Random Thoughts

In case you missed the show on Friday, we talked with Tanya Smith from Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. Neither Shannon or myself were familiar with the facility, which is located just outside of Eureka Springs. We're hoping to head down there this spring to get a closer look and hopefully tour the grounds (in safety, of course). The refuge takes big cats from people who thought they would make good pets. The stories on their website are heartbreaking, with the wild animals confined to small places and terrible diets. Some owners were even harmed as they believed the animals could be tamed. You can read more at www.turpentinecreek.org.




Spongebob Squarepants made a visit to Good Morning Four States to promote the upcoming Joplin Business Expo. The Expo is open to local businesses on Tuesday, then the general public on Wednesday. It's an excellent opportunity to meet local business owners and find out what's available in the Four State area. Shannon and I will be at the KODE booth on Wednesday, from 10:00 a.m.- Noon. Shannon will be the one with a bag full of pens. Hey, you can never have enough pens.


Here is the blog version of our "Daily Dose of Cuteness." I really don't remember where the idea for that occasional segment originated, but Shannon loves baby animals... most of them. These are puppies at the Joplin Humane Society.

Food-tastic Friday

As I mentioned in the previous post, we love to talk about food. And Friday was a great day for that discussion as it was a day of feasting. We kind of got the food in the wrong order, as Martha from Michael's baked some homemade cookies. For the complete recipe, go to the GMFS website.



Then to complete the day, Shannon and I headed over to the Ozark Center for BBQ from Richard's Hawgwild. If you haven't entered our contest yet, you should before we draw our winner in February. This was for about 65 people, and there were plenty of leftovers. Love BBQ on a Friday.

Delicious Food

Shannon and I do talk about food a lot. Not only during the show, but also in the commercial breaks. And while many of items we discuss may not sound like the ideal morning food, people tend to forget that we get up awfully early. So you may thinking about eggs or pancakes or cereal, but by 7:30 or so, we've moved onto lunch. We did find a sandwich place that opens at 8:00. However, lunch food is tough to find in the morning.
It was a nice coincident that Heather was making food with an Asian flavor. We had been talking about Chinese take-out on Tuesday, and then I received Heather's email on Wednesday with the recipes.



The egg rolls were delicious, although if you're used to them being fried, the texture is different. However, the chicken dish is the one that I preferred, and when the crew was finished feasting, I enjoyed a large plate of it (no, the picture was not my serving).




If you want the recipes, check them out on the Good Morning Four States website. They're supposed to be simple recipes, but it's so much easier when you can have someone else cook them.

Inside Joke

We've had a few people ask about the joke we make when we mention "Epons" during the show (Shannon: "Let's talk about epons, man". Alan: "Epons, man.") I have to admit it's actually a stolen joke from another program. We are both fans of the E! Network show called "The Soup." And within the show, they occasionally feature a segment called "Chicks, Man!" The opening for the segment was something that would be repeated in the newsroom and it was only a matter of time before it would appear on the air. Hey, not all inside jokes have a great story.

The Slackers Are Back

Okay, so we started this blog like gangbusters, only to stumble and fall well short of the finish line. It's a brand new year, and with it, we hope to maintain this blog. We'll continue to post daily updates on Facebook (you can find our fan page or group page), with longer entries and pictures here. And if we're not doing our job, feel free to ridicule us. Just be nice about it; we have feelings too.

Tribute to Tashie

The bandage on Claire's left wrist was quite the conversation starter on our first date. A piece of chicken that had been accidentally dropped on the floor became a trip to the emergency room. Claire assured me that Tashie was a loving, gentle dog... just don't get in the way of her food. And thus began the relationship between Claire, myself and two little dachshunds named Tashie and Roxie.
The dogs weren't initially excited to see me the first time I visited Claire's house. It was as though I was the enemy invading their territory. But after several hours of playing ball and dispensing treats, I was accepted into the family. Roxie would gravitate to Claire for attention and Tashie would become a "Daddy's girl." She would spend long periods of time chasing her squeaky, orange ball, then paw at my leg when she wanted a treat. Tashie would often be the first one up in the morning, rubbing her face against mine, letting me know it was time to eat.
Tashie was also a tough little dog, going through two cancer surgeries and a back operation. After one of the surgeries, when we brought her home, she was still woozy from the medication. I let her outside to take care of business, and when I looked out the window, Tashie was standing on the back porch with a rabbit in her mouth.
Unfortunately time passes. Old age would zap her of energy and disease would take away any quality of life she had left. Tashie had trouble walking and food was no longer an interest for her. It was a difficult decision to make, but thankfully we able to spend plenty of time with her. So now, Tashie is in a better place, running and barking with Roxie, maybe even playing ball. Hopefully no one has dropped any food between the two of them.

Dotte Days

Okay... I admit it... we've been slacking with the blog lately. Sometimes we get so caught up in what's going on around us, we forget about other things. So here is a series of photos from Alan's trip to Wyandotte for Dotte Days.

It took three judges to decide the winners in the following catagories: pies, cakes, cookies, breads and kids division. These ladies tabulated the scores, handed out prizes and stopped the judges from going back for more.


This was the winner in the pie division. It was a caramel apple pie that was still warm. The winner had just taken it out of the oven and rushed it to the contest. Note for next year, bring ice cream.


There were plenty of things to do, but this youngster found his own source of entertainment.

Obviously a little confusion, as this visitor was looking for Doxie Days.


Bill brought a wonderful piece into Good Morning Four States that he had carved. During Dotte Days, he not only displayed his work, but gave a demonstration on how his pieces were created. He has a lot more patience than I do.