Writing Help

Today's Link
Marvin the Martian

Saying for the Day
When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam,
May luck be yours on Halloween.
~Author Unknown

Picture of the Day
Our Halloween Treat

Writing Help

One of the purposes of this blog is to help as many people as possible. To that end I came across this help for writers . Since tomorrow is Wordzzle day and some of us will be playing with the words and because the rest of you are writing blogs I thought I would share the help on this blog.

Advice to Writers

In promulgating your esoteric cogitations or articulating your superficial sentimentalities and amicable philosophical or psychological observations, beware of platitudinous ponderosity.

Let your conversational communications possess a compacted conciseness, a clarified comprehensibility, a coalescent cogency and a concatenated consistency.

Eschew obfuscation and all conglomeration of flatulent garrulity, jejune babblement and asinine affectations.

Let your extemporaneous descants and unpremeditated expatiations have intelligibility and voracious vivacity without rodomontade or thrasonical bombast.

Sedulously avoid all polysyllabic profundity, pompous prolificacy and vain vapid verbosity.

If you are really interested to know, the above means: “Be brief and don’t use big words.”

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal.
It seems that Nancy’s poltergeist can tell a ghost groupie from a regular customer. Every attempt by one to enter Nancy’s since yesterday has failed. Most of them just ended up on the street but the last one flew down the street and into Jack’s Sauna . There it was dropped on the top bench, the door closed, and water started pouring on the rocks. Jack tried and tried but he couldn't open the door. Fairly soon the poor guy was dripping wet from sweat and having a hard time breathing. That’s when the door flew open. The poor guy had to go out into the thirty four degree cold and walk to his motel room. Since then no ghost groupie has tried to get in to Nancy’s. The odd thing is that while all this was going on the pumpkins kept floating around at Nancy’s. Could there be more than one poltergeist?
Melli stopped in for coffee and Nancy told her that she was so sorry for the problems that she had because of the ghost groupie incident. Nancy gave her a free cup of coffee and the largest saffron bun Melli had ever seen.
Kivi & Maki , getting some advice from an outside consultant are now selling t-shirts aimed at the ghost groupie market. They say "I was Ghostbusted-- who'ya gonna call?" -On the back is a big stylized ghost.
Herman was again disappointed as there was no cow on the roof of the Masonic Building. Every morning he gets up hoping that this will be the day with the cow. His wife keeps telling him to forget it, quit drinking, and get a job. But he is convinced that destiny has picked him as a seer.

Wrap Up

Another great day. I visited all my links. I put Sunday's Church bulletin on the website and then the November calendar and newsletter. I found a blog where the writer talked with pride about the candidate he was supporting with out feeling the need to bash the other candidate. That's almost a miracle. In the afternoon we worked on the tunnels. The first one is done and drying the second one is ready to be put together. Betty did a great job on the brickwork. Of course we ran both trains and everything else. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

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End of a Tale

Today's Link
Country Girl on the Chesapeake Bay

Saying for the Day
To insult someone we call him "bestial." For deliberate cruelty and nature, "human" might be the greater insult. ~Isaac Asimov

Picture of the Day
Betty's Grand Nephew -Here from Spain

Like it or not it is time to bring closure to the elf tale.
Poor Barney knew that President Small Tree was getting ready to annihilate every last bear on the planet. He would show no mercy. There were, of course, a few humans who had objected but they had been ignored. As long as he can be perceived as winning the vast majority of humans will stick with their leader no matter how stupid he is. If Barney didn’t act intelligent talking bears would exist only as historical foot notes.
But Barney didn’t know what to do. He could not bring himself to kill all the humans. He just couldn’t. He knew in his heart the Great Creator of all bears didn’t want him to for He made humans too.
He thought of using his one wish to cause humans to lose all their weapons and become forever pacifists. But he couldn’t trust his fellow bears. If the humans were defenseless the bears would get revenge for every bear killed . The slaughter would be horrible and huge. He could hear the rallying cry “ The only good human is a dead one.”
He could separate the planet with some kind of impenetrable barrier with the bears on one side and humans on the other. But humans that wanted to go to war were ingenious and would find some way over or under the barrier. And if they couldn’t ! what would the barrier do to the planet?
He could turn back time to before the Great Protocol wars and assassinate President Small Tree who obviously instigated the entire thing. But then the bears would be blamed for the assassination and the wars would happen anyway.
But time was running out. If he didn’t do something fast President Small Tree would send the troops for one last time and there would be no bears.
Barney called the greatest scientists among the bears to get some information. It seems that before the wars the bear scientists had done what no human could do. They had both bent and speeded up light. This allowed them to see into distant solar systems in a way humans never could. Barney wanted information on one planet in a mediocre solar system. It was a young planet where the dominant life form seemed to be huge carnivorous lizards. He wanted to know if it could support human life. They assured him it could but the humans would have no chance against the lizards.
So Barney decided to wish that every human on his planet would be instantly transported to the planet with the lizards. He knew that it wasn’t fair. He knew they would stand no chance. But still he made the wish.
Till his dying day he always felt it was better that the lizards become extinct than the bears.

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal
There was real excitement over at Nancy’s this morning. It seems one of the ghost groupies declared that he had the right to stay beyond a half an hour and Nancy couldn’t make him leave. Suddenly he rose up into the air floated out to the street and fell into a puddle caused by the melting snow. He was a mess. It looks like Nancy’s poltergeist is taking things into its own whatever it has. One wonders if you can sue a poltergeist. After that everything went well but a little weird. Several ghost groupies started to enter only to end up walking backwards out of the shop and falling off the sidewalk.
Melli told Amanda that this has not been a great visit and she will be glad when the wedding is over and she can get home to Dennis. Besides she has some friendly crabs waiting for her there. Amanda told Melli that she shouldn’t judge Pigeon Falls by her experience thus far. Herman is not typical and thinks he’s a seer. The Ghost Groupies aren’t from town and the people who pushed her at the Happy Pigeon were from Iron River. Pigeon Falls people are much more polite. Give them a chance and they will grow on you.
Herman looked in the snow around the Masonic building this morning before it melted hoping to find cow tracks. But there weren’t any. And of course, there has been no cow on thew roof of the Masonic Building Herman’s vision not withstanding. In fact Herman is now being teased a lot. People are asking him if he has seen in any cows trying to jump over the moon.

Wrap Up

Another very good breathing day. In the morning I visited all my links and there arew lots of them. Pennie took Maggie to the Groomer. She picked her up and brought her home at noon. She smells so nice. Maggie hates it.In the afternoon it was back to the basement. We cleaned up around the work area and got a good start on the first of two tunnels. Betty now is going to draw the brick walls before we cement them all together. Then we put in a new control that controls all the lights , all the animations, and both street cars. Then came the fun part . We ran everything. Two streetcars, a host of animations, and two trains. Everything worked once we read the directions on the new control. Brought up an album with some pictures from 1986 . The album was falling apart so we began Operation Scan ( Isn't that impressive) . Scanned in the pictures. Put then in a box and threw the album away. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

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Not for Sale

Today's Link
Peacock Blue

Saying for the Day
All of us who are concerned for peace and triumph of reason and justice must be keenly aware how small an influence reason and honest good will exert upon events in the political field. ~Albert Einstein

Picture of the Day
Betty's Grand Nephew visiting from Spain

I don’t watch much television. Usually I watch during my morning breathing treatment and my evening treatment. The treatment is so boring I need to do something and the mask keeps me from reading.
What I have noticed is that I’ve seen so many anti McCain commercials in that little time that I know them by heart. There are four or five commercials every day in just the time I watch. There are no anti Obama commercials.
I am beginning to believe that Obama is trying to buy the election. If you say the same thing over and over after a while people will begin to believe it.
Over and over we hear that McCain has sold out women, the poor, old people, and the middle class. He is a carbon copy of the President who caused this economic mess.
But its not just on TV I am getting three mail adds for Obama to every McCain add and the Obama adds are bigger and fancier and say the same thing: McCain has sold out women, the poor, old people, and the middle class. He is a carbon copy of the President who caused this economic mess.
Over and over Obama is using his economic advantage to buy the election.
And little by little I think I might throw my vote away and vote for McCain. Why not? I have a track record of voting for losers. Why should this election be any different?
It’s not that I think McCain is any better. He doesn’t have the money to match Obama. His commercials are probably on at a time with larger audiences than those available at my breathing time. He is no Saint.
But I have always had this sense of fair play. It just seems to me unfair for somebody to buy an election even if they can. It just doesn’t seem fair.
So it is possible I will vote for McCain. I will feel funny , of course because I fought for the poor and needy, I headed up the Upper Peninsula Senior Council, I called a woman assistant Pastor when there were few woman Pastors in the UP, and I’m part of the bottom end of the middle class ( okay the upper end of the lower class) . I’ll be pulling the lever for a guy who according to all those images Obama has placed in my head is against it all.
But sometimes you just have to be fair.

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal.
Poor Nancy she is so upset. She is dealing with the ghost groupies who just want to sit and watch the poltergeist juggle pumpkins, she has Melli angry at her, she is thinking of taking a week or two off and just closing up the shop.
Herman said his vision of the cow on the Masonic building will come true no matter what that outsider Melli says. He is sure there never was a cow on the grocery store roof. Just wait and see.
Meanwhile Mrs. Pemberthy who is very old says she remembers some kind of story about a cow on the roof of what is now the grocery store. That was before Bowen took it over. But she doesn’t have any details.
Melli , who is here for the big wedding got the one local ticket to the piano concert at the museum. She said the ghost plays a very good concert and those shoes can really dance. She is thinking she would like to go again.
Amanda and Jarod are busy getting everything ready for the big wedding and the celebration afterward. The wedding will be at Last Lutheran Church and the reception at the Veteran's building on the Lake of the Loons. If they are lucky they might even get a picture with the whale in the background. Some of Amanda’s friends are doing a little grumbling about it being a non-alcohol reception. According to them you just don’t have a reception like that in Pigeon Falls.

Wrap Up

A very, very good day. I worked in the morning at redoing my link list. Then I visited all the links. There are a lot of them. It will be a day or two before the new list is posted. In the afternoon we went and got a flue shot. I'm not wild about getting shots but this is one that is really necessary.We didn't get to the train at all. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

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Doomed

Today's Link
Time Goes By

Saying for the Day
I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. ~Mother Teresa

Picture of the Day

We are doomed! Doomed! Doomed!
No matter what we do we are doomed.
How do I know this?
It began when I read the blog of an Obama true believer.
He pointed out that :
McCain and Palen lie extensively just like Hitler.
McCain and Palen use extensive hate speech just like Hitler.
McCain and Palen tend to scapegoat just like Hitler.
McCain and Palen turn crowds into angry mobs just like Hitler.
If we elect McCain it will be like the Germans electing Hitler.
If only some Germans had spoken up the world might have been saved.
When I finished reading that I wanted to speak up. I wanted to take a brick and throw it at McCain.
I was scared.
But there was a chance he wouldn’t be elected.
But then I read the blog of a McCain true believer.
She pointed out that:
Obama sways crowds with the power of his voice just like Hitler.
Obama has promised to save us from the economic mess just like Hitler.
Obama scapegoats the rich, the previous administration, and Republicans in general just as Hitler scapegoated the Jews.
Obama promises to bring America back to its rightful place in the world just like Hitler with Germany.
If only some Germans had spoken up the world might have been saved.
This is bad . I only have one brick.
I decided to sit down instead of stand up because I didn’t know where to stand.
Here a Hitler , there a Hitler, everywhere a Hitler.
We are doomed.
But then I read an ordinary blog. The writer suggested that the two candidates had flaws but both were good Americans. Neither one was fascist or socialist. Neither one had a secret nasty agenda. Whoever we elect will do their best to serve us.
I just have to stop reading true believer blogs.

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal.
Herman has lost no time in telling all of Pigeon Falls his latest vision. People are laughing about it all over town. One of the Fly Inn regulars laughed so hard he fell off the bar stool and broke his wrist and he wasn’t even drunk yet. One has to admit that the image of a cow on the roof of the Masonic building is rather odd , even funny. The building is three stories high and has no outside stairway. How will the cow gewt to the roof? Will it grow wings and fly? But Herman says they can laugh but remember his drunken moose with the pumpkin on its head came true, all the polls say Obama is going to win so that vision will come true, and so will this one. Herman says the picture Melli has of the cow on the roof of Bowen's market was done in photo shop. You can ask old man Bowen and he’ll tell you there has been no cow on the Market roof.
Nancy has decided that she is simply going back to the rule she had when she first opened , before the expansion. When she had so few tables. From now on nobody stays for me than a half an hour. After all this is a coffee shop not a café. All she sells is coffee, tea, buns and Finnish toast. If you buy a bun the second cup of coffee is free. If you want breakfast or dinner go to the Happy Pigeon. There will be no more special sections or special treatment for ghost groupies.

Wrap Up

Another good breathing day. That makes three in a row. Wow! In the morning I visited blogs. My sister Dawn called. The man came to look at the roof. In the afternoon we worked at cleaning up the layout table so we can start on the next tunnels. Then we ran the trains. We had both street cars running , two trains going, and the one train was able to move from one module to the others. It was fun. Coming up I worked on getting Sunday's sermon onto the website and putting a hymn there as well. The sermon was easy but the hymn takes forever to load. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA.

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Just Me and More me

Today's Link
OMyword

Saying for the Day "Be yourself" is about the worst advice you can give some people. ~Tom Masson

Picture of the day:

It is Monday and time for you to get more of me. My thanks to Catch from whom I borrowed the two memes and Melli for the fill in.
Random Joy

1. What color is your shower curtain? No curtains-tub with a door.
2. When swimming, if you really need to pee, how likely are you to just go where you are? Not very.
3. Have you ever tampered with someone's food? No –See how good I am.
4. Which of your friends would you consider to be the most stylish? Stylish! My friends?
5. When was the last time you were on a plane? Eight or nine years ago . We went to Disney World..
Feeling Under the Weather

1. When was the last time you were sick? Better ask when was the last time you were well.
2. Do you make an effort to try to avoid germs in places like public washrooms? No
3. What's the longest time you've been away from work/school due to illness? Well I was in a coma for two months . Does that count?.
4. What's your favorite comfort food for when you're not feeling well? Chocolate
5. Are there any foods that you can't eat anymore, due to past experience with food poisoning? Tomato because of my allergy and foods associated with tomatoes even if there isn’t any there now.

Monday Fill Ins

1. Right now, I'm feeling pretty good!

2. Where I want to be Finland.

3. How does one pick a candidate between these two post turtles?

4. What keeps me on track is lots of prayer.

5. Please don't spill water on me.!

6. What fills me with joy is my wife,my kids, my grandkids, my dog, and my God.

7. And as for the week, tonight I'm looking forward to trying to find the song “Faded Letter“, tomorrow my plans include working on the layout and NCIS and Wednesday, checking out blogs for “ today’s link”.

Now see how much you know.
Pay attention !. There will be an exam.

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal
Herman Hatlverson decided on Saturday that becoming the seer of Pigeon Falls was more important than keeping his wife happy. So he closed up the bar at the Happy Pigeon drinking six Haltvers (driblets) in the last hour. He staggered out but the Happy Pigeon is handicapped accessible so there were no steps to fall down like at the Fly Inn. He did trip over the edge of the sidewalk when he got to town and had trouble getting up. But eventually he made it home only to find the front door locked . So he feel asleep on the front porch. During the night he swears he saw a bright light and a voice said “ Cow on the Masonic Building Roof”. He says this is the third of his Haltvers ( visions). His wife told him he was crazy and if he did it again she was filing for a divorce. But he keeps telling her he had a vision. She says a cow is more likely to jump over the moon than to end up on the Masonic roof. But even if one did of what earthly use is such a vision. But Herman thinks it proves he’s a seer and that this is his destiny.
Melli who is visiting Pigeon Falls this week caused quite a stir at Nancy’s . It seemed she bought a cup of coffee and various saffron buns every fifteen minutes and watched the poltergeist juggle pumpkins. The ghost groupie who paid $ 30 for that privilege was very upset.. Poor Nancy doesn’t know what to do.

Wrap Up

A good breathing day today. I got the Church Bible Study up and posted. In the morning I visited some blogs. In the afternoon we finished the wiring for the train and the new control table is in place. Not only that but everything worked. Tomorrow we build two tunnel entrances and a mountain. Coming up I printed out two pages of pictures from the Craft Sale for the bulletin board. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

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Today I will be restored

Today's Link
Light it Up

Saying for the Day
Love and business and family and religion and art and patriotism are nothing but shadows of words when a man's starving. ~O. Henry, Heart of the West, 1907

Picture of the Day

It is Sunday.
I will not watch television today.
I will read no political blogs.
I will try to clear my mind of all the hateful things being said by both sides.
For the day I will try to forget politics.
I will go to Church.
I will take pictures.
I will sing and praise God.
God will speak to me in the sermon.
I will fellowship with other Christians.
I will update the Church Website.
I will spend some time praying for the nation.
I will pray that after the election, whoever wins, the nastiness will end and the nation can struggle toward some kind of unity.
I will play with the dog.
I will meditate on the God who loves us despite what we do to each other.
I will soak in my bathtub with the door.
Then I might be able to make it through to the election.

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal.
Pastor Joan has decided to preach on the First Lesson today and in particular on the part that reads “To know the Lord means that one will defend the cause of the poor and needy (Jer. 22:16). The renewed covenant is possible only because the Lord will forgive iniquity and not remember sin. Our hope lies in a God who forgets.”
This is part of what she plans to say.
“ The Church like the Old Testament people of God is expected, no required to be concerned about the poor and the needy. We neglect that requirement at our own risk. That’s why the National Church raises money for World Hunger. It is our obligation to feed the hungry. It is our obligation to care for all the poor. Not just the poor we like. Not just the poor that meet our qualifications. All the poor and needy are to be defended. We have a hard time with that. Some of the poor are illegal aliens, some are lazy, some just aren’t our kind of people but we are to defend their cause anyway. It isn’t a fair requirement. It runs against common sense. But it is God’s requirement ignore it at your own peril.
You see the new covenant makes no sense either. We sin. We fail . We don’t live the way we are supposed to but God forgives us. Then God does something even less understandable He forgets. Our hope lies in the God who forgets.
God does not keep a running account of our failures. Unlike us who forgive and file the sin for future use God forgets. We get to start every day fresh and new. We start with a clean slate. God forgives and then forgets. Our hope is in the God who forgets.
But the prophet warns that to know the Lord means that one will defend the poor and needy. It is as much the new covenant as God’s forgiveness.
We are the New Covenant People of God let us strive to know the Lord.

Wrap Up

What I wrote above is pretty well the way the day went except you can add two canasta games, one won by Pennie, and one by Betty. Now I need to go and soak and then have a breathing treatment.
GBYA

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Raven's Wordzzle 36

Today's Link
Ruth's Visions and Revisions

Saying for the Day
If you want to be happy, be. ~Leo Tolstoy

Picture of the Day

It is Saturday and time to play with words supplied by Raven's Wordzzle

This Week's Ten Word Challenge will be: build-a-bear workshop, man bites dog, opulent, disparaging, lipstick stain, preponderance, smoky quartz, clothes pin, meticulous, falling leaves
Mini Challenge: moisturizing, pickles, seat belt, flip-flop, Chicago

Fifteen words in the ongoing adventure of agent 012 with a look back.

Poor Agent 012 was now the laughing stock of the Agency. His backup found him covered with falling leaves and holding a penguin full of rocks and clothes pins not bombs.. While he was thus engaged the meticulous Synonym Homeahim had kidnapped the opulent Cinnamon Homonym .So now he was suffering not just from the blinking crescent shaped hives but from the knowledge of all the disparaging remarks being made about him back at the Agency.
Thus when he saw the three lipstick stained pickles on the floor next to the scissors and the floppy hat he knew this was his one chance to redeem himself. Those pickles were only served in the “Flip-Flop” Restaurant in Chicago. The preponderance of information he had indicated that Synonym Homeahim often ate there.
So he jumped into his smoky quartz super car , fastened his seat belt and left for Chicago stopping only for some moisturizing cream for his hives. If nothing else he could postpone getting static from the Chief for a day or two.He hated static. Oh how he hated static. He almost wished the penguin had been a bomb and that he had blown up rather than face static.
Now he was parked across the street from the restaurant where the “man bites dog” story contest had just ended and the build-a-bear workshop was about to begin. Waiting to see his suspect Agent 012 amused himself by imagining what loot a packer could stuff into a bear in alphabetical order and still have it appear ship shape. He had started with diamond necklaces and had reached golden wind chimes when he saw his man. Now all he had to do was follow him back to where they were keeping the victim. He was very good at following.
Twenty minutes latter he looked through the window of the old house and saw the overweight cellulite filled blimp in a necklace only now her necklace was gone. She was tied to a chair. All he had to do was rescue her and he would be the hero instead of the goat. That’s when everything went black.
This wasn’t going to be his day either.

Fifteen words in a one sentance story!

Despite the disparaging “man bites dog “ type comments it is still the preponderance of thought that the meticulous build-a bear workshop will be held at the opulent “ Falling Leaves” Chicago restaurant that is so close to the elevated that the patrons wear a seat belt to keep from flip –floping out of the booth with their lipstick stained pickles unto the smoky quartz floor since clothes pins didn‘t work nor did moisturizing the seats with Elmer ‘s Glue .

A Ten Word What's It
(But Definitely not Poetry)

If the build-a-bear workshop
Builds instead a mechanical cop
Will they make it stop?
Ahuh! Ahuh! Ahuh!

If a man bites dog today
And wants to stay and play
Will the dog run away ?
Ahuh! Ahuh! Ahuh!

Does the somewhat opulent fella
That dates old Aunt Stella
Have a diamond studded umbrella?
Ahuh! Ahuh! Ahuh!

Was it really so disparaging
That I refused to sing
When she got her ring?
Ahuh! Ahuh! Ahuh!

If there’s a lipstick stain so red
If in the middle of his head
Will the wife still go to bed?
Ahuh! Ahuh! Ahuh!

If the preponderance of stuff
Was left there in a huff
Isn’t that just tough?
Ahuh! Ahuh! Ahuh!

Does the color smoky quartz
When found upon some shorts
Remind you of warts?
Ahuh! Ahuh! Ahuh!

If the clothes pin drops the clothes
Will they land upon the rose
Or will they hit you in the nose?
Ahuh! Ahuh! Ahuh!

If the meticulous old miser
Found the treasure of the Kaiser
Who would be the wiser?
Ahuh! Ahuh! Ahuh!

Will all those falling leaves
Cause poor old George to sneeze
And fall upon his knees?
Ahuh! Ahuh! Ahuh!

This week's vanity wordzzle used the words: sortie, moonstruck, dandelion, sprinkler system, broccoli, birds feeder, tuxedo, Montana, midnight

It was midnight in Tuxedo Junction, Montana when the moonstruck couple stopped dancing on the dandelions. This sortie had begun with the traditional sharing of broccoli at the Happy Elf Restaurant. Then they had gone to the park where they put the MP3 of the Birds Feeder on the loud speaker system and danced away. She looked in his eyes. He looked in her eyes. Love poured forth. They danced as if on a cloud. But at midnight it all ended. It is hard to dance romantically when the sprinkler system comes on.

Five Words in the
News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal.
It’s Saturday and time to look back on the week’s happenings in Pigeon Falls
Tuesday- Bob Maki who is running for the County Board Seat accused his opponent of doing a flip-flop on the Moose hunting issue. In fact Bob says the guy sounds like a Chicago politician and that’s no surprise since he moved here from Chicago. Bob , on the other hand, not being a politician has remained committed to an open Moose season. According to the little sheet Bob is handing out he is also in favor of larger fines for people who don’t use their seat belt, ending the serving of unrequested pickles in restaurants, and stricter control on moisturizing creams. The last one because of the terrible rash his wife got from using one. The only thing the little sheet doesn’t tell is what part Bob belongs to. Isn’t that weird?
Wednesday– Mrs. Petrovich stopped in to Nancy’s with the twins. They still haven’t named them. The poor kids are going to grow up thinking their names are first and second because that’s what they are being called. It seems Petrovich wants to get the perfect names for his children.
Friday– The Grand Opening at the Happy Pigeon went well. All day long people were given surprise gifts. Five ladies, for example received Opulent Moisturizing Cream from the Glad you’re a Lady Beauty Salon in Chicago. They were thrilled except for Bob Maki’s wife who seems to have a fear of such creams. Ten ladies got diamond studded flip-flops which one doubts they will wear before next summer. One lucky young man got a ride in electric car complete with a little seat belt. Every fifteen minutes or so a horn would sound and whoever Pigeon was standing next to got a gift. It was very exciting.
Almost as exciting was that fact that pickles were served with every meal. Remember, Pigeon Falls was out of pickles because Pigeon bought them all.

Wrap Up

It was a good breathing day. We went out to Radio Shack and bought a 9 volt transformer. Then we went to the Church Craft Sale and I took pictures. People were really friendly as usual. But then we went to a little restaurant Pennie really liked and wanted to show us. First of all the way the door was set up made it hard for me and the scooter to get in. Then the waitress was running behind and tried to clear our table in one trip and ended up spilling a glass of water all over my legs. She served us but forgot to bring Betty a fork. Then she ignored us so Bewtty had to get a different waitress to bring her a fork. The food was good. I felt sorry for her so we left the usual tip. We wanted her to know that we were not upset and that accidents happen. Coming home we discovered that the transformer we bought had the wrong end. Like agent 012 this was just not my day. I did visit aoll my blogs and all the wordzell blogs I knew of. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

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The Dog is Winning

Today's Link
Rhymes with Plague

Saying for the Day
Properly trained, a man can be dog's best friend. ~Corey Ford

Picture of the Day

The dog is winning.
As I write this blog Betty is trying to push Maggie out of the computer room where she is definitely not allowed. She still likes to chew up all kinds of things and the computer room has a lot of the things we are protecting from her. But she has learned that if she sits in the doorway you can’t close the door, like a salesman with his foot in the door. So there she sits. Betty is pleading with her, calling her, begging her to move. But she is one big heavy dog and she won’t be moved. She knows in a minute Betty will get the dog treats and bribe her into moving. She has this down to a science. She is winning.
Somehow we are not smarter than a two year old dog. She has us treat trained.
On a cold day she stands in the door to the outside and won’t come in or go out till she gets a treat.
She’ll play fetch with her favorite toy but she won’t give it to you unless she knows she will be rewarded with a treat.
She has trained us well.
The dog is winning.
When she scratches on the bathroom door she has taught us that the water in her water dish is now too hot or too old and she wants new water. If Betty doesn’t hurry and change the water once so notified then Maggie will play hockey with the dish and their will be water everywhere. Betty hastens.
She is defeating two college graduates if you can believe that.
I would holler at her but then she looks at you with those very sad eyes as if to say “ I love you” and I give in.
She even seems to know when it is in her best interest to obey.
She is one smart dog.
And the dog is winning.
But it’s okay., because we love her.
Let her win but she still has to stay out of the computer room.

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal.
Today is the build-a bear workshop at Kivi and Maki’s . It will start right after school and run until 6: PM. Kivi has been meticulous as usual in picking the parts for the workshop. In the five years she has run it there has never been a disparaging comment made about anything connected to the workshop. Indeed the preponderance of comments indicate that the parents, aunts and grandparents that attend have been very happy with the results.
Bonnie McGregor swears that if her neighbors dog pulls her sheets off the line and chews up her clothes pins just one more time the local paper will have a “man bites dog “ story only it will be a woman doing the biting. She has a hard enough time contending with her twins at her age without having to fight with a dog. Besides she takes great pride in her laundry even using that Opulent White Soap advertised on TV. You know the stuff that can even take out lipstick stain , not that her laundry has any. The twins don’t wear lipstick. But it does get out the smoky quartz stain left by the pigeon poop the twins seem determined to get into.
Along with the ghost groupies this is the time of year when Pigeon Falls is visited by the color tour people. They have come to look at the beautiful trees. Given the number of falling leaves that season is not going to last long this year as there is just too much wind. That’s sad because for the most part the tour people are really nice people and fun to visit with. Oh well soon the hunters will come.
Today the Happy Pigeon opens and it looked like everybody in town was lined up to eat breakfast in the new café along with people from Iron River and Crystal Falls. . But this is the Grand Opening and Pigeon has promised surprises all day long One has to wonder what it will be like next week and the week after. There are those who really believe Pigeon is going to lose his shirt on this venture. We will see.

Wrap Up

Fasten your seat belts folks I’m about to confess.( No Pennie I didn’t break the bottle of moisturizing cream or steal your pickles . That was the dog. It also ate the build –a-bear workshop tickets. If it had done anything else you would have been greeted by a man bites dog story on your return.) No! I have not decided to flip-flop on my absolute meticulous lack of commitment to either candidate in this year’s election. I swear by my old but opulent apartment in Chicago this is worse than that. Worse than Betty finding a lipstick stain on my underwear shirt. So very much worse.
But I feel a need to tell all so here it is. I have been practicing for tomorrow’s wordzzle . Every day starting on Monday I have used either the five or ten word list on my blog. Please hold your disparaging comments while I try to explain. The preponderance of evidence says clearly that practice makes perfect. And you have to admit that with words like smokey quartz and clothes pin this week’s list is not easy. The task was like trying to keep falling leaves from falling. They were that hard. In all honesty the practice didn’t help. I don’t have an idea for tomorrow. So I’ve learned my lesson . I won’t do it again, probably.
Otherwise it was a good day. In the morning my "no reason at all" roses came for Betty. She was so surprised and so pleased. Then we went to the Post Office and sent the printout of the June blogs to my sister. After that we went to Wal Mart but the "Super" store didn't have a 9volt transformer. In the afternoon we worked in the basement and got everything back to running except the skating rink that needs the 9volt transformer. Pennie returned from Madison. Then I visited blogs. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

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Warning Diatribe

Today's Link
Nick's Bytes

Saying for the Day
If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is wake up. ~J.M. Power

Picture for the Day

Warning! Please tighten your seat belt and hold onto your floppy hat because I am about to get up on my soap box and deliver a diatribe like I haven’t done since I left Chicago.
Yesterday as my wife was applying the moisturizing cream that keeps her beautiful she asked me the same question my son asked as he was trying to give away the pickles that came with his hamburger at the restaurant. Both of them asked “ Why is the economy such a mess? What caused this huge flip-flop in the stock market?”

Well today I’m going to answer that question with one word, GREED.
You thought I was going to say the President or Congress didn’t you? Or perhaps evil corporations or wall street insiders? Of course they are all part of the problem but what drives them is plain old GREED.
Congress fails because it is busy pleasing lobbyists, which they all denounce but whose money, trips, and other stuff they all greedily take. They forget they are supposed to be working for us as we have nothing to give but our vote and the lobbyist will give them enough money to buy that. So their greed kept them from doing anything that might have prevented the economic meltdown.
GREED is the problem for American industry as well.
Why do companies send jobs to other countries? Plain old fashioned GREED. They can get more money for their greedy stockholders and pay their greedy CEOs more millions. It never occurred to them that lost job by lost job there would be fewer and fewer people to buy their products.

GREED lives for the day tomorrow has to take care of itself.

GREED drives oil company executives to wring every cent out of every barrel of oil and if the high price of gasoline causes economic chaos, tough. They have their multi –million dollar salaries.
GREED drives companies to buy up other companies to take their pension funds and leave the little guy out in the cold.
GREED causes executives of failing companies to still take millions of dollars despite their failure and GREED makes them put in golden parachutes so if they are fired the company has to pay millions to get rid of them.

GREED caused people to buy houses they couldn’t afford believing the price of houses would keep going up and that they would make money in the deal.
And the little guy he has his GREED too. Given a choice between a cheap product made in some other country and an American product he buys the cheap and greedily pockets the extra money.

From top to bottom GREED drives the economy. But the problem with GREED is that eventually that tomorrow we ignored finally comes and the whole system collapses.
Sorry folks! Tomorrow is here.

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal.
Poor Nancy is getting complaints from her regular customers about the second cup is $10 rule. They have always had a second cup and it used to be free. One of the regulars suggested that she should copy the museum. She could rope off an area labeled "Ghost Watchers" or something, and have them pay a high price for an all-morning ticket which could include coffee and a saffron roll. Then keep the other tables free for normal customers. That seemed like a good idea to her so she rescinded the second cup is $10 rule and will set up a special half day area. For $30 you can sit as long as you want, up to a half a day, and have a continuous supply of coffee. It will be ready tomorrow and we’ll see how well it works.
Willie has been sober for two days now and has joined the local AA group. But people still remember what happened in 2006 and how he was sober for six months that time.
Herman is all excited because he heard that one of the drinks on the card at the Happy Pigeon will be a Haltvers and he is sure that’s a driblet under another name. The name he is giving to his visions. Despite his fear of his wife his desire for another vision means he will help close the Happy Pigeon on Friday night. It is his destiny. He can hardly wait for Friday.
Petrovich seems to be paying no attention to the new bar and restaurant. As long as they don’t insult his seer he couldn’t care less what they serve. He is busy working on a very, very disturbing driblet. The problem is his microfilm copy is missing a part and he really needs that part. He is sure that he has another copy of the microfilm but he can’t remember where he stored it. He has e-mailed his friends at the monastery in Russia and asked them to e-mail him a copy. But the manuscript has no numbers on the driblets and they have to count and then check the first words to be sure they have the right one. Petrovich is afraid if they don’t hurry or he doesn’t find the other microfilm there will be no Pigeon Falls. The driblet seems to be that bad.

Wrap Up

Today was a good bad day or a bad good day. It was good because my oxygen count was up and I used very little from the bottle despite some stress. It was bad because everything went wrong on the layout. Well not everything. We got the lumber car to dump. We were pushing the unload button and we should have pushed the uncouple button though that makes no sense. We almost had everything transferred to the new control table when all the accessories in the middle of module two suddenly died. The transformers were plastered inside the table so we had to cut them out . Both transformers had ceased to function and needed to be replaced. We have never had that happen before. Worse I don't have a nine volt transformer. I have transformers from 3 volts to eighteen but no nine volt. There might be one in the garage. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

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A Bear Tale not Tail

Today's Link
Midlife by Farmlight

Saying for the Day
I think that people who can't believe in fairies aren't worth knowing. ~Tori Amos

Picture of the Day

Well boys and girls, men and women, and anything else that reads this blog this is not just the time of falling leaves and pretty trees it is also ,despite all of your wishes to the contrary, time for another elf tale. It begins as all good tales do “ Once upon a time:
Long. long, long ago on a planet far , far, far away a small band of thinking , talking bears struggled to survive . They were the last of their kind, survivors of the great protocol wars. Until then humans and bears had lived in harmony with one another each protected by the Great Protocol. Then despite the insistence of the humans that the bears violated the Protocol first the preponderance of evidence would indicate it was all part of a human plot to take the planet for themselves. As Barney’s grandfather always said ”You just can’t trust a human being unless they are dead.”
Be that as it may the meticulous official history written by the humans (winners write the history) claims the war began when a large black bear stole an opulent gold clothes pin from the Wonderland Museum during , of all things, the build-a-bear workshop. This was seen as a slap in the face to human attempts to get along a kind of “man bites dog” event. The human media played it up big and soon roving bands of humans armed with the latest weapons were killing bears everywhere. The poor bears taken by surprise didn’t stand a chance.
Looking back and trying not to say anything disparaging about humans it should have been obvious that the story was untrue. Bears, you know, don’t even wear clothes and have no need of clothes pins. But humans have this need to go to war and desperately needed an excuse. This was as good as any. President Small Tree had called the human world to avenge this insult and they did. Oh Yes! They did.
So Barney and the Terror Bears, the title given by President Small Tee, were the last of the talking bears. They struggled to hide their young and to fight back where they could. But they were badly outnumbered and their weapons were vastly inferior.
Poor Barney , however, had the ability to destroy every human on the planet but being a pacifist couldn’t bring himself to do it. He could not bring himself to take a human life except in defense of other bears.
It all began when he found the lipstick stain on the smoky quartz rock and he knew that some human had penetrated their defenses. He found her sitting by a tree and crying. She was so lost. One of Barney’s counterparts was about to rip her limb from limb when Barney intervened. “She’s not a soldier” he said.” She won’t hurt us. Don’t become like the humans and just kill to kill”.
So he saved her and escorted her back to where she could find her own people.
That’s when the short green bear showed up. It was of course an elf and it gave Barney one wish.
That was his problem. He could wish all the humans dead. Didn’t grandpa always say “ The only good human is a dead human”. But surely there must be some good humans. They can’t all be warlike. Can he kill the good with the bad? But time was running out . Humans were massing a huge army to sweep through and kill every last bear. He couldn’t allow that either. What should he do? What would the Great Creator of all bears have him do?
To be continued

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal.
Pigeon Ekola is getting everything ready for the grand opening of the Happy Pigeon Bar and Restaurant. He has lined up his bartenders including the very popular Kirk Yugug who used to be the Saturday night bartender at the Fly Inn. He has lined up his cooks for the restaurant including the best pasty cook in town. According to Pigeon this will be the greatest Bar and Restaurant this side of New York. You eat and drink in luxury just like the fanciest New York establishment but with Pigeon Falls prices. The food will be every bit as good as that served in the finest restaurants but will be real food and not that fancy stuff with French Names. The Grand Opening is set for Friday. He intends to have a band playing outside all day long.
Poor Nancy , the ghost groupies are driving her nuts. She put in the fifteen minutes to a cup of coffee rule and so every fifteen minutes they are buying another cup of coffee. Her regular patrons, the one’s that keep her supply of local information fresh are being kept out. The least they could do is buy a saffron roll with the coffee. But they aren’t there to eat or drink but to watch the poltergeist in action. So today she put in a new rule. The second cup of coffee will cost $10.00. That should end the nonsense.
Willie , the town drunk, is promising to stay sober. He says he is never going to drink again. This is the fourth time he has made that promise but he says this time he means it. The town is just going to have to get a new official drunk.

Wrap Up

Not my best day. Oxygen was down a bit. Had some trouble getting the blog done iin the morning. Tried to call Time Warner to talk about some problems with the bill but they wouldn't talk to me because I didn't know the last four digits of Pennie's social security number and the account is in her name.She is at a conference in Madison. In the afternoon we thought we could quickly put together the new control center for the entire layout but we were much slower and it took all of our time to get it together but not installed. I visited some blogs. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

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Me and Andy

Today's Link
Pickled Beef
Saying of the Day
Decisions become easier when your will to please God outweighs your will to please the world. ~Anso Coetzer

Picture of the Day

Andy Rooney , the old guy that always ends the CBS show “ 60 Minutes” on Sunday says that he can’t choose between the two candidates because they are both so competent.
I can’t choose because I think they are both post turtles.
What we share is an inability to choose. And of course the dislike of the true believers on both sides.
For the political true believers out there who accidentally read this blog please do not leave a negative comment.
Don’t tell me because I can’t choose I must therefore be in favor of:
Guys who stand on the flag or giving tax money to big corporations.
Or accuse me of:
Be in favor of killing babies or taking away a woman’s hard won right to choose.
And Please ! Please don’t tell me:
I’m in favor of socialism or hate the poor.
I have read your angry arguments.
I know how you feel. I understand that in your righteousness the other candidate is the devil and yours is the Messiah.
I just happen to think both sides are wrong. You have dumped all those angry hateful words on two ordinary human beings.
Neither one is the devil. Neither one is the Messiah.
Which ever one we elect the country won’t be destroyed. Our rights won’t be trampled on.
No the system will drag on.
The problem for me is I don’t think either of them can do much.
I hope the winner surprises me. I hope he doesn’t turn out to a post turtle.
I really do.
Till then please put the rocks down.
My head hurts.

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal.
Kivi & Maki announced that their annual build-a-bear workshop will be this Friday in the building behind the store. Jack will rake up all the falling leaves so the path will be clear and the kids are welcome to jump in the piles. As in other years the meticulous Kivi herself will run the workshop having just finished one on making clothes pin people.
They also wanted to remind the rock collectors that they have a new supply of opulent smoky quartz that does not have the lipstick stain marking of the last batch.
The preponderance of feeling in the community is that the ghost groupies are good for the community but Nancy is not so sure. Some of them have discovered her poltergeist and though she hates to say anything disparaging about them she would like them gone. They come in and buy one cup of coffee and sit for hours watching her poltergeist juggle pumpkins. Today in a man bites dog kind of move she has announced the fifteen minute rule. If all you buy is a cup of coffee you can only stay for fifteen minutes. She hated to do that to her regular patrons but then most of them get at least a saffron bun with their coffee.
A retired lawyer named Russel felt so sorry for Willie that he offered to take his case for nothing. The Prosecuting Attorney who really didn’t want to be bothered accepted a plea of driving without a seatbelt and Willie got a small fine. The feeling in the community was that the loss of his teeth was punishment enough. Sometimes in Pigeon Falls the little guy gets a break. Now if only Russel could convince the insurance company to pay for Willie’s new teeth.

Wrap up

A great day today. My oxygen was up and I felt fairly good. Betty went to Bible study. I visited blogs. In the afternoon we got all the track laid for the new module. It was not an easy task. Betty was so proud when we finished and she ran the train and it worked. Some days things do go right. Coming back upstairs I visited blogs. Now I need a breathing treatment and NCIS will soon be on.
GBYA

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Monday is Me Again

Today's Link
Lifeafter

Saying for the Day
The only thing wrong with doing nothing is that you never know when you're finished. ~Author Unknown

Picture of the Day

It is Monday and time for me to shake some stuff out of my head so you can examine it. The vehicle will be some phrases I got on Friday from Melli.

1. Follow the yellow line down the hall to the radiation lab but watch it flip-flops at the corner..
2. Something I always take with me on vacation is my CPAP and some pickles.
4. I am verrrrrry friendly is so very true.
5. I have an extra large seat belt.
6. Rootbeer? Ice cream? Soap? Can be used for moisturizing.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to the Chicago game, tomorrow my plans include NCIS and Wednesday cleaning some more in the basement.

Now all you amateur psychologists , feel free to analyze.

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal.
Lots of excitement in Pigeon Falls this morning. There was a fight in the street in front of the museum as two people tried to be the first one in to get the one non reserved ticket. They knocked down a section of the cute picket fence around the museum and broke a trellis as they flip-flopped around. . The museum director called for the constable and both men got arrested and taken to the jail in Crystal Falls. These ghost groupies are crazy. The five with reserved seats ignored them and went in. The museum will drop all charges as soon as they pay for the damages. One lucky person from Chicago got there just before the concert started and bought that last ticket.
It seems like Pigeon Falls is out of pickles. You can’t buy a pickle anywhere. Pigeon bought up all the pickles in the one grocery store and at both specialty stores for his new restaurant. A new shipment is not expected until Friday.
Willie, the town drunk, drove his car into a tree knocking out three front teeth. He swears he was sober at the time but it’s obvious he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. If he had a license they would take it away. He’ll get a week or two in jail. His good friend Selma gave him her moisturizing cream to use on those bruises on his face. He looks just terrible, like something out of a Halloween horror flick. You know ! like the “Revenge of the Undead”.

Wrap Up

A good day today. Pennie got up early and went to Madison to a conference for a week. That means we have the dog all the time. I posted the Sunday sermon and this week's bible study to the St. Mark's website. In the afternoon it was back to the basement. We kept cleaning out boxes until there are non left under the tables. There were a few suprises. One box marked old o27 track had no track just train cars. We are almost ready to start on the next module. Coming back upstairs I visited blogs. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

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Judge Not

Today's Link
David's Christian Music Stuff

Saying for the Day
Maybe you don't like your job, maybe you didn't get enough sleep, well nobody likes their job, nobody got enough sleep. Maybe you just had the worst day of your life, but you know, there's no escape, there's no excuse, so just suck up and be nice. ~Ani Difranco

Picture of the Day
From the Archives- Elijah at Crystal

I received this e-mail forwarded from Ralp. Perfect for Sunday
Never Judge someone'

'Some people!' snorted a man standing behind me in the long line at
the grocery store. 'You would think the manager would pay attention

and open another line, 'said a woman.
I looked to the front of the line to see what the hold up was and saw
a well dressed, young woman, trying to get the machine to accept her
credit card. No matter how many times she swiped it, the machine
Kept rejecting it.

'It's one of them welfare card things. Damn people need to get a job
like everyone else,' said the man standing behind me.
The young woman turned around to see who had made the comment.
'It was me,' he said, pointing to himself.

The young lady's face began t o change expression. Almost in tears,
she dropped the welfare card onto the counter and quickly walked out
of the store. Everyone in the checkout line watched as she began
running to her car. Never looking back, she got in and drove away.

After developing cancer in 1977 and having had to use food stamps; I
had learned never to judge anyone, without knowing the circumstances
of their life. This turned out to be the case today. Several minutes
later a young man walked into the store. He went up to the cashier
and asked if she had seen the woman. After describing her, the cashier
told him that she had run out of the store, got into her car, and drove
away.

'Why would she do that?' asked the man. Everyone in the line looked
around at the fellow who had made the statement.
'I made a stupid comment about the welfare card she was using.
Something I shouldn't have said. I'm sorry,' said the man.

'Well, that's bad, real bad, in fact Her brother was killed in Afghanistan
two years ago. He had three young children and she has taken on that
responsibility. She's twenty years old, single, and now has three children
to support,' he said in a very firm voice.

'I'm really truly sorry. I didn't know,' he replied, shaking both his hands
about. The young man asked, 'Are these paid for?' pointing to the shopping
cart full of groceries. 'It wouldn't take her card,' the clerk told him.
'Do you know where she lives?' asked the man who had made the comment.

'Yes, she goes to our church.' 'Excuse me,' he said as he made his way
to the front of the line. He pulled out his wallet, took out his
credit card and
told the cashier, 'Please use my card. PLEASE!' The clerk took his credit
card and began to ring up the young woman's groceries.

'Hold on,' said the gentleman. He walked back to his shopping cart and
began loading his own groceries onto the belt to be included. 'Come on
people. We got three kids to help raise!' he told everyone in line.
Everyone began to place their groceries onto the fast moving belt. A
few customers began bagging the food and placing it into separate carts.
'Go back and get two big turkeys,' yelled a heavyset woman, as she
looked at the man.

'NO,' yelled the man. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks. The entire
store became quiet for several seconds. 'Four turkeys,' yelled the man.
Everyone began laughing and went back to work.
When all was said and done, the man paid a total of $1,646.57 for the
groceries. He then walked over to the side, pulled out his check book,
and began writing a check using the bags of dog food piled near the
front of the store for a writing surface. He turned around and handed
the check to the young man. 'She will need a freezer and a few other
things as well,' he told the man.

The young man looked at the check and said, 'This is really very
generous of you.'
'No,' said the man. 'Her brother was the generous one.'
Everyone in the store had been observing the odd commotion and
began to clap.

And I drove home that day feeling very American.
We live in the Land of the free, because of the Brave!!! Remember
our Troops of Yesterday and Today!!!
A great example of why we should be kind and patient. Kindness
is the language the blind can see and the deaf can hear.

May God's many blessings continue to be with you - ALWAYS!!!
PLEASE KEEP THIS GOING....
IT WILL OPEN A LOT OF EYES, HOPEFULLY HEARTS, AND
KEEP SOME MOUTHS SHUT.

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal.
Last Lutheran will hold its usual two services this morning. Pastor Joan will be preaching on the gospel lesson. She will be talking about giving God that which belongs to God. She will be raising the question of what it means to be a citizen of God’s Kingdom.
Tommy Uk and Tammy will be the acolytes at the late service and Pastor Joan hopes they will behave and there will be no surprises.
The youth group is in charge of the coffee between the services.
There was a group that came and stood outside the museum at 6:30 this morning even though it wasn’t open. They watched through the window as the shoes danced and listened while the piano played. Afterwards one went to the early service at Last Lutheran. The others caught the milk train out.

Wrap Up

It was a fairly good day but I didn't sleep well last night. We went to Church. I tooled around taking pictures and talking to people. The choir had a great song. The children's sermon couldn't have been better. The main sermon was pretty good. The fellowship after was great. We sat with some new members and talked about St. Mark's. Coming home I spent the afternoon updating the Church website and that took some time. Betty and Pennie watched the Packer game. I visited some blogs. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

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Raven's Challenge 35

Today's Link
Capitalists @ Work

Saying for the Day Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. ~Theodore Roosevelt

Picture of the Day
From the Archieves- Pete and Pat

It is Saturday and time to play with words supplied by Raven's Wordzzle
though the words are from Melli.
This Week's Ten Word Challenge will be: blinking, cellulite, crescent, ship-shape, homonym, suffering, packer, wind chime, scissors, necklace

Mini Challenge: static, floppy hat, penguin, cinnamon, alphabetical

This week's vanity wordzzle used the words: Smiley face, keys, stuffed parrot, fringe, molecular engineer, tribe, mist, undertow, forgotten

Fifteen Word Continuing Story of Agent 012

Poor Agent 012 was suffering from the crescent shaped hives that covered his body as he stood guard at the mansion. He had been allergic to the sticky stuff the pretend old lady in the floppy hat had shot at him out of her umbrella. His backup arrived in time to keep the “ old lady” from sticking a scissors in him, capture the Tattle Tale and the “Old Lady” but had real trouble getting Agent 012 out of the mess. By the time they did he had missed CSI and was covered with these dang blinking hives. He was sure he would never be ship shape again.
But the Agency didn’t give him a day off to recover. No! They sent him to guard Cinnamon Homonym whose name reminded him of somebody else whose name sounded the same but was spelled differently but right now he couldn’t remember who that was. Worse he was supposed to “keep her alive at all costs”. That meant of course that if somebody shot at this overweight cellulite filled blimp in a necklace he had to take the bullet She wasn’t even the wife of the President or the wife of a Green Bay Packer. She was just your average millionaire and they were a dime a dozen, hardly worth risking his life for. But it was that or face static from the Chief. He hated static. He hated static more than risking his life
So here he was, scratching and waiting, waiting and scratching.. Then he heard the wind chime he had set near the front door. Hurrying to the door he saw a delivery man from one of those alphabetical delivery companies,. RMG Delivery it said on the side of the truck.
“Delivery for Mrs. Cinnamon Homonym “ the man said holding up a large stuffed penguin.
“I’ll take it” Agent 012 said while scratching.
But the man refused to give it. So he grabbed it. It was very heavy for a stuffed penguin.
“ I wouldn’t drop or shake or stir that if I were you , Agent 012 or you will be Agent 000. “
He knew that voice it was Synonym Homeahim his counterpart at Mute and the name he couldn’t remember.
He watched him drive off not daring to move . Every hive on his body itched but he didn’t dare scratch.
This was not going to be his day.

Fifteen word , one sentence story

Cinnamon the poor old lady alphabetical homonym expert no longer ship-shape but suffering from a heavy cellulite buildup couldn’t help blinking under her floppy hat, with the penguin on top, as she hit the crescent shaped Packer wind chime with her scissors causing static but she didn‘t care, she was in love again as the necklace he gave her proved .

Ten word story

Hi, if your reading this my name is Tom and I’m suffering, of course if your not reading this my name is still Tom and I’m still suffering but you’ll never know it. It started this morning with my third grader . He needed help with his homework. He wanted to know what a homonym was. He’s only in third grade and already they are teaching him sex education. I didn’t find out what a homonym was until I was twenty and I had to sock one. I told him I didn’t know and made a note to talk to that blinking, arrogant teacher of his They aren’t getting away with this.
Then there is my wife. When I married her she was better than ship-shape but not now. I suggested to her that she should go on a diet and get rid of that cellulite tube she has around her middle. You would have thought I said something wrong. Now all I get from her is static and silence. What’s a man to do?
So I went to work .I work as a packer at the Crescent Scissors Necklace Factory. They make wind chimes and I pack them, two to a box. I had decided that people didn’t like those little plastic peanuts so I left them out. I guess this angered the peanut people so they got me fired. Fired! I got fired!Fired! After all those faithful years I got fired.
So now I have no job, a sexually confused third grader, a fat ticked off wife, and I am suffering.
So If you found this note under the rock at Lover’s Leap you will know why I did. Leap that is. If the wind is right I might just hit my house roof.
On the other hand if you don’t find the note I changed my mind and went home but then you’ll never know.

The Vanity Wordzzle

Joseph stood on the very fringe of accepted science. He had started as a molecular engineer with a degree from MIT doing basic research. But that was before he found those long forgotten research papers of Smiley Face Johnson in that stuffed parrot and was caught up in their strange undertow.. They were not ordinary papers but claimed to hold the very keys of life itself. That brought him to this remote jungle tribe and found him standing in the morning mist rising from their sacred pool. Here he felt sure was the secret of life. The waters contained something that could if extracted cause people to live forever. He was the one to extract it. He would go down in history. He would be like a God. He had tested the tribe members many were over a thousand years old. It had to be the water. Poor Joseph he would indeed give life but not the way he thought. He found himself stabbed and bleeding into the pool being held by several tribe members. He knew now that human blood was the catalyst that made the stuff in the water work. He heard the chief say. “Put the papers back in the parrot and send it back to the University. “

News from Pigeon Falls

The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal.
It’s Saturday and time to look back over the week in Pigeon Falls.
Tuesday– Wink’s Woods held a big floppy hat contest. Hats were judged on floppiness , beauty, and originality. It was supposed to be broadcast on WIKB radio but for some reason there was too much static and the announcer couldn’t be understood. First prize consisted of, in alphabetical order, a year’s supply of cinnamon, a seven foot tall plastic lawn penguin, and a small rose wagon. Mrs. Karen Croop who always wears a floppy hat was the winner. Her husband, Gerry, plans on putting the penguin on the roof with a string of Christmas lights and wearing an old floppy hat.
Wednesday-Barbara Olson explained how she choose a candidate for President to Nancy. First she visualizes each candidate wearing a big floppy hat and if one looks better than the other he gets her vote. This year it was a tie, both looked awful. So she went to plan B and looked up the stand of each candidate on the save the Penguin campaign. Neither one had a stand so she went to plan C which was to place the candidates in alphabetical order and vote for the first one. So this year McCain gets her vote. Her husband is giving her lots of static and saying that the method is stupid but she told Nancy if he keeps it up he’ll get no more of those apple cinnamon rolls he loves so much.
Friday– Herman has been coming home by eleven o’clock only partly drunk since his wife issued the ultimatum. He is afraid she would lock him out and besides the Fly Inn fired his bartender so he can’t get driblets any more. But he is still telling everybody that his vision assures that Obama will win the election.

Wrap Up

Very good day . My oxygen was in the low normal range. Betty and Pennie and I went to Fleet Farm. Betty bought shoes. Then we went to I-Hop and had lunch. After that it was office max. Then we went home. I did some blog visiting. I read some really great stories.Then my son Pete and his two kids came. Bree brought a friend and the two of them and Pennie have gone to a Christian concert. I played with Luke for a short time. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

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