
Mom and Dad trimmed my nails and agreed to remove that torturous cone from my neck so I could sleep. My stitches come out on the 30th.
Mom and Dad have been taking excellent care of me! They feed me clams, tuna and chicken! They give me my meds around the clock and they sit outside with me several times a day to protect me while I get some sun.” Love and pity paws, Isabella Annamarie Neal — with Bella Neal and Kevin Neal.
Bella’s injury Sept-14 (Update Sept-30-14) —
Here is an update on Bella’s status to close-the-loop on this situation. In summary, she is doing well and fully recovered. We thank everyone for their well-wishes. Once again I would like to share Brandee’s Facebook post verbatim as she summarized everything extremely well:
Pussface is back from getting her stitches removed. Doc says it looks perfect and she may not have a scar at all. The salve I have been putting on it really did the trick, he said.
Bacitracin; I swear by it for all wounds. It’s really great for diabetics, too. You buy it over the counter at Walgreens or any pharmacy.
Grateful for my kids (Jack and Bella)
Below are a few supplemental photos of some of the past few weeks animal-antics! Any animal lover knows that they have a sixth-sense that humans certainly cannot comprehend. While it was heart breaking to see my children go through these pains, it was remarkable to witness the close bonding between Jack and Bella that was clear, although not spoken (in English at least). When Bella hurt; Jack knew it and was there to comfort her. I assure you that this was not typical behavior. Vice-versa; when Jack hurt recently, Bella was right there for him. It was absolutely amazing. Here are a few of the photos:
