Duane says "Rapid city has about an inch and a half of fluffy snow.  Streets are slushy and slippery."

I'll bet RITA AND ROGER have figured out that this was not the best weekend to spend in Pierre.  They're forecasting wind gusts to 40 MPH with 1 TO 2 INCHES OF SNOW.

THEY'RE REPORTING 18" OF SNOW IN CROSBY, NORTH DAKOTA THIS MORNING.

Anyone planning on seeing the LINCOLN movie?  It looks like it's going to be very good.

Guess what?  BOYSENBERRY  is the hot new color for your home interior.  TAKE A LOOK HERE TO LEARN MORE.

It was the Greek philosopher Heraclitus who said, "Nothing endures but change."  And, now, a few thousand years later, the scientists agree.  He was also the man who said, "You can never step in the same river twice."  You can, however, step into the same cow pie twice.  I know.  I've done it.

A MESSAGE FROM

DAIRYLAND



ANOTHER SIGN OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON

WILLARD REPORTS:

 



"Made a dash to Food Town yesterday and they were setting up a Tent, in the parking lot, for Christmas trees."

Here's AN INTERESTING ARTICLE ON AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIND in Norway that proves our ancestors were smelting copper as early as the Middle Ages.  I'm sure it was some of our relatives who had a hand it that one.

Middle ages.  That makes me think.  In my middle ages I used to say I couldn't even remember what it felt like to be young anymore.  Now, sadly, I can't even remember what it felt like to be "middle age" anymore.

When your young you worry about getting to middle age.  Then, when you're middle age you worry about getting old.  When you're old, what's left to worry about?  "That's all, folks"!

What a great weekend to stay home!  We could see a thunderstorm, or two, through tonight.  Then, LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS UP TO 1/2 INCH ARE POSSIBLE TOMORROW AND TOMORROW NIGHT as temperatures fall to wintertime levels.  Sunday night's low will be down to about 28 DEGREES.  I'm making chicken soup in the crock pot which should keep me warm.

The BLACK HILLS PASSION PLAY closed in 2008 but it's great news to hear that a Spearfish couple has bought the amphitheater, will upgrade it, and turn it into a venue for outdoor entertainment events.  It's a beautiful location, right off Interstate 90, and should make a great new attraction for summer tourists visiting the Black Hills of South Dakota.

I'm sure RITA AND ROGER will get an early start heading west this morning.  They'll be heading right into winter so I hope they're taking lots of warm clothes.  The low will drop to around 12 DEGREES IN PIERRE TONIGHT with a high of 28 tomorrow.

Meanwhile, CARL AND KATHY ARE IN KEY WEST  where it will be 75 today and around 80 by Monday.

Guess which ones I'd rather be with!

Lynne reports AUNT WILDA IS FEELING BETTER AND EATING BETTER.  Bob will drive up to Viroqua today and bring her some cookies that Lynne baked.

Rita and Roger were in town getting their oil changed.  When they finished that I went grocery shopping with them.  They're busy, today, getting ready to head west, tomorrow, to meet Rick and Angela to do some hunting.

They'll be driving into the first big snowstorm of the season.  Rick and Angela left Wyoming a day early so they could get over the mountains ahead of the snow.  They spent the night in Sturgis.  They'll see the snow tomorrow.

Duane reported from Rapid City, "Cloudy and cold today.  Snow predicted for Saturday.  2 to 4 inches.  They're predicting 6 inches in North Dakota with blowing snow."

DONNIE read my mention about his "lack of hair" and he sent this photo to remind me there was a time......

YOU'VE GOT TO SEE THIS
Here are 8 HOMES THAT DON'T SEEM REAL BUT THEY ARE.  I want the one in Wyoming!!

KEYE-TV in Austin is telling viewers to watch their hair because it's going to be a windy day in Texas.  That might be pertinent information for Linda but I don't think Donnie will have to worry about blowing hair today.....or any other day.

Here's an article on 25 FOODS YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO EAT AGAIN .  I went through the list and, guess what?  I had never heard of any of them.  Since I never knew they existed, I guess I'll never miss them.

After looking at the list I got the feeling they were using the word "food" pretty loosely.  There's another four letter word that might have been a better choice......"JUNK".

FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE:
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. LIGHTNING WILL BE THE MAIN HAZARD.

THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE SATURDAY MORNING ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA...THEN OVER NORTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN TOMORROW AFTERNOON.

SOME OF THE STRONGER STORMS SATURDAY EVENING COULD PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS ALONG WITH SMALL HAIL.

There's a 50% chance for showers tomorrow but I'll try to get out and enjoy the 65 degree weather we'll have.  I'm afraid we won't feel temperatures that warm, again, for a very long time.

It will be a one day warm-up before the bottom falls out and we struggle to reach 31 for a high on Monday!

I'm happy to see the city council has approved a plan that will require all roads within the city to accommodate CARS, BIKERS AND WALKERS.

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LEONARDO DI CAPRIO IS SELLING HIS HOME FOR $23 MILLION.  IF YOU'RE INTERESTED YOU MIGHT WANT TO TAKE A LOOK INSIDE

KENNY CHESNEY will be back in Minneapolis next July (12) at the Minnesota Twins Target Field.  Tickets go on sale December 7.

NOAA says NO EL NINO THIS WINTER.  That means all bets are off on any long range forecast.  We'll just have to wait and see.  Keep the snow shovel handy.

Anybody going to Pennsylvania?  Will you bring me back a bottle of NUT ROLL ALE?  Doesn't that sound tasty??

READ ALL ABOUT IT RIGHT HERE ON BEER ADVOCATE

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS WATERSLIDE?  THIS IS INSANE!!

Our average temperature for this date is 41 and it was 48 at noon today.  That suits me just fine!

On average, you take around 17,000 breaths a day.  No wonder I'm all worn out.  It's all that damn breathing.

SOME THOUGHTS FROM DONNIE
Now that we have a "Honey Boo Boo" reality show, all we need is a "Gigi" program, and we'll have come full circle back to my childhood.

I am remembering the 1970s. After I had finished school and the military, and was having trouble finding a job, in those other recession times, Gret insisted that I had to buy a suit and wear a tie if I hoped to get anywhere. (Denying a suit was about my only rebellion in that hippie era.) But now the difference is made not in the clothes we wear, but in the technology we use. A friends 30-year-old son, working at Google, tells me I have to get out of Hotmail and onto gMail. They both do the same thing, as far as my needs go, but one is old and one is new. Linda (having replaced Gret in my life) agrees, telling me that if I were to seek a job these days, my Hotmail address would be a candidate "weakness." I can show up for interviews in just about anything, as long as I can articulate the latest tech talk. And this is not a bad thing, I think.

If you plan Thanksgiving travel you have my sympathy.  Travel experts say the airports and highways will be busier, and the airplanes will be fuller.  I've been there.  Done that.  Don't want to do it again.

THE SINGIN' RAGE IS 85 TODAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PATTI PAGE



Next summers movie blockbuster is already getting attention.  The SUPERMAN flick "MAN OF STEEL" will open in theaters, in 3-D on June 14.

FROM THE WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY
November 8, 1870 - First National Weather Forecast Published On this date Increase Lapham recorded the first published national weather forecast, calling for "high winds and falling temperatures for Chicago, Detroit and the Eastern cities." [Source: History Just Ahead: A Guide to Wisconsin's Historical Markers edited by Sarah Davis McBride]

This is looking like ONE FINE DAY for La Crosse with a SUNNY SKY AND A HIGH AROUND 50.  Our next good chance for RAIN will be SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY.
 

GREEN BAY PACKERS fans will enjoy this article on the PACKERS MID-SEASON AWARDS

This is WINTER WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK IN WISCONSIN.

You show me one person living in Wisconsin who isn't "aware of winter" and I'll show you one person who's brain dead.

According to an interesting article in TIME MAGAZINE, half the people living in the United States will develop HEART DISEASE within their lifetimes.

Great to hear the GOOD NEWS FROM LYNNE ABOUT AUNT WILDA.  She still has to build up her strength before she can leave but her doctor is hoping to get her back home as soon as possible.  I know she will be a happy lady when that day comes!

FAST FACT:
There are more pedestrians and bicycles, per square mile, in New York City than any other place in the USA.

Go figure!
Yahoo! reported that about the time the winner of the election was announced, folks went wild on TWITTER, tweeting that they were leaving the country and moving to........

Guess which country most people picked to escape to.......CANADA!!  Probably the MOST LIBERAL COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!!

THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG HERE

JUST READ IT ON TWITTER
SANDY destroyed 200,000 cars along the east coast.  Used car prices are going up.

How many car salesmen does it take to change a light bulb?

I'm going to work this out on my calculator and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

HIGH TODAY AROUND 45
High tomorrow around 50.  I could live with this all winter!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! TURNING 70 TODAY!
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RAPID CITY WILL HAVE HIGHS NEAR 70 TODAY.

There's no rain in our forecast for today but we'll have to wait until tomorrow for the sun.  We'll have to wait until the WEEKEND FOR RAIN.

A FRISKIES FINALIST AWARD WINNER

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Six sick hicks nick six slick bricks with picks and sticks.

I wish to wish the wish you wish to wish, but if you wish the wish the witch wishes, I won't wish the wish you wish to wish.

Santa's Short Suit Shrunk

AND THE #1

TONGUE TWISTER

OF THE DAY:



Birdie birdie in the sky laid a turdie in my eye. If cows could fly I'd have a cow pie in my eye.

OH, YES!  I LOVE THIS ONE!
"When your life flashes before your eyes, make sure you've got plenty to watch."
Anonymous

WHERE THERE'S A WILL, THERE'S A WAY!

This would be a good weekend to visit CHICAGO.  They're forecasting HIGHS IN THE LOW 70'S!

I've been reading about all the problems states are having with machines that don't work, people going to the wrong place to vote because of the old redistricting trick.  People being told they have only three minutes in the booth which is a lie and illegal.  People being told they have to have a picture I.D. in states where a picture I.D. is not required and it goes on and on and on.

I can't help but be amazed that this country has been voting for 300 years and we have a government that STILL has not figured out how to run an election.

PEOPLE ARE STRANGE.  I went out this morning because I had to get my pills but why would you go out in this if you didn't have to?  Apparently no one agrees with me.

Walgreen's was so packed I could hardly get through the aisles but they weren't there for pills.  I was the only one at the pharmacy.

I forgot to get an onion yesterday so, as long as I was already out, I picked one up at Co-op.  Same scenario there.  Wall to wall shoppers.

Outside, traffic is CRAZY.  And, speaking of crazy, the wind chill is 27 degrees and I saw a young man WALKING DOWN THE STREET IN SHORTS.  AND, he had skinny legs to boot.

Sometimes I think I'm in the wrong world.

RITA got a new haircut, this morning.  I think she looks great!

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IT'S HERE!!
0.5 INCH OF SNOW WAS OBSERVED AT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE ON GRANDAD BLUFF.

OH, YES!

IT DOES LOOK LIKE

WINTER OUT THERE

TODAY!



Albert Einstein:
"I fear the day when the technology overlaps with our humanity. The world will only have a generation of idiots."

 

 There was an interesting segment, on PBS this morning, about the many, many, MANY ways that ballots can be tampered with when elections are held.  Even those evil old banks are wise to that game and have paper back-ups for everything because electronic storage is so unreliable.  Happy voting!

 

Meanwhile, lets get together for a good conversation about this over a cup of coffee.......

 

So, I open the blinds and this is what I see.  I think I'll wait a while to venture out!

I love a tuna casserole and this one is quick and easy.  Unfortunately, it's, mostly, stuff I can't have but you might like it.

ROGER sent some great pictures that they took on their trip to Illinois last weekend.  Look at this COVERED BRIDGE they discovered near PRINCETON.

Two of the birds Roger showed TOOK FIRST PLACE!




THEY MANAGED TO FIND THE TIME TO CELEBRATE THEIR BIG WIN!

I was all excited when I read the headline that said ONE COLONOSCOPY AT 50 MAY BE ALL YOU'LL EVER NEED.  Then I got down to the fine print where it said, "for some people".  It went on to say that the findings were based on a computer model that made certain assumptions that may not always hold true.

Damn, that means I'll have to drink that terrible stuff, again, four years from now.  On the other hand, I'm finding that, when you hit 70, there's an awful lot of stuff that can go wrong with a failing body so it's best not to plan too far ahead.

I will still continue to question the doctors.  If we're smart enough to send robots to Mars, why can't we figure out a way to make that liquid laxative taste better?  I've come up with a plan of my own.  Next time, if there is a next time, I'm going to try drinking it was a couple shots of vodka to see if that helps.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SALLY FIELD.  She's celebrating her day with 66 candles on the cake.

Sally has two ACADEMY AWARD statues.  One for "Norma Rae" in 1979 and the other for "Places in the Heart" in 1984.

She suffers from OSTEOPOROSIS and is a big advocate for womens health issues.

90% chance for rain today.  We need the moisture and it isn't snow so I have no complaints.  I'll bet, however, before the day is done, I'll find something else to complain about.

I see a couple in Mankato is accused of STARVING THEIR 8 YEAR OLD SON to the point that his weight was down to 34 pounds, his bones were protruding and his brain was atrophied.

For the life of me, I can not imagine any living thing being so cruel.  There is no other animal on earth, and yes were are indeed animals, that would do something that evil.

If we spent as much time LIVING what Jesus taught as we do defining, for others, what the Bible means we'd have a much better world.

Why is "love one another" so difficult to understand?

The opthamologist said my one good eye looks about the same as last year so that's good news.  I can keep the same glasses I got last year.  I rarely, wear except to watch TV which I don't do very often.

I've only seen one item in the new line of BRAD PITT FURNITURE but if that's an indication of what the rest will look like I'm very impressed.  CLICK HERE TO READ THE STORY AND SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE BED.   That's what I want for Christmas!

I love this.  A BEAR SPOTS AN OPEN WINDOW and there are treats just inside.

I GOT MY

FLU SHOT

DID YOU?

Flights to Australia will be full this month.  The land down under will be the best place to see the SOLAR ECLIPSE on November 14.  They expect 50,000 folks to gather for the event, a lot of them from other countries.

Guess who forgot about the time change?  Were they early for church?  Not exactly.  GOT THIS NOTE FROM RITA:  "We arrived in Tomah close to noon so stopped at a bar to have a burger while watching the start of the game. Followed the bartender into the bar and she said she was opening up and would get us our drinks in a minute.

We asked her to turn the TV on so we could see the kickoff, at which time she informed us it was only 11:00, not noon. Drank our drink fast and buzzed home for kickoff."

WHAT GAME DID EVERYONE WANT UNDER THE CHRISTMAS TREE IN 1935?  Monopoly, of course.  Parker Brothers began selling the classic game on this date in '35.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ART GARFUNKEL.  He turns 71 today.

DANNY DeVITO WAS IN TOWN, yesterday to make a stop at UW-La Crosse.  He's campaigning for the President.

The National Weather Service gives us a 60% CHANCE FOR RAIN TOMORROW MORNING.  I'm glad I have my doctor appointment today.  When that's done I'll run to the grocery store and then I can stay inside and dry tomorrow.

We had a high of 48 yesterday.  It will, probably, be a few degrees cooler today.  NORMAL HIGH FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR IS 50.

Good luck to BILLY RAY CYRUS as he makes his Broadway debut in a revival of CHICAGO tonight.  The show will run through December 23.

Thinking of Billy Ray takes me back to my Houston days.  I put a lot of quarters in the jukebox, at my favorite country bar, playing this song.

LYNNE REPORTS: "Bob and I were in Viroqua to visit Mom yesterday.  She was so happy to see us and loves the cards and phone calls from so many.  She is having pain most of the time, mainly from the therapy she is having."

A 93 YEAR OLD BODY BUILDER is something I never want to be but more power to this old fella.

I'm sure glad to be back to STANDARD TIME.  Being the morning person that I am, I love the early morning sunrise and the early sunset dosen't bother me at all.

I've always gotten up in, what for most people, is the middle of the night and I'm in bed about the time most people sit down for dinner.

Was Old BEN FRANKLIN right when he said, "Early to bed, early to rise makes a man heathly, wealthy and wise."?  No.  I'm afraid old Ben was just about as full of s*** as anyone can get.  Early to bed and early to rise has gotten me fighting failing kidneys, poor as a church mouse and dumb as a post.

(Sigh)

I posted some pictures of the AMERICAN QUEEN yesterday and today I wanted to share this video which shows some of the great interiors of the riverboat.

Just read an article that might be of interest to anyone traveling by air for Christmas.  If this year is anything like past years, the chance of losing LOSING YOUR LUGGAGE is 35% higher in December than anytime during the rest of the year.

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It was on November 4, 1922 that King Tutankhamen's Tomb was discovered in the Valley of the Kings.

 

Did you know that King Tut took the throne and began ruling the empire when he was 9 years old?

 

I wonder what it would be like if we had a 9 year old ruling the USA.  Don't laugh.  We've had adults running the show and they've managed to run it into a disaster.  Besides that, the Egyptian Empire lasted for about 5,000 years.  You can bet your sweet asp that the good old U.S.A. won't be around that long.

 

Long live Tutankhamen!

RITA AND ROGER

RETURN HOME

TODAY

SLIPPING AND SLIDING IN THE DAKOTAS

(FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE)

 





"Fog with freezing drizzle is expected across much of western and central North Dakota tonight. Another storm system will impact the area late tonight into Sunday. This will yield freezing rain first beginning in the northwest tonight, spreading across much of the central Sunday morning. By late morning and into the early afternoon, precipitation will transition to mostly rain, with the threat for a wintry mix shifting to the Turtle Mountains through the James River Valley." There's a chance for rain, around here, tomorrow night and Tuesday but Our temperatures should remain above freezing.

DID YOU CHANGE

YOUR CLOCKS??