Lobstas and more, part 1

So this is one of those posts that would have generated twenty more "family history" posts...if only all our photos were scanned in!  I set out to find some photos (that have not materialized yet...perhaps because they either don't exist or I don't own them) and found photos of Ranch cousins (well, really Mr. Ranch's) as little, bitty kids (rather than the successful teens and  twenty-somethings they are now), camping trips from BC (Before Children) and from when The Girl and Indy Dog were very young, a cross country trip that Mr. Ranch and I took in 2000, as well as our move to Colorado in 1996, even a BC trip to Disneyland (with Mr. Ranch's dad and sister)...Unfortunately, none of those photos are scanned...guess that is a project for this summer.  Or retirement.  Whatever.

The (Sub)Urban Ranch has a long history of spring lobster boils.  I found a photo of a very young Tigger Cat examining a cooler full of lobsters in the spring of 1999, shortly after we moved into our Urban Ranch townhouse (again, not scanned..d'oh).  Tigger looked a little skeptical, but interested, like he might eat a live, uncooked, lobster.  Unlike his reaction last weekend--a couple sniffs and then back to his nap.

Technically, it is Mr. Ranch's family that has a long tradition.  When he was growing up, his grandparents lived  in Falmouth, Maine, not too far from Portland, with places to buy live lobsters right on the pier.  Mr. Ranch used to go down to the pier with his Grandfather  to pick lobsters for the family.  Mr. Ranch's mom is the oldest of five (three boys, two girls) and each of the children have 1-2 children.  That's a lot of lobsters to deal with--I always am impressed with Grandma's ability to cook for twenty without breaking a sweat. At one point, before they moved to Falmouth, I guess they even at a lobster baking pit in their yard.  Maybe it was a one-time thing--I'm sure Mr. Ranch will clarify when he reads this. He requested that I find some pictures of those family lobster bakes and share them...unfortunately, we don't seem to have any.  Weird.  I found some photos from Christmas at the grandparents and from my bridal shower...but no lobsters.  I was lucky enough to participate in several lobster boils over the years.  We're pretty sure that The Girl was at one just before she turned one--of course, there isn't any photographic evidence.  That may have been the night that Grandma was trying to get one of the cousins to eat something...anything...resulting in a Boy-worthy melt-down about the wrong kind of ice cream, or the wrong topping, or something.

When we lived in the Midwest, we would bring lobsters back after we visited the east coast--once Mr. Ranch arrived back, late from a trip home, with a live carry crate of lobster(s).  We still laugh about how traumatized my roommates were by our late night lobster boil in my tiny kitchen.

Shortly after we moved to Denver, we  came across an ad for a fundraiser put on by the organization now called Angel Eyes, a local organization that provides free grief support services to anyone who experiences the sudden, unexpected loss of an infant or toddler.  The organization historically has provided not only counseling, but also education about SIDS prevention and about recalls affecting children.  Every spring the organization holds two lobster fundraisers, selling live lobsters (flown in from Maine) for just slightly over market cost.  We usually buy in May, the June date is usually Father's Day weekend, which has been a camping weekend the past several years.  While taking live lobsters camping would be exciting and something to brag about for years, the 10 am Saturday pick up time cuts into the actual camping.  But I digress.

Sometimes we have done the boil all by ourselves and sometimes we invite other people--but no matter what, we always feel a connection to the Grandparents (and the rest of the family).  This year we invited some friends, who did place and order, but couldn't come over for the event, so it was just us this time. Stay tuned for the current standard boil menu and photos from the most recent boil last weekend.  And if you are local, please consider clicking on the link to Angel Eyes and ordering for the June event.