Still Tuesday and still writing.

The weekend in Minnesota was not over and another highlight was the pontoon ride on lake Edward which is 15 minutes from Christa and Cowboys ranch. Saturday afternoon, after Cowboy returned from work, the three of us headed to Cozy Lake Shores, a resort close to the Andersens. There we met Paul and Shelley, spelling is optional, and we all took a great leisure cruise of the lake with bratwurst, beverages, and fishing rods. A beautiful afternoon and evening on the lake. Huge fish were not captured and remain safe below the surface. Thanks to all those that made this impromptu event occur, for it will be remembered for.....oh look a chicken!

Tuesday, August 27, 2007

Ok, the Minnesota weekend did not stop on Minneapolis. The fun four-some had to fly out on Thursday morning so I headed to Coon Rapids to make a surprise visit on my niece, Sarah and family. They, Sarah and David, live just north of the cities and have two wonderful children, Issac and Gretta. I'm sure I've mis-spelled their names, but for an engeneer, that's pretty good. It was a short visit, but I the five of us went out to a nice pizza lunch. After that I was headed to Brainerd Minnesota. Ofta!

Now there are few words to describe to wonderful home of Christa and Cowboy Andersen, so I won't use them. Pictures say a bit more so I've included a few. The weather was....it really doesn't matter what the the clouds said, you make what you want of the visit. I did. Fantastic hosts. Great food, and tons of laughs. The first night, Cowboy had some ribs that had been cooking for hours and they just fell off the bone. Dane and Candi were great and floated in/out of the house with their busy schedules. The 2nd night I volunteered to do the cooking and we feasted on shrimp bugatini in a nice sun-dried tomatoe alfredo sauce with a 7 piece Nordstrom salad. Nobody was able to finish their plates, so the portions were just right.

Living in the North woods, the Andersens need to prepare for the winter. And that they do. Evidence is in the 10 cords of wood that are cut in preparation for the 200 degrees below zero that they speak of. Photo speaks for itself. The lower portion of their fantastic home includes a 10 seat bar called the MooseJaw Saloon. Only invited guests, not sure why I got in, are clued into the story about how the bar was named. I'm told that the state of North Dakota has strict rules on disclosure or criminal activity.

Tuesday, August 27, 2007

I wanted to write about the weekend, which began last Wednesday as a road trip to Minnesota. I was a bit frustrated with the lack of AT&T support to get me connected so I thought the best thing was to get out of Fond du Lac and socialize with 'old' friends.

The first stop was in Minneapolis at the Radisson next to the UMN where some friends from Baltimore were attending a lecture/conference. It was obvious that school was about to begin as the local pubs were packed. You know you're 'aged' when the customers showed me their id's without me asking. Hey, I was just standing there waiting to get a brew.

The fun crew from Baltimore were Robin, Poke-man, Amy, and Laura. A fun night at the Radisson including some great Thai food across the street and some wine at the hotel. A huge thank-you to the four of them for making me feel welcome.

Sunday, August 19, 2007 (afternoon)

After the potluck, I was invited out to Deb & Rich's new ranch. It's a 5 acre site 4 miles North of Princeton, which is 10 miles East of Montello. What a great site. There home is great and I especially loved the kitchen with it's very cool 6 burner stove and SS appliances. The upstairs is a very open concept and the downstairs has 3-4 bedrooms. The scrapbooking room could be a spare bedroom. The one photo shows Jane, Eugene, and Sarah talking digital camera techniques. Thanks for inviting me Rich & Deb (more like I invited myself, a Rosenow trait)
Most of the Janke clan were present, along with parents and grandparents. A great time.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Some of you might recognize these landmarks. St. John's Lutheran Church & School in Montello, WI. I had the pleasure of attending service there this morning. Some coincidence that it was Rich Janke's installation service as he begins his service as principal of the school. Quite a few Rosenow's attended this school in the '60's and I was confirmed in this church on March 20, 1970 by none other than Pastor Paul Kolander. Loads of memories as I walked around the place and during the service. A big congratulations to Rich, also! After the service, there was a great Lutheran potluck meal in the church basement. Absolutely some of the best food! Most enjoyable. Hotdish with chips crumbled on the top. Doesn't really get any better. Jello dishes, and tons of deserts. And then there's the Lutheran coffee!

Saturday, August 18, 2007
A Big Boo-yah to Everyone!
Buffet, Bernake, Boo-yahs and Cramer…. these are now part of my vocabulary.
With the new cable service, came a HD receiver/DVR and now I’m learning how to record my favorites. Mad Money is one of them. I can record up to 200 hours of shows before it starts erasing. FIFO for you techies. I can also download any of them to a hard drive device for playback on the road. How cool is technology! Changing every day…quickly. To think that the 8080 microprocessor was on my syllabus in 1975 or was it 1976!
A wet and cool August evening here in WI. Perfect for an Italian dinner. So far it’s dinner for one, but if you’re schizophrenic like us, sometimes I have to set the table for 4 or more. As a starter, I began with some fantastic fresh homegrown WI tomatoes, and they are incredible. For those of you that knew my severe dislike of tomatoes as I attempted to grow up, this is quite a compliment. I also found some very nice leaf lettuce at the market this morning, so that also hit the plate. Now I know the mozzarella from Italy is the best, but I did find some nice mozzarella, packed in water, at a local store. Topped with and an aged Aceto Balsamico di Modena and ground pepper….what a treat. A chilled Chardonnay from Australia and some jazz music, off my new cable tv network, now that’s relaxin’ on a Saturday night.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

A man appeared before St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. "Have you ever done anything of particular merit?". Saint Peter asked. "Well, I can think of one thing," the man offered. "Once, on a trip to the Black Hills out in South Dakota, I came upon a gang of bikers, who were threatening a young woman. I directed them to leave her alone, but they wouldn't listen. So, I approached the largest and most heavily tattooed biker and smacked him in his face, kicked his bike over, ripped out his nose ring, and threw it on the ground. I yelled, "Now, back off!! Or I'll kick the crap out of all of you!" St. Peter was impressed, "When did this happen?"

"Just a couple minutes ago..."

Sitting at a coffee house in Fond du Lac, called The Bagelmeister. Free wi-fi, good coffee & bagels. Still waiting for my phone line to be connected at 741 South Main Street, my new address. A couple pics attached. The frozen pint glasses were my first housewarming gifts from the Rowlands in Chilton. The really cool leather recliner is from the local Salvation Army store. They had a 25% off sale last weekend and I scored the chair for $30. Today they have a 50% off sale. I'm heading there shortly. Note that the only furniture in that room is the chair. Has "simplicity" been added to my

Every Saturday during summer, Fond du Lac has a small farmer's market. Very cool. Found some fresh basil, tomatoes, butternut squash, and lettuce this morning. (Total of $3.00) Yes, an Italian dinner is planned, soon. Bugatini alla Carbonara, Nordstrom salad, fresh bread, and a nice red wine are on the menu. You're all welcome.

Utilities were connected this last week, Dish Network was installed in four of the rooms, found a washer and dryer and will have them connected this weekend, oak dining table and chairs are filling that room, confirmed one roommate who will move in on Monday, and hopefully a second roommate before Sept 1st. Phone and internet should be connected on Monday.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Perhaps a new carreer in home additions! Here are some photos of this addition I'm working on near Fond du lac. The client wanted a sunroom addition so that's what I built. It took almost a day to complete it and that's with two helpers as shown in the one photo. (Pete and Sharon are great workers!)

I also learned how to lay tile and more important, how not to lay tile. The client wanted the tile not only in the new addition, but also in the dining room and kitchen. So that took another couple hours.

Please don't read the first two paragraphs, they are filled with B.S.

Back to reality. Most people who want to learn how to do a 'home' project will either pick up a book, go to the internet, or go down to Home Depot and attend an hour seminar. Emphasis on the word: most. Wanting to learn how to lay tile, my brother Pete, the real craftsman carpenter, proposed that I help him and Sharon with a project they were working on. (see photos) So after two days and 16 hours of 'learning', I have a pretty good idea on how not to lay tile. Hey, you have to learn the not's also. Measuring is important. A wet tile saw does not mean it was left in the rain. The blade is sharp, even if it's not spinning. Don't try and carry all the boxes of tiles in one load, they're heavy. Measuring is important. Really!

Back breaking, labor intensive, hot, sweaty, humid, and challenging are all adjectives for that job. I learned that I was able to bring nothing from my former job as stockpile engineer. (picture me with my feet up on the desk, chair in the recline position, and eyelids in their protective position; working overtime) For many of you reading this, this is not hard to picture. For those that aren't able to picture that, you must not know me, and have accidently stumbled across this website. Log off, now!

For those interested in a professional room addition to their home, contact my brother and sister-by-law. Not me!

Oh, look, a chicken!