THE SURGERY IS OVER AND COUSIN BOB IS HOME

BOB SAYS THE KNEE WORKS AND THERE'S NO PAIN WHEN HE WALKS  "Merriter Hospital in Madison took care of me and they were great.  Good to get home and sleep in our own bed tonight."

 

A LOT OF DOG LOVERS READ THIS BLOG and you're going to love this story about Lucy who, even though injured herself, saved her master after a hit and run accident.  It's a great story. CLICK HERE TO READ IT

IT'S A GOOD MORNING NOT TO BE IN CHICAGO:  WGN is reporting big time delays and accidents during the morning rush hour due to the snow.

Today!  December 12 is.....





 

You can't have Christmas without a poinsettia

 

 

 

You gotta love the poinsettia.  More than 65 million were sold last year.  That's a third of all of the potted plants sold.

 

The poinsettias natural home is Mexico and Central America.  And, let's get the story straight; The poinsettia is not toxic to pets and humans.  That's an old wives tale.  Wouldn't you love to meet some of those old wives who keep spreading these false tales?

 

Yes!  It's true!  WESTJET actually did this.  Don't you wish you were heading west?

Logo Design by FlamingText.com Get your redneck goodies here.

Rita and Roger sent this one.  
When you buy your next pizza, make sure it's not DiGiorno Pizza.

Wisconsin farm will no longer supply cheese for DiGiorno pizzas after undercover investigation http://t.co/0FPyFwER4A
— HuffPost Green (@HuffPostGreen) December 11, 2013

  HIGH TODAY IN DRIPPING SPRINGS: 49 HIGH TODAY IN RAPID CITY: 43 WHAT AM I DOING HERE?

I just got off the phone with a friend living in North Dakota near the Canadian Border. She said that since early this morning the snow has been coming down, it is nearly waist high and is still falling.

The temperature is dropping way below zero and the north wind is increasing to near gale force. Her husband has done nothing but look through the kitchen window and just stare. She says that if it gets much worse, she may have to let him in.



With all this cold weather, it makes me feel a little bit better to know that the all time low for La Crosse in December was 30 below zero in 1983 and that wasn't wind chill.  That was the real temperature.

Isn't this a cutie???

"Hey there!" (it's our dog Lucky) #dogs #animals pic.twitter.com/7Ks7t3LwK3
— Elena Bugrova (@sunny_color) November 14, 2013

I was just looking at a current map of Marion (South Dakota).  Back in the days of ancient history, when we lived there, the streets didn't have any names.  There were hardly enough people living there to call it a town...why would you have to name the streets?

 

Nowadays, I guess, every wide spot in the road has to have a name so the streets of Marion now have names and they're some pretty impressive names too.  What we used to think of as "Main Street" is now called "Broadway" and the next street over, to the west, which we used to think of as "the next street over to the west" is now called South Park Avenue.

 

Now I ask you, how many people do you know who can actually say they used to live on Park Avenue??

 

All along you were thinking that only the Carnegies, Astor's and Rockefeller's could afford to live on Park Avenue.  Well, friends....let it be known that the Terpstra's could afford to live on Park Avenue too.  And, we did.

 Happy Birthday to Bob Barker.  He's 90 today!
 

Today in 1915: Singer Frank Sinatra is born in Hoboken, N.J. Photo of Sinatra from our archives: http://t.co/4ogQY8zGx8
— amhistorymuseum (@amhistorymuseum) December 12, 2013

.SURGERY DAY FOR BOB BLAIR

Bob is having surgery, in Madison, on his other knee today.  Lynne and Daniel will be with him.  Lynne says, "He'll be running by summer (walking is more like it)".

SPEAKING OF MADISON:  The city is having a terrible time with their water mains.  At least a dozen have busted in this cold weather.  They say there's not enough snow, covering the ground, to insulate the mains from the cold.

FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE:

ARCTIC AIR IS SURGING SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE AREA THIS MORNING WITH TEMPERATURES PLUMMETING INTO THE TEENS TO SINGLE DIGITS BELOW ZERO.

 

THESE TEMPERATURES COMBINED WITH NORTHWEST WINDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH WILL PRODUCE WIND CHILLS OF 15 TO 30 BELOW ZERO TODAY THROUGH LATE TONIGHT.

Duane is not dealing with the cold any better than I am.

"Freezing my butt off.  A fast moving cold front came through.  It was a white-out of snow and wind.

I remembered the check book was in the glove compartment of the car.  Went out, in the wind and snow, to get it.  Slipped on the steps and fell on my knees.  Then the arthritis started up.  The right knee is aching."

Even Lady Gaga is shivering.

Ring in the New Year with the Sisters!

New Year's Event scheduled at La Crosse's Mary of the Angels Chapel! Join the sisters! https://t.co/xLJG35R8zp
— Franciscan Sisters (@FSPAtweets) December 10, 2013

Even the good Sisters are into Twitter!

ARE YOU ON SCHEDULE?  CHRISTMAS IS JUST TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY!

 

So sorry to hear of the death of Eleanor Parker at the age of 91.  She was one wonderful actress.



Happy Birthday Brenda Lee! She's 69 today!

Donnie's first foreign post was Uruguay and, I see, they're making news today by becoming the first country in the world to legalize marijuana.  There's a happy little country that just got happier!

BOTTOMS UP: IT'S NATIONAL LAGER DAY

This has now gotten downright ridiculous.

The National Weather Service says another arctic high pressure system will move in tonight and hang around through Wednesday.

Lows tonight and tomorrow will range from zero to 15 below.  Highs tomorrow won't get warmer than 5 above.

Combine those awful temps with the winds and it will feel like its 20 to 30 below zero.

That's too severe for old people.  I won't go out tomorrow.

If this will make you feel any better, contrary to popular opinion, La Crosse is not the coldest place on earth.  This photo above shows the spot that is the coldest which is 135 below zero.

That doesn't make you feel any better?  Well, I tried.

You know it's cold outside when you go outside and it's cold..... #winter
— Carl (@AirForce_Carl) December 10, 2013

 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM ANDY WILLIAMS



MISERABLE DAMN WEATHER Snow, blowing snow, below zero wind chills.  There's only one thing I hate more than December and that's January.

Here's a photo of Donnie tripping over his dingy.

The first lager, brewed in America, was in 1840 and we haven't stopped drinking it since then.

Want to try a new treat for the holidays?  This is a cookie recipe that comes from South America but I have a feeling Wisconsinites would love it because it's a cookie with BRANDY in it!

1 3/4 cup corn starch
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup condensed milk
1/2 cup coconut, finely chopped

Pre-heat oven to 350

Mix cornstarch, flower, baking powder and salt.

Cut butter into small pieces.  Add to flour and mix.

Add powdered sugar, vanilla and brandy and mix with your hands until the dough is smooth.

Rest dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough and cut into 2 inch circles with cookie cutter.

Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown.  Let the cookies sit for 5 minutes.

Transfer to a rack to cool.
\
Spread one cookie with condensed milk and top with coconut.  Add another cookie on top to make a sandwich.

Let me know when their ready, put the coffee pot on and I'll be over in five minutes

 

Rod Blagojevich is celebrating his 57th birthday in the slammer today.





 

Well, it's official.  The American and U.S. AIR merger is now a fact meaning there are now four giant airlines controlling 80% of the air traffic in the USA.

 

This takes us right back to where we were before the whole "de-regulation" nightmare began.  A plan that ended up costing the airlines and traveling public billions of dollars and accomplishing absolutely nothing.

 

She died in 1996 but she's still alive in the movies and Dorothy Lamour was born 99 years ago today.

BABY, IT'S TOO COLD OUTSIDE

The snow has quit falling but....

THE SNOW THAT FELL SUNDAY INTO SUNDAY NIGHT HAS RESULTED IN SLICK TRAVEL CONDITIONS THIS MORNING. ALTHOUGH THE SNOW HAS ENDED ROADS, ESPECIALLY SECONDARY ONES, MAY BE SNOW COVERED AND SLIPPERY THIS MORNING.

INCREASING WEST WINDS TODAY WILL RESULT IN PATCHY BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW IN OPEN AREAS AND ALONG RIDGE TOPS. THE BRISK WEST WIND WILL ALSO CREATE COLD WIND CHILLS.

 

 

The National Weather Service says the snowfall we've had this month is about normal for December in La Crosse.  The temperature, however, is a different story.

Our December temperatures are running about 20 degrees below normal for La Crosse.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIRK DOUGLAS
97 Today.

I got a kick out of this photo Donnie sent.  This was when he lived in Washington D.C. and he had just received his phone book(s).

 

His comment was, "When is the last time you used a phone book?" 

 

That's just what I have been thinking the past couple of weeks.  About every other day I receive a new phone book laying in front of my door.  I now have three or four phone books of various sizes.  One, I guess, for every occasion.

 

I don't know when I last used a phone book but I'm sure it was years ago.  I think the last time I did use one was for the phone company or cable company or one of those idiotic  mega-corporations.  It turned out that they had so many phone numbers listed for so many different departments that I never did figure out which phone number I needed to call and, finally, gave up.

 

In any event, they leave the books and I throw them away.  They leave more books and I throw more away....thinking about the forest of trees that were cut down to carry on this insane game.

See what it says at the bottom of the Grain Belt sign?  I know my place and this is it!

 

THEY DID IT!!

Flynn rallies #Packers to 22-21 win & defense plays big role in the 2nd half. READ: http://t.co/3GKunyUQ2y #ATLvsGB pic.twitter.com/UxRMvWY8bp
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 8, 2013

This is from the BEEN THERE...DONE THAT DEPARTMENT

#JobSearch Guest Service Representative -Radisson La Crosse - Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group -... Find this Job & More http://t.co/OjVpsC6IRd
— La Crosse Wisconsin (@LaCrosse_Buzz) December 9, 2013

I had this on the blog last year but it deserves another run.

And, let's not forget.

Today is....WEARY WILLIE DAY
Emmett Kelley was born December 9, 1898.

IMPORTANT REMINDER:
If you want to make sure that all gifts get there by Christmas, you should have them in the mail by FRIDAY THE 13th.

OUR WINTER WONDERLAND HAS ARRIVED

REAL WINTER ARRIVES TODAY!
We're looking at snowfall totals 4 TO 5 INCHES by the time it ends tonight.  I'm guessing that's enough to ensure a white Christmas this year.

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And, another HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO GREG ALLMAN who is 66 today.

  

 

John Lennon died 33 years ago today: pic.twitter.com/EqiHQK7RhE
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) December 8, 2013

You're going to fall in love with this doggie.

 

This will surprise you.  People, world-wide, get 80% of their calories from fruits, vegetables and grains.  That's because of the vast number of humans in Africa and Southeast Asia who live on a vegetarian diet.

I had a picture of Roger's nativity collection on yesterdays blog.  Today I'll give you a look at Donnie's Chilean ceramic folk art.  This set is about 25 years old and quite valuable.

Love this photo
20 years ago at the old house on Johnson Street.

I'll bet they have McLutefisk

I never thought I'd live long enough to become so clueless as to what's going on in the world.

I was reading, this morning, that somebody by the name of Sofia Vergara was the highest paid actor, on TV, between June 2012 and June 2013.  She made $30 million in those 12 months so I'm, apparently, the only person on the planet who has never heard of her until this morning.

It says she stars in a TV sitcom called "Modern Family".  I've never heard of that either.

I guess I should dust it off and turn on the TV one of these days.

Here's a really cute dose of Christmas cheer!

The weather is lousy, there's no Aaron Rodgers and there are a whole lot of tickets available for todays game.  They're selling for as low as $37.00!