Turkey Day, Deer Huntin' & Getting Da X-mas Tree

I thought I was being clever and combining 3 posts in one...but after spending about 45 minutes on this, I'm thinking I should have written one at a time over the next 3 days so I could give more detail...

Oh well, hope this isn't too overwhelming for ya.

Turkey Showdown 2.0 - Chris vs. Jen

Last year, Chris and I both made a turkey. Our friendly family was too scared to declare a winner, so this year, we made it mandatory.

I made an oven-baked Maple Butter turkey. I was pretty happy with it, it was very juicy. It was very sweet though too, which made the gravy sweeter than you would expect a gravy to be.

My turkey in the oven...

My secret gravy ingredients. (I guess they aren't so secret anymore).

Basting my bird.

My finished bird.

Chris made a Cajun Deep Fried turkey. Chris was ecstatic about how his turned out. I'll admit it, it was pretty good. Not as moist as mine (hee hee - had to get one dig in there), but good.

Chris "preparing" his bird.

Making the marinade.

Chris's turkey after injection. I think it looks like it just got out of a car accident.

The deep frying kitchen.

Carving the deep fried bird.

The votes were tallied - and because Jim refused to place a vote, the final count was 5 to 4. Jen took the "W". To be fair, two of the votes came from my ever-loving nieces, so I told Chris that we could consider it a tie. I thought that was fair of me.

Mason getting ready for his nummers.

The family joining around the table.

Yummy desserts.

The tryptophan (aka alcohol) kicking in.

What's in that bottle, Jim?


Thank you everyone for a great family gathering!

Deer Huntin' at the Mrdutts

Chris told me I had to shoot a gun before he would take me deer hunting. Been there, done that.

Under the new mentoring program with the DNR, my hunting was actually legal!

The Mentoring Program (via the DNR website): It's easier than ever to introduce someone new to hunting in Wisconsin. Anyone 10 or older can now hunt without first completing a hunter education course. He or she must be accompanied by a licensed hunter, hunt within arm's reach of the mentor, and follow other rules.

Opening weekend, I hit a forker buck, but after hours of tracking, couldn't find it. Luckily, we heard that the neighbors ending up getting it. Saturday morning, I took a shot at a doe, and missed. (Before you pick on me too much, it was like my 5th time shooting a gun.)

So Saturday evening, we decided to hunt in Ben's stand, mostly because it was a closer walk from the house. As the clock neared 4:00, Chris said "Jen's going to shoot a deer in the next 1/2 hour." He was close. At 4:32, a nice sized doe walked out into the corn field. I sighted it in, took the shot and boom, down it went. It was dead before it hit the ground. I was a bit high, I shot the back out and took a good chunk out of the lungs. For my friends with the queasy stomachs from the sight of blood, I suggest you not view the next two pics.

So next year, I'm taking hunter's safety for real. Chris promised me a heated stand. That was my main problem, I was freezing. If I had the tolerance to stay out there a little longer, I would've bagged that buck this year. But it was too...damn...cold. :)

Getting Da X-mas Tree

Getting our Christmas tree at Pleasant Valley Tree Farm has been a tradition since Chris and I met. Chris worked there in high school/college so we have a weird loyalty to the place. The trees are pricey, but gorgeous. It took us less than a minute to walk off the wagon and find our tree.

Our Tree

Who's that freak that jumped in our picture?

The "Other" Mrdutt Tree - Hey, that face looks familiar.

Gramma Mrdutt and Mason cuddlin by the fire while they shake and wrap our tree.

After a long 4 day weekend, I'm actually ready to get back into the swing of things. I am determined to get all of my Christmas decorations up this week, before the Mosinee Christmas parade this coming weekend. The parade has always been the real kick-off to the season for me. The baking will now be in full force as well. 75% of my Christmas shopping is done, so I plan to spend the next 4 weeks taking in all that I can of this Christmas season. Speaking of which...time to fire up the fireplace and have a brandy slush!

Enjoy the season!