How was work? FANTASTIC!!!!!

Here is a bicycle frame made of wood. I like it.
Hey, Yram, I found more of those phood photos you posted.... Anyway, I'm involved in the project from hell at work, needs to get done, not getting done, no bright ideas in the offing... I'm a little stressed and not trying to act like it.



This is supposedly a float in a parade somewhere in Germany!!

Monday I stayed home from work so I would not have to deal with it. Ivan and Chuck came down late afternoon, we knocked back a few black & tans (with Guinness, of course) and solved many of the world's problems. We're so smart, and camels is so stoopid.....



Tuesday was a miserable day at work. Peg and I went from work to her land out by Lugerville, looked around a little and then decided to go to Long John's resort on Soo Lake for a bite of supper. They were closed. We decided to go south.







We went to Midway, but they were not open either. What's with that? No food places or taverns open on Tuesday? What is this world coming to? We decided to go to D's Burger and Bowl in Prentice, Peg has not been there since they opened.



Right, not open....... so we went to the Boondocks, where we had a little supper, some liquid refreshments and light conversation. For once, I knew everyone in the place (about 5 or 6, but what the heck). We wasted about an hour there and headed home.



Today I prepared, sort of, for the big meeting concerning the project from hell. That will be tomorrow afternoon at 3:00..... I left work to day and headed home. But, I got sidetracked when I turned off the highway at Prentice. I remembered that Peg needed gas in her bike, so I went into Boondocks and called her at work and suggested that she get gas at Prentice and then find me in the bar for supper. I had a couple while waiting for her, talked to some locals in the bar. We had creamy potato soup, and some deep fried green beans for supper. This is my stress week and I wonder where I will go to recuperate after the meeting tomorrow???? Maybe I'll go to work late on Friday? Fishing starts Saturday, maybe I'll find a fish fry at the Pumphouse on Saturday..... I hope so!!

I gotta go, Carlo


__________Hey, catch them fishies, would ya???____________

Late April.....

New addition... Check out the Lodge History Pix link on the left. It's a slide show of the early days of the Ottertail.



This is how our world looked April 12th. The snow was gone, things were looking a little more like spring, then this happened.... I keep thinking "At least it wasn't a tornado". It's always disappointing to see more snow after it melts the first time.



It was kind of pretty, all in all. I guess I've had enough "pretty" for one winter. And besides, the end of winter means mud, ticks, mosquitoes, heat and humidity.... Hmmmm....



On April 16th, Wednesday, Peg and I left work early and headed to Madison. We needed to get to the Madison Sheraton by 5:00 to meet Rosie at her "banquet". The hotel is just off the belt line on the South side of Madison, easy to get to.



This banquet was by the Wisconsin Technical College system, and was for inducting the 2008 good will ambassadors. Each college has nominees (by instructors) who are interviewed by a committee and then one is selected to represent the school for the next year.








So guess what? Rosie was nominated and selected to be NTC's ambassador!! There was also as scholarship of some amount associated with this, so Rosie was even happier about it. So we listened to each of them tell about themselves, their school history, plans etc. It was interesting listening to these 16 very different people tell about their lives and situations.








Way to go, Rose!! She could probably tell that we were proud of her and happy for her.
So we had a chance to visit, meet some new people, hear some very nice live music, and have a really good dinner. We left the hotel at 8:40 and pulled in at Ogema One Stop for gas at midnight. Thursday at work went really slowly.......




I didn't have a turkey permit this year (I forgot to apply for it by December 10th) so all my shooting was with the camera. Here is a medium sized gobbler actually gobbling.... it sounds pretty weird close up.





And here he is all fluffed up for the girls.... the sun was just coming up and the back-lit fan looked like it was glowing. They are fun to see.








After that snow a couple weeks ago, it had gotten quite nice out, the road was drying up, geese were around, etc. I actually rode my motor cycle to work three times last week! Then the weather turned super windy, colder and this is what it looked like this morning.





Once again I was very close to letting this blog fade away. I was talking to a couple of friends last night and they both said "What's up with the blog? Nothing on there lately..." I really had no idea they were looking at this. I really don't want to belabor the fact that few people take the time to enter a comment on here, but if you have the slightest inclination to write, please do. It makes this all seem a little more worthwhile.....
Cheers, Carlo

Early April

A little over a week ago, on that wondrous Friday we had, I spent a few hours in the plane. I took a swing down to Medford and on the way I passed over this well defined piece of ground. It's Tlusty's cattle ranch, just west of Westboro on "D". No exra trees on that property.....



After landing at Medford and taking a little break, took off and cirled the airport as I climbed out. This is how it looks from about 700' above the ground. I've been to this airport 3 or 4 times, never much action there. I guess it's like most small municipal airports, mostly quiet.....



My view out the front on the way home. Doesn't look like much snow out there, but that's an illusion! There was still WAY TOO MUCH at that point.







And a view of the instruments, 63MPH, 4800' altitude, etc, Notice the "Green Giant" glove, trying to stay warm.








So we had a little snow storm about a week ago. Another 6" of heavy snow, made the roads a mess and I refuse to plow after March 20, so..... I guess we survived, although Peggy had to give me a push the other day to make it through a drift. Didn't impress her much with that.... the turkeys didn't seem to like the snow any more than we did.



We went to Menards; it was O.K.
Who was it that wrote those books... "I went to college. It was O.K.", and so on? There is quite a bit of space in that van when you have the seats removed. We were on a procurement mission for the remodeling that Peg's brother is doing at her Phillips house.







While waiting for some items to be brought from the supply yard, I was watching some clouds hiding the sun. It started to show and everything turned golden. I grabbed the camera and managed to get one good shot of it.



We loaded everything into the van, ceiling boards, bathroom lights, plumbing items, a couple of doors, etc. Amazing what will fit in there. Earlier in the day we went shopping with Rosie to get her a business suit, but that's another story.




As we were leaving Wausau we noticed how weird the sun looked. We were on the overpass on 51 right by Fleetfarm and had a great view of a sun that was distinct, but not so bright that you couldn't look at it. We were heading down that big hill to the north and Peg dug out the camera and I pulled over when we got to the top of that next huge hill. It was a nice sight.

I gotta to, Carlo

""86""

Since you asked, here are a few explanations for the term '86' that I found on the web......

""Suggested theories of the source of this usage include:
Possibly a reference to article 86 of the New York state liquor code which defines the circumstances in which a bar patron should be refused service or "86ed".
Another theory has it that this is rhyming slang for "nix." Interestingly, this seems to be an American coinage, unusual for rhyming slang.[1]
Others have suggested that this usage originated from the famous Delmonico's Restaurant in New York City, as item number 86 on their menu, their house steak, often ran out during the 19th century.
Another explanation is that Chumley's, a famous 1900s New York speakeasy, was located at 86 Bedford St. During Prohibition, an entrance through an interior adjoining courtyard was used, as it provided privacy and discretion for customers. As was a New York tradition, the cops were on the payroll of the bar and would give a ring to the bar that they were coming for a raid. The bartender would then give the command "86 everybody!", which meant that everyone should hightail it out the 86 Bedford entrance because the cops were coming in through the courtyard door.
The term came into popular use among soldiers and veterans to describe missing soldiers as 86'd. Rather than describe buddies missing in action, it was slang to describe the MIA as violating UCMJ Sub Chapter X Article 86.
Another explanation is the possibility of a simple variation of the slang term deep six, which has identical meaning, and is simply meant to describe the approximate depth of a grave.
Another possible origin is the public outdoor observatory on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building, the site of more than 30 suicides.""


Or try this one....."86'd" was enforced or re-introduced as an American phrase when Jerry Lewis played "Kreton" an alien with super powers in a kids move in 1960 called "Visit to a Small Planet." In the move, Jerry uses number commands to make his powers work. In one scene he destroys a house plant by saying "86" and later threatens to use the same power to destroy a guy. I can just picture all the kids coming out of the theater pointing their fingers at each other and saying "86."


If that isn't enough, you can look here or maybe
here.