I am CuTRis

This was too funny! My neighbor used aluminum foil to fix his gutters!

Email me if you want to buy it. mnvalley@hotmail.com SOLD

Early in this blog, I referenced an epiphany that I had about five years ago when two eagles flew directly over my head and I was suddenly convinced that I was blessed. I had been struggling to rebuild my life after returning to my beloved, native Minnesota—after experiencing heartache in “Providence,” Rhode Island. When I began this blog, I mentioned in my profile that I was looking for “the magic in life.” Please allow me to continue… Now, five years later with a job, home and a beautiful, wonderful wife, we are now expecting our first child. Did I mention that? It is part of the personal life I don’t talk about much, when I fool around writing about the adventures of ”Cutris” that probably entertains me more than it does you. Still, if you are reading, perhaps I’ve caught your attention. As my wife and I have been deciding how to best arrange things to accommodate the new arrival, we came to the conclusion that we have too many fish tanks. Since our ultimate goal is to sell two sma...

Senator Edward Kennedy died last evening at the age of 77, after a yearlong battle with brain cancer. His election to the U.S. Senate slightly predates my entire life. His work has affected many positive changes in our country. Today Cutris salutes Ted Kennedy .

Cutris says, Craig Ferguson is probably the funniest man on late night television. After Jay Leno left the Tonight Show, Conan and Letterman (while very funny), have failed to fill the gap. Ferguson is hilarious, though the late time slot is difficult for those with day jobs. Keep watching The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson . Cutris is bound to be on the show sooner or later.

I hiked the Mazomani Trail at Louisville Swamp today. I saw many things, but most of the animals didn't "wait around" to get their pictures taken. I saw a Bald eagle, assorted hawks, two Great Horned owls, an osprey, six Turkey vultures and more! The bridge across the creek has been removed since about two or three years ago. I crossed anyway through knee-deep water. Here's a peek...

Does the bathroom steam up when God showers?

To Favre or Not to Favre? That is the question. Former Green Bay Packer quarterback, Brett Favre retired. Then he unretired. Then he played for the New York Jets. Then he retired again. Then he was coming to the Minnesota Vikings. Then he wasn't. Then he was. Then he wasn't. Then he was. Then he wasn't. Then he was. Then he wasn't. Then he was. Then he wasn't. Then he was. Then he wasn't. Now apparently he did. Too bad for Vikings quarterbacks Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels. The winners here are the owners of the team. Vikings ticket sales have spiked since Favre arrived. Personally, I might upchuck when I see him in purple. The Vikings have tried recycled quarterbacks before, such as Jim McMahon and Warren Moon. Now they cling to the hope that a probably "washed-up" Brett Favre will be the ticket to a Superbowl victory. I hope so, but I've had my hopes dashed by this team for... forever...

The television is filled with commercials about suing people and telling you to ask your doctor about the kind of drugs you you think that you should be prescribed. Wait... isn't that your doctor's job??? How can these (people and) companies feel good about themselves when they are pushing drugs ? In fact, they are putting the local drug dealers... the "mom and pop" sellers out of business! And it's legal!!! Meanwhile, people "sit in the dark" and take it... -Advertisement-

Do I really need to explain? The pictures say it all...

Today I will make wine from (tart) wild grapes and honey. This is a picture of some of the actual wild grapes I'm using!

Today I picked wild grapes (for wine) and moved furniture...

You might remember my previous post about Publish America lowering the price of my book. Well, they raised it again! They are really stupid and that is why I can't use them again! My email to them... Publish America, A week or two ago I noticed my book was $6.99. Finally!!! I've been telling you that I couldn't market because my book is priced too high! Now, the paperback is back to $19.95. Newsflash, this is a hardcover price! This is why I can't use PA for my second novel. Go ahead now, give me the "corporate response." Sincerely, Kevin J. Curtis

Of course this is “juvenile” humor, but I think “Johnson Parkway” is funny! You may (or may not) remember that Cutris crossed the Pacific with his Johnson . I got a nice email from Dave in Australia, congratulating me for this feat! Later, I showed the practical side of having Johnson Controls . Finally, who could forget the building named Big Wood ? What else would you call a building where you could buy bail bonds and a sub sandwich?

Whenever I drive by the airport, I see these signs. I started wondering... what is threat level orange? . I thought perhaps since a red alert is bad, and a yellow alert is not as bad, and since the color orange is made from mixing yellow and red, that orange is somewhere in between. It turns out this was right! It seems from now on, we are on high alert. The real information is on the other sign. "If I see suspicious activity... who do I call... Ghost Busters? No. Pizza Palace??? No... Oh yeah! That sign said to call 9-1-1!"

U.S. journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were released from North Korea , and are back with their families thanks to the efforts of many people—including former President Bill Clinton. This development is great news for the families of the two journalists, and gives hope to U.S. hikers who decide to stray too close to foreign powers that are in disagreement with the United States. The release of Ling and Lee reinforces Bill Clinton’s commitment to good domestic and foreign relations . Whenever good-looking, young women are being held against their will, we can all feel secure in the knowledge that Bill will be there for them.

I need a new dentist! I've been going to Metro Dental for the past few years, and I have grown very suspicious of their billing system. I go to the Burnsville location, so I can't comment on all of them. Apparently the billing is handled within each clinic separately. Never before have I had so many problems with insurance or billing! With my previous dentist, there were no such difficulties. No matter what, I can't seem to pay off my bill. Once I do, more "mysterious" charges come in the mail. When I call about them, a person takes me round and round in a confusing circle, and eventually tells me to call my insurance company. It seems that no one there knows how much things cost, what they are charging, or how much I've already paid! One reason I have found for this, is that they continuously charge "estimated" costs. These are never correct, and then they keep laying more "real" and estimated costs on top of that. Do yourself a favor, d...

We decided to go fishing back in my "old haunts" of Sauk Centre . I spent a lot of time there some years back, and got to know the place well--though it's changed some. We had lunch at the Bear Trap , and then fished at the dam. The dam The dam flow Fishing at the dam We also fished the pier at the park, but the dam had the best fishing, even though they were mostly "rough" fish. My wife (who doesn't like to be pictured) with her giant sucker she caught on a worm. The weather changed quickly and frequently, and we had sun, rain, warm and cool weather. The rain came down heavy for a while. My wife's 27", 9lb. carp A huge yellow bullhead, just unhooked and posing, before going back in the water. We stayed at the Palms Motel and ate at Andy's Wok before leaving for home. Both were good. We also found most of the things we needed (including bait) at the Fleet Supply store. The River's Edge Dining & Lounge was excellent, and we had our ev...

Last evening as I sat with the band in Dave’s garden between practice sets, we had a number of interesting visitors. Frequently it is birds, but last night it was mostly insects. One of our visitors was a Sphingidae moth. These are also called sphinx, hawk or hummingbird moths . I got several photos, and have included one here. The bees were busily working the flowers, and a comment that Dave made really cracked me up! I asked him to make a PSA for bees to put on the blog. It is a bit of “blue” humor. Click on the video if you dare to share in the joke. White-lined Sphinx Hummingbird Moth Bee PSA *Note: "80 billion years" may not be an accurate figure.