G’Day everyone, Dutch here! Welcome to my little place in the Universe! Got lots accomplished this morning, taking a long lunch break and going to do a short blog…. starting to slow down for the rest of the afternoon so letting Andre Rieu furnish the start and end for the music…

Sooooooooooo put your troubles aside, pull up a chair and visit a spell…….

With a number of activities going on and reporting the weather was a bit busy the last few days…. this video so give you some idea of what it was like….

I guess some of my friends over in the UK had experience a earthquake, around a 5. something, yesterday or day before.. I think they are a lot like here in Central USA, something that is uncommon although we live in a fault line, called the New Madrid and do have tremors (unfelt) from time to time … I remember a couple of occasion of having some tremors, but they were relatively minor, just a vibration mainly….

But the first time I encountered a good building shaker was when I was in the USMC and stationed in San Diego, Calif….. I was going to communications school at the time… of course, the first thing they told us when we arrived there was if a earthquake should happen, try to get out of the building as rapidly as possible to avoid falling debris and the like… Well, we were going on lunch break during a session in July and I decided to stop by the Men’s Restroom before going to the mess hall to get some food….. the Men’s room was on the second floor...I set down to contemplate my future in the Marine Corps among other things, when I felt the building start to vibrate, then start to shake and I could hear and FEEL the water sloshing around in the toilet bowl I was sitting on…. Well, because this is a family blog site, I’m not going to elaborate on the chain of events of me trying to get out of the building that followed the meeting of this ole country boy from the prairies of Illinois and a 4.4 magnitude California quake in the 2nd floor Men’s room of Marine Barracks 203C … I will leave that to your imagination.. enjoy… I know the folks that lived there did….

In spite of the weather going to start the seeds of my tomato plants this weekend…..

should plant them about 8 weeks before setting them out… these are heirloom plant seeds and you can’t purchase them.. You have to know someone like me who saves the seeds.. Will start green peppers a little later… green beans, cucumbers and onion sets I’ll start from seed outdoors… didn’t have very much luck trying to start them indoors and transplanting them...… but we’re getting ready for spring no matter what… from the sounds of the weather it could come in like a lion….

Going to have chili and hot dogs for supper again, just sounds good on a day like today, cloudy, flurries, cold… got a gumbo of sorts that I came up with for my lunches.. Kathy is not too keen on them so I played around with different recipes, mixed and matched and came up with this one that isn’t too bad, at least for me, and if you interested I’m posting it and if you wish to tweak it to your satisfaction, give it a go…. it makes enough for 2 people, maybe 3, depending on how hungry one is...enjoy…..

Well, better scoot, need to get the chili started and finish up the day, sooooooooooooooooooo everyone have a smilin’ gooooooooooooooood day full of Peace Love and Happiness and I’ll see you next time if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creeks don’t rise…..

G'day everyone, Dutch here!.. Welcome to my little place in the Universe! Story today is about the weather again and because of it I may not be in here a lot for the next 24-48 hours or so... being a observer in the summer is lot easier...but before I start I'll let "Gentleman Jim Reeves" properly welcome you...

Sooooooooooooooooo, put you troubles aside, pull up a chair and visit a spell...

Ok, now about the weather... again I'm posting this for all you folks, especially those that might live in or may passing through...and keep in mind this can change at any time so keep an eye on things as the next 24-48 hours progress... here is a color graphic put out by the NWS Lincoln, Illinois...

and here is the National map.. you see in the first one the limited amount of snowfall... forecasting 1-4 inches here depending on where you live..

Now you ask, why so little snow....... well, the following National map will tell the tale..ICE...

it shows the probabilities of ice accumulation of .25 inches or more... it is suppose to start out snow here, then change to a sleet/freezing rain mixture and back to snow tomorrow... south of here will probably get more sleet/ice than snow... this should give you a brief idea of the weather today and tomorrow and, like I said, may not be in here much...

Enough of the Dark Side... I heard that phrase before somewhere

Going to have homemade potato soup and ham salad on toast sandwiches for supper tonight... here is my recipe for the ham salad if your interested...

you can use whatever meat you wish to grind up... and there is only ooooooooooooooooone proper way to grind the meat and eggs....

these new fangled electric ones just don't make quality ham salad.. ....... Well , I had better scoot, the weather curtain should be going up soon and will be turning in reports to the NWS as to what is happening so they can update the public, you folks.. Sooooooooooooo everyone have a smilin' goooooooooooooooood day full of Peace Love and Happiness .... and I'll see you next time if the good Lord's willing and the creeks don't rise...

Am I gonna let the weather get the best of me.... Nope!!!!

G'day everyone, Dutch here! Welcome to my little place in the Universe! Thought I had better pop in and do a short blog here so everyone would know I'm still around... getting tired of winter and thinking spring so having Jimmey Buffet start the show and Alan Jackson and Jimmy end it....

Sooooooooooooo put your troubles aside, pull up a chair and visit a spell.....

Been a pretty active, busy is for those who go by the time clock , few days here with weather and all.... had some electrical issues to deal with, nothing serious, just had to do some replacing and do some reworking of the outside later in the spring... got gardening items this weekend and will be starting my tomato seeds end of this month... for those that are not aware I grow heirloom tomatoes and save my seeds... you can't start hybrids from seeds and have them reproduce which most purchased plants are... also save peppers, the rest are purchased..

Have been asked on occasion about Jack Russell terriers... should one have one or not... well, I'm no means an expert on them, just the two we have... here is a video of them this winter when we had the big snow....

Now Miss Daisy is the oldest and laid back of the two.... we affectionally call her "Couch Tater"... she is an active dog, don't get me wrong, but she would rather lay on the porch and watch the big dogs run as versus running with them.... here is a picture of her telling me she needs to go for a walk...

I was setting at the pc and she walked up to me and started barking and she will keep it up until she gets her way or something interrupts her train of thought... can't complain because we taught her that but sometimes the timing can be bad....

Bree on the other hand is the most active of the two.... everyday is a new adventure and on the go all the time.... here she is with her most favorite activity chasing the light....

and here she is standing by the dining room table where I had set the flashlight...

she knows it's there and will bark on occasion when she's ready to chase the light... the rest of the time she is chasing everything else... if it moves it's far game....and below is not good...

Two Jack Russell's with cabin fever and toooooooooooooooo much time on their paws.... this is not going to last long... So back to the question; raising those little dogs can be compared to raising children... if you don't wish to raise or deal with children you probably won't want a Jack Russell... they are very intelligent, loyal, active, afraid of nothing and if confronted in a hostile or threatening manner will defend, not prone to backing down... they are also a very sensitive little dog.. when the football playoffs where happening we would get to cheering etc. especially Kathy and those two little dogs got very upset... of course they didn't know we were watching sports and not yelling at each other so I went into a seperate room and all was well because then they knew... so that's some of being a Jack Russell..

Better scoot, have things to do.... gonna have homemade Hearty Chicken Noodle soup for supper..... sooooooooooooo everyone have a smilin' goooooooooooood day full of Peace Love and Happiness and I'll see ya next time if the good Lord's willing and the creeks don't rise..

Ok Alan, take us out of here...

G'day everyone, Dutch here! Welcome to my little place in the Universe! Thought I would pop in and do a short blog here to give everyone one more Valentines Day wish before the big day...

A question was brought up on another site "if you remember your first love"... and looking through some old photos, I did think back to my "first love", or thought it was...

I was nine years old and she was eight, had brown hair in pigtails as I recal...a country girl like I was a country boy... and in a one room country school (circa 1952) I made her a Valentines day card during class out of craft paper and crayons..I gave it to her and she giggled and ran off with it... never did say what she did with it...we went our seperate ways to different schools after the end of the school year...never seen her or the card again.....

Thinking about my standard grilled steak and shrimp, with some type of potato for supper, maybe with a salad or maybe just order a pizza, whooooooooooooooooo knows........ we have Valentines Day everyday of the year around here...and yes, guys, I do the little things everyday, I don't rush out at the last minute and buy a dozen half dead roses, a picked over card and a toaster for a Valentines Day present.....

You don't believe me take a little hint from Kenny Rogers....

Well gotta scoot, and finish up the day.... sooooooooooo everyone have a smilin' gooooooooooooooooood day full of Peace Love and Happiness and I'll see you next time if the good Lord's willin' and the creeks don't rise...

One last thing, gentlemen, give your lady a single rose like you meant it, turn the lights down a little, take the lady gently in your arms , and slooooooooooooooooooooow dance to this oldie... Kathy and I danced to this one on many a occasion...

There's five Don Williams songs on here, just click the first one and it will automatically play the rest..Enjoy.... value='http://www.youtube.com/cp/vjVQa1PpcFPDXl0r_3cYIaiFi70N6awIZkvmPY9J99g='>