Meet Pierre

Mom & Dad have grown to like the Great Pyrenees breed of dog and the last one they had died last summer after a long, leisurely life. For some time, my folks did not think they would get another dog but recently they heard of some pups available nearby. So they went to take a look and this little guy won them over. His name is Pierre and he's a dandy.

A dog & a farm are meant for each other.

Dad introduces Pierre to the camera....

Brenda sweet talking Pierre!

Close up and personal!

Mikhail Gorbechev in Eureka

Interesting day in Eureka. Especially for someone with a camera and a bit of an interest in history. Mikhail Gorbachev made a visit to Eureka College, college home of former President Ronald Reagen. Since the campus is only a couple blocks from home, it seemed inappropriate to miss such an event. So, camera in hand, I headed to campus not knowing what kind of access I might have. Access? No problem! Stay off the sidewalk he was walking on and don't move toward the man suddenly. That sounded reasonable. No press pass, no ID, no problem!

So here are a few photos... Interpreter Pavel Palazchenko, Mikhail Gorbachev and Dr Arnold, President Eureka College.

Accompanying Gorbachev was his daughter, Irena.

With the Ronald Reagan bust & memorial in the background, Gorbachev & Arnold chat.

This was the most interesting part of what I witnessed because I could hear the conversation from where I was standing. I'll get to that in a moment.

These next two photos include a section of the Berlin Wall. If I understand correctly, there are only 3 sections of the Berlin Wall in the US that were "officially" sent by the German government. This is one, here in Eureka. Another is at the Reagen Library in CA and I don't know where the third is located.

Gorbachev stated that people ask him what his impression of the "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" statement that Ronald Reagan made at the Brandenburg Gate in 1987 while giving a speech as part of the 750th anniversary commemoration of Berlin.

Click to see video of "Tear down this Wall" speech.

This is what Gorbachev said this morning as nearly as I can quote...

"We didn't think of the Berlin Wall in nearly the same manner as the West. It wasn't that big an issue to us. And I aslo knew that Reagen had at one time been an actor!" (This Gorbachev said with a smile on his face)

"I also knew that if there was any single person in the US with whom I could work, it was Ronald Reagen. He was a declared conservative and if a conservative was willing to work with us, we were willing to work with him." When asked if there was anyone else in US government who could have come to terms with the USSR if it hadn't been Reagen he was working with, his reply was, "I don't think so. We learned we could trust Ronald, Nancy and George Schultz."

Interesting???

The best close-up photo I got.

And finally, the press and security surround the entourage as they make their way into Cerf Center for lunch. I headed home for my leftover lunch and then back to work!

Basement Project Continues

The basement laundry room project continues at a pace normally associated with turtles, snails or perhaps even sloths. The past couple weeks I've been working on it somewhat more frequently and progress is being made.

I took timeout from the basement to redo a closet in the bedroom that Karmen used for years. Took out some lathe & plaster and two bats. Not the baseball type bats either. Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of the bats but if I'd had a camera in hand, the best photo would have been Brenda madly making her escape from the bedroom when one of the bats came flying out of the closet toward her. I finished the closet remodel, so back to the laundry room it is.

After sanding some of the drywall joint compound a couple days ago, I came upstairs. Brenda sent me directly to the shower. I didn't even get a chance to give her a hug first!

Ever wonder what to wear when it's below freezing?

Brenda took her first grade class outside for recess yesterday. It's below freezing and enough breeze to put the wind chill into the teens and merit winter clothing - or so it would seem.

One of the girls came up to Brenda and said she was really cold. Brenda looked down noticed she had sandals and no socks! So of course the question was, "Where are your socks & shoes?" The answer? My daddy said this would be OK to wear today!

I hear people wondering occasionally how those hearty souls who live way, way up north survive? I'm thinking that dressing for the weather might be the secret!!!

Processing

OK, so back to the hunting bit. This post is dated February but these are December 08 events. Kyle and I brought home 5 deer from the Friday - Saturday portion of the second season. Fortunately the weather was cool enough to allow the meat store in the garage until we could get the butcher shop going. Which we did with some assistance from Doug, Mark & Trevon. Actually, Trevon (see last photo) isn't quite ready to lend much assistance but when he gets a few years older he should be good help because he sure studys what is going on and takes it all in. Here are a few photos.

There is a ham in the photo somewhere!



I believe the situation here is 1 Down, 1 in process, 3 to go.



Trevon looking things over.

Thanksgiving

A bit slow with the Thanksgiving post but here we go. The entire family was at my folks and I do believe it safe to say, "a good time was had by all."

Lacey, Catie, Parker, Kyle & Kalynn at the game table.

The back massage line.

Story time by the funny guy, Parker.

Elliott always finds time to toss in a line...

Too nice to be indoors

I went hunting with my camera

Dad showed his lefse making skills and quite frankly, he is pretty good.

Deer Season

Deer season is now over for IL shotgun hunters. Kyle and I enjoyed two days in the field the Fri. & Sat. before Thanksgiving and two more days this past Fri. & Sat. The first season we saw fewer deer than normal but I was able to harvest a doe the evening of day two. Second season was more interesting in several ways. First the weather. We awoke to find the mercury suspended at the number 10 on Friday morning. The day was beautiful & sunny and it's surprising how long you can be in the cold... when it's not windy! We both got deer on Friday AM. The photo shows Kyle with his doe and mine is in the background. I bagged another doe on Friday evening.

Saturday was warmer but the wind! Whew, it never let up all day. The day started at 32 degrees, warmed up to about 36, then the wind shifted to the North and by the end of the day was in the 20's.. and still windy! We did have more success as I got another doe Sat. morning and Kyle doggedly kept at it until he got his second deer of the season late Saturday afternoon. We hurriedly packed our gear, our deer and made the 2.5 hour trek home, pulling our trailer with the 5 deer on board, arriving home about 10:15 PM.

The one deer I'd gotten first season is in the freezer of course. Now we get to tackle 5 at once! Perhaps there will be a photo later on that subject!