Category: My Family

Without a family, one seldom thinks long term

Posted on

a Los Angeles Vacation

00 SCvacationVacations don’t have to be exotic, expensive or bound to long away locations. However, vacations do need to take you away from what you are doing and put you somewhere else to experience another of what life has to offer.

Karen had plans and we thought about tagging along and seeing an intersquad scrimmage among Southern Cal’s Trojan football team. It was a nice sneak peek into the world of Trojan football and a time to revisit SC again. We stayed at the Radisson just off campus giving us a chance to visit and eventually end up at the old hangout ‘el Chollo’s’... Los Angeles’s finest Mexican restaurant.

I am sure the coaches saw sparks of brilliance and some things they are going to work on… but from my perspective there was enough there to worry most people. I would have liked to see the quarterback run more… but that’s just me.

It was all fun!

Posted on

Modern life in slow motion

Laura (R) and her childhood friend "Pam" having a picnic at Cal Poly

Sometimes we need to take the time to slow our lives down a little bit. This isn’t really hard in a place like San Luis Obispo where rural electrification is a new concept, but it is important to remember the simple things.

These past few days a childhood friend Pam and her daughter Jordan came up to Cal Poly to experience some of what Jordan can expect when she starts this fall. I suggested that we have a little picnic and brought rolled sandwiches, potato salad and Karen’s carrot cake ( actually Karen did make it when she was home last and it thawed out nicely). We are located in a rural environment, so naturally we brought our own water.

Our daughter Karen is at a conference in Boston and sent me the picture below and our experienced chef Kristin is somewhere in Iraq working on… of all things… a sushi meal!

Karen (L) is at a conference in Boston and Kristin (R) is in Iraq
Karen (L) is at a conference in Boston and Kristin (R) is in Iraq

As for me, I am uncovering myself from another pile of apples….

Roger Freberg

Posted on

3 more for the freezer

3applepiesforthefreezer

Did I ever tell you we had only one apple tree? It feels like an entire orchard based on it’s personal production capacity. The scary part for me is that I have planted a second tree.

So, every other day I pick, peal, core and slice apples for either apple sauce (boOo!) or apple pies (yaaAy!). These three apple pies are fairly special with a unique and yummy topping of walnuts, pistachios, and almonds prepared with different textures. I ground some to add as a base to the cinnamon, sugar and butter topping… while others were ‘carmelized.’

So, all of my preparing has had an unwanted side effect in gaining a few pounds… so it’s back on Jenny Craig a few weeks more… then… woah! apple pie ala mode!

Roger Freberg

Posted on

have a great 4th

remembering those who make the 4th possible
remembering those who make the 4th possible

Well, I am planning to have a great fourth of July… especially when it comes to food. Laura has asked me to fix something very exotic…. American Hamburgers! Oh yeah! Now, science has shown us that this interesting cuisine goes down especially well with Greek Beer so I will have plenty on-hand ( I have some left overs from my corned beef curing process).

Thanks to the men and women who make this celebration possible.

Have fun!

Roger Freberg

Posted on

Marula Berries will rock your world

When Karen came back from South Africa, one of the clients she worked on was the wonderful beverage called  ‘Amarula’. This alcoholic wonder comes from the Marula Berry which is one of the few fermented things in the world that can actually get elephants drunk.

Take a look at the video above and see how animals who supposedly would never ingest a substance that makes them drunk… will party all night long!

Aren’t you glad you don’t have to drive one of these guys home?

Roger Freberg