Ferg Carves, Conquers 20-lb. Turkey at our House on Thanksgiving Day.

I never was very good at wielding a carving knife.  Poppina knows this, suggested instead we ask our dinner guest Ferg Weir to do the honors.   He jumped at the chance, made short work of the bird, and before you could say gobble-gobble, our plates were overflowing with white meat and dark, Brussels sprouts, steamed carrots, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and roasted potatoes.  Ferg's mom Liz, seen in the pics above, cooked up the sprouts and brought appetizers.  Ferg's wife Meredith made the gluten-free pumpkin-filled dessert. Jessie Hoyt peeled the carrots, while she and husband Chris created a GF punkin' pie from scratch. Toasts, roasts, poetry, essays and speeches were made and read throughout the evening.  Great times were had by all.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Remember "Drill Baby, Drill"? And when Michelle Bachman predicted that the price of unleaded regular gas would drop again to below $2.00 a gallon?

When U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachman, (R-MN), was running for President, candidate Bachman predicted that unleaed gas would again sell for under two dollars a gallon. And she turned out to be right, at least for the moment.

I'm trying o research what her comments were based on ...  likely increased drilling, production and refining.

We're reading these days about a glut of oil, and prices are dropping to reflect supply.  I filled up today in Wayzata for under two bucks.

Wonder how long this will last? And if maybe gas drops even more? Wonder what Ms. Bachman thinks?

My friend Ferg gave me these iconic Moose Socks, and they're keeping me warm today in 30-degree Long Lake winter.

Ferg and I have this sock-gift thing going.  

I'll surprise him with a pair of Old Glory socks from the Hamel Target store.  Then, when it's his turn, he'll give me a pair with sunglasses and bikinis running up and down the sock, toe to heel.

It was Ferg's turn last time we got together.  When Pina and I were over for dinner w/ Ferg and Meri, out came the Moosies you see here.

On they went this morning and I must say they are cozy and toasty.  Pretty smart looking as well. Now who's the one with the stylin' dogs!?

20-degrees in Long Lake today. Wind out of the NW at 10 mph. I wore 5 layers on top but it was still pretty damned chilly in the saddle.

I'm not so great at selfies, especially when my fingers are frozen solid. 

It was about twenty-degrees today. Despite layering capillene long johns, jeans, tee shirt, long sleeve microfiber top, 2 wind vests, one Patagonia fleece and a zip-up windbreaker -- not to mention a lame-looking face gaiter and a cap, and a pair of leather dress gloves:  I was cold, cold, cold after half an hour on the Giant this afternoon.
Here's the thinking -- not very rational.  Since the sun was shining bright.  And we'd had tons of rain in the past few days. And the gloomy skies that go with it. And I was driving home in my KIA, heater blasting, I thought I felt warm enough to get out on the bike.

So I suited up in plenty of layers, pedaled north up Tamarack, then headed east on Hwy 24. I planned to ride to Starbucks, just imagining how yummy a chai latte with soy would taste when I got there. 

By the time I was a couple of miles into the ride my fingers were tingling from the cold, going numb -- gloves clearly not up to the task.

So once I passed Holy Name Catholic Church, and turned north again to take me over to Medina Road, so I could then turn west toward home, I wasn't having much fun.  And the wind was slamming me on the nose -- making those frigid fingers feel like they were going to break off.

Back home I limped, and glad to get here I might add. Temp is headed into the 40's over the next couple of days.  I'll try again and let you know about that latte.  Thanks for reading this post.

PS - you've surely had cold weather riding experiences of you own.  Please let me hear from you and I'll tell YOUR story here on the Poppy Blog.