Happy New Year !! 2009

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Happy New Year !!

2009

~

Lifting a glass to you:

Here's a health to the company,

and one to you all !!

~

Butch

Winter Storm Part II

Winter Storm part II

Winter Storm part III will be happening this afternoon or evening and the winds will be an added feature.

More to come . . .

A Winter Storm

We awoke this morning to snow falling in our area of the Northwest. It has been intermittently snowing this morning and early afternoon. This picture is of one of the Hawthorne trees heavy laden with snow.

This picture is of the patio off the solarium.

This is another picture of the patio with about four or more inches of snow on the bench and grill. Our wee fir tree branches are loaded down with snow in this picture.

This is a picture of the front yard looking out the office window to the left. One can see the snow coming down in this picture.

This was taken looking out of the office window to the right. When Steve came back in he said the expressway was backed up for twelve miles coming into Olympia. Today, he took the 4-wheel drive small SUV instead of the car to drive around the city. It appears as though we will have more of the same for tomorrow, if the weatherman is correct.

To those of you living in the Mid-west or up in Canada where this weather is the norm for the winter months, one has to remember we usually have rainy days in the winter months and a snow storm is rare. In any event, it's a nice day to stay indoors by a wood fire reading a good book.

Stay warm.

Yuletide Wreath

This is our Yuletide wreath placed over our hanging Mexican sun artwork peaking through it. As we wait for the solstice and the days becoming longer. This photo shows the sun waiting in anticipation of of longer days and shorter nights.

We are in the middle of our first real snow fall today that is not melting once it touches the ground. Our high temperature for today was 31 degrees F. I think the snow is going to continue throughout the evening and into the night. Tomorrow morning's look out the window will reveal if my prediction was correct or not. Winter has finally kissed and embraced the Northwest.

Preparing for the Yuletide

We were the first to put up our lights on our block, which was a first. I didn't capture all of the lights in this picture but, plan on trying it again this evening from a different angle, going down the street a little farther. That should do it.

Revised with an additional picture today.

There are a few gatherings happening this month, having dinner with our neighbors, a birthday party at a restaurant, and a Christmas tree lighting at a friend's home. All should be very festive.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Have a joyous and happy Thanksgiving !!

A Last Look Before They Fall

Most of the leaves have fallen in my neck of the woods save, this grouping on our Wedding Tree. The colours vary from yellows, oranges, greens, browns to red. I don't recall this tree ever doing a grouping of leaves quite in this way.

Enlarge the picture and enjoy!

"Make hay whilst the sun is shining"

This is my wee Yard-Man. I'm not sure whether I out weigh this thing or not but it must be an interesting sight to see me driving it around the yard.

More leaves in the gutters to remove.

These two mushrooms had popped up in the grass. The one on the right was in the shape of a fat heart.

The maple tree in the back yard has just about dropped most of its leaves save a few in the background in yellow. I missed getting a picture of the tree in its complete yellow hat. One almost needs sunglasses to look upon it.

This tall, skinny tree had mostly turned its leaves to yellow as well.

The Wedding Tree, our weeping cherry tree, has some of the most beautiful rusty reds with greens and yellows and those still in the process of changing.

The front maple has dropped another load of leaves and still has a few more to drop. I mulched the first batch of them last week. This week is raining lightly and just enough to cancel any lawn work. The Irish call this "a soft day." The rain and humidity seems to hang in the air.

Click any photo to enlarge it.

Unbelievable

It has been said that any landing one can walk away from is a good landing when flying an airplane. The odds of this pilot coming away from this landing were slim to none.

Take a look at this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRCbkBfdBrQ

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Don't forget to get out and vote, there's change in the air!

Oíche Shamhna Shona! - Happy Halloween!

Nosferatu

( What a real vampire looks like )

Pennywise

(from Stephen King's "It")


Pan-labyrinth

( This has to be one of my favorite horror characters )




Pazuzu

( A dentist's nightmare )

Bad Pumpkin! Baaaad Pumpkin!! Mus'n't eat the children!

Psycho
(Momma needs a meal)

Wizard of Oz

("I'll get you my little pretty!")

o
One of the most original Halloween costumes.

("I don't know nuthin' 'bout birthin' babies"

or

"Jess put a knife under the bed, it 'il cut the pain")

( Oh, Butterfly McQueen, I miss ya.)

( My feeble recollections of Gone With The Wind )

Sorry, funny, but disgusting.

Did I just make a pun?

(funny butt)

Things that go bump in the night . . .

Hope you all enjoy your Halloween celebrations and

Happy Samhain!

Butch

Halloween Pumpkins One Doesn't Normally See

These photos were sent to me by a friend. I haven't a clue where he got them though, I wanted to share them with you for a pre-Halloween Blog.

The Falling Leaves

Fall has definitely arrived.

New Stock Market Terms for the Layman.

This arrived in my email box today.

All those confusing abbreviations one has to try and remember involving the stock market are now answered in this blog entry.

Enjoy!

***********************************************************************************

NEW STOCK MARKET TERMS

CEO --Chief Embezzlement Officer.

CFO-- Corporate Fraud Officer.

BULL MARKET -- A random market movement causing an investor to mistake himself for a financial genius.

BEAR MARKET -- A 6 to 18 month period when the kids
get no allowance, the wife gets no jewelry, and the husband gets no sex.

VALUE INVESTING -- The art of buying low and selling
lower.

P/E RATIO -- The percentage of investors wetting their
pants as the market keeps crashing.

BROKER -- What my broker has made me.

STANDARD & POOR -- Your life in a nutshell.

STOCK ANALYST -- Idiot who just downgraded your stock.

STOCK SPLIT -- When your ex-wife and her lawyer split
your assets equally between themselves.

FINANCIAL PLANNER -- A guy whose phone has been disconnected.
MARKET CORRECTION -- The day after you buy stocks.

CASH FLOW-- The movement your money makes as it
disappears down the toilet.

YAHOO -- What you yell after selling it to some poor sucker
for $240 per share.

WINDOWS -- What you jump out of when you're the sucker
who bought Yahoo @ $240 per share.

INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR -- Past year investor who's
now locked up in a nuthouse.

PROFIT -- An archaic word no longer in use.

*********************************

You Think Your Job Is Bad?

Say it with me - I WILL NOT complain about my job, EVER AGAIN!!

I do not have a clue what the vet may be doing but the look on the gentleman's face on the right says it all.

Out of the way things to see in Seattle, Washington

There are some strange sites in Seattle where one can go kill some time and have fun in the process.

I found the "Troll Under the Bridge" in the Fremont area of Seattle as one of those things to see. It is sometimes called the Fremont Bridge Troll though this troll is actually not under the Fremont Bridge. It can be located on N. 36th Street ( I think if memory serves me well ) That is a Volkswagen in its hand. There is a wee story that goes with this. The car used to have a California License Plate on it. There is a little friendly war going on between Washingtonians and Californians and this Troll destroying a California car was "tongue-in-cheek."

This is a huge work of art that was created by four artists and it really takes up much of the space under the north end of this bridge.

Here's another picture of the Troll.

For many years it was said that the elephant on the top of this flower shop was real, a hunting trophy from the 1930s. Eventually, it was proven that it was not real. How could a "stuffed animal" weather the elements of the Washington cycle and remain looking none for the wear.

When I lived in Michigan, there were other items like this to see as well. They still have the largest tire in the world built by Goodyear Tires, which is two or three stories high and made out of rubber. The Detroit fairgrounds used to have the largest stove in the world and eventually, someone bought it and took it away. This elephant would have fit in nicely with those things.

An artist made four sculptures of people waiting at a bus stop. It appears others have augmented them with colourful apparel. Olympia has a sculpture of two lovers standing at Percival Landing on one of the most southern reaches of Puget Sound. I couldn't find my picture of them, so I will need to take another and post it for you.

This is the largest statue of Lenin ( not the one of Beatle fame ) . The story on this is sketchy at best but the owner of the Taco Del Mar purchased it years ago as it lay in the dirt somewhere. It's home ended up being Seattle. Most of the young generation haven't a clue who he was or his significance.

Another view of Lenin's Statue in Seattle.

This is an American mummy on display at "Ye Old Curiosity Shop". Evidently, the place is (pardon my pun) stuffed with other artifacts and goodies. If you're ever in Seattle and bored with the typical tourist things to do and see, add these to your list. ;-)