I left out Texas. It wasn't an accident.

I occasionally get the time to sit down and doodle. Sometimes with purpose.

I think the last time I took art as a class was 6th grade, but I spent plenty of time doodling in the edges of my notebooks. Mostly, I still use pen & ink. 

In keeping with my resolution to try and give more handmade things, I thought a lot about what I could do for our anniversary.  In the 20 years we've been together (19 married), we've had the chance to travel a lot, and live in several parts of the world. We were recently talking about how silly the pheasants were that would run out in front of  cars on the little country lane we lived at the end of in England. 

That gave me an idea.  

I picked something representative of each of the places we've lived for long periods of time in our marriage. Georgia. California. Cheshire. New England.  

Dogwood. The Golden Gate Bridge. That silly pheasant. The windsor chairs we love.  

I'm not the most accomplished of artists, and these are fairly simple sketches. But each one of these has meaning, and represents a place that's a part of our story, and a part of the home that we've built. 

Plus, they look pretty good on the bathroom wall.  

19 years on

This picture has a story behind it.  

Well, I mean, yes. This was our wedding day, one-year-minus-one-day after we met, and six months after I asked her parents for their blessing to marry this beautiful girl that had become my best friend.  

But that's not the story. That's a story. It's a good story. But look at the car for a second. 

We were getting married in the San Francisco area. My Bride was finishing up at UC Santa Cruz. I was finishing up at the Defense language school in Monterey. Neither of us were in San Francisco much. So a lot of the planning was happening by phone. 

At one point, my mother and I were talking on the phone.  

"It's a long way across the country," she said. (She's a smart lady, my Mom. You can't slip anything by her). 

(Hi, Mom!) 

"Yep. But it's pretty out here. And her family has a baker's dozen worth of aunts and uncles, plus a couple of hundred cousins. I think. I haven't met them all. I'm sure you will like them."  

"I'm sure I will. But you know. It's pretty far."

"Uh-huh. But since there's only you two, plus Bro & Sis on my side... well, I appreciate you helping to balance out our side of the church."  

"Yes. I am sure it will be pretty. But ... I don't know. Couldn't you do it someplace more - I don't know - in the middle?"

"In the middle? Like what: Arkansas? We're not going to Arkansas to get married. We're probably not going to Arkansas ever. What the hell are you on about. There are four of you. There are dozens of them. Get your butts on a plane and come see your best looking son get hitched, old woman."  

She did, of course. And she looked gorgeous, and we had a wonderful wedding dance. 

But that's still not the right story.  

Look at the car in the picture. See that? It's a 1955 Rolls Royce.  

There were a lot of decisions to make for the wedding. I was allowed to make very few of them on my own. I checked in before ticking the box. 

"Would you like the 1961 Cadillac? Or the 1955 Rolls Royce?" 

"Why are you asking me this?" 

"I dunno. It says here we have to choose."  

"No. I mean, why haven't you already chosen the Rolls!? Hello!" 

She was right, of course. She still is about most things. 

I was 20. I had already made the only choice that mattered to me. To marry this fantastic woman before she came to her senses.  

And that's why I still call her my Bride, 19 years of happiness later. 

Bourbon makes everything better

For Father's day, my bride got me a couple of new books. One was River Cottage Veg, by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. This is the guy that inspired the original desire to have our own flock of chickens puttering around the back yard. I love almost all his stuff. And I've already cooked out of this book. 

But perhaps even more inspiring was the new book, Smoke & Pickles by Edward Lee.  He's a son of Korean immigrants, who grew up in Brooklyn, married a German woman, and moved to Louisville, KY to open a restaurant. His food reflects all of the above, with a healthy dose of bourbon and country ham. On top of a rice bowl. Covered with ground pork rinds. I think I just had a moment. 

The first thing I made from his book is bourbon-pickled jalapeños. 

Because of course it was. 

Recipe:  

• 1 pound jalapeños 
• 1.25 cups of white vinegar
• 1 cup bourbon
• 1 cup honey
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
• 2 bay leaves

1. Slice the peppers into quarter inch rounds and drop into jars.
2. Combine everything else and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for five minutes.
3. Pour the hot liquid over the peppers and seal the jars with a tight fitting lid. Let cool to room temp before refrigerating.
4. The peppers will be ready in 3 days, and will keep for a couple of weeks.

I used my favorite bourbon, which pained me a bit (this stuff is not cheap). But the best ingredients make for the best flavors, generally. 

Make plenty. You will want to share these.