Air Force, Afghanistan

by: Charles Plemons - January 15th, 2008   Filed under: Letters Add Comment

Received the following letter:

Dear Charles,

I know this note will not get to you until well after the holiday season, but please know that your support is very much appreciated. I would have written much sooner to express my thanks but mission requirements left me little time to do so. I am an Air Force Mental Health Technician assigned with the Army in SE Afghanistan. Since before Thanksgiving, my doctor and I have been traveling around to the small firebases in our assigned area, providing psychological care to the soldiers. Each time we go out, we stuff our pockets, extra pouches and when we go out for an extended trip, even an extra bag full of the items you send.

Many of our soldiers are at very austere locations with mail being infrequent at the best of times. We use the care packages we receive to assist the soldiers, sometimes with some food or candy, sometimes with hygiene gear, and each time there is a smile and a thanks. Often, this allows us to break the ice with the troops in order for them to open up to us.

Our job has been made easier due in no small part to caring people like yourself who support us.

Thank you, and all the best in the new year,

—–

Army, Afghanistan

by: Charles Plemons - January 11th, 2008   Filed under: Letters Add Comment

Received the following card:

—– & —– would like to say “Thank You” for your continued support of the men and families of the —–!

Age of Worms Adventure Path – Game Session 67

by: Charles Plemons - January 9th, 2008   Filed under: Age of Worms Add Comment

Game summary for January 8, 2008; present characters included Chuck Ahammer (shield dwarf master thrower/rogue/thunderthrower), Eolas Windmaster (moon elf duskblade), Grim Firestorm (shield dwarf barbarian/battlerager/frenzied berserker/warmain), Iapetus Hasur (hu-charad giant rogue/scout/vigilante), Lady Aridarye Phylund Brokengulf (human aristocrat/harbinger/ranger cohort), Lyrin Sinbal (simian incantatrix/ring sage/warmage), Morak Beardfist (shield dwarf fighter/rage cleric), Syvarius Strongbow (moon elf archer-ranger/peerless archer), and Taravin Truesilver (human gray guard/paladin of honor/pious templar).

After nursing their wounds and raising their dead, the Mercenaries again set out into Kongen-Thulnir, at approximately 8:30 in the evening, 11 hours into the siege. They pass through some shattered gates and find the palace of the giants in ruins; however, the large citadel on the outcropping still stands.

The party moves unto the bridge and begins their journey to the citadel. After about fifty feet or so, a massive arrow or spear slams into Aridarye, hurling her over the edge and two hundred feet down to the rocks below. Grim immediately used his flying armor to plunge into the darkness to rescue her, or retrieve her carcass. The rest of the team advanced and found themselves under a hail of arrows. The group tried to remain non-hostile and use diplomacy to reason with the giants. The giants halted their fire but warned the team to fall back. Then, Lyrin blocked the view of one giant with a wall of fire, and other party members advanced up the stairs of the citadel. Right as the giants resumed their attack, a massive blue dragon surprised everyone by breathing electricity across the Mercenaries on the bridge.

A new battle was joined, with giants on one side and a dragon on the other. Chuck, Syvarius, Lyrin, and Morak worked over the fire giants. Taravin quaffed a potion of fly and went after the dragon, while Eolas dropped dispel magic repeatedly to get rid of the greater invisibility the dragon had warded itself with. Iapetus bravely attacked the invisible dragon but with little effect. Grim returned with Aridarye and flew out near the dragon. Eolas succeeded in making the dragon visible, which causes Aridarye and Iapetus to panic and run away. The dragon breathed again, and Grim died from the trauma of the electricity shooting through his system.

Two giants fell to half the party, while the rest threw everything they had at the dragon. Taravin pressed his advantage with some tactical aerial maneuvers that prevented the dragon from executing its desired attacks. Instead, it had to improvise and try to shred the flying paladin. Things seemed to be going well for the party. Then, Eolas landed a devastating polar ray, which froze the heart of the dragon, and its dead corpse plunged into the ground. The party quickly stripped the corpses of valuables and stand ready to enter the citadel. Will a handful of defenders await within, or the bulk of the giant forces?

Marine Corps, Iraq

by: Charles Plemons - January 8th, 2008   Filed under: Letters Add Comment

Received the following card:

Thank you for your support, we hope you have a happy Holiday season.

—–

Recipe – Spanish Spaghetti

by: Charles Plemons - January 8th, 2008   Filed under: Recipes Add Comment
  • 1 to 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
  • 1 large potato
  • 1 small onion
  • 2 to 3 gloves of garlic
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 pkg spaghetti noodles
  • 1 small can tomato paste
  • 1 can tomato sauce
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 5 dashes Texas Pete hot sauce
  • 1 dash red pepper

Meatballs

Roll the ground beef into balls; season to taste with salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Brown until done in a large cast iron skillet.

Sauce

Dice up the potato, onion, and garlic cloves and boil in 2 cups of water. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, hot sauce, and red pepper. Reduce heat and allow to simmer at least 30 minutes for the potato to cook. The sauce tends to bubble and splatter, so cover with a splatter screen. When the meatballs are done, add them to the sauce and simmer.

Spaghetti Noodles

Boil in water until tender, drain, and rinse.

Once noodles, sauce, and meatballs are done and meatballs have simmered in the sauce, serve sauce and meatballs over plate of noodles.

Recipe – Cornbread Dressing

by: Charles Plemons - January 8th, 2008   Filed under: Recipes Add Comment
  • 1 1/2 cup self-rising white cornmeal
  • 1/2 cup self-rising flour
  • 2 tbsp Crisco
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 cup buttermilk

Mix ingredients and pour into a greased small cast iron skillet. Bake at 450 degrees until done, approximately 20 minutes.

Cool completely, then crumble cornbread in a large bowl. Add the following ingredients:

  • 2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp rubbed sage
  • 2 tsp thyme
  • 1 tsp poultry seasoning
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 can (14 oz) chicken broth*

Mix crumbled cornbread and ingredients. Press into a greased 6 x 10 x 1 1/2 inch metal bake pan. Mixture should be moist throughout but not soggy; if not completely moist, add some additional broth. Bake at 350 to 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool ten minutes before cutting for best results.

* If available, turkey broth is even better.

Recipe – Cornbread

by: Charles Plemons - January 8th, 2008   Filed under: Recipes Add Comment
  • 1 1/2 cup self-rising white cornmeal
  • 1/2 cup self-rising flour
  • 2 tbsp Crisco
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 cup buttermilk

Mix ingredients and pour into a greased small cast iron skillet. Bake at 450 degrees until done, approximately 20 minutes.

Recipe – Yeast Rolls

by: Charles Plemons - January 8th, 2008   Filed under: Recipes Add Comment
  • 2 cups very hot water
  • 1 pkg dry yeast*
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup Crisco
  • 4 cups self-rising flour (such as White Lily)

In a large bowl, place dry yeast and Crisco. Add the hot water and mix. Add egg and sugar, then stir in flour. Store covered in refrigerator at least 1 hour for best results (batter can be kept up to three days). Spoon into greased muffin pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown.

* 1/4 oz Fleischmann’s active dry yeast – NOT rapid rise

Recipe – Pudding Mousse

by: Charles Plemons - January 8th, 2008   Filed under: Recipes Add Comment
  • 1 cup self-rising flour
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 pkgs instant pudding mix (same flavor)
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 stick margarine
  • 1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese
  • 1 1/2 cup whipped cream
  • 2 1/2 cup milk

Mix flour, sugar, margarine and pecans and mash into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until brown. Remove from oven and let cool before adding layers.

  1. Layer One – Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, and 1 cup of whipped cream. Spread over cooled crust.
  2. Layer Two – Mix instant pudding and milk. Whisk until thick liquid. Pour and spread over layer one.
  3. Layer Three – Cover surface of layer two entirely with whipped cream.

Chill in refrigerator until pudding sets. Keep chilled for storage.

Any flavor pudding can be used. Both pistachio and chocolate flavors have proven popular.

Recipe – Baked Tenderloin

by: Charles Plemons - January 8th, 2008   Filed under: Recipes Add Comment
  • 4 thin sliced pork tenderloins
  • 2 cans (11 to 15 oz) pork & beans
  • 3 slices bacon
  • ketchup

Bake tenderloin in a casserole dish for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Add cans of pork & beans. Top with bacon slices and ketchup (in lines or streaks over the top, not a solid layer). Bake another 30 minutes.