In memory of ...

A short time ago, Mama's favorite movie star passed on. Here are memories one friend has about the other.

Barack Obama shares a burger w/ Mama

Pappy was out in the driveway tonight grilling some very nice Target brand (80/20) ground chuck. Guess what happened? The sun went down, and Barack Obama came to visit! And he even brought his own Barack-O-Lantern. Luckily Pappy had his trusty GFC free-bee camera in his back pocket. Here is a nice little video of the surprise visit. (Can anyone say YouTube?)

Good times in Fitchburg

We (well, I know I did) had a very good time in the 'burg tonight. First, Barack Obama visited us (that would be Mama and Katie) via TV. (I was busy.) Next, the Phillies won the World Series (My God, 2 whole times in nearly 130 years. What's next, $0.25 gas? (I remember that!)) And finally Mr. Barack Obama Pumpkin Head came to visit. His approach was slow and calculated, but his finale was hot! Check out the few photos we captured.

Coming soon (or not), our trip to PA .

Will the real Maverick please stand up!

A. James Garner


B. John McCain


C. Sarah Palin


D. Texas Long Horn Steer

You be the judge.

Minni(sota) Mac's were here

Way back in September, Oliver and his Mommy and Daddy came to WI for a visit. The visit was great, the weather was great, but it was just a wee bit cold in Fitchburg. Our 1st killing frost arrived, and of course, the furnace failed to "man up". Needless to say poor little Oliver woke up with toes like ice. The furnace is now fixed, but Oliver's not here. Where's the justice? Hey dude, come on back, the heat is on ....

Several photos and videos document the visit.

Here are the photos: Oliver in WI

And the videos:

... done and done

Poppy's summer wood working projects are finished, and have been delivered to their new respective homes. Now we just have scraps and cut-offs. Or, in the words of the late Dawson Reitz, one of my favorite central PA guys (other than Brownie of course), ones and blanks. What's a poor boy to do when the summer is over?

Attached is a kinda pathetic video of the last day at home for the headboards, and photos which really do little if any justice to how nice they look in their new digs.

Here are the photos: Head(board)ing home

and the video:

Plastic Menagerie

This weekend, Sarah and I finally made it to the Brookfield Zoo outside of Chicago. It is one of the largest zoos in the country. We of course went for the animals, particularly the injection molded kind. Tennessee Williams be damned, I wanted a plastic menagerie.

We learned several important lessons during our visit to the zoo.

• There is nothing on this great, green earth that stinks more that bat sh*t.
• You can buy a bottle of soda for the low, low price of Canada’s gross domestic product.
• Stingrays have a thing for blondes.
• Children should not be encouraged to howl like a wolf.
• Rhinos blast urine to mark territory; hippos stake a bolder claim.

Enjoy 20 photos of several creatures great and small.

I heart Heart!

I always loved 70s and 80s rock bands ... and here's another reason why:

Barracuda

Everything And The...

Saturday marked the end of the "Stainless" steel kitchen sink that was anything but stainless. I also put in a new faucet, spray gun, dish drain, and garbage disposal flange. It was all installed by yours truly with a little help from a friend who's done this once before. Labor costs = a few beers and a pizza. Here are the before, during, and after pictures. This link provides a couple additional pictures.

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

Watch out Matt, Gary's back in town !!!

Guess who came to visit?

It's Gary and Peggy!

A long time ago, in a place not so far away, Poppy needed a student to help him at work. One particular student showed up for an interview adorned in a very nice blue suit, and a very healthy head of curly brownish-blondish-brownish-blondish ... hair. Despite the suit, Poppy hired him. His name was Gary Meyer, a UW student who hailed from Gleason WI (the only Gleason Poppy ever knew was Jackie, a rotund (and if you weren't careful, he'd knock you to the moon.) comedian. Gary soon became the Mama's fav.

(Photo not available.)

FAST FORWARD (Way, way into the future.)

A few years ago (when Katie was delving into dating), Poppy hired Katie's boy friend Matt to help him out at work (sound familiar?). Matt got to go on a "business" trip to Norfolk, VA with Katie and Mama. Katie and Poppy enjoyed the Atlantic Ocean. Mama and Matt (OMG sharks!) watched from the shore. Later that year Matt got reassigned to Henry Spelter. Even later, Matt graduated from college. But he still comes around, and remains Mama's fav .

Oops, my bad. I meant Matt Alderman, not Matt Lechner (does Katie have a Matt fetish?) He is not one of Mama's favs.

FAST FORWARD (Just a days ago.)

An email from Bangkok (Bang what?) Thailand. Gary's back in town with his wife Peggy, and his really hot, 20 year old, blue Volvo.. Oh no, watch out Matt!

Yesterday (that would be Tuesday, September 2, 2008) , Gary and his lovely wife Peggy arrived in the 'Burg (or should I say “hood”, the Fitchburg hood, the last remaining original Dane Co. ghetto.) And a very, very nice time was had by all. Tim and Sarah joined us, as did little Doda Molly. Mama prepared a very special meal, while Poppy & Gary shared several Grain Belts (you know, the beer that made Gleason famous) outside, and played with fire. (We're cooking on wood!)

When Gary and Peggy were ready to leave, they promised to invite us to visit them at their next assignment. Yo yo Gary, better be Europe! We like Greece. A lot. A very lot. But hey, Ireland works as well.or better.

Hey guys, thanks alot for the visit. We all loved it. Lets do it again soon. In Gleason? Maybe. Let's just hope we don't fall off the edge of the Earth.

Ciao.

Where's the Beef?

Enjoy some pictures of my meat. Emily and I bought four steaks (about a month ago) at Costco. I figured this post would be right up Mom and Dad's alley. If you can't read the label it says this:

Boneless Ribeye Steak
Choice
$35.82
4.54 lbs.
$7.89 per pound.

So what's the deal Mom... is that a good price? Four choice steaks, over a pound each, for about $36.

I had a vacation in Wisconsin

Dear Everyone,

Good morning!

We recently got back from a vacation in WI
(OMG WI!!). We've been in WI before, but
never on a lake. I was the captain of the speed

boat, and I think I did a very nice job.
Mommy got up on water skies while I was

captaining, but guess who didn't??

Daddy and his big butt. Ha ha!
Maybe next time I'll be riding Bruce through
the waves.

BTW, Brucie was here too, but he doesn't
like to get wet.

See you soon.

Love,
Oliver

Joanna gets married

One of these girls is not like the other ones, not like the other ones, not like the other ones. One of these girls is not like the other ones ...

OMG, OMG, OMG, it's Katie !!! Nice.

Mama's smooth!

Here's a new smoothie recipe you need to try. Check it out.

Go Get 'Em Smoothie

Recipe courtesy Nigella Lawson, 2007
Show: Nigella Express
Episode: Get Up and Go

This is truly a weekday special: a breakfast that combines food and drink for people who don't feel they've even got time to sit down in the morning. If the person-in-a-hurry is miniature in stature, and not progressed to caffeine intake, then replace the Camp coffee with a tablespoonful of peanut butter. Extra protein and ultra delicious. I keep overripe bananas, peeled and cut into 4, in bags in the freezer which help give ice-creamy bulk to the smoothie and dispense with the need for ice.

1 peeled banana, cut into 4, from the freezer
2/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon honey
4 teaspoons malted chocolate drink powder
(recommended: Ovaltine, but Mama used Nestle’s Quick.)
1 teaspoon strong coffee or 1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
(Mama used 1 tsp O’Poppy coffee. It’s way stronger than he.)

Put all ingredients into a blender and whiz (that’s not Pee!) to mix.

Pour into a tall glass and drink before dashing out of the door.

A very sad sight indeed!

Looks like the Kerns/Braun/Boos house has been sold. Saw the realtor chick remove the "For sale" sign today. There was a very young couple walking around a few days ago. Hope they can hold their water. Maybe I'll try to be nice to them. Nah.

Mama says: "Knock you out."

An ass-kicking for Sean.

Cute video

If you haven't watched this YouTube video yet, you should ... it's so cute!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adYbFQFXG0U

Burn baby burn

Here is the video of the barn fire at the Cliff and Carol's (or should I say Clifford and Carla's) farm on Saturday, July 19, 2008.

This is the house that Mac rebuilt

Take a Google's eye view of Poppy and Gretchen Brown's house
in beautiful downtown Fitchburg:

1964 Wendt Road

(Please note, the Google house number estimate is off by 42.)