Projects

We have been busy the past two days with some projects. Keeping up with the leaves has turned into a joke. Within hours of chopping up all the leaves, the ground gets covered again. Fine by me...that means I get to ride around the property on the tractor on a mission to destroy!

I washed and waxed Sue's truck Sunday. It looks beautiful! Sue is putting the last 37 coats of paint on the bench we are re-doing. It won't be long now till the varnishing process begins.



We have an old plant stand that was showing it's years so Sue sanded it down and stained it. She also made a new top for it by gluing two pieces of oak together. Once the glue is dry she will sand and stain it to match the stand.



It looks a bit rough at this point, but sanding and some stain will make this a work of art.

As most projects do, one thing leads to another, translating into more work.

Now of course we need something to adorn this stand. How about this old lamp? Of course, Sue is going to re-paint it. Here is the before picture.

Stay tuned for the "after" shot.

We also got the garden torn out. The tomatoes were spent and now the only remaining plants to harvest are the butternut squash.

We planted some gords this Spring. They look really nice as an arrangement on the kitchen table.
I will get some pictures for you soon.

Thanks so much for stopping by. If you see any ads that are of interest to you, please feel free to check them out.

Tune in again soon for another edition of "Now What Are They Doing?"

Retire?...You Are Kidding...Maybe?

The markets have really been something the last few months. But.....Today was a good day with the DOW up 11%. I am optimistic.

With these tough times comes mergers and some acquisitions. Combine forces, cut costs and increase profits.

Here are the latest mergers that I have discovered.


Investment tips for 2008




With all the turmoil in the market today and the collapse of Lehman Bros and Acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America this might be some good advice. For all of you with any money left, be aware of the next expected mergers so that you can get in on the ground floor and make some BIG bucks.

Watch for these consolidations in later this year:

1.) Hale Business Systems, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Fuller Brush, and W R. Grace Co. Will merge and become:
Hale, Mary, Fuller, Grace.

2.) Polygram Records, Warner Bros., and Zesta Crackers join forces and become:
Poly, Warner Cracker.

3.) 3M will merge with Goodyear and become:
MMMGood.

4. Zippo Manufacturing, Audi Motors, Dofasco, and Dakota Mining will merge and become:
ZipAudiDoDa .

5. FedEx is expected to join its competitor, UPS, and become:
FedUP.

6. Fairchild Electronics and Honeywell Computers will become:
Fairwell Honeychild.

7. Grey Poupon and Docker Pants are expected to become:
PouponPants.

8. Knotts Berry Farm and the National Organization of Women will become:
Knott NOW!

And finally...

9. Victoria 's Secret and Smith &Wesson will merge under the new name:
TittyTittyBangBang

Any bets on their success?

Tune in again real soon for another edition of "Now What Are They Doing?"

Road Trip...The Conclusion

As promised earlier, I am going to wrap up our impromptu mini-road trip in words and pictures for you.

When we left you last time, we were on our way to Northfield,Minnesota to tour their quaint downtown area. It is full of art shops, vintage clothing stores, coffee shops and one of the best bakeries in the area.

The Bakery is called Quality Bakery and is right on the main street downtown. We purchased some (a lot) of goodies. I mean, how could we not! We were like kids in a candy store. I was going to get some pictures of the treats, but....you know the rest. We consumed then like we were starving. We did use some (very little) self control and saved some for Sue's folks, the famous Molly and Harv. We took some of the items over to their home Saturday morning for coffee and treats. They really enjoyed the goods and Harv said they used to have fresh bakery goods like that in the Navy when he was on his ship...The USS Harv.

There was a weird hand lettered sign on the cash register in the bakery "If you get off your cell phone, we will serve you". Being that Northfield is a college town, that has to be some what limiting. Oh well, we had good service and excellent breads and sweet stuff.

I did not carry my camera when we strolled the downtown, but I did get a few shots when we got back in the vehicle to cruise the area.

Here are some shots of the back of some of the downtown businesses that line the river that runs through town.







The town is also famous for the Jesse James bank robbery. They hold a celebration there every year to commemorate the event.
First National Bank of Northfield.



Defeat of Jesse James Days

The First National Bank building in Northfield, site of the attempted robbery.On September 7, 1876, Northfield experienced one of its most important historical events. An outlaw gang led by Jesse James tried to rob the First National Bank of Northfield. Local citizens, recognizing what was happening, armed themselves and resisted the robbers, successfully thwarting the theft, but not before the bank's cashier, Joseph Lee Heywood (who also served as Northfield's and Carleton College's treasurer) and a Swedish immigrant, Nicolaus Gustavson, were murdered. A couple of the James-Younger gang were killed in the street, while the rest of the Gang (except for Jesse and Frank James, who reportedly escaped), were cornered near Madelia, Minnesota, and were either killed or taken into custody. The failed raid has sometimes been called the last major event of the American Civil War. The event has become a major tourist draw for the city.

One result of the attempted bank robbery by the James-Younger gang is an outdoor festival, The Defeat of Jesse James Days, held the weekend after Labor Day every year to commemorate the event. The festival is among the largest outdoor celebrations in Minnesota. Thousands of visitors witness reenactments of the robbery, watch championship rodeo, enjoy a carnival, watch the parade, explore arts and crafts expositions, and attend musical performances.

A number of films have been made of the attempted robbery. One of the best known is the 1972 film The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid, which portrayed the bedraggled James brothers riding off into the mountains west of town. In reality the mountains are about 1,200 miles west of town. As a result of this historic event, one of Northfield's slogans is "Jesse James Slipped here." by virtue that he escaped, and that the heist was such a failure.

Jesse made it out of Northfield and traveled West through the Mankato and Madelia areas and on the South Dakota. We have traveled his escape route several times and really enjoyed the historical aspects of it.

Before leaving Northfield we stopped by the park where our niece, Jaime, is getting married next June.


Best wishes Jaime and Adam!

We sure had a great day and I am glad you tuned in to share it with us!

Join us again real soon for another edition of "Now What Are They Doing?"

Another Road Trip

Sue and I decided to make a long weekend and we both took off Thursday and Friday. Friday morning we hit the planks and decided that chores could wait. You know what that means.....ROAD TRIP!

On the way out of our lane we just had to stop and get a picture of the tall corn this year. From the looks of this picture, the corn is about eight feet tall.


And of course the trees along the way were strutting their Fall colors.




Unless the sun is just right, it is difficult to capture the true colors of the trees...but these pictures will give you a general idea.

We have a real "thing" for old rural buildings so were were not about to pass these by.


We saw so many things we really enjoyed during our little journey....especially this..

GOT Milk?


oops....Here is the rest of the picture.


Eventually we made our way to Northfield,MN, the town where Jesse James and his gang robbed a bank. Several of his gang were captured. More on that later during the next blog attack.

Thanks for stopping in. Tune in again soon for another edition of "Now What Are They Doing?"

The Leaves Are Falling-The Leaves Are Falling-Help!

It is that time of year again when the leaves go through their change and turn to brilliant colors before falling to the ground making a mess. Don't get me wrong, I have learned to enjoy the Fall season, except for the falling leaves monkey business.

I get the tractor-mower out once a week this time of year and do the chopping process. I think that is about the easiest way to do away with the leaves and at the same time put something back into the soil.

Before:


After:


Someone asked recently how the girls are. We are happy to report that they are just fine. Both are full of the dickens and Betty's front foot has healed beautifully.




Because of all the trees on our property (thus all the leaves) we have not been hit with frost yet. A few areas that are wide open have had light frost, but it has not been cold enough here yet for a killing frost as evidenced by the flowers that are still blooming.


We are looking forward to tonight and supper with Ben and Anna. Mmmmm, pizza and beer at our favorite pizza place. It is hard to turn down multiple pitchers of beer for just 25 cents each!

Wish us luck.

Tune in again soon for another edition of "Now What Are They Doing?"

Wrap Up The Weekend

Here the new week is almost over and I am still talking about last weekend. I kind of like the weekend thing all week long!

While eating breakfast Sunday morning I took a few pictures from the kitchen table in the camper to the outside to show our proximity to the lake.




We pulled up stakes and dumped the holding tanks and we were off towards home. What a beautiful drive as the trees are really beginning to strut their stuff.






And finally...Our country lane and home sweet home!



So there we have it...our little trip start to finish. Tune in again for another edition of "Now What Are They Doing?"

Wonderful Weekend Continued

Saturday continued with great weather and adventure.



Here in Minnesota we can really feel Fall in the air. We have only had scattered light frost, not a killing frost....yet.

Of course, the farmers are busy in their fields harvesting the beans and some corn.



Saturday afternoon we covered a lot of ground, seeing lots of cool things. We even hit a few rummage sales and picked up some of those "must have" items. Sue found a really neat book on the history of Route 66. It is a great book with lots of color pictures following the historic highway from Illinois to California. It sold for nearly $30 and the owner was asking $2. I offered her a dollar....SOLD!

We headed back to our little house on wheels in time to catch a few fish.



While we were fishing we noticed a sailboat being launched from the boat launch. It was a bit breezy that day....great for taking the "Sloop John B" out on the lake.



Have I mentioned yet that we had a great time?

After a full day we wanted something quick and easy to eat for supper so I rubbed a few sticks together and started a campfire for the hot dogs.



Once again....delicious!

The sun was setting and it looked like another good photo opportunity. Sue grabbed the camera and did her thing.



Friday night was a chilly one with low of about 40 degrees. Saturday night was warmer with lows in the low 50's and a quick thunderstorm just before sunrise. By 8 am the sun was out making way for a beautiful day in the mid 60's.

Tune in again soon for another edition of "Now What Are They Doing?"