Goodbye, Uncle Buck

My Mom called this morning, and my Uncle Buck (one of her brothers) passed away yesterday.

Uncle Buck was someone special. Stubborn as all get out, but that stubbornness got him through a Korean prisoner of war camp, a forced death march, and the death of two wives. It couldn't stop the Big C, though.

I think I have some of that same stubbornness, and it's served me well through some tough times. I like to think I inherited some of that from him. Rest in peace, Uncle Buck. I love you.

Later that day

I won't focus on sadness.

Another beautiful day. We made a trip to Lowe's today and got some deck sealant and other stuff. Ken powerwashed part of the deck (it's a big deck, so he got about half of it done...it's surprising how much gunk builds up), and it looks so nice. It'll dry overnight, and he'll put sealant on it tomorrow. If he can get the rest of the deck washed, I can put sealant down later in the week, when I'm off. We honestly didn't think it would be such a big job.

We also bought a nice new grill on sale. We'll store it this winter and break it out next spring. The old one is on its last legs, so it was time for a new one. We hope to use the grill a little more often this winter. We often have some mild days, and it will sure taste good to have some grilled meat this winter! Especially since we decided to buy a half a beef later this fall. The past couple of years, we've bought a quarter from a guy Ken works with, and this year, we decided to go whole hog...so to speak. Craig raises cattle and hogs, and uses no hormones or anything like that. It's some of the best beef I've ever had. I fixed a chuck roast the other day--usually chuck roasts are really fatty. Once you pick all that fat out of there, they're good, but it really is a lot of fat! The one I fixed the other day, one of Craig's, was as lean as some of the nicer cuts of roasts. Tonight we're having Porterhouse steaks. We thought we'd eaten them all, but as we're cleaning out the freezer, we're coming across things we didn't know we had. What a pleasant surprise to discover Porterhouses! As I like to say at work, the only thing better than beef is beef wrapped in bacon!