Our kids may remember cartoons with Sylvester and Tweety bird where the cat, with a lisp (no idea why a cat would have a lisp) would exclaim “Sufferin Succotash” No idea what that meant.

But apparently it is based on a veggie dish often made in the south of the US.

I was preparing my famous South Carolina BBQ back ribs tonight. Pat thought she would augment with another traditional side dish. Succotash.

A bit of background. We like Lima Beans, and often had them on the side in the years past. But apparently this particular bean is not popular on the West Coast. So we cannot find it often at the grocery store. Earlier this week I managed to find a supply and we had them with my steak (and Patty’s tuna). We had leftover lima beans and, as I said, Pat went looking for a recipe to use them with our Sunday night Rib dinner.

Succotash is a mixture of corn kernels and lima beans and peppers and many other things.

The succotash went perfect with our South Carolina ribs.

With the major snow event we have had over the last week, Reese has had an issue with her toilet routine. This girl was born in New Mexico, and has not experienced many days with nothing but snow.

In years past Reese and Jacques would play on the snow when they had snow events like children. Doing snow angels and rolling around. Never an issue for toilet procedures.

But Reese is now an older lady and when, at the height of our recent snow dump, she had an issue on going out in the backyard to do her business we were concerned. So even with the snow building up I went out and dug out a stretch of grass for her. It took many trips to keep the area clear as the snow coming down. But she did appreciate it.

The snow is melting and the pee area is now better defined, but she likes it. One benefit is that I no longer have to roam the back yard to clear the solid waste.

Here in Paradise we have been able to avoid the winter this year. A couple of days of light skiffs of snow that melted away. But then came the major event of the last week. It is crazy time when we are warmer here on the west coast of Canada than Houston Texas. A major weather system that brought deep freezing temperatures on the other side of the Rockies.

But we were not saved from this North American wide condition. Starting Friday we had snow coming down in torrents. No wind just snow. Unlike that light dry fluffy snow on the prairies, this comes with 40% humidity. Beautiful to look at (see the bird house) but destructive to the trees and bushes. We had at least 18 inches of snow in the back yard.

I know there is little sympathy from those in the frigid interior. I think the worst we got to was – 7 C one night. No power failures and a couple of days of clearing driveways and sidewalks. Then temperatures came back to normal. Huge piles of snow but going to be gone in a few days. But the final picture is unique to the snow condition here that we have seen in the past.

It is a warm 7 deg and the sun is shining. Looking out on the back yard and the golf course we see this field of dimpled snow. Kind of pretty.

I am in the final stages with the model of Le Sphinx with the rigging. I have always enjoyed this part but admit that I am struggling this year. Threading small lines through blocks at the end of long calipers is no longer fun with hand tremors. Older age is catching up.

This will be my last warship. The intricate details is no longer my forte.

I will probably be finished this in another 2 months and then will take a break. Maybe a fancy birdhouse or two.

I will continue to build ships but I will go for something simpler. Starting to search for ideas and plans.