project two down

I actually scratched something off my list today!

     That makes three long term fall goals I have accomplished.
     I actually feel pretty good about myself.  I hope I can continue the trend.
     Two of my next projects are time consuming:  washing the windows inside and out, and washing and waxing the cars.  They are a mess....windows and cars.
     If this keeps up, I may be done with my list.
     Anyway, I have news I want to share but I can't.  Not yet.
     And it's good news.  At least for me.
     When the time comes, you will know.
     Until then.....time for a little early sleep.
     Peace out, dudes and dudettes!

a word from our sponsor

You should buy a calendar from me

     These are the Rotary daily cash give-a-way calendars and you should be one, or two, from me.
Why?
     Thought you would never ask.
     The top ten reasons to buy a calendar from me, Terry Dickow:
10.     There are great pictures of people doing stuff.  You might even know some of the people.  I do, but I can't remember their names.
9.       You can send it to a child in college.  Maybe you have a daughter at SIU, or some other institution of higher knowledge.  You can send them a calendar and when they win, they will get unexpected beer, I mean book, money.
8.     They make great gifts for teachers.  The teacher can cross of the Mondays and keep track of how many (Dede?) Mondays are left in the school year.
7.     You can write down appointments.  I use it for all my appointments.  You do have to look at it once in a while because if you don't, you'll miss one.  You can write down when you have things to do that can't be avoided....like colonoscopies.
6.      People looking for a house or selling a house can have a visual reminder of when major holidays come.  Real estate agents and brokers (Todd??) can give them to clients in appreciation for their listings.  Their clients will appreciate the thoughtfulness of their realtor.

5.       You can surprise a total stranger by finding their name in the phone book, buying a calendar, and writing their name on the entry slip.  They will be surprised, and slightly confused, when they win money and get a check for $25, or even $1000!
4.     Buy one for an elderly resident so they can keep track of their grand children's birthdays.  Calendars are especially  valuable to senior citizens.  Cubs' manager Joe Maddon said he was 61 and noticed life was like a roll of toilet paper......it goes a lot faster near the end.  Buy a senior one now before it is too late.  And I mean before Jan. 1.
3     You can buy it for a neighbor whom you may have kept awake by yelling, "Cubs Win" when they take the NL Championship and eventually win the World Series by sweeping Toronto.
2.     You can win money.  $25, $250.$1,000 every day of the year.  And for 2016,  as a special offer, we are giving you a day free!
1.     You are supporting local groups and charities.  Folks, you know times are tough for agencies dependent on government funds.  About $18,000 in calendar sales money goes to groups that serve the under served, ignored, mistreated, and shattered humans in our communities.  The Food Pantry.  Safe Passage.  Rochelle Child Care Center.  CASA (this helps children and their dealings with the courts in abuse cases).  Focus House.  Rochelle Foundation.  Shining Star (helps youngsters dealing with sexual abuse).  Hub City Senior Center.
     Calendar sales are the Rochelle Rotary Club's way to get these agencies some extra dollars in tough times.
     And you benefit too.  Coupons for food specials at Flight Deck, Abraham's, Yoshino, Tecalitlan, and Alfano's  could pay for the cost of the calendar.  And if you are a gardener, there is a coupon for 25 per cent off your total purchase at Hidden Timber Gardens, and 30 per cent off your purchase at Merlin's Flowers in Oregon.  Great deals for gardeners!  Cypress House has a coupon for 20 per cent off a purchase!
     So, contact me.    I have calendars.  I will deliver them to you.
     Yes, they are $20 each.  And to be honest, I have not won in three years.
     But every day I know there is a chance I can win and I know I an helping to do good for our community.
     Actually, I guess I am  winner!.
     You can be too.....let me know.

yikes......need some control

I went grocery shopping today....buy myself

     Don't get your shorts in a knot....the buy above was on purpose.
     Yes, Jackie gave me a list.
     Yes, I had two stops to make.
     Yes, I am shopping for three.
     The Target experience was ok.  I spent a little more than I thought I would, but they had mega rolls of Charmin extra strong on sale.  So I bought a pack for $16.99.  To be honest, I have no idea whether that was a good buy or not.  TP comes in regular, double roll, family roll, mega roll and the new mega roll plus, which doubles as a spare tire if you get a flat on the way home.
     I don't know if TP wall holders will even handle the mega plus.
     I like the mega rolls because you don't run out as often and they use less materials because you cut down on rollers.
     And I have tried to take the square inches of the various offerings and determine which is the best buy.  Have tried being the key words.  Without a calculator it is almost impossible.
     Of course, I could use the calculator function on the phone, which I just realized.....oh well.
     And I bought some stuff for our newest family member:  container for food, small leash, training treats, a second container for food.  (It's a dog, in case you missed the news.)
     Then I went to the Iowa based grocery store that has the super friendly people over near the custard shop.
     (Hey, if they want me to use their names, they can pay me to advertise.)
     A brand of soup I like was on sale for 99 cents a can!  An incredible price!!
     A woman of what appeared to be Asian ancestry was working in the store, restocking soup.  I was picking up a few cans and she asked me if the price was a bargain.  She added she had no idea about prices "here".
     I told her yes, it was less than half of what it normally sells for.  She said yesterday and today the soup was flying off the shelves.
     In my case it was literally flying off the shelves.
     I picked up a chicken with dumplings and the can sailed out of my hand and landed on the floor, splitting open and spilling soup.
     I apologized and she said not to worry about it and went off to get a bucket.
     I really need to make soup.  That is my favorite winter lunch...a bowl of soup.
     I have 12 cans, but that is barely two weeks worth.
     That's when I saw the mega rolls of Charmin extra strong for only $15!  So I bought another package.
     I now have packages containing 86 mega rolls in the basement, and another 20 spread out in the bathrooms upstairs.
     Seeing as I just scheduled a colonoscopy, that might be enough.

what have we done?

We got Jackie's dog today

     Corki is a little cutie.  Black and white with adorable eyes, she is five years old and weighs about 17 pounds.
     And she humps everything in sight!
    At least she tries to.  We are getting really good at going  "ah, ah, ah" or however you spell that sound made with a high nasal twang.
     So far she has tried my leg, Jackie's leg, John's leg, my leg, (again), my back, my leg (again!) and about five minutes ago, her dog bed.
     Our little girl is a ho!  (Words a father never thought he would say.)
     And the command sit is a little weak.  Or it might be a coincidence.  We will have to work on that.
     She does bark when she wants to go out or when someone comes in the house.  We found that out when Emily and John came in the back door, walked into the great room and said hi to everyone.  It was about then Corki noticed new people, and promptly tried to hump them.
     In a big way I am glad Emily's dogs don't do that.  A 123 pound Great Dane that wants to love up my leg would probably accomplish it because I would not be strong enough to push him off.
     We have collected or bought several items.
     Corkie now has 3 dog beds, small tennis balls, a retractable leash, a crate, treats, food, toys, water and food bowls, a mat for the bowls, a brush and who knows what else.
     One problem I have is I am not used to her being around, so I have almost stepped on her a couple of times.  She was lying on the floor and I forgot she was there.
     That would be impossible to do with a Great Dane.
     She is about to undergo her first night in the Dickow household.
     I hope it is a good one.... I need the sleep.
     Perhaps in my sleep I can ponder the age old question:  Can a barking dog wake me from a deep sleep and allow me to go back to sleep once we return from the out of doors because I will think every bark is a "let me out I gotta pee" type bark.
    Time will tell.

Jackie and Corki

I may have a twin

Please ease up on the crybaby jokes

    Cong. John Boehner is quitting Congress at the end of October.
    He is currently Speaker of the House.  But he is also a little emotional.
    Cong. Boehner has been shown on tv crying several times.
    I get it.  He is emotional.
    But that is not a bad thing....is it?
    I was cleaning in my garage the other day, actually going through pictures my mother had that ended up in Emily's basement.
    All of a sudden, I started bawling.  Looking at all those aunts and uncles who are now dead just brought me to tears.  I can't help it.
    Tossing out something one of the girls made?  Tears.
    Saying goodbye to Emily at the airport?  Tears.
    Saying goodbye to Julia at the airport? Tears.
    Watching Casablanca?  Tears.
    Watching the Cubs bullpen blow a lead?  Tears.
    Hearing the Gospel on Good Friday?  Tears.
    Seeing a friend in pain and not being able to help?  Tears.
    Reading Where the Red Fern Grows"  Tears
    I'm at an age when it doesn't matter what people think.  And to prove that, Bethie, I actually went to the store wearing shorts and black socks!!
     Ok, I didn't do it on purpose.   I changed into shorts and forgot, but I was still wearing black socks.  But it still counts as daring do.
    So when I read about people deriding Boehner because of his tears, I tear up myself.  It's not fair to be considered weak at the drop of a tear.
    After all, if you want to criticize the man, criticize the morass the House of Representatives has become, the 60+ attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the constant denial of global warming and women's reproductive rights, the unbalanced budget and the inability to actually stand up and say, "Excuse me...he is not a Muslim born in Kenya" to all the idiots who still believe that!
    Come to think of it, maybe that's why Boehner does cry all the time....and why I shed a tear or two thinking about our country's future.

stuff, stuff and more stuff

I worked on my garage for a few hours today

     It is a mess.  It was not neat before the tornado, and is much worse now.
     I found a folder from a journalism class I took at NIU.  This was a 300 level class, and I got a C in the class.
     I did not deserve it.
     Funny, I was just telling this story the other day.
    And maybe I already told it .... but it's late, and I don't feel like checking.
     I was on academic probation for something like seven semesters at NIU.  I flunked a five hour math class my first semester, and never quite recovered.  I even managed a D or two along the way in early morning classes that I rarely attended.
     Throw in all the classes I didn't care about and it was apparent I was not a great student.
     When I started taking classes in my major that all changed.  I was a journalism major and I loved the classes, loved the peers, loved the instructors.   Except one.  The guy who gave me a C.
     Now a C might not seem like a bad thing, but it resulted in a letter from the university telling me I was not invited back for my senior year because I did not maintain a 2.0 for that semester.
(Long story.  Alcohol was involved.)
     I went into this instructor's office and asked why I received a C.
     "Your tests must not have been good." was the smug reply.
    I pulled out all my tests.  Nothing lower than a B.
     "Well, your written assignments must not have been good."
     I pulled out all the assignments....every single one....and gave them to him.  One C, the rest were either B or better, but mostly B.
     "Well," he stammered.  "You must have been absent more than 3 times."
     I asked him to please check the attendance book.  He did.  I wasn't.  One of the few classes I actually attended regularly.
     When he was done I repeated my question;  Why did I get a C?
     "Humph," he said.  "My grad assistant did the grades and he must have made a mistake."
     I looked at him, as controlled as I could be, and said. "I don't give a shit who made the mistake.  It needs to be fixed now or I am out of the university."
     He recomputed everything and within a week my C was a B, which it should have been, and I was back for my final three semesters at NIU.
     So there I was, sitting in my garage today, holding the folder with the grades of my assignments.  I don't have the tests, but I have the assignment list and the hand written, by the prof, grades.  I even have a couple of the assignments.
     For some reason, I just can't throw that folder out.

ait's getting closer

I made some pretty accurate predictions last January

     And no, they were not tongue in cheek.
     I predicted the Cubs and Sox would meet in the World Series.
     I also predicted the Cubs would make the playoffs.
     The time is almost here.
     A magic number of 3 means the Cubs need three wins, or three losses by the Giants, or a combination of them, to make the one and done game with Pittsburgh.
     And I believe they will beat Pittsburgh in a one game playoff.
     After that, I get a little concerned.  After the last two weeks, I think they could beat the Cards and the Mets....but I am not sure about the Dodgers.  They seem to be peaking and they may have the better overall pitching.
     Anyway, the Sox just seemed to fizzle.  I thought they had a pretty good team, but teams on paper don't count for diddly.
     It's an exciting time to be a Cub fan.  I have been to 7 games this season, with a 2-5 mark, and hope to catch a couple of more games before the gales of November come early.
     As Mr. C says, "Go Cubs!  Go."
     I also predicted the Hawks would win the Cup.  They did.
    But the Bulls fell flat in the playoffs and it looks like the Bears went into hibernation early this year.  When was the last time they started 0-3?
     I had hoped to see a pennant in my lifetime......so get the kids exposed to winning this year, add a third quality starter, and win it all in 2016!
     A World Series in Chicago?  It is going to happen, this year or next.