Price is Right or Deal No Deal?

While spending the past week in Minnesota, I had the chance to watch quite a bit of TV (HD TV I may add). One morning, it may have been Thursday, I tuned in to one of my favorite game shows, The Price is Right, when what to my wondering eyes did appear - a jolly young man in an Armani suit. It wasn't Santa, it wasn't Drew Carey, it was none other than our President, Barack Obama. It struck as an odd coincidence, the Prez speaking to us about the National budget in a time slot usually devoted to giddy, greedy, goofy acting housewives and college students trying to win something they don't really need for nothing. Ironically each prize that's won actually benefits our economy in way of some kind of "now you got it, now pay taxes on it" tax. Barack didn't have a wheel to spin or curtains with unknown stuff behind them or even pretty models with shiny aluminum attache cases, just his mouth and, I assume a teleprompter. I tried to concentrate on what he was saying and, although I won't be expecting any prizes, I guess it pretty much summed up as "The Price WILL be Right!" I don't want to get into anything political here so let's move on to another observation from a week of HD TV viewing.

What the hell happened to Bob? Remember Bob the guy who was the envy of all his neighbors and the idol of all his neighbor's wide eyed wives. Bob who by taking a certain little pill had improved the size of that certain part of the male anatomy. Well, I did did a little research and found out what happened to old smiley. It seems that at a neighborhood cookout one of Bob's many female admirers got her frilly little beach coverup a little to close to the chestnuts roasting on an open fire and lit up like an America's Got Talent contestant. Bob, in his haste to smoother the smoldering suiter, tripped over that certain part of his oversized male anatomy, bonked his head and rendered himself unconscious. Firemen, who were called to the scene, mistakenly grabbed that certain part of Bob's male anatomy and tried to attach it to a nearby hydrant, turned it on and . . . now all parts of Bob's anatomy are scattered over the once lusty neighborhood. So, no more smug smiley face hawking illusions of greater dimensions and giggly, jiggly housewives will have to take their fantasies elsewhere.
At least we all have the assurance of our President that bigger, and better things lay ahead. And, there are plenty of game shows to help provide tax dollars to offset our country's deficit.

I'm not sure which part of this post this photo pertains to.
Take your pick!

Pass the Pepto Please!

Who could ask for more? I'm enjoying a relaxing stay up in the "Twin Cities" while SuperG (Grandma Jo) lends a helping hand to the recent kid havers. Not so little Edith (Edie not to be confused with Eddie) is doing great. So of course there is no end to the constant pampering being applied. (I mean pamper like spoil, not Pamper like diapers. Although she does get involved with a lot of those too) My main job is to stay out of the way so, this trip up, I packed my handy Mini Mac a set up shop in a little corner of the recently remodeled basement. (Right near the bean bag/treadmill) This has enabled me to keep in constant contact with the free (and slightly inexpensive) world as we know it, as well have access to any and all important information like where to find a White Castle in the "Cities" area. As you can see by the photo above, I found one of the two that exist around here and put down a hardy (and I may say, healthy) sack of "sliders" for lunch yesterday. Among the other "Wonders" of the "Cities" I uncovered a good old fashioned, eat until you die, bakery up here. I had gotten a tip that such a place existed not too far away. Armed with a pocket full of cash and a keen nose for the scent of a biscuit, I set out for Shangri-La. What I found was El Dorado . Felt like Indiana Jones as he first cast eyes on the "The Lost City'. There it was, display case after display case filled with mouth watering delights. A case just filled with cookies, one with donut type goodies, one with sweet rolls, muffins and various Danishes, another showed off decorated cakes and still another overflowed with french pastries. The walls are lined with shelves of fresh baked breads of all sorts. Like so many little sirens on a rocky shoreline they all called out my name, clawing at the glass begging me to, "take me home with you!". Right about there my head started to spin. I felt like Alice in Wonderland or Dorothy in Oz. When I recovered my bearings, I realized that a young lady behind the counter was not the "Good Witch of the North" but a powered sugar dusted salesgirl asking if she could help me. Without a sensible thought in my head, feverishly pointing to ahd fro (maybe even fro and fro) I blurted out, "two of those, three of those, a couple of those sugary ones and some cherry things" The next thing I knew I was back at Summer's house. Jo was applying a cold cloth to my forhead and Sammy the friendly Daschund was licking my hand. It wasn't a dream there really were a bag and a box of assorted goodies on the kitchen counter. Those wonderful tidbits are long gone but the sweet taste lingers on. I would have pictures but I have nothing left but memories, a few crumbs and a quite a few extra pounds. I have made another trip to the bakery but with a more sensible approach. (Only one small bag and one small box of treats) I have a bunch of photos of other parts of our visit and I'd love to post them but first - "I NEED A NAP!" Tomorrow I'm off to take in a Twins game and to sample the Target Field fare. I'll report back on Friday.

I can't close out without a least one picture of the newest Grandkid, Edie.

Just About Too Much!!!

This blog is definitely about "Too Much". Part of the reason for so much dead time between postings is that so much has been going on that I haven't had the courage to select just one thing to write about. We've had births and birthdays, graduations and congratulations, grand kids and Grandkids, sport's moments and moments in sports. So, in no particular order, I'll try to briefly recap a few of the recent highlights. Starting with the biggest news this week. On Wednesday, June twenty ninth, Jo and I hit the road once more to get Up Nord in time to be on hand when the newest Grandkid dropped into our lives. Not wishing to disappoint Grandma Jo, Edith Ann (Edie) arrived Thursday night at around 10 o'clock. No lightweight, she weighed in at 9 pounds 10 ounces and stands at 1 foot 10 inches. In typical fashion, she eats, sleeps and poops. I guess that's a sign of that everything's working okay. Big Brother Eddie seems to accept little sister Edie as a permanent figure around the house. Little does he know what's in store for him. For real details and numerous photos, Mommy Summer and Grandma Jo will be happy to provide enough to satisfy any interest. Here are a couple of my favorites -

Eddie meets Edie.

Grandma Jo wastes no time explaining
the fine points of the "Granny Code".

Wow! Kids nowadays learn sign language at really early age.
She could already pass her driver's test.

On other news fronts we had Grandkid, Elizabeth graduate from the University of Chicago, Catherine from Prospect High and "West Coast Roy" the San Jose longboard expert will be heading to high school next year. Elizabeth is pursuing continuing education at Chicago while sister Catherine takes her musical (and social) talents to Saint Louis University in ....St. Louis. (you know it's right across the street front Wash U.) The West coast Blumes Rey, Mina and Roy continue to wow thousands with their musical prowess. Rey on trumpet attends U of California at Berkley, Mina, on Trombone, has traded her soccer cleats for whatever you wear to play Lacrosse and Roy reels off saxophone riffs while reeling off some hot longboard moves. (I'm told that a longboard is a, dah, long skateboard) Rounding off the Grandkid news, Saffron is hoping to enter either Yale or Harvard this fall. (I don't think she will meet the height requirement) In the meantime she's extremely busy teaching little brother Sebastian how to wrap Grandma around your finger. And, Veronica (Jr.) and Harrison are being Jr. and Harrison down in Arkansas. I've been told that this is the end of the line as far as Grandkids go. A nice round number of ten with an equal number of boys and girls. Great Grandkids anyone?
Now the "Rest of the Story" or maybe a story of rest.

What a great idea. A treadmill with a built in beanbag.
This is really a deluxe model complete with built in speakers for your ipod, a fan for cooling and even a little time keeper so you don't over exercise

In the sporting arena, been to a couple of Cub's games and have absolutely nothing to say about that. On the other hand, I have returned to my old friend, Golf. Not nearly as friendly as I remembered. Seems like the course is longer, harder and has larger bunkers and smaller greens. I tried to use my age and health as an excuse but even with new meds and my youthful mind (second or third childhood???) my head comes up my shoulder drops down and my back snaps crackles and pops. The only part of the game that hasn't completely deteriorated is cart driving. There's a good possibility that you won't read much about the Cubs and my golf game any time soon unless stranding 50 or 60 men on base or shooting seventeen on a hole is considered newsworthy.