This past spring we had a serious storm (that I missed because I was in Virginia for a seminar). It caused some flash flooding, and washed out several roads. Some of these roads are Town maintained and some are village maintained. Well the village has no money for maintenance and its roads were already in bad shape before this storm hit. In fact, you could identify the village/town line just by the repair of the roads. What’s even funnier is that early this year they put up a “you are entering the village of” sign and it was exactly at the point where the road goes to crap. Anyway, we don’t officially live in the village of Fleischmanns; we just use them for our mailing address since it has the closest post office. … Read More »

After missing out on summer, fall is starting to make itself known in this part of the world. I have this chill in my bones from the -50 below temperatures we experienced over the winter (which I’m told is unusual). I’d hoped I would thaw out this summer, but it turns out summer never came. We had a deluge of wet cool days for almost the entire summer. I’m told there were a few warm dry days here, but I was away on business and missed them completely. I am going to be making a pilgrimage to North Carolina for a couple of weeks at the end of the week. I am hoping to enjoy a little warmth and sunshine while I’m there. Otherwise, I’m going to feel like I was completely robbed. … Read More »

I really miss the Savvy Traveler, and I have been looking for another show to fill the void. I recently rediscovered This American Life on my way home from Evansville one night. It is a show I had heard a few times many years ago, but it didn’t come on at a time I was typically driving and so I never thought much about it. While listening to the show on my way home I decided to see if they had a website and whether or not they published the shows. It turns out the answer is yes to both of those questions. I have listened to a few shows and I must say it is a really good program. I would highly recommend trying it out.

The first program I listened to recently was … Read More »

I have been meaning to relay this story, and I almost forgot.

The first wife and I were at her sister’s this weekend for a family gathering of the sister’s husband’s side of the family. All the usual stuff food, fun, conversation — At one point I was sitting there listening to the conversation, and somebody said, “so and so had wrecked their car.” Someone else asked, “how?” and they replied, “hit a dear.” Then several people look stunned and, one after the other said, “A dear? In Carlton?” Now the town name may not be right, but what was so amazing is that it was almost verbatim Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life — A tiger? In Africa? Only with a dear and they weren’t trying to be funny. I nearly lost … Read More »

Anita has wanted a new kitchen floor for a while now, and Harry decided to take on the project this summer. They decided to lay a wide plank pine floor. The material arrived in late June, and it required a few weeks to acclimate. Harry started laying the floor two weekends ago; he did the necessary demolition a few weeks ago. Kenny (Anita’s cousin) and Pat (his wife) came up the first day the project got started. Kenny and I helped Harry with the work that day. Harry worked on his own throughout the week and on Saturday. I helped again this past Sunday; I was the designated nailer. I have been paying the price for the past couple of days, my legs are so sore I can barely walk.

<edit>I was just … Read More »