Pre-wedding sitting around and waiting

Here is Dan either reading or sleeping in the chair.
Paul in his usual position at the computer.
Just about everyone sitting and waiting to get ready for the big event.

Visiting the land barons

Getting the fire ready for an outdoor meal of beans and hot dogs with Kurt, Lois Ann, and Dean.
I don't recall if these were flowers or some kind of crop.
This is only a small part of all the land they have.

RED WINGS WIN

Congratulations!!! I've been following these guys all year and for many years. They play a puck control game which is exciting to watch. At times it looks like keep away when it works well. They usually have the puck about 2/3's of the time and usually have many more shots on goal. This year the top 2 teams met in the finals for a fantastic series.

Bo and Cathy part 2

There was a fiddle around so we played some tunes.
Cathy's mom is 97 and is very sharp. She was a librarian for 10+ years and everyone asks her about what happened over the years in this part of Minnesota.
Bo and Cathy
Bo has been retired for 3 years. Now Lois Ann has higher expectations for me when retirement starts in August.

Bo and Cathy

This house used to belong to Cathy's mom. Bo and Cathy added on to it and it is huge and has an old fashioned feeling.
I had not seen Bo for about 10 years. He is trying to make the photo interesting. We went to the same church as kids and were friends in school and afterwards but managed to miss seeing each other on my trips to Minnesota.
This part of the original house is made with 2x8's laid flat on top of each other like logs. Wow!!! They don't use that much wood today.
Figures made with popsicle sticks. Buy his book to see them up close. (coming soon?)
Here is Bo in his art and music room.

Fizz

Fizzbie up in his art room.
He is a house builder and has a great home in peaceful Cambridge.

Downtown St. Paul

Gwendolyn and Reannin are sitting in a real stage coach. Normally there would be 3 on each side facing each other with 3 more on a bench in the middle. Nine more would tie themselves on the top of the stagecoach. The first class person would sit next to the driver.

Here is part of the Midwest Minnesota Mountain range.

The girls are saying hi to a little boy.
Jean and Ralph have an unlucky TV because the Red Wings lost to Pittsburgh in OT - it could have been one of the greatest games and it actually was.
No post for Tuesday because i was mourning, it was raining during the day, and we went to a mall, and in the evening i golfed which was fun, but no photos.

Grandpa and Grandma Carlson

Walking beside Lake Harriet.
The Blues Brothers were playing at the bandshell!!!

Here is a good looking family photo.

I predict Ryan and Jenna will be the next to get married, I bet August 15th.

Visiting Greg

Some Stynsberg girls.
Lois Ann would never let me put this much hot sauce on my meal.
Eating!!!
Look at this great sunset. We tried to watch a Red Wings NHL playoff game and the first period was a 45 minute weather warning with a weatherman who was a nonstop talker. Greg's TV was lucky and the wings eventually won 2-1.

Ultimate Tournament

See the frisbee in midair! That is good timing with a digital.
The traditional handshake was borrowed from hockey. Unlike hockey there is no fighting. I think that is because there are no referees, also read rules 9 and 10.
They finished 8th out of 30 or 40 teams. I think i know the guy with red hair. If you click on the title you can read about ultimate frisbee on wickpedia.

hiking trail

Flashback

Here are a few old photos of CBS, Holly, Lois and me; along with an up to date photo taken a week ago with the same folks, same place, 29 years later.

Last Ammonia Ship

You can see that tiny ship at the end of our dock if you look hard enough. It is taking away the last of our ammonia. Larry B. is in his office that was put up for the ammonia removal. Ken C. was sampling the NH3 to make sure there was no oil mixed in it from the bottom of the storage tanks. All three of us are in the bottom photo. $700 is the price they are paying for ammonia these days. Plant 4 used to make 2100 tons per day. That comes out to $1,470,000 per day that we could be making if there was enough gas in Cook Inlet.... The ironic note is that this tiny ship is going to be cut up for scrap iron after delivering this last load from our plant. Looks like retirement is coming soon.

Expelled

On Saturday nite Lois Ann and i went to see movie/documentary Expelled: no intelligence allowed and enjoyed it very much. The theater was full. There needs to be more dialogue allowed from all sides about how life began. All we get now is only from one side.

Last Wednesday night we saw the DVD by Rob Bell Everything is Spiritual which was truly mind expanding. It is about a 2 hour scientific talk about Genesis 1 & 2. It should be watched before or after seeing Expelled. What is especially interesting is that when you start exploring the largest things in space and the smallest things on earth or in the universe Newton's way of thinking doesn't apply anymore.

Cycles

This is actually an article about stock cycles. If you want to find out about motorcycles go to my good friend, Kickstands, blog for the Nobody Motorcycle Club.

Stocks always cycle up and down and i am trying to remind myself to sell a third or so in positions that have gone up for a while and if they are hitting the top of the channel they are in. There is the annual hockey season cycle that is now coming to an end. For the past 50 years or so if you were fully invested during hockey season you have done much better than if you were only investing during the summer. Another name for this is seasonality. Folks are just too lazy to trade in the summer. Gold stocks usually follow this same "Hockey Cycle".

Here is another cycle website that is worth reading. There is a 30 page free PDF file that explains the Kondratieff wave or cycle. He also talks about the Federal Reserve. The US debt and the sinking dollar are things to be aware of when investing.

My favorite newsletter that covers many markets: stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies for the world is The Aden Forecast. It is worth the small amount it costs per year to stay informed plus get picks that go up.

Knitting Machine

BIGFOOT This slipper will actually end up normal sized when it is washed in hot water and it shrinks. It will also look like felt! Sorry that i forgot to take a photo of the finished product. (it is now in the top photo) Lois you will have to make a pair for me and then everyone can see the finished footwear.


LITTLEFOOT Guess who this is for?