The curtamous page
June 2009 Archived Notes
June
22, 2009 - Jak se maj!!! Happy Monday everyone! Welcome to summer! Not only is it "officially" summer by the calendar, but the weather is cooperating too... How do I know that it's finally summer? My beautiful bride has insisted the air conditioner be installed so she can run it while the doors and windows are open (fresh air, right?)... Next she'll have the heater running
at the same time cause she's just a little too cool... Welcome to my world...
As I mentioned last week, I have my new workbench in my shop completed... thought you might like to see a picture of it...
Turned out pretty nice even if I do say so myself. Yesterday in the midst of other projects I started filling those drawers... It's not as big as it looks... LOL!
Started prepping for my next project... The main garage ceiling... Before I put anything up, I have a bunch of other stuff to do to get ready... This weekend I did some electrical work. I expected it to take a couple hours, which means it should take double that. I was wrong...I spent about 6 hours on it and have it about half done... Man its putzy work... Especially working alone, which is really the only way to do it. I still have to run another circuit for more switched florescent lights, put an outdoor plug in back and rewire everything the outdoor plug connects to... Fun stuff... If I'm lucky, I may get it done the next couple days...
Sunday little Noah (George) Thompson was baptized. We went to the ceremony and it was very nice... Cute little guy... Good thing he takes after his mom... Welcome aboard George!
I got some responses to my survey two weeks ago... The question was "If you saw ME in the back of a police car what would you think I got arrested for?". Here's what I got...
"You’d be arrested for being a Dumb ___"
"Sprinkling your back lawn with your tweenkee..."
"...asking an officer to move as you are illegally driving a bobcat on a road construction site at bar time intoxicated. Apparently the cops don't care if you have work to get done!"
Well, the first one goes under the
category of "duh"... The second came from an unexpected source and it is unsure of
any libations involved... The last one reminds me of various "water runs" during deer camp for some reason... Thanks for your input... CERTAINLY not what I expected...
Spent a fair amount of time on the bike over the last week... With the weather improving it's a lot nicer to get out there and enjoy the wind on your face... I even strapped my beautiful bride on the back on Saturday and headed up to Kewaunee for a ride... We even stopped at Bruemmer Park and checked out the little zoo they
have there... Been a LONG time since I was there and they still have a few animals... Stopped for ice cream on the way home in Tisch Mills... Pretty nice ride...
Last week the maple tree in the back finally gave up the last major crop of its "whirly-birds" so we spent an evening cleaning those up... I even crawled up on the roof and swept down the drifts and cleaned out the eaves... Ended up having a LOT of them along with grass clippings... Looks much better now though... The garden is looking much better now too with the warmer weather... Beans have sprouted, onions are looking great, and even had to put the cages on the tomatoes... Now it's just watering and weeding for a while...
So what's on this week's schedule?
22 Zeppelin Day. Drink it up and burn it down.
Flaming Hindenburg
1 oz Bacardi 151
1/2 oz peppermint schnapps
1/2 oz Southern Comfort
1/2 oz tequila
Layer with 151 rum on top. Ignite, blow it out, shoot.
23 St. Agrippina Day. Patron saint against evil spirits, leprosy and thunder. Grappa.
24 Feast of the Sun (Aztec). Drink ‘til the sun comes up. Sol Cervesa.
25 Anniversary of Custer’s Last Stand (1876). Make your own stand at the bar.
Last Stand
1/2 oz ouzo
1/2 oz vodka
6 drops Tabasco Sauce
Mix and shoot.
26 Bicycle patented (1819). "Scotch needs water like a fish needs a bicycle." W.C. Fields.
Fat Tire.
27 Death of Julian the Blessed Festival (Roman). Jules, baby! We never even knew ya, kid!
Strega.
28 Paul Bunyan Day. Imagine that poor bastard’s bar tabs. Beer, straight from the pitcher.
Gotta love W.C. Fields, but a "Flaming Hindenburg"? I don't think so...
On a sad note, our local priest, Fr. Ron Colombo, lost his mother last Thursday... She
died peacefully in her sleep, which is a blessing, but it came as a shock. Fr. Ron is a
really good guy, so please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers...
Work is getting pretty busy, which is a good thing... Got a couple pretty big deals going and I'm heading to Toronto later this week for an office move. Busy enough that it "could" potentially affect getting my updates out on a regular basis... If you don't see something on a Monday, check later in the week...
Not positive on the date, but Captain Chuck celebrates another year, and a big one, this week... Based on his webpage, it sounds like he'll be home for the festivities... It reads "Chuckfest 30- June 27th @ 8pm Basils II"... He's re-celebrating his 29th birthday from the sounds of it...
I hope all you fathers had a great Father's Day yesterday... Mine was pretty quiet... I hope you all liked last week's
"What is a Dad?"... Maybe even got a little misty...?
Not a great update, but you get what you pay for... As always, before I go, a few words of wisdom for our junior members...
"My father was often angry when I was most like him." ~ Lillian Hellman
I find that quite enlightening...
and true!
As Red would say, "Keep your stick on the ice"!
curtamous
June
15, 2009 - Jak se maj!!! Howdy folks! How's everyone doing? I hope all is well and everyone has welcomed summer back enthusiastically! Pretty gorgeous weather these days. The last few weeks with temps in the 60's was a bit cool, but this 70 degree stuff is PERFECT for me. No need for that 90 degree stuff... Mid-70's is just right...
Going through topics for today’s update, and I gotta tell ya, keep your expectations low... Pretty quiet out there...
First off, I'd like to send out an apology to the FDA Chairman, as well as his family and friends... In last week's update I mistakenly mentioned that the "FDA JR" graduated... Actually the "FM JR" graduated... I assure everyone involved it was a simple mistake and no ill intentions were intended...
Spent some serious time on the new shop workbench last week and I have it 99% complete... I got all the final sanding done, slapped on a primer coat and laid on two coats of paint. Looks pretty
darn nice... All that's left is to let the paint dry real good and get the hardware back on the drawers and she's done... If I think of it, I'll get a picture of it for next week's update...
Next project? Not sure, but I'm leaning toward getting the garage ceiling in next. It's a big job, but the price of OSB is down so now's probably the right time to get it going. Lot's to do though... Gotta MAKE SURE I have everything in the ceiling done, like wiring, electrical, lights, etc... Gotta figure out how to work around the garage door opener and I need to develop a plan for HOW I'm going to get the OSB up there... Still not sure if I'm going with manpower, a homemade stand, or if I'll rent a drywall lift of some sort... I hope to procrastinate enough that the cold weather will be here before I commit to anything...
Well, its graduation party season... Hit another one this weekend, and the Chief is on his 10th or so... Pretty much the same thing, but it's a good time and fun to hang out with the other parents again... Got to see The President at this one, which was nice... He was on a roll and provided ample entertainment for his listeners... I think we have at least one part a weekend through mid-July... Should keep us busy...
With the improvement in weather, got out on the bike quite a bit this past week, putting on a couple hundred miles. Took a country tour south and west one night, took her into town on Saturday to buy paint and toured north and east, and even got my beautiful bride on the back and took a ride to the
lakeshore Saturday... Hope to get out tonight as well as it looks like it might be a bit rainy the rest of the week...
The "garden" is growing a bit better with the warmer weather... Had to replace a couple plants but no big deal... Now I have to deal with 1.65 million "helicopters" falling off my maple tree. I literally have drifts of them, but I think the worse is over, so this week I hope to get a bunch gathered up and thrown away...
Shocking I'm sure, but I didn't get out fishing at all... Too much going on (not really), no one to go
with (not really), and no ambition (bingo)... Maybe this week?!?!?!
Saw this from the New Angland Journal of Medicine...
A recent study was made to find out what days men prefer to have sex. It was found that men preferred to engage in sexual activity on the days that started with "T":
Tuesday
Thursday
The 4th of July
Thanksgiving
Today
Tomorrow
Thaturday and Thunday
I think they missed the 3rd, 10th, 12th, 13th, and 20th through the 31st...
Really no response on last week's question... The only one I got was "You’d be arrested for being a Dumb ___"... Well "duh"!!!
Speaking of "duh", what's on "duh" schedule this week?
15 Waylon Jennings Birthday (1937). Outlaw musician was one of Buddy Holly’s Crickets.
Moonshine.
16 Day of the Rat (Buddhist). "Never rat on a rat." Rat Pack’s official motto.
Whatever you can steal.
17 Battle for Bunker Hill Day (1775). Defend your barstool to the bitter end. PBR.
18 Battle of Waterloo (1815). Reenact the battle in your stomach with cognac and gin.
You heard me.
19 Miller High Life unleashed on the drinking public (1903). Named after a brand of cigar.
Miller High Life.
20 Errol Flynn’s Birthday (1909). Raise a stiff one to the swashbuckling souse.
In Like Flynn Cocktail
1 1/2 oz spiced rum
1 1/2 oz Irish Mist
Mix and shoot.
21 Gin and Tonic Season begins. You can now drink G&Ts without any risk to your masculinity.
Gin and tonic.
Good week, couple days of gin, but no moonshine for me please... High Life was named after a cigar? Wonder if Captain Chuck knew that...
Father's Day this weekend coming up... Heard my beautiful bride say that "She had to plan her Mother's Day so she's not doing anything Sunday"... Hmmm... Well, if I had the option to plan my day, which I (and most other fathers) don't, it would likely involve...
Well... Never mind... Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there!
I "think" little George get's baptized one of these days too... Not sure when, but I'll be sure to be there for it...
That’s about it.. Before I go, a few words of wisdom for our junior members...
What Is A Dad?
A dad is someone who
wants to catch you before you fall
but instead picks you up,
brushes you off,
and lets you try again.
A dad is someone who
wants to keep you from making mistakes
but instead lets you find your own way,
even though his heart breaks in silence
when you get hurt.
A dad is someone who
holds you when you cry,
scolds you when you break the rules,
shines with pride when you succeed,
and has faith in you even when you fail...
...and is OK with
shouldering the blame and getting little of the credit...
As Red would say, "Keep your stick on the ice"!
curtamous
June
8, 2009 - Jak se maj!!! Good morning everyone! Hope everyone had a great weekend followed up by some really lousy Monday morning weather. Wet, rainy, cold, and miserable... and the weather sucks too! Ah, just kidding! Gotta take the good with the bad and make lemonade...
Big week last week with the graduation and all... You'd think we had The President (of the US) coming over or something... All we had was a nice little graduation party! Lots of preparation work though, and while some are very good at and enjoy throwing parties, my beautiful bride is not one of them. But by Saturday morning all was set and we headed off to the school to see The Chief Inspector, as well as fellow BBC junior members AG and
FM Jr, get graduated from high school. The weather wasn't "much" better then, but we did not get rained on, so that was good. Pretty darn cold though! Nice ceremony done in a buck 45... Not bad... Then it was back home for the party...
Started to rain shortly after we kicked things off, but not really hard rain until later... That kept things pretty much in the garage but that was just fine. Funny, with the cold and wet weather, we probably went through as much coffee as we did beer... Well, not really, but we DID go through a lot of coffee. Nice time... Good turn out... Food was good and the company fine. Got to see some of the aunts and uncles I don't see often enough. After the official party was over the kids took over my shop (warmer up there) and concluded the day's celebration. They behaved well so all was good. Nice little celebration! I definitely want to thank everyone brining food and showing up and making it such a great day, despite the crappy weather! So, to the BBC junior members and all their friends and classmates, Congratulations!!!
Sunday meant cleanup time... Not nearly as bad as I expected, but still took a big portion of the day... Had Mass out at our little church in the country at noon, which was really nice, so that broke up the day a bit, but otherwise pretty much spent the day putzing around cleaning up and stuff. I'd say 95% done... Just gotta re-arrange some of the stuff in the garage, clean out the coolers (still had ice in them this morning just to show how cold it is), and eat all the leftovers... the last part may be the toughest...
With the graduation on the docket I really didn't get too much else last week... One short ride on the bike (too cold anyway)... A little work done on the new workbench in the shop... and the garden is starting to grow, but I have something eating my plants...
OK, I know there's only like 3 regular readers out there, but I got something for ya..
If you saw ME in the back of a police car what would you think I got arrested for?
Email me here, and I'll post your responses next week...
So, now both my boys are graduated (from HS at least), so I can take my drinking seriously... What's up this week?
8 Name Your Poison Day. Build up your immunity to the nasty stuff.
You name it.
9 The Witch Is Dead Day. Hatchet-wielding, saloon-smashing prohibitionist Carrie nation croaks in 1911.
Saloon whiskey.
10 Alcoholics Anonymous established. Where the bad drunks go.
So Long Sucker
1 oz Absolut Kurant
1 oz Absolut Citron
1 oz Apple Pucker
1 oz Blue Maui
Shake with ice, strain.
11 Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Fake a note from your doctor. 3.2 beer.
12 Baseball is invented (1839). Drinking beer takes on a whole new meaning. Pitcher of beer.
13 Alexander the Great drinks himself to death (323 BC). The "I Just Conquered The Whole Damn World Party" got a little out of hand. Brandy Alexander.
14 Che Guevera’s (1928) and Donald Trump’s (1946) Birthdays. Pick a fight with yourself. Expensive champagne and cheap tequila.
Sunday... "Expensive champagne and cheap tequila"... That's just a recipe for disaster...
Word is The President (of the US) is coming to visit the Green Bay area this week... Think things are so bad that he's coming to consult with The President (of the BBC)? I betcha, between the two of them, they could figure out this whole financial and economic mess in a few hours... AND kill the biggest part of box of Busch Light in the process...
The SEC-Transportation celebrates another birthday this week... Happy birthday Greg! If you see him this week, be sure to wish him your best...
Despite the crappy weather, I've had the itch to get out and do some fishing... Probably because the Sausage Stuffer spent last week in Canada fishing... Odds are 100-1 I won't get out, but if I do, I'll let you know how it went...
To everyone out there...
Hmm. That's all I got... busy at work anyway, so I'll leave it at that... Before I go, a few words of wisdom for our junior members...
"Children are unpredictable. You never know what inconsistency they're going to catch you in next." ~ Franklin P. Jones
True...
As Red would say, "Keep your stick on the ice"!
curtamous
June
1, 2009 - Jak se maj!!! Howdy folks! Welcome to a BE-A-U-TI-FUL
June morning! Lovely weather, but it sure has been cold... Last night felt like it was going to snow... Better than 95 degrees, but it sure doesn't seem like its June... Busy day today at work, so not sure how big an update this will be... Let's get it on!
Been two weeks, so what's been up?
Big graduation party up at Kingsbury Kottage two weeks ago... FDA Chair and SEC-State made their world class booyah, and let me tell you... IT WAS AWESOME!!! Just finished up the last of the leftovers this past weekend. Good stuff! Nice time at the kottage too. Congrats to both Amber and Casey! Pretty hard to believe I have 3 nieces/nephews with doctorates... This whole next generation of the Nelson clan is pretty darn impressive... Very proud!
Got to meet the next generation of "Nelsons" as well... Little Noah "George" Thompson was at the graduation party... Cute little guy... almost as tall as his dad... :-)
Memorial Day weekend... Nice long weekend... Spent a lot of time working around home... Nothing special... GREAT Lacrosse championship game! Syracuse came game from 3 down with 5 mins left and won in overtime! Fun stuff... The work bench project up in the shop has undergone serious progress. Drawers are done and the hardware is in, so I just have some final finishing to do and then slap some paint on it... Looks pretty good so far...
Broke my garage door over the Memorial day weekend... That sucked... the bracket that attaches the door to the opener ripped off... Tried to reattach it the way it was, and it "almost" worked, but ripped off again after 4 or 5 test runs... So I bolted the sucker right through the door... It's not coming off anymore...
Spent quite a bit of time on the bike over the past two weeks, but not as much as I would like... Been pretty chilly out, so it hasn't been that great out on it... When you get home and your fingers are frozen, it kinda takes away from the enjoyment... Still a blast though... I'm sure I'll enjoy it more and more over summer...
Got my "garden" in... Not much of a garden, just the two 8' X 2' garden/flower beds, but I put quite a bit of stuff in there... Tomatoes, cukes, peppers, beans, onions, dill, and parsley. Kinda packed in there, so we'll see how it goes... Fun little project...
Yesterday I washed all the freaken windows in the house... THAT was NOT a fun project... But they REALLY, REALLY needed it... Funny, the wife disappeared and the boys were "relaxing", so I pretty much had the project all to myself... Probably just as well...
Friday night Skipper gave me a call and he was all nostalgic and wanted to relive the "old days" so we headed out to Dukes for the evening... Dukes is pretty much the same, but we were pretty well behaved and all... Got out of there around 11pm, so things were great... But then he stopped over for a nightcap... 4 hours later he headed home... Saturday was a little rough, that's for sure, but definitely just like the "old days"... Great to see Skipper! Always a BLAST hanging out with him...
Got some fun stuff over the last few weeks... Funny, they ALL revolve around The President...
First, we have this from Zumbo... "Curt: I found where the President left his truck..." is the caption...
That takes talent, so you can see how it could be mistaken as The President's work...
Next up comes from the FDA Chair... A trailer hitch "a-la" The President...
If the guy just had a suburban, he would have been all set...
Finally, here is a video of The President's "DREAM TOOL"... {Hope the link
works...}
Now THAT's a splitter!!!
So, what's on the schedule?
1 Latrobe Brewing Co. founded (1939). The 33 on Rolling Rock bottles is an homage to a copywriting typo.
Rolling Rock.
2 Vandals sack Rome (477). Rally your tribe and invade a snooty wine bar.
Fall of Rome
2 oz Dry vermouth
1 oz Brandy
Dash Sherry
Dash Rose’s Lime Juice
Orange juice
Pour vermouth and brandy into glass, add lime, fill with orange juice, stir. Splash brandy on top, serve with straw.
3 Cain murdered Abel (Hebrew). Stick your bro with the tab. Top shelf liquor.
4 Socrates’ Birthday (469 BC). Beware of cocktails mixed by enemies.
Poison Cocktail
1 oz vodka
1 oz Parfait D’Amour
1 oz bitter lemon.
Mix the liquor, top with bitter lemon.
5 Pancho Villa’s Birthday (1878). Last words: "Don’t let it end like this. Tell them I said something."
Pancho Villa Tequila.
6 Anniversary of D-Day. Fullbore drunkards FDR and Churchill drive stake in that evil teetotaler Hitler’s heart.
Steel Reserve 211.
7 Dean Martin’s Birthday (1917). "I feel sorry for people who don’t drink. They wake up in the morning and that’s the best they’re going to feel all day."
Scotch rocks.
I like the 3rd the best... I'll have Tangaret and put it on the FDA Chairman’s tab...
Big sister should be on her way back from the coast this morning... She took a ride on Captain Chuck’s boat this weekend... Bet she had a great time!
Big week ahead as we try to get the youngest graduated... Ceremony is Saturday with the party following right after... I'm sure it will take all of my free time this week to get everything prepared... should be just a small party, but still takes time... Should be a blast though... this will be the last high school graduation for the next generation of Nelsons... congrats Jake!
I think that's it... Kinda rushed, but not too bad...
Back to work... Big day today, I hope at least... But before I go, a few words of wisdom for our junior members...
"Graduation day is tough for adults. They go to the ceremony as parents. They come home as contemporaries. After 18 years of child-raising, they are unemployed." ~ Erma Bombeck
But a good "unemployed"... well, at least we hope so...
As Red would say, "Keep your stick on the ice"!
curtamous
Last Updated: Monday, July 06, 2009
Page Hits