This by far is my favorite time of year.

Spring has definitely sprung here in Louisiana as the weather has been really nice. Out temps were in the 70's to 80's yet tonight we will hit near freezing temps on the north shore of lake Pontchartrain tonight so it may be a chilly ride in for me on the motorcycle. Why the bike? well, last week my wife's car failed her while during her daily commute to Biloxi, Ms. The radiator failed and left her on the side of the road around 5am in a less than desirable stretch of I-10. We got her to the repair shop but it took until Friday to get a radiator and make the repair. She drove it over the weekend and it seemed fine but overheated on her just a few street from the house so back to the shop it goes, she takes my vehicle and I'm on the bike...not so bad but it may be a bit chilly because Mondays highs will only reach around 60 degrees.

I met a couple friends out at an old Haunt Friday evening for a couple of "oat sodas" and some good conversation. You guys would have been proud that I excused myself shortly before 8pm, leaving the others to "do as they may." By the time I got home my wife and one of my sons schoolmates mother were sitting in the driveway enjoying the cool night air and having a glass of wine. They picked up some fresh boiled seafood and had just finished off the crawfish but offered me the dozen or so boiled shrimp that were left. Yes, they were fantastically boiled, spicy and went down great with a crisp Chardonnay. I let that be my dinner and went to bed not long after because I was planning on meeting my drinking buddies tomorrow morning to prepare the trailer we are taking out west in May for our annual trek through the deserts and mountains of Utah and beyond.

I didn't spring right out of bed but was making my coffee by 7am hoping to have breakfast and meet the crew by 9am. I called about 15 till nine and it was clear that I was the prudent one last night. These grown men had hurt them self with several pitchers of beer and were paying for it. I gave them an hour reprieve hoping they could recuperate by then. Wit a few parts from the Lowes, we fired up the plasma cutter and split a 1/2 inch piece 4x4 solid steel to make a welding table. I must say the plasma cutter is damn impressive by any standards. It uses compressed air shot through a very small hole in a "gun" that is is electrified to the voltage of lighting. That piece of 1/2 inch plate could be cut with steady hand at an inch every 2 seconds. Smaller gauge steel and aluminum could be were stripped at an amazing 100 inches per minute...you do the math. I got a change to weld, grind and drill all in the same day making it a very manly day indeed.

I left the house fully prepared to bring my smoked turkey sandwich and side bean salad but walked out without it so we decided on the Whole Foods mart for lunch. They had some pre- made turkey sandwiches with lettuce, tomato and turkey on whole wheat so i picked up a bag of Terra chip (luv those things) and a bottled water and hoped that would suffice. By dinner I was amazingly hungry from the days work and enjoyed the Ravioli but being that I'm not a huge mushroom fan couldn't appreciate the large slices of Portobello in the red sauce. Really good though.

Starbucks Sumatra kick started my day thanks to my wife making the run. I swallowed my handful of daily meds with it and had a banana for breakfast. I busted out the turkey sandwich that I left home yesterday and ate it instead...had a few Terra chips leftover from yesterday too...how bad could they be for you, right. They come packed along with the DTG meals sometimes. I took a short n=bike ride out to the lakefront on my way to dropping a pair of festival tickets off to my 21 year old nephew. I intended to walk around the festival before the concert started but because my wife's car had to go back to the shop we wanted to get it over there so they could get right on it in the morning.

Tonight was one of my favorite meals from week two. It's a delightful blend of scallops, shrimp, fish and broth that is so good the only thing I could think would make it better is if it were served over rice with a delicious crust or two of our local french bread...it does come with a roll and stick of string cheese and pudding but if I could have a gumbo sized bowl of that with the bread I wouldn't need anything else. We'll see what next week brings with the car drama and Easter Sunday. I'm planning a little getaway with the family to Florida for some fun in the sun...and maybe a few Easter egg hunts for the boy. Have a great week and thanks to all of you who take the time to comment and suggest things...anything is helpful, of course.