T-Day Weekend Video Clips

And, the best for last:

The Last-Ever (Regular-Season) Twins Game in the Dome

Why, yes ...


... that is an authentic All-Star American League Justin Morneau jersey, a replica of the one he wore when he won the 2008 Home Run Derby -- thanks for asking! :)

Frankie, Bundled

It got chilly here (the high today is 50 degrees -- ugh), but Frankie's ready!

More Beatles Rock Band

ZOMGBEATLESROCKBAND

Frankly, all the reviews are right: it's amazing. The sound is unbelievably crisp, the song choice is great, and the animation is more like a feature film than a video game. You know what this means: Bundy Kid Thanksgiving is gonna be OFF THE HOOK THIS YEAR (can I get a "what?what?" up in here??).

The neighbors came over last Sunday night to help us break in the new peripherals, including Beatles-themed drums, mike with mike stand, and a supersweet Hofner viola-style bass controller.


Franklin likes the drums, too, but not as much as ...

... the box they came in. It was a great opportunity to I talked to him about how awesome it is to build forts.

Blubber Run Highlights

Two devils, an angel ...

... um, Jesus ...

... and Sam. :)

Remember the Exterior Paint Project?

We got about halfway done last summer, but this year we were smarter: we hired someone else to do it. And it turned out even better than we expected.

Here's when we bought the house.


Today!

Our place on the left, Tim and Sarah's on the right.

Tomatoes!

This year, I planted four Bush Early Girls (smaller and squatter than traditional Early Girls), two Brandywines, a Sungold Cherry and a Moskvitch (a Russian heirloom variety). The four large plants have new supports that are doing a much better job than my previous bamboo teepee-shaped trellises, and all eight plants have been loving the drip irrigation -- no blossom-end rot this year!

Eventually, the plants were so happy that three of the four the Bush Early Girls collapsed under the weight of all their fruit! So I harvested everything they had (the green ones will ripen on a shelf in the kitchen, still attached to their stems) and pulled them out. This means better air circulation for the larger plants and, frankly, it's not like the two of us were going to be able to eat eight plants' worth of tomatoes.

Here's how the plants look today, after I pulled out the three collapsed plants and did some pruning.


In the photo below, that's one of the Brandywines on the left; the last remaining Bush Early Girl is the smaller one to the right. The blue ornamental is mealy-cup sage (salvia farinacea) and the yellow plume in the upper-right corner is "New Look Yellow" celosia.

With all of this good stuff, we had steak panzanella twice last week!

Steak Panzanella

• Heirloom tomatoes, preferably two different colors, halved or quartered (depending on size)
• Grilled zucchini or summer squash, cut into small chunks
• Grilled french bread, rubbed with garlic and torn into small chunks
• Small amount of chopped onion
• One large steak, medium-rare, cut into bite-sized pieces
• Handful of mixed herbs (basil and dill are lovely)
• Crumbled goat cheese
• A tablespoon or so of capers

Toss with red wine vinaigrette and serve. Perfect for hot weather. Substitute any grilled vegetables you like (it's an easy way to use them up when you have too many ripening veggies in the house).

Samoflauge

Two More from Last Weekend

Blues at the Barn and St. James Hotel, Red Wing

Thanks for a lovely time, D & D! :)