Bucko

10:28:52 PM EDT

Wow – what a great four days we had.  As we mentioned previously, Beth and I headed to Springfield, Missouri for Mother’s Day with my Mom. 

 

We hit the road at about 8:00 AM on Friday morning, leaving the laptops at home :o)  Can’t say that I did not have to bring a little bit of “work” with me, but I was able to get it done Sunday morning (our main Mother’s Day was with my Step-Sister and her family on Saturday evening, so no comments about working on Mother’s Day).  We were watching Ratatouille (very cute and enjoyable), and then some old Western’s, which we only watch when we visit my Mom and Step-Dad, which is perfect for a “lazy” day.

 

But I have thing out of order...  So back to the drive on Friday, we had 585 miles to go, ½ a pack of gum, our Shades, and some Tea and Coffee.  We got my I-Zoom out of the glove-box to ensure a near seamless transition through the Toll-Booths (this is a new experience for us here Indiana), and ventured onto the Toll-Road. 

 

Beth had done some research for her “controlled” Obsession regarding Route 66, and we had a stop to make near Rolla, Mo.  But that was approximately 2/3 of the way there, and we experienced many miles of neck-craning looks at the old Route 66 that is adjacent to the Illinois Hwy 55 and Missouri Hwy 44, from Chicago to Springfield (Mo) respectively.  We spent about 30 minutes at John’s Modern Cabins, and then resumed our journey to my Mom’s. 

 

We arrived after 10 ½ hours on the road, including the 30 minutes at the cabins and a Steak & Shake lunch stop.  Needless to say, we received a warm welcome. 

 

Saturday was a lazy morning to start with coffee and the paper, and then I headed out for a 90 minute jog through greater Springfield, got cleaned up, and headed to my Step-Sister’s for some ham (both pork and human :o), turkey, homemade potato salad, and great family fun.  My niece was there with her daughter, who is a splitting image of her mother.  My family has taken Beth in as one of their own, just like her family has done with me – what a wonderful and lasting gift.

 

Sunday morning was spent again lazing around the house, with coffee, the paper, Tim Russert, and some great discussions on the upcoming elections.  Breakfast consisted of some brownies (Yum!) and then a little later, a snack of Ruffles With Ridges and some Southwestern Dip (we bought that on Friday, thinking that was my Mom’s favorite since she had it when we were down in December, only to find out that she had bought it then for us, we had a great laugh over that).  As mentioned above, I sneaked in some work, but they understand and it did not disrupt the flow at all.  We then had a great discussion with them regarding Pay It Forward, but that will be an entry later this week.  Beth and I headed out to get a few groceries and stamps for my Mom, and then I grilled some Pork Chops.  It was a great day, and we know that the purpose of our trip was achieved in spending Mother’s Day with my Mom.

 

Today, we hit the road at about 7:00 AM, with the sun shining and Blacky purring (we got 26 mpg going both ways, we were shocked!).  We put in a couple hours, then crossed our fingers as we tried a couple of wineries we saw on the way down just South of Meramec Caverns.  One was closed, but the St. James Winery was open.  While not as good as California wines, we liked their dry reds, and ended up getting three cases to add to our basement wine collection (not quite a cellar, it consists of seven racks, years 2000 – 2007, that is about 60% filled now :o).  The rest of the drive was not too eventful, but the details I will again leave to Nutwood Junction.  We got back home around 6:30 PM, and the rest of the evening has been “ketchup” <LOL>

 

Hope you had a great weekend and an even better Mother’s Day :o)

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1:10:34 AM EDT

Alas, with my recent travels, I forgot to mention that I was at the Minneapolis Airport, and not only that, if I can get a little personal, I had to use the facilities. 

I am pleased to announce that there were no awkward footsie games, or such :o) 

So, no entrapment, and all is well.

As you may have read on Beth's journal, we are headed to my Mom's for Mothers Day, so no new entries for a few days.  For all you mothers out there, kudos to you, and may you have a great day!

Have a great weekend :o)

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7:42:57 PM EDT

This is only a three day week for me, and I am swamped.  I did want to take the time to put up two postcard pictures, one showing the flatness of Saskatoon, and one showing the river lushness through town.

Yesterday was wonderful, walking out to my car, breathing deep the smell of the honeysuckle, I immediately started to relax.  After getting into Blacky, the top came down (car that is :o), the CD player got cranked, and I cruised home.  I love the warm weather and what a great way to unwind from work.  Happy Spring!

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12:20:13 AM EDT

 I will not include much text since I have already made two entries.

The quality is not that good, but I will be getting a new digital camera this year.  These were taken on my cell phone :o)

 

 

How lucky, the first afternoon I arrived, there

was a domonstration against several legislative

bills.  This was right across the street from my

hotel.                                                                            

 

                                                                This is a picture of the River

that runs through Saskatoon. 

With most of the land being prairie,

it is strange having such a lush river.  The river

is not too deep though, but I did see several boats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here, I am on on the second floor, outside the

doctor's office, looking back down mainstreet.

How cool that there is an entire town inside

the building.  The building does not look that

imposing from the outside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is an area at the back

of the building.  Due to the

many people that were

taking old farm machinery and

selling for scrap, there was a

concerted effort by the province,

in conjunction with the Agricultural

Hall of Fame, to preserve the equipment.

All equipment in this building is from

1910-1930 Vintage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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10:42:48 PM EDT

Ah, what a beautiful afternoon.  My meetings were finished today at 11:45 AM, so I had the afternoon free (I love it when a plan comes together, this is how it has been at the last three Region 2 meetings).  So, I brought my meeting materials up to the room, donned my sunglasses (yes, they were definitely necessary here, it was sunny and in the low 70’s), and hit the pavement. 

 

My navigation tool was a Convention and Event Planning Guide map from a welcome package, and the distance from my hotel, along the river walk, through the park, to the final destination “Western Development Museum” was only about two inches.  Who knew that it would be a one hour walk.  About fifteen minutes into my walk, I stopped to ask a gentleman which way to the WDM, and he said “that is a long way away”.  I laughed, and said that’s okay, which way?  He gave me the directions, and it was “Eeexxxittt, Stage Left” [this is a test to see who gets the reference] :o)

 

After the first fifteen minutes along the riverwalk, it was another 45 minutes through residential neighborhoods.  As I walked along, I could not help but notice the dust clouds as the cars went past.  Because of the cold temperatures here, and the damage to the vehicles, they no longer use salt on the roads during the winter – only sand.  So there were sand dust clouds as cars went past.  They had snow here last weekend, so this is the first weekend that the street cleaners could be out (I think I saw at least four of them).

 

As I strolled down the sidewalk, I could only marvel at the fact that the grass was just starting to turn (70% brown still), and close examination of the bushes and trees showed little green buds bursting at the seams, ready to break out into luscious green leaves at any moment.  There were many majestic conifer trees, and magnificent Dutch Elms lining the streets of this older section of Saskatoon (per one of the residents, planted a while back by the city, cause der arnt any trees in da praireee).  The houses were not that large, and many had a shotgun design.  Most of the houses had chimneys, and even the shotgun style houses had basements. 

 

I reached the Western Development Museum, 1910 BOOMTOWN Saskatoon, and the building was very non-de script.  I paid my $8.50 and entered the museum proper.  The museum was broken into three areas: first was the Transportation Gallery, with many 1910 – 1930 era  buggies, carriages, and vehicles; second was a replica of a 1910 town, all indoors, with a main street, complete with carriages and cars parked on the edges of the road; and last was a Prairie Work in progress.

 

There are a total of four Western Development Museums in the province, and they have 250 antique vehicles between them.  They have all been beautifully restored.  As part of the Transportation Gallery, they also had a St. Louis streetcar, and a model railroad with era appropriate models.  As a model railroader wannabe, it was really cool.

 

The Prairie Work was interesting because they had a Railroad Steam Engine, tenders, and flatcars.  In addition, they had recreated the aboriginal dwellings and a sod hut that most settlers used for their first few years on the farm.  The 1910 time frame is important because this was when the area really started to boom based on the 1872 Dominion Lands Act of that offered homesteads of 160 acres for $10 dollars if the settler lived on the homestead for at least six months each year for three years, build a suitable home, broke at least 30 acres of land and seeded at least 20 acres.  Many families came from England, Scotland, France, and Germany during this time; typically with the man coming for the first year, followed by his wife and children.

 

The following recreations were included in the indoor representation of a typical Saskatchewan town:

 

• Telephone Operator’s House
• Harness Shop
• Livery Stable
• Blacksmith Shop
• General Store
• Real Estate Office and Law Office
• Dentist’s Office (Yikes, usually the doctor did all dental work until a town was large enough to justify a dentist.  The tools of the trade back then were very crude – I will never complain again :o)
• Doctor’s Office (Exam $1-$5, Amputation $15 for fingers and $50 for limbs, Surgery $100-$300)
• Drugstore (1000’s of bottles on the walls)
• Royal North West Mounted Police (RNWMP) – complete with a little one person jail.  From 10/01/1909 through 09/30/1910, the biggest crime was Drunk & Disorderly.
• Church
• School
• Laundry
• Hardware Store
• Arctic Ice Company (blocks cut from river and stored, then delivered)
• Railway Station
• Implement Dealer
• Bank of Nova Scotia
• Craft Parlor
• Dry Goods
• City Garage
• Photo Studio
• Fire Hall
• Town Office
• Clock Shop (again a sign of prosperity for a town, and also included jewelry, china, and silver)
• Butcher Shop
• Print Shop
• Barber Shop and Pool Hall (the man’s place)
• Café

 

All in all, it was a very enjoyable way to spend my afternoon, learning about life on the prairie at the turn of the last century. 

 

After all that walking, I headed back to the City Center, and went to an English Pub I discovered on Thursday, and had a few brews and some fish and chips.

 

Hope you enjoyed your day as much as I enjoyed mine.  Pictures hopefully to follow when I get back to Indiana.

 

Update: there is one previous entry on Saskatoon details, and two subsequent entries that have some pictures :o)

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1:01:30 AM EDT

Soooo, whut is da deal, why is Ken in Saskatoooooon? Eh!

 

I had the opportunity to come here, courtesy of my company, for a Regional Meeting of the Project Management Institute (PMI).  I am the president of the local chapter, PMI Michiana, in PMI Region 2 (there are 21 chapters in Region 2, from Saskatoon to Central Iowa to Central Indiana to Fort Wayne to Milwaukee to Minnesota to Manitoba and back to Saskatoon).  We get together twice per year to exchange ideas and learn how we can be better stewards of our chapters, thereby providing value to our members.

 

This trip, I am concentrating on getting more information regarding outreach; which for the PMI Michiana Chapter, means reaching out to our remote members in Michigan and Warsaw Indiana, finding ways to interface with the community and local businesses, and finding ways to give back to the community.  We currently have 83 members, and I want to grow that number substantially in the next 2-3 years.  With that in mind, today was a productive day, with some good ideas on how to proceed.

 

But enough about why I am here – tell me more about Saskatoon?  you might ask :o)

 

Well, Saskatoon is about 300 km from the US border (they are metric here, so that would be 186.4 miles), which puts Saskatoon as central in the Saskatchewan province (that’s right, provinces versus states in Canada).  The temperature range here is -22 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit.  The motto here is Saskatoon Shines because they get 2381 hours of sunshine here per year, making it one of the sunniest parts of Canada. 

 

The city is about 100 years old, and has a population of 208,300.  The Saskatoon area grows 50% of the Canadian export corps, consisting of wheat, barley, rye, and oats.  They also have the biggest Potash mining operation, a subset of which is uranium ore. 

 

The name Saskatoon is derived from the Cree Indian name “mis-sask-quah-toonia,” a local indigenous berry (which I had on my salad as a vinaigrette tonight, sweet, but good with some fresh pepper). 

 

Some fun facts:

 

• In the 1970’s, the winter Olympics were held in Saskatoon.  They had to build Trash Mountain, because the only other way to ski around here is to ski into a hole in the ground.
• It is so flat here, that you can watch your dog run away for three days.
• There have been 98 reported UFO sightings in the area.
• July is the only month they have never had snow here.
• Al Capone used to go to Moose Jaw (near Saskatoon) to get whiskey to run back do Chicago during prohibition. 

I plan on walking around some tomorrow afternoon, so hope to have some more facts to share. 

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8:46:53 PM EDT

Here at Nutwood Junction, we have definitely discovered the joy of recycling, as discussed in my Science Scene - Earth Day 2008 entry. Based on the original entry, and feedback received so far, here is a list of things you can do to be more GREEN :o) 

1.    Use your local recycling program for glass, cans, plastic, and cardboard.

2.    During the spring/summer, use a compost crock that all veggie material and coffee grounds go into.

3.    Use compact fluorescent bulbs where possible

4.    Only use the air conditioning (or furnace) when necessary (open the windows for natural circulation, and wear warm clothes in the fall/winter)

5.   Donate things you no longer use to Goodwill, much better than throwing out.

6.   Take your paper to work for recycling.

7.   Take your batteries to work for recycling.

8.    I often print on paper that has already has something on the other side. I have to remember to tell my students when I'm using previously printed paper to ignore what's on the back side. I've also learned to check what's on the other side first. As I pick up a lot of this paper at the main copy shop on campus, there is occasionally some REALLY interesting stuff that may not be appropriate for my class content!

9.   We also have several places locally that take dead batteries and light bulbs.

10.  Recycle plastic bags when I get them.  I usually try to use my own bags as much as possible.  (2)

11.  Do not throw out printer paper when used.  When no longer needed, I tear it up, and use it for scrap paper.  

12.  Donate cleaned out 2 liter bottles to schools in the area for their art projects.

13.  All magazines we subscribe to go to others who then agree to hand off to even more so many people get the benefit of reading them.

14.  Used coffee grounds go into one plastic bag and at the end of the week they go onto the dirt over many plants in our yard and then we start over with that same plastic bag.

15.  We try to plant a few more trees every year, although at least half of our property is already wooded.

16.      Plant native plants in our yard as much as possible. They thrive in their native climate, and require much less water.

17.       Use green shopping bags (made of recycled materials) whopping price 99 cents.

18.    Whenever possible we purchase from second hand stores. Aside from the $ difference, the amount of material and energy used in packaging, shipping, and manufacturing is significantly reduced.

While this list is a good start, I am not satisfied.  I think there are more things that we can do.  So here is continuing my challenge to J-Land; post a comment for this entry that documents at least one unique thing that you do to recycle and/or try and be green.  My goal is have a list of 50 things.

So please spread the word about this effort - let's do our part!  May this help you in some way do something that helps our environment. :o)

Recycling Resources and Information:

http://www.epa.gov/garbage/recycle.htm)

http://earth911.org/recycling)

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7:54:21 PM EDT

Today, the Prime Directive was to get the lawn tractor going.  I sure could have used some Star Trek technology to assist me <LOL>.

I grabbed the shed padlock key and headed down the driveway, unsure what to expect after almost five months.  I opened the shed, and noticed that there was a noticeable lean to the right, due to an almost flat rear tire. The good news is that the tractor started up with no problem. I drove the tractor and parked it behind Blacky, retrieved the air compressor, and alas, the dc plug to the car was not long enough to reach more than two feet beyond the rear corner of the car. 

So, what is a guy to do?  I headed out to Lowes to get a new compressor (also got a $10 tool box to keep in the house since my tools moved to the detached garage today).  Not sure how we ever got by without a better air compressor.  I highly recommend the little guy shown to the left - it runs off of either ac or dc power, and the dial with the red arrow is a limit switch to ensure you do not over inflate.  It is really a nice little device, and cost less than $50.

I filled the tires on both tractors, and look forward to doing the same for the bikes (motorcycle and bicycles :o), and for the vehicles.  Remember, properly inflated tires helps with the gas mileage, so take the time to ensure your tires remain properly inflated.

Turns out that was the easy part of getting the tractor in mowing condition.  On the last cut of the year last fall, the blade drive belt broke.  We picked up a new belt at Lowes (note, the generic belt was $20 less than the direct replacement belt at Sears). 

 We go through several belts a year due to the twigs and "junk" that gets up under the mower (this year, I have walked the yard to pick up sticks versus just mowing over them).  This is only the second time I have replaced the blade drive belt, it is usually the main drive belt that goes (resulting in me pushing the tractor back to the shed).  It took me well over an hour, mostly because I was challenged to get a spring removed to properly position the belt.  Lesson learned, grab the end of the spring with needle nose pliers and twist to get it unhooked.  I was finally able to get it all put back together.

So then, it was off to perform the first mowing of the year.  With winter decending on us so fast last year, there were still a lot of leaves left in the yard.  So it was a very dusty endeavor today, as the leaves and new grass were mulched together.  The path I have through the marsh is still too wet to get through, but I was able to get the front and back grass done, as well as the stretch along the road.  Take a look, doesn't the lawn look nice, and so green, I LOVE SPRING.  Sure is nice to be outside.  Hope you are having a nice weekend. 

Off to grill some steaks :o)

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8:22:59 PM EDT

It has been a busy week, luckily my last week of having to work one night-shift.  I did make an entry on Earth Day, but nothing since then.  However, that does not mean that there is nothing to write about.

 

Beth and I officially achieved a significant milestone this week.  We have officially gotten down to only having one debt, our mortgage!  We have been able, over the past six years, to go from extreme debt (I had more than $100K of credit card debt from my first marriage - I almost declared bankruptcy - but determined that I would meet my commitments), to almost debt free.  It was so bad when I met Beth, and after we got married, that my name could not even be included on the loan for the house.  Beth had to qualify for the loan, based on her income and excellent credit rating, on her own.

 

It has been fun to reminisce over the past several months.  After we got married, we set up a long range plan.  The plan (see below) had a sequence, culminating with a target of Beth retiring on March 31, 2008.  We had some unanticipated legal expenses in 2007, so alas, we missed our plan by eleven days (some at work have said “that’s just sick” :o)  Below were our priorities for the first six years:

 

1.  Determine how much house we can afford, based on Beth’s savings and income – Complete, November 2001 (when we were married)

2.     Purchase house of our dreams – Complete (nine months after wedding, we love Nutwood Junction).

3.     Achieve positive cashflow without using savings – Complete (15 months after the wedding).  A big part of this was paying all new credit charges off in full each month – no new debt!

4.     Purchase Beth’s Mustang – Complete 2005

5.     Purchase Ken’s Mustang and used truck – Complete 2006

6.     Pay off all credit card debt and timeshares – Complete March, 2008

7.  Beth Retire – Complete (4/11/08)

8.     Ken Retire – TBD (9.5 years left in nuclear, then a new career is definitely in order :o)

 

We did this as a team.  We live a fairly frugal lifestyle, we both abhor having debt and owing anything to anyone.  We have common goals, and we are both very disciplined. 

 

We were both blessed to have parents that made provisions for us to get our college degrees, and we work (worked in Beth’s case) in professions that pay well.  But, the thing is, a lot of people spend what they make, and their debts equal or exceed their incomes, making it hard to truly get ahead. 

 

It is very important to have goals, to develop a plan, and to work the plan together.  For us, we had great role models in Beth’s parents (her Dad retired at 55) and my Dad, who went bankrupt in 1974 but recovered to leave his two sons a reasonable inheritance in 1990.   While I was not able to save this inheritance (lost it in California 1995 real estate downturn), it instilled in me a “never again” mentality.

 

My wish for you is to develop financial goals, to then assess your situation and establish a plan – with your partner, and to then live the plan.  You can achieve amazing results!

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7:22:04 PM EDT

Here at Nutwood Junction, we have definitely discovered the joy of recycling.  When we first moved in, about six years ago, we used to fill one garbage can (slightly bigger than a 55 gallon drum) every week, plus part of another garbage can on occasion.  Now, we usually only have one 13 gallon bag, that covers the kitchen, bathroom, and kitty litter.  How did we cut down so drastically on the amount of garbage?  We got serious about recycling.  We started off with two small recycle bins from Waste Management.  Since they only pick up every two weeks, it did not take us long to outgrow them.  After the first year, we went out and bought a third bin, and that worked until it was stolen from the side of the road.  We then started using the two bins plus a smaller garbage can, and that worked for a couple of years, but we outgrew that was well.  Now, we have two 50 gallon garbage cans that we fill every two weeks - one with plastic, the other mostly with cans.  We also normally have one of the smaller bins that I use in the garage, plus a bundle of newspapers and some cardboard.  We are so glad that we recycle much more than we simply dispose of.

Other things that we do, besides recycling, are:

• During the spring/summer, we have a compost crock that all veggie material and coffee grounds go into.
• We use compact fluorescent bulbs at every location we can.
• We do not have central air, and only turn on the bedroom window unit when it is extremely hot (we love to have the windows open).
• We take our spent batteries to my work, where we have a recycle program to prevent them from going into landfills.
• We donate things we no longer use to Goodwill, much better than throwing out.
• We take all paper to my work for recycling.

However, I am not satisfied.  I think there are more things that we can do.  So here is my challenge to J-Land; post a comment for this entry that documents at least one unique thing that you do to recycle and/or try and be green.  My goal is to get to at least 50 comments, which I will take and consolidate into another Science Scene entry.  So please spread the word about this effort - let's do our part!  Happy Earth Day to each and every one of you.  May this help you in some way do something that helps our environment.  Below are some references I found related to recycling for your surfing pleasure :o)

[Source: Wikipedia] Recycling is the reprocessing of old materials into new products, with the aims of preventing the waste of potentially useful materials, reducing the consumption of fresh raw materials, reducing energy usage, reducing air (from incineration) and water (from land filling) pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lowering greenhouse gas emissions as compared to virgin production.  Recycling is a key concept of modern waste management and is the third component of the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" waste hierarchy, though colloquial usage of "recycling" can also include "reuse".  "Recyclable materials" or "recyclables", may originate from home, business or industry. They include glass, paper, metal, textiles and plastics. Though analogous, the composting of biodegradable waste—such as food or garden waste—is not typically considered recycling.  These