A Day Of Art / Smoked Meats / Lake Tahoe

Song:  Heaven On Earth

Artist:  Hilary Stagg

Yesterday...

my elder sister and her husband...

and my mother and I...

 decided to visit a photo art gallery at Heavenly Valley...

Lake Tahoe.

We, of course, could not take any photos of the art...

but, there were some impressive photo enlargements of various landscapes...

mostly of Lake Tahoe.

I talked with one of the artists in the gallery.

Although his photos were very impressive...

what had impressed me most was the internal happiness

I could see in all of his expressions...

and hear in his voice.

He was living out his dream of capturing the beauty of the outdoors...

of living right at the doorstep of nature (He also lived in Reno)...

and making a living doing what he loved doing most.

It is being able to express a creative passion which allows

a person to really connect with others...

across generations and all borders...

and even time...

as the works will live long after the artist.

Knowing what makes us most happy in life...

and doing it...

while giving joy to others...

this is living life well.

I was glad for his happiness.

It is always good to see this in others.

It simply validates what is most important in life...

time and again.

Oh yes...

one of THE best ways to prepare meat.

We ate lunch here.

This was THE MOST delicious burger I have had in my life!

It was a 1/2 pound smoked hamburger, with chedder...

and topped off with about a 1/2 pound of slow cooked smoked pulled pork...

and I had my choice of BBQ sauces to soak them with.

By the gods...

this was THE MOST JUICY and FLAVORFUL burger I have ever had.

I am going to try to make my own at home...

it was SOOO good.

James (my elder sister's husband) had a pulled pork sandwich...

my sister had a bowl of excellent chili with smoked pulled pork inside...

and my mother had the slow cooked and smoked beef brisket.

All of our meals were excellent.

We now have a favorite spot to eat at Heavenly Valley.

Afterwards...

I just drove up the West perimeter of Lake Tahoe...

and we stopped at a lookout point to walk around and take photos.

The air was so fresh and clean.

My mother wears her...

what essentially are...

mukluks...

during the cooler seasons.  :) 

My mother had a good time.

She loved seeing the photo gallery...

eating the delicious meal...

and walking around in nature.

Lake Tahoe is one of our favorite places to go for a short peaceful drive in the mountains.

It makes for a perfect short day trip to unwind...

eat great food...

feel peaceful in serene settings...

and all within a short drive from Reno.

Every time we come back from one of our mountain outings...

my mother had had such a fun time...

she exclaims how much she loves her house in Reno...

as we are driving up the mountainside towards her home.

She absolutely loves the ease upon which we may see so much of nature...

just a short drive away.

At anytime...

we can just get up and go...

with no hassle, fuss, or muss...

and all (except for eating out)...

for just the price of gas!

----------------

I am on the last chapter of my first book

(although it will include a rather lengthly epilogue).

I have been taking lots of photos...

and I am able to play my bass flute more often now...

getting out to the mountains often...

and seeing my mother smile like a child while being surrounded by nature.

I am constantly scanning the skies for interesting cloud formations...

hoping for storms to take photos of...

and living my dreams doing it all...

and enjoying all the good times with my family.

My wife and son are very happy and doing well where they are.

My son is chasing his passions and dreams.

Life is good!

-------

As I am just shy of 60 years old...

I have, perhaps...

20 - 30 years of life left.

I shall continue to live life to the fullest

by consistently enjoying the great simple pleasures of life.

I am having the time of my life enjoying the mountains and lakes...

taking pictures of landscapes and of sunrises and sunsets...

and of exploring my creative passions in life...

that of writing stories and music...

and playing my bass flute.

This is what I had envisioned my life to be like in retirement.

I am living out my dreams...

and all for very little cost.

Make your sacrifices early in life...

so you may fully enjoy your golden years.

IT IS ALL WORTH IT!

1/2 lb Hickory Smoked BBQ Burgers

Song:  Breeze From St. Maries

Artist:  Jesse Cook

My mother visits my elder sister during the days.

She is here on the recliner watching TV...

and working on something.

I am not sure what it was...

but, it was important to her  :)

My elder sister's backyard is now in...

although, it is not completely finished.

The artificial turf looks and feels like live grass...

but without any maintenance or brown spots.

It also saves money as you do not have to have a lawn service.

That concrete pad will hold her endless swimming pool.

It pumps water at a fast rate so you may fully swim while remaining motionless...

as if you were fighting a strong river current.

It will arrive in a few weeks.

It will be fully heated...

and it has a motorized hard cover which raises and acts as a sun shade while inside.

The steps will lead to the pool once it is in.

My sister plans to use it everyday...

even in winter...

and my mother will use it also...

although I doubt she will use it in winter  :)

They also got a gas grill.

They got their burning bushes, Japanese maples, and other trees in.

My sister is setting up a dog agility course for Kenji.

As the pool will be raised...

the above two pictures will be the view from inside it.

My sister is looking forwards to enjoying her backyard...

especially her endless pool.

She insists that she will be out swimming in it...

even in the snow.

On our way home...

we stopped off to get some groceries for this night's meal.

My elder sister and her husband came over last night for 1/2 lb BBQ burgers.

We started out with Caesar's salad. 

I like Hawaiian bread...

and these went well with the burgers.

This is very good BBQ sauce.

I was going to make my own...

however, after researching how to make some...

I figured it was not worth it.

We don't eat it often enough to justify the expense or effort involved.

These patties came infused with hickory smoke flavoring.

I usually cook only two patties per pan...

but I wanted the other pan to butter and brown the buns.

I will only cook two per pan in the future.

Too much liquid came out when I put in four.

I love the crunch and flavor of a full and thick slice of white onion on my burgers.

My elder sister, her husband, and I...

finished our burgers.

A 1/2 lb burger is a little too much for my mother...

but, the dogs loved my mother's leftovers  :)

(My mother removed the onions...they are toxic to dogs)

If there is one quintessential food of America...

I would have to say it is the burger.

I LOVE burgers.

I am going to keep trying to make different style burgers in the future.

II - Autumn Color Loop

Song:  Instrumental Suite from the film  Indecent Proposal

Composer:  John Barry

This is a continuation of the same day as the last article.

After we left the Aspen grove...

we went down the Alpine Hwy and just stopped at various places which looked nice.

We were going to Markleeville here.

We were beyond Markleeville here.

There were many fly fishermen along the river.

I had forgotten how narrow and windy the Ebbetts Pass road is to Lake Alpine.

I won't be driving that one anymore.

This was a small lake before Lake Alpine.

We stopped in at Bear Valley for a short period.

We decided that instead of going back down Ebbetts Pass...

we would just make a circular route of it.

This was a small mountain restaurant on our way back.

There was a controlled burn being conducted behind us...

 by the forest service.

The smoke from it tinted the sky.

I caught the sun as it was setting through the smoke.

A last shot of the smoke from across one of the many lakes on the drive back.

This trip wrapped up the Autumn colors for this season.

Next year...

we are planning to go to Utah for the Fall colors.

We all had a good time.  My elder sister and I...

for the remainder of the drive home...

played twenty questions as I drove.

My mother always enjoys our country drives.

She says that she enjoys nature.

She was laughing...

and talking, most of the trip.