Southern Exposure: on the deck, in hammock, with beer

Ahhh, fantastic long weekend. Much time spent on the deck, test driving the new hammock, and of course, guzzling beer.

And and on the topic of the hammock, would you believe that I went to two local stores in search of said device and was met with puzzled looks? "What is this hammock thing you speak of?" or something to that effect. At which point I had to explain what one was, ya know, made out of rope, you lay on it, etc. Strange.

Despite the fact that the slow-moving, big, early mosquitos have been replaced by the fast-moving, smaller ones, the deck experience was not a bloodbath.

And, this weekend marked the debut of my freshly repainted bean bag boxes. Bean bags** is an excellent game, if for no other reason than no matter how many beers the contestants consume, no one is gonna get hurt tossing them around. Unlike, say, horse shoes. There is some evidence that one's bean bag tossing abilities increase with the consumption of beer in a mathematical relationship similar to that most famously demonstrated in the Beer & Pool Playing Bell Curve.

And hey, bonus: Tony Knowles announced he is running for Gov! Yeah, sure, the man would be a moderate Republican in any other state but this. Now how about Fran? Bring back Fran! (Am still bummed she didn't beat the Murk.)

The Sunday totals:
# of beers consumed*: ~18
# of liters of soda: 3
meat side of the menu included: smoked, marinaded moose ribs (courtesy FlictheBic), thai marinaded chicken thighs, moose burgers
non-meat side of the menu: something cauliflowery, organic quinoa w/figs, marshmellows, chips and salsa, grilled asparagus
# of dogs = 4
# of people = 10

Oh, and the thai marinade came courtesy of http://recipes.epicurean.com/recipe/15207/thai-chicken-marinade.html. It comes in in second place of the three marinades tested in the Cabin Dwelling Kitchen so far this summer:

Thai Chicken Marinade
Ingredients: 3 cloves garlic-minced, 2T fresh ginger-minced, grated zest of one lime, juice of 1 lime, 1/4 tsp. red paper flakes, 1/2 C water, 1/4 C soy sauce, 1/4 C worcestershire sauce, 1 T sugar.

Directions: Mix all together and pour over chicken breasts and let marinate at least 4 hours but overnight is better. Drain and discard marinade and grill the meat until done.

* Consumed by all the persons drinking beer, not just me.

** In other parts of the world, folks call this game 'corn hole.' In the boozy little community in which I used to live, it was called bean bags, and frankly, that's a much better name.

At right: Rosario, Mat-Su Valley Dog of indeterminate origin, fond of Subaru seats, steering wheels, and combo switches on the steering column. Hobbies include: treeing squirrels, even long after the squirrel has left a particular tree; excavating foul old bones and dragging them home; throwing up inside the cabin after consuming things dragged home.