LEAP YEAR

A VERY SLOW BLOGGING WEEK, THANK GOODNESS "UNCLE HANS" CAME THROUGH WITH A NICE BLOG TO SAVE THE WEEK.


I SURVIVED THE COLD, AND LOST 10 HOURS AT WORK, I GUESS THAT'S BETTER THAN HAVING IT DRAG ON FOR TWO WEEKS.

MY TAXES ARE ALL WRAPPED UP IN THE FAMILIAR "SHOE BOX" APPROACH, AND SOME NICE LADY IN WADENA, IOWA CAN LOOK FORWARD TO SORTING IT ALL OUT NEXT WEEK.

I STILL HAVEN'T HEARD FROM MY HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANY ON WHAT THE PREMIUM IS GOING TO BE FOR 2008. HEALTH INSURANCE IS MY SINGLE BIGGEST EXPENDITURE FOR THE YEAR, AND I LIKE TO PAY IT ALL AT ONCE SO I DON'T HAVE TO THINK ABOUT OVER THE YEAR. IT JUST PISSES ME OFF, AND ONCE YEAR IS ENOUGH!

THE BELIZE FUND HAS REMAINED FLAT AND STALLED AT 22 % FUNDED, PERHAPS I NEED TO GET MY NIECE, HANNAH, ON A CRAPS GAME TO JUMP START THIS PROJECT AGAIN.

BB'08 (BEACH BUMMING '08), A HIGHER PRIORITY PROJECT, IS 75% FUNDED AND SEVERAL DATES HAVE BEEN NOTED IN THE UPCOMING EVENTS SECTION.

OF COURSE, IT'S THAT "SUNNY & 80" TIME OF THE YEAR ON THE LOWER MOHAVE DESERT, AND THE HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR THIS AFTERNOON IS EXSPECTED TO BE 85 DEGREES.




TAKE A LOOK AT WHO ELSE IS DAY DREAMING ABOUT BB'08!!

You pick the caption

1. "Why did I marry her? Why didn't I just put a loaded gun in my mouth?"

2. "Holy crap, look at that ass! Somewhere, a semi-truck is missing its 'Oversized Load' sign."

3. "Somewhere, there's two fat girls naked in a hot tub and I'm stuck here listening to her jabber on about health care."

4. "Geez , Rush is right, she does sound like Nurse Ratchet."

The Supreme Court & Destin, FL

We just got back from a little winter road trip to Florida and
thought we would share some pictures and observations.

This is the Wisconsin State Capitol rotunda. Embarrassed by a capitol that burned in the 1880's and then collapsed in 1907, we built a beauty. Lots of marble and granite, all polished...........





........our trip to the capitol was to the Supreme Court, where we watched our case presented. Long story, but very interesting. Full report when it is over, if I live that long. We feel good about the day, but have to wait 60-90 days to get the decision............

..........The Supreme Court wing was guarded by this old bust of "fighting" Bob LaFollett, the most famous politician in Wisconsin's history. He was a progressive senator who ran as a third party candidate against Teddy Roosevelt and did pretty well.......

........We stayed at some really cool condos, about 100 yards from the water, but it was so rainy and cold we never set foot on the beach. Bad luck.........



.......our reward for a long trip in rain and snow was this. It is really the white sand beaches of Destin, Florida, but it looks a lot like the snowdrifts of home...........


......We spent one day with these "dudes", traveling with Amy in her van and touring the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola. A fun time, and a subject of a future blog..........

...Joey kept Wendy entertained all day and ate everything in sight, here a menu at an Irish restaurant. We left a day early because the weather sucked. We took the extra time to look at interesting things along the way.

We had developed a rating system for tourist attractions years ago. We once stopped to see the world's largest ball of twine. It helped to set the standard, which we now call a BOTE (Ball Of Twine Equivalent). It scored a 1. The Wisconsin capitol building is 10. Air Museum is 100 BOTEs. The Smithsonian is over 1000 (no one has ever seen it all, it remains officially unscored). we drove by several sites that score less than 1 BOTE, like the Alabama Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Quilting Hall of Fame.

This is the Palace in Nashville, a small bar near the Grand Ol Opry. Lots of talented music people in Nashville, sort of like a non-stop American Idol, they are all there playing their hearts out for a shot at the big time.

Simply amazing, over 33 BOTEs! The rest of the trip is mostly Illinois and Alabama, two states you must travel the long axis, unfortunately. Our route in Alabama took us off the interstate, and afforded an "up close and personal" look. Not pretty. No taverns and a church on every corner. Do you remember that string of small rural church fires a few years back. I think I get it now. As I drove along I pondered what type of accelerant would be best for a church. The highlight was the water tower of Highland Home, Alabama "Proud home of the Highland Home Flying Squirrels"

You mean like "Rocky and Bullwinkle"? God I hope not. I would not sleep at night knowing that Rocky was from Alabama. We saw a road- kill squirrel on the road, but could not tell if was flying. Sad...........

No travelogue is complete without a cuisine analysis. Do NOT eat at a place called Milo's It is simple. It must be a regional franchise, but their stuff is pricey and bad.

We got drunk at the Palace and the last act was these three (the third was in the can for the picture) fat guys with guitars. They did country by request (stump the band) and were really entertaining. We were usually alone in the bar, that's how much talent there is there. Occasionally some other people would drift in and out. They asked us where were from and we told them Wisconsin. They asked if we had brought them some cheese, so, at the end of the night we dug through the cooler in the car and found some Pepper Jack to tip the band with. They seemed to like the attention.......

Uncle Hans

GILLIGAN'S

GILLIGAN'S IS A NEW BAR IN LAUGHLIN. ALTHOUGH I'M STILL SUFFERING WITH THE WORST COLD I'VE HAD SINCE 1999, I STILL TAGGED ALONG ON MARY'S ERRANDS TODAY AND HAD A BEER WITH GRANDMA AT GILLIGAN'S. IT LOOKS LIKE BAMBOO ON THE OUTSIDE WITH A THATCHED ROOF, AND ON THE INSIDE HAS MANY AUTOGRAPHED PICTURES OF THE CAST.





THE SIGN OUTSIDE SAYS "SMOKERS WELCOME"

THAT'S GRANDMA AT THE TABLE, AND MARY IN HER SPRING SKIRT AND HALLOWEEN SHIRT.

I'D LIKE TO THANK AMY AND JEANNIE FOR THE COMMENTS AND E-MAIL ON MY COLD. I REMEMBER THE "OD" USED TO SAY THAT IF YOU WENT TO THE DOCTOR AND TOOK ALL THOSE COLD PILLS YOU COULD CURE A COLD IN JUST 7 DAYS!! IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE DOCTOR OR TAKE THE PILLS YOUR COLD WOULD LAST A WHOLE WEEK.........

Grumpy Rex

Everyone that knows Rex, knows how good natured and easy going he is ......for the most part. But when he is sick and not feeling well, all bets are OFF!! Rex has been suffering from a cold and sore throat since Thursday. Like the good camping buddy I am, I have dutifully given him the cough drops he asked for-and not nagged about taking some actual cold medicine. For a smart guy, he totally refuses to listen to reason when it comes to medicine. He doesn't think he ever needs any!

Anyway for a Sunday and a day off it was not as enjoyable as I am used to...

Even though he was not feeling well, Rex did manage to look out the window and see these incredible views.....

Hope you all enjoy what we were able to see out our window this afternoon.....we are truly blessed!!

EDITOR'S NOTE:

THESE PICTURES WERE UP LOADED TO THE BLOG FULL SIZE, SO YOU CAN CLICK ON THEM TO SEE THEM FULL SIZE. NORMALLY BLOG PICTURES ARE REDUCED IN SIZE AND WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET. AT THIS POINT THERE ARE OVER 800 PICTURES ON THE BLOG. ALSO I CONFESS THAT THE PICTURES HAVE BEEN TWEAKED BOTH BY THE NEW CAMERA IN THE ORIGINAL SETTINGS TO TAKE THE PHOTO AND BY THE MICROSOFT PICTURE IT PREMIUM 9 SOFTWARE IN MY COMPUTER. WHAT THE HELL, CLICK ON THE PHOTOS AND TAKE A LOOK AT THE BOUNDARY CONE, AND THE BLACK MOUNTAINS OUTSIDE OUR FRONT DOOR.

REX

SINGLE DIGITS

OH YES !!! SINGLE DIGITS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE SEMI-ANNUAL BLOGS.

WE ARE IN WEEK #9, THAT MEANS THERE ARE ONLY 9 MORE WEEKS TO WORK AT THE AVI AND WE'LL BE ON THE ROAD AGAIN !!! IT'S BEEN A FAIRLY LONG COUNT DOWN FROM THE BEGINNING, 26 WEEKS OF WORK. THE NEXT COUPLE OF COUNT DOWNS WON'T BE AS LONG WITH SUMMER AT LAKE TAHOE AT 16 WEEKS OF WORK, AND NEXT SEASON AT THE AVI WILL BE CLOSER TO 20 WEEKS. WE DO LOVE THE EVEN NUMBERED YEARS !!!

ONCE WE HIT THE SINGLE DIGITS, TIME REALLY FLIES AND THIS SEASON WILL BE NO EXCEPTION. THERE IS A RATHER LONG LIST OF MAINTENANCE THINGS TO ACCOMPLISH:

* WASH AND WAX THE TRUCK

* THE HOT WATER HEATER STILL DOESN'T WORK ON THE GAS SIDE

* THE TANK INDICATOR LIGHTS AREN'T WORKING INSIDE THE TRAILER

* THE WHEELS NEED TO BE GREASED

* THE BATTERY NEEDS TO FILLED WITH WATER

* THE PORCH LIGHT ISN'T WORKING

* THE CABINET REMODELING PROJECT IS UNFINISHED

* THE TRAILER NEEDS A WASHING

THEN THERE IS OUR SOCIAL CALENDAR TO CONSIDER:

* DELIVER GRANDMA TO THE VEGAS AIRPORT IN JUST 10 DAYS, INCLUDES BREAKFAST WITH PAUL.

* FRIENDS FROM PRAIRIE DU CHEIN, WI ARE COMING TO LAUGHLIN FOR ST. PATTY'S DAY CELEBRATING.

* MARY'S BIRTHDAY AND ANOTHER VISIT TO VEGAS FOR DINNER AT "HASH HOUSE A GO GO" AND VEGAS SHOW.

SO AS USUAL THE 9 WEEKS WILL GO QUICKLY, AND THEN WE'LL BE ON OUR SPRING VACATION. AH, I LOVE "SINGLE DIGITS" !!!

Iowa Poem

It's winter in Iowa

And the gentle breezes blow

Seventy miles an hour

At twenty-five below.

Oh, how I love Iowa

When the snow's up to your butt

You take a breath of winter

And your nose gets frozen shut.

Yes, the weather here is wonderful

So I guess I'll hang around

I could never leave Iowa

Cause I'm frozen to the ground!

Checks---No Balances

Remember checks....those little pieces of paper you would write out every month to pay the bills. You'd just write out your check, put them in an envelope, add a stamp, and mail them out to whomever it was going to. In these days of online bill paying and paperless bills sent via e-mail, less and less checks are being written. Not, however by me....I am fighting every step of the way to keep my checkbook in use. I don't want to give these people access to my bank account, I don't want to pay bills online, I want to write a check and mail it to them...so I do.

And that is why, when I recently inserted my last pad of checks in my check book, I took that little order form to the bank. It is a nice arrangement, I take them the little order form and they arrange for my checks to be sent to me.


Imagine my surprise when I received the above package from my bank.....that package is 1/2 inch thick....I measured it so I know.

Well, damn....checks with a construct it yourself box.....

So where is Heather when you need her???? She is the "go to" girl when it comes to reading directions and construction.

Nice to see they have't changed the color of the box.....I guess some traditions are just to sacred to screw around with!!

Oh the hell with it, I'll just use my old box.....good thing I didn't throw it away!

HILLARY

AN RV BLOG PROBABLLY ISN'T THE PLACE FOR POLITICAL DEBATE, BUT I'VE BEEN SAVING A FEW HILLARY E-MAILS THAT I THOUGHT I MIGHT USE ON THE BLOG IN THE FALL DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE ELECTION CAMPAIGNING. NOW THAT WISCONSIN HAS SET ANOTHER NAIL IN THE CLINTON COFFIN, I BETTER USE THEM QUICK BEFORE HILLARY FADES INTO HISTORY FOREVER.

G. W. Bush and Bill Clinton somehow ended up at the same barbershop. As they sat there, each being worked on by a different barber, not a word was spoken.

The barbers were both afraid to start a conversation, for fear it would turn to politics. As the barbers finished their shaves, the one who had Clinton in his chair reached for the after shave. Clinton was quick to stop him saying, "No thanks, my wife Hillary will smell that and think I've been in a whorehouse."

The second barber turned to Bush and said, "How about you?" Bush replied, "Go ahead, my wife doesn't know what the inside of a whore house smells like."

AND:

Reagan's Last Words

I don't know whether or not you watched the memorial service for Ronald Reagan, but if you did, you probably noticed that Bill and Hillary were both dozing off.

President Ronald Reagan, who never missed a chance for a good one-liner, raised his head out of his casket and said...

"I see the Clintons are finally sleeping together."

ONE MORE?

Chelsea Clinton recently discussed current events with a U.S. soldier.

She asked if, as an American fighting man, anything scared him.

He told her there were only three things he feared?

1) Osama

2) Obama and,

3) Yo Mama

OK, ONE LAST ONE (FOR TODAY)

"WALKING EAGLE"

Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, you might enjoy reading this.... "Walking Eagle" Senator Hillary Clinton was invited to address a major gathering of the American Indian Nation two weeks ago in up state New York

She spoke for almost an hour on her future plans for increasing every Native American's present standard of living, should she one day become the first female President. She referred to her career as a New York Senator, how she had signed "YES" for every Indian issue that came to her desk for approval. Although the Senator was vague on the details of her plan, she seemed most enthusiastic about her future ideas for helping her "red sisters and brothers."

At the conclusion of her speech, the Tribes presented the Senator with a plaque inscribed with her new Indian name - Walking Eagle. The proud Senator then departed in her motorcade, waving to the crowds.

A news reporter later inquired to the group of chiefs of how they come to select the new name given to the Senator. They explained that Walking Eagle is the name given to a bird so full of shit it can no longer fly.

DAMN IT !!!

WE HAD A NICE MONDAY OFF AND DID OUR MONTHLY ROAD TRIP TO NEEDLES, CA TO BUY OUR MONTH’S WORTH OF LOTTO TICKETS. I WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED TO GET $11 IN WINNINGS OUT OF MY $16 INVESTMENT.

BUT, DAMN IT !!! I FORGOT MY NEW CAMERA.

WE HAD GRANDMA DRIVE OUT TO CAMP TO JOIN US ON OUR ROAD TRIP, AND ALSO GOT THE HONDA WASHED, AND THEN HAD OUR FAVORITE .50 CENT TACOS, THAT NOW COST .75 CENTS, AND AREN’T QUITE AS GOOD AS THEY USED TO BE, AT HOOCH’S IN GOLDEN SHORE, AZ.

DAMN IT !!! I FORGOT MY NEW CAMERA .

AFTER TACOS I SUGGESTED WE HEAD ON DOWN THE RIVER FIVE MILES AND CHECK OUT THE TOPOC MARINA BAR FOR ANOTHER BEER. IT’S BEEN A COUPLE OF YEARS SINCE WE MADE THIS BEER STOP, AND THE BAR HAD BEEN REMODELED. IT’S LOCATED JUST A FEW HUNDRED YARDS OFF THE MAIN CHANNEL OF THE COLORADO RIVER.

THIS BAR IS A POPULAR STOP FOR BOATERS, WITH 50 SLIPS (PARKING SPOTS FOR BOATS), A NICE OUTDOOR PATIO (FOR THE SMOKERS), A RESTAURANT, AND SOUVENIR SHOP. THE THING I LIKE ABOUT THIS BAR IS THAT IT HAS A HUGE HP PRINTER THAT PRINTS DIGITAL PHOTOS POSTER SIZE FOR $50 EACH. MANY EXAMPLES ARE HUNG ON THE WALLS AND CEILING, AND A FINER COLLECTION OF HARD BODY POSTERS IS NOT TO BE FOUND.

DAMN IT !!! I FORGOT MY NEW CAMERA.

ON THE WAY BACK UP RIVER WE PULLED OFF AND TOOK A HIKE ALONG THE SOUTH DIKE. WE TRIED TO INTRODUCE OUR TREKKING POLES TO GRANDMA, BUT AFTER A FEW MINUTES OF USING THE POLE, THAT DREADED WORD “CANE” CAME OUT OF HER MOUTH AND INSTEAD OF USING THE HIKING POLE AS INTENDED SHE SIMPLY CARRIED IT WITHOUT PUTTING THE END OF IT DOWN ON THE GROUND. TOO BAD, USING A TREKKING POLE WOULD HAVE BEEN A GREAT TOOL FOR THIS 80 YEAR OLD DAILY HIKER.
AND….

DAMN IT !!! I FORGOT MY NEW CAMERA.

IT WAS AN OVERCAST DAY, BUT HIKING HAD US SHEDDING OUR SWEATERS AND JACKETS, AND MARY WAS EVEN IN SHORTS. “SUNNY & 80” IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER.

Passing It On

I think most of you know I have been making magnetic jewelry for the last few years. It is an enjoyable pastime and I even make a little money off it. During the winter of 2005-2006, I even went to the open market in Lake Havasu on Sunday's to sell my creations. Unfortunately, vendors started buying bagfuls of magnetic jewelry from Asia and selling them at prices I could not compete with. Of course, my stuff was all designed and made individually by me but a lot of people just couldn't understand why my stuff cost more. Oh well, that's the way the ball bounces.

Anyway there is a lady in Oatman that has been making and selling magnetic jewelry far longer than I have. She is truly an artist and I love her stuff. Anyway, Robin is an old 60's hippie complete with pierced lips and who knows what else. Robin does not have an easy life so I decided to give her the bulk of my inventory. I hope she can make some money off it, God knows she needs it!

Here I am sorting my inventory....

More sorting....


Here is Robin looking over some of the goodies.....

I still have enough inventory to make jewelry for my loyal customers at work and of course for any that I want for myself....but I am not sorry to see it go.

Happy 8th anniversay to Daniel and Amy Saucer!!!

Baptism

My grandson, Randy James Besl, was baptised today. He was born July 27th, 2007 so he is just over 6 months old. Randy J's Godparents are Dad's brother, Cory, and Mom's sister, Jessica. They are in the opening picture.

Being so far away, I was unable to attend but Heather was kind enough to send some pictures. Not only was I unable to attend the baptism, but I also missed the blizzard in La Crosse. Just gotta take the good with the bad I guess.... but damn, I sure hate missing those special family moments.

I think Randy J looks really handsome in his first suit!!

GUNFIGHTING COWBOYS

WELCOME TO THE OLD WEST, AND THE GUNFIGHTING COWBOYS !!!

GUNFIGHTS ARE HARD WORK, SO WE STOPPED BY FOR A COLD BEER AFTER THE FIGHTS.

Rena Grooming

A few weeks ago I got stuck with the job of picking the dog up from the groomer and found out what those little trips to the "salon" were costing us. $68.00!!.

That's more than a dollar per day and damned near three beers a week! Well, I am here to tell you that I could do a better job of grooming the dog for free! But, if I told you that, as it turns out, it would be a lie. Hannah and I, later joined by Wendy gave it a try recently.........

........Not that I am complaining about the need to groom. It is nice having a dog that is so "self-cleaning" and does not shed. But, if you don't shed, you need to be groomed, sometimes as often as every 6 weeks.

Rena has been there so many times, she seems to enjoy the attention. She even grudgingly went along with the bath as well.......

......We made a pretty big mess...........

........She even tolerated the "double-team" and, when I put the camera down, the "triple team". We could not find a clipper that worked on her fine hair, so the bulk of the cutting was by hand with a scissors. The big gouge on her back was mine.......a slip of the scissors!

We cut a lot of hair off her, but did not take all the groomer usually takes. Several years ago, we started a project to have her hair spun into wool with a sweater planned. A Mennonite woman was doing it for us, but she moved away..............

........She really does not look much different from when we started (except for the gouge), but there was a lot of hair to clean up so we must have achieved something. She looks happy. I liked the price. Wendy suggested we may take her back to the groomer the next time to salvage the mess we made, then maybe we could try a "trim" again after that........

Uncle Hans

REFRIGERATOR ART

I'M SAD TO SAY THAT I'M 1,926.5 MILES AWAY FROM MY THREE GRANDSONS. I ONLY GET TO SEE THEM ONCE A YEAR, AND I'M ALREADY LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT OCTOBER WHEN I PLAN TO SPEND A COUPLE OF WEEK-ENDS WITH THEM.

WHEN I GOT THIS "REFRIGERATOR ART" IN THE MAIL FROM ALAN, I REALLY DIDN'T KNOW WHERE TO PUT IT, AS MY REFRIGERATOR IS WOOD COVERED.

............. I KNOW, PUT IT ON THE BLOG TO SHOW IT OFF TO ALL OF YOU, WHOM WOULD NEVER SEE MY FRIDGE ANYWAY.

THANKS ALAN !!!