VEGAS 80

THE NEXT BIG RECHSTEINER PARTY IS ON THE BOOKS !!! OF COURSE BEING "REX" I HAD TO GIVE IT A TITLE, "VEGAS 80".

GRANDMA TURNS 80 YEARS YOUNG ON JANUARY 23RD WHILE SHE'S HERE IN ARIZONA AND TO CELEBRATE WE ARE ALL GETTING TOGETHER IN LAS VEGAS. FITZGERALD'S HOTEL AND CASINO, DOWNTOWN ON FREMONT STREET, WILL BE HEADQUARTERS FOR THE PARTY WEEK-END, JAN 24TH - JAN 28TH.

I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT ALL THREE BOYS AND MANY OF THE GRANDCHILDREN ALREADY HAVE RESERVATIONS TO FLY INTO LAS VEGAS TO PARTY ON.

IF WE'VE MISSED ANYBODY THAT WANTS TO PARTY WITH THE RECHSTEINER'S. "COME ON DOWN!!!"

THE WEEK-END IS VERY LOOSELY ORGANIZED LEAVING PLENTY OF FLEXIBLY TO DO VEGAS IN YOUR OWN STYLE. ALSO WITH THE ADDITION OF THE "ARIZONA CAR" SOME OUT OF TOWN PLANNING MAYBE IN ORDER, CONSIDER HOOVER DAM, DEATH VALLEY, RED ROCK CANYON, OR LAUGHLIN ?

ARIZONA CAR

WE HAVE A NEW CAR CALLED THE "ARIZONA CAR". IT'S A 1995 BUICK CENTURY. IT'S GOT ALL THE BELLS AND WHISTLES FOR 1995. IT'S DEFINITELY USED, WITH 161,000 MILES ON IT, BUT IT'S ALWAYS BEEN IN ARIZONA OR NEVADA SO IT'S NEVER SEEN SNOW OR ROAD SALT. THE PAINT FINISH IS IN GREAT SHAPE TOO, WITH NO EVIDENCE OF THE SAND BLASTING ON THE DESERT THAT USUALLY PEELS THE PAINT AND CLEAR COAT BACK ON A CAR THIS OLD, MUST HAVE BEEN GARAGED MOST OF THE TIME, OR RECENTLY REPAINTED.

WE BOUGHT THE USED CAR FOR MY MOTHER TO USE WHILE SHE VISITS ARIZONA/NEVADA THIS WINTER. AFTER SHE'S DONE WITH IT WE WILL EITHER LEAVE IT HERE IN ARIZONA OR TALK PAULIE INTO USING IT OVER THE SUMMER WHILE WE'RE IN TAHOE.

OF COURSE IF ANY OF YOU ARE COMING TO VISIT WE CAN RENT IT OUT TO YOU FOR YOUR ARIZONA/NEVADA VISIT, UNLESS GRANDMA IS HERE AHEAD OF YOU.

WISH US LUCK, AND WE HOPE IT TURNS OUT TO BE A TROUBLE FREE, AND RELIABLE USED CAR.

WI - FI

BLACKSTONE RV PARK FIRED UP IT'S NEW WI - FI SYSTEM AND IT WORKS GREAT !! MY LAPTOP WAS SO HAPPY TO BE BACK ON LINE AND RUSHED OFF TO GET MICROSOFT AND ANIT-VIRUS UPDATES. IT HAD BEEN AT LEAST A MONTH SINCE THIS COMPUTER HAS BEEN CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET.

SO FAR THE WI -FI SYSTEM THE RV PARK OFFERS IS FREE, BUT I LOOK FOR THAT TO CHANGE IN THE FUTURE. MOST RV PARKS OFFER WI - FI FOR $5/DAY OR $30/MONTH.

MOST IMPORTANTLY THIS WILL ALLOW US TO CANCEL OUR SPRINT AIRCARD, AND MARY'S CELL PHONE CONTRACT, LOWERING MARY'S MONTHLY NUT BY $117/MONTH, SO DELETE MARY'S CELL PHONE NUMBER FROM YOUR CELL PHONE EFFECTIVE 12-24-07.

(THE UNCLE HANS BLOG, "HOLY WEEK FOLLOW-UP" HAS BEEN RE-EDITIED. A COUPLE OF PHOTO'S WERE LOST IN CYBERSPACE)

Where's A Good Place To Eat?

Where's a good place to eat?? I get that question a lot while I am standing at a dead table. I actually get asked more at Lake Tahoe than here in Laughlin because in Lake Tahoe the customers change every week but in Laughlin we have a lot more regulars. I really hate that question. Rex and I both like to cook so quite frankly, we rarely eat out. Even while we traveled cross country we bought sliced ham, tortillas, veggies, nuts, and crackers.

Update on my training sessions. I know why the contestant on "The Biggest Loser" have a love/hate relationship with the trainers. I also know why, on the role reversal show, they show no mercy. Having said that, I am making progress, I can make the moves much more smoothly, and while I still sweat like there's no tomorrow, I don't feel like I want to swear at the trainer-most of the time anyway. I'll know better Friday when I take measurements but I think I will be pleased.

Remember last week when I was bragging about the "summer like" weather we were having. Well it came to a halt last week. It now get pretty cold (in the 30's) at night. We've also had several days of wind...yuck....I really hate the wind. Oh well we don't have anything I have to scrape or shovel, so I can manage even if I do have to sleep with my hot water bottle.

Oh, to get back to the question....where's a good place to eat?? The obvious answer has to be "My House"!!

Holy Week Follow-up

.......Thought I would send a follow-up to the Holy Week blog so the readers would not get the impression that it was all partying. Occasionally, the unlucky deer gets shot. Here Jason in the background works on some"backstraps" or tenderloins. These make great little chops to do on the grill. Jake is boning out hamburger, which is very labor-intensive......

........who can tell me the story of this picture?............

........if you noticed the hunting arrow tip, or "broadhead" poking through in the last picture, you are right. The arrow punched half way through the shoulder blade weeks or months ago, but did not kill the deer. The knife point shows the place where the arrow went into the shoulder blade and how it has healed over since. This find was a surprise to the hunters, the deer had no limp or other sign of this injury........

.........this is what is left of three out of the four they shot, an average year's work for this group....

........this is Jason's new garage, of which he is rightfully proud. I mean, who else has a urinal next the workbench?.. Martha Stewart has a film crew en route to this site............

That's it for now, gotta go back to packing for Belize. Nov 27-Dec 3. Let's see. That's two swimming suits, in case one gets dirty. Passport. Money. OK. Done.

Uncle Hans

Holy Week

One of the joys of living in northern Wisconsin is deer hunting season, more commonly referred to as Holy Week. Almost all normal life grinds to a halt as the men dress up in blaze orange and hit the woods. There is a party atmosphere all week (10 days, actually) and the bars all have specials, Hunter's dinners, Hunter's Balls, Deer Hunting Widow's balls, Buck Boards (like super bowl boards, but betting on the biggest buck, where, who, etc). We are roughly in the middle of it right now. Here I am dressed to go out to a bar for the night. The shoes are a spoof or joke as everyone knows I don't hunt. They usually get a few laughs as blaze orange penny loafers are not that common.....

..........The shirt is very interesting. It belonged to our mother, who hunted with the guys in the 50's. The state legislature decreed around 1950 that hunters wear red to cut down on the accidental shooting deaths that happen during deer hunting. The clothing manufacturers had not yet got the idea that this law opened up a whole new field of red colored outerwear, so no red heavy coats or parkas were available yet (blaze orange became state mandated "fashion" a few years later). One had to buy a red flannel shirt, split it at the seams to expand it, and wear it over your heavy coat.

Here you can see that sides and arms are split and connected by shoe strings to keep it together when you wear it over the top of everything else. This shirt has some bloodstains on the sleeves, presumably from field dressing a deer. It makes a great conversation piece and I wear it every year to one night out (we generally are out about 6 of the 10 nights)..............

(P.S. I have a feeling red outerwear WAS available then, my parents were just to poor and/or cheap to buy it for just a few days a year)

............the neatest thing, however, is the tag on the back. I love the date. Who the hell was taking care of me? I was a two year old, probably left alone with a box of cereal to entertain me for a week. The tags were cloth then, and attached to your back in some manner. Mother chose to sew this baby on, although it looks like she had been seriously drinking that afternoon. Maybe the blood on the sleeves was from a sewing machine injury!!.......

Soon another Holy Week will be history and all those bothersome naked women will disappear from our taverns. They are so irritating. The regulators of this blog and the "Church Ladies" in general would faint dead away if I tried to post pictures of the whipped cream wrestling last night at one of our neighborhood bars ..........tsk, tsk

Uncle Hans

Thanksgiving in La Crosse

Wow...glad its over!

Cooking a Turkey is hard work....and all the other stuff .

Shit, thats just getting the timing right...all of which i did not do, the green bean casserole was done 15 minutes after everyone was done eating.. See i have issues with times... Lucky for me, i had Jesse as my Sous Chef....

Oh well, it all turned out to be ok...not too many pics as i did what i do best and that was stuff my face and run to bed and slept;)

My brother Chad, my brother in law Mark, and my mother in law Deb along with my crew were all into the Packer game....me i was soooo into that bed! Packers took the win i hear.......not that big of a football fan.

Jesse's mom cut his and Mark hair too, Chad did his laundry and i took a nap when i should have been taking pictures.....oh well!!!!

I insisted on paper plates. i was only doing dishes 5 times tops today and had that achieved before noon....when i woke up from my nap everything was cleaned up;) I'll have to remember that tip next year too! Everyone went home around 4 ish and 5 minutes later Maxine was sound asleep on the sofa!!!!

Hope everyone else had a 22 lb turkey!!! Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

(AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAILEY!!!)

FOODSAVER

WE RECENTLY BOUGHT A FOODSAVER APPLIANCE. THE IDEA CAME FROM THE NEIGHBOR STEVE WHO WORE OUT HIS FIRST ONE AND HAS BOUGHT HIS SECOND OVER THE SPACE OF TWENTY YEARS.


THE MACHINE VACUUM SEALS FOOD IN SPECIALLY DESIGNED BAGS. THE BAGS ALSO COME ON A ROLL SO YOU CAN CUSTOM MAKE BAGS IN ANY SIZE.

WE’VE FOUND IT VERY USEFUL, AND HELPFUL TO OUR DIETS. LET ME GIVE YOU SOME EXAMPLES. WHEN WE COOK, IT SEEMS WE ALWAYS MAKE A PAN FULL, NO MATTER IF IT’S A CROCKPOT, SOUP KETTLE, OR DUTCH OVEN, THE PAN IS ALWAYS FULL. RECENTLY WE DID DOG DISH MEAT LOAF AND BAKED POTATOES IN THE DUTCH OVEN. WE TOOK THE LEFTOVER MEAT AND POTATOES, SEALED THEM IN INDIVIDUAL SERVINGS, AND POPPED THEM INTO THE FREEZER. NOW WE HAVE INSTANT MEALS IN A BAG. JUST DROP THE FROZEN BAG INTO BOILING WATER AND HEAT UNTIL HOT, CUT OPEN THE BAG AND POUR IT OUT ON TO A PLATE. THE FOOD IS AS PERFECT AS WHEN YOU COOKED IT.

I ALSO USE THE MACHINE TO PORTION OUT AND FREEZE UP BREAKFAST MEAT, BACON, AND SAUSAGE LINKS. I SPLIT A POUND OF BACON INTO 10 INDIVIDUAL VACUUM SEALED AND FROZEN PORTIONS. TAKE A PACK OUT OF THE FREEZER AND AFTER 5 MINUTES IN HOT WATER IT’S ALL THAWED OUT AND READY FOR THE SKILLET.


MARY LIKES TO HAVE CELERY AROUND. A BUNCH OF CELERY TAKES UP A LOT OF ROOM IN THE FRIDGE. AFTER 10 DAYS IT GETS ALL LIMP AND ENDS UP IN THE GARBAGE. NOW SHE BUYS A BUNCH OF CELERY AND CLEANS THE STALKS, VACUUM SEALS THEM IN IN A BAG AND THEY LAST FOR WEEKS, AND TAKE UP LESS ROOM IN THE FRIDGE. WHEN SHE NEEDS CELERY SHE CUTS OPEN THE BAG, REMOVES A HANDFUL AND INSERTS THE SAME BAG BACK INTO THE MACHINE TO BE RE-SEALED AND VACUUM PACKED.

COOKING FOR TWO PEOPLE IS ALWAYS A CHALLENGE. OVER ALL THE MACHINE IS SAVING US ON OUR FOOD DOLLARS AND MAKING EATING LEFTOVERS A PLEASURE. WE HAVE ALSO ELIMATED FREEZER BURNED AND FROSTY FOODS OUT OF THE FREEZER.

(END OF INFOMERCIAL)

The Wedding in Green Bay (Conclusion)

..........Amy travelled a thousand miles with these two little ones to be there. Quite the feat. Paul came in from Las Vegas with his Dad.......

......you can not hear from the picture, but this conversation was in Spanish. This is Michelle, our Ecuadorian brother's niece, who lived with Neil and Kathy for a summer a while back and came all the way from Quito, Ecuador to be there. She brought her Husband Fernando and her brother Roberto..............

....we ended up at a bar after the the reception (you were thinking maybe back to church or to bed at home?). Here we all got much smarter, taller, and better looking. Kathy was able to relax, having executed a perfect game plan and without a hitch. She promptly kicked Jake's ass in pool............

.....one of those agency beauties claimed to be Sara, god-daughter and sister of the bride. Here she is with the brothers.........

......Rex's leaning for "English" apparently got Kathy's shot into the hole...........

............no photo collection from a Wisconsin wedding would be complete withour a bar closing picture of total strangers. I have no idea who these people are with Sara. I remember we then all piled into my car and I drove them home until the sun came up.

Uncle Hans

.......P.S. I found this wedding picture on Wendy's camera and it is too good not to include in the Wedding Blog!!.........

The Wedding in Green Bay

I have been waiting for some pictures from Aunt Kathy so I can do a complete blog on the wedding of Cousin Laura to new Cousin Barry. Today it occurred to me that Kathy was not taking pictures that day (Oct 20.) and the only ones I have to work with are my own.

My camera is a video camera that also takes stills, but at 3.0 mega pixels. Kathy's is a still camera that is 7.0 mega pixels. I like to e-mail her photos because they are better and will blow up successfully. (mine will not).

Anyway, the preparations for the ceremony on Saturday morning followed two nights of preparation partying on Thursday and Friday. Still, some of us looked pretty damned good. Examples are Wendy and Dan and Amy's youngest, Joey........

.....the priest told the wedding party not to come to the church with alcohol on board and my ex-mother-in-law always said we would "roast in Hell" if we ate or drank within an hour before Mass. This is a toast to her, just minutes before the mass began.............

.......Hannah's Jason figured it would be hot in Hell, so he showed up in the church parking lot with a beer, but dressed for warm weather. Actually, the weather was warm, and unseasonably perfect for October in Green Bay. He put on a shirt for the wedding after Hannah nagged him for a while..........

........my son, Jake, talking to his sister told me a week earlier he thought he was the only on in the wedding party with hair. I thought this was odd. He turned out to be correct. Maybe we should have shaved his head??.........

..we all went into the church and I switched my camera to video so there are no church pictures on this blog. They all pretty much look the same anyway: Handsome men and beautiful young women, all hired from some agency and you never see them again.

Barry wanted an old fashioned wedding procession with cars, decorations, honking, and tying up traffic. We piled into the Cadillac (whom faithful readers have met before) and led a procession still being talked about in GB. We plodded and weaved back to Neil and Kathy's house and even found something brand new in GB: a roundabout, or traffic circle or rotary (depending on where you are from). The Cadillac made a full 540 degrees (one and one half revolutions)and so everyone else did too. Traffic was tied up for as far as the eye could see! Everyone enjoyed it, I am sure, and many people waved to us, but some with their middle finger.............



.....once at Neil's, the photographers insisted on taking 17,608 more pictures of every possible combination of people, things, and cans of Bud Light.


As an example of my previous observation about the hired beauties there for the ceremony, the gorgeous creature with her hand perched dangerously on Jake's shoulder claimed to be Steph. Steph has been on this blog before.She was in the snowmobile trip blog as her actual self: a concrete construction worker, always dressed in jeans and sweatshirts and pretty dirty from repairing snowmobiles that we had damaged. Where these wedding party people come from and where they go afterwards remains a perpetual wedding mystery....

(Conclusion of the Green Bay Wedding, tomorrow)

Glad You Asked

A few of our loyal readers noticed the box at the end of yesterday’s blog and asked what it is for. I’m not really ready to say but that box is getting ready to go on a journey. I have been working on a project for a little over a year and am just about finished with it.

So soon both box and project will be headed out. Stay tuned…. eventually all will be revealed!!

I am just in awe with the weather we have been having…..it it truly the best part of summer weather here lately. Even though we are in the desert this is exceptional weather for November. No problem with shorts and t-shirts every day. The major weather complaint here is the wind and we have had a few days of wind but not for days on end like we’ve had in the past. Rex's Mother is coming in a month to spend about 10 weeks and it is a shame she is missing this wonderful weather.

One more comment on the box….
When it lands someone is going to be happy…..very, very, very happy and, hopefully a little proud.