Dinner, Nederland, and Critters

Let me sing the praises of Ted's Montana Grill! My nephew Mike loves spicy food, and my sister was trying to steer him toward a couple of Mongolian restaurants, when she found a listing for Ted's. Knowing my preference for plain cooking, my wonderful nephew chose Ted's Montana Grill. Oh, my.... If you like beef, bison, trout, salmon, and organic veggies, Ted's is the place for you to go. Kathy had the cedar plank trout; Mike had prime rib; Annie had bison short ribs; Jim had sirloin; Sarah and Michael had bison burgers; and I had bison pot roast. We all got different side dishes, and were glad we had been given a round table, as we passed all the sides, appetizers, and desserts around the table for everyone to try. I had roasted asparagus, Mike had broccoli in butter, Jim had squash casserole, Annie had green beans, plus there were mashed potatoes and gravy, fries, onion rings, chutney and sweet and sour half-pickles. It was a gourmet experience. Mike said it was the best meal he's had in his entire life (all of 29 years) - and the best prime rib. I must admit that the sage on the prime rib made it special. My bison pot roast was falling in shreds off the fork, and everyone agreed (even Michael, the gourmet cook) that it was a superb meal. Mike got a huge cinnamon oatmeal raisin cookie with a scoop each of homemade chocolate and vanilla ice cream; Kathy chose the Kahlua chocolate fudge brownie sundae; and Jim got the hot apple caramel crisp with vanilla ice cream. Each of the desserts was sent around the table, too. Yum!!!
Besides being Mike's birthday, yesterday also kicked off our local Frozen Dead Guy Days in Nederland. Today there is a parade, the coffin races, the frozen salmon, turkey, and rump roast throws, multiple dances, the Polar Plunge for charity, as well as many other really cool events. If you're in the area, or would just like to know more about Frozen Dead Guy Days, please visit: http://www.nederlandchamber.org/events_fdgd-events.html You can even visit Grandpa Bredo in his Tuff Shed, packed in dry ice, if you really want to be a bit macabre.
Skippy decided that I needed a lot of grooming after I returned from dinner last night - after 2 hours of having my face, ears, neck, arms and hands being washed, I finally told him "No" and put him on the floor. Finn has been a wonderful dear, and I think, will happily trade a toy for the newspaper when David and Susan return. He is a very bright dog, and really wants to please. Lovey and Nedi seem to be happy to be back home - they are currently running in and out the patio door, jumping in my lap for loving, and then hurrying back outside so they won't miss anything. I did have to laugh yesterday - when I checked the local headlines at noon, there were huge warnings everywhere that Boulder was going to get at least 4 inches of snow before 11 p.m. I don't know where it went, but it certainly did not happen in either northern or central Boulder! I hope to download my photos from the past two weeks tomorrow - then I can share Finn, Skippy, Lovey and Nedi with you. They have all been delightful kids!