Author: John

Posted on by John

This year, we headed out to the lake again. Debbie and Raymond had a full house… so full we shared a room with two cousins! Jack got to sleep on the floor on a pallet, which Christine and I shared one double bed, and the two little girls shared the other double. Grayson was in his playpen that first night. We were all so exhausted after a full Friday, that it didn’t matter a bit (and I hope my snoring didn’t keep anyone up too much during the night).

We went swimming as soon as we got there, and the boys had a blast swimming with their cousings:

Aunt Peggy and Payton were in charge of dinner Friday night. Talk about good! Mmmmm. Mmmmmmm… Everyone got plenty of good food (fish, chicken, and beef) and lots of great conversation.

On Saturday, we took all of the kids out on the lake in the morning, for a little fun in the sun!

Grayson got sick that afternoon, and so he and I headed home… Christine and Jack stayed and played… and headed to church on Sunday before heading home to hang with us.

Good weekend, althought it was too short.

See all of the photos here.

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Posted on by John

After this afternoon’s BurntWurst debacle, I had to try again…

I defrosted a Sockeye Salmon that had been in the freezer… then I marinated it in some Rice Vinegar, Soy Sauce, with Cinnamon and Ginger, and a healthy portion of Sea Salt for about three hours.

I stoked the fire, added a few charcoal briquets, and a heathy helping of hickory chips, and let it start smoking.

I put the Salmon on the grill around 4:00. The temp was 120°F and the smoke was flowing. I checked it every 10 minutes or so until about 4:40.

Smoked Salmon

Looks good, doesn’t it?

Grayson woke up right after I took that photo, and was crying, so I got distracted for a few minutes… I took it off the grill at 5:00. I should have grabbed it at 4:45 or so, I think.

It smelled amazing. AMAZING!

I put it in the oven to cool a little while I finished up the peas and corn.

We sat down to eat around 5:30, and while the Salmon tasted like Smoked Salmon, it was just a tad dry. Not bad, mind you, but definitely should have come off the grill a little earlier.

Did a much better job of keeping the fire under control this time, and got the perfect amount of smoke.

More practice is in our future for sure. Tastes too good, and I definitely want to get good at smoking…

Average Rating: 4.7 out of 5 based on 265 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

This morning, I got it in my head that I wanted to smoke something on the grill (I installed the smoking part on the grill yesterday).

So, I defrosted 10 Bratwursts we had sitting in the freezer.

Things were looking good for the first 45 minutes or so, then I added some wood to the coals… and the fire got a little out of control. I went outside to check on things after about 20 minutes, and the grill was over 500 degrees… Needless to say the Brats were a little burnt.

The three I saved were really good though…

burntwurst

Gonna try again soon.

Average Rating: 4.9 out of 5 based on 181 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

A week ago last Friday, Christine, Jack, Grayson and I got on a Southwest plane headed from Austin to Orlando. The plan was the hang out with Jodie and Hayes’ family for a few days, then head to my trade show for a few days, then go to Denver for another trade show and to see Joan, Ted, Lydia and Leo for a few days before heading home. Call it “mixing business and pleasure”, if you will.

In Florida, we stayed with Jodie and Hayes for a few days, and hung out with them at their house for most of the day on Friday (after the boys napped all the way from the airport to their house, and a late lunch at McDonald’s that is). Hayes cooked some of the best burgers I’ve ever had that night, and the kids got hot dogs.

On Saturday morning, we’d planned to wake up and watch the Space Shuttle launch from their backyard, but it was scrubbed due to leaking Hydrogen or something… So, instead I slept in, and then we went to the beach, where we had a blast with them at Ponce Inlet.

We all got a little sunburned, and a lot worn out… the sun and the sand can sure take it out of you. After a day at the beach, we ate at a Chili’s with the extended family (pretty much all of Jodie’s family and most of Hayes’ lives there in Florida).

On Sunday, we got up, and headed to the Orlando Science Center, where the kids had a lot of fun. Our original plan was to hit the beach again, but we decided to save the kids from another sunburn filled day… We saw dinosaur bones, and learned about electricity… had lunch, and then picked oranges. Afterwards, we headed to Downtown Disney and the Lego Store before dinner at T-Rex (which is like a Rainforest Cafe with dinosaurs instead of monkeys).

We checked into the Marriot that night, and settled in. I went to a business thing, and the kids and Christine got to sleep pretty late.

On Monday, I did “work” things, while Christine and the boys met Jodie and her beautiful kids, Emma and Morgan, and spent the morning in the pool at the Marriot… which happens to be the biggest pool in the world or something.

Christine had her hands full with the kids all day… I was working… then on Tuesday, she took the kids out while I worked from the room and the lobby of the hotel, and then we headed to the airport around noon. We were lucky we’d left so early, because we ended up having to walk all the way across the Orlando airport after turning in the rental car, before waiting about an hour to check our bags (all 7 of them) with Southwest. The Orlando airport is a zoo. We boarded the airplane, all a little frazzled. The boys wouldn’t sleep, and couldn’t get comfortable, and Christine and I were tired too.

We rented a car in Denver (we weren’t sure if we were going to until we landed) and drove a little out of our way to get to the hotel… and checked in around 9:30 p.m. or so. The staff at the downtown Sheraton were awesome though, and got us into our room quickly, and brought up a crib and fridge quickly too. We got the kids to bed, and I stayed up late catching up on work from the day that I’d not had time to do.

On Wednesday, I worked in the morning, while the kids explored downtown Denver. They hit the public library, the Museum of Art, and the Capitol grounds, before we all went to lunch together. I headed to the lobby to work while the kids took naps (Christine did too). We then met Joan, Leo and Lydia out on the Denver Mall for dinner.

I took Grayson home from dinner early, because he just wasn’t feeling well. We watched Madagascar 2, and all of us went to bed late.

On Thursday, I got up and headed to another trade show, while Christine took the boys, and loaded up the car, and drove out to Arvada, Colorado (the pinnacle of Denver suburbia) to stay with Joan and Ted for the remainder of our trip. Grayson was so exhausted that he finally just laid down in the middle of the living room and crashed. While he napped, the rest of the kids headed to the pool and playground.

On Friday, I quickly hit the trade show, then checked out of the hotel early, and waited for the family to pick me up. Meanwhile, they hit Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Dinosaur Ridge. Talk about some cool stuff! Jack told me all about all of the dinosaur footprints and bones they found on the ride back to the Wagner’s house. That night, Ted cooked filet mignon on the grill, and we all caught up a little after the kids went to bed.

We were treated to this sunset from the front porch of the Wagner’s new house:

Gorgeous.

On Saturday, we got up and headed to Boulder, taking the scenic route through the mountains. We stopped at the Barker Dam for a few photos…

Our goal was to hike to Boulder Falls, but they were closed due to fallen rocks, which was just as well, as the kids were hungry. After lunch at a brewpub in Boulder, we left Joan and Ted, Leo and Lydia in Boulder and headed to the Denver airport. Turning in the car was easier there, but the bag check line at Southwest was just as bad as Orlando.

We got to our gate about 15 minutes before we started boarding (even though we were at the airport a good two hours before our flight), and got on the plane with some tired kids.

Grayson slept all the way home, and Jack and Christine played games together. It was a great flight, and we were glad to be home.

Seven days on the road, in two cities, with me having to actually work 5 of those days, makes for a very tired family, and we’re enjoying catching up on our rest today. We loved seeing our friends, but I don’t think we’ll mix business and pleasure again until the kids are old enough to buy their own tickets and get their own hotel rooms. Or until I can afford to just not work, if I don’t want to. 😉

You can see all of the photos here:

Ponce Inlet Beach Photos
Orlando Photos
Denver Photos

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Posted on by John

Christine, Jack, Grayson and I drove up to Dallas this weekend to attend Steven’s graduation ceremony from SMU.

Talk about being proud of someone… I could see the pride in Michael, Mary, Frank, and Christine’s faces… And I must say he looked good in blue and red. And you can see the excitement on Steven’s face too:

SMU May 2009 Graduation

Can’t you see it?!

😉

Seriously, though, we had a blast. The kids played a lot at Nana and Papa’s, and had a blast, and Christine and I enjoyed visiting as always…

Average Rating: 4.8 out of 5 based on 204 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

The kids had a blast today outside using the sidewalk chalk… and while they started with coloring our limestone patio, they ended up coloring themselves:

Blue Man Group

What fun!

Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 based on 298 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

I had some time on the airplane home from Seattle the other night, so I put together these movies from old footage from November I had on my laptop:

Good times!

Average Rating: 4.4 out of 5 based on 201 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

Christine was invited to speak at a local environmental group today. She enjoyed it, and made a difference in this world, and I’m so proud of her. Those that don’t know, Christine used to hate to speak in public, but recently, I think she’s discovered how powerful she can be when she does speak. Here’s the write up from the website of the group she spoke for:

Screening of FLOW, a Documentary Film about Water
Submitted by gg_joni on Mon, 03/09/2009 – 10:41am. GreenGirl Outing
Start: 03/29/2009 – 2:30pm
End: 03/29/2009 – 4:30pm

GreenGirls and their guests are invited to a screening of the 84-minute documentary film, FLOW. This is Irena Salina’s award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century, The World Water Crisis. Christine Engler will lead a short discussion following the movie. More on Christine below movie details.

Filmmaker Irene Salina builds a case against the growing privatization of the world’s dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel. Interviews with scientists and activists intelligently reveal the rapidly building crisis, at both the global and human scale, and the film introduces many of the governmental and corporate culprits behind the water grab, while begging the question “CAN ANYONE REALLY OWN WATER?”

Beyond identifying the problem, FLOW also gives viewers a look at the people and institutions providing practical solutions to the water crisis and those developing new technologies, which are fast becoming blueprints for a successful global and economic turnaround. You can view the trailer at http://www.flowthefilm.com/trailer

Christine Engler has a BS in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University with a specialty in Water Resource Engineering. She worked in the field of water resource engineering for 10 years. During this time, she was involved in the regional water planning effort for the state of Texas. The topic of water sustainability on the planet had always been of interest but was recently fueled by an article she read discussing the dire drought situation in the western United States. Shocked by the movie Flow, she wants to make a difference regarding the water crisis on our planet and raise awareness of individuals to protect and conserve this life giving resource.

**This event is open to GreenGirls and their friends, spouses, and significant others.

Event: FLOW: For Love of Water (documentary film)
Date: Sunday, March 29
Time: 2:30pm-4:30pm (film viewing will begin at 2:45pm)
Location: Private residence near Zilker Park — (details will be provided via GreenGirls.net News) — maximum # of guests is 18.

Please RSVP by March 26. Be sure to include the number that will be attending. We can accommodate up to 18 guests.
RSVP at http://www.greengirls.net/contact

To receive announcements about upcoming meetings or outings, subscribe to GreenGirls.net News

She just told me to add this to this post:

Go sign the Article 31 petition, which states:

Everyone has the right to clean and accessible water, adequate for the health and well-being of the individual and family, and no one shall be deprived of such access or quality of water due to individual economic circumstance.

Average Rating: 4.7 out of 5 based on 284 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

Murrell Cato Helmke, 86, died Thursday, March 19, 2009 at Duke Raleigh Hospital.

A resident of Magnolia Glen on Creedmoor Road, Murrell remained an active and enthusiastic participant in all aspects of her life. She loved her family deeply and valued the friendships she had made both here and abroad. She will be greatly missed.

Preceded in death by Jim, her husband of 58 years.

Murrell’s survivors include son, James Helmke and wife, Bronwyn; daughter, Gretchen Weakley and husband, Terry; daughter, Karen Rectanus; niece, Helen Barrow and husband, Brad; grandchildren, Karl and Tim Rectanus, Hannah, Jon and Matthew Weakley, Maggie and Abby Helmke and Derek and Gregg Helmke; six great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews living around the globe.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at White Memorial Presbyterian Church in Raleigh.

In lieu of flowers, Murrell asked that donations be made to a charity of one’s choice.

Arrangements made by the Cremation Society of the Carolinas.

Online condolences can be made at www.cremnc.com

From the News & Obeserver website.

Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 based on 223 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

It’s hard for me to write this post.

My Great Aunt, Aunt Murrell passed away today.

Murrell was my mother’s aunt. Her mother’s sister. She was a Cato.

My mom called me this evening to tell me the news, and it sounds like Aunt Murrell passed away like she lived:

Full of grace and dignity.

Christine and I got to spend some time with Aunt Murrell back in 2005 on two occasions: We spent some time in Raleigh with her and that side of the family and then she came to Austin with two of her grandkids.

I’ve never met a woman who lived a more full life, or lived it with such grace and vitality, and who was truly sincere and committed to every action she took. Aunt Murrell is an inspiration and role model, and I can only hope when I look back on my life it was as full and honest as hers was.

You will be missed Aunt Murrell … by many. My only regret is not spending more time with you. We will remember you always.

Average Rating: 4.6 out of 5 based on 208 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

I took this photo of Grayson and Christine in March of 2007:

And I got a call from a guy, asking to use it as the cover art on an album he was planning on putting out soon. We chatted on the phone, and I got this email from him shortly thereafter:

From: Jonathan Kessler
Subject: A Mother’s Kiss
Date: January 25, 2009 1:35:01 PM CST
To: John Engler
Cc: Ted Kastelic

Hi John,

It was good speaking with you today.

Thanks for giving us your permission to use your photograph for the cover of our CD “Wisdom of a Kiss”, and for sending us a high-res version of the picture to use.

We’ll credit you on the CD – is the wording here OK with you?

“Cover Photograph by John Engler, johnengler.com ”
 
Also please include your mailing address so we can send you some copies of the CD by way of thanks.
 
It’s a wonderful photograph and we’re really pleased to have found it and to be able to use it.  It captures the concept “Wisdom of a Kiss” beautifully.
 
Jonathan

Turns out they’d found a photo of mine on flickr that they liked a lot for their new album.

So, I sent them my mailing address, and the photo in hi-res versions…

And just the other day, I found the art on their website.

So, go to their band’s website, and take a listen… I really enjoyed the songs available on their website. You will too, I bet:

Thanks Folk in A!

Go buy a copy.

Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 based on 167 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

I woke up on this morning, and was surprised Christine had let me sleep in a little. Grayson woke me up by singing “Happy Birthday To You” to me, over and over until I got out of bed. It was pretty cute.

I smelled breakfast cooking, and got downstairs to a fresh omelet that Christine had just finished making me. Jack was still asleep, but he rolled into the kitchen not too long after me.

I helped get the kids dressed for school a little, but left for work early, because I had a lot to get done.

Worked all day. Got about a thousand “Happy Birthday” wishes via facebook, IM or email throughout the course of the day, which was touching.

Went by NxNW on the way home, to visit with a client of ours over a beer, then called Christine to let her know I’d be home soon, so she could load the kids up in the car, as we were planning on going to Chuck E Cheese’s for a small family birthday party.

I got home, walked in, and the house was dead. No activity. I suspected something was up when I spied some balloons in the kitchen, but wasn’t sure.

I walked into the kitchen, and was surprised by my family, crouching down behind the couch in the den, springing up and yelling “SURPRISE!”

It was hilarious. Grayson had the look of absolute and pure joy in his face. A look I’ll never forget. Jack was excited as all get out that he was able to surprise his Daddy.

Christine had a look of massive accomplishment in her face as she really did accomplish something amazing. (you try keeping a 4 and 2 year old quiet while Daddy unlocks the doors and takes his time putting his stuff from work away).

There was a cake on the table, and balloons in the air, and the boys were exstatic to be getting ready to have dinner and a cake.

I proceeded to cook steaks that Christine had been marinating all day. She finished up the baked potatoes and brussels sprouts (it’s okay, I LOVE brussels sprouts and so do the boys).

We had cake, and then put the boys to bed (after a bath to wash all of the icing off their faces and hands).

Overall: a great birthday. Probably one of the best I’ve had in a long while.

Average Rating: 4.9 out of 5 based on 229 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

This past weekend we went camping with Marc, Cyndi, Rowan and Kaelyn, and Ted, Joan, Lydia and Leo. And man did we have a blast.

Bastrop State Park has to be the best place to go in the spring with the kids… especially when Cyndi’s mom lets us borrow her trailer to sleep in. I’m going to have to buy me one of those soon.

The kids got dirty, and had a blast. Seriously dirty, and a serious blast.

Photos here.

Average Rating: 4.4 out of 5 based on 283 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

I posted a lot of photos the other day, and haven’t had time to write full entries for them all, so here’s a list of the photos, with some comments:

  • Lakeway, November 27, 2008: We had a blast out at Debbie and Raymond’s lakehouse for Thanksgiving. Cheri and Greg brought their kids up, and we all played. I got some good photos of the kids being kids, making cookies, making smores, eating smores, eating the gingerbread-man cookies they’d made, and generally having fun.
  • Hardin Kids, November 29, 2008: Cheri asked me if I’d take some photos of the kids for their Christmas card, so I did. I’m pleased with the four options we came up with for them. Great kids + great parents = great photos.
  • Hot Chocolate, December 10, 2008: Just some fun posed photos of Jack and Grayson drinking hot chocolate at the dinner table on a cold-ish December day.
  • Friends’ Christmas Party, December 14, 2008: We went over to Joan and Ted’s house, to have a little Christmas party with Leo, Lydia, Joan, Ted, and a friend. The kids made cookies, traded gifts, Ted smoked meat all day for dinner, and then we all headed the Luminaries show at the Texas Wildflower Center. There are some great photos of the kids, Blue Santa, and good friends in this set.

I have more to write about, and more photos to post, so stay tuned!

Average Rating: 4.6 out of 5 based on 243 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

Today, Jack and I took a trip to the grocery store while Grayson napped… so Christine could relax and read a book, and so Jack and I could spend some quality time together (why is it that every trip to the grocery store takes an hour at least?)

We had a blast, and on top of that, actually got everything Christine put on our grocery list (I have always forgotten at least one thing).

We passed a “Hot Wheels” display on an end cap, and Jack wanted one. He started whining, and I said “Ok, if you want that Hot Wheels that bad, we’ll just have to leave everything else right here, and go home right now.” He knew better… and knew we needed food, so he put it back.

Then a little later, he wanted some SeaMonkey’s that were hanging on a display on the aisle, and I said “those aren’t on Mommy’s List, so we can’t get them. If it’s not on Mommy’s list we aren’t getting it.” He didn’t whine, so I knew I had a winner.

Then on the baking/chocolate/mixes aisle, he asked for cornbread. But it wasn’t on Mommy’s List. I was in a tough spot.

I acquiesced and told him “Ok, let’s get the cornbread.”

Jack turned around in the cart and said “Daddy, you’re the best Daddy ever. Thank you for getting me cornbread. I want to give you a hug.”

I said “Right now” and he said “yes, Daddy! Right now!”

So I bent over, and he gave me a hug on aisle 18 at the local HEB.

Made my day.

Average Rating: 4.7 out of 5 based on 190 user reviews.

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