Recently in Family Category

We had a cookout for some of our friends last night. It was a great time. A couple of my blogger friends showed up as did some of our coworkers and friends. We had ribs, burgers, brauts, cake and all kinds of other stuff.

On thing we have been serving at our parties the last few months is a Conch Salad. We got the recipe from a guy that was making it fresh in the Bahamas and while you can't get fresh Conch around here, we've substituted clam in place of conch. It's terrific!

Fresh firm tomatoes, green and yellow bell peppers, jalapeno, garlic, clam, lime and orange juice all put together. It's sort of like a slaw only better. Conch Salad is the bomb. I've found several different recipes online but the one we use I much prefer over the other ones.

This year my daughter has decided that she wants to have her birthday party on Halloween. It's pretty close to the day anyway so I think it's a grand idea. I love Halloween. I usually have the best decorations in the neighborhood and generally add to it each year.

In years past I have used Homeseer, my home automation program, to run the sounds and music but this year I think I will go a bit further. I want to automated some of the lights and my fog machine. I should be able to hook everything up to lamp and appliance modules and have it all scripted so that the music and sounds coincide with the lighting as well.

In addition to her birthday we are combining it with a Halloween party as well. I am really starting to look forward to it. Guess it's time to start getting birthday invitations ready!