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Good morning!!!

Good Morning from a chilly Clearwater. Please, if you can, take the opportunity to help the needs of Still Waters. (See yesterday's comments on What's UP.) Have a wonderful day and Yooper, I missed your clip yesterday.

Good Morning from frosty New Hampshire!!

from yesterday's Whats UP, look on my message--Mary gave Still Waters snail address for assistance.

Morning from Lapeer. we are having a warming trend. it is 25 degrees this morn.

hey hi everyone is the walleye biting on gratiot lake yet. Thinking about heading up to gay

Don't know about the walleye, but the ice is not too bad on the big lake yet. Here's a shot of Bete Gris beach a couple weeks ago with Mt Houghton in the background. Looks almost as nice in the winter as it does in the summer....

Good morning everyone....the sun is shining here, and it is just beautiful here in Indiana, with the clear blue skies. :)

The weatherman is predicting a heat wave of 30 degrees here today....noooooooo...I don't want all the beautiful snow to melt.

I think I found what I want hubby to get me for Christmas already (it's never to early to drop hints with a man, eh). Hubby and I were outside shoeveling snow, while everyone on the block reving up their snow blowers (I don't like those things...they're too loud). One of our neighbor pulled into his driveway with his new toy attached to the front of his truck...a snow plow. It was a beauty.

I told hubby he could get me a snow plow to attach to the front of my truck, that way when we move up to the UP, I can just plow my way into town. I will be the envy of all the guys in town, eh. :)

Still Waters
26096 Elm Street
Calumet, Michigan 49913

:)

This blast from the past certainly took me back. If memory serves me right, (and it doesn't always), this photo was taken at the entrance to the falls in Munising. I used to make a yearly winter pilgrimage to see the falls turned to a pillar of ice, with water still rapidly dropping through the middle. The other winter excusion was always to the ice caverns in Eben. Now I've been stuck in the lower for the past 4 years, and have yet to start any "winter traditions"

Da Christmas Tree

I know, it's da middle of January and prit near da end of January...so what is da Christmas tree still doing up in da middle of my living room you ask?

Well, plans were for da Christmas tree to come down, da second weekend of January. But hubby came home from the road, and he says to me, "yah know, I'm just too darn tired from all da working I've been doing all week, to mess with da tree. Besides, da tree is still looking pretty good...it will last anudder week, eh."

Okay, so it's a beautiful Christmas tree...but it has to come down. So hubby left to do his truck driving thing on Monday...and was due back on Wednesday. Anywho, I got to thinking, and I thought to myself, hubby will be home da day before trash day....so why don't I take all da ornaments and lights off da tree, and all hubby has to do when he gets home is take da tree for a one way walk to da trash pile.

All day Wedneday, I worked at removing all da ornaments and da lights from da tree...and by da time hubby came home from da road, there were only a few strands of lights left on da tree. I was really proud of myself...cuz I have a lot of ornaments from all my trips to Frankenmuth...and it takes a long time to remove dem from da tree.

Hubby walks in da door from da road, and he sees that da Christmas tree is almost bare. I shout down to him in the foyer, "keep your boots on, cuz as soon as I remove da last strings of lights, you can take da Christmas tree". Well hubby says to me, "I been on da road for two days, I don't wanna take da tree out tonight...it will have to wait until Saturday. Besides, da tree don't look dat bad...it will last".

So now I have this ten foot, bare Christmas tree sitting in my living room...and I have to look at it for anudder week...cuz I know dat hubby is not going to take it out on da weekend...cuz I know my hubby. And da tree is too big for me to carry out by myself...so I am stuck with da bare Christmas tree in my living room.

"I ain't staring at a bare Christmas tree for another week!" I shout to my hubby.

My hubby walks up da foyer stairs...still wearing his muddy boots, walks into da living room and plugs in da last remaining lights on da Christmas tree and stands back to admire da bare tree with a few twinkling red lights. Yah would have thought it was a masterpeice, by his reaction. I thought it was pathetic.

"But it has no ornaments," I reminded hubby, who was still staring in admiration of da bare tree with it's few strands of red lights, "and I just packed away all da ornaments...I'm not unpacking dem or redecorating da tree."

Hubby turned and looked at me and gave me one of those grins...like he has just thought of some wonderful idea. These moment can be scarey for me, because you just never know with my hubby what kind of crazy ideas he will come up with. Hubby disapeared into da family room, and came back into da living room with a handful of ornaments, that he had obviously taken from da artifical Christmas tree (and dat's another thing...he still has to take dat tree down too...when he ain't too tired from his work on da road).

I says to my hubby, "I am not redecorating da Christmas tree...da neighbors will think we are crazy. Take the darn thing out to da rubish pile...NOW!"

Next thing I know, hubby is closing da curtains on da bay window dat faces da street and dimming da lights...obviously so none of da neighbors will see how crazy he is to be decorating da Christmas tree for da second time...and at da end of January.

I could not resist. I walked over to da CD player and put a Christmas CD on, as hubby redecorated da Christmas tree.

This weekend, when hubby came home from da road, I asked him, "so are you gonna take da Christmas tree down, like you promised?"

He launched into some story about a snow storm he had driven hundreds of miles through and how tired he was. Da little sissy. So now I am stuck with da pathetic looking Christmas tree in da middle of my living room for anudder week...and today, I caught myself watering da Christmas tree...at da end of January.

A FAVORITE SPOT FOR MOST OF US. THANKS

Sur5er, I really chuckled at Da Christmas Tree story. Reminded me of one of my co-workers. Doesn't take down Da Christmas Tree until after Superbowl Sunday. I guess da one comes down in February this year.

Great picture Dave, you're getting really good with that camera.

Real Christmas trees are a big fire hazard. They should be taken down as soon as possible. Years ago I threw my real tree on a bon fire. It exploded like a bomb. If it caught fire in the house, the house would have burned to the ground. Only imitation trees for me since then.

Joeyooper, Thanks for the concern. We cut down our own Christmas tree each year...so it is still taking water, and very few needles have fallen from it. And speaking of bon fires, that is what I suggested to my hubby that we do with our Christmas tree this past weekend.

You have to be so careful with real tress...especially if you buy them from a lot. I remember my first year on road patrol and sitting in a squad car on the expressway and seeing semis hauling loads of Christmas trees down south from Canada and the UP...in September! Yikes, definately dried out by the time they are purchased in November or December, eh.

Deb, glad I am not the only one with a Christmas tree up, this late in the year...it's a bit embarrassing ;)

sur5er:
Throw that tree on a bon fire. You might have a different opinion.

Joeyooper, Why do I have a feeling that I am going to be lighting up the entire neighborhood when I throw that tree on the fire? Woooooooosh! :)

I could not have said it better myself.
Wooooooooosh!

Charlie,

Thanks. Sorry to see you get up as early as I
do!

Charlie, do you have any updated photos of the folks at Still Waters? I like to visit the site and watch them make the pasties. Do they all still help out in the kitchen? How many potatoes to they peel in a day/week?

sur5er, Indiana: There have been years my tree(artifical)was up until the end of Feb. Since I live in town the day after it snows the snow is all dirty and having the tree up helps me get through that time. Didn't do it this year since I went to Canada with our boys basketball team the 13th of Jan. Now I'm home with strep---the doctor was very sweet when I was there yesterday said people my age don't usually get strep. I told him it was from hanging around all those teenagers at work.

If you have a long unprotected driveway 500 ft like we had you could use all the christmas trees you can find to line the north or west side of your drive ... free snowfence !!!

Charlotte, Take care of yourself with that strep throat...I had it once, and let me tell you, it kicked my butt. I will never forget that burning feeling each time I breathed in.

I had been working with some domestic violence victims at the shelter one night, and they made me dinner. Within a week, I came down with a case of sinusitus,bronchitis, and strep throat...all at the same time. I later found out that someone at the dv shelter thought they would save money by washing dishes in cold water...instead using the dish washer or hot water. Anywho, I felt like a human germ for awhile...and looked pretty pathetic.

Great idea about keeping an artifical tree up for a few months....they definately are cheery, eh. When I was packing up all my Christmas decorations and ornaments, last week, I thought it was such a shame that they have to be packed away the majority of the year.