Happy Birthday Kids

Happy Birthday

and

A Very Happy

New Year

to all

January 1, 19??

Robert W. Cutler

Robert W. Cutler

There are people we meet through out our lives that teach us that class isn't always a social standing, but a way of life and that is Bob Cutler. A true gentleman in all siturations. I only knew the Cutlers for a short time, but I am a better person for having known them.

Bob joined Jean on Christmas Eve. He left us at about 11:50 PM; Jeff said

he probably had a little last minuet shopping to do before joining his beloved Jean. The only thing that kept them apart on Christmas over the past 70 some years was World War II.

Bob and Jean taught us that there is never ending love, kindness, devotion and integrity throughout our lives and no matter what the circumstance. So God Bless the Cutlers, Jean and Bob and keep them by Your side. They shall live forever in our hearts and memories.

Merry Christmas

It certainly is a White Christmas.

Can anyone tell me who the little snow angel is?

What a winning smile, that should be the give away.

This photo is from 1960.

What a bunch of cuties.

What great memories.

Love the hair.

Not real sure what year this is, 64?

Jack, Bob, Bill and baby Jeff 1955

And the Cutler family had the same sort of tree trimmings.

Isn't that cool.

Jack - Bill - Jean - Bob and Jeff 1958

The snow is starting to fall again and is increasing in accumulation. It isn't quite as bad as the forecasters were alerting us to, but I feel better knowing that everyone is safe and sound. There will be other times for us all to be together again. Jeff is going to have surgery on Wednesday, so we may be looking for a little outside company in January.

Robin and Nora left DC just in time to miss the big East Coast Storm from last week. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the roads will be in good shape for the drive back to DC on Saturday.

I don't want to spend all of Christmas Eve on the computer. So Merry Christmas....

Christmas in Sheboygan

What a great time we had during my last visit home. I saw Char Thursday night after taking the long way there. Guess I learned my lesson not to depend on machines. (And for the record, Milwaukee rush hour isn't as bad as Minneapolis.) Doris had a tree that she said Char could use and even brought it over. We gave her a hand setting it up and then watched and helped wrap presents for her co-workers as she hung the lights and placed the garland. It's very pretty tree.

Doris had Friday off so we hung out for awhile in the morning then visited with Kate, David and Vicky. Kate invited us for pizza and we watched what seemed to be hundreds of birds come and go to the heated bird bath and feeders outside the patio door.

I believe this is a red bellied woodpecker.

Male Cardinal

Doris and I continued on to Mothers where I got the close up of a Cardinal right outside the kitchen window. We had dinner with Mom and finally started to fulfill a promise I made to help out with a little cleaning. We sort of got a little later start than I had intended, so I'll have to pick up where I left off after the first of the year.

On Saturday afternoon Lori, Vicky, Doris and I met up at Grandma's house and headed out to a wonderful day together wondering shops and seeing Saint Nick. I was so excited, I felt like a little child. Thanks girls for putting up with my silliness. I am feeling a family tradition coming on and if we have a little better planning we will hopefully have a few more ladies join us next year.

And I got to hug St. Nick.

Snow Day

Just in case you have been hiding in a cave and haven't looked out in awhile, we got some snow over the last 24 hours. I am delaying my visit to Eastern Wisconsin until tomorrow; the roads should be cleared off by then. I'm not so bothered by the snow, but the extreme cold and strong winds are the crap.

Goldie loves the snow. She puts her head down and plows through the drifts till there is a pile of snow on her nose. She isn't as frisky as past years; but she still seems to enjoy playing in the fluffy stuff.

This week I spent two afternoons hanging with Ridley. There is something so special when a little person climbs up in ones lap and falls asleep in your arms.

Nana and Ridley

Tree Trimming

Jeff placing his favorite firefighter ornament.

Last week we put the tree up and gave the branches a day to come down before putting on the lights. I had to cut branches out of the tree because it was so thick there wasn't enough space to put the ornaments. Vickie and Ridley joined in on the decorating fun. I always enjoy going through the boxes; finding special ornaments that bring back great memories. We were hoping that Char would have been able to give us a hand, but she needed to head back to Sheboygan to get ready for the busy week ahead.

Ridley and Vickie

Ridley says it is a job well done. And the beef roast was very good.

Everyone is excited for Robin and Nora's Holiday visit in a couple weeks. There's a lot for them to do in a short time, but it's going to be great having them around. This is another thing that make the Holiday Season so special; it seems to be the time when we get together with the ones we love. It's the time of the year we are encouraged to appreciate the good thing we are blessed with and the people we are loved by.

Grandpa was in need of some special 'Ridley' time, so Vickie asked his to keep an eye on the little guy while she took care of some business. They snuggled on the couch for a short time and enjoyed old rock bands and cheesy poofs. Jeff has come close to finishing the Fire Truck toy box. It really is amazing; and big. It is so fun to watch the little guy smile through the stages of construction. And Ridley thinks it's cool too. He has done a great job, and he hasn't cut off any fingers!

I'm still planing to take a road trip to Eastern Wisconsin to see my family, but I think it will be later in the week to avoid the fore casted snow storm for Eastern Wisconsin and Minnesota on Tuesday and Wednesday. It will just slow me down by one day, but I still want to spend a few days there. I will be sending out notes soon to let everyone know about whats going on with the road trip.

Congratulations to Char and yet another big change in her life, her new job with Kohl's. Sounds like a good opportunity; I hope it's all you hope it will be. It won't be long till you're moving into the corner office.

Well, button down the hatches all you folk in the Midwest, and stay warm.

AML

Giving Thanks

It is quite fitting that Mom's birthday is on Thanks Giving day. After all, I wouldn't be very thankful if it wasn't for my Mom and her influence over the years.

I was there in my heart. I thought about everyone being together in the living room; the suspense of who is going to draw your name and what sort of fun game one can make of it. This is Char's first year with the family Holiday traditions, I'm excited for her fun.

We hope that everyone had a great Thanks Giving. We had a wonderful time with family and our friend Laura. Bob and Bill joined us and Bill shared some of the pictures he took on his trip to Egypt. Although the pictures of the pyramids and hieroglyphics's are very cool; I bet it was totally groovy standing the in the shadow of the sphinx!

Our dinner was great in spite of the fact that we forgot to make the traditional 'Raisin Sauce'. There was more than enough food. We did plan a bit better and there weren't as many left overs as there has been in the past.

We had ham and eggs this morning with home made toast. Yummm.

We remembered the loved ones who weren't able to be with us this year. And the loved ones who we will always keep near us in our hearts.

Laura and Vickie

Ridley and Grandpa Jeff

Jeff and I are going to get the Christmas tree in the stand today to let the branches settle and I will put the lights on either tonight or tomorrow. Char and Vickie are going to come over on Sunday to give us a hand decorating the tree. I really am excited.

So now I am going to run back to the hardware store because I was so discourage that I missed Santa that I grabbed the wrong set of lights on sale.

Have a great weekend.

AML

Happy for the Holiday Season

Jeff and I stopped at Lowes this morning after coffee with the Johnsons and found the perfect Christmas tree. It's has the beautiful silver coloring Frasure Fir are famous for and the smell almost knocked me over. Not to wide so it hopefully won't push us out of the living room. It's about 9 ft. now so after trimming it will be about 8' 6", perfect for the 9 1/2 foot ceiling. I am going to use artificial garland in the house. I have enough garland to do the banister and one or two door. Not going to go as wild this year with greens and garland. There is a rumor that there maybe a little elf in the area next weekend to give me a hand. It's fun to trim the tree and stroll down memory lane with those who make the season so special thought out the years.

I hope you all have a great Holiday Season.

AML

A Change of Seasons

What a beautiful day for November 20th. It was pretty much my last day of work for the season, and I was ready. But today the sky was blue, very light breeze and about 45 degrees; a great day to finish the season. Jeff and I both finished the work day early and took advantage of the beautiful day by going for a short and not too fast of a motorcycle ride. Now I can say that we rode the bike on November 20 in Minnesota and didn't have a snowmobile suit on.

This was the first week of my time back with Ridley. On Tuesdays through out the winter Ridley and I get the opportunity to play together. This week we went for a walk to the park that is about a block from Vickie and Josh's house. Ridley sat on my lap while the swing went back and forth. He likes to keep it mild now, but by next summer I bet he is going to love swinging to the sky. It is so cool to look into those big blue eyes and see the wheels turning. Time doesn't stand still for baby boys. He sure likes to keep busy.

Wow, I can't believe that this week is Thanks Giving! I need to make a shopping list and check the coupons. We are having ham rather than turkey, we like ham more. We will be having dinner with with family and friends. I hadn't really thought about it till now, but that means I can get the Christmas tree on Friday. I really enjoy decorating the house for the Holidays and this year I am using some artificial garland and scaling back on the amount. We will have a real Fraser Fir, if I find a reasonable one, or a Balsam, it's the smell; like Christmas. And let the decorating begin.

Well where ever you are this weekend, I hope it's a good one.

AML

One fine Autumn Day

When driving over the bridge one fine Autumn day to get pumpkins in Wisconsin; we were stopped as the lift bridge opened to let a river boat through. The hill side in the back ground was alive with bright colors. It was very beautiful.

Later that day we broke the beaten path to a less traveled trail as we

went to see the oldest stone bridge in Minnesota. It was very interesting

but also marked as protected historical site with stiff penalty's for

trespassers. I didn't want to push my luck so I stayed back a respectable distance. I will get permission the next time I am interested in seeing or photographing it.
Imagine what and who traveled over that bridge though history... It isn't very wide, big enough for one cart or two people.

Now that I'm not working as much I have to try to be better behaved at regulating my life style. And by that I mean my diet and amount of activity I maintain.

We probable have about a weeks worth of work that we will stretch out over two weeks. So now that I won't be as active during the day I am going to have to start exercising in order to loss or even keep off any unwanted weight. Every year it seems to get harder to fight this battle of the bulge. I brought home the exercise bike that was in Mom's guest room so Jeff said he will tune it up and I will ride the bike to get some exercise. I just have to discipline myself and keep on track with my diet and the exercise. Wish me luck.

I hope that everyone has enjoyed the Indian summer that we were blessed with the past week in the Midwest. Hard to think of what it really will be in the near future. October was more like November and November like October. Keep seasonably warm thoughts.

AML

Great week for Indian Summer

On Tuesday Nov. 3rd the fire department presented Jeff with a plague and shadow box commemorating his years with the department. One other fireman retired at the same time so the families of the retirees and the other firefighters had cake and ice cream as well.



Vickie, Josh and Ridley were able to come and Ridley even ware his fireman rain coat and got to sit in the fire truck with Grandpa. He wasn't real impressed.

We carved a few pumpkins for Halloween to decorated the front door and waited for the trick or treader's to come. There weren't as many this year as there was last year. That seemed to be the story all around town. We had quite a bit of candy left over. I threw it in the garbage. This is the worst time of the year for weight gain. First Halloween then Thanks Giving and then the Mother Load of fattening food and my favorite holiday, Christmas. I'm trying to avoid going backward and gain back the weight I lost this summer.

The pumpkins were done with a pattern so don't be too impressed.

Vickie and Josh held a wonderful First Birthday Party for Ridley on Sunday November 1st to enable more of his family to join him for his big day. He had a great turn out of relatives from Wisconsin and Minnesota.

This was Ridley's first experience with cake; he wasn't too sure what to think about it and wasn't all that interested in the funny shaped food item.

We had a very nice time visiting with family this past weekend. We left home on Friday afternoon and arrived in New Holstein around 8 PM. We spent the night with Mom and on Saturday morning while Mom was sleeping in Jeff and I met up with Char and Carol at the Steiner's. Everyone is doing well and happy to be together. After a few cups of coffee and good conversation Jeff and I gathered up Char and her 'boys' and went to drop off the futon and table with 2 chairs at her apartment.

Please note that it is November 7th in Sheboygan Wisconsin and Jeff is in short sleeves.

Tyner is now enjoying a raised opportunity to play tug with Boof, and Boof is looking pretty relaxed.

We stopped to see how Doris was feeling after being sick that week. We didn't stay too long so she could get back to the business of getting better. Was strange not having her around more during the weekend, I missed her. After presenting her with mint that we picked from Char's back yard, we had Chinese buffet for lunch and then a little shopping. Char and Jeff had a geek bonding experience and I had a contact giggles. It was great.

We picked up dinner and went to Mom's to eat with her before going to deliver birthday wishes to my brother in law Dennis. Great reason to get together, not that we need a reason. This was a busy week for Birthdays.

The weather was so great this weekend, very warm for the beginning of November. We were enjoying the new deck that is at Mom's front door. She now has a couple Shepherd hooks holding bird feeders of different types to see the birds feeding.

I also had a chance to decorate a couple flower pots that were on the deck with evergreens that I found in the garden area. The Landscape was removed from around the house and was disposed of in the back area. I took advantage of the discarded greens and put together a couple pots to fit the winter season. That was fun.

So now life is getting some what back to normal. I am almost finished working for the season, just a couple days of winter greens next week and a couple days of tipping roses the week after. Next week I will start hanging out with Ridley on Tuesdays again like I did last winter.

So till next time.....

AML

Happy Birthday Ridley Dexter

Happy first Birthday to Ridley Dexter. He had a great party last weekend with many family members from all over Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Many More little buddy.
AML

Happy Halloween

HALLOWEEN

By Harry Behn

Tonight is the night

When dead leaves fly

Like witches on switches

Across the sky,

When elf and sprite

Flit throught the night

On a moony sheen.

Tonight is the night

When leaves make a sound

Like a gnome in his home

Under the ground,

When spooks and trolls

Creep out of holes

Mossy and green.

Tonight is the night

When pumpkins stare

Through sheaves and leaves

Everywhere,

When ghouls and ghost

And goblin host

Dance round their queen.

It's Halloween.

We wish everyone a safe and happy, fun filled Halloween.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRADLEY

Happy Birthday to my favorite nephew. Hope you have many many more...

AML

It's a new season called 'falter'!

Josh and Vickie Holland

On Wednesday the birthday celebrations continued with Josh having us and the Hollands over for a great stew dinner. This was the first gathering we have attended at the new Holland home, it was quite cool. It was great to see that Josh's friends Jake and John were hanging out for awhile too.

Ridley and Mom (Vickie) Holland

Friday evening Jeff and I went to Schmit Music with Vickie and Ridley to look at a piano that Jeff thought might be a nice addition to the Holland household and a nice quality instrument for Ridley to start playing. I think he approved. Music is so important to Jeff that I believe he wants to do as much as he can to keep music growing in their house too.

This sure has been strange October weather. We didn't work on Monday due to the two inches of snow on the ground, and Thursday it rained and snowed. We are winding down and only have a few more garden to put to rest for the winter. I still have some plants to put in our garden too. There should still be time, crazy weather.

Saturday Jeff and I went to my first college football game! One of my co-workers plays for a Duluth college and Jeff and I went to see him play in St. Paul. We met up with his sister Claire, (who was also my co-worker) and their parents. Ross, the football player had some issues with the Canadian Geese in his neighborhood this summer, so Claire and I blew goose calls when his team ran a touch down and at half time. His team lost the game but they did the best they could and I enjoyed the first college football game. We got home in time to do a few things in the yard and then kick back.

Sunday was our great hope for a fall color motorcycle ride. The forecast was for sunny sky's and high around 60 degrees. It was a relaxing ride even if the colors weren't as lovely as the ones in the photo below. The dry cool summer followed by an cold wet fall with high winds and heavy snow has reduced the effects of the trees normally beautiful display. There is still a glimmer of hope for a few eye catching displays in the weeks to come, I hope. It seemed as if either all the leaves were off of the trees or they were still green.

Photo from the Internet
It was chilly on the back of the bike, I was happy for leather and fleece. I saw several hawks and one eagle. Odd that I didn't see any turkeys.

Have a good week everyone.

AML