Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts

Monday, October 11, 2010

Goose Meat is Expensive!

My Dear Husband and I will be celebrating our anniversary soon and it also happens to be my husbands birthday. When I asked DH what he wanted for his birthday/anniversary gift, he didn’t give me the usual “I don’t know.” Oh, no. What he did was crack a sly smile and gave me that look. [Okay, get your head out of the gutter because that’s not what he was implying.] That meant he knew EXACTLY what he wanted and it was going to be a doozie. Now we don’t always get gifts for each other for all the usual gift-giving opportunities. We have more than we need and just don’t usually want anything. So this was going to be big. I knew that he had been hinting about going on a deep sea fishing trip so I figured that was it. I was wrong. Well, not really. He still wants the fishing trip, but (and I quote) “just not for my birthday/anniversary gift.” Which means it’s still on the table for Christmas.

So he wants a new gun. Another gun. One to use specifically for hunting geese. Seriously?

I’m one of those people that don’t really agree with hunting as a sport, but I accept it for what it is. We live in hunting country and it’s a part of life around here. I mean, our ancestors may have “needed” to hunt and kill animals to feed their families, but we really don’t have to do that anymore. The grocery stores and meat markets are chock full of meat ready to cook and at an affordable price. No license needed, no accessories required -unless you include kitchen utensils and cookware accessories. When I bring up this point, my husband tries to debate it by saying that because we would be buying less meat at the store, we are saving animals. Ha! Not really. Those animals are going to end up in the markets whether or not we are hunting for our own food. And since they are already there, it’s better to buy them than go out and kill another. KWIM?

So here’s how our crazy conversation goes:

ME: So how much is this gun going to cost?
DH: It’s only $700.
ME: $700? Is that all?
DH: Yeah, it’s not that bad for a gun.
[Me thinking to myself: That’s your sales pitch? Oh come on. You can do better than that!]
ME: Does that include everything?
DH: Yeah, what else is there?
ME: Ammunition, accessories, etc. There is always more.
DH: Well, yeah, the ammunition is kind of expensive. But I’ll be able to kill geese. They are bigger than ducks so you get more for your money.
ME: But I don’t eat geese. I don’t even know how to cook that.
DH: You use it just like duck. We can make a gumbo, or stew, or…
ME: But I don’t eat duck either! You know that. Have you ever seen me cook anything with duck?
ME: Wait. We already have a bunch of ducks in the freezer taking up space. Geese are much bigger and we just don’t have the room. Which means we will have to buy another freezer to hold all these ducks and geese you are going to be bringing home that I don’t eat, nor know how to cook.
DH: Okay, well, I could give them to my mom.
ME: Well if your mom is going to end up getting them anyway, why not ask her to buy the freezer?
DH: (He has no response to this.)
ME: Let’s see… $700 for the gun, plus $200 for accessories like a gun case and ammo, and another $800 for a freezer. Estimated cost is now at $1700.
ME: That’s a lot of money to spend to hunt an animal that I don’t eat, that will take up space in the new freezer we will have to buy, only to have your mother end up getting the game.
DH: (He has no response to this either. I suspect he realizes he‘s losing ground.)
ME: (having fun with this) So if you get to hunt 10 times during the season, and for each trip you average 2 geese, that will be 20 geese. $1700 divided by 20 comes to $85 per goose. How much does a goose usually weigh? I could figure the price per pound.
DH: (He just stares at me.)
ME: (smiling) Gee, that’s some really expensive geese…
DH: So, what do you think?

I love pulling his leg and he knows it.
And yes, he’s getting his gun. :)

Saturday, October 9, 2010

I Swear It Was Innocent & Unintentional

Our neighbors directly across the street are really nice people.

We tend to be indoor folk that always have too much to do so we probably seem like we are unapproachable. That’s what happens when you’re always trying to keep up with the house and laundry, running the kids to their activities, grocery shopping, etc. But our neighbors appear to have it all together. They spend time with their toddler daughter in the yard playing, they have other friends over on weekends and at night to socialize. They have come over when we had yard sales and they even let me use the phone one morning when my daughter locked my purse and keys in the house. Quiet and clean, they never disturb anyone and they keep their lawn up. What more could you ask for?

Well, there is one little thing. They are Florida Gator fans. And we live in Tiger country.

No, the Tigers aren’t exactly their big rival, nor are the Gators ours. But during football season, they sport Gator flags instead of Tiger flags. They often have friends over on game days and they watch the game in the garage with the door open. Not that I’m being nosey (hey, I’m just getting the mail, okay?) but I can clearly see them watching the Gator game instead of the Tigers. And that’s totally okay.

Today is Saturday -game day- and my youngest daughter wanted to wear her LSU cheerleading outfit. No problem. She wanted to ride her bike this morning so she and her big sister went for a ride. Nothing bad about that right? You would think. And now you know the truth. We really didn’t do anything.

It’s now late in the afternoon -almost game time- and my Dear Husband and I were casually talking about the game when my oldest daughter asked who we were playing. Upon hearing it was the Gators, she commented, “oh, that’s why the neighbor asked if we were watching the game tonight.” I asked her when she had spoken to the neighbor and I find out that it was when they were riding their bikes. They were apparently playing in the yard when my girls went out and my youngest daughter wanted to go over and say high to their toddler. Nothing to it. Until it sank in…

Oh, how that must have looked to them. I mean, our kids rarely go outside to ride their bikes. On a Saturday morning. Before noon. And never in an LSU outfit. Especially when the neighbors are outside. On game day. That would look bad.

It just so happens that they were outside early this morning because my oldest daughter had a friend sleep over and they were playing in the yard while waiting for her parents to pick them up. But if the neighbors didn’t see that, then it would look suspicious.

Around 11:00 am, my 3 yo. comes bounding out the house in her LSU outfit and just so happens to want to ride her bike while the neighbors are in their yard. (seem odd yet?) Then, she just so happens to want to stop and talk to the neighbors toddler and say hi (something she has never really done before). I’m thinking the neighbor must have thought it propped (like we were trying to rub it in or something) because she proceeded to ask my girls if we were going to watch the game and then says that they were definitely watching the Gators tonight.

See? It was totally innocent.

Hey, we know the Gators are an excellent team. They always are and I’ll even admit that they will be difficult to beat. But this here is Tiger country and we support our boys!

Geaux Tigers!!

Goin' Duckin'

My 3yo. is still trying to grasp the English language and it's proving to be quite humorous.

My Dear Husband is a hunter and likes to hunt ducks. DH has been working at the lease on weekends to prepare for the upcoming season. My daughter remembers him bringing home the ducks after the hunts last year and knows what he's doing. I thought she would be a little freaked about it, but after poking a dead duck or two while DH was cleaning them, she announced "Give me the knife Daddy so I can help you." She's totally fine with it. But I digress.

So this morning as DH put on his camo and was getting ready to leave, she begged and pleaded for him to please "take me ducking."

Yep, ducking. She thinks it's as simple as adding an "ing" to the end. As in, fishing. Great logic, huh?