... 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.