GUESS HOW MUCH 400,000 TOOTHPICKS ARE WORTH

They're worth almost $3,000 and they're missing from a toothpick manufacturer in Athens, Georgia.  Why would anyone want 400,000 toothpicks?  How could anyone drink that many martini's?

90 DEGREES AT 4:00 PM

Thunder and I have been "cooling our heals" in front of the A/C all afternoon.  The weatherman says it will be hotter tomorrow so we'll, probably, be back in the same place.

I suppose it could be worse.  Back in 1985 Caledonia had a high of 97 on the 9th of June.

GIMME A KISS!

A MORNING NOTE FROM DONNIE

"It is 7 a.m. and it sounds like two or three owls exchanging greetings in the back woods....heavenly."

WE NEED A GOOD SOAKER

Since August 1, of last year, precipitation deficits are still running 4 to 8 inches in west-central Wisconsin.  The National Weather Service says it wouldn't take much of a hot-dry spell to bring the area back into a drought.

BIG WEEK AHEAD

All kinds of fun stuff next week.  Eric's birthday on Monday, "Noon Tunes" at Riverside Park on Thursday, Linda's birthday Friday and Rick and Angela arrive on Saturday.

MICHAEL J. FOX TURNS 51 TODAY

LUNCH ANYONE?

The annual charity auction, with the highest bidder getting lunch with Warren Buffett, went for $3.5 million this year.  Who wants to bid on a lunch with me?

OH! NO!

I Think I'm getting a cold sore.

RITA GOT A NOTE FROM DAVE

The visit is Monday from 3-6 and the funeral is Tuesday at 10:00 AM. Bev didn't want any viewing because she wants people to remember her as she was not as she is. Her last week was really bad. We are all relieved that she is not in pain any more. The visit and funeral will be at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church. Please let all the cousins know but they sure don't have to come because it is such a long drive.

THE RAPID CITY FLOOD

The RAPID CITY JOURNAL has an excellent article, this morning, on the aftermath of the Rapid City flood and the overwhelming task of preparing for over 200 funerals in a small city in just a few days.

I wish I could be there to attend the memorial service.  My thoughts will be with Rapid City today.

CORRECTION

The other day I mentioned that Ron had relatives in Finland.  Actually, his relatives are in Denmark.  I keep getting those Scandinavians mixed up.  You know how it is with us Norwegians.  We're not too bright but we're damn good looking.

THE TRUTH

Here's an adult (and a teacher) who is finally telling the kids the truth.  READ THE STORY HERE

NPR WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO FILL THEIR SHOES

National Public Radio has brought us many great programs, over the years, but none were bigger than CAR TALK with Click and Clack (Tom and Ray Magliozzi).  They really knew their stuff when it came to car maintenance but it was their humor that made it such a great show.  Now, after 35 years they're driving off into the sunset.  They were one of a kind!

RIP

So sorry to hear of Bev's passing last night.  Our condolences to the family.

A WORD OF WARNING FROM OLD ABE

DONNIE AND LINDA'S NEIGHBOR, GENE, TOOK THIS PHOTO

It's a mama scorpian carrying her babies on her back.  Even the scary creatures love their young.

10 STUNNING RIVERFRONT TOWNS

La Crosse isn't on the list but Minneapolis/St. Paul, San Antonio and Great Falls, Montana are.
SEE THEM HERE

LADIES IN LEATHER

I see leather dresses are "THE THING" for ladies this spring.  (Check it out here)  Seems like they would be pretty hot for this time of year.  I had a pair of leather pants in my youth.  I think I wore them once.  It felt like "back in the saddle again without the horse".

A FEW NOTES

Friday already?  Where does the time go?......It's beginning to feel like summer.  High today around 85, tomorrow near 90.....Thunderstorms should stay north of I-90 today.

The numbers speak for themselves.  50% more troops have died from suicide than have died in action, this year, in Afghanistan....Frank Lloyd Wright was born on June 8, 1867 in Richland Center, Wisconsin....Nancy Sinatra turns 72 today.....Congratulations to Shirley MacLaine who was presented with the American Film Institutes Life Achievement Award last night.

PHOTO BY DONNIE

WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU SAW A "MISSING COW" POSTER?



WARM SPRING

We had a record breaking March and now the National Weather Service says March, April and May saw temperatures more than 5 degrees above normal across the USA.

DONNIE IS BUGGING THE BUGS WITH HIS CAMERA AGAIN

A NOTE FROM WILLARD

"A squirrel and a blue jay are drinking out of the fountain at the same time!"

Sounds like the wildlife has learned how to get along, and share, a lot better than the human life has.

BACK HOME FROM MY MORNING WALK

The lampposts around the cathedral are announcing the 150th anniversary since the first cathedral was built in 1862.  That's even before I was born!

I moved on to the park and they were right.  The water is high but not high enough to flood this year.

The bath house is ready for summer swimming.  It was too early for any to be out this morning and I'll bet that water is still ice cold.  Maybe by July one could dip a toe in?

On the way home I walked by the new Community Theater, under construction.  They seem to be making pretty good progress.

CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM DAY

In the old days (when I could still eat good things) I loved a chocolate sundae with vanilla ice cream and lots of Hershey's chocolate on top with nuts and banana.

Alas, the good days are gone.  Can't have the ice cream, can't have the chocolate, can't have the nuts, can't have the banana.  So, I'll have to eat what's left.  A cherry topped with whipped cream.  Oh, yes.  I can't have real whipped cream.  It has to be that chemical stuff in a can.

But this is chocolate ice cream day and that's the one chocolate item I never liked.  Go figure.

DONNIE:
"I'll have a double sundae in your memory".

A BETTER TACO

I may have to blow off my diet and visit TACO BELL when they bring out their new menu later this summer.  They're going with some new GOURMET MEXICAN FARE like citrus and herb marinated chicken.  That sounds too good to miss.

WARM UP TIME

It looks like we're moving into the real good old summertime weather.  Today's high will be in the low 80's, tomorrow the mid-80's and by Saturday and Sunday the upper 80's.

That's good shorts weather but I'll have to refrain from that.  Roger and I decided, the other day, that there's nothing quite so repulsive as old people wearing shorts.  Probably the only thing more repulsive would be old people wearing nothing.

AND, DONNIE SAYS
"I have been saying that for years.  People laugh me off and I realize I will never convince the world but men simply do not look good in shorts.  No men.  No age.  Ever.  Anywhere.

Oh!  And that goes,too, for loafers without socks and blue blazers over T-shirts..and any and all male bling!"

IT'S NOT UNUSUAL

Tom Jones and I have something in common.  We're both 72.  His birthday is today.

RON AND PENNY ARE BACK HOME

RON WROTE

"We just got home from my Navy reunion in Seattle, cruise to Alaska with shipmates and a week in Oregon visiting cousins.  We had a great vacation."

HOW DRY I AM

NO WATER ON CASS

No water since 10 AM and they say we won't have any until 2 PM.  I don't get it.  Every summer they dig up the same stretch of street, along Cass, and "fix the water".

We're not alone.  Just about every street corner is dug up, with guys standing around looking in the holes.  The picture proves my point.

I told you.  See the man looking in the hole?  I'll bet he's trying to find out if you really can see China.



WHAT'S IN A NAME

Donnie sent an interesting item on the translation of Microsoft's BING search engine for the Chinese market.  "Bing", in Chinese, sounds like "Illness" or "pancake" (depending on tone) when spoken in local dialects.  That won't do so the Chinese version of BING is called "biying" which is a reference to the biblical quote, "seek and ye shall find".

THIS SOUNDS TOO GOOFY TO BE TRUE

NBC is bringing THE MUNSTERS back.  You'd have to be 50, or more, to remember the original sitcom.  Sounds to me like the only thing that will resemble the original will be the title. 

While the vintage MUNSTERS was a half hour sitcom, the new version will be a one hour drama.  How could "The Thing" possibly fit into a drama??

REMEMBER GARY (U.S.) BONDS?

Gary U.S. Bonds celebrates his 73rd birthday today.  Bonds had only one #1 song on the BILLBOARD TOP 100 in June of 1961 when everyone was dancing to "Quarter to three".  He has, however, had 11 other songs that made the top 100, the last in 1982.

In recent years he's been working with GLOBAL VILLAGE CHAMPIONS FOUNDATION which has provided more than a half million meals to hungry people around the world.

WANT TO WISH THE QUEEN A HAPPY ANNIVERSARY?

CLICK HERE TO SEND A PERSONAL MESSAGE

SPLASH!

Logo Design by FlamingText.com Great day for a swim. The forecast says PARTLY SUNNY AND 74 TODAY, PARTLY SUNNY AND 78 TOMORROW.

POSTER OF THE DAY

AREN'T YOU GLAD YOU DIDN'T BUY ANY FACEBOOK STOCK?

I see the stock fell below $26.00 today.  The "boy wonder" isn't perfect, after all.

WARNING: A GRILL AND SUNSCREEN DON'T MIX

If you're grilling outdoors, make sure your sunscreen is TOTALLY dry before you go anywhere near the grill.  Read this story about a young man who sprayed sun screen all over his body and then walked over to the hot grill and burst into flames!

TO GO OR NOT TO GO

The warning to stay away from Mexico, from the Texas Department of Public Safety, is apparently falling on deaf ears.  Tourist officials, in Mexico, say tourist visits were up 5.3% from January to April.

HIGH WATER WEEK

We're not looking at any serious flooding, in La Crosse, but the river will be running high this week.  May have to walk down to Riverside and take a look later this week.

CONVENT CHAPEL

GRAFFITI

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

BILL MOYERS

78 TODAY

MAKING LA CROSSE MORE BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY

The city is considering plans to make La Crosse even more bike and pedestrian friendly than it already is.  There's a good story in the LA CROSSE TRIBUNE about future plans for the city.

I'm always surprised at the amount of bike traffic on Copeland Avenue.  There's a convenient bus stop right across the street from Festival, where I wait, and it's a steady stream of bikes and pedestrians using the wide sidewalk along the avenue.

BERRY GOOD TIME FOR PICKING

I had my first strawberry's yesterday and there's a story, this morning, in THE LA CROSSE TRIBUNE about the early picking time this year.  The crop is, about, 2 weeks early due to the warm weather we had in March.

BAD BAD PRINCESS!

How about the Saudi princess who tried to sneak out of a Paris hotel, without paying a bill that amounted to over $7 million.  That, of course, included the tabs for the 60 servants she had with her.  She claimed diplomatic immunity and got away with it.

I waited on a few members of the Saudi royal family while I was in Houston.  I didn't get a tip.  I suppose that's why they have all that money.  They don't pay for anything. 

TODAY'S BIRTHDAY

Almost forgot to wish MICHELLE PHILLIPS of the Mama's and the Papa's greetings on her 68th birthday today.

NOTHING WOULD GET ME OUT AT NIGHT ANYMORE

In two separate incidents, two men were beaten and robbed on King Street, just a block from here, over the weekend.

Back in the days when I was walking home from work at night there were occasional incident's of robberies, usually along 3rd street but, lately, it's become a pretty common occurrence all over town.  "Lovely, lively La Crosse" is getting a bit too lively.

We had a blog reader from Lappeenranta, Finland, this morning, wonder if Ron and Penny know where that is.  They've been there a few times.  Ron has relatives in Finland.

TREAT TODAY

Back from Festival and got all the fixin's for STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE.  Haven't had it for ages and I got it in my head, this morning, that I can't live another day without strawberry shortcake.

MORE ON THE ROYAL HATS

This comes from Yahoo! (SEE IT HERE) and I couldn't agree more!!

GREAT GALENA FUN

Donnie and Linda aren't coming to Wisconsin this summer but, if they come next year, I'm going to suggest they come for the GREAT GALENA BALLOON FESTIVAL (CLICK HERE FOR INFO ON THIS YEARS EVENT)

One summer, while Donnie was here, we drove down to Galena and it was such a lovely drive.  Seems to me, it would be a great setting for a balloon race.

I love Galena, it reminded me of Deadwood, as it is today, minus the casino's, of course.

SO...A WHALE WALKS INTO A BAR.......

I was in a pub on Saturday night. Had a few drinks..... I noticed two very large women by the bar. They both had strong accents, so I asked, "Hey, are you two ladies from Scotland?" One of them turned to me and screamed, "It's WALES, you IDIOT!!" So, I immediately apologized, and said, "Sorry,.... Are you two whales from Scotland?" That's all I remember.....

ATTENTION CARL

Carl, usually, takes a mid-winter break to golf in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  It's one of Americas favorite spots for golf so there are a lot of golf carts in town.

With gas so high, it's tempting to hop on the golf cart to make a quick run to the grocery store and save the gas in the car for longer trips.  Currently, folks in Myrtle Beach are allowed, by law, to travel up to 2 miles from their home on their golf carts but come October 1 the limit will be increased to 4 miles.  Folks, with the carts, are happy about that but would be even happier if it was increased to....say....10 miles!

MORNING

WE'RE IN GOOD HANDS

Willard was looking up symptoms of high blood pressure and he found, "A doctor at Gunderson Clinic, La Crosse, is the source for the most high blood presssure info on Google."

A PRETTY NICE DAY IN LA CROSSE

There's a slight chance for a thundershower, this afternoon, but we should stay dry most of the day with a high near 77.

MOST OUTRAGEOUS QUOTE OF THE DAY

A researcher for Human Rights Watch, Heba Morayef, talking about torture practices of political prisoners under former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak:  "They tried not to kill people in torture.  If someone died, it was a mistake."

I MUST HAVE BEEN TIRED

When I woke up and looked at the clock, I couldn't believe it.  It was almost 4 AM.  That's the latest I've slept in years.

I woke up once, during the night.  Not from natural causes but from gentle pokes from you know who.  Cats know how to get a midnight snack when they need one.

THANK GOD FOR FOLKS LIKE THE BROTENS

A SAFE HAVEN FOR WILDLIFE.  READ THE ARTICLE IN THE LA CROSSE TRIBUNE

MAY STATISTICS ON AIRPORT SCREENING FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

TERRORISTS DISCOVERED

Hernias

1,485

Hemorrhoid Cases

3,172

Enlarged Prostates

8,240

Transvestites

133

Breast Implants

59,350

Natural Blondes

3

Terrorists

0

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"Some people walk in the rain.  Others just get wet."
~Roger Miller~

THE HATS HAVE GOT TO GO

WHAT WAS THE QUEEN DOING WITH THAT FLYING SAUCER ON HER HEAD?

NO MATTER WHAT YOU BUY..A BETTER ONE IS SURE TO COME ALONG

In this case, I wish I had waited for the new CHROMEBOOK BY SAMSUNG.  They say it's a laptop you can't screw up.  That's exactly what I need!  SEE IT HERE

ANOTHER PHOTO FROM THE BIRD MAN

ROGER'S BIRD HOUSE IS JUST ABOUT FINISHED

RIP

Sorry to hear of the death of Richard Dawson from Hogans Heros and Family Feud.  He was 79.

WHAT I'M READING

A HISTORY OF
SAN FRANCISCO

WHAT I WON'T BE READING:
John Edwards mistress is publishing her memoirs.

WILD LIFE IN THE BIG CITY

Even in a big city like Houston you can see the wildlife.  Willard reports,  "There's a possum sitting in the tree on the patio.  A mockingbird, above, is having a ballistic screaming fit.  Must have a nest nearby.  Buddy is intently watching the drama unfold."

FROM NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

The average trip to a clean water source, in the villages of Central and South America, is 3.7 miles one way.  There's one very good man who is trying to do something about that.  READ THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC STORY HERE.

Speaking of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, I wonder if Donnie and Linda have seen the NG photo essay; KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD. CLICK HERE AND TAKE A LOOK

And, here's one more you might be interested in.  NORWAY IS HOME TO THE LONGEST TUNNEL IN THE WORLD.  NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HAS THAT STORY RIGHT HERE

ANOTHER PERFECT DAY

If you ask me (and, nobody ever does) yesterday was the most beautiful day we've had this spring.  Today will be another perfect day with a high of 77 degrees and a mostly sunny sky.

Of course, all good things must end.  Clouds, showers and thunderstorms move in tonight and tomorrow.