Well Spring, Where are You?

Spring came today or last night but it sure wasn't what I would have wanted! This was one of the gloomiest days in months; one of those that almost sent me back to bed when I finally did get up at 8am. Around noon just as I was thinking about a walk the drizzle started and that was followed by fog and then dusk and then night again. Oh, sun please soon melt the rest of the snow and dry things up a bit and then open the blooms and green the grass!

Our Good Name

Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, Is the immediate jewel of our souls: Who criticizes my purse critcizes trash; ’tis something, nothing;’Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands;But he that criticizes our good name Robs us of that which not enriches him And makes us sad indeed for what's been done"

Small Steps

Small steps....long steps.....here are a few things we can do to stay in shape! The government figured it our for us! One thing I noticed was mention of using a bicycle to get to work or to get to the store or to enjoy an afternoon in the forest! Skating to work was suggested too but we are not told whether to use ice skates or roller skates! I know a few die hard bike riders and some are pictured here but I lack other than a picture of the parked bike at his work place (in the middle of winter) of the third biker. One of the photos shows a bike parking deck in the Netherlands. Lots of those folks in Holland take their bikes to work or to the train station.

Kicking Up the Heels!

Bobbie at the office today told me, the horse truck driver of last summer, an amusing story of her son's weekend antics. The family had spent the weekend at the ranch checking out the horses and getting rides in the woods. During the evening the young man had begun to run about the lodge kicking up his heels as high as possible. Apparently the young man had gotton some lessons from Grandpa about prize winning Belgians. One criterion judges look for is the height the horses "kick up their heels' as they run. So important is that standard that weighted shoes are applied to the horses hooves so the extra weight trains them to be "kicking up their hooves"!

Bye Bye Scott!

Scott came to be employed at the shop about a year ago! Now he is gone. The fellow running the affairs of HR and Safety and General Right Hand and Damage Photographer has been trying to retire for 5 or 6 years now. He keeps having to come back to serve the company. I would find it hard to count on two hands the number of "replacements" the old guy has had in those few years! If I were him I would run away from home without leaving a forwarding numbers! Want a job as the HR/Safety guy at a small trucking company? Let me know! Good pay and excellent benefits are yours! And hurry so they don't get desperate and call me in!

Oh Christmas Tree (yes again!)

Yes, I must tell you, my loyal readers, that Oh Christmas Tree has a new home! Oh Christmas Tree is growing and developing so I gave it some much needed attention! Did you notice the nice terra looking pot in which it now lives! I think it enjoys the new home and the extra soil as its roots are able to stretch out a bit now! Someday I will take Oh Christmas Tree for a walk outside. Do you think it will attract birds? Or will I attract some guys in white uniforms!

I Figured It Out!

It took awhile because of course I didn't read the

directions but today by accident I did it. Let me

explain the problem I had with this timer. I would set it for 5 minutes to cook something

for 5 minutes. But, when 5 minutes was up it

tinkled about one tenth of one second and then

just sat there thinking it had done its job! Actually, I hadn't heard it and whatever I was

cooking burned black or boiled dry or baked to a crisp! I was very close to saying, "You are fired" like the lady on TV tells her mops and her dusters or the rich guy tells his apprentices but in a fit of exasperation I grabbed it and cranked it up to 60 and then turned it down to zero and it rang like the bells of the old church up the street! Darn modern contraptions trying to befuddle an old invalid!

Summer is Here!

Well pre-summer then. Today the temperature got up into the 40's, the sun was out for a little, it sprinkled a little, the water was dripping off the roofs, the puddles were forming, and more and more ground was visible! And on top of all that daylight time starts this weekend! Summer is here! (Pardon the below zero nights and the last big snows we might still have)

New Record Set in N.D. Wipes MTU Record Off Books

New snow angel maker record was recently set in North Dakota wiping out the Michigan Tech record. Well, I suppose they deserve the fame over there!

Is She Nuts?

Decide for yourself! Check out this evaluator!

No Brittany Kids for Stern!

After extensive research I have decided that Howard K Stern will not get Brittany's kids. They are being kept by biological relatives.

I Disclose Burial Location

The Smith lady will be buried in the cemetery!

Where? What? When? How? Why?

1. Where would you bury Anna Nichole Smith! I have the answer as to her destination! I will divulge it soon! Check back!

2 Is Brittany Spears a bit nuts? I have the answer. Stay tuned!

3. Maybe Howard K Stern will get custody of Brittany's babies! Think so?

4. Will this idiocy ever end or will another fill the void when the current stuff is over.

5. Who will be next!

Stay tune....we'll have all the answers as we devolop our new CELEBRITY REPORT. It might be up before the current show is over!

Off the Wagon!

Last time I saw Dr Bruner, my personal D.O., he talked about going through Dr Smoot's (my personal Pulmonary Specialist) sleep clinic. And he admonished me for saying I was having trouble sleeping but I still needed my morning full bore coffee and my afternoon Coke. Yes the morning coffee is only instant whatever is on sale and serves the purpose but the Coke was Coke. Not fancy Coke like Cherry Coke. Just old fashioned Coke! Well I went grocerying after seeing Dr Bruner and with a reformed attitude I bought a green jar of coffee and a 12 of A&W Root Beer! Well, I drank the first few cups of coffee out of the green jar and soon it became the second in line behind the old red jar. I just couldn't keep my eyes open with the green coffee. By 10 am I needed a nap! It was much better with the red jar's coffee! But now comes the afternoon. Along about 3 pm comes the glance toward the bed and it looks so nice and comfy. The A&W just wasn't doing it! So I put it on the counter and told it I would have to let it go sort of like the lady who does the mop and duster ad on TV. Today I got me some real pop. Coke is back! To hell with sleep. Give me a Coke or give me death! Is that like some famous politican once said!

Tree Report

Some folks talk about their cats, some about their dogs, some about their kids, some about their cars, some about their vacations, or their jobs but since I have no cats or dogs or kids here at least or a classy car or haven't had a recent vaction or a job all I have to report on is my little tree! Since last time we talked about its nature I have noticed tiny little buds developing! My tree is surely growing and even knows the season to bud! What a smart tree even with no big tree to teach it!

Santa Claus of February!

Holy Santa it was like Christmas in February around here on Friday. I mentioned to Matt the building manager while he made his rounds that my TV has been forming a large black rectangle over the bottom half of the screen! I showed him and he agreed that it was difficult to watch a picture like that. And while I was complaining I mentioned that the fridge was freezing my lettuce but the freezer itself was not freezing my frozens. I told him to catch Land Lady Shannon in a good mood and relay the information to her some day. Matt left to clean another room but returned in a few minutes to tell me to start emptying my fridge because Land Lady Shannon was just leaving Home Depot with a new fridge and T V set for me! I learned a good lesson from what happened yesterday. When in need, complain!

Elves?

Sometime last Wednesday just after midnight in the darkness of an Iron Mountain night some elves apparently came to town and down the chimney they went into the bank and put into my account ledger the facts relative to my very first Social Security "check". Beth, who knows a little about Social Security's operations thinks they were elves who came all the way from India on that mission! What a delight to see a few bucks sitting there just waiting to make the rounds at Walmart or Kmart or Citgo! Thanks elves and keep up the good work!

The Auto Auction

I drove a car to the auto auction for Dave the car dealer day before yesterday. He needed to liquidate a couple of duds from his lot so we hung around until they were sold. I had never seen autos being sold off like this. Hey, if you want to buy one you need to be quick! The cars roll into a garage area and stop. The auctioneer announces it and takes bids for about 45 to 90 seconds and either takes a high bid or sends the car back to its owner or to the storage lot for another try some other day. Its obvious that these dealers know their stuff and know what they want. Otherwise they might lose their shirts in the hustle!

Oh Christmas Tree!

You might have read the story of my Christmas Tree back in December. Well, my tree didn't go to the storage room or the compost pile. Its still sits there on the table! I checked out the facts on my "Christmas Tree" and found that it can be a house plant. Its a Norfolk Island Pine, a popular houseplant/Christmas tree. It has such wonderful soft needles. It not like those prickly smelly trees one finds in the tree lot. If any readers out there know anything about them let me know how to raise it so I can decorate it again next year. I guess out in the wilds of, I suppose Norfolk Island, they grow to immense size. Maybe I'll need to buy me a chainsaw in a few years! I wonder if this one will eventually go out through the roof or should I make it a bonsai. I do know that I need to find it a bigger pot soon since it has grown about six inches since December! And I know that it gives off oxygen so much in demand around here! I wonder if it blooms in the summer! I wonder if I should hire a tree pruning service so it looks its very best for next Christmas! Maybe I'll take it for a ride to Cost Cutters for a trim!

Well, I Think I Can Get Down

When driving around one should be careful to not break the road ahead and then turn and break the road behind! But in this case I think it is happening! This scene is one of many interesting sights to be amazed with when travelling through Milwaukee's Marquette Interchange reconstuction.

"Ghost of the Forest"

A while back I wrote about Julia and her enjoyment of the Berenstain Bears books. While we visited there last week "Ghost in the Forest" arrived in the mail and Julia fell on love with the book. At first her Dad thought it would be too scary but Julia's reaction was ok. Tonight her Dad reported that Julia decided to be the reader at bedtime and read/recited the story! Ahh, what a reader we have developing!

Is Volvo Reading This?

I hope Volvo is too busy to read this because Volvo might not be happy with what I have to say! The other day I took a "run" down to Milwaukee with Dave the used car dealer. Its a fun trip compared to a "run" with Volvo pulling 49,000 pounds of paper for the printer and then picking up a soda backhaul for the local distributor. We headed out at 10 am and stopped for lunch in Manitowoc or Sheboygan. Then it was down to the auction yard where I got into a fancy Chrysler Pacifica touring wagon with finger tip radio controls on the backside of the steering wheel spokes. Then its nonstop at mach 1 from just north of Milwaukee to Iron Mountain. Volvo, it may not pay as much as we used to make but the free lunch (who said there is no such thing) and the crisp Grant will keep me in malted milk balls and cola. We already planned next weeks adventure!

What Does the Farmer Eat?

Last week while visiting Julia's Farm she told me about the dining habits of each of the animals. When I asked her what the farmer eats she responded with no hesitation whatsoever, "Pasta"!

Rebecca meets Relatives in Minnesota!

Above Rebecca meets her Uncle Christopher!
Here Grandpa is holding Genevieve of Northfield
Grandpa had to check out Julia's Farm!

The three cousins, Genevieve, Julia, and Rebecca
Rebecca visited with Aunt Barb and Stacia

Keeping Fuel Mileage Records?

Somewhere in my travels on the internet I ran into this site on which one can keep fuel consumption records and compare them with the records of other drivers. The Grand Caravan has managed 20 mpg so far with records for about a month and a half. Obviously maintaining such records on the internet requires jotting down gas purchases and miles driven and then transferring that information so a bit of time is involved.