An Evening Of Soup to Blinds...Huh?

An interesting headline indeed. Please allow me to explain.

Over the past weeks, the children,spouses, grand kids...in other words family, have been helping to re-do Harv and Molly's living room.

Thursday evening Sue and I went over and installed the new blinds on the front window.



They really look good. Now I understand they are going to add a valance made of fabric.

The two new recliners were delivered earlier that day. It was tempting just to plop down in one of them and wait for the new blinds to hang themselves.


And certainly we must get a snapshot of the new couch....


By now you may be asking yourselves, what does this have to do with soup?

For supper we brought over some of Sue's homemade vegetable beef soup.....all I can say is DELICIOUS!


Throw into the mix some rolls and cheese and you have the perfect winter supper!


Well, there you have it....soup to blinds!

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

Tough Luck

I have seen this story before and each time I read it I exclaim "Oh No!"

Only in Wisconsin.....

TWO DUCK HUNTERS FROM WISCONSIN

ABSOLUTELY A TRUE STORY HEARD ON A WISCONSIN RADIO STATION REPORTING ON THE INCIDENT.

A guy buys a new Lincoln Navigator for $42,500.00 (with monthly payments of $560.00).

He and a friend go duck hunting in upper Wisconsin It's mid-winter; and of course all of the lakes are frozen.

These two guys go out on the ice with their GUNS, a DOG, and of course the new NAVIGATOR.

They decide they want to make a natural-looking open water for the ducks to focus on, something for the decoys to float in.

Now making a hole in the ice large enough to invite a passing duck is going to take a little more power than the average drill auger can produce.

So, out of the back of the new Navigator comes a stick of dynamite with a short 40-second fuse.

Now our two Rocket Scientists, afraid they might slip on the ice while trying to run away after lighting the fuse (and becoming toast, along with the Navigator), decide on the following course of action: They light the 40 second fuse; then, with a mighty thrust, they throw the stick of dynamite as far away as possible.

Remember a couple of paragraphs back when I mentioned the NAVIGATOR, the GUNS, and the DOG...???

Let's talk about the dog: A highly trained Black Lab used for RETRIEVING; especially things thrown by the owner.

You guessed it: The dog takes off across the ice at a high rate of speed, grabs the stick of dynamite, with the burning 40-second fuse, just as it hits the ice.

The two men swallow, blink, start waving their arms and, with veins in their necks swelling to resemble stalks of rhubarb, scream and holler at the dog to stop.

The dog, now apparently cheered on by his Master, keeps coming. One hunter panics, grabs the shotgun and shoots the dog.

The shotgun is loaded with #8 bird shot, hardly big enough to stop a Black Lab. The dog stops for a moment, slightly confused, then continues on.

Another shot, and this time the dog, still standing, becomes really confused and, of course terrified, thinks these two geniuses have gone insane.

The dog takes off to find cover, UNDER the brand new Navigator. The men continue to scream as they run.

The red hot exhaust pipe on the truck touches the dog's rear end, he yelps, drops the dynamite under the truck and takes off after his master.

Then " BOOOOOOOOM.... The truck is blown to bits and sinks to the bottom of the lake, leaving the two idiots standing there with "I can't believe this just happened" looks on their faces.

The insurance company says that sinking a vehicle in a lake by illegal use of explosives is NOT COVERED by the policy.
.........And he still had yet to make the first of those $560.00 a month payments.

The dog is okay. . . doing fine.

And you thought Rednecks only live in the South.........

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

A Great Supper and NY,NY

Monday night we had the best supper on board the USS Harv....aka, Molly and Harv's house.

We received the offer of a free meal we jumped at the opportunity.

After renewing the woodwork in their newly remodeled living room we sat down to the most delicious meal of breaded pork chops, squash from the garden, baked potato and salad.


Needless to say, the food was delicious!

Earlier this week I wrote about Sarah and Andy's trip to Philadelphia and New York.

Sarah did a trip recap for us....enjoy the travelogue!

I read on your blog that you guys were curious about our trip. Lol In my excitement about moving I forgot to tell you about it. I will do a recap.

Friday night we got a ride to the airport from Peter G. to find our flight to Detroit delayed an hour. It turned into an hour and forty minutes but somehow they got us to Detroit only forty minutes late. We had to run to our next flight, which thankfully, was waiting because half of the Seattle plane was on that flight. We got into Philly 1/2 hr early where my friend Priya picked us up. She took us to an awesome breakfast place that was really cheap and had great food. After breakfast we went back to her place for a three hour nap. She was all for a nap too since the day before she had worked a 24hr shift at the hospital. She is doing her Obgyn residency. After the nap we were going to try and make the medical oddities museum but we were hungry and there wasn't enough time to do both before we caught our bus to NYC. We ended up not having enough time to eat after getting stuck in traffic. We caught the bus at 5:30pm and found out while waiting to leave that Obama was one block away at the train station leaving for DC. We got into NYC around 7:30pm. Anna's friend Eric, who we stayed with the first two nights, met us and led us back to his apartment via the amazing subway. After dropping our stuff off we ventured back into Manhattan for food and drinks at a cheap bar. We stayed out pretty late, 4ish, and slept until 2ish the next day.

On the second day we ate breakfast at a fancier place and paid $12 for a meal. I had assumed this was the priciest of NYC that I heard about so I didn't care. We later discovered that we had just gone to a fancy place and for the rest of the trip I didn't pay over $6 for breakfast. After breakfast, Eric left us to do his own thing while we went back into Manhattan in search of record stores. Our search brought us to Times Square after a friend told us one was there. There was not. A phone call to another friend got us back on track but not before we walked Times Square and enjoyed the warmth from all the lights. Other than the warmer temperature, Times Square was obnoxious. We found the record store in the East Village and spent a good hour or so there. By that time Anna's other friend, Sebria, had gotten off work and we met her at a veggie restaurant for dinner. After dinner she left us and we went back to Brooklyn and met up with our mutual friend, JR. Her name is actually Jessica and we know her from Seattle. She moved to NYC last year. Eric came out too and we all went to a sweet bar with indoor bocce ball and a venue in the basement. The show in the basement was sold out, as they all seemed to have been, but we played bocce ball and had a good time. That is, until we noticed one of the lanes was open and tried to play a game. It wasn't actually open and the person who won it last was a complete jerk. We had no problem playing him to win the lane for ourselves but he was definitely on something or at best a very intense person. We chose not to play him. After a bit we noticed that the lane was still going unused and that only the guy's partner remained. We asked nicely if our group could play a quick game with each other and then give them back the lane. The partner was just as crazy as the first guy. And the first guy had taken the white ball with him so that no one else could play. This really didn't affect our night or put us in a bad mood but it was amusing. We stayed out late again and got up a little earlier.
Part two:
I think my last email was a little too detailed. lol On Wednesday we visited Ground Zero, rode the Staten Island Ferry, and found another record store. That night we stayed at JR's and closed a bar and was home at 5am. The next day we woke up in time to watch Obama's swearing in and then went out for breakfast. After breakfast we spent a few hours at the Metropolitan Museum of Art which was incredible! We closed another bar knowing that a few hours after going to bed we'd have to be back up. Andy had spent an hour on the phone with the airlines hoping they'd let us skip our first flight since our second flight was out of JFK and we were already in NYC. No such luck. "it's complicated" they told us. We woke at 7:15am, took the subway to the bus stop to catch the Bolt Bus back to Philly. In Philly we crossed the street to the train station and took a train to the airport. At the airport we got on our flight back to NYC only to sit for 1 1/2 hours while they tried to fix a mechanical problem. They couldn't fix it so we deplaned and were put on a flight to Atlanta. After a few hours there we finally left for Seattle. It was a very long day but i can't complain cause the tickets were only $220 and the bus round trip was $22. not bad for getting clear across the country.

So there we have it....news from pork chops to New York City.

One thing for sure is that you never know what you will find when you tune in to "Now What Are They Doing?"

Who Will Provide Our Laughs Now?

Now that George W. Bush is out of office, who are we going to get our chuckles from? Yogi Berra from the Yankees was always good for a laugh whenever he spoke, but we don't hear much from him anymore.

Here are some memorable quotes from George W.


We will miss you and your words of wisdom that brought tears to our eyes!




'The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country.'
- George W. Bush

'If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.'
- George W. Bush

'One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is 'to be prepared'.'
-George W. Bush


'I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future.'
- George W. Bush

'The future will be better tomorrow.'
- George W. Bush

'We're going to have the best educated American people in the world.'
- George W. Bush

'I stand by all the misstatements that I've made.'
- George W Bush

'We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe. We are a part of Europe '
- George W. Bush

'Public speaking is very easy.'
- George W. Bush

'A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.'
- George W. Bush

'I have opinions of my own --strong opinions-- but I don't always agree with them.'
-George Bush

'We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.'
- George W. Bush

'For NASA, space is still a high priority.'
-George W. Bush

'Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children.'
-George W. Bush

'It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.'
- George W. Bush

What was he thinking?

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

Good For A Laugh!

Quite often I get pictures via email that I enjoy and want to pass along the pleasure to you.

Today is one of those days that I received some funnies worthy of distributing.

Somewhere near Rochester , New York , Ed set out to bag his buck at 5:30 a.m. By 11:30 a.m., he was exhausted and hungry--and still no buck. At 12 noon, the mighty hunter Ed guards the remains of his lunch while a passerby snaps a quiet photo while trying not to startle the deer with a belly laugh.


Shot from the USS HONOLULU (Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine) at the Arctic Circle , 280 miles from the North Pole--is there anything that scares a polar bear?



A definite entrepreneurial spirit


And now some odds and ends....







I sure hope the weather is better where you are. In the past 26 days, 24 of them have found us waking up to below zero temperatures in the morning.

It looks like this month we will not get above the freezing mark. That will be the first time that has happened in the past 30 years.

I guess it may be a bit early to plant the garden.

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

New York, New York

Our son Andy and his partner Sarah have returned home to Seattle after spending the better part of a week in New York.

I am assuming they got home safe and sound since I swiped these pictures off their web sites. I am sure they will call soon with details of their adventure. Hint-hint.

They flew into Philly where Sarah had a friend she roomed with while she was in South America recently.


What a fine looking couple....



Staten Island Ferry....



As soon as I get me details I will pass it along to you.

It has been another cold weekend here. Friday and Saturday nights saw temps drop to 10-15 below zero again. Oh well, Spring is only a few months away.

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

A Minnesota Sunset

The other evening we had another beautiful sunset that just had to be captured somehow.
Sue grabbed the camera and collected some digital images from the back deck for all of us to enjoy.

Click on the picture if you would like a larger view.




With daylight rapidly fading away Sue clicked off a quick shot of the woods to our South from the same vantage point.


About a half hour after that picture was taken it was dark as night but as noisy as one could ever imagine.

The noise all started with one coyote letting out a howl. It was immediately followed by yips and howls from at least 40 more of the brush dogs who all seemed to be in competition with one another to see who could be the loudest.

It was indeed a concert to behold.

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

Roughing It

As many of you know, I can be very obsessive when it comes to something that I have a interest in.

One of my obsessions, if you will, would have to be recreational vehicles and the many features that they contain.

The days of camping out under the stars or in a tent are history for me. I will camp out under the stars, but there must be a roof between me and the star studded atmosphere.

Over the years we have seen and owned many types of camping units. Those include everything from a very simple tent to a unit with all the creature features of home.

In my travels looking for that perfect rig, I discovered this picture.


Wow! How excessive is that? In reality, maybe someone lives in that unit and travels around the country. In that case, I think it is a great rig...if you can afford it.

Curious about inside pictures? here we go....









I would like to write more about this beauty, but I am off to buy this week's lottery ticket so I can purchase one of these.

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

We Dressed Like This?

Please not only read...but study as well!








There is a lot to be said about history. If we don't pay attention to it, we are bound the repeat the same mistakes.

That is why I am writing this particular Blog. Please pay attention to the past I am about to show you.

If you don't pay attention, I am worried that you will get beat up!

Here is what I am talking about:

Last weekend I put an exhaust fan in the ceiling for my friend. While we were fitting the fan in between the joists, we found something under the insulation. What we found was this


A JC Penney catalog from 1977. It's not often blog fodder just falls in my lap, but this was two solid inches of it, right there for the taking. I thumbed through it quickly and found my next dining room set, which is apparently made by adding upholstery to old barrels:


Also, I am totally getting this for my bathroom:


There's plenty more home furnishings where those came from, however I'm not going to bore you with that. Instead, I'm going to bore you with something else. The clothes.

The clothes are fantastic.

Here's how to get your butt kicked in elementary school:


Just look at that belt. He probably needed help just to lift it into place. The belt loops have to be three inches long.

Here's how to get your ass kicked in high school:


This kid looks like he's pretending to be David Soul, who is pretending to be a cop who is pretending to be a pimp that everyone knows is really an undercover cop. Who is pretending to be 15.

Here's how to get your ass kicked on the golf course:

This "all purpose jumpsuit" is, according to the description, equally appropriate for playing golf or simply relaxing around the house. Personally, I can't see wearing this unless you happen to be relaxing around your cell in D-block. Even then, the only reason you should put this thing on is because the warden made you!

Here's how to get your butt kicked pretty much anywhere:

If you look at that picture quickly, it looks like Mr. Bob "No-pants" Saget has his hand in the other guy's pocket. In this case, he doesn't, although you can tell just by looking at them that it's happened - or if it hasn't happened it will. Oh yes. It will. As soon as he puts down his matching coffee cup.

Here's how to get your butt kicked at the beach:

He looks like he's reaching for a gun, but you know it's probably just a bottle of suntan lotion in a holster.

How to get your butt kicked in a meeting:

If you wear this suit and don't sell used cars for a living, I believe you can be fined and face serious repercussions, up to and including termination. Or imprisonment, in which case you'd be forced to wear that orange jumpsuit.

How to get your butt kicked on every day up to and including St. Patrick's Day:

Dear god in heaven, I don't believe that color exists in nature. There is NO excuse for wearing either of these ensembles unless you're working as a body guard for the Lucky Charms leprechaun.

In this next one, Your Search For VALUE Ends at Penneys.

As does your search for chest hair.

And this -- Seriously. No words.

Oh wait, it turns out that there are words after all. Those words are What the heck. I'm guessing the snap front gives you quick access to the chest hair. The little tie must be the pull tab.

Also, judging by the sheer amount of matching his/hers outfits, I'm guessing that in 1977 it was considered pretty stylish for couples to dress alike. These couples look happy, don't they?


And nothing showcases your everlasting love more than the commitment of matching bathing suits. That, and a blonde girl with a look on her face that says "I love the way your junk fights against that fabric."

Then, after the lovin', you can relax in your one-piece matching terry cloth jumpsuits:


All of this is very disturbing to me and maybe it is for you as well. If not, we have to talk. I would hate to have my friends butts kicked over fashion mistakes....that because of history, could have been avoided.

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