Mini-Reunion

 Well, that was fun.  We had 30 people over for a mini-reunion, some from as far away as Tuscaloosa, AL and Emma, MO.  Pulled pork, salads, tater salad, beans, corn casserole, deviled eggs.  Enough dessert to put down a diabetic.  People from toddlers to the eighties.  It was a helluva party.

They are gone now, and we'll eat leftovers for lunch tomorrow, as I reset the shop, put away tables and chairs, and get ready for the next evolution.

But, that is for tomorrow.  For tonight, I"m going to pour a drink and relax a bit.

RIP, Ms. Reba

 Belle's mother, who I called Ms. Reba, passed away today in the presence of her children in Jena, LA.  She was 100 years old.  She is survived by her five children, their spouses, and a passel of grandkids and great-grandkids.

The family will meet tomorrow to make final arrangements.

If blogging is light over the next few days, I sure that you all understand.

Hanging Out

 Younger son is in for a visit, and we're hanging out this week.  Not much caring abut the news or political outrage, other folks can take care of that.

I'm hanging out with family.  My boy will be heading home on Saturday, and that same day we're hosting Belle's mother's 100th birthday celebration.  I'm going to be busy right through Saturday.

Putting Together a Lower

 A buddy of mine showed up today for lunch with a mostly-stripped lower, and a complete parts kit.  I've never put one together, but I happen to have a grandson who eats at my table, ad is a school-trained Small Arms Repairer, MOS 91F.  It took a bit over an hour, and there was a learning curve.  It appears that in MOS school, they never started with a stripped lower.  But, we got it all together.

There seems to be a problem wit the bolt hold-open.  My buddy believes that he got a defective part in the kit.  I don't know.  But, we put my upper on it and ran three rounds though it.  It goes bang, and that's done.

I wished I had taken pictures, but I didn't think about it unit the chore was over.

I see that there are some tools that would have made the job a bit easier, so I went over to Brownells and ordered the kid an Armorers Essential Kit. and a set of screwdrivers.  He's worth it, and it would have made this job a whole lot easier.

That's how I spent my Sunday afternoon.  

Louisiana Covid Update

The Louisiana Dept of Health is reporting 13,010 cases today, and increase of only 514 cases since yesterday.  Evidently, the Covid-19 virus doesn't attack as many people on Sunday.

My home parish of Rapides is currently reporting 100 cases, up only 3 from yesterday.

Here at the house, we prepared a Covid-correct meal and fed those family members who chose to attend.  Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, milk gravy , English peas and yeast rolls.

Belle and I set up an assembly line.  She would season the little steaks with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, then dip them in seasoned flour, then an egg wash, then panko crumbs, and I'd take over dropping them in the hot skillet.

After we finished the steak, she pushed me aside, drained the oil out of the skillet, and started work on her special milk gravy.  A chicken fried steak just ain't right without milk gravy.

The family is gone now, and we're back inthe house.  We may start Happy Hour early today.

Solstice

I am reminded that today is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere.  It's also the first day of winter.  Tomorrow, the day will be a little longer and the sun will climb a little higher in the sky.

Ancient peoples put great faith in the winter solstice, making it a day of celebration and worship.  Today, it is simply an interesting astronomical event.  It mask the changing of the season.

As for myself, I'm going to finish this cup of coffee and get ready for a family event at noon.  Yesterday was exhausting for all sorts of reasons not elated to my birthday, and after that family event I'm going to come home and retreat into my sloth.  Tomorrow begins the Christmas celebration and I'm sure that we will be busy until that is over.

Deer Down

My daughter knocked down her first deer this morning, hunting at a camp that her husband's family has hunted for years.  The deer was taken early this morning from a box stand. at approximately 200 yards.  A nice little meat doe weighing 115 lbs.  That's a pretty standard doe for this area.

The rifle is a Ruger American in .308 Winchester, with a Leupold scope.  The ammo is unknown, but I gave her a bunch of handlooads last year.

Celebration

The family is gathering today, here at PawPaw's house.  Miss Reba, the matriarch of Belle's clan is celebrating her 98th birthday.  Family and friends from all over the state will assemble in the shop to celebrate.

This is one of the reasons we built this venue.  It's a place to gather and celebrate, and we can accommodate plenty of guests.

As soon as I finish coffee, I'll go out to the shop and make final preparations.   Move the lawnmower out, do a final sweep, and ice down the beverages.  We're expencting 30-40 people today, and it's going to be a lot of fun.

Aftermath

Barry is over, which is a good thing.  Now, the aftermath.  There is not a lot of clean-up because as tropical storms go, Barry was a wuss.  He did drop a lot of rain, and we'll have to deal with that for several days as everything dries out.  With temps in the 90s and humidity in the 90s, Louisiana will be a sauna for the next several days.  T here is a lot of water on the ground that needs to evaporate.

Flooding will continue for several days.  As the water that hit the ground during the storm finds its water-course, the streams ad bayous will fill up and backwater will become an issue.  All that water has to go somewhere.

We're planning a party for Belle's mother this weekend.  We're celebrating her 98th birthday.  There is a certain amount of prep work to be done to get ready for the festivities, and I have a crew coming in this morning to help with the installation of another air conditioner to help make the shop more comfortable on a hot summer afternoon.

Air Conditioning

Air conditioning, in my opinion, is one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century, and I lump all manner of refrigeration in that category.  From the fridge in the kitchen, to the big walk-in units at the warehouses, to the central air unit in my attic, to the window units in small homes everywhere.  Air conditioning and refrigeration makes life comfortable, safe, and healthy.

I grew up i a house with out AC.  It wasn't real common in the middle of the 20th century, but I've since become accustomed to it.

Memaw is Belle's mother.  She's seen a lot in her lifetime.  This month she will be 98 years old.  She still keeps her own house and her independence.  We are celebrating her birthday on July 20th, and the party is in my shop, which is also air conditioned.  However, I've noticed that we are having a hot June and July, even for these latitudes.  We had a heat advisory today, which would send many of my more northern readers into apoplexy.  We're flirting with triple digits and 80% humidity.  I've noticed that in my shop, the to AC units are struggling in the midday swelter.  They chug gamely along, but they are not quite able to keep up.  This will not do for Memaw's party.

Today I bought a third 18,000 BTU AC unit and contacted the fellow who built the shop.  He'll be along one day this week to frame up another hole in the wall for that unit.  We will be comfortable out there, and after the party, if I don't need that particular AC unit, I don't have to turn it on.

Full House

For the first time in many years, we're back to a full house.  Belle and I are quite happy.  Zach, of course lives with us, and has for over a year.  Today, Quinton moved inn.  Quinton and Zachary are cousins, born about six months apart.  Quin is the elder, and they're both going to be seniors in high school this year.

Quinton's dad is a level-4 water systems operator and was headhunted recently by a major food manufacturer in Roswell, NM.  They're basically throwing money at Dad to come to New Mexico and run their waste-water plant.  Quinton wants to finish school in Louisiana, and has signed a contract with the Louisiana Army National Guard.  He'll be graduating in December and going to Basic/AIT in January.  Then he plans to go to college locally.

We are thrilled to have hi in the house.  The guest bedroom is now Quinton's Lair, and life goes on.  This is going to be a lot of fun.

Sunday Cooking

We decided to cook big today, so Belle set the menu.  Pork chops ad rice, purple hull peas cooked withh tasso, Cole slaw, okra and tomatoes, and cornbread.  We figured we'd be feeding a dozen people, ad wound up feeding thirteen, so there was plenty.

Belle working her magic on the pork chops.

Around here, we feed from youngest to oldest, and the grandkids are first in line. 

That's grandson, Lucas, building his plate with assistance from Dad.

Now, early in the afternoon, all the dishes are washed and the leftovers are put away.  We're getting ready for Moday.  It's going to be a big week, with lots to do.  Wed best get at it.

Ribs

Belle decided to cook ribs today, thinking that we'd have a small crew.  We cooked seven racks of baby-back ribs, with beans, tater salad, garlic bread and lemon cake for dessert.  Of course, we wound hp feeding fifteen people, 10 adults and five kids.

It's over now, everyone is home and the leftovers are put away.

We're inside, taking advantage of air conditioning, and getting ready for tomorrow.

Road Trip

Belle ad I  took a little road trip over to Natchez, MS.  Her brother and his wife met us here and we drove over, matting her other brother and his wife.  So, six of us i Natchez, MS, d of course, the first thing I wanted to look at was the river.

We went down to the Magnolia Bluffs casino, which I knew was on the water.  We were able to get in, but the casino had a rubber dam holding the river back, over the access road.  The security guy at the front told us that if the river cme up another six feet, it would be in the casino, but from my perspective, if it comes up another foot, it will take the access drive and  the casino will be stranded.



We played for a little while then wet p the highway to Roux 61 and ate seafood.  We're back home now, safely on our side of the Big Muddy.  It was a very nice day hanging out with Belle's siblings.

Cleaning Out The Freezer

Younger son is moving to Los Alamos, NM in mid May.  They've been planning this move for a while, and he's down to the last stages.  They came up to visit this weekend, and brought two pork butts that won't make the trip.

Younger son is an accomplished cook, to the point where he managed a barbecue house during college.  He made some sort of savory stuffing from onions, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and other goodies.  Then stuffed the pork butts and left them with me, giving me instructions on how to cook them.

So, last night about 9:00 I started the smoker and set the temp to 225.

Then I went to bed.  This morning I got up, made coffee, and went out to check the smoker.

This is working out just fine.  I'll let them rest there till he comes over in a couple of hours.  Then we'll run the beans into the smoker to get some smoke.  After another cup of coffee, I'll go open the shop and start cutting up potatoes for 'tater salad. 

Happy Easter, everyone.

Weekend Update

It's been a family weekend.  Yesterday, Belle's folks were over here and we had a blast.  Today, all o my kids were here under the same roof, a feat that occurs only occasionally, when the starts align and .... well, you understand.  We took the opportunity for a photo.

L-R: Joey, Michelle, PawPww, Matt, and Barrett.
They must have put me in a hole.

Today was a day for divestiture.  SIL Greg (Michelle's husband) told me several months ago that he wanted to make venison with my Sharps.  So, today I told him to take it and learn to shoot it.  I also sent along several dozen rounds of my reloads, both smokeess and black powder loads.  He'll figure it out.

Son Joey told me several months ago that when I was through messing around with my A2 carbine, he wanted to play with it, so I handed it over today.  It's an old-style with the carry handle, and I'm not so good with irons anymore, so I sent it home with him.

Son Barrett doesn't have one of my duty pistols yet,   He had been jonesing or a Glock .40 SW and I happened to have one in my holster unti I retired on Friday.  So, I passed along the Glock to him, along with several hundred rounds of ammo  Now, I'm out o the .40 SW business.  He's thrilled, and I'm down one caliber.

Each of my sons now has a handgun that I carried on duty.  Joey had the MOdel 60 Icarried in plainclothes, Matt has the SW M&P in .45 ACP that I carried for several years, and Barrett has my Glock 22.

This whole weekend was consumed by family, and it was very well spent.  Now, Belle ad I are enjoying a cocktail while the washing machine spins, and we'll have another before bed.  It's been a very good weekend, indeed.

Party TIme

Belle has four siblings, and they all live in Louisiana, some close but the furthest is only two hours away.  They get together once a quarter to spend the day together, cook a meal, and hang out with each other.  And the spouses, of course, and anyone else who wants to gather.

Today's the day and the family will be gathering here.  I have to go to the barn shortly and move some stuff around so that we can party comfortably.  It's one reason that I built the barn.  It's a place for people to gather and enjoy each other.

The skies are cloudy and the weather weenies are telling us that we have a 60% chance of rain.  But, we have a large building under roof and we'll be just fine.

Thinking About The .270 Winchester

A family member was asking me about the .270 Winchester cartridge.  While I have no personal experience with the cartridge, except for three shots I fired with a Howaa 1500 back in 2009, I do know folks who use it and do well with it.

I do know that the .270 Win was much beloved by Jack O'Connor and thousands of folks who read his work.   It's a serious game caliber, and nothing to sneeze at with good bullets and loads.  It seems to be inherently accurate.

Both my brother-in-law and my son-in-law shoot the .270 and have no trouble keeping venison in the freezer.  BIL tailors handloads using Reloder 22 powder and Nosler BT bullets.  He makes neck shots on deer because he doesn't like tracking, and his kills are usually a bang-flop.  He tells me that with a full case of RL22, he gets a little better than 3000 fps from his barrel, and low pressures.  Alliant powder lists 58 grain of RL22 as the max load with a 130 grain bullet at 2947 fps. 

With a good rifle and decent glass, that would let you sight in 1.6" high at 100 yards, be dead-on at 200 yards and down just 6.6" at 300.  That means a fellow could hold on hair all the way out to 300 yards and hit one of our smallish whitetail deer with no problem.  That's about as far away as I'd want to send a bullet at a game animal.  Your mileage might vary.  There are lots of fine long-range shooters out there, but I'm not one of them.

A fellow could do a lot worse than the .270 Winchester for most North American game.  It's not the newest or the flashiest, but it gets the job done. 

J-Frames, Gawd, I Love Them.

Back inn 1987 I began my love affair with the J-frame Smith ad Wesson revolvers.  It began with a used Model 60 that I acquired from a local judge.  I carried that gun, both on duty and as an off-duty piece,

I carried that Model 60 (in .38 Special) and stoked with with the Federal Ny-Clad ammo that was common in the day.  I still have a few cylinders of Ny-Clad left.  It served me well over the years, and had good reviews back in the day.  I carred that Mode 60 until 2012.  My daughter-in-law wanted a steel J-frame and I wanted an Airweight, so I happened upon a nice, clean Model 38 and gave her the old Model 60.  I never looked back.  I dropped the Model 38 in my pocket ad it has been a constant companion for over seven years.  It's a gun that is carried a lot and shot little, although I did qualify with it on the Sheriff's range three or four years ago.

Yesterday, my son did a detail strip on the Model 38 and we found some corrosion under the cylinder release, between the aluminum frame and the nickel plating.  Two sons inspected it, and declared that I should have the frame stripped and re-coated before putting it back into service.

Younger son is a pretty fair SW mechanic, and elder son worked for a while as a body-and-fender ma on aluminum aircraft.  They both recommended immediate repair and I trust their combined judgement.  So, my beloved Airweight is going to the body-and-fender shop.  Probably for a Duro-coat job.

As younger son was leaving, he handed me a replacement J-Frame.  "Here, Pop, carry this until your gun comes back from the shop."

"I've got carry guns, " I retorted.  "You might need this one."

"I've got two more at home." he said.  "I don't need this one right now."

So, I slipped it in my pocket and went about my business.  I noticed it was heavier than my Airweight, but that is the nature of steel vs aluminum.  It wasn't till this morning that I inspected it.  Holy-Moly.

This is the Model 640-1, in .357 magnum.  With Crimson Trace grips.  And, yes, the barrel is marked SW 357 Magnum.  It should be quite a handful if I ever have to touch it off.

On the other hand, it might be a lot of fun.  Thanks, son.  I'll try not to hurt it.

Sunday Cooking

Younger so was visiting this weekend ad Belle decided to cook his favorite, Chicken Fried Steak with mashed potatoes, green peas, and white gravy.  We started cooking, and I suddenly recognized that Belle had bought enough meat to feed a regiment, which is about what we feed on a normal Sunday for lunch.

Of course, he had to go over ad see what was going, on, so he was pressed into service.  Chicken fried steak is a labor of love, ad with the three coatings, (flour, egg wash, and panko crumbs) Belle needed more than two hands.  So, we set up an assembly line.

Before long, we had them rolling through the coatings, the into the oil.

When they were done we put them into a slow cooker to keep them warm while the guests assembled ad the rest of the meal was prepared.

We fed sixteen family members for lunch today, and there is a little left over in case one of us gets peckish toward evening.