Snow Day!

The school district I work in called a snow day!
My wife works in a school district further north (away from the storm) and has to go in.

Old Mountain Dew Ad

I remember this from when I was a kid!

I photographed this old sign in an antique gallery in Redwing, Minnesota.

Elevator Restrooms

I'm not sure why you would put restrooms in an elevator, but apparently elevator restrooms do exist.


Unless the elevator ride is exceptionally long, I don't understand why restrooms would be necessary. Likewise, I see no advantage to having restrooms move up and down, unless it is a way so that not as many restrooms need to be built. Maybe that's it! If you need a restroom, push the button and one will come up or down (from another floor) if it isn't in use.

I'm still not clear as to how the water pipes are incorporated into an elevator, unless they are chemical toilets and need to be emptied periodically. This would likely be done on the lower level.

Holiday Gift Idea

I've tried unsuccessfully for years to get my family to stop buying Christmas presents. I like getting together with everybody, but the whole commercialized, gift thing makes it stressful!

In the case of children, that's different. Kids love Christmas presents!

For the rest of us, unless we want to "break the bank" buying nice, expensive gifts, most people don't need that $10 or $20 gift. They can just buy it themselves!

I used to give gift cards for dinner at a nice restaurant. Then, I realized that there were potential problems with this as these cards might have time limits, etc. Even more reason to be careful with gift cards, is the number of establishments that are going out-of-business! Buy a card from one of these places, and your recipient may end up with nothing!

So last year, I decided to give to charities in the names of my family members. In fact, last year money was donated in my name to charity as well! We started a nice trend I think.

So if you want to do some good and make Christmas shopping easier, give to charities in the names of the people you would normally buy presents for. Just tell the charities (very specifically) what you want (i.e. receipt, gift card/acknowledgment).

And for any charities out there, if someone wants to donate instead of buying Christmas presents, make sure to promptly address these requests, or you may not get the donation next year.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

-KJC

A Cutris Christmas Story

One day, Cutris received a call from Santa Claus.



Santa asked Cutris to help him find his magic reindeer, Rudolph.



Unfortunately, Cutris went the wrong way, and ended up at the mall.













Someone called security, and he was given the "big boot."



So, he decided to look for Rudolph out in the woods.



Suddenly, Cutris realized that he was lost and it was getting dark.



So, he used a tree to build himself a shelter.



He spent the night in his simple shelter.



In the morning, Cutris found Rudolph eating some lichens outside the shelter!



Cutris called Santa, and he came and got Rudolph.

Then they all lived happily ever after.

The End

Woods, Nordegren, Grubbs, Uchitel, Moquin

Were you looking for gossip about Tiger Woods?
Sorry! Fooled you! Burn! Ha ha!

Arrivals & Departures

The hawk is the messenger from heaven and the eagle flies closest to the creator. They often show up when we need them. They come during ceremonies. They also seem to be abundant during births and deaths. My new nephew is a week old. When we went to see him the morning of his birth, My wife and I saw eight or ten hawks on the drive to drop off his siblings with their dad and then to the hospital. I always notice hawks when I drive, but this quantity was unusual.

I sometimes wonder if the renewed interest in spirituality (among some members of society) is due to the increased population of "messenger" birds (since the DDT ban); or are the birds more abundant because of the fact that our higher consciousness sees their value?

Recognizing the "magic" sets you ahead of the crowd. We live in houses, cities, etc. that are man-made. We can only experience reality by accepting the natural world. If we choose to accept these things, the world, life and death, all gain new meaning.

Life and death, after all, are similar events. Picture an airport, and the departures (death) are sad places. On the next level, arrivals (birth) are joyous. Interesting how an airplane is kind of like a big bird isn’t it?

Stay Healthy

During these times when we are trying to avoid H1N1 and other contagious diseases, it is important to follow simple rules to maintain health and avoid transferring illness to our friends and families. We may need to encourage others to use these guidelines, if they are not familiar with them. As we get together over the holidays, etc., please be conscious of this.

We have probably all heard about keeping hands and food preparation clean. There is another very basic way to help prevent spreading germs and viruses. Everyone should use serving utensils when putting food on their plates. The fork or spoon you are eating with should never be used to take food from the communal serving dish.

This is why restaurant buffets and salad bars demand that you use serving spoons and a new plate upon each trip. This may seem to be standard for some of us, but it is not for everyone. Please help to encourage everyone to keep our friends and families healthy.

Thanks, and have a great holiday season!

K.

Saturday at Nine Mile Creek

On Saturday, we hiked along Nine Mile Creek in Bloomington, MN. Here are a few images.