Ice and Snow.
Dear Friends, Family, and Interested Observers,
A joyful Thanksgiving has given way to a fierce Wisconsin winter. For a part-time job, I have been helping my older brother Bob operate a snow removal business. However, this last week it has turned out to be anything but a part-time job. More on that later. For the moment, let’s return to those milder November days.
The regular Badger football season has drawn to a close. The Badgers finished up strong, and will play the Tennessee Volunteers New Year’s Day morning in the Outback Bowl in Tampa. Since Jim and I will join friends to celebrate his February birthday in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico, we have decided not to go to Florida for the bowl. (Below, Jim fusses over some dips for a party we attended with friends to plan our trip to Puerta Vallarta. Jim has turned into quite the cook lately.)
However, I got more than my fill of Badger football games this last season – five total. The last game was the most entertaining. Courtesy of a last minute ticket from our friend Perron, I also had the pleasure of watching the Badgers defeat the hated rival Michigan Wolverines at Camp Randall. We whooped it up at our pre- and post-game tailgates, and Jim did not let the fact that he had lost a crown on one of his front teeth the day before get him down. (First below, the Buck's tailgate crew; second below, toothless Jim.)
The following weekend, while Jim was off to Minneapolis to watch the Badgers’ road victory over da’ Gophers, I met up with my sisters in Cross Plains. My step-niece Susan, who attends Mountain State University in Beckley West Virginia as a physician’s assistant major, had come to town with some friends for the weekend. Mikey and Emma, who had tagged along from Eau Claire with my older sister Lisa, have become board game addicts! We wiled away our time with board games such as Stratego and Tri-Bond.
That evening, we dined at Morels. What phenomenal food and atmosphere. Mark and Laurie are excellent hosts. We were so sad to hear about the loss of their beloved pup Roxy – our heart-felt condolences.
“Snowgate” actually began Thanksgiving Eve. My brother Bob and I had originally planned to go up north to celebrate the holiday with Mom and Dad in Rhinelander. However, snow was in the forecast for Wednesday night, so Bob and I had to stick around to see what precipitation materialized. As a result of the uncertainty, Lisa invited Mom and Dad to come to Eau Claire for Thanksgiving. (First below, brother-in-law Jon built this backyard playhouse for Mikey and Emma out of discarded power pole timbers -- lucky kids! Second below, Emma, is your hair in the cauliflower?)
The first snow of the season turned out to be too minor to be removed, so Bob and I were able to travel up north for the holiday. Lisa out did herself with the holiday spread. We all watched the Packer game together, dined, played some board games, and capped off the night with some tortuous karaoke singing. (First below, Coco rejoices in Dad's belly-scratching; second below, Bob croons.) 
Bob’s and my misery began Saturday evening with a nasty mix of snow, sleet, and rain. During the day on Saturday, Madison got four or five inches of snow. Around four o’clock everything turned over to sleet, and around midnight everything switched over to rain. The combination was hard on the equipment. Bob and I had trouble keeping up, and Bob’s new 1800$ snow blower lost an auger belt as it chewed up a newspaper. We were able to finish only 45 of 60 planned jobs that night.
Then, the weather turned frigid and all the undone driveways turned into an icy concrete. Break out the picks and shovels. What made the situation worse was that over the course of the next ten days we had three additional major snowfalls. Thank goodness we have finally caught up, and thank goodness we have no snow in the forecast for a while. My whole upper body aches.
It’s hard to believe that there are only thirteen days until Christmas. May your holidays be healthy and blessed. (Below, Bucky and his "Bucky")
Best wishes,
jkb in madison
A joyful Thanksgiving has given way to a fierce Wisconsin winter. For a part-time job, I have been helping my older brother Bob operate a snow removal business. However, this last week it has turned out to be anything but a part-time job. More on that later. For the moment, let’s return to those milder November days.
The regular Badger football season has drawn to a close. The Badgers finished up strong, and will play the Tennessee Volunteers New Year’s Day morning in the Outback Bowl in Tampa. Since Jim and I will join friends to celebrate his February birthday in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico, we have decided not to go to Florida for the bowl. (Below, Jim fusses over some dips for a party we attended with friends to plan our trip to Puerta Vallarta. Jim has turned into quite the cook lately.)
However, I got more than my fill of Badger football games this last season – five total. The last game was the most entertaining. Courtesy of a last minute ticket from our friend Perron, I also had the pleasure of watching the Badgers defeat the hated rival Michigan Wolverines at Camp Randall. We whooped it up at our pre- and post-game tailgates, and Jim did not let the fact that he had lost a crown on one of his front teeth the day before get him down. (First below, the Buck's tailgate crew; second below, toothless Jim.)The following weekend, while Jim was off to Minneapolis to watch the Badgers’ road victory over da’ Gophers, I met up with my sisters in Cross Plains. My step-niece Susan, who attends Mountain State University in Beckley West Virginia as a physician’s assistant major, had come to town with some friends for the weekend. Mikey and Emma, who had tagged along from Eau Claire with my older sister Lisa, have become board game addicts! We wiled away our time with board games such as Stratego and Tri-Bond. That evening, we dined at Morels. What phenomenal food and atmosphere. Mark and Laurie are excellent hosts. We were so sad to hear about the loss of their beloved pup Roxy – our heart-felt condolences.“Snowgate” actually began Thanksgiving Eve. My brother Bob and I had originally planned to go up north to celebrate the holiday with Mom and Dad in Rhinelander. However, snow was in the forecast for Wednesday night, so Bob and I had to stick around to see what precipitation materialized. As a result of the uncertainty, Lisa invited Mom and Dad to come to Eau Claire for Thanksgiving. (First below, brother-in-law Jon built this backyard playhouse for Mikey and Emma out of discarded power pole timbers -- lucky kids! Second below, Emma, is your hair in the cauliflower?)The first snow of the season turned out to be too minor to be removed, so Bob and I were able to travel up north for the holiday. Lisa out did herself with the holiday spread. We all watched the Packer game together, dined, played some board games, and capped off the night with some tortuous karaoke singing. (First below, Coco rejoices in Dad's belly-scratching; second below, Bob croons.) Bob’s and my misery began Saturday evening with a nasty mix of snow, sleet, and rain. During the day on Saturday, Madison got four or five inches of snow. Around four o’clock everything turned over to sleet, and around midnight everything switched over to rain. The combination was hard on the equipment. Bob and I had trouble keeping up, and Bob’s new 1800$ snow blower lost an auger belt as it chewed up a newspaper. We were able to finish only 45 of 60 planned jobs that night.Then, the weather turned frigid and all the undone driveways turned into an icy concrete. Break out the picks and shovels. What made the situation worse was that over the course of the next ten days we had three additional major snowfalls. Thank goodness we have finally caught up, and thank goodness we have no snow in the forecast for a while. My whole upper body aches.It’s hard to believe that there are only thirteen days until Christmas. May your holidays be healthy and blessed. (Below, Bucky and his "Bucky")
Best wishes,jkb in madison
posted by jkbinturkey at 12:09 PM
1 Comments:
John,
Glad to see you finally updated your blog. Sounds like you've been doing a lot of loafing around (kidding!!!).
Glad the weather's cooperated enough to give you guys a short respite. 'That which does not kill us makes us stronger'-- or something like that-- right?
Lisa
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