A Few Pictures

Zetten's 1000th birthday!
After a hard days work and a big supper!

Another Day In the Nederlands

The touring and baby photographing and dining and the like of a vacation in Zetten continued today. We took Dan to work so we could get the baby to her checkup. Beth drove along the windy narrow roads atop the Rhine dikes and we stopped at a farm to buy some home grown cheese! Rebecca yesterday sat herself up for the first time and is making a good effort to crawl. I even "babysat" for a while all by myself when Beth went to pick up Dan. Let me just say that I almost ran out of O2 trying to keep up with the baby! More fun happens tomorrow!

Driving Around in Holland!

Dutch Blogging doesn't scare me!

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Sign on to Blogger in Zetten and the above is what I see! Apparently the website thinks I can read the language here. I did recognize "Dashboard" and "Driving Around". I clicked a few times and made to the compose screen. Well, we haven't been driving around too much lately except at the airports where the plane seemed to taxi about as far as it flew in the last leg and of course we had to drive sort of straight to get to Zetten from Dusseldorf. Beth drove us home so she could find her way back to Dusseldorf when she brings me back to catch the plane home. I hope she threw out some crumbs to follow on that return to Dusseldorf trip. We do plan to little driving around on the bikes and in the car when the weather clears up a bit. We spent the day here photographing and playing with the baby, talking, eating and napping and photographing and playing with the baby again! Tonight I will get rid of the rest of the "jet lag" with a dose of Lunesta and be ready to hit the road to adventure come the new day. Check back again for more "driving around" as it develops!

Driving Arrond in Holland!

Green Bay Stay

Well, here we are in Green Bay. Shopped at Fleet Farm which is a must stop for any Yooper. One quickly finds out how badly the Yooper stores are ripping us off! Then it was off to the Oneida Casino for my annual win. Yes, win. I doubled my money! Well not really but I made twice as much as I played! It was my lucky day! Second year in a row. Next I took time out of the fun to check in at the Rodeway Dive and then journeyed through the parking lots here on Lombardi just west of the football stadium to the Red Lobster where I appropriately engorged myself with Walt's dozen shrimp and the accessories! It was the first real salad I've had in a long, long time. At home I've been eating that salad out of the bags. You know the ones on sale with the don't eat after date listed as last week. I think I'll try some real salad fixings when I get home again. Really fresh tastes so good. Well, I just took my multitude of survival dope and lunestaed myself so I better hit the sack. Tomorrow I continue the journey to the Old World via Detroit. From there we head for Dusseldorf, Germany, where Rebecca and her folks will (I hope) be waiting! Bon Fly!!

Sorry About That!

Yes, I'm sorry my devoted readers that I've totally ignored making Driving Around a fun stop on your daily blog tour! I guess I just got out of the spirit of the blog for awhile. I lack the discipline needed for a steady task like this. I took to sleeping late instead and then to reading a series of really long books. My brother gave them to me and suggested I read them to learn about my ancestors. Sort of like a return to 9th grade book reports which were required by Mrs. Eckstrom. I must admit I have not been much of a reader but I guess with the new found lazy days a story in progress passes the time It is not that we want to hurry the passage of time at this age but you know what I'm trying to say! With that said I have also been preparing for my third journey to the Old World to see Rebecca and her folks. With a mind like mine it takes quite a bit of checking to be sure I still know were it put the passport yesterday. I will play freight man again with two big cases totalling 100 pounds of children's books and Betty Crocker Brownie Mix and assorted cereals and even some Borax cleaning stuff and more! I'll return with a back haul of whatever the expats have decided they no longer want in the Netherlands. I'll be gone for over three weeks. That's the longest I've ever been away from home! I hope I can make it that long! I'll probably have some pictures up in a few days so check back often! As for now I had better check on the passport! If you need to reach me to donate or whatever I'll be checking my email daily.

No Shortage of Power for this Family

The osprey eyes me as I shot it. There were two fixing up the house but one took off before I got focused. I'll go back with my long lens soon and try to get another shot! This house is just out of Florence.

Some Things Just Don't Seem Right!

With tens of thousands of n.h children going to bed hungry in our cities and in the countryside the United States Department of Agriculture finds $1,000,000 to remodel the NMU tv station so the fancy folk can see it better on their digital tv sets. Shame on America!

"Only In Chicago!", I would say to myself.

When Volvo and I went into Chicago I would listen to the the radio reporting things going on there and I would say to myself "Only in Chicago". Well here's one that was in the news yesterday. In case you missed it it it was about wily whiling away time at a downtown sandwich shop. One report says maybe he was attracted to the shop by the smell not of the sandwiches but of rodents his favorite fast food! Sort of a cute little beast isn't he?

Friday Night Lights!

It was inevitable. Michigan for years has been discriminatory! No more say the courts! Friday nights will be enlivened with both sexes on the hardwood! The next battle will be to decide who gets to play in prime time! Or maybe we should do it coed! It would save a lot of time and money!

Finnish Wildlife vs Yooper Wildlife

The article sounds almost like the scary movie about the crows. Helsinki's pigeons are being naughty! There was a pigeon ( pictured above ) which hung out at the truck stop in St Ignace for a number of years (with his thousand buddies) and would land on the hood of a stopping truck and peer through the windshield at the driver as if to say "Hand over your food or I'll do it on your hood"!

The Daily Globe Advises Jobseekers

Only in an environment and culture like that of Ironwood would the daily newspaper speak to prospective workers about the "work environment and culture" of Ironwood's soon to be NEW employer! "It's not your father's family business" claims the paper!

Workers serenaded on last day after work!

A rather sad event!

Factory doors of the Welsh clothing maker Burberry closed in a low-key event marking the plant's demise and the loss of 300 jobs in Treorchy.

Two male choirs serenaded the workers as they left the factory for the last time Friday, The Guardian reported Saturday.

I wonder what they sang?

More on Wild Life In Our Beautiful Yooper Land

Oh my, earlier we discussed the presence of wild pigs here in the Upper Penninsula. Now I find pictures of white moose posing for cameras on the roadside. The proof is in the picture! What's next? Elephants maybe!

Neem de Hispeed

Just got this forwarded from the folks in the Netherlands. Not quite in time for my trip there will be the start up of the "Hispeed" I can't read much of it but I have an idea that it goes fast and is a train! The trains in the Netherlands and Europe as a whole are absolutely great! They are clean, quiet, fast, on time, and go almost everywhere! These trains of the Hispeed consortium will connect major European Cities with travel times which can beat most air times considering travel to and from airports and waiting times at the airports.

Free Food Available In the U.P.

Abundant food supplies here in our beautiful land are just another reason to enjoy life here in the U.P

Traffic Reports on the UP Radio

Since I'm on the U P kick I have to mention the local radio stations sometimes doing traffic reports during the "rush hours". One such report could possibly report to the listeners "There is no traffic to report this morning".

U.P. Population Becoming Manageable

The Upper Peninsula's population is dropping slightly causing the overpopulation of the last century to diminish somewhat! Late figures claim 312,153 diehards make their homes here in the 300 mile east west and 150 mile north south diamond shaped stretch of woods and wolves, snow and stones, and poverty and pot holes! This figure of 312,153 is down just a bit from previous years as old folks are buried and young folks flee to the prosperity and the excitement of life anywhere but here! Our Upper Peninsula's population is close to equalling the population of the Ann Arbor metro area which is Washtenaw County downstate. That area is made up of 458 square miles or only 1/36th of the 16452 square miles of the beautiful Upper Peninsula! People down there by Ann Arbor must have to be careful not to step on one another! Here in the U.P there are times when we have to look hard to just find another person! If you happen to check the map I linked notice that the U.P. has only one city worth mentioning on the initial view.

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!