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Not me!

We stayed in a hotel in downtown Chicago. This place, which I will not name, was not only non-smoking, but smoker-hostile and smug about it.

So, late in the cold, windy weather, I bundle up and go out front to smoke before I go to bed. Two gentlemen are there already, one smoking, one standing behind the valet podium. The man behind the podium had something that caused him to spasm regularly — perhaps ALS, perhaps MS, I thought it unkind to ask. Soon, this person asked the one already smoking for a light. It took them several tries, including one discarded cigarette, but they got the job done.

Then the other smoker finished up and went in.

Then, a car pulled up.

The driver and his wife got out. She went inside, while he gathered up things to take in, all the while watching the two of us smoke. I was standing off to the side, while our spasming friend was back behind the valet podium.

The driver then came up to me, and whispered:

Are you the valet?

The only thing I could do was to shake my head no, and smile an almost-evil smile.

Busy day in the cold, cold north…

Grace and I have been busy.

  • Snow angel (not re-creating selected scenes from Fargo)She made snow angels.
  • We had a snowball fight.Snowball fight
  • She went sledding.Sledding

It is now 14 below. We’re staying warm, watching the game, and eating chili.

Wow, it is cold.

We’re in Antigo, WI. It’s -40 with the wind chill. Do I need to point out that it doesn’t matter whether I say that in Fahrenheit or Celcius? If you don’t count the wind, it’s only 15 below (F).

Why am I here? My airline miles from all the travel I did starting in 2000 were about to expire. Grace hasn’t really seen snow. There was a super-saver fare, and Diane’s father’s 85th birthday is coming up.

Need I point out how painful 40 below is? We packed 5 bags for 3 of us for 4 days, and it’s not enough.

Grace was outstanding traveling. I’ve gotten to spend lots of time with her, and she’s behaving extraordinarily well! The worst part of it all was when the plane was landing, and her ears hurt. She didn’t believe that chewing gum would help, and wouldn’t try yawning for me.

While driving from Chicago to Clintonville, WI, we stopped for provisions. Grace got out of the car to stretch her legs, and walked over to the snow by the parking lot. I stopped her and zipped up her coat, then she walked into the snow and picked some up — without gloves. Presumably to try and make a snowball. That’s her big thing about this trip — she wants to have a snowball fight with me!

She only did that once, go figure! It’s so cold that the snow is really dry and powdery. I had her stomp her feet all the way back to the car, so that the snow she walked in wouldn’t melt and get her socks and shoes wet.

Last night, on the way from dinner in Clintonville to Antigo, we saw the non-wind-chill temperature drop to 19 belowDsc04938. I’m quite certain that that is the coldest I’ve ever experienced in my life, and I am more convinced than ever that I will never choose to do this kind of winter travel ever again, nor will I ever move further from the equator than I do now — about 4100 miles.

A big step in not trying to lose…

So, Grace has been big on playing tic-tac-toe.  I try to let her win.

The other day, we started playing connect-4.  The real one, that drops checkers into the plastic maze.  I didn’t let her win.  She lost 5 games in a row.

Then, she started to win.  She won 4 games in a row before we had to go to Grandma’s…

Testing wordpress 2.1

I’m having some issues with the widgets — especially in widget configuration.Dsc04890

I’m really looking forward to the spell-checker, however!

Will inserting photos still work?

Yes, it will!

Almost another scooby movie…

We took Grace to see Happy Feet, and there were previews and commercials.

Of course, there was the clip about buying snacks from the concession stand, the only thing was this one was themed to look like Harry Potter. That’s when it occured to me, so I leaned to Cy and said:

Hey! It’s Harry Pot-head, and he has the munchies!

And that’s what makes it almost like Shaggy and Scooby.

Those Italian deer…

So, Grace had a birthday. She got lots of presents, including Sly Cooper 3 for her PS2.

Then, Cy had his Big Band thing again this year. Grace and I went to eat first, then we all went to eat afterwards, at the Y Bar and Grill.

Since G and I had already eaten, we only got some appetizers — some cheese bread, and some venison skewers. As long as the venison had not been in the spicy sauce they served it with, she loved it. We talked about how venison was deer meat, and she ate more still…

Then, the next day, she and Cy were playing Sly3. Where is Sly, in the world? Why, Venice, of course! So Grace demonstrated her mastery of word roots by asking

Is Sly inside a deer?

Yes, I’m bragging.

Not mine, but I like it…

From Neil Steinberg’s op-ed in the Chicago Sun-Times:

A driver is stuck in a traffic jam on the interstate. Nothing is moving.

Suddenly a man walks over. The driver rolls down his window and asks: ‘‘What’s going on?’’

‘‘Terrorists down the road have kidnapped George W. Bush and
Dick Cheney. They’re asking for a $100 million ransom. Otherwise
they’re going to douse them with gasoline and set them on fire. We’re
going from car to car, taking up a collection.’’

The driver asks, ‘‘How much is everyone giving, on average?’’

‘‘Most people are giving about a gallon.’’

Golfing is on hold…

But not the driving range!

I had my second in a series of golf lessons today. My stance is different. My grip is different. My arm position is different.

And just when I had started getting half-decent!

So now, it’s like I’m going to start over, again. I feel, however, that the return to normalcy will happen much more quickly this time!

Two things I learned:

  1. When they say “keep your left arm straight”, they don’t mean your wrist. This is the only way I can stand closer to the ball, and it depends upon my wrists being fairly relaxed.
  2. In order to keep from hitting left, I need to remember to “throw the club at the target”.

— update — One week later, the blister I got on my right thumb has started to fade.

If only I had an extra $48,500 lying around…

So there was the big Trek auction at Christie’s last week.

And, the only thing I could be interested in, Picard’s flute from “The Inner Light”, went for $48,000, after being initially estimated at $800-1200.

Oh, to have that kind on money to blow on a non-functioning prop.

Anyone watched Trekkies lately? Or Trekkies 2? How about Galaxy Quest?

Oh, and if I had an extra $48,500 lying around, I’d buy Grace a really nice DVD player and that episode, and put them in storage for when she got older. I’d then put the other $48,000 and change into a nice long-term investment for her.

Flashback video!

Musical puns

So, we’re driving home after desert last night, and Grace asks for “Kids music” (preset 4 on the satelite radio).

A song called “Lonely Broccoli” comes on, in a 1950’s style.

I couldn’t decide if it was “broc-a-billy” or “do-wok”.