Review of 2005

One highlight from each month of 2005. Enjoy!

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January in Hawaii. The LONG plane ride; the sniffles; 3am under the Banyan tree on Wakiki Beach; 11pm under the moon and the glow of the lava from Kilauea; golf in Volcano; purple potatoes; Mauna Loa Falls; climb to top of Diamond Head; Oahu tour; Black sand beaches of the Big Island; Brother Iz; 10 days of fun and challenges.

February was Olivia's 2nd birthday!


March was a beautiful spring here in Charlotte. Later in the month we spent 5 days in Tampa with Pat and a pregnant Shannon.

April gave us the birth of Lily Jean Walsh - a blessing to us all!


A May weekend was spent on Topsail Beach, NC, with our friends Todd & Susan. Lots of beach and sun time!

June was the hardest month in recent history. We nearly lost the business. Stress level was high, but we survived and are better for it. Thanks to all who helped us through this tough time.


July found us with a new 2005 Honda Odyssey in New Hampshire for the 4th of July. Kris and I had an escape to the beautiful shores of Ocean Point, Maine. Booth Bay Harbor was something to see. A real piece of Maine.

August was an amazing month of recovery for the business and brought lighter times to my life. I played several rounds of golf! Olivia started full time childcare to free Kristin up for her job search.

September captured our attention with Hurricane Katrina and its destruction. September also marked the beginning of Kristin's new job as a 4th grade teacher at a local private school after having spent nearly 3 years away with our daughter. I consider the time at home an accomplishment; I also consider the new job a terrific boost for all involved.

October was started with old friends at Kristin's 20th high school reunion in Deland, Florida. It was ended in the company of friends at our home for the annual Kiawah weekend. Bonfires; Uwharrie Vineyards; laughs and loves.


November was the month of getting involved with my new volunteer role at the Charlotte Museum of History and my appointment to the Keep Charlotte Beautiful Committe.

December highlight was a two-day trip to St. Augustine, Florida, with my lovely wife. A terrific two days with amazing food and regroup time. Thanks to the grandparents for making it possible.

Merry Christmas Card 2005

Mmmmm...Sausage Balls

Christmas just would not be the same without some high calorie, high fat savory items like my personal favorite: Sausage Balls. I spent Sunday morning whipping up over 300 of these tasty bites. Here is the recipe:

1 lb. spicy sausage, browned
3 c. Bisquick
4 c. Shredded sharp cheddar
1/2 c. Grated parmesan
1/2 c. milk
1/2 Tbsp parsley flakes
1/2 Tbsp rosemary (important ingredient here)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown your sausage, let drain. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl - using your hands is preferable. When sausage is drained, add milk and sausage to dry ingredients, mix with hands just until cheese assembles to dough. Roll dough into 1" balls and place on non-stick cookie sheet. Cook approximately 20 minutes or until just beginning to brown. Makes about 100 sausage balls.

The Present Opening Process

We spent Saturday at my mother's house having an early Christmas since we will be in Florida for the holiday. To show you how prepared she is for Santa's arrival, Miss Olivia would like to demonstrate for you the proper present opening process.

Long, sweeping tears of paper. This is an advanced move as the day started out with 2 to 3 inch tears at which point each piece was delivered to Daddy.

Why wait to get the box opened when access from the sides is so easy?

Review of items in the box is not as necessary as the windmill distribution of items to the rear of the unloading area.

Satisfaction is an empty box and a job well done.

Seagrove, NC

We spent the day touring the NC Pottery destination in Seagrove, NC. With over 100 active potters in the area, there is a lot to see and do! We did some of our Christmas shopping here and looked at a few pieces of property. It is a beautiful area and filled with artisans. Check it out online at http://www.discoverseagrove.com/

7pm Energy Burst

Lots of captions possible for this one:

Come up with your own in the comments!

"The Mad Swamie of Hillandale"

"I tink I have a doodie"

"IIIII don't know where Odie is..."

"20 years from now, this would not be funny."