Suprise gift

A good buddy of mine, whose parents own the "Hytte" that I stayed in last weekend, surprised me with a present this week. We had agreed to meet for lunch this week to say farewell to each other since he is leaving on Sunday for his four month cruise. He works on board a cruise ship in the customs department.

Anyway after a nice lunch on a gorgeous sunny afternoon he surprised me with this:


Here is a close up shot:


Cool Manly, macho figures don't ya think...


And here's the blurb that came in the box...Nothing like a little art in your life to show the "kindlier, gentler" side of your personality.



We also discussed his "fish soup" recipe. I now have it on paper, to be more specific, on a napkin that I happened to use for my "club sandwich" lunch. I'll post the recipe later on, but for now it will have to reside in my ever so organized and state-of-the-art recipe holder...


Not sure why this picture came out sideways, but man I just love this stack of recipes. Notice the food stains on the front. I have been carrying it around the world for years. If anybody has any recipes they want to share, just send them my way and I will give you a coveted spot in the stack!

And the last surprise was that he gave me the original certificate that came along with the barrel of whisky (the Scots spell whiskey, without the "e") that six of us guys have purchased. I have a small share in the barrel, one case of whisky (about 12 bottles). He told me to hang the certificate with pride in my pub. Oh, I didn't tell you. Well, in this dream house we are going to build, I am planning on having a small pub in the house. Anyway, this adventurous scheme was concocted by my buddy who found a whisky he liked and then discovered that this particular Scottish distillery actually allowed you to buy your own cask! Wheels turning....yes, get a bunch of other whisky fans to pitch in some cash, wait 10 to 15 years for it to mature, then sit back, relax and "Bob's your Uncle". The magic has been happening for about a year now, so only 14 more to go. For those of you who don't drink whisky there is usually a significant difference in the smoothness of the whisky based on length it is in the barrel (the longer it matures, the smoother it usually becomes). I am certainly no expert on the subject, but I know enough to be dangerous. And speaking of becoming an expert, my buddy did mention that this distillery also has a week long course on how to make whisky. Show of hands, who thinks I can talk the wife into that one? Probably not, but I think I have convinced her that we need to go over and conduct a site visit to the distillery (to sign the barrel and visit a few other distilleries I might add). OK, so I'll throw in a castle or two. I'll even wear my kilt, dear... The ball is in your court... Is it on or what???