Curling Night in St Paul

As you can see from the Curling Club schedule board below, we curled on sheet seven at 9 pm and got a handicap of one - so we started ahead 1-0. We had a full team, and Wireless brought along her roommate, the Prairie Princess to watch the action. We had a good night and notched our first victory 7-4. Mr Moohoo, our skipper, was in the zone and made some quite nice shots to get us ahead 7-0 after four ends. In this league, a lot of shots depend on your Plan B - which usually means you've got Lady Luck on your side.


PP took the GRE today, so she won't be nervous about that any more. She says that she's landed a part time job, too, so life is getting a little more structure.

It was a dreary November day that started out with snow on the ground and finished with puddles everywhere. It was a good day to do some curling.

Thirty-seven Years ago

It's Veteran's Day and there have been some postings from the distant past. In 1971 I was living in Houston, Texas, and working for Unisys at NASA. As I recall, Gino was getting out of the army (although it may have been a furlough) and he was on his way back to civilian life. He stopped and spent a few days with me and this is one of just a couple of photos that I still have from that time - 37 years ago. Incidentally the art work hanging on my apartment wall was a gift from a long ago girl friend and it has been lost to history. After his time in Texas, Gino went on to visit Santini (before she was Santini) probably in Fort Wayne, Indiana and then to St Paul.
Several gallons of water have passed over the dam since then.

It continues to look like late fall in the land of 10,000 lakes. Norm Coleman holds a 206 vote lead on Al Franken in the contest to be known as "Landslide Norm" or "Landslide Al" and to be Minnesota's U.S Senator for the next six years (barring jail sentences).

Native Grass

It still feels like November. The day was cold, but the native grass in the backyard was already dormant, waiting for the cold months. PP was home to visit and play some Legend of Zelda. When Herb got home we made some pancakes for dinner and later watched the Daily Show. Not much happening as we try to get acclimated to the change of seasons.

Solid Form of Water Prevails

It was a cold day in the northland. There is not much to photograph, even if one were to look exhaustively. I, like others, dredged up a pretty good photo from 2007. I spent some time at Fort Snelling playing tennis this afternoon, and missed the local football team's efforts in the professional football league. It was my fourth consecutive day of tennis ball smacking during which I played nine complete sets of tennis and two partials. It's time for a day off. I was outside briefly and was convinced that the winter season is soon to be upon us. Ice has returned.

First Snow

The first snow of the year fell overnight. It wasn't much, but when I went out to fetch the morning Strib, I found a squirrel digging in my yard amongst the leaves and snow. So I took his photo. The snow has pretty much gone, but the squirrel is still out there somewhere.


My eight thirty tennis match went off as scheduled. It was early but the older gentlemen that I compete with were all there and ready to play. On one of the adjoining courts there were four octogenarians flogging the tennis balls and having fun. They all seemed to be nursing ailing joints, but it was,all in all, a beautiful sight. I should have brought my camera. Our match went 90 minutes and nearly three sets before running out of time - and I was nearly out of steam. 6-4, 6-2, 0-5 (out of time).

"Squirrels are vermin."

Obama Made Oprah Cry

This photo is of the spot where I'll be smacking tennis balls tomorrow morning at 8:30. Only retired guys are there normally on Friday morning. This is the Fred Wells Tennis Center at Fort Snelling. It is covered with a bubble for about six months of the year and is open to the weather in the summer.


I played some mixed dubbs with the hardcore girls and Jerry this evening. Thursday night tennis takes place at Wooddale. The tennis was pretty good tonight. My partner was Becky. We are seldom partners, because she has an established partnership with Jerry, but sometimes they like to mix it up a little. The scores, 6-1, 6-7, 6-3, indicate a close and entertaining match, which it was. After the match I drove to Yangs to get some lomein. I convinced them to use fried tofu rather than the usual chicken. They happily obliged, because I'm a Thursday night regular. Incidentally, they don't have anything with mock duck on the menu. Jerry says that it is possible to buy mock duck in cans at the grocery store in the veggie area near the green beans. Is that really true? I have not yet seen canned mock duck at Cub. Or Kowalski's.

There was curling last night and it went reasonably well. Mr Moohoo was under the weather and stayed home so we played with three players. The team we played was way too good for the Metro league, but we got a handicap of two points and managed to go up 3-2 after two ends before they got ahead for good. We had some nice shots, but the skip (me) missed a couple of crucial shots at the wrong time and we lost big time (about 10-4). I did score on the last rock of the night, while the house was unoccupied, with a draw to the button. [Love that nomenclature].

Election 2008

The place that I voted this morning was not crowded. I was in line behind one guy, Herb, and waited about ten seconds for a private booth before gaining access to one. Not bad for a day when the state authorities predict at least an 80% turnout. They also suggested that Minnesota will lead the nation, again, in voter turnout.

Falls, No Water

The water has stopped flowing over Minnehaha Falls. It's been dry, but I think the city may have turned off the water so that they can work on repairing the creek bed downstream. I'm guessing. It's an odd sight to see the precipice and no water streaming over it. Notice the dry stream bed in the foreground.

Wii Man

Today's photo features Herb playing "Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" on the Wii. I guess he's about 40 hours into it and there is much more to go. PP has about 25 hours on the same game.



It was a nice day today, especially for November. Daylight Saving Time went away overnight so everyone had an extra hour of slumber. On the down side, darkness came early tonight.

There was Sunday tennis at Fort Snelling. It was pretty good tennis, but we quit early because I banged my toe into one of the building's tennis bubble supports and I stopped the action to take off my shoe and have a look at my foot. I guess everyone was tired of playing because there was immediate and universal agreement to stop for the day. My injury was decidedly superficial, but I was happy enough to quit, just ten minutes before our time was to expire. We left the court and sat around a while to chat about the financial meltdown and the complicated financial times we apparently live in. 6-3, 6-3, 2-2 (retired).

Theme: Books

Once in a while I participate in theme day. I see that the theme for November first is books, and since I have a few books and a camera, it seemed easy to get in the game. The two bookcases below are on either side of my fireplace and contain much more than just books. There are photos, figurines and other miscellaneous articles (including some dust of long standing.)


In this photo one may find the prize for chuck-a-puck that PP brought home from the Lady Gopher hockey game. It may be valuable one day. Where's Waldo?


Three sets of tennis today - this time at Wooddale. I may try to keep a log of the number of games and sets that I play this month - just for giggles. 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 (with Jerry, Pat, and Bob). My knee problems appear to be abating, although I have been treating myself with ibu, and using a knee support.

PP has been around this weekend. We had to replace her Suburu's tires yesterday, because the tread was beginning to separate from the body of the tire. We had excellent service from Andy at All American Auto. Andy is Herb's childhood friend well known as Mr. Excitement.

Will I blog every day this month? Who knows? I have today, at least.