Bavarian Cream Offically Gets Christened

Although we've had our boat and were calling her Bavarian Cream for almost 8 months, we had not officially changed her name from that chosen by the previous owner. To bring this about we broke down and ordered new name and hailing port decals which set us back a couple hundred bucks (geez, boating is expensive!). The lettering Jane picked was black offset with a reflective gold border, 8 inches high and 66 inches long in Brush Script font. The hailing port (Killian, LA) was done in a 5 inch Ariel font that matched. Then came the fun part- getting the old name decal off. Larry started with a heat gun and a scraper, but after removing only parts of the first letter after 25 minutes, decided that this method was just going to eventually result in scorching the transom's gelcoat (there was still the high setting left). Although he knew (the pharmacy degree and knowledge of chemistry finally pays off!) some good organic solvents (acetone, methylketone, methanol, etc.) would rapidly do the job, he was afraid they might turn the finish into something akin to a skin disease. Jane and Google came to the rescue with an internet search on recommended methods, the top two being Easy Off Oven Cleaner and a hair dryer-scraper combination with lots of patience. With a proclivity toward all things chemical, Larry opted for the oven cleaner, even though he had is doubts because it is basically inorganic lye. Well the first couple of sprays on the transom resulted in a nasty looking yellow stains and didn't budge the lettering a bit! Panic set in when the stains could not be rubbed out with soap and water and new spots were developing on the swim platform from the transom overspray. After several corrective measures, he finally broke down and used acetone, logic being it couldn't get any worse. Well it worked and the stains were rubbed out to where they only faintly appeared. At this point, Jane was on the boat with nail polish remove (primarily acetone) and some cute little cotton balls. Still leery of a widespread acetone application, Larry worked the hair dryer-scraper solution. About three hours later all of the lettering was off, but an adhesive film from the old decal still needed to be removed. From the start, he always knew that the job would involve chemical solvents even though he went to great lengths to avoid them. Having spent a great deal of time, patience, and energy to remove the old lettering, he grabbed the acetone and liberally applied it to the film. Yes, it was to the screw it point! Amazingly, the film was gone in minutes with little expended effort and no damage to the finish. He then quietly cursed himself for not going this route in the first place. After the transom was declared clean as a whistle, Jane and Larry applied the new decals according to the directions with really professional results. We celebrated by taking Bavarian Cream down the river so everyone (all 2 of them!) could see her new name.

But wait! It's not all that easy. Nautical lore has it that all boat names are registered with the ruler of the deep and bad luck will come to any boat that has it's name changed without the proper renaming ritual. You can read about this ceremony by following this link for renaming a boat. Now we don't want to offend the gods of the deep, but this idea of pouring good champagne into the water to appease them for re-registering our boat when we could be drinking it just didn't make any sense. So we decided we'd take our chances and drink their share which is exactly what we did. Besides, if they really deserved any libations, they could have helped get the old lettering off! Say, do you think champagne would work better than oven cleaner...

Thanksgiving on the River

We know it's almost Christmas, but we forgot (actually kept postponing!) to publish the post from Thanksgiving Day. We decided that we wanted to do Thanksgiving on the Tickfaw and invited everyone out for dinner later in the day. Having a dinner later in the day avoids some of the conflicts with other invitations and work schedules for some, and gives everyone a little time to more fully work off an earlier meal. We were surprised that all of the kids, except for Larry's son Nathan who was in Tennessee with his in-laws, said they were coming. With that response we cooked up a storm over three days. We feasted on bacon-oyster cheese dip, corn-cheese and green bean casseroles, spiced cranberry-kumquat relish (yeah, the one I sent to Chef John Folse's contest last year that just happened to appear, minimally altered, on one of his shows this year), au gratin potatoes, and orange-garlic glazed ham. We felt the ham would be a change of pace for everyone. Jane did desserts with royal rum pecan and pumpkin pies. To take the chill off and get everyone in a festive mood, Larry made his hot buttered rum topped with whipped cream and nutmeg. The whipped cream may not have been a very good idea though, because grandson Brennan kept squirting the can in his mouth! We think he will outgrow stuff like that, but who knows....

After we had dinner we all headed outside, turned on the Christmas lights and got a bonfire started. The fire was a real joy thanks to Brennan who helped Larry gather some of the firewood a couple of days earlier. Larry had changed the oil in both boat engines a few days earlier and the 10 gallons of oil that was poured on the firewood really got it going. Jane's son-in-law, Jamie, had not had seen the boat, so Larry showed him around while the kids played on the boat and near the fire. xEveryone seemed to have a pretty good time and left as the fire was dying down. Jamie, and maybe Milana, indicated they wanted the recipe for the dip, so here it is. Keep watching WAFB's Stirrin' It Up and you might see it in a slightly altered form sometime!

Larry’s Bacon and Oyster Dip

1 cup sour cream

1 bottle (3 oz.) real bacon bits, or ¼ lb. sliced bacon crisply cooked and crumbled

½ lb. extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated

2 packages (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1½ tbs. prepared horseradish

4-5 green onions, chopped

1 tsp. Louisiana hot sauce

¼ tsp. garlic powder

1 can (8 oz.) oysters, drained and coarsely chopped

Combine the all ingredients, reserving 2 green onions, in a baking dish and mix well. Sprinkle with remaining chopped green onions over the mixture, cover with foil, and bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes until thoroughly warmed but not bubbling. Serve with vegetables, bread rounds, crackers, or chips. May also be served in a hollowed sourdough loaf, wrapped in foil and baked at 350° for 30 minutes. Serves 10-12.

The Grandkids Get Thanksgiving Vacation

The weather was good and the grandkids, Brennan and Madison, were out of school for Thanksgiving vacation. It's likely that their momma, Millette, was running out of ways to entertain them, so it sounded like a great idea to go to Mimi's house and spend the day. We caught up on their news and what was going on in their lives, and Mimi had a couple of distractions to keep them occupied, but it wasn't long before everyone was eying the boat wanting to go for a ride. We got everyone rounded up and on board, then headed Bavarian Cream upriver towards the former Leisure Landing resort. After a short ride, Capt. Larry turned the helm over to Brennan who leisurely navigated us to our destination. When we arrived at Leisure Landing, Brennan was told how to turn the boat around using only the two engines. He did a fantastic job and had us headed for our home slip in short order. He piloted us through the "No Wake" zone adjacent to the resort then turn control over to his sister, Madison. Madison had piloted the boat before, so this was familiar territory for her.

Mimi started talking about the considerable wake Bavarian Cream throws when she is up on plane. Well, everyone wanted to get up on plane and go fast. Capt. Larry obliged and everyone enjoyed going fast on the winding river. We finally made it back to the slip, got the boat secured, and went in the house for pizza and refreshments. Madison and her Mimi then worked on some crafts while Brennan and Larry took the van to scavenge for some roadside pieces of wood that would be used in a Thanksgiving day bonfire. Everyone seemed to have had a good time and we would meet again on Thanksgiving day.