Biggest day of racing!

So many things going on today. We had a cook out at our house this afternoon. We had a great time with a lot of the friends we have made since moving here last July. I learned I need to practice my game of horseshoes also.

Today was also one of the single biggest days of racing.
This morning we had the European Grand Prix for Formula One.
Next was the Indy 500, showcasing their star Donica. She didn't win.
finally, tonight was Nascars longest race of the year, the Coke-cola 600.

The F1 race showed some drivers having problems in various corners, going off into the gravel.
A wreck in turn 1, lap 1, caused several problems also.
F1 races are not known for their side by side racing, but they did do a bit of it today, and a few great passes.

Toward the end of the race, the leader Kimi Raikkonen was nursing a front right tire that was falling apart. You could see his car shaking from it, and bits of rubber falling off.
With one lap to go, second place Alanzo was only 1.5 seconds back, and gaining.
Then:

That bad tire finally gave out. At about 190 mph, the front suspension broke (from the vibrating) and the tire came up on top of the car. That was the leader on the last lap.

I haven't finished watching the Indy 500 (thanks TiVo), so I can't tell you how boring or exciting it was.

Nascar:
An extremely long race due to a record number of cautions. At least one caution was caused by Dale Jr taking out his team mate. Idiot. Another caution was caused by Brian Vickers. Idiot. That wreck took out Jeff Gordon who had a car that could win. But the wait was well worth it.
Cari and I were layed back on the couch, watching the cautions. Then, at Lowe's Motorspeedway, the Lowe's car came to life.
Jimmie Johnson restarted 4th with seven laps to go. With two to go, he was in 2nd. He tried to make a move for the lead twice without success.
WHITE FLAG! Darryl Waltrip (commentator), was saying Jimmie would NOT be able to do it. Last lap, turn 3, Jimmie makes a run on the outside. Coming out of turn four side by side!!
Jimmie gets the nose of his car out there and takes the checkered flag by .02 seconds. Two hundredth!!! AWESOME! I was jumping up on my couch!

AWESOME!!!! Great day of racing.

SCREAM!

I purchased an ice cream maker.
If you have never made ice cream before, the first thing you should know is that it takes a LONG time.

My first batch, I made old fashioned vanilla. You cook up some stuff on the stove. Chill it in the refrigerator for two hours. Then mix in some more stuff. Put your final bowl of stuff in the churner and let it go for about an hour. Then freeze it for about two to three hours. So, you're looking at about a six hour process. When you want to eat some ice cream, six hours is a long time.

The second biggest lesson is to find a soundproof location. When I plugged that mixer in at 8pm the sound was enormous. I thought my dishwasher was loud. This thing made my dishwasher sound like a cat purring.

The model I got is 4 quarts. That didn't sound like a lot to me. The number 4 is just not impressive. Quarts also sounds small. Not like 4 gallons! After making my first batch, 4 quarts is more than enough. That's a lot of ice cream.

So, how did it taste? It is awesome ice cream. I've always like Breyers ice cream best, and this home made ice cream ranks up there with Breyers, if not a touch better. Now, that I have tried it once, I need to come up with my own recipes.
I already bought a jar of cherries to dump into my next batch. Any other suggestions? Maybe I'll throw some chocolate in with the cherries.
I just can't eat my first batch fast enough, so I can start making more. In the past week, I've had ice cream for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Not everyday, just at some point through the week.

So, let me know what you think I should dump in there. I'll let you know how great it tastes.

Schools Out!

Randy finished kindergarden this week. This picture is a few days old. He now has his cast off. His arm is a bit weak, and I think he may be a little nervous to use it. As a result, his left arm has stayed pretty much at his side this week.
Now, we have a first grader living in our house.

Two objects can not occupy the same space

The other night we had such bad lightning storms that the thunder woke even ME up. My alarm clock, sitting in my room, can not wake me up after it rings for twenty minutes solid. You get the idea that this was some serious thunder storm. It also woke Meredith up. Her room is upstairs, and she stood at the top of the stairs screaming until Cari went and got her.

She asked if she could sleep with us, and on a rare occasion, Cari allowed it. When I woke up, Meredith was on the couch. As I slept, this conversation took place in the middle of the night.

Meredith: Mom, I need to sleep on the couch.
Cari: why?
Meredith: because dad is squishing me.
Cari: yeah. Go ahead to the couch, I'll help you.

This gets filed under: children who don't like to sleep with their parents.

Banned

Last night, Talkin' Hand posted an entry to this blog.

Talkin' Hand writes from time to time here, but last night, things just got out of hand.
If you happened to read the entry sometime over the night, then you should know the entire post was a made up story. That's right, not true. Not even a little bit.

If you didn't catch it before it was deleted early Tuesday morning, then you will never catch it.

To Michelle, who posted a comment about that story in my entry about the civil war:
Since the story here was made up, we have no real knowledge on how that will work out. Let us know how that experiment works out for you and Kelly.

Due to the fact that Talkin' Hand has crossed the line, it will be a long time before you see another post on this blog written by him. If ever.

The South will rise again!

We went to the "Battle of Central" yesterday.

As far as I can tell, there was not an actual "Battle of Central". This event was put on by the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the 2nd South Carolina Rifles. I was doing some reading and found a bit about General Sherman. He very much hated South Carolina, in part because that is where the war started. He held a lot of responsibility of the war to the rebels here.

"I'm going to march to Richmond. . .and when I go through South Carolina it will be one of the most horrible things in the history of the world. The devil himself couldn't restrain my men in that state."
*William Tecumseh Sherman prior to his infamous campaign of the Carolinas.

In the battle we saw, the rebels were dominating. Cannon fire from both sides. Constant troop movement and rifle fire throughout the field.

Cari did not wear her American flag, but did manage to wear all red/white/blue. She did not look to excited to see her soldiers fall. Toward the end, a small group of Union soldiers came from the right around a clump of trees. The rebels had advanced ahead of this clump of trees.
Cari bumped my shoulder a couple of times and had a big grin. I just shook my head no, as we watched the result. When the Union soldiers opened fire from behind the Confederates, it was over. You can see a picture of the melee below.

There wasn't an overwhelming feeling of "redneck celebration", but it was certainly present.
Bumper stickers on cars proclaiming things such as:
"The South fought the first war against terrorism"
"If you don't respect this (picture confederate battle flag), go back to Yankee land"
"This flag (confederate battle) is considered a hate symbol only because of your ignorance"

The program that was available also offered similar words,
". . .Confederate States of America were invaded by foreign troops."

Of course, I can not leave out the shirts and other items proclaiming, "states rights".

It was a great time at the Battle yesterday. Lots of opportunity to learn from the booths set up. One teaching about the weapons of the civil war. Another taught about the make shift hospitals. My favorite was a man telling about living conditions as a soldier. The re-enactment did not rewrite history. They just chose a battle to suit the needs of their audience.

I took over 100 pictures, Here are some of them that caught my eye.

Engaged!

Confederate and Union soldiers engage on the battle field!

Calvary support

Three elements were represented at the battle today. Artillery, infantry, and the quick moving calvary.

The kill.

Two rebels take down a Union soldier and show him how to use a bayonet.

Waiting

a rebel soldier taking a break before the battle.

Artillery

Lots of cannon fire at the battle of Central. We were sitting not far from the line of Confederate cannons, and you could feel the explosion. It also left behind an enormous cloud of smoke.

Popgun Girl

This girl is the daughter of a confederate soldier. She was playing near where we were sitting.

Rebel Soldiers

Rebel Soldiers marching past the barn.

Union Soldiers

Union soldiers hanging around camp before the battle.

Battle of Central

Civil War. War between the states. Blue vs Grey.
There is a civil war reenactment this weekend in a town called Central not to far from home (15 minutes). We will be heading up there on Saturday to check it out, so Cari and I were discussing what we would wear last night.

She said she would probably wear one of her shirts with the American flag on it.
"You are not serious!", I responded.
"Uh, yeah.", she couldn't figure my questioning of her.
"You are in the friggin' south. Going to a civil war battle. You will not wear the wrong color.", I explained.

In fact I hope to purchase a civil war style army hat. One I would probably wear one time a year.
Cari argued that our families were not from the South, and we should go waving giant American flags. I'm just not comfortable going to a redneck party, full of confederate battle flags, and rooting for the other team. I'm not saying I will be a rebel flag flying redneck, but I will not be singled out as the "yankee".

This prompted a discussion about at the end of the battle. Will everyone go home sad?
I'll take plenty of pictures and I'm certain I'll have some excellent stories to tell when we get back.

I just hope I can keep Cari's enthusiasm controlled when the Union soldiers slaughter the guys in Grey.