Planes, Trains, and Automobiles Frags

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I lied.  There will be no planes or automobiles in these frags - - - but there WILL be trains.  One out of three "ain't" bad???

Stop whatever you're doing and air out the fragments that have been roaming around in the recesses of your brain.  Join us in all the fraggin' fun over at Mrs. 4444's place. 
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When Lee Corso picked Georgia to beat Clemson (he was wrong, by the way) on College Game Day last Saturday, they brought a couple of bull dog puppies onto the set.

This one promptly fell asleep on Kirk Herbstreit's notes.

Awwwwwwww.  So cute!!

And normally I don't even LIKE bull dogs.
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Maxzilla finished his (they say he's a she, but I like him as a he better) metamorphosis this week.

Isn't this stage absolutely AMAZING???  The fact that the chrysalis becomes a clear window and you can see the colorful wings through it is astounding!
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Furthermore, Maxzilla chose Labor Day to complete his morphing so our grans were home to observe the process.
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There was much delight all around as he took his rightful place in our world.  (And now I'm giving him his rightful place in cyber world!!!)
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Our daughter Keri and her hubby celebrated their 9th Anniversary this week.  Aren't they the bees knees??

Keri took all those gorgeous Maxzilla photos above.

I think she should find a career in photography, don't you???
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This little target sticker surfaced somewhere in Fisherhubby's closet this week.

I know it isn't mine - - - I don't bow hunt.

He has no clue where he got it nor why.

I have no clue how he FOUND it in his closet.  (Er hmmmmm)
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One afternoon this week on my way home from the library I decided to hop over to Dollar General for a few good deals.

As luck would have it, I got stopped behind this long, long, long, slow, slow, slow train.

I had plenty of time to snap the photo (into the setting sun) and even tweet about it.
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The train finally passed through the intersection and I continued on to Dollar General.

I shopped for maybe 15 minutes upon which I came out to head home, only to get caught at the VERY SAME INTERSECTION - going in the opposite direction this time - - - by ANOTHER train.

It was shorter and I barely had time to snap this picture and tweet it out.

And that, dear bloggy readers, is the TRAIN portion of this post.

I guess technically there ARE automobiles in the photo AND a huge noisy old plane has been taking off and landing at the airport across the street from us, so there you have it - - - I DID manage to include planes and automobiles in these frags!!!
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All Mack's hard work paid off - - - he had a MUCH BETTER spelling week this week.

You go, Mack!!!
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When mommy and daddy went out for their anni, Pipe's and Mack got to have their favorite babysitter.

Pipes BEGGED her to braid her hair.

I can see WHY, can't you???  Gorgeous.
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Last week I told you I'm the commish of three college football pick 'em games.

Here's a Fisherhubby tale about that:

He was LATE getting his picks in this week.  Being a hard-nosed commish, I did NOT remind him until after he had missed the deadline and he will get the SAME 20 point delay of game penalty as any other player.

When I told him he needed to get his picks in pronto, he disappeared into his room to submit them to me from his i-pad via e-mail.

I opened them - - - he had picked for the week 14 games OF LAST YEAR!!!!

Don't ask me how he manages these things - - - all I can say is that while he makes it his daily goal to "trap" me into some foolish action, all I have to do is sit around and wait and he does it to himself all by himself with no help from me.

:-)  Happy dance.
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We found a new restaurant this week that had a player piano making very lovely ambiance.

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Of course the peaceful Petenwell Lake views from the windows served to enhance the ambiance.
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There was a lovely deck, but it's been too hot here in Central Wisconsin for us to enjoy it much.
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We did, however, certainly enjoy the sunset on the lake.
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And that's it for this week's edition of frags.

Please head over to Mrs. 4444's place

To check out more frags.

While you're there, why not join in the fun???

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BEWARE - Something Fragmare This Way Comes

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It is Friday.

It is well INTO Friday.

That means I've almost missed my window of opportunity to share various and sundry fragments of life with you, my bloggy readers.

Fortunately I've arrived at the fragment dock just in the nick of time to catch the fragship before it sails.
  
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College football season arrived last night and the NFL will be back in full swing as of Thursday evening.

Some of us are WAY more excited about this turn of events than are others.

Obviously from the above scenario, little Piper is in the less than excited category.
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I, on the other hand, am definitely in the excited school of thought.

I've already got three versions of my College Pick 'Em game going - - - as evidenced by the return of my "bookie" ways shown above.
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Suddenly this week our temperature soared back up into the high 90's - - - yet further evidence that FALL ISN'T HERE YET, just in case you were tempted to forget that it is summer until the sun's position says it's fall on September 21.

Anyway, with the return of heat my Famous Wacky Macky Pasta salad sounded really yummy, so I made some.

Alas, it's only famous in my own eyes.

I proceeded to eat it, with precious little help from Fisherhubby who isn't a pasta salad connoisseur, in a two day window of time.

Oink oink.
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Do you shoebox???

We always fill shoeboxes at church this time of year to be sent to children all over the world at Christmas.  It's such a fun project.

This is my first "installment" of donations for the shoeboxes - - - 12 boxes of brand new crayons.

I can hardly keep my hands out of them - - - that's the effect new crayons have on this old gal!
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Fisherhubby proudly and affectionately dubbed this his "Tower of Tackle." It resides in our small one car garage, right where I TRY to open my car door.

And I'm pretty sure there are two facts about it you really do need to know in order to comprehend the IMPORT of it:

1)  NONE of it is mine.

2)  This is only PART of Fisherhubby's fishing paraphernalia, in fact if you look around and behind it you will see handles of poles, nets, and various other fishing accoutrements.

Sigh.
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Social Media Faux Pas and Don't Dos

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1)  Don't make posts, tweets, or statuses that mainly consist of endless lists of what you have accomplished - sorta like this:  

"I just tore down our house with my bare hands, rebuilt it with bricks that I made myself from mud and straw, harvested the wheat in my garden, ground it, made lasagna noodles with it, and made homemade lasagna for hubby AND half the neighborhood, then I weeded all the flower beds for a 120 block radius, after I finished my 20 mile run.  Now I'm making sure there is nothing else I need to do BEFORE I sit down to rest my lazy bones."

This just looks like a humble (or not so humble) brag and is BEGGING for the "atta girl, I could never walk in your footsteps" response.

2)  Don't make whiny health posts.

All of us get colds, runny noses, cookie-tossing episodes.  We aren't cold hearted, but we come to our social media to ESCAPE the minor drudgeries of our everyday lives.  So, unless you are dying just skip that part of the post, K?

Now, I realize that some of us are suffering - - - truly suffering - - - with chronic long term conditions for which we desperately hope others will pray.  I'm not talking about that, that's not whiney and is an animal of an entirely different color.

I'm also not talking about telling a medical incident with full on humor - - - those are fun and funny.

OK - - - enough for today.  I may or may not revisit this social media faux pas topic on another day.

You'll thank me later.  ;-)
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One of the VERY BEST things about moving back to my junior high and high school hometown has been getting to see school chums, usually for the first time since we graduated 41 years ago, from time to time.

This time I got to spend some time chatting with Conrad at his parent's 60th wedding anniversary.  Conrad lives in Oregon now.
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I also got to spend some time with his sister, Gretchen, who was a year behind us in school and graduated with Sister Pam.

What a joy!!!
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Somebody around here figured out - first time they saw it - how to use my communication station!!!

No, Fisherhubby is not my Cleaning Fairy, though he has left me ONE message so far.

All his message said was:  Cigars.

Don't ask.  ;-)
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This is Packer country.

Ever since an infamous "Fail Mary" game between the Packers and the Seahawks late last season, the Seahawks are despised.

Well except I don't despise the Seahawks.  

I'm a Russell Wilson, former WI Badger QB, fan - even when he and his boys play the Packers.

So, yes I did wear my Russell Wilson Seahawks jersey out and about on the evening that the Packers met the Seahawks in a preseason game last Friday.

I even made it back home unharmed and unscathed.

I'm happy to announce that Russel and his boys won.

It's only preseason - - - but I'm just sayin' anyway..

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And now - - - the fragmare this way comes!

"Ain't" he a beauty????

I saw him in a little antique/collectibles shop and I truly wanted to bring him home and put him beside Fisherhubby's bed.

Fisherhubby HATES snakes.

But Eloise, whose transportation I was enjoying that day, said she wouldn't let Fragmare in the car, so that was that.

But doesn't he have gorgeous, if evil, amber eyes????
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And that's it for this week's edition of frags.

Please head over to Mrs. 4444's place

To check out more frags.

I can pretty much promise you NONE of

Them will be fragmares - - -

Those other fraggers are nice people.

While you're there, why not join in the fun???

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Sunday at the Red Mill

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Sundays in My City is a chance to cruise around the world investigating all kinds of interesting places without ever leaving the comfort of your own computer.

Come with me today to the Red Mill.
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The Red Mill is a quaint little eatery tucked quietly along a rural stretch of County HH (we do that here in Wisconsin - we name our county roads in a very alphabetical manner) near Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

Aside:  Fisherhubby says he can't drive on nor even find roads like HH because he doesn't know his aa bb cc's.

Now back to the matter at hand:
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I don't know if it's called the Red Mill because it's red or if it is red because it's called the Red Mill.
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Not being one, I didn't park in this spot.

But NEITHER did I advertise the fact - - - not in THIS state anyway.

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This Bucky Badger was guarding the parking lot.

I could park by him as I AM his biggest fan.
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There were all kinds of other sentinels watching the parking lot.
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Most of them were of the bear variety.
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We are up here just south of the Northwoods
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And bears have occasionally been known to make their way down into our vacinity.

Especially THIS kind of bear.
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The yard behind the Red Mill was a quiet, inviting oasis
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Where I found this miniature replica of the Red Mill's namesake.
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There were a variety of inviting dining areas
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Scattered about the Mill
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Both indoors and out.

My dinner was delicious and didn't entirely empty my purse.
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Thanks to Unknown Mami

For hosting Sundays in My City. 

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Friday Metamor"phrag"sis

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Welcome to my Friday Metamor"phrag"sis post.

There are so many phrags metamorphing around in my brain that I just have to share them with you.

In fact, it would appear that this little ole blog is turning into one long metamor"phrag"sis, as phrags appear to be all I'm capable of these days.

So many thanks and shout outs go to Mrs. 4444 who makes this meme available to us each week.  After you finish here, be sure to follow the links over to her place and see what kinds of phrags are metamorphing all over blog land.
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Meet Maxzilla, the Monarch larva (caterpillar for those of you who may or may not recognize the biological term larva) our grandchildren (and their parents) are observing this fall.
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Maxzilla, like all of his (her?) kind is quite an architect.  In a matter of 15 minutes he was able to remodel himself into this beautiful pupa (chrysalis).

I'm especially fascinated by the golden jewels he (she) weaves into the top third of the "building."
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Our "pet" chipmunk, Chippy, who used to live in our back yard has disappeared.  We are pretty sad about it as we did so enjoy watching his (who turned out to actually be a her) antics.

He did, however, leave us a surprise which has sprouted up in our window well.

We are letting his sunflowers grow - just for fun - and to remember him by.
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I had my hair cut and color appointment this week.

There is NOTHING quite like the "make-over" of a new do.
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I just wish THIS part - - - where Tracy is gently arranging my "locks" would last longer.

BTW, Tracy is da bomb.   No lie.
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I have been a BAD Kamma and have passed my poor speller gene on to my grandson Mack.

Oh Mack, how I WISH I would have given you a GOOD speller gene - - - I remember struggling with my own spelling words back in the day.

I also remember while doing my homework shouting out to my parents:  how do you spell _____?   Only to hear them reply:  USE THE DICTIONARY!

And I'm sure it is NO HELP AT ALL to tell you that in just a few short years, after your spelling classes are over, it WON'T MATTER at all if you can spell or not 'cause spell check and google will take care of all that for you.

Sigh.
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SOMEBODY in this family drives a candy apple red Durango AND has covered it with Badger pride.

Then the other day SOMEBODY noticed another vehicle with a BIGGER Badger helmet on it.  True, that vehicle just had the ONE bit of Badger flair, but still SOMEBODY felt passed by.

Hmmmmm - - - SOMEBODY better get on the stick and find a bigger helmet for herself.
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These are my cute little "summer" salt and peppers,
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And these are my cute little flip flop corn on the cob holders.

I NEARLY forgot to put these fun summer ornaments out this year!!!  Fortunately I thought of them in late July and got them out.

Since summer doesn't end until September 21, I can enjoy them for nearly two months.

Whew.
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The three "children" that have joined our family via marriage are gems.  We couldn't have hand selected better spouses for our three married kids.

This is Jason, the first SIL to join our family.  He comes up with little witticisms which his wife, Keri, has dubbed "Jasonisms"

This is one of those.

Funny guy that Jason.
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This evening the Seahawks are playing the Packers at Lambeau Field.

I doubt that I need to remind you that THIS is the Packer state, and nearly everyone here is a RABID Packer fan.

Except for me of course - - - I'm pulling for "my boy" Russell and am proudly wearing my #3 Seahawks jersey all day - - - even when we go out for supper tonight.

If you don't hear from me on this blog again for more than two weeks, you better send a search party out to look for my bludgeoned and bloodied body in some ditch or woods where the Packer Backers will have left me when they are finished with me.

I do kid.

Kinda

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Fisherhubby "tried" to burn our house down this week by turning on the patio light and then forgetting it.

The flammable problem was THERE WAS A ROBIN'S NEST ON TOP OF IT.
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I don't know how many times he had told me "don't turn on the patio light or you'll set the house on fire."

Then HE did it.

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Fortunately my "bloodhound" nose saved us in time that this was all the damage that was done.

First time EVER that Fisherhubby was thankful for my bloodhound nose.
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Marry a Fisherhubby and you too can have THESE in YOUR refrigerator.
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Now please head over to Mrs. 4444's place

To check out more metamor"phrags".

While you're there, why not join in the fun???

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