AUGUST 2014

AUGUST 2014

Saturday, September 10, 2011

POW! MEOW!

FALL COLOR REPORT FOR WISCONSIN

Those leaves will start turning before we know it.  If you want to know where the best color is in Wisconsin, this fall, click here FALL COLOR REPORT and save.

THANKS CARL!

UNCLE BOB GOT HIS PICTURE IN THE PAPER!!

IT'S A GREAT PICTURE TOO!
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PICTURE AND ARTICLE

A NEW PHOTO AND A NOTE FROM DONNIE

We are now having to put on long-sleeves to sit on porch in a.m., at least till about 8:00.  But still no sign nor hope of rain, ever.  Thursday we took six loads of clothes to a Laundromat, to save well water at home.  Things have changed in the Laundromat business.  First, it is hard even to find one (we had to drive nearly 30 minutes).  Then, the machines no longer take coins--we had to buy a card, a complicated vending-machine operation.  And finally, of course, it is all much more expensive--almost $40 by the time we were done washing and drying.

SMELLING THE LUTEFISK

I SAW AN ITEM IN THE NEW YORK TIMES TODAY

It says Google continuously uses enough electricity to provide power to 200,000 homes.  Just think, if you took all the electric bills delivered to La Crosse homes and businesses each month it would be a drop in the bucket compared to Google's bill.

I can't even imagine numbers that big.  It's like trying to, really, comprehend how many stars there are in the universe....or how much lye it takes to turn perfectly good fish into Jello.  (Only Norwegians will understand that).

LA CROSSE CRIME FIGHTERS NEEDS YOUR HELP

CLICK HERE TO VIEW CRIME PHOTOS

WHAT'S UP?

There must be someone doing something interesting this weekend but, if they are, I haven't heard about it.

My only news is that I woke up with an itchy toe.  I don't see any bite or rash.  I'll chalk it up to the fact that one of the symptoms of kidney disease is itchy skin and I've got that symptom down pat.

It's going to be a beautiful day so I might stroll downtown, this afternoon, and check out the benefit street party for the victims of the Jay Street fire.  A part of 5th Avenue will be blocked off for the event.  There will be a line-up of bands playing from noon to 8:00 PM.  It's free but they're asking for donations.

WORLD SUICIDE PREVENTION DAY

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Friday, September 09, 2011

I'M GETTING IN THE MOOD

JUST LOOK AT RITA AND ROGERS COLORFUL MAILBOX


Roger said, "Summers blossoms on the rise by the driveway."  Those kids really know how to keep the place looking like a showcase all summer long and, just think, how it will look next year when Rita is retired.  They'll both be able to spend all their time on the yard.

THIS IS AN AWESOME PHOTO

THIS SOUNDS LIKE CHARLIE SHEEN!

Ashton Kutcher will appear, naked, on Ellen's show Monday.

I ASSUME EVERYONE IS HAPPY WITH THE RESULTS OF THE PACKERS GAME LAST NIGHT.

ROGER WITH DOG (2005)

A VIEW FROM LA CROSSE

YUMMY!

This recipe contains everything that I can't eat but Chad's Slow Cooker Taco Soup recipe sure sounds good.  Click here to check it out.

A GREAT TRIBUTE TO LES PAUL

 Les Paul died a couple of years ago and, tomorrow, a dedication ceremony will be held at the Prairie Home Cemetary in Waukesha, where he's buried.   A 500 square foot monument has been installed at his gravesite.

DID YOU KNOW?

It's legal to walk around nude, in public, in San Francisco but that could soon change.  A city official wants to pass an ordinance that would require those folks to cover up with they enter a restaurant.  I don't remember anyone walking around naked when I lived there.  I must have been going to the wrong places.

IT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN

I was really hoping Tropical Storm Nate would bring some rain relief to Texas but it's not to be.

NOW I REALLY FEEL OLD

I remember Angela Cartwright playing the daughter on The Danny Thomas Show.  I'll bet you do too.  Angela started playing that part when she was 3 years old.  Today she is celebrating her 59th birthday!!

Thursday, September 08, 2011

IT WAS SOCRATES WHO SAID IT

 
THE ONLY TRUE WISDOM
IS KNOWING
THAT YOU KNOW
NOTHING
 
(Of course, that doesn't apply to me)

LOOKING FOR WORK?

I see Southwest airlines has some good job openings right now.  Most of them in Dallas.

ANYBODY HAVE A HARD HAT I CAN BORROW?

NASA gives the 20 year old satellite that will fall back to earth next month a 1 in 3,200 chance that a piece of it will hit somebody and with my luck.........

THE PLACE TO BE SATURDAY: DOWNTOWN

Fifth Avenue, between Main and State will be closed from noon to 8PM to raise money for victims of the Jay Street fire a few weekends ago.  Several bands will be playing throughout the day.  There will be a silent auction and lots of fun.  The event is free but donations will be collected.

The people who lived in the apartments in those buildings lost nearly everything so they can really use all the help they can get.

THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL FILM

You wonder how they could have photographed this.  And, for those of you who get a bit squeamish about how this will all end...don't worry.  You'll love the end!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

WE DON'T INHERIT THE
EARTH FROM OUR
ANCESTORS,
WE BORROW IT FROM
OUR
CHLDREN

GOOD THING I SAW THIS BEFORE I WENT TO THE CLINIC

I just read that they're now using ultrasound for more than checking out your arteries, etc.  It's also now being used for non-surgical face lifts!  They say it tightens the face from the inside out.

As long as I'm going to be there today......who knows?  The next time you see me I might look 30 years younger!

POSTER OF THE DAY

I'VE SAID IT BEFORE AND I'LL SAY IT AGAIN

As Dorothy and I can tell you, the Dutch can be very stubborn people.  Here's a case in point.

A 42 year old woman in Rotterdam, apparently, is not happy that her ex-boyfriend broke off their relationship.  She wants him back and she's not about to give up.  Dutch prosecutors say she's called "the man that got away" 65,000 times in the past year and they've charged the woman with stalking.

A BIT OF WEATHER HISTORY

Back in 1939, Viroqua hit a record high of 99 degrees on September 8.  That's the hottest September temperature ever recorded in Viroqua.

KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED

With any kind of luck, this is my last day at the clinic for another six months.  The ultrasound takes about 40 minutes.

Just think, my next appointment will be in the spring, if the clinic lasts that long.  With Rita no longer there to keep things running smoothly, who knows?

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

WHAT A WASTE OF BEER BUT IT SHOULD START TO GET YOU IN THE OKTOBERFEST MOOD

I DIDN'T HEAR FROM DONNIE TODAY

I began to wonder if their house burned down or their internet had gone out again so I figured I'd better call.  It was neither.  He said he just hadn't been on the internet at all today.  He's letting the world get along without him.

He drove into Austin today and he said there's still a bit of smoke haze in the air but things are getting back to normal.  Following in the Solberg tradition, however, their bags are still packed and sitting by the door just in case they have to make a hasty retreat.

BIG CLASSES THIS YEAR

The La Crosse Tribune reports the student population at UW-La Crosse, this year, is 10,000 with the largest freshman class they've had in 25 years.

TALKED TO UNCLE BOB THIS MORNING

He sure was sounding good but he's having trouble with his phone.  He tries to answer but it keeps on ringing so, if you call and he doesn't answer right away...HANG ON!

THEY CAN SEE IT FROM SPACE

NASA is reporting that they could see the smoke over Texas, from the International Space Station, which was over Chicago at the time.

TODAY'S POSTER

IT'S JUST BEEN ONE OF THOSE MORNINGS

I was going to take a load of clothes down to the laundry and wanted to take my phone along only to discover it missing.  There are only a couple of places I ever put it and it wasn't in either place.

Beginning to panic, I started rummaging through drawers.  Looked in the cupboard, checked the top of the refrigerator.  I kept trying to remember when I last had it.  Of course, that was a waste of time.

Looked in the bedroom, bathroom, looked in the hall closet.  At wits end, which seems to be my usual state anymore, guess what happened?

THE PHONE RANG!

One would think the first place I would think to look would be in my pocket.  One would be wrong.

Thanks for calling, Roger!

SOME OF YOU CAN RELATE TO THIS

An elderly man is stopped by the police around 1 A.M. and asked where he was going so late at night.

"I'm going to a lecture about alcohol abuse and the effects it has on the human body.", replied the man.

The officer asks, "Really?  Who is giving a lecture, like that, this late at night?"

The old gentleman replied, "That would be my wife."

WHOSE COUNTING?

Image by FlamingText.com

Image by FlamingText.com

A BETTER DAY FOR TEXAS

I see the winds have, finally, calmed down in Texas.  With a thousand homes destroyed by the wildfires, Donnie and Linda can  be very thankful theirs wasn't one of them.

FOR THE OLD TIMERS

The Glenn Miller Band will be at the La Crescent Fine Arts Center Saturday night.  Call 507-895-5150 for tickets.  This should put you "In the Mood".

WHEN'S THE LAST TIME YOU HAD A BIG SLICE OF SALAMI?

From appetizers to the grill, Hillshire Farms has some great salami recipes.  Click here to check them out.

Tuesday, September 06, 2011

REDNECK SAFETY DEVICE

HERE'S THE BIGGEST NEWS OF THE YEAR!

Image by FlamingText.com

Image by FlamingText.com

Her last day is December 30
I think this is going to be a GOOD CHRISTMAS!

I AM EXHAUSTED!

It took five and a half hours, 6 blood draws, 2 doctors and 14 X-Rays for the clinic to decide I'm good to go for another six months.  I don't know how many more of these by-yearly checkups I can live through.  If the kidneys don't get me the check-ups will.

Now I can rest up tomorrow so I'm ready for my sonogram on Thursday.

WHERE CAN I GET THE BEST FAST FOOD BURGER?

Have you ever heard of the FIVE GUYS fast food chain?  I haven't either but they have 750 stores in 40 states and they must be doing something right.

Zagat's Fast Food Survey asked 6,500 people what their favorite fast food burger was and, for the second year in a row, hands down, the folks said FIVE GUYS!  They beat out McDonalds, Wendy's and all the rest.




If they're in 40 states I can't believe there are none in Wisconsin.  Of course, there isn't much at a fast food place I can eat.  In fact, there isn't ANYTHING I'm supposed to eat so, I guess, it shouldn't a surprise I've never heard of them.

DRIPPING UPDATE

I haven't heard from Donnie and Linda, this morning, but Twitter keeps me up to date and I just read a tweet that Hays County has ended the evacuation in Dripping Springs and they closed the shelter early this morning.  That's, probably, the best news I'll hear all day.

EVEN TEXAS IS COOLER THIS MORNING

WILLARD REPORTS:
"66 degrees this morning!  It's cool enough to think about taking Buddy for a walk in the park."

YOU THINK LOS ANGELES IS EXPENSIVE?? THINK AGAIN!

I was just looking at the 10 most expensive cities, in the world, to live in.  I thought it was interesting that not a single city in the USA is on the list.  I also found it interesting that only in Tokyo will you find the prices higher than they are in Oslo.  Like they say, some people are paying a lot more for their lutefisk than you are.

The rest of the 10 priciest cities are Osaka, Paris, Zurich, Sydney, Melbourne, Frankfurt, Geneva and Singapore.

ROCKIN' AROUND THE DAIRY STATE TREE

Did you see the big news?  The White House Christmas Tree, this year, will come from Schroeder's Forevergreens stand of trees in Marquette and Waushara Counties of Wisconsin.

A NOTE FROM LYNNE

"Keep us posted on Donnie and Linda.  So hope they are safe and their house is spared.  Mom Blair is here with us and we are watching the Weather Channel and I am on the internet getting information.  Scary for all."

SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES, EARS, NOSE AND THROAT

Donnie sent this picture of smoke over their house yesterday.

SOME GOOD THOUGHTS FROM STARBUCKS

Starbucks

September 2011

Dear Starbucks Friend and Fellow Citizen:

I love our country. And I am a beneficiary of the promise of America. But today, I am very concerned that at times I do not recognize the America that I love.

Like so many of you, I am deeply disappointed by the pervasive failure of leadership in Washington. And also like you, I am frustrated by our political leaders' steadfast refusal to recognize that, for every day they perpetuate partisan conflict and put ideology over country, America and Americans suffer from the combined effects of paralysis and uncertainty. Americans can't find jobs. Small businesses can't get credit. And the fracturing of consumer confidence continues.

We are better than this.

Three weeks ago, I asked fellow business leaders to join me in urging the President and the Congress to put an end to partisan gridlock and, in its place, to set in motion an upward spiral of confidence. More than 100 business leaders representing American companies - large and small - joined me in signing a two-part pledge:

First, to withhold political campaign contributions until a transparent, comprehensive, bipartisan debt-and-deficit package is reached that honestly, and fairly, sets America on a path to long-term financial health and security. Second, to do all we can to break the cycle of economic uncertainty that grips our country by committing to accelerate investment in jobs and hiring.

In the weeks since then, I have been overwhelmed by the heartfelt stories of Americans from across the country, sharing their anguish over losing hope in the strongest and most galvanizing force of all - the American Dream. Some feel they have no voice. Others feel they no longer matter. And many feel they have been left behind.

We cannot let this stand.

Please join other concerned Americans and me on a national call-in conversation on Tuesday September 6th hosted by "No Labels," a nonpartisan organization dedicated to fostering cooperative and more effective government. To learn more about the forum and the pledges, visit www.upwardspiral2011.org

America is at a fragile and critical moment in its history. We must restore hope in the American Dream. We must celebrate all that America stands for around the world. And while our Founding Fathers recognized the constructive value of political debate, we must send the message to today's elected officials in a civil, respectful voice they hear and understand, that the time to put citizenship ahead of partisanship is now.

Yours is the voice that can help ignite the contagious upward spiral of confidence that our country desperately needs.

With great respect,



chief executive officer, Starbucks Coffee Company





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FUNNY STUFF

DONNIE SAYS....


This clip of a comedian who is half Indian and half Japanese …is funny.  


Click on   the link below!!
  

http://www.wimp.com/hilariousdan/

ONE VISIT TWO DOCTORS

The six month medical tests continue today with a visit to two doctors this morning.  One appointment at 10 and the next at 11:30.  I return for more tests on Thursday.  If everything looks OK I'll, then, be done for another six months.

HELP FROM DAKOTA

One of the tanker planes called in to help fight the FIRES in Texas yesterday came from SOUTH DAKOTA.  I'm thinking that's what, probably, saved Donnie and Linda's house.

Monday, September 05, 2011

JUST TALKED TO LINDA

They are home...hanging on.  Linda says the winds have died down a lot and fire fighters are concentrating on saving homes.  They're giving that priority over fires in areas where there are no homes.

It's a scary thing.  You don't want to leave home if you don't have to but you don't want to stay too long and get caught either.  Unless you've been in a grass or forest fire you can't even begin to imagine how fast the fires move and how unpredictable they are.

In the Deadwood fire, the flames got within about a block of where we were.  The heat is agony but the worst is that the fire takes all the oxygen out of the air and you can't breath.  We were sure it was all over when the wind suddenly shifted and the fire moved back up the hill.  That was close enough for me!

FAT CITY HERE WE COME!

I don't think the new sandwich on the menu at DENNY'S will fit into my diet.  The Mac 'n Cheese Big Daddy Patty Melt features a beef patty topped with macaroni and cheese, melted cheddar cheese, a zesty sauce and served on potato bread.
1,690 calories-99 grams of fat
BRINGS A WHOLE NEW MEANING TO "PIG OUT"!

NORWEGIAN BOAT GETS A VISITOR

I love this story.  Click here BEAR ON BOARD to read all about it.

LOTS OF RAIN IN MISSISSIPPI

I sure wish Donnie and Linda could have picked up some of that rain from Tropical Storm Lee.  Jackson, Mississippi has picked up 10.12" of rainThat would have filled up the old well in the back yard!

DAMN! I WAS BORN TOO SOON

I wish I was 21 again.  Queen Elizabeth is advertising for a trainee Butler.  Now, there's a job I'd be perfect for.  The pay isn't so hot but you get free room and board at Buckingham Palace as well as other royal residences throughout the year.  I can see it now; the winter at Buckingham and summers at Balmoral in the Highlands.  Yup!  I could handle that!  I can buttle with the best of them.

YOU'RE ONLY AS OLD AS YOU LOOK

RAQUEL WELCH is celebrating her 71st birthday today.  She looks a hell of a lot better than I do.  I guess it's true.  Life is not always fair.

By the way, BOB NEWHART turns 80 today.  He looks better than I do too.

HAPPY LABOR DAY

HOW HOT WAS IT?

During the meteorological summer, La Crosse had an average temperature of 73.0 degrees.  This is  1.5 degrees warmer than the 1981 to 2010 normal of 71.5 degrees.

Sunday, September 04, 2011

ANOTHER AUTUMN BEGINS

It's almost sweater weather!

I walked over to Walgreen's this morning and was sorry I just wore a T-shirt.  There was a real chill in the air early this morning.

That's OK.  Even I'm looking forward to autumn and those few flakes of snow.

BIG BLOCK PARTY ON PEARL STREET TONIGHT

It's part of this weekends Bicycle Festival and it sounds like fun but it doesn't start until 4:30 and will go far into the night.  That's out of the question for an old man who is ready for bed by 6 PM.

There's going to be a lot of live music with three bands playing throught the evening.  Sometimes I wish I was 21 again. Then there are other times when I'm glad I'm not.

TIME MARCHES ON

How could I forget about Mitzi Gaynor?  Hey!  I forget about people who I met 5 minutes ago so, I guess, it should have come as no surprise.  In any event, I just saw that Mitzi is celebrating her 80th birthday today.

Also, Gladys Knight turns 69 today and I'm sure her "Pips" aren't far behind.

WHAT'S ANOTHER BAR ON 3RD STREET?

There's a big controversy going on about whether to allow a new sports bar to occupy the building at 3rd and Main where Rowley's Office Supply used to be.

For as long as I've been around, which is a very long time, La Crosse has been known, from coast to coast, as a party town with 3rd Street the place to be.  As far as I'm concerned, I'd rather see a bar there than an empty building.

There are almost as many empty buildings, downtown, as there are full ones.  I keep hearing that the reason they're empty is that there's "no parking".

I've heard this lame excuse in every town I've lived in but I've seen it happen over and over again.  If you give the folks something they want, they'll come.  Those bars have been filling up, every night, for the 70 years I've been around and I've never heard anyone say they don't go to the bars because they can't find a place to park.

Since the bar patrons seem to be the only ones without a parking problem, I can't imagine one more bar is going to cause any more problems.

IS SUMMER OVER?

I'm guessing it is.  After the sweltering heat and humidity within the past few days the weather has done a turnaround and we're looking at a high of only 65 today with brisk winds out of the northwest.  And, we'll see temperatures in the upper 40's tonight!  If that isn't the end of summer, I don't know what is!

LA CROSSE WEATHER