Dogs and Dogs and Dogs

Saying for the day: No home is complete without a good dog.
Here are some of our dogs starting with my dog Hessa , I grew up with this dog and am pictured here with her.












This is BoBo
the dog my kids grew up with. If it had been a bit more moral it would have lived longer. It chased after a lady dog and broke a blood vessel which ended in an infection that killed him.











This is Spanky the latest addition to the Linna dogs. It is smart and sneaky.












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News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my garage where the trains still run and the future is clouded– The big council meeting is tonight and nobody seems to know what will happen there. Dr. Fortress still hasn’t decided to shut down the railroad but he is certainly leaning in that direction. If the trains stop then the mine stops and the mill. What rabbit ( excuse the expression) can Mrs. Trumble pull out of her hat to save the town. She is after all just an old lady that hunts rabbits not a magician.
The town has always looked to Eino and Nancy and they are on the council. Is it possible they will come up with something? We know that Eino is certainly trying. He has had four meetings with Dr. Fortress but nothing seems to have changed. Nancy has been talking to people in her coffee shop and looking for answers . The problem may be that there are no answers.
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Today's link:Pieces of Me - Remember to put the words Dr. John in the comment to get those very loving JCPOINTS. Check your total HERE.
You could win a PIC A PRIZE
I feel like we are running around in circles. So much to do and so little time. We took over $100 worth of food to St. Vincent De Paul so that was good. It was canned goods , cake mixes and such. Took down pictures, cleaned out cupboards . So it is possible we may be able to go tomorrow.
I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Packing

Saying for the Day:No matter how careful you are you always forget something you really need.

It’s the middle of the week.
Betty and I are trying to get everything ready before we leave on Saturday.
We need to:
1. Have packed up every room ready for the movers.
2. Decided what boxes must come with us now. ( We won’t be back until April)
3. Leave the house in the condition that the real estate agents can show it.

WE have no television as the cable had been turned off.
I miss my soaps.
I thought I would have lots of time to blog but we are so busy packing that there hasn’t been much time for that either.
I’m lucky I don’t have the shakes from so much withdrawal.

We came up Sunday and left my breathing mask in Neenah.
“No problem” I said : We will use the old ones.
That’s when Betty told me the old one’s were packed in a box in Peter’s garage .
She finally found a very old one and somehow she made it work.
It just about wrecked my nose.
Today the good mask came UPS , sent by my daughter. I sleep better tonight.
We had been saving pennies ( I have no idea why?) and we have so many we can’t carry them. Tomorrow Betty will haul them , in batches, to the bank and turn them in for money you can carry.
Betty is sure that one of the pennies will turn out to be worth a lot of money but I doubt it.
We will never know.
I have to get back to packing.

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News from Pigeon Falls-the little town in my garage where the trains still run, at least unto December 14 th, and Mrs. Trumble is the Mayor– Mrs. Trumble has called a special council meeting for Thursday night. She want all the members to consider the present crisis . Each one is supposed to bring ideas of what actions to take if the trains stops, the mine closes, and the lumber mill quits. Is there a way to save the town. How will they survive the loss of the tax base these things represent. She gave each council person a sheet of questions and asked them to come with the best possible answers. If the town survives it may very well be because of Mrs. Trumble.
The White Rabbit hasn’t been seen since Mrs. Trumble became Mayor. Perhaps, he is afraid.
Nancy is now asking her customers some of the questions from Mrs. Trumble’s sheet . She thinks if people are busy working on the problem they will have less time to worry about it. In fact the mood does seem a bit more upbeat.
Tommy got sent to the principles office today for something or other. He is back to being just plain Tommy who dreams up ways to get into trouble.
*****

Today's Link:The Adventures of TMLSB-Remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comment to get those sexy JCPOINTS. Check your points HERE. Keep in mind your JCPOINTS could win you a fabulous PIC A PRIZE. ( Prizes gathered from the very ends of the earth)
Another productive day. We finished the study, cleared the books from one living room shelf, and brought more stuff down from the attic. we also took a pail of pennies to the Credit Union and deposited $199.47. That's a lot of pennies. Had lunch at Fobs. Coming out we met my old secretary Karen Groop. Late in the afternoon Esther stopped in to visit and made us an offer we couldn't refuse. I am going to miss those people. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

A Phone Call

Saying for the Day: First impressions aren't always correct.

Back to life in our first parsonage.
One afternoon after we had been in the parish for about a month and a half the phone rang.

I was watching a football game so it must have been Sunday afternoon.
I had me feet up and was feeling pretty good.
We had put out our first newsletter that week and I thought the whole process had gone well.
In fact life in the parish seemed pretty wonderful.

That’s when the phone rang.
A very angry lady began to swear at me as loudly as she could.
I had to hold the phone away from my ear.
In between calling me names she charged that I was working with the school superintendent to get her family.
Now I had only met the school superintendent once and I certainly was not plotting with him against her.
She slowed down enough for me to ask why she thought I was out to get her.
She read to me the birthday list from the newsletter which included her daughter’s birthday.
That reference convinced her I was out to get her.
I told her I hadn’t intended to offend her but she called me a liar and hung up.
Well that ruined my day.
Later I discovered that she had a history of mental problems but nobody had bothered to warn me.

She really wasn’t a bad lady. In fact we became friends of sorts. Her daughter was part of the debate team I coached the following year for the local high school.
Despite the problems at home the girl was a good student and a great debater.

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News from Pigeon Falls– the little town in my garage where the trains may not run much longer and the end may be coming soon. – Tommy and the council met last night. Tommy announced that this was not the time for the town to be run by kids and that they had talked seven adults into taking their place. They had figured out how to do this. First one of the council members resigned. Then the remaining members picked someone to take his or her place until the next election. Eino agreed to take Billy’s place and Billy was the first one to resign. The five remaining then selected Eino and Tommy swore him in. Then the next resigned and the five , which now included Eino, selected the person to replace him. The process continued until all six of the council members were now adults. The only surprise in the selections was that one of the new council people was Nancy.
Then came Tommy’s turn to resign and to let them know who was willing to be Mayor. Tommy offered his resignation and announced that the next Mayor would be Mrs. Trumble. You could have heard a pin drop. But the six new council members elected or selected her to be the Mayor until the next general election. Somebody asked Tommy how he could allow Mrs. Trumble to be Mayor. He answered “ She was willing and nobody else was”.
Then Tommy announced he was going back to being a boy .
*****

Today's Link-Every Little Thing- Remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comments to get those sort of funny JCPOINTS,Check your points HERE. Remember those points could win you a Pic A Prize.
Had a good day today. We almost finished the study. I think by Friday we will be done. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Under the comment tree

Saying for the Day: Yes Virginia there is a comment Santa Claus.
It is Monday or as it has come to be called “Leave a Comment Monday”.
It is the day to visit blogs and leave nice comments.
Sort of like Christmas coming every Monday and you are Santa Claus .
Then I will come and look under my comment tree and see what all of you nice Santas have left.

Last week there were many great comments but I was too busy to pick the best one’s. As usual they were all kind and insightful.

I might answer a few questions from the comments.
Happy and Blue2 was interested in my run in with the soldier and the machinegun
I was entering Nicaragua and I was wearing my clerical collar. The soldier at the gate pointed his machine gun at me and began to shout in Spanish. I had no idea what he was saying. So I tried to indicate I was harmless. I opened my hands to show I had nothing in them. Then the interpreter showed up. It seems he thought I was a Catholic Priest and this soldier hated Catholic Priests. As a Lutheran I was okay so he stopped waving the gun around and my heart restarted.

Stacy wondered about my encounter with the state police.
I had gone to an anti war meeting during the Viet Nam War.
The next day the State Police came and asked me to tell them who was at the meeting.
I told them, honestly, I didn’t know the people but that if I did I wouldn’t tell them because this is a free country and we don’t have to report to the police on who goes to meetings.
He said “ You ministers are so naïve.
All those people were communists.”
Then he named who was at the meeting.
I learned later he visited other people asking about me and suggesting I was a communist.
The weird thing is I was a hawk on the war and left the meeting in disgust.

Today we will draw for the Monday PIC a Prize. Last Friday’s winner hasn’t picked her’s yet. I will also bring the JCPOINTS up to date which I couldn’t do while we were gone because I left the program in Crystal Falls.

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News from Pigeon Falls– the little town in my garage where trains still run and gloom and doom are the order of the day– Dr. Fortress stopped in to talk to Eino and told him he is trying to find some way to save the railroad but it doesn’t look good. He can’t afford to put any more money into it and he can’t find a buyer for it. He has one or two other possible solutions so Eino shouldn’t give up hope yet.
Of course the hermit statue remains in Eino’s basement ( in the basement of his business) with no solution to that mystery in sight. The town could die and we would never know what all that was about.
Nor have we solved the mystery of the White Rabbit and the dragon who may or may not be connected. Are they demons like Mrs. Trumble says? Or is there some rational explanation for dragons and rabbits with signs? Will we ever know?
Eino went back and read the original Driblet and says that “In the middle of the last time of the time “ doesn’t have to be December 15 it could be almost any month and any time. Petrovich has assigned it that value. And if it is December 15 other things happened on that date that could fit. For example The French defeated the Germans at the battle of Verdun on December 15, 1916. The city of birds could be the city the planes flew out of. The dragons could be the planes. Beside Pigeon Falls has only one dragon and not dragons. It is all in how you read the driblet. It can say anything you want it to say.
Petrovitch says that’s nonsense. There is only one right interpretation that fits the driblet and he thinks his is it. More and more people are believing him instead of Eino.
The White Rabbit also continues his lonely crusade for sanity with no visible results.
Tonight Tommy and the council meet . Perhaps they have something to offer Pigeon Falls. Lets hope so.
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Today's Link: Sue Beyer:: Artist--(artists -this one's for you) Remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comment to get those artistic JCPOINTS Check your points HERE. Betty will draw for the Pic A Prize when she gets up. The JCPOINT totals are now up to date.

Betty has drawn.

And the


winner is


Quilldancer


Congratulations Quilldancer. Please goto the Pic a Prize list and pic a prize. Then leave the number in a comment.
Today we mailed out last Monday's prize. We are a little slow but I left the prizes in Crystal when I went to Neenah.
We had a good day. The study is almost stripped. We will finish it tomorrow. So many decisions on what to keep and what to throw and what has to come with us now. We won't be back until April so we have to decide well.
Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

My grandkids

Saying for the day: Family is the real treasure of life.
I was so proud of my grandsons yesterday.

First we were on the internet at EBAY trying to get a gift for the youngest of the three.

I told the other two that fifty dollars was my limit per kid.

It looked like the gift would end up around $80 so we would have to give up.

Both boys then offered to give me money.

Alex offered twenty which is all he had and Elijah offered ten which is all he had.Most of the time they have no money but they won that money playing cards with grampa.

They showed a real concern for their brother’s Christmas.

I am not sure at that age I would have done that for my sister.

We were very lucky, however, because we got what we wanted for under $50.

But they would have given if they had too.

Then when we went to the Mall and poor old grandpa couldn’t go any further they took turns pushing me on my walker which has a seat and wheels.

Do I have great grandsons or what?

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News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my garage where the trains till run and a lonely rabbit does the best he can.– Yesterday the White Rabbit appeared all over Pigeon Falls with his “ The world is not ending” sign. He seemed to have sensed the mood and was trying all by himself to change it. Mrs. Trumble hasn’t commented on the change yet. She has been very quiet.

Eino and Nancy are still trying hard to lift people’s spirits but they are not doing very well. One lady even stopped into Nancy’s for coffee and broke down crying. She doesn’t want Pigeon Falls to end. It is amazing how hysteria can take over a town and all of it based on that stupid old Russian prophecy.

Still life goes on. Our potato farmers are now bagging the crop they harvested and shipping them out to grocery stores. Our hunters are coming home from the woods, one by one. Some with deer and some without. The ladies who went shopping in the city are back. The men who work in the mine and the mill continue to go to work.But over it all hangs the black cloud.

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Today's link:The Poodle and Dog Blog-Remember to put Dr. john in the comment to get those cute JCPOINTS.

We are back in Crystal Falls ( no lon ger home) for a week. I will try to catch up on my blogging while we are here. So much has been going on that I haven't gotten to read many blogs for the last week. Now we have to pack everything we have to have in Neenah as we won't be back again until April. Esther is watching over the house for us though the only stuff left to steal is the big furniture and it is old. Our good stuff is in Peter's garage.

Well I need a breathing treatment.

GBYA

Still more of me

Saying for the Day:What we did we did and that is that.

I continue the list I started yesterday.

76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest

79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River

82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
85. Been to Las Vegas

86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date

89. Gone to Hondorus
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone

92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship(but I was on an ore boat)
94. Spoken more than one language fluently well enough to have a decent conversation

95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour

99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge

102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived

105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback

108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart

111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone

114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol

117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery

120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours

123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days

126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper

129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed

132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad

135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions

138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language (and he had a machine gun)
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language

141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into a nursing home
143. Built your own PC from parts

144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair

147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident

150. Saved someone’s life
151. Finished a marathon

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News from Pigeon Falls- The little town in my garage where the trains still run and dragons fly free.-

It is almost as if Pigeon Falls has fallen under some kind of black cloud. Yesterday Wink’s Woods opened early and had some special sales to attract customers and almost nobody came. People are just not in a holiday mood.

As if things weren’t bad enough the one remaining iron mine announced that if the trains stops running it was closing up as well. That was followed by a similar announcement from the lumber mill. These are the two biggest employers in the area so people are really worried.

Petrovich has used all of this to prove the prophecy is true and Pigeon Falls will end on December 15. More and more people are beginning to believe him.

Nancy and Eino are doing their best. They are pointing out that if enough people believe this nonsense they will in effect make it happen. If the mine closes the town will go on. Other mines have closed and the town recovered.

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Today's Link:The Talk of the Town-Remember to put the words Dr. John in the comment to get those Pixel loaded JCPOINTS.

Had another great day. My three grandsons and my son Pat stayed for another day and we had a great time. Now I need a breathing treatment.

GBYA

More about me

Saying for the Day: What one didn't do tells a lot about a person.

Borrowed this from Stacy's blog and made a few changes. What I have done is in red. The other half I will run tomorrow.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain

04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula

07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree

10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited London
12. Watched a lightning storm on a boat

13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game

16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa.
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables (not to big on the eating)
18. Touched an iceberg

19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon

22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk
24. Given more than you can afford to charity

25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight

28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight

31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse

34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking

37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer

40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk.
42. Had amazing friends

43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign

46. Backpacked in Europe.
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing

49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Finland

52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan

55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero

58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football

61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud

64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China

67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured an ancient site

70. Investigated by state police
71. Played Dungeons & Dragons for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married

73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced

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News from Pigeon Falls-The little town where trains still run and the end may be near.

Tommy has called a special council meeting for Monday night.He and the council members have some kind of plan for the future of government in Pigeon Falls.

That of course assumes there will be a Pigeon Falls to be governed. The old Russian prophecy hangs heavy over the town. Many people have now gone to the website and are convinced it is talking about Pigeon Falls. They are worried about what will happen on December 15. Will the town come to an end? Will the world come to an end? Should they hold Christmas early? The calm voice of reason, Eino , is not being heard. Panic is the order of the day. It is strange how people are willing to believe bad things from a stranger who lived hundreds of years ago. But they are.

Despite all of this the White Rabbit continues to make appearances. Now he carries a sign that says “The World is not ending!”. Mrs. Trumble has been strangely quiet. She seems to have given up the chase. That in itself is a bad sign.

Nancy says the nonsense has been good for her business. People come and have a cup of coffee so they can talk about the prophecy. Most are worried but not so worried they don’t drink their coffee. “Good to the last drop could take on new meaning.

Of course Nancy is not the only one to profit. The Fly Inn bar is doing record business. If coffee won’t kill the pain then a drink of something stronger might. The mood at the Fly Inn is pretty gloomy. These are not happy drunks.

The fifteenth of December is coming.

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Today's link:Dave's Armchair. Remember to put Dr. John in the comment to get those really slow JCPOINTS..We will draw for the Pic A Prize winner when Betty gets up.

We have drawn and the winner is.....

Miss 1999.

Congratulations Miss 1999. Please go to the PIC A PRIZE LIST and pick a prize. Then leave the number in a comment. Miss 1999 had 61 chances to win today. The top person had 2035. She is lucky.

It was one of those special days. We didn't go shopping. We ate left overs but my entire family was here. Both of my sons and their children, my daughter-in-law, and my daughter. It doesn't get much better than this.

Well I need a breathing treatment.

GBYA

My first job

Saying for the Day:Yesterday is a very special place.
Yesterday I read Gary’s blog and it reminded me of my first job.
I was ten years old and my Aunt Ida gave me the job of rolling the calendars they gave to customers during the Christmas season.
I worked in the back room of Linna’s Drug , the family drug store.
My Aunt Ida was the primary pharmacist and I watched as she filled prescriptions.
In those days some of the pills were made up in the store , not like today where the pharmacist counts pills.
It made me feel important to be part of all of that.

I rolled each calendar tight and put a little seal on it to keep it rolled.
After about one hundred calendars it wasn’t as much fun but I would keep at it.
My grandfather would come in, he lived upstairs, and tell them to let me have a break and get some pop.
It was always good to see him.
His favorite pop was black cherry and so it was my favorite as well.
My dad said that it was a pop that tastes like bed bugs smell but I didn’t care.
It was grampa’s pop so it had to be good.

The drug store at this time of year was full of Christmas junk.
Special displays were set up with bubble bath and things like that.
It looked great and smelled wonderful.
I loved that store and it was a great job.
I got paid a penny a calendar and spent it on penny candy.
You could get good candy for a penny in those days.

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News from Pigeon Falls– the little town in my garage where the trains still run and people are sure the end is coming.– Today is Thanksgiving and you won’t find a single Tofurkey in all of Pigeon Falls. Vegetarianism never caught on here though every once in a great while somebody gives it a try. This is a community of proud hunters of animals. In fact the truly discriminate family insists that the Tom Turkey be hunted and not purchased in a grocery store. Non of that humanly killed nonsense here. Even Dr. Kevorkian , the death doctor, could not envision people who begged for fresh killed game. They will accept beef from the store because cows don’t run wild. The horrible truth is that it is lots of work to prepare a fresh killed turkey. The dynamics included soaking the bird in hot water until you can remove the feathers, then you have to clean out the inside of the bird. The child of my neighbor got very sick watching the process. That image has been gnawing at him ever since so now he makes the kid stay inside and everything is copacetic . The hardcore hunter will never change.
On Thanksgiving morning there will be a big platter of scrambled eggs and ham with plenty of toast. Then as they sit down to the big meal the head of the family will remind them of all the things for which they are grateful which of course includes the fresh killed and cooked turkey.
*******
No LInk today: It is Thanksgiving. Go have another piece of pie, play with a grandkid, argue politics with a family member, watch foorball, or spend some time counting your blessings and giving thanks. But get off the computer for a day.
Thanks to Cindra Jo for eighteen of the words used in today's Pigeon Falls story.
It was a wonderful Thanksgiving day. The food was great . My grandkids (3 of them) were here. I lost $14.00 to the oldest one. Don't ask how. Thjey are staying until tomorrow. I think the move was worth it. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

some answers.

Saying for the day: Sometimes there is no answer to a question.

I keep seeing these blogs with personal questions that help us to get to know the person doing the blog so I wrote some questions for this blog.

1. Why did you call this blog Dr. John’s Fortress?

Because I am Dr. John. My last name is Linna.

Type Linna into the Google image search and see what you get.

2. Where did Pigeon Falls come from?

It came out of the fog and will someday return to the fog. See the entry for May 16.

3.Who is Dr. Fortress patterned after?

Why me, of course.

4. Who is Eino patterned after?

Why me of course.

5. Who is Mrs. Trumble patterned after?

My mother but don’t think you know her yet.

6. Aside from the ministry what was the greatest job you ever had?

Deckhand on an ore boat. At least on days without storms. The work was easy, didn’t require any thinking, and the scenery was really great particularly on the St. Marie’s River. However, when there were big waves I got terribly seasick.

7. Aside from the ministry what was the worst job you ever had?

Santa Claus for Montgomery Wards. I was practice teaching and the kids in the math class found out I was playing Santa. They would come and ask Santa to bring them an A in Math.

8. Did you grow up in a dysfunctional family?

When I grew up they hadn’t invented that kind of family yet.

9. What did you want to be when you grew up?

A cowboy , of course, just like Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.

10. Did you write these questions because you had nothing to put on today’s blog?

I refuse to answer on the grounds that my answer might cause me pain.

News from Pigeon Falls- .The little town in my garage where the trains still run at least until December 15.– Despite all the talk of Pigeon Falls coming to an end Donna Bergall stopped in for her free cup of coffee and told another story. This is that story;

“ Once upon a long time ago there was a young fairy named Edgar. Now Edgar graduated at the top of his class at the Fairy Academy and was destined for greatness. He mastered all the fairy skills and some elf skills as well. He would have made a great fairy godfather or a better than average tooth fairy. But, alas, it was not to be. The head of the E.P.A. (Elf Placement Agency ) decided that Edgar was perfect for a new fairy job that was in the development stage and needed the very best fairy available. So she choose Edgar. Thus it was that Edgar became the first sock fairy in the history of fairydom. It was the great depression and there were many humans whose children had no socks. It was Edgar’s job to take socks from the rich , who had so many, and give them to the poor who had none. Edgar took his task very , very, seriously. Soon poor parents were saying to their children, if you are really good then the sock fairy will come and you will have socks to wear to school inside of your boxes. It broke Edgar’s heart to see how the poor lived . One day his mind snapped from viewing so much misery. He began to take socks from anyplace and leave them anywhere. He no longer took pairs but single socks. The problem for the fairy world is they had never had a psychotic fairy before, They didn’t know what to do. There was no place to send him for treatment or rehabilitation. They couldn’t change his job . Imagine what havoc a psychotic fairy godfather could wreck. So they decided that what he was doing was harmless enough and just allowed him to continue. So now you know why sometimes a sock disappears from your laundry and you have all those single socks in your drawer. You also know why sometimes there is a sock that shows up that you have never seen before. It is all Edgar, the one and only sock fairy..”

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Link for today:Wowim0:Rember to put the words Dr. John in the commemnt to get tjose adoravle little JCPOINTS. Today's link was suggested by happy and blue2.

Today we went shopping at Stein's. we got flowers for the table tomorrow and some things for the train layout. Betty is becoming more comfortable at driving down here so that is good. In the afternoon I visited all my links and left comments in every place that I could. I thank all the nice bloggers who joined with Margaret in my roast. I could have done without the repost of me in the bathtub but otherwise it was a fun day. You are very kind and very creative people. Well I need a breathng treatment.

GBYA

Back again-

Saying for the Day: Home is where you hang your hat or as my grandfather used to say "Ome is were you ang you at."

We are in our new home, well in Pennie’s half of the new home.

We will live in this half until May.

We will ask the renters to vacate as of the first of April.

We just don’t have the heart to ask them to go now during the holiday season.

We don’t want to put them out in the cold months.

So April is what we are aiming for.

Of course, the extra income coming in from the rent won’t hurt either.

The internet connection was just installed along with more channels than one can possibly ever view.

But I do have my soaps and my internet so life is good. Because I couldn’t publish this blog until late in the afternoon there will be no link today.

Hopefully everything returns to what passes for normal tomorrow.

The dog is at Peter’s house and I doubt that we will get it back. I talked to my granddaughter and it was sitting on the chair with her.

She took it over to meet the dog next door and has been spending lots of time with it.

You can not believe what a lovable dog it is.

My brother-in-law said that if Peter doesn’t want it he would take it.

He fell in love with it bringing it to our house .

Even Betty has fallen in love with it.

It is so much like the dog I grew up with and it loves kids so I guess Bree;s is the best place for it.

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News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my backyard where the trains still run and doomsday talk is in the air– December 15 and then comes the end. That’s what people are saying in Pigeon Falls. The old Coptic prophecy has them all shook up. Well not all. Eino has been doing some reading on the great Russian Poet and seer Alexis Grengicoff . According to Eino, Grengicoff was a monk in an odd Russian sect. He is sometimes called the mad Monk of Kiev. He used to drink a bottle of Vodka and then go into a trance. His students would write down everything he said while in the trance like state. Often the pronouncements came in the form of poetry. When Grengicoff would awaken he had no idea what he had said nor could he explain what it meant. It was only a century later when his writing was seen as prophetic. People began to see in his writing predictions of things that had happened since his death.

Eino says that like all such seers this is just a bunch of nonsense since it can be read only after the event and not before. For example his prediction that the short tree would get its army stuck in the big sands to be attacked by small ants is now being seen as George Bush( small tree) getting our army stuck in Iraq (big sands) where small groups of terrorists are attacking. ( Small ants). Where were these interpretations before the event? It’s easy to predict after the event or to more exact to interpret a prediction after it seems to have come true.

Nancy says that people aren’t paying a lot of attention to Eino. Instead they are acting like the end was coming.

Pastor Marvel has also tried to call the people back to reality even though the scare has been good for church attendance. He told the congregation that the end of the world was not in the hands of some obscure Russian Monk but in the hands of God. He said that on December 16 they will see how silly they have been.

******

No link today: We spent the day waiting. Waiting for a stove repairman, for Apria to bring my oxygen, for the cable guy, and for Pennie’s new dining room table. They all came at their assigned time. That is something like a miracle. Now I need a breathing treatment.

GBYA

Leave a comment Monday

Saying for the Day: You can not force a reader to leave a comment but you can try.

It’s “Leave a comment Monday” and if you don’t leave one on every blog you visit terrible things may happen.

Your refrigerator may get a virus from your computer and run around your kitchen sneezing milk over everything.

Your radio will only play conservative talk radio.

Your television set will only run Russian programs because the satellite that feeds your cable or the satellite you get your feed from will be hit with a virus.

The virus will spread to your car whih will then drive you to Alaska.

Or the very worse possible thing will happen and your computer won't let anybody comment on your blog.

Why tempt fate . Leave a comment!

Now for my favorite comments from last week. It was a hard choice because , as usual, there were so many great comments to choose from. But here are my two choices:
Margaret said on the blog about electrionic chip planting.

“They implanted a chip in my dog while I had her at the vet overnight to be spayed. Although it was "free" I still feel a bit violated because they didn't ask my permission.Now when PeeWeeWiggles leaves a 5am steamer in Dr. John's driveway - her where abouts can be tracked and I am held liable to go over there and scoop it up.”

And this one by Butterflies commenting on “leave a comment Monday”

“ NOW..this is very tricky for me.Its tuesday here when your on monday..so do I
a) leave the comment on sunday
b)stay up til midnight sunday and leave it then
c)have one of my friends in the states do it for me anonomously. “

I bestow 30 pricless JCPOINTS on each of these comment makers.
Now I look forward to a week of great comments. I hope I will get some time to read them.

Just a note. Cindra Jo has a new blog and it can be seen HERE.

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News from Pigeon Falls-the little town in my garage where dragons spend too much time in garages– Tomas Petrovich student and follower of the great Russian Poet and seer Alexis Grengicoff is at it again. He has translated another driblet from the original Russian , You can see the driblet on his website "The White Rabbit Cometh" .
According to Petrovich this driblet means that Pigeon Falls will cease to exist on December 15 of this year. All the signs are there. The time referred to is December which is the last time in the time unit of a year. Dr. Fortress is talking about closing up the railroad ( the iron horse) on or about that date. Without the railroad there will be no Pigeon Falls. The end , according to Petrovich, is near.
People all over town are talking about it. Those with computers and internet connections have been to the website. Some of them believe this prophecy applies to Pigeon Falls. Eino says that this is mystical mumbo jumbo that can be read a bunch of ways. Now if it said the little town named after Pigeons then he would take notice. Time alone will tell.
Ernie said this morning Mrs. Trumble’s garage door was open and the truck was back inside. There was no dragon or White Rabbit either. Poor Ernie this could cause him to quit drinking. Of course what he saw might not have been a dragon but a backwoods mosquito. They grow them big up here.
*****

Today's Link:TechnoBabe's Adventures-Remember to put the words Dr. John in the comment to get those nonverbal JCPOINTs. Check HERE for your total.

Betty is busy so I drew today.
The winner is

without further nonsense

no that's not the winner that's how i will tell you who thw winner is

without further nonsense.

you see with further nonsense we wouldn't get to the name.

but without further nonsense the winner is

Jan

Congratulations Jan. Please go to the PIC A prize LIST and leave the number of the prize in a comment. Jan had 259 chances today. Our top person had 2035. So I guess Jan is lucky.

We leave today for the new house rather than tomorrow. That means that I may not close up today and that tomorrow's blog will be very late. Oyur internet connection is not scheduled to be installed until 3:00. Now I have to help Betty pack. Read you all when I can.

In the dog house!

Saying for the day: Look before you leap or at least before you get a dog.

It is Sunday , a day of rest, but there will be no rest for the Linna household.
We are trying to get everything ready to go on Tuesday.
We have clothes to pack, and hospital type stuff.
We have calls, to cancel things, that have to be made.
We have Christmas ornaments we need to take .
We have enough stuff to fill the van twice.
In addition we have to bring down from the attic everything that is there.
One thing after another.
In the midst of all of this I did a very stupid thing.
I was raised with a purebred English Springer Spaniel.
Yesterday my sister called and I had a chance to get one that was housebroken and only two years old.

I jumped at the chance.

Wrong move John.

My wife is now ready to put me out on the street oxygen tubes and all.

She is  of course right but its all my sister’s fault.
If she hadn’t told me I wouldn’t have jumped.

Well the dog isn’t really mine its going to Peter and family and I get it only if they don’t want it.
My wife is sure I will get it.
She always looks for the black cloud behind the silver lining.

If everything works my granddaughter and grandson have a new dog.
It is trainable.
It is a Springer.

I called Peter before I jumped.
They had a family gathering and decided to try it.
My granddaughter is all excited.

If I don’t blog tomorrow its because  there is no computer in the doghouse.

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News from Pigeon Falls-the little town in my garage where the trains still run and a dragon flys into garages– Ernie has been watching Mrs. Trumble’s garage. He swears he didn’t sleep Friday night but watched Mrs. Trumble’s garage all night. The garage door never opened. Mrs. Trumble left her truck outside. He is sure there is a dead dragon in the garage. When Mrs. Trumble went to town yesterday he went over to peek in the garage but there was no window in t he garage door. There is a window on the side but it is too high and Ernie would have to drag something over to stand on. He was afraid he would get caught and be arrested as a peeping Tom. Soon after Mrs. Trumble came home.
In the afternoon Tommy came with his big red wagon. He carried a bag of groceries inside and stayed for an hour. Before he went in Ernie asked him to try to get a peek in the garage to see if there was a dead dragon there. When he came out Ernie stopped him and asked if he had had a chance to look in the garage. He said that he told Mrs. Trumble that he heard she shot the dragon and it was in her garage . She took him out to the garage and showed him there was no dragon.
Poor Ernie, he was so sure it was there. One hopes he gets some sleep tonight. He can’t watch that garage forever.
Nancy says that one by one the hunters are coming back. The ones that took their sons to hunting camp have to be back by tonight because  there is school tomorrow. Some are stoping for coffee so she is getting to hear some hunting stories. One hunter claimed that a deer charged him and only by hitting  it right between the eyes with the butt of his gun was he saved from sure destruction. The deer wobbled off while the hunter tried to fire the gun but wacking the deer had done something to the firing mechanism .
*****

Link for the day: Blogaway-Remember to put the words Dr. John in the comment to get those youthful JCPOINTS. Check your totals HERE.
My ister showed up early with the dog. It is really cute. But it has  no interest in me and has fallen in love with Betty. If she leaves the room he whines. It must be hard for him to have left a house with two active kids to live with us old folk. He can catch a ball in the air. I may get thrown out of the procrastinator's club. By tommorrow I will have all the certificates, globes. cups , and prizes sent out. One cup will be left because I don't have the address for it yet. Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

My soaps and ?

Saying for the Day: You never miss your Soaps until you can't see them.

While I was out closing on my new house I missed both television and the internet.

That is I didn’t get to see my soaps. I have no idea what Dr. Death did in my absence from “All My Children” but I know he was up to something. I may never find out and then again it is possible nothing happened. I think I have a soap addiction. I found myself going through withdrawal .I had the soap shakes.

Put on top of that only limited internet time so that I couldn’t read the blogs that I read every day and I had blog withdrawal as well.
It’s a wonder I could move.

But today I will read all my blog links and catch up. If I have the time I will even read back a couple of days. That will help get make to normal. Then Monday I will see my soaps and hope to catch up on those as well.

The good news when we move to our new home is that my daughter has something that records when your not home so I don’t ever have to miss a soap again. She also will have a cable internet modem so I can view blogs faster. Life is going to be good.
I guess I have become a child of this century.

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News from Pigeon Falls – the little town in my garage where the trains still run and dragons fly free. Now Ernie, who is known to drink a bit too much swears he saw the dragon fly into Mrs. Trumble’s garage while she was gone. She left the garage door open. As soon as the dragon flew in, according to Ernie, the garage door closed all by itself. He called Mrs. Trumble on her cell phone and asked her if she knew she had a dragon in her garage. Mrs. Trumble showed up about ten minutes later. She parked her truck in front of the garage and went into the house through the front door. She says she got her shotgun and went out to the garage from the inside door hoping to surprise the dragon. But there was, according to Mrs. Trumble, no dragon. She says Ernie just has to stop drinking and seeing things that aren’t there. First he saw a White Rabbit in her garage and now a dragon.
Nancy says Mrs. Trumble was having a cup of coffee when she got the call. She said something about a pesky dragon in her garage and left. Nancy , of course is now telling everybody the story.
*****

Todays's Link: Birchsprite- Remember to put the words Dr. John in your comment to get those very Finnish JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your totals.
Betty will draw later. Just in case you win here is the PIC A Prize list.
Betty drew and the winner is (without anymore nonsense of any kind)

Nea

Congratulations Nea. Now go to the PIC A PRIZE list and pic a prize. Leave the number in the comment. Nea had 527 chances of being drawn the top person had 2021 so I guess she is lucky.
I spent all day finishing up loose ends on the blog. I have all the blogger globes from the last marathon ready to go except for one that I need an address for.
I am trying to remember who I didn't send the blogger cups to as the final cups are here.
Betty spent all day hauling things out of the attic. The dining room is now full.
Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Life goes On

I have reached Peter’s house and an internet connection.
We spent all day yesterday moving stuff from Pennie’s old house to our new house. Two Men and A Truck moved the furniture and they really moved fast. All the furniture was moved in to the new house in four hours. We spent last night in our new home. We even got our bed set up and all my breathing equipment. We were both so tired we slept like logs. This morning we packed up the breathing equipment and left for Crystal Falls. Betty doesn’t want me to call it home anymore.
Pennie’s old house is set to be sold on the tenth of December. Now if we could find a buyer for ours.
We will go back next week so that we can celebrate Thaksgiving there. By then the new internet connection should be in.

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News from Pigeon Falls– The little town in my garage where trains still run and dragons fly free– Yesterday if you can believe Mrs. Trumble’s nosey neighbor the dragon showed up and circled her house four times. Mrs. Trumble came out with her shotgun and then the dragon flew off into the woods. Mrs. Trumble was not happy. She claims it was trying to burn down her house and only her coming out with the gun prevented it.
Tommy hasn’t taken any steps to protect the dragon.
Nancy says she has seen some hunter’s coming in with dead deer. These are hunters and not camp people. Dr. Fortress has a special car to carry the deer in back to the city. Some of the successful hunters even stopped in for coffee and a saffron bun while they were waiting for the train.
There still is a rumor that Dr. Fortress is going to close down the railroad and leave the area. This would be the end of Pigeon falls.
******

No link today because I am on the road. Betty will draw when we get back to Crystal Falls.
We are home. Betty decided to draw tomorrow morning to give us time to get the JCPOINTs totals up to date. Well I need a breathiing treatment.
GBYA

One more ride wih Grampa John

The saying for the day: Sometimes two experts are the problem not the solution.

I wanted to share a little more about my grandfather John.
He and my Grandfather James along with my dad built the house I grew up in.
The family story is that after the foundation was laid Grampa James came and laid out the house .
In the afternoon Grampa John came and tore out everything James had done and did it his way.
Between the two of them (both expert carpenters) we got a house where the only room for the steps to the upstairs (my room and Dawn’s room) was so limited that they could only build very steep stairs.
I hated those stairs.

As Grampa John got older his vision got poorer .
My parents used to have either my sister or me to ride back to town with him.
Our job was to watch for cars coming from the side before he pulled out onto the main road.
If one was coming we had to say in Finnish “no cars coming” which was something like “ei guttodohlo” but I tried using a Finnish translator and I know that isn’t right but it sounded like that.
It made my sister Dawn very nervous.

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News from Pigeon Falls-The little town in my garage where the trains still run and dragons fly free– If there was anyone in Pigeon Falls that possessed the least
bit of couth they wouldn’t be found at a hunting camp. No , the people who go to hunting camps sit around enjoying stories that are not in any way significant. There are no phones allowed at hunting camp not even the cordless kind. They would have to come to town and get the sheriff from the jail (if we had a sheriff or a jail) if anything went wrong. And something could go wrong. One could slip and fall on the squishy stuff that falls on the ground when you gut a deer. One of the hunters fell like that in 1989 and missed a trip to Hawaii. He was stuck in his studio apartment not too silently contemplating his broken leg. There he had a sort of peace but wished he was on the beach watching a pretty girl in a bikini. He still filled his belly with enough beer to keep the local liquor store in business. Some day he promises he will go diving in Hawaii. If his hunting practices had been any good it never would have happened. But he forgets all that at Serra’s hunting camp. Lots of good stories at the Pigeon Falls camps.
Nancy says she gets to hear some of those stories when the season is over and they stop in for a cup of coffee and a saffron bun . She could write a book .
Tommy didn’t go hunting . He says he doesn’t like to kill things. He would rather take pictures of deer than shoot at them. Mrs. Trumble on the other hand has a deer licensee and intends to get a buck or a dragon.
******

Today's Link:Blah,Blah, Blog: -Remember to leave the words Dr. John in the comment to get those almost presidential JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your total.
The day hasn't started well. My original link had a period in the wrong place. That is now fixed.
I am racing against the movers because once they come I have no internet connection. That means I may not blog again until tomorrow night when I get to my son's. The new house won't have a connection until next week. It is chaos here as we help Pennie move her stuff and she has too much stuff. I like Cindra Jo's contest but have no time so I worked the words into today's Pigeon Falls just for fun. Well , now I need my morning brreathing teatment.
GBYA

The last Marathon

Saying for the day: It isn't the end until the fat lady sings.
Don't let the title scare you or give you a sense of joy. It doesn't mean there will be no more blog marathons. It means this post is about the last Marathon.
Thirty one people visited one or more of the assigned blogs and left a comment.
Twelve people did 30 or more blogs,
Four people did sixty blogs. That's all there were.
One man you visited deleted every comment that contained a Dr. John except one by Chana. He does not like DR. John. I think he thought we were some kind of blog spam,
A good number of others indicated they were very happy with our visits and thanked us.
Judging by their comments our people had a good time.
We picked up a couple of new people who did this marathon. Wow!
I started the marathon because I belonged to blog expolsion and I used to get fifty people tip toeing through and never leaving a comment. How do you kow who is reading your blog without a comment. So I started the link of the day and then the Marathon. Not just to get people to visit a blog but to read it and comment on it. IT has been I think worth the effort. Thanks to all who have and are participating .

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News from Pigeon Falls- the little town in my garage ( I haven't sold it yet) where the trains still run and dragons fly free.-Deer season starts today and Pigeon Falls feels like a ghost town. All the men have gone to camp and the women have gone to the big city shopping. Tommy gave in and changed the council meeting until next week Thursday. I don't think he wanted to meet with just girls. Even the Fly Inn Tavern has few clients. for the next few days they will do their drinking at camp.
Nancy says that so few people are coming in that she is thinking of closing for a few days and going and doing some shopping herself. Mrs. Trumble was in muttering about bloggers that want the White Rabbit to get a sweater with a no hunting sign or something like it on the back. She says they don't understand this is a demon.
Her neighbor says the White Rabbit was back going around and around on Mrs. Trumble's driveway. It was waving and winking and throwing little pieces of paper. He thought Mrs. Trumble was home but she never showed. One wonders if the neighbor doesn't have anything better to do than watch her driveway.
Eino is trying to convince the FBI that given their description of the Hermit it was the wrong guy but they won't listen to him. One agent said that the word from the top was to drop the matter.
******

Today's link: Little Nuances-Remember to put the words Dr. John to get those tiny little JCPOINTS. Check HERE for your totals.
Rough night. I had leg cramp after leg cramp. we think it is because of the long ride in the car. I know I should eat more bananas. Today we close on the house.
It's done. Now we own a house in Neenah. Well we and the loan company do. Betty and Pennie are hauling things from her old house to the new one. She is set to close on this house on December tenth. Then we will have only two mortgages.Well I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

Partners in carrying the good news.

Saying for the day: One picture is worth a thousand words.

There are five pictures. They start with me in the downstairs pulpit. Then coffee between the services.Then me getting ready to preach. Then the main pulpit and finally my family with my son Patrick and his boys missing.
The church gave them to me yesterday and I thought I would post them. I have saved the worst pictures of me for another time.
Click on a picture to see a large picture.
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News from Pigeon Falls– the little town in my garage where the trains still run and dragons sometimes fly– As expected and hoped for the dragon made an appearance last night . A group of men were just leaving the Hunter’s Super at the Masonic building when it came down the main street circled and flew back and out into the woods. Mrs. Trumble was helping serve at the Mason’s super. She came running out but of course she had no gun. She said if it wasn’t for Tommy and his meddling she would have brought it and she would have gotten herself a dragon. Remember she hit it the last time she shot at it and it even bled a little.
The White Rabbit , on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen. One would suspect he will stay gone until after deer season. With all these hunters running a round he would be dumb to be seen and he doesn’t seem to be dumb.
Bob Petry says he found a blog that celebrates old time radio by some guy witha weird name like brodcastelian.From there went to a blog that sells CD's with old time radio shows. He bought four CD's with the “Adventures of the Shadow” on them. He used to listen to it as a kid and now when he is going someplace he can put the CD in his player in the car and pretend he is young again. Sometimes just a little bit of nostalgia goes a long way.
There is real pressure on Tommy to postpone the Thursday night council meeting. It seems that some of the fathers that want to be there also want to be deer hunting and take their sons with them. That would leave Tommy with the three girls.
******

Today's link:Write Life Crisis- This blog is recomended by Cissa of Hearts of Fire. Let's give her friend a real welcome to the world of blogging.When you get there click on the black box to see the honeymoon picture. Remember to leave the word Dr. John in the comment to get those not yet wed JCPOINTS. Check your total HERE.
Since I am going to Neenah to close on the house and am not sure of computer connections there I may be missing for the rest of the week. Do not panic. I have not stepped on my oxygen hose. I have not wandered away in my senility with poor Betty looking for me. I am not down at the tavern having a few. I am wandering around Neenah trying to find some place to get my laptop on the internet. If I blog tomorrow ignore all of the above.
One last note to show you jow weird bloggers can become. This morning when Betty and I should have been packing and checking things for this trip we were both sitting at computers doing the last of blogger things.
My daughter has not disconected yet so I can close up for the day. We got to Green Bay at 3:00 in the afternoon and visited with my son and his wife not to mention the grandchildren. Then at 5:45 we left for my daughter's. We got there at 6:30 just as she got home from work.We ate out. Her house is full of boxes getting ready for the big move Thursday. I hope I can find a place to set up my medical stuff for the night. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA