A Nice Weekend

I had a pretty nice weekend, I hope you did, too.  On Saturday I got several outside chores done, including getting firewood cut with my new chainsaw!  It's bigger than I actually need, but it was a really good deal.  I had been saving scavenged wood for fire pits but that would be a lot of cutting with the hand saw, now I can scavenge away and not worry about the work of cutting it up.   A few more fire pits and the saw will have paid for itself rather than buying expensive bundles of firewood from the store.  There's a lot of trees in Madison, and a lot of falling branches that are free for the taking.  Later that day we also went over to my sister in law's house to see our newest and tiniest nephew.  Well, I'm not posting pictures of that, so that's that, then.

We were invited by Kate's friend Terry to go out on the boat Sunday.  I was not sure that I wanted to go, but I'm glad I did.  Thanks, Terry!  I was able to kick back and have a few drinks and not drive anything anywhere.  Again, it was a beautiful day for it, not too hot and not too sunny.  Still, don't let the clouds you see below fool you - I came home with minor sunburns on my arms and knees.  My own fault as I skipped the sunblock because I wanted more color.

A zoomed in look across the lake at the Wisconsin State Capitol building in the distance.

A few more pics after the break:

Atwoodfest 2016!

Atwoodfest, a neighborhood festival on this near east side of Madison, happened this past weekend.  Bands, beers, vendors, beers and friends, all day each day.  Well that would be a bit much, but we did manage to spend a few hours down there both Saturday and Sunday.  The weather was beautiful, temperatures in the low 80's and the sun made it quite warm, however not as hot as last year.


After Mike's visit on Saturday (see last post), we walked down to the festival.  It's just a great atmosphere - and it seems to be getting bigger every year.  We tried some food, though not as much as years past, and bought frivolous festival wares.  We saw some friends and coworkers on our walks up and down the street.  This Atwood Avenue area is only about a 15-20 minute walk from our house, depending on your gait, but then you are on your feet the whole time unless you are lucky enough to come across a rare chair, ledge or curb..  My legs and feet held up well this year, but it did take a toll on my back.  Thus I have the extra time to write this now.

Some more pictures after the break!

Old Friends, Again!

Last year was my 30th class reunion, and it was the first one I had attended.  I talk about that here.  At that time one of my great friends from and since high school, Gary, came back to the area for the reunion from down south and I was able to spend some good time and have some fun hanging with him again.  That post about Gary's visit is here.

Mike and Me.  Man, I hate posting pics of myself....

My other great friend from high school is Mike, and he and Gary were friends well before I nosed in.  I got myself invited to a Ronnie James Dio concert here in Madison, with Dokken as the opening band.  That was in late 1983, maybe 1984...  'twas a long time ago now.  We lived in a town less than an hour away.  Mike was a year younger than me and Gary in high school, I'll repost the picture of all 3 of us from 25 years ago, a few years past high school, somewhere below.

We've been mostly out of touch for many years, just checking in when things happen and such, and I think that goes for all three of us.  But it should also be expected, as we all live in different states now and have our own lives that are busier and more complicated than back then.  I just happen to be closest to where we came from to be able to benefit from getting the chance to see them sometimes on their travels back for other reasons.  I'll take it, these are some of life's treasures.

Me, Gary, and Mike at the Black Bear Lounge, 1991

Mike and I had a couple chances to meet up in the recent years when he came back in the state, but for circumstances it ended up just not working out.  He seemed to want to make it a priority this time, and I was more than happy to see him when he showed up here midday yesterday.  I knew his destination was the hometown but I didn't realize at that time it was for his class reunion.  He had his young son with him and they had been on the road for some time.  After a welcoming and settling in we had grilled burgers for lunch.  Kind of a last minute plan, and I thank my lovely wife for doing all the work so we could visit.

 Mike is one of my oldest and best friends.  He was coming to my house and I wanted to impress him because, you know, we're still friends even though we haven't been close recently so he hasn't seen the cool little house and yard we have and all my toys and creations that go with it.  I did give him the nickel tour, also so we could separate and discuss 'adult' topics without the boy listening.  Yes, stuff happens that I won't write about here.  Man, I miss hanging out with him like we used to, but that couldn't happen today.  Still, he's got a great boy and I know Mike is proudest of him above all.  I did make one faux pas during our visit when I forgot what was actually in a music video I played on the TV with the boy in the room.  Nothing terrible, just a little inappropriate.  Typical for me, I know I have the most unspoken embarrassing moments between me, Mike and Gary of our shared, youthful experiences.  Thankfully they've always seemed to have my back when it counted, as I have theirs, and always will.  We have more years behind us than ahead of us at this point, we have to value what is there for us when we can.

Thanks for stopping by, Mike!  I enjoyed our visit and hopefully we can spend more time in the future.

Trump v. Clinton

via Huffington Post

Stump Flower Repotting

Today we re-potted some of the flowers on the stump.  If it wasn't full before, it is now.  I think I picked out some pretty decent plants this year, and we will be able to keep some that are perennials.  The garden blog has been updated with some neat pictures, have a look!

'Critters' Explained

Lately I've referred to  having trouble with 'critters.'  I haven't written much more because I didn't know enough about it for a full post.  Still don't know as much as I'd like, but the current situation seems to be resolved enough for reflection.

Several weeks ago I noticed holes dug in the strip of grass that I have between ours and neighbor Dave's house.  I knew Dave had issues with moles in the past so I asked him about it, and wound up borrowing his deterrent, a device that you put into the ground that emits a sound at intervals, every 30 seconds or so.  And you want it in tightly to better conduct the sound through the earth.

Now a little back story.  There have been news articles recently about a rat infestation near here, 6 or more blocks away in the dumpster at a fast food joint.  The house behind it found about 300 rats taking up residence under their garage, with tunnels to the dumpster area.  Steps have been taken in those situations by now but the articles mentioned things like putting your garbage away, how they like open compost and wood piles, and how chicken coops can attract them - and we have a few neighbors with chickens.

Then, that same evening that I borrowed neighbor Dave's sonic device, neighbor Jane on the other side told me about seeing a rat in her back yard the day before.  That changed my thinking a little bit.  And it made me think of how even when we had the netting over the strawberry plants the berries were disappearing before we knew they were there.  Thinking that maybe rats were stealing them creeped me out.  I was already going to buy some type of small animal repellent, now I was going to add rat poison to my list.  That night I ordered rat poison and small animal repellent online and it arrived by the time I got home from work the next day.  Very impressive, Amazon.

So I spent a few days putting out the poison chunks down every hole I found, about 4 by the side of the house and a couple in the back yard between the garden and the compost bin.  Neighbor Jane threw about a dozen on the other side of her fence near where she saw the rat.  We did not want any in Jane's yard because of her dogs.  After a few days of this, checking the chunks I put out and replacing many, I came home from work and put 5 out behind and around the compost bin.  Nothing had been getting into the bin but it was near the holes in back and pretty out of the way in the small spaces between the bin and the fences.  Less than a half hour later I went back to check and all 5 had disappeared.  It was then I decided that was enough, I wouldn't put out any more poison because I still was not sure what I was poisoning.  When Jane got home I even went over to make sure partial poison baits did not get dragged over there, where the dogs could get at them.  Thankfully I didn't find anything, but 5 gone that fast is pretty crazy.

The sonic device was seemingly having no effect, so the next day I removed it and filled the holes.  The following day all the holes had been reopened, even the hole that I had made just for that sonic device.  I sprinkled the repellent around the area again and left it for a few rainy days.  Eventually I went out to refill the holes again.  This time I sprinkled in the small animal repellent into the hole, refilled the hole, and sprinkled more repellent on the filled in holes and some in the whole area, and did the same to one area in back.

Now, several days later, the refilled holes have not been disturbed.  The 'critter' situation seems to be under control once again, even though I don't know exactly what it was.  Really, I never even saw anything, alive or dead, in these areas, only the evidence of activity.  Who knows what goes on in my yard when I'm not looking?  I'm sure the cats have a pretty good idea, but they don't seem interested in cluing me in at all.

PAIN - Black Knight Satellite

PAIN - Black Knight Satellite lyric video.  New album 'Coming Home' out September 9!

Last album was 2011, other than Lindemann and Hypocrisy.  Killer HD graphics here, too!

Holiday Fire Pit

We managed to get a decent (read: not overly hot and humid) weekend for the holiday.  On Sunday night we had some friends over for a few hours of food, fun, drinks and conversation around the fire.

Much of the same cast of characters as usual, but we have not seen B&Z in a very long time, James (orange hat) just moved back to town after a year and a half or so, and he brought another Kate with him that we have known casually for a few years.  Terry and Becky also came, and Terry brought the only fireworks of the evening - extra large sparklers.  It never entered my mind to buy fireworks but, boy, it had occurred to many others in the neighborhood!  I certainly didn't mind, but there were fireworks going off all around us each night of the weekend.  I didn't see a lot of them, sometimes just the tops over trees and houses, but you could hear how much were set off nearby.

There's enough cut wood left for one more fire pit so I must get to the logs/branches that I have sitting out.  I also spent much of the day Sunday sealing the cracks between the slabs in the driveway.   I got all the easy ones, now I have the tougher, wider ones down by the garage to do yet.    I was standing over that torch much of the day and it was the backs of my upper arms and shoulders that got burned to a nice, bright red color.  And I'm a side sleeper so either side hurts now trying to sleep!  Anyway, two more chores for the list.  Maybe this weekend will be nice enough to get them done.   Thanks for reading!

On The Lake Today

This was a good way to start the holiday weekend.  Cruising the lake on a perfect day.



It was not too hot, there was a good breeze, and the sky had a good cloud cover while still getting light and sun without getting baked and burned.  If I could be in the same place at the same time in the next two days as the picture above, we'd see the lake much busier with boat traffic.  I was a bit surprised how slow it was when we were out, it is a holiday weekend, after all.  But as we came in there were already many more boats coming out.  That was mid afternoon, maybe about 3, we had met Terry and Becky at the boat at noon.

They let me drive most of the way so I took us a different direction than towards the cove that we usually end up in (which was crowded with boats as we saw on the way back).  We dropped anchor for a bit by a beach in Middleton for drinks and snacks.  I considered trying to go all the way across the lake to Picnic Point but for the slow speed of the pontoon boat would have made this a considerably longer adventure to get there and back.  Basically shooting straight across the lake, too.  I tend to like viewing the shoreline - the nature of it all and, you know, rich people's houses!  We also saw the castle-like house today that has a turret and gargoyles.

It was a great time on the lake today and a beautiful day for it.  Life needs more moments like these!

June This-And-Thats

Before June gets away from me I suppose I should write about a few things.  I've taken enough time away from here already, but there has been nothing major to discuss other than what I have already posted this month, so it's once again time to start typing and see what happens!

• I'm glad that I made it a policy not to discuss my work here.  Even though my name is not on the site, I would worry that some of my gripes over the years could make it back there.  Especially most recently.  Then again, I would probably be posting much more often!
• We have decided on a contractor for our new roof project and decided to wait on the porch project as that will be pricier than we had hoped.  The papers are signed but the work isn't scheduled yet, though we were told about 50 days out.  The foreman has visited to get details and we are waiting to talk to the electrician about the exhaust vents.  I'm not worried about not having a date yet, I just want it finished by fall and I have no reason to believe it won't be.  I've also contacted them since to change the color of the drip edge on the gable ends of the house to black.  Since we have no eaves or overhangs, I thought it would give the upper edge more definition.  Also, it will match the nearly new black flashing around the windows we had installed in 2013 and the foundation that we repainted black last year.  Our house and garage will be fully white with black trim, foundation and shingles.  Not as exciting as some of the colorful houses of this eclectic, near east side of Madison, but I think it will look rather sharp, nonetheless.
• For some reason we don't get many thunderstorms here.  I watch the radar; I watch them coming right at us; I watch them fall apart as they approach our lakes while continuing along the line to either side.  I do enjoy a good storm, but nothing too dangerous, of course.  I don't enjoy death or destruction in my nature but I do enjoy samples of its power.  It's exhilarating watching the lightning, jumping at the thunder and smelling the ionized air.  That being said, things must have gotten a little windy the other night.  No real storm, but we did have much rain and wind in the early hours.  On a related note...
• I have more free firewood thanks to stormy winds on Saturday night.  When we got up we had a 12 foot craggy, leafy live branch hanging off the side fence and mostly in the lilac and purple-floppy-plant.  We waited until around midday for all to dry out some, then I went and trimmed all the little leafy branches and saved the main logs for firewood.  As I was trimming that I heard a crack and crash and watched a dead branch from one of the same black walnut trees fall feet away from me on old neighbor Dave's side of the fence.  Oh, I saw it coming just in time so didn't even freak out, but it did make a little bit of a racket.  It was at least half as big as the live one but less dense, being dead.  I finished the branch I was working on and, after an hour or so break, went over on my neighbor's side and did the same to the dead branch.  I talked to him last night.  He didn't see me doing it but he did notice them disappear at times when he looked out the window and thanked me.  Which leads me to how...
• A couple years ago neighbor Dave had moles, but not last year.  Last year I didn't have moles, either, but not this year.   I've seen holes in the short space between ours and his houses and even more in the back yard between the garden and the back fence.  I asked him about the device he used a few years ago, a thing he stuck in the ground that made a sound at intervals, and he still had it.  So I put that in the ground between the houses, now I need to shop for some kind of critter repellent for the back yard.  A nice side effect would be keeping the damn bunny rabbits out, too.

Well again, just start typing and see what happens, that seems to be good for me.  Still, time to wrap it up.  I do need to get on Amazon and look for critter repellent, after all.  

*And one last thought - like last year, we have been wanting to have a fire pit and invite all we know.   though just like last year seemed to go, every Saturday has been the hottest, most humid day of the week for several weeks now.  This week should change, so I need to get on that.  

Thanks for reading!

Stump Flowers

I've been neglecting this space, sorry about that.  Not up for writing at the moment, either.  So here's an updated picture of the stump flowers I just took.  Compare to the picture I posted two posts (and almost a month!) ago and you can see the growth.  I think I'll dump the rest of the pictures on the garden blog.

Holy Cow!

This is what one-quarter of a cow looks like in our freezer.

Some time ago a friend asked if we would be interested in going in on a cow.  We had talked about it previously but now it was time so we jumped at the chance.  Grass fed, corn finished, and from Door County, Wisconsin.  The cow had been picked a while ago but it took some time waiting for the cow to fatten up for slaughter, so we've been waiting for several weeks.  Then I got word earlier this week, it's time!  Our friend went up to get it from his dad (who lives up there and also had a share of the cow) after work yesterday and showed up here late last night to drop off our quarter of the cow.  It is a shared quarter, meaning we have front and back cuts of meat.  I was told over 200 pounds, though it appears lighter.  Still, we paid a good rate across the board for good beef that includes several kinds of roasts and steaks, stew meat and soup bones, and over 40 tubes of ground beef between one and one and a half pounds each (in a box at right under tenderized round steaks, among other cuts).  Kate took inventory this morning, but we still need to get it sorted better in the freezer.

Well, that's one less thing to think about now for quite a while.  And it makes grocery shopping easier, too.  We had this in mind when we bought the freezer and I'm glad it is now full of meat.  Should be a lot of fun grilling this summer.  Yum!

Plant Day!

I took the rest of the week off for a little spring vacation, and with the holiday weekend I have six consecutive days off!  I've needed it for some time now.  I haven't really given myself one or two bigger projects this time off, but I do have a list of lots of little things to get accomplished.

Today was forecast to be rainy almost all day so I wasn't thinking I would get plants in at all.  Instead, it was a beautiful sunny day until storming for a short time mid to late afternoon and now is clear and nice again.  We got some hanging baskets last weekend, now I needed to buy more pots and plants to fill them.  Kate wants the tree stump out back filled and that's what I set out to do.  Plus we had our pot out front to fill and space for some perennials by the porch.  That space has some plants that were in pots last year.  It's quite the hodgepodge of perennials in that corner and they will probably have to be separated eventually.  I was a planting machine this afternoon.  I managed to use up all the new and all the usable pots we had, and I still have 4 marigolds to put somewhere.  They'll probably end up in the flower bed in front of the two perennials I planted.  Also, the white bucket on the stump has a seed pod for cucumbers.

I think most of what I got are perennials.  And no petunias this year, for a change.  When my wife got home she was asking me what they were but I have no idea for almost all, but I kept the tags.  I picked out plants that I found pleasing to look at, colorful - or will be, and could handle full sun.  I did not purposely look at what anything was called, I don't know enough about plants for it to mean much to me.  The plants in the pot out front are part sun/part shade and I had a couple of the red ones left over that are in back that I will keep an eye on.  In fact, now the games begin... with the bastard squirrels!

Cheers, Wisconsin, we’re No. 1!

This story has been out for about a week now, but I read this editorial this afternoon in today's edition of our local paper, The Wisconsin State Journal, while in the waiting room for our dentist after work today.  (Yeah, that was fun, too.  I might write about it later, but anyway.)  Our city of Madison is number 4, and our state of Wisconsin has 12 of the top 20 cities.  Twelve of the top 20 drunkest cities in all of America.  Surely nothing to be proud of... but that's not how we roll.  I hate to say it, kinda not really, but this editorial hits the nail square on the head.

BARABOO — The trouble with ridiculing Wisconsinites is we don’t realize we’re being put down. In fact, we take most insults as compliments.

We can be a backward lot. This explains why we call freezing January temperatures “fishing weather.”

It also explains why, when our neighbors to the south derisively dubbed us “cheeseheads,” we didn’t know enough to feel hurt. Instead, we embraced the nickname and started wearing foam cheese wedges on our heads. 

Wisconsinites accepted with that same lack of self-consciousness last week’s news that America’s Dairyland is home to more than half the drunkest cities in America. I wonder if people in Appleton, the city anointed drunkest of them all, are spilling out of the taverns and on to the streets, wearing foam fingers and chanting “We’re No. 1!”

Click the text for the whole article!  Written by Ben Bromley.

May This-And-Thats

It's been some time since I just typed and let things out.  In fact, I haven't really felt like writing anything in a while, I guess.  Other than my Ace Frehley LLP post, I've mostly written just to post pictures to keep up with our garden and spring flora.  Starting to type and not knowing exactly what will come out can be - and has been - fun and interesting.  And, well, life is ever forward so shall we get started?

• I reached out to 8 contractors, heard back from 6, and received quotes from 3.  We know who we want to hire for the roof project, but as of now we are waiting for the quote for the porch project from the same company.  It will affect how we go about financing, if we do just the roof right now or both projects.  The roof project is the highest priority for us, the porch will be pricier.  Neighbor Dave tells me the porch was being built at the same time his deck was, about 1973.  He also said he knows it was not permitted, and after taking a closer look at the construction, there is no doubt in my mind no permits were pulled and no inspection took place.  It's not in danger of falling apart, but no inspector would approve of the building method.
• I used Bayer Season Long Weed Control on my lawn a couple weeks ago.  I've been sold on the product since it finally got rid of many tiny weeds in my front lawn last spring, I think.  It's the kind of thing that you hook up to the hose and spray the lawn.  I did my full front and back lawns, and I even did a strip of my neighbor's lawn beside our driveway.  I've had issues in the past with crabgrass and other weeds coming down her side and getting into my yard.  The only thing is I got a little too close to a couple peony bushes, a small one of ours and a very large one of the neighbors.  The plants got all curly and sick looking in just a day and they remain that way.  Thankfully it only affected a part of my neighbor's plant, but I think our peony is done for this year, though I do think it will come back.
• Before I forget, Kate was in California a couple weeks ago for a work conference.  This has happened before in years past.  It's during the week so with work and chores it goes by quick.  Then, just as the cats and I start getting used to her not being there - she's back.  It freaked Basil out quite a bit last year but he seemed to take it better this year.  I was also glad to have her back, even though we both seemed a bit testy with each other for a few days for some reason.  We also have an anniversary coming up, kind of a milestone one, too.  No, I don't think they're related, but I do have to start looking for some kind of gift!
• Spring is finally here.  I was so anxious for it to be here this year.  I want it to be comfortable without a coat outside and I want to get the outside fully cleaned up and ready for summer.  Aside from some of the usual projects, all that is left is plant shopping and that will most likely happen next weekend.  We had frost warnings the last couple nights and the high temperatures still are not enough to have all the windows open comfortably.  I hope we get some of that all-day open-window time before it inevitably becomes central air time.  For the time being, the heat remains on.
• Another thing about spring, and this year especially, the lilacs burst with blooms and at the same time the lily of the valley is starting to peak.  I brought in some of each yesterday making the the house very floral scented.  We had to put them in different rooms to spread it out a little.  They both smell so nice and are so fleeting in spring we must enjoy it while we can.

Well, when I sat I only had a vague idea of what I might say and look at all the stuff that came out.  Now, I better wrap it up before it gets too much longer.  I'm sure I'll have forgotten something, I always do, but I also don't want to make a post so long no one reads it. 

It will be another summer of projects and activities so I'm sure I won't run out of anything to write about anytime soon.  Thanks for reading.

Ta ta for now.

For Mothers And Others

I went with my wife and her sister taking their mother out to a very expensive elegant brunch at Mariner's Inn this morning for Mother's Day.  I went because my brother-in-law went last year and yes, again this year.  I don't really mind my mother-in-law, but it's not mother-in-law day.  I was happy to be there for my wife even though we've been on each other's nerves a little bit since she got home.  She had spent the work week in California at a conference.  I texted my mother, who lives farther away, this morning.  Seems she's been a bit sick so just planned on laying low today, anyway.  Feel better soon, Mom!



Last night we grilled our first brats of the season.  We do not fear the wurst!  We have had the grill out earlier but for burgers.  The brats were very tasty and I'm sure I'll eat lots again this summer!


There's been more posting over on the Garden Blog today.  Kate has been busy weeding and harvesting the spring onions.  And, just because I like to see the growth that comes with spring, there is another tour of our yard posted after the break on that post.

That's over at the Garden Blog, give it a look!

Latest Listening Pleasure 24 - Ace Frehley

I've gotten several new CDs recently, among them:  Andrew Bird released 'Are You Serious.'  Al Jourgensen came back with Surgical Meth Machine and an album by the same name.  Also, I just got Rob Zombie's new album called 'The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser.'

Ace Frehley has also recently released a new album of covers and old favorites, 'Origins Vol. 1.'  He recorded songs he grew up with and that have influenced him.  Among several guest musicians, including Slash, Lita Ford and John 5, is Paul Stanley.  For the first time in 14 years Paul and Ace perform together.  They play on the song 'Fire and Water,' originally done by the band Free. The video for that song was released on Tuesday.  I must admit, as a Kiss fan I'm loving this little reunion.  And the rest of the album is a lot of fun, too.


Listening to Ace so much recently has reminded me of when I saw him back in November 2009.  I did write about it here back then - over a few different posts, but long before I had started wrapping that stuff up into LLP posts.  Well, now Ace is officially on that list.

Here's a video from that November 7, 2009 show at the Majestic Theater here in Madison.  'Parasite' is on the new album, studio recorded for the first time by Ace (along with 'Cold Gin').  Not my video here, I was a person or two back and dead center stage.




Previous LLP Posts...
LLP 1 - Pain
LLP 2 - Nightwish
LLP 3 - Die Antwoord
LLP 4 - Pain part 2
LLP 5 - Andrew Bird LIVE
LLP 6 - Nightwish part 2
LLP 7 - Paramore
LLP 8 - Newsted
LLP 9 - U.D.O. LIVE
LLP 10 - Nightwish Imaginaerum Movie
LLP 11 - Kiss
LLP 12 - Rick Springfield
LLP 13 - Hyrax
LLP 14 - In This Moment
LLP 15 - Faster Pussycat LIVE
LLP 16 - Sebastian Bach
LLP 17 - Cradle Of Thorns
LLP 18 - Amaranthe
LLP 19 - Lindemann
LLP 20 - Halestorm
LLP 21 - Garbage LIVE
LLP 22 - Arcade
LLP 23 - Nightwish LIVE
LLP 24 - Ace Frehley

The Disappearing Contractor

I have been getting estimates for a roof and a porch project we are planning.  I had a meeting scheduled this evening, in fact.  It was a rather odd meeting.  I was going to leave this comment at their website, but didn't even trust giving them my information for that, but I also didn't want that writing to go to waste so here it is (making me write more):

- - - - - -

Strike number one, Crystal, at 608 286-xxxx, called 8 times without leaving a message.

Strike number two, after I finally called that number back and let her set up an appointment she made sure to say at the end of the call to make sure that my wife and I are both there.  That tells me they are going to want to leave with a signed deal, and be persistent about it.

Strike number three, after discussing my porch project to a befuddled representative, I said never mind, if that's not what you do then let's talk about the other project, a new roof, and we did.  He said he would get up there and get me a quote and went back to his car and left. 

I find this all rather funny, how about you?

You know, I don't even trust this website.  I shall not submit this to you, but perhaps call you out on my own site.

- - - - - -

From first shaking hands he acted like he was not told about the porch part of the equation.  It was not what he normally does, even though his business had 'remodeling' in the name (a local contractor affiliated with the larger company).  After he repeated again that this is not normally what he does I said well, then I wouldn't be inclined to hire you for it, let's talk about the roof then, and we did.  He said he was going to get his ladder to get on the roof and take measurements to get me a quote.  I wandered the back yard for a few moments picking at weeds, never did hear a ladder.  I walked over and looked up the driveway and he was gone.

Kate and I both were very surprised, bemused, and then even amused at the whole encounter.
Your Home Improvement Co is certainly not mine.
That's that, then.

The Gnome Is Home

What a difference a week can make!  I posted a bunch of pictures last week, and this week the growth is obvious.  Since then, Kate has spent much time in the yard and garden.  The gnome has been put back out making it officially spring in our yard.  The tulips below are no longer in snow.

Like last week, visit the Garden Blog for all the yard and garden pictures!

Happy Birthday, Cats!

Whaddaya want? They're cats.  You try to get them to pose for a picture!

Basil and Hamish turn 4 today,  or about today.  April 20 is the estimated date of their birth by the vet that examined them after they were found and taken in by Dane County Friends of Ferals.  They were so tiny when we got them, that was June 9 almost 4 years ago.  We wanted two male brothers and we got them.  And they get along as well as we could ever hope.  But for brothers they could not be more different, body types and personalities, and that does keep it interesting!

Happy Birthday Hamish Pie* and   Basil Boo*!

Spring Has Sprung

With five of my last six posts having 'Spring' in the title, it has finally come true.  We had the windows open for the first time this year yesterday and today I am wearing shorts as it may come close to 80º!









Along with the nicer weather comes work to do.  My wife spent much of the day yesterday working outside.  To see these pictures and more, stop on over at our Garden Blog!

Oh,

Oh, it also happens to be my 7th Blogday today.  I've had this site for seven whole years.  Mediocre at best as it is, I know.  But I think I've got it under control now, anyway.  At least the itching stopped...

Apetor's Spring 2016

Some crazy, cold-loving Norwegian up to his old tricks skating/swimming/skiing while drinking vodka.  I like this guy's videos.  Just consider what he's doing, then realize how good a video he made and edited of himself doing it.  Now how crazy is he?

Spring Tulips In Snow

Tulips in snow.

When we woke up this morning it looked much like my last post.  It snowed most of the early morning with some accumulations but with temperatures at or just above freezing it was melting immediately on roads and walkways.  Then it went from snow to sun to snow to sun, more times than I could count as we were in and out much of the day, until it finally stayed sunny sometime after 3 o'clock this afternoon.

More Tulips in snow.

 It was rather amazing, just watching the weather out the window change.  In a matter of minutes it had gone from sunny to blizzard-like.  And this happened several times throughout the day.  Watching the radar you could see band after band of snow, like tiger bands, with a separation between each where we had partial to full sun.  Many times it was sunny with snow still falling.

Not Tulips.  Daffodil among the coming Irises.

A tiger striped late spring snowstorm.  Odd kind of weather pattern, I'm sure, and interesting but unless I hear otherwise I  will not delve further than what I may happen to hear of the local meteorologists.  Who knows?  It could have been a pretty rare snow weather phenomena.  And it would have made a wonderful time lapse video.  But as long as it is not a harbinger of the apocalypse then I'm good.

We are soooo ready for warmer weather here.  Just a little longer...

Happy Spring - Again

Spring started last Sunday, can't you tell?  If you can't tell by the picture, it is still snowing.  Could've been worse.  An hour drive north is getting about a foot, I hear.  Thankfully, it will be very temporary.

Spring Is Coming

It is not quite fully here yet - there is talk of snow later this week - but it is pretty damn close.  It is still a little too early and the ground is a little too soft for yard work.  But the time is coming fast.  I've spent all winter sick from one thing or another.  I'm looking to spring to be a new beginning, new health and wellness in warmer weather.

I took more pictures but there's only a few things starting to come up so far.  I've not posted much over winter but I feel it is time to act more alive.  I also posted a couple pics of the garden over at our Garden Blog.

There is much to be done this year and it isn't going to do itself.  Last year it was getting the tree removed.  This year I need to start getting quotes for roof, gutters and porch.  Yes, it may be a very expensive 2016.

Latest Listening Pleasure 23 - Nightwish LIVE

On July 4, 2015 we had the day off for the holiday.  I was surfing the internet and noticed that Nightwish would be playing in Milwaukee in February, 2016, and the tickets were already on sale.  So, of course, I snatched up a pair immediately.

This last weekend they finally played at The Rave in Milwaukee and my wife and I were there to witness it.  Now, as you have read, I had been pretty sick but I was not going to miss this for anything.  We drove to Milwaukee Saturday afternoon and checked into the hotel, just a block away from the venue.  Then I napped.  I had so hoped I would be feeling better, and I was a tiny bit compared to the week prior, but I was still pretty miserable.  My wife got on the website and found out the time the band was to start so we waited and skipped the first two bands, showing up about 10 minutes before Nightwish hit the stage.

I've seen so many live videos of the band on Youtube that nothing really surprised me about the show.  They did have nice backdrops, themed for the newest album Endless Forms Most Beautiful,  but it was not the full show with the video screens and pyro that they used in Europe.  Still, I was not too disappointed with that.  I was happy being in the same room and watching and listening to them play with my own eyes and ears.  I knew I wanted to get some video, a personal take-away from the concert, and because of the way I felt I tried to get that done early.  Normally I would have looked up the set list so I knew what was coming and I could record the songs I wanted, but the way I was feeling I did not plan ahead and just grabbed some random songs from early in the show.  Here is a link to the setlist they played that night.

This video, She Is My Sin, is an early song of theirs.  Not my favorite song but the video turned out well.


Another song I got on video is Kiss While Your Lips Are Still Red, an older ballad that they brought back for this tour.  A very good song, indeed.


Nightwish is also one of those bands that does not do encores.  When the last song is played they are done, and I appreciate that.  When they started in on the last song, The Greatest Show On Earth, we started to work our way out and back to the hotel.  The song is a good one, but I have seen and heard it many times before and it is a version that can run over 10 minutes.  The original song has 5 chapters and runs 24 minutes long.  It was worth it to me to leave a few minutes early and avoid the mass exodus at the end.

One of my favorite bands, this is actually their fourth appearance as one of my Latest Listening Pleasure posts.  I wasn't too sure if I would ever get the chance to see them live, that's the drawback to mostly listening to bands from overseas.  But I'm very glad I have seen them now, no matter how poor I was feeling at the time.

Previous LLP Posts...
LLP 1 - Pain
LLP 2 - Nightwish
LLP 3 - Die Antwoord
LLP 4 - Pain part 2
LLP 5 - Andrew Bird LIVE
LLP 6 - Nightwish part 2
LLP 7 - Paramore
LLP 8 - Newsted
LLP 9 - U.D.O. LIVE
LLP 10 - Nightwish Imaginaerum Movie
LLP 11 - Kiss
LLP 12 - Rick Springfield
LLP 13 - Hyrax
LLP 14 - In This Moment
LLP 15 - Faster Pussycat LIVE
LLP 16 - Sebastian Bach
LLP 17 - Cradle Of Thorns
LLP 18 - Amaranthe
LLP 19 - Lindemann
LLP 20 - Halestorm
LLP 21 - Garbage LIVE
LLP 22 - Arcade
LLP 23 - Nightwish LIVE

Surprise! Sick Again

This has not been my year.  I am sick again, but this time my doctor doesn't know what it is.  He does think it is a virus, possibly a flu virus (yes - I got my shot) but I don't have all the symptoms of flu.  My only symptoms are headache and nausea - and, oh, the nausea!  I've not been able to eat much since last Thursday.  Plus, all my inactivity has my back acting up again and my, er, act backing up again.  It has been almost a full week now so whatever the virus is it should be close to finished, according to my doctor.

I do look forward to a great early March post.  But until then know that I am not dead, I only wish I were.

Winter & Little Lulu

I have not posted much lately, but it is the time of winter that not a whole lot is going on.  November and December you still have good days (very much so this season!) so are still making things happen.  Then the daylight bottoms out and deep winter sets in.  Even days that you make plans something is more likely to happen to keep you in during winter.  Snowstorms, daylight, temperatures and sickness are all much bigger factors than other times of year.  Any one or combination can keep you holed up at home instead of being out dining, shopping or socializing.  Even walking around the yard is missed by now.

We had plans this afternoon but not feeling well and snowfall has kept us in again.  Yes, it is the time of year I start seriously longing for spring.

- - - - - Little Lulu Comic - - - - -

Blue Witch's comment on the thread for the last post spurred me into writing today.  Before that, I had not ever considered trying to see what the comic would be worth.  My wife tells me she thought about it but, with the tops of the cover and first page missing, she didn't mention it.  Like I said in that comment thread, that is probably due to being returned for credit by the seller.  I know they do that for newspapers still, I'm not sure about magazines or comics, but probably.  Regardless, even if it was fully complete I don't think it would have occurred to me to seek it's worth.  (Now if it was Superman or similar.... then I might have thought about the $$!)

Yesterday I went downstairs ready to dust and vacuum some more, even started briefly, but decided it was going to be more work than results.  My cleaning a couple weeks ago is sufficient for now.  When I do big basement cleaning again I will approach it better from the start and have it done much more efficiently.

I did read through most of the Little Lulu comics in the magazine I found, not quite finishing because, well, it was boring.  Most of the subject matter is pretty simple, and would easily be understood by kids today.  But, of course, this is a simpler form of entertainment for young kids and would not be able to compete in this era.  After reading I printed off my last post.  I used the email version because it was easier and had less clutter.  The paper was enough larger than the comic that I folded the two pages in half and placed them in the center of the comic book, just sticking out the top a little bit.  Using a mirror, I checked the other areas atop that air return and the only other thing I found was a clothespin (that I left where I found).

Then I put Little Lulu went back where I found her.  Back to where she lay since - I would guess - the late 1950's or maybe 1960's.   We will know it is there - and now you will, too - but we will not disturb it.  Maybe someday after we're gone - or moved - someone will find it and ponder it's journey as I did.  Or maybe someday someone will be doing work or cleaning and toss it in the bin without looking at it.

I will only know how it made me think and reflect on the early life of this comic, this house and the family that grew up here.  Putting it back may give someone else that opportunity.


Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day.

Cobwebbing Comic Find

Last weekend I spent a short time downstairs with the duster going after the cobwebs in the basement ceiling.  I thought I did a pretty good job until I went down there for something the other night and in the light of the bulbs, as opposed to the daylight streaming in earlier, there were many more cobwebs to see.  Enough for me to make a note on my to-do list to cobweb the basement after dark, specifically.  So that is what I went down to do last night.

I set up my bluetooth speaker so I could listen to one of my podcasts as I cobwebbed, and as I started I almost immediately saw the corner of something sticking out over one of the air returns.  I must have bumped it with the duster enough to make it visible to me.  I immediately recognized it as a thin magazine style reading material when I touched it.

It was a comic book.  A very old and dusty comic book of Marge's Little Lulu.  A 52 Page Comic Magazine, as stated on the cover.  The pages are beyond yellow and into brown shades of very old.  The tops of the cover and first page are missing, and it has been drawn on the covers by what would appear to be a young child practicing drawing stars.

Found on the air return, top right.

The latest date I can see, due to the top of the cover and first page missing, is 1954, listed on the bottom of the first page where it references the comics this compilation came from.  We don't know the exact year our house was built, but the old toilet was dated 1947.  If I remember right, the former owner raised 5 kids in this little house.  That would be unheard of these days in this amount of space, but her mother did live next door, we're told.  The house was empty for a year or more after she died, then we bought it in 2009.

It would be interesting to know the story of how this comic book got to be there, but I'll probably never know.  In fact, what am I going to do with it?  Maybe I'll just read it and put it back for someone else to discover after my time.  Then they may wonder about it like I am now.

January This-And-Thats

Okay, time to dust the place and act alive around here.  At this time last year I had actually taken a bit of a time-out from blogging.  Before November of 2014 I had not posted less than 7 times a month in over 5 years of posting here.  It got to the point I just couldn't keep that up.  First, I realized the fact that I had never posted less than seven times a month and felt like I was forcing some posts just to keep the streak alive.  That was over a year ago and I'm a little more relaxed about posting now, obviously.

So now that I'm ready to type, I hope you're ready to read!

• Yes, I was sick for over a month.  I had bronchitis, got a little better around the new year to allow my wife to be sick for a few days, then I got sick again.  This time it was more sinus than lungs, but still with the damn headache.  I had not been sick like that in some time and I hope never again.
• The resurgence of my sickness may have been aided by the fact that winter decided to finally show up in full force.  First with a good layer of snow, then with the bitter cold of below zero (F) temperatures.  It is good for the natural order of things, but I'd be happy to skip it altogether.
• I have been on a bit of an early spring cleaning kick, getting rid of odd little things that I do not need, extra cardboard boxes, and just junk that we don't need to keep.  We have a pretty good pile for charity again but I still have to go through my clothes.  That's always been the hard part for me.  I think it is daunting because I don't want to have to try on a gazillion clothes to determine what stays and what goes, so it never gets done.  Maybe this spring will be different...
• We got a chest freezer last year, now it's time to fill it.  Kate has been cooking more things ahead of time and I have stocked up on freezer items when they are on sale, but now we will soon have about 250 pounds of meat to put in it.  I had talked with a friend about going in on a cow and it looks like that may happen soon.  We will be getting one quarter of a cow for roughly 3 dollars a pound - that's across the board for ground beef, steaks and roasts.  This should keep us in meat for a good amount of time - and ease my grocery shopping trips.
• Speaking of shopping, I bought the Amazon Fire TV Stick on a forty dollar whim.  It achieves my main purpose of being able to watch YouTube videos on the television and I am still figuring out the rest.  We don't watch a whole lot of TV other than house shows, Big Bang Theory reruns and, of course, my sports games.  But I can see how someone who is really into TV and movies would love this, there's almost anything you want to watch at your fingertips.  Even if we end up not using it for more than YouTube I'm still glad I got it - but again, I'm still figuring it out yet.

Tonight we are meeting half a dozen friends at Ella's Deli for dinner to celebrate my wife Kate's birthday this week.  It is close enough we could walk there but we have not been there for a couple years since we took our nephew James there for dinner.  She wanted ideas on where to go so I did a google search and started calling out names of restaurants and she fancied this one.  I'm glad she did, it is a fascinating place to visit.  They have fascinating stuff there everywhere you look, on the walls, ceiling, and even in the tables!  Check out their website here.  

Thanks for coming back though I've been away.  My stats have been nuts, one day this last week I got 4 hits and the next I got 37.  Crazy.  Average is probably 15 or so a day.  Now I think I better get the camera out so I don't forget it tonight and I should probably decide what I want from their extensive menu before we go.  

Attempt At Posting

I know I've not posted here all year.  I guess I haven't found anything to be post-worthy recently.  A health update is all I can think of so far.  Well, let me try a This-And-Thats format and see what happens.

• I've still been sick, and that makes it a whole month now.  Hmm.  I don't even want to type about that.  You don't want details about me feeling poor.  I am feeling a bit better today, or trying to.
• Packers play a wildcard playoff game today at Washington.  I'll be rooting for them to win but putting them out of their misery would be more humane.
• We had a lot of rain during the week but it didn't melt most of the snow cover.  No chance of it melting for the foreseeable future as January has arrived in full with single digit temperatures, at least during the day.

Okay, maybe this wasn't a good idea.  That's all I got so it will have to do until I'm in a better disposition and/or actually have something to say.

Happy New Year 2016

We were planning on having a couple people over tonight to ring in the new year but I had to cancel this morning because my wife is not feeling well.  I'm okay with that, I stayed up until the early hours last night watching Wisconsin win the Holiday Bowl over USC.  I'm glad I stayed up, it was a good game that came down right to the end, but I have been pretty tired all day today.  Thankfully it was very slow at work and no one really cared how much got done.  I may still get a second wind tonight and stay awake until midnight, there are still football bowl games on television.  But maybe not and I'm okay with that.

I wrote this last year and can't think of a better way to say it:
Happy New Year to you all.  The ones I read, the ones I love, all my friends and all of you who take the time to read me.  Whether you comment or not, I can see you're there.  Thank you.

Xmas 2015

We enjoyed a holiday evening with my wife's family yesterday.  It was a good holiday gathering, no huge dramas to speak of.  Family photos were taken that I hope turn out real nice.  Brother-in-law is becoming a professional photographer so he had all the equipment - the huge backdrop and the umbrella lights of a pro photo shoot, and he made it work pretty well for the small space it had to happen in.

The food was also pretty good.  Way too much, but par for the course.  They all want to please, and everyone did seem pleased and had their fill of the feast.  Mother-in-law forgot to get the jello dish out for dinner again - which is becoming a family tradition.  I feel like the same thing happened at the last holiday gathering.  I also felt a little bad for my host sister-in-law as she spent all her time cleaning up dishes alone afterwards while we all talked around the table.  I considered helping, but helpers may just have been in her way, anyway.

We are not traveling anywhere else this weekend.  I plan on resting, mostly.  Although I am mostly over the bronchitis I got about 2 weeks ago I still have the headache.  It is better at times and worse at other times, but it has been there for a full fortnight now and I'm, well, sick of it.

The weather is as unseasonably warm as I ever remember for Christmas.   It looks more like late fall right now than winter.  The grass has never been greener at this time of year.  Still, I can't help but think we'll be paying for this milder weather down the road, in one way or another.

Whatever you are doing for the holiday I hope it is what you want to be doing.  Have a great weekend!

How To Comment

I am writing this to clarify how to leave a comment for those that may not know.  Basically there are three main ways to view my posts; desktop, mobile and via email.  You may comment directly from the desktop or mobile site but not the email.  So here is how to leave a comment for me, and registering with Blogger or Google to leave a comment is not required.

From Desktop:
If you are on a desktop when visiting then thank you, you are seeing the post as I meant it to be seen.  Just click on 'comments' at the end of the post.  Sign in if you have an account or, more likely, just choose the Name/URL option, then you can just enter your name and your comment easily.  Anonymous works too, but be sure to leave your name in the comment so I know who it is.

From Mobile:
If you see the mobile site on your device then you must first click on the post you wish to comment on, then click on 'Post a comment' at the end of the post.  Sign in if you have an account or, more likely, just choose the Name/URL option, then you can just enter your name and your comment easily.  Anonymous works too, but be sure to leave your name in the comment so I know who it is.

Email Readers:
If you wish to comment on a post you received via email then you must click the 'Scoakat's Blog' link at the bottom of the email to go to either the desktop or mobile sites, then it is the same as above.

If you don't know what I'm referring to when I say 'email readers,' I have a widget in the right column where you can enter your email address, then confirm in an email that is sent to you and you will get an email every time I post a new article to my website.  No spam, no bullspit.  Emails are sent out by Google two to twenty hours after I post.  I have no control over that.  And if you ever reply to those emails they do not come to me.  Also, keep in mind that you will not see videos in emails, you must visit the site.


So you see, it is not too difficult to respond to me but I realize the choices may be confusing.  Hopefully this helps and we can have a little more interaction here.  Tell me what you think, do you agree or disagree with what I write?  Have anything to add or anything you want to say?  I'm only spelling it out here because I'd love to hear from each and every one of you.

Hope to hear from you soon!

December This-And-Thats

I never really feel like doing one of these posts other than feeling that I should do one of these posts.  That's not really a bad thing because I'm never disappointed with the result.  There's a reason I say that it's time to start typing and see what comes out, that's just what I do on these This-And-Thats posts!

• I've been sick and it sucks.  I woke up last Wednesday with that feeling that I may be coming down with something, and by 10 that morning there was no doubt.  I went to work on Thursday and somehow made it all day, but had to call in sick on Friday.  Today, I'm feeling a bit better than the last couple days, but if today was Monday I would have called in again.  I think I should be able to go tomorrow but I don't know how my voice will hold up.  Enough of my whining, on to the next.
• The weather this December has been very, very mild.  We had one or two snows, but much more rain with temperatures above freezing but for some stretches overnight.  As I write this it is about 60º outside!  I'll take it, but it may be hard on the plants.  Speaking of--
• The mild weather allowed a December post over at the Garden Blog.  It's just a picture of the garden as it is now.  Probably confused by the weather.
• It is past time to start looking for gifts for the nieces and nephews.  I try very hard to get things they will really like.  This year I may scale it back a little, though.  We will not be traveling after the fiasco at my Dad's last month.  I've never liked traveling for holiday gatherings much and now I think I'm old enough to not have to do it anymore.  Catholic guilt (from my upbringing - not my beliefs now) has made me do it enough.  Now, I've had enough.
• The new refrigerator has been absolutely wonderful!  I no longer have to make ice every other day by hand, and Kate has noticed how very much longer fruits and vegetables stay good.  That old fridge may have been older than we originally thought.  Now, with the new fridge upstairs and the new chest freezer downstairs we have enough food storage as we should ever need.
• I wrote a while back about our frustrations with our bank.  Since then there has been another issue, and now my wife has been without a debit card for maybe a month because of it.  Seems they still had her address as where we lived about 15 years ago, too.  So, after I've been with this bank for, let's see, about 28 years or so we are in the process of transitioning to a new bank.  Of course the old bank doesn't make it as easy as simply being able to transfer the money, but we shall have the movement of our funds wrapped up soon enough.

That's enough for now.  Coming soon I want to write about commenting.  I'd like it if more readers commented, but many of you subscribe by email so may not know how.  Basically you have to go to the actual post on the website and click on comments.  And no, you do not need to register, comment as a guest then you can type in your name and comment.  That's the quick version, but I want to spell it out for website and mobile for everyone yet.  My traffic to comment ratio sucks, people.

Nine Fingered Scoakat

This just made me actually laugh out loud, and why I am posting and writing about it now.  I do feel a new This-And-Thats post coming, but until then...     Thanks Jonco over at B&P!

I've known several 'digitally impaired' people, especially from when I was younger and worked in various construction jobs, and then eventually a truss plant slash lumber yard.  I saw the older guys that were missing partial and even whole fingers.  You couldn't miss it.  Sometimes they had good stories and good humor about it, sometimes not.  I started out in the truss plant as a grunt that worked on a press, swinging a hammer for a living.  And over the next almost decade I learned almost every press, every forklift and every sawyer job that was to be done.  Alas, back injuries and pride did me in at that job.  Pain can provide a very motivating, yet cloudy view.  Regretful, but physically it was a relief and in my best long term interests.  Mentally, I loved that job and I wish I could have done it forever.

Now, I used to know how to use a lot of saws when that was then.  The biggest saws I've run were six bladed beasts over forty feet long and could cut up to three angles on each end of a twenty foot 2 by 10, maybe more, if need be.  Thankfully we never much needed - or wanted - to test it's extremes.  Most cuts were easier and on 2 to 20 foot 2 by 4's, sometimes 2 by 6's.  And there was yet an even a bigger, more advanced saw there that I never did get to run.  I never came close to losing a finger, but I've known a couple people that it has happened to, or had known, one I never saw him again - he never came back to work.  But he had no business running that saw, we all knew he was scared of it.

These days I have what I need for home projects:  a table saw, a circular saw, a jig saw, a hand saw, a pruning saw, all I need is a chain saw - and don't laugh, it would have it's uses for me!  I still have all my fingers.  Maybe my odds would go up because of all the saws I use and have used, but I would like to think experience makes that less likely.

Now watch, I just jinxed myself.

Signed,
Nine-Finger-Scoakat

P.S.  My newest toy is a 2 gallon 125 psi air compressor.  I'm not sure how that may help me lose a finger but, hell, watch me be the one to find out!