I met John's family at the wedding. Most of them, anyway. But I didn't know them. It was a "hi, nice to meet you" event and then I was swooshed to the next table and eventually to the cake table to proceed with the evening. So, last week was my first chance to really talk to them and get to know them. And also have them get to know me! Luckily for me, they are great, hospitable, laid back, down to earth people. These are the aunts, uncles and cousins I am talking about...as I do sort of know his parents already.
John's aunt and uncle live outside of Hot Springs, SD. It's a quiet town and their house is kind of a middle of nowhere place. It's very close to touristy things, so I did a lot of sightseeing with John's aunts while he was out hunting. And I did finally learn important knit stitches. It was a productive week.
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| And this is what I worked on in down times. I ripped it out 3 times, so don't let me fool you, I had to practice a bit to get it looking right. The yarn is variegated so it automatically makes stripes without switching out colors. Anyhow...cool, no? |
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| My 2nd attempt. Not quite right. I had found a way to add 19 extra stitches. |
Plus, I saw all kinds of animals. Buffalo, wild turkeys, mountain goats, big horn sheep, and elk to name a few. Then there are John's cousins...which I can see us becoming close to. They are close in age to us and have similar values. Plus they are easy to make laugh, and really, that's all it takes to be my friend. :)
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| The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs. Apparently this was once a sinkhole that filled up with warm ground water and trapped tons of mammoths inside thousands of years ago. |
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| This is Pat and Doris's view out the front door. With wild turkeys. But that is as close as they would let me get. |
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| Buffalo on the side of the road in Wind Cave National Park. Lickin his top lip. And possibly snot from his nose. I didn't get that close...I was in a car and had zoom. |
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| Unfinished Crazy Horse |
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| Mountain goat near Mt. Rushmore |
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| Doris and Charlene (to the bottom right) at Mt. Rushmore. Being so chilly it was dead there. It was so nice to not have crowds! |
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| Hello Gentlemen. |
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| We had lunch at this place in Hill City. It was decorated SO cutely for Christmas and had awesome Bavarian food to boot. Om nom nom. |
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| Thanksgiving day, John gets tasked to carve the 24 lb. turkey! |
I did take issue with one thing, however. Pat and Doris gave us 4 lbs of venison hamburger as well as venison steaks. I have tried venison before, at a restaurant, and it was fairly tasty. (although I like elk better.) Doris said the hamburger is good in spaghetti or chili.
She lied.
Or maybe she really likes it, but I will have you know that I do not! I tried to make it and took a taste and shuddered. John also gave it a big thumbs down. Too game-y. I should have known when I was cooking it and the smell made me want to vomit. We went out on Tuesday night. Lord help me when I try to cook the pheasant John brought back.
You went to the Alpine Inn!!! LOVE that place. Used to eat there all the time. Glad you had fun with the in-laws. We'll have to do the Hills together another time.
ReplyDeleteThe ground venison is amazing in chilli but it's even better when you add a little ground beef with it. I usually make jerky out of the steaks. :) Unfinished Crazy Horse, that damn thing will never be completed I swear....however, I'm a bit jealous you saw Mt. Rushmore with no major traffic. Good trip! yeah and we should so get together sometime...let me know when you want to tour the capital city of the land of lincoln! :)
ReplyDeletelol - that venison sounds taaaaaaaasty! hahaha.... man. I love game meat but not when its overly gamey. Next time you can try soaking it(or any other red game meat) overnight in a half milk/buttermilk and half water solution - then rinse, pat dry and prepare as normal. It takes a lot of the really gamey taste out but wont kill all the flavor in the meat.
ReplyDeleteAs for the pheasant, just keep in mind that they're really lean birds, so if you're going to roast it you should strongly consider adding fat like a compound butter rub so it stays moist, especially if it's an older bird. But pheasant is supposed to be delish, so I look forward to hearing the verdict!
Glad you had a great time with the hubby and new extended family - your tree looks beautiful and I love that you've collected all those ornaments over the year. My family did the same and we have ornaments from before I was even born, I just love that tradition.
Oh - forgot to say that the scenery and animal life is just amazing, would really love to see all that. The buffalo is so majestic looking... and I would majorly geek out a the mammoth pits, big time!
ReplyDeleteNice knitting job. I started up a few years ago and it got put to the side bc I am so type A about stuff, but the anal-ness butts heads with the fact that I absolutely hate repeating tasks. This meant that I would screw up the pattern but couldnt be arsed to rip it out and try again. Quite a knitting conundrum.... :/
So, Doris told me to cook pheasant in sour cream (for the fat) for like 2.3-3 HOURS to let it tenderize up and then the sour cream becomes like a gravy....regardless I will seek out some recipes. As for the deer...I think John was so unimpressed he plans to give it all away.
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