Duncan's Chase

Duncan loves to play chase.  He's one cool ferret!  Poor Murphy (our border collie)...  he wants to play, too.

Meet Duncan McFerret

TEL_1470, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

Please welcome the newest addition to our family, "Duncan McFerret". He came home with us today and he's supper sweet and super cute. He has a really neat personality, is very social, and LOVES to play. Of course... as with most ferrets (Heather and I have had four, Duncan is the fifth), they play hard and the crash hard. Right now, it's 9:34 PM and he is OUT! I mean, like pet him and move him around and he doesn't even open his eyes kind of out (sleeping in his hammock hanging from the roof of his three level "ferret condo".

Here a handful of picture (crappy photos, sorry... he was bouncing around excited to explore... it was hard to even keep him in my view finder!): http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomaslester/sets/72157607004357323/

I'll add some more photos later.

-Tom

Farmers' Market Shopping Tips

TEL_1230, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

I promised that I would write a follow up giving some guidance to those of you that have never shopped at a Farmers' Market. I was a little intimidated before I made my first visit, so I did some research. So, here's my thoughts on getting the most out of your farmers market.

• Rule of thumb...  go in the morning for the best quality, go in the afternoon for the best deals.  The farmers don't like to take their goods back home with them.  It's a hassle.  So, later in the afternoon, they are likely to make some really good deals.  However, heat sensitive produce may not be all that great.  So, if you have to pickup greens, leafy veggies, etc...  do it in the morning.  If you are picking up corn, peppers, potatoes, etc..   you can get some good deals in the afternoon.
• Make the rounds before you purchase.  Take some time and visit each of the vendors.  Some may have obviously better quality than others that day.  Some may have some unique items that you weren't expecting.
• Be flexible.  This is farming...   weather, time of the year, etc. will effect the quality of the produce.  Also, the vendors may have a deal on one item that they have a lot of.  So, you may have zucchini on your list, but the quality or price of yellow squash may be better that day.  See the picture above...   15 pieces of squash is a lot of squash!  I made a huge squash casserole for our church picnic and I still have enough left over for 2 meals (at least).
• Bring your own bags.  This is important, not only because the vendors may not have them (or they may run out), but it's also important for living green.  Get yourself a couple of large reusable produce bags.  If you need plastic grocery style bags, bring some with you that you have from your regular grocery shopping.  Recycle them by using them at the farmers market.  If you have left overs, don't throw them away, give them to the farmers!
• Bring dollars and quarters.  Yeah...  you are going to think this is highway robbery when I tell you that you need to bring quarters.  Some purchases literally don't add up to even a full dollar!  Aside from the price, the farmers run low on quarters very quickly.  Go to the bank and get $5-10 worth of quarters and pay with quarters.  The farmers will love you and they may even give you a deal for paying with quarters.  Bring dollars, too.  Many purchase are in the one to three dollars range.  Most everything I purchased was for one dollar.
• No Credit Cards!  This is a cash only biz.  No big bills either.  Try to bring nothing larger than a five-spot, if possible.  
• ASK QUESTIONS.  This is a huge tip.  Most of the time the people that you buying from are the same people that are farming the land.  These are the owner/operators of the farm.  They are very proud of their product and love to talk about it.  If you don't recognize a particular item, ask them what it is.  Often time they'll offer you a sample.  If you like it, but are not sure how you'd prepare it, ask them.  They'll know.  They may share a secret family recipe with you.  Last...  if you buy some and you (or your family) liked it, then tell them next time you are there.  The vendors want to develop a relationship with you.  They like regular customers!
• You are shopping at the farmers market because you want a good deal, a better product, or both.  I like both, especially the good deal.  However, you are not their to take the farmers shirt.  Trust me...  you are going to get a great deal, but don't feel like you need to haggle every little purchase.  Like I mentioned above, the vendor what's to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with you.  If you become a regular, you are likely to not only get a great deal, but you may often get pointed to that "special" bushel that is extremely high quality that the vendor is saving for his/her regulars.
• Experiment.  Don't be a fuddy duddy, try some new things.  There will be produce that you've likely never seen before.  Get some.  It may become your new favorite.
• Last, but definitely not least, protect your purchase.  If you don't live close by, bring a cooler with some freeze packs inside to cary your goods home.  This is especially important if you get some fish or seafood (several vendors at the Jacksonville Farmers Market have fresh seafood).

I hope that helps ease some anxiety about going to the farmers market for the first time.  If you have any questions, please post a comment and I'll try to answer ASAP.

Back To School

TEL_1393, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

Where did summer go? I can't believe it's over already. However, I'm excited for the kids to go back to school. I can't really say summer was boring, we had some some pretty exciting times. Heather got certified by the Professional Tennis Registry. We went on a nice vacation and got "relaxed up". Band and Jazz camp, tennis lessons, Rush Week, Flex, and Element. It's been a fun summer, indeed!

Today is a monumental "back to school" as Brian, Brook (both of them), Morgan, Chris, and Jeff all leave behind elementary school and move forward to middle school. Exciting times with band, lockers, six periods, and sitting where you want to at lunch (hey this is a big deal). This is also significant because Brian and Rachel will not be in the same school again until Brian is a senior in high school.

The image above is most of the kids from our street gathered up to ride to school together. We have a great bunch of friends in our neighborhood!

Farmers Market Saturday

Farmers Market on Saturday, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

Well... we are starting a bit of a new tradition. Going to the Jacksonville Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. We love going. The people are so friendly, the sights and sounds are really wonderful, the produce is great and it's DIRT CHEAP. Our family is trying to live "greener" and more organic. We are also trying to cook more from scratch. Americans have become a fast food nation, and I'm not talking about just at the drive through. I'm talking about cooking at home from a box or can. That's NOT cooking. I have a feeling that the teens and twenty-somethings of today are going to have no idea how to cook from scratch. Well... not our kids, they are going to learn to cook with good, raw ingredients and to eat without preservatives and funky chemicals. Besides that... it just tastes better.

At the farmers market it isn't your average Publix produce. The quality is MUCH higher and it's right out of the ground, so it doesn't get much fresher. Also there is a huge variety of fruits and vegetables. The most common phrase out of my mouth each time we go is, "What is this one called". Did you know that there is a water melon that's yellow inside and it's even sweeter than the normal water mellon? There is!!! The guy at the farmers market gave me a sample.

If you were unaware that Jacksonville had a farmers market or you just haven't made it down there, you own yourself a visit. If you are like me and live a good ways away from down town (I live in Saint Johns... I.e. Julington Creek area) and you are wondering if it's worth the drive, then let me recap our purchases for today.....

We are a family of four... I got 6 baking potatoes, a dozen bananas, a big bag of carrots (a dozen or so), a huge bushel of green beans (enough for 2 meals at least), a basket of green tomatoes (6 or so), a basket of Roma Tomatoes (about 8), a big bunch of some kind of salad lettuce (not iceberg), some sort of Chinese spinach (about a pound worth), a basket of peaches (6 I think), a couple of onions and some garlic, a huge basket of mushrooms, 4 ears of corn, a bunch of cilantro, and 15 pieces of squash (which will give my family probably two meals worth of squash plus a casserole for our church picnic tomorrow). How much did I spend? $21.00 even. Try to do that at Publix!

Stay tuned... I'll post some tips for shopping at the farmers market in a near future blog.

Fay Is On Her Way

TEL_1211, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

What do you do as a kid when it's storming, but you want to be outside. Well... if you are boy, you usually just go for it and get soaked. However, I looked out the window this afternoon and saw that Rachel and Morgan had set up a art workshop under the covering of the front porch. Two creative girls enjoying the cooler weather that the storm brought us.

Flex '08

TEL_0824, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

Wow! It's hard to put this experience into words. Celebration Church of Jacksonville's annual mens conference, called FLEX was held this weekend in Jacksonville, FL. Over a thousand men (a guess... uh... a guess on the number... not a guess that they were men) worshiping, having fun, hanging out, and learning about how to Godly men.


TEL_1063, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

A look around the place and you quickly realize that in attendance there are strong men of God, new Christians, sons and dads, lost friends that were dragged their by a loving friend, Grand Fathers, and best friends. There was no denying that God met us in His house as he promises in Matthew 18:20. Lives were changed. Thanks Celebration for doing this every year with excellence!

Starting A Car With Jumper Cables Attached To Your Nipples

Don't Ask, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

Are you manly enough to jumpstart a car by attaching jumper cables to your nipples? Check out these super many guys with all their manly chest hair (and nipple rings).

Tonight was the first night of the 2008 Celebration Men's conference, "FLEX". Brian and I arrived at Celebration Church Midtown at around 5:30 PM. We checked in and made the rounds seeing who was there. Brian signed up football, paint ball, and video games for during the after party. We got some barbeque for dinner and hung out with friends.

I ran into Erik, a friend from Bank of America. I had invited him to visit Celebration Church when he first moved to Jax from San Diego. That was about a year ago. It was good to see him still going to church. I got all caught up on my old team at BoA.

After dinner and socializing, we had some seriously great worship (I'll post some pictures on Flickr later). Pastor Joe Champion taught from 2 Kings (the book to the right of 1st Kings) 5:1-14. This was awesome and really spoke to me. Naaman was a man of great stature, he had much power, he was revered among men... BUT... he had leprosy. Despite all those great things, and how admired he was on the outside... when Naaman came home, he knew he was still a Leper.  Naaman was able to get past his "but".  Check out the scripture to find out how.

Rush Week Is Over

TEL_0782, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

Tonight was the last night of Celebration's "Rush Week". I mixed tonight. It was nice and loud with lots of guitars! There was a big turn out. Brian, Chris, Harrison, and Jeff were all their from my street. It was a great way to kick off the school year. Pastor John Wyatt spoke and did a great job (as usual).

As you can see by this photo, the music was off the hook. They got an encore and did three additional songs at the end of the night. The kids were so loud, I was having to crank the mix more and more to be able to keep the music over the kids. It was great.

Dinner By Computer Light

TEL_0750, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

Yes... this is my sad, pathetic existence tonight. Dinner alone. Heather (my wife) and Rachel (my daughter) are visiting Heather's folks in Lakeland, FL. Brian (my Son, is attending the third night of Celebration's "Rush Week". This is a scary glimpse of what my life would be like if I were single. Dinner at the kitchen bar, while surfing the Internet (probably stalking people on eHarmony).

On the positive side... my dinner was fantastic. I fixed baked Mac'n Cheese from scratch (even shredded my own cheese), sliced up a fresh squash, and grilled a rib eye (it was a typically pathetic Publix ribeye, but I didn't have time to go to Tilman's or Costco). It was very good.

Tower of Doom

Tower of Doom, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

Tonight was night two of Celebration Church of Jacksonville's "Rush Week". Tonight was held at Cunningham Creek Elementary School in St. Johns County. We had a huge water slide out and the kids had a blast. It was a night of great worship, excellent message on not letting your emotions get the best of you, by the amazing Sean Kelly. I know many lives were changed tonight.

This event is for High School and Middle School youth. There are two more nights to go. Wednesday and Thursday nights are being held at Celebration's Midtown campus. See more info here:

www.element633.com

Rush Week!

St. Johns Ready For Rush Week, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

Tonight is the first of a four nigh youth event for Celebration Church of Jacksonville called "Rush Week". Just like in College, this happens just before the school starts to kick off the school year with some intense worship, study, and fun. This is also the event to "promote" the kids to their new grade. New sixth graders join "Fuel". New ninth graders join Element. Brian, Harrison (who's already in Fuel), and Chris are all going from our neighborhood.

Check out more: http://www.element633.com/

All the kids from each of the three Jacksonville Celebration campuses are together for each night. Tonight is in Orange Park and the St. Johns and Midtown youth are being bussed to the OP campus. This photo was of Chris, Harrison, and Brian checking in to get on the bus. Tomorrow is at St. Johns campus, and the last two nights are both at midtown.

Back In Jacksonville

TEL_0384, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

We are back in Jacksonville. Rachel woke up with a temperature, so I wasn't able to go to Church and play guitar this morning. Bummer. Rachel seems to be doing fine though. Her temp has gone back to normal now. Now, she's just saying, "I'm bored". It's good to be home, though. I'm not looking forward to my work inbox, though. There's over one thousand unread e-mails in there right now.

I had someone say, "Hey... there's no pictures of you on this trip". So, I thought I'd include a self portrait.

Our Last Sunrise on Hilton Head

TEL_0643, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

It's time for us to depart Hilton Head Island. We had a great time. I feel rested (I hope Heather does, too). I loved having extra time with just me and the kids. Don't get me wrong. I missed Heather during the day, but it was good to hang with just Rachel and Brian.

Sunrise was at 6:44 this morning. I got out there at about 6:15, set up my tripod, and just enjoyed the morning air. It was very peaceful. There was a strip of clouds right at the horizon, so it hid the sun for a while, but I still enjoyed it. I have many more photos, but I liked this one for my blog entry. Enjoy.

The Frozen Moo

TEL_0566, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

Who doesn't like ice cream? We sure love it, so we went across to Coligny Circle, which is near the Shipyard area on Hilton Head Island. There are a lot of cool shops and venders (surf shops, coffee shops, restaurants, necklace vendors, etc). I got a T-Shirt! Amongst all the vendors is a great little ice cream shop called, "The Frozen Moo". A lot of different flavors, including several candy bar flavors. We got some scoops and wandered around there different shops. It was a very nice night. There was a cool breeze, a nice crescent moon, and a clear sky. To hang with my most favorite three people in the whole world makes it a fantastic night!

The Smokehouse

TEL_0563, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

After a relaxing and fun day at the pool and on bikes, we went out for some local South Carolina Barbeque. It was quite good. We had a late afternoon thunderstorm, which helped cool things down a bit, so we sat outside and enjoyed the early evening. The kids were making "menu hats" and I convinced Heather into joining in the fun. Don't they look cute?

TEL_0564, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

If you find yourself on Hilton Head Island, and you like Barbeque, you should definitely try out The Smokehouse.

Chill'n Poolside

TEL_0546, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

Heather is finally relaxing. After breakfast this morning, we rented bikes and went for a stroll down the beach, then through town, and back around to our hotel (we made a big circle). It was good time, the tide was low, so plenty of hard packed sand to ride on. After that, we were hot and sweaty so, we all jumped in the pool to cool down.

After swimming for an hour or so, we ate lunch at the poolside grill. It hit the spot. Then, back in the pool! Heather is laying out enjoying doing nothing. Which is exactly what she deserves.

I also think she's wicked hot!

Finally... Breakfast Together

TEL_0538, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

Believe it or not, this was the first breakfast that we've had as a family on this vacation. Each morning Heather has been getting up very early and getting breakfast on her own because she's had to be at Van Der Meer early. Today, is her day off. It was really nice to have breakfast with her. I've missed her. She doesn't look at that thrilled in this picture... I think I embarrass her when I take pictures in public. Ha!

Meet Norman

TEL_0540, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

This is Norman. He fixed us Omelets and Waffles almost every morning while we were here. Norman is very friendly and makes a mean omelet. We'll miss Norman when we are gone.

Snack Time In Hilton Head

TEL_0536, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

Another night is over here in Hilton Head. We went out to another restaurant, this time we thought we'd play it safe and go to a very popular mexican place. The place is called "Aunt Chilada's". Another massive Hilton Head dining disappointment. If to you a great vacation also includes good food, Hilton Head isn't the place for you. I'd recommend finding a good rental home or condo instead of a hotel so that you can cook for yourself. I'm beginning to believe that cooking for yourself is the only way to get a decent dinner. The Jazz Corner, however, was very good. Breakfast in our hotel has been very good as well.

As you can see in this picture, we had a very tired crew tonight. We got some snacks and some milk and had snack time in bed in the hotel room.

More Studying

TEL_0534, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

Heather is down to the final stretch. This is it! Just like every lunch break, dinner break, breakfast, lying in bed before going to sleep break; Heather is studying. After returning from lunch today, she will take the final three of her five tests. Pass or fail, she's my hero. She has amazing focus and resolve. I couldn't spend this much time in focused studying. She rocks!

A side note... Heather has worked her fanny off and has not had a single chance to rest and just enjoy herself. So, I booked an extra day so that she can just relax and do nothing. I'm going to make sure we do whatever she want or get out of her way if she just wants to sleep all day.

A New Motto For Hilton Head

TEL_0505, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

I've got a new slogan for the marketing folks at Hilton Head Island. It would go something like this: "Hilton Head Island... like one of those free, extremely high pressure time share sales vacations, only at Hilton Head it's definitely not free, it's expensive AND we'll charge you twice what we should for all our expensive, but not so great restaurants."

How does that sound?

Don't get me wrong. It's very pretty, but in a very neutral way. All the buildings are the same color, there are barely any street signs, you have to be slightly mental to find your way around. I'm having a good time, but I really do feel like I'm on a free time share vacation sale pitch thing. They are EVERYWHERE! We go to a restaurant and the have sales people at every entrance and exit. We went to Wal-Mart and they have a team out front selling. I almost went to a dinner for Breakfast, but when I saw the "red shirts" (all these sales people where a red polo) surrounding the parking lot I just kept going. You can't do anything without getting accosted by these people. What's also weird is that everyone that owns property here or a timeshare is from Ohio. Very strange...

Time For Bed

TEL_0531, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

After tennis today, we cleaned up and went out to dinner at Marley's Island Grill. It was average at best. I'm finding that most of the places to eat around Hilton Head are very average to below average, despite the $25-35 per entree price tag. We are talking about local seafood restaurants with 2+ hour waits that aren't even as good as a Red Lobster. It was OK, but worth $15 for entree, tops!

Back at the hotel, we are all bushed. Of course, the energizer bunny (Rachel) is still raring to go, despite the bags under her eyes. What do kids like to do in a hotel room? Jump on the beds, of course!

Guinea Pigs

TEL_0502, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

The PTR training needs guinea pigs for the potential pros to "teach" as part of their evaluations. Yesterday and today Brian and Rachel participated and got free tennis lessons. It was a lot of fun and they did great. Rachel is a natural... Brian... well... needs a few more lessons. To his defense, Rachel has been taking lessons all summer and Brian has only stepped onto the courts like twice before this week.

They had fun and I had a blast watching them.

What Happens When...?

TEL_0520, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

What happens when it's almost 11 PM, the rest of the family have gone to sleep, all the lights are off in the hotel room, and you have nothing to do? Well, for me, I have a computer and a camera. The computer is the only light in the room. So... I take a picture of the computer. It turned out a bit soft. I should have used a smaller aperture. Maybe tomorrow night! Visit my blog tomorrow night to see if I can do better.

A Night Stroll On The Beach

TEL_0511, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

Heather In Action

TEL_0494, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.