Gary
6/29/11
Thanks to Amanda for sending in the link to this map, for the benefit of this weekend's out-of-towners. (Bottom line, it indicates that Holdrege Street is closed from 33rd to 48th. As if the flood waters weren't enough....
Karen
6/27/11
We are planning to head over the river at S Sioux City, then take 77 down through Winnebago, Fremont ..... Shouldn't be any problems with water, but everyone else is doing the same so I expect a normally very quiet stretch of road to be much busier.
Sounds like a good plan. See you Sunday! --Gary
Karen
6/27/11
Gary -- thanks for the flood pictures. We've been getting to see a bunch of them too. We had another big storm last night and it added 1 1/2 more inches of rain. We sure don't need any more.
Just finished painting the back entry way. Geez I am getting too old to do that! Very limited space, high ceilings, it just doesn't work well. Told Brent I hope he likes it, because I will never paint it again :) Planning to come to Lincoln on Sunday -- should be everyone -- including Jack. Hopefully the water won't add too much time to the drive.
What route do you plan to take? Someone here in my office just got back from eastern Iowa and she said the drive was not a problem at all -- though they were on I-80 the whole time. According to that Iowa flood map the 680 route to the north of Omaha is still kind of iffy. --Gary
Gary
6/27/11
Good Monday morning, everybody. Some pictures to share today:
And here are the first photos of Martin Freeman in costume as Bilbo on the set of The Hobbit. First a magazine cover, and the three photos on the set. The first shot shows Bilbo reading the contract the dwarves want him to sign before going on the adventure with them. I've gotta read read these books again -- that will give me something to do while waiting for December 14, 2012.... Or maybe a day or two later. When the first Lord of the Rings movie came out on December 19, 2001 (ten years ago?!?), the only people lining up were us already-existing LOTR fans. But when this one comes out, the whole world will be in line. :-)
Gary
6/20/11 He's back! Keith Olbermann returns to the air tonight on Current TV (channel 226 for those of us in Lincoln). He's on at 7 pm just like before, which unfortunately pits him directly against Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC. But I guess that's why they invented TiVo. I see that Olbermann's show will be repeated several times each day so there may be a more convenient time for you to catch it. Olbermann is not just doing his show on Current TV -- he's in charge of their primetime programming, which he says will soon be all news. (For example, it is rumored Olbermann has offered a talk show spot to recently railroaded Congressman Anthony Weiner.) So it should be interesting to watch Current TV develop over the next several months. Remember that MSNBC was kind of a wasteland with very few viewers until Olbermann put them on the map; I fully expect him to have the same effect on Current.
Karen
6/18/11
Marsha -- I sent in the flooding picture -- that is a picture of Interstate 29 between SC and Omaha. Flooding is getting bad around here. Levees are being built around a lot of the buildings in SC near the river. The riverfront is completly under water. There is a good website on Iowa Dept of Transportation -- lots of road conditions and tons of pictures.
Brent and Erika are in Wausa today -- still trying to clean out the house......
The new kitchen is wonderful!! I LOVE IT!! Been cooking a lot.
Grandma
6/16/11
Karen, your new kitchen looks really great! I like the wall color, and the appliance garage, but I didn't see the pantry! Bet the dishwasher is getting lotsa use, as I can imagine you haven't been eating out much lately. What fun to break in a new kitchen. Enjoy!! Thanks for sending the pictures!!
Gary
6/16/11 New photos! Thanks, Karen -- looks great!
Donna
6/16/11
This is a pretty funny...
A minister was completing a temperance sermon. With great emphasis he
said, 'If I had all the beer in the world, I'd take it and pour it
into the river.'
With even greater emphasis he said, 'And if I had
All the wine in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river.'
And then finally, shaking his fist in the air, he
said, 'And if I had all the whiskey in the world,
I'd take it and pour it into the river.'
Sermon complete, he sat down.
The song leader stood very cautiously and announced
with a smile, nearly laughing, 'For our closing song,
let us sing Hymn 365, 'Shall We Gather at the River.'
Donna
6/14/11
Happy birthday Paul!
Karen
6/14/11
Hopefully this is the last day of the kitchen remodel. The sink is finally in and ready to be installed. Somehow the 3 days to order it turned into 8! I was able to get a lot of things put back in the cupboards yesterday and even hung the curtains this weekend. Try to send some pictures once we have a counter. Marsha -- wanted to give you a heads up about your Lincoln trip. A LOT of roads are getting flooded. Jack came to SC this weekend and he had to take two detours and it added about 40 minutes to his 1 1/2 hour drive. The news reporter this morning said "if you don't have to go to Omaha, don't." Still waiting for the major flood to get to SC, but boy is it getting bad. Several of the low-lying areas are beginning to flood and some parts of the hiway are closed as you come into town. Worst of all -- it's expected to stay until mid August.
Grandma
6/13/11
Happy Birthday, Paul!!
The Hatgidakis Family
6/13/11
Happy Birthday Paul!!!!!
Amanda
6/11/11
Huh... I thought it felt warmer on February 24th....Karen
6/7/11
Gary -- that's just what we planned to do :)
Karen
6/7/11
Kitchen is 90% done!! Guys left about an hour ago -- said they did all they could until the sink and counter are in. Able to put things in most of the cabinets. Brent and I will move the stove and fridge back tonight. No more dishwasher and microwave in the livingroom. Should be able to put things away in the dining room (and eat at the table). Still no water, but a huge improvement!
So why not celebrate and order a pizza tonight? :-) --Gary
Gary
6/7/11
News from Middle-earth:
1) The two Hobbit movies now have official titles: The first one (to be released at Christmas of 2012) is The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and the second (Christmas 2013) is The Hobbit: There and Back Again. Attentive readers will recognize both those subtitles as chapter titles in Tolkien's book.
2) You probably already know that Martin Freeman (with whom, I note, I share a birthday) has been cast as Bilbo Baggins. What you probably don't know is that his co-star in the new "Sherlock Holmes" series, Benedict Cumberbatch (Holmes himself), will also appear in The Hobbit -- though in an as-yet unknown role. Cumberbatch's casting was supposed to be a surprise, but Freeman accidentally let it slip in a recent interview.
Anna
6/6/11
My mom & I are coming down July 1-6! We are looking forward to seeing everyone!!!
Excellent! See you in a few weeks! --Gary
Karen
6/6/11
Paint is going on the walls -- think I will like it. Poor guys have been at it all day long -- not a fun job. One more small set back today. Contractor called Brent this morning -- said it may be about 3 days longer. They were putting the sink in the counter and it broke. So they have to order a new sink and it may take awhile. So they will have to do things out of order, but should still be able to keep it going.
Donna
6/6/11
We just got this link at work and as the Omaha office continues to fill sandbags and plans for the worse case scenario, they say this will be our theme song. It should be the theme song for everybody up and down the Missouri right now. Great song...
Karen
6/6/11
Gary -- did you see the report the Palin is standing behind her British comments on Paul Revere -- what an idiot!
Finally getting some progress on the kitchen. #$%@^& drywall guy showed up Saturday around noon -- he did get it all done, but boy did he leave a big mess. Not my job to clean it up so we have been avoiding the kitchen completely. The painters are here now. This is when I get nervous -- did I pick out the right color -- too late now......
Going to be a hot one today -- hope the AC keeps up with it. The river is now at flood stage! People all over are freaking out -- been sandbagging for a week and still not sure if it's going to be enough. Took a look at the river this weekend (in Emily's new car). More water there I've seen the past 20 years, and still lots more to come.
I did see that Palin is defending her comments. Unbelievable. Also, I understand that there has been a flurry of activity on the Paul Revere entry on Wikipedia, as Palin supporters keep going there to edit the entry so it reflects Palin's remark. Other people (i.e., sane people) are keeping tabs on it and have been editing it back to the truth each time, but it's very time-consuming to fight stupidity.... Keep your eye on the floodwaters, and stay out of the kitchen (until the painters are done)! --Gary
Gary
6/3/11
A quick P.S. to my Palin post below. Check these cartoons:
Pied Piper SarahPAC money frisbee dog chasing the busGary
6/3/11
Okay, I've just got to pass this along, even though my philosophy is "the less said about Sarah Palin, the better." You've heard, of course, that she's travelling around the country on a bus, stopping off at any place where there's a crowd and some cameras. The only people following her (apart from the press who will follow any shiny object) are her die-hard fans. The other 67 percent of us, Democrat and Republican alike, wish she would just go away. She and her family are calling this bus tour a vacation, by the way, though if that's the case it is very very illegal as she is using campaign donations to pay for it. (The other day Bristol Palin snapped at a reporter, "You are ruining our vacation!") But of course Palin, like the many Bush-era criminals, won't be prosecuted.
Anyway, she was in Boston recently, and made mention of Paul Revere in these words (verbatim):
"He who warned the, the British that they weren't gonna be takin' away our arms, uh, by ringin' those bells and, um, by makin' sure that as he's ridin' his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that, uh, we were gonna be secure and we were gonna be free ... and we were gonna be armed."
Warning the British? Imagine for a second the reaction if Obama had said those same words... But heck, who needs book-learnin' to be Prezident?
Amanda
6/2/11
Whoops, my link didn't work. It was to the actual one we bought, they must have taken it off the site!
Hmmm, it worked for me when I posted your note and it's working for me now. Anyone else having trouble with it? If so, here's another shot of that model. Also, here's a shot of Emily's Mazda (though I don't know if that's the color). --Gary
Karen
6/2/11
Congratulations on the new car. Emily is pretty excited to pick hers up tomorrow. The lack of a kitchen is killing me. I was prepared for a week (which is what the contractor assured us it would be). Now we are entering into the second week and no way it will be done soon. At best it will be another week. Brent sent a rather heated email to the contractor today -- we'll see if it gets us any results. I decided today to give up trying to cook. It just isn't working -- so from now on more sandwiches and take out :(
Amanda
6/2/11
Karen, I bet that kitchen is KILLING you. I would go nuts! I can't stand disarray.
The Metcalfs are rolling in a new car too. We were looking used, but barely used, just 2-3 years old. Found a Honda I liked, but brand new was just a bit more. So, we've got a 2011 Honda Pilot. We LOVE it! All the same options as the Trailblazer, just a bit smaller, and we lost the DVD player. Girls hadn't watched a DVD in the car in MONTHS & for the amount it raises the price it was not worth it. We had lots of dr. & orthodontist appts today & running errands in it was quite enjoyable. :)
Karen
6/2/11
Thanks for the birthday wishes. Had an OK day. Marsha, thanks for the very pretty necklace and earrings. I needed a long one :) Mom and Donna I got your cards today. I will be using the Caribou card this week (still can't make coffee at home). Mom -- I have lots of things to get for the kitchen -- I will put it to good use -- thanks.
Finally getting some plaster on the walls -- after a full week! Still eating off of paper plates, and out of ideas for dinners in the microwave. Think it will be pizza tomorrow :)
Emily's car is not well -- repair on it will be at least $800 and that "may fix the problem." So we have been shopping -- this morning she and I met Brent at car dealers. Seems this is not the time to buy a good used car. So after test drivng a 2011 Madza 2 she decided to purchase it. It's pretty nice and not much more than a used car -- so tomorrow we will finish the paper work and she can drive it home.
Major flooding all around us. A very upscale neighborhood in Dakota Dunes is just about to flood. The whole city has been scrambling to fill sand bags and move out. We have several St Paul's families that live there -- very big and very expensive homes about to be covered in water. Govenor told them to pack up and don't plan to return for 2-3 months. South Sioux City is also getting hit hard. Sioux City should be OK, although the Riverfront park (Mom, Marsha and Sam this is where I took you -- pavillion, flight 232 monument, musuem) will be flooded. People are in a panic. Brent has been busy at work trying to find alternate places for some of the businesses that need to move to higher ground.
