A mutton for your thoughts

Always good to start off with some color, brought to you by Costco flowers (as I was walking by eating some free pizza).

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Latest rumor is that because of the Holiday Art Walk that is happening this Friday in downtown Columbus during the Holiday Parade, a slew of new businesses are going to open in our downtown.

Seems some advertising works.

I've been trying to get  SOMEBODY to listen to me about advertising. Put an ad in Entrepreneur Magazine saying Columbus is Celebrating Small Town America and has open historical buildings with lowesh rent and SOMEONE would take the bait.  All it takes is one.

BUT - The Art Walk did even better.  It seems there is a pretty good buzz in the Wisconsin art world. In it's first year 36 artists are filling the downtown windows (I have three windows of the F&M Bank).  There are business owners who NEVER want to be part of anything asking if they can have an artist.  Is this the start of a Renaissance?

From what I hear six new business are looking to move into downtown.  A cupcake store (taking the place of the old cupcake store) a bakery, a restaurant (have to think they will take over Nepoli's) the antique motorcycle restoration place, Insurance and something else.  All because putting the word out that there is a town here that wants artists.

Exciting.
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Looks like we will have our first test of the new winter parking rules today/tomorrow.

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I can't even look at this - makes me uncomfortable.  

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OH - I was at home and the birds were making a ruckus and I looked out the window and look what I saw.

Two Legged Winged Winter Gray Wolf

A Two Legged Winged Winter Gray Wolf.  Very rare indeed.  He was chomping on a Junko.  I guess birds are not just exploding under our deck like I thought.

A few times in winter I would put food out at the feeder and I would see an explosion of feathers and I assumed the birds just sort of  . . BOOM , exploded as all I saw were feathers.

Speaking of birds.  There must be a Bald Eagle near the truck driving school as I see one 4 or 5 times a year.   Last week I was driving through that woods area (Indian burial ground between the North/South bound lanes) and two birds, big hawks I suppose, appeared.  One crossed the road and another got spooked by a car and dropped A BIG BLOODY LEG onto the highway!!

Well not a horse leg or anything but big enough to see it was a leg.  Glad it did not land on my car!

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Why would ANY team not play Cover 2 against the Packers!!      

16-11 in the NBA this year!!   DJ and I watched the Milwaukee Bucks last week in their triple OT game - very very exciting.  I knew they would be a quivering mess their next game as they played a GOOD team two days later.  They were down by 40 at half time  LOL   Young teams are very poor after OT games as they have not learned to conserve their energy.  Old teams recover much faster.  And since the two starters on the Bucks are 19 years old . . . . . they have a pretty young team.

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My mom has been having trouble swallowing when eating.  I think it comes with age.  If you know any elders that have eating issues get them checked out as this can bring on Aspiration pneumonia.

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OH - since we are on weather - How cold as it been the first 3 weeks of November?

From November 11 to the 21st it was the 2nd coldest 11 day stretch IN RECORDED HISTORY for Madison.  1st place was in 1880.  We had 10 consecutive days where the temp never reached 32, second only to 11 days in 1880.

At the moment we are tied in 9th place for the most days with below freezing highs!  OH - first place?  1880.  Sucked to live in 1880

You remember 1880 don't cha?  The first electric street light was installed in  Wabash Indiana and we all know from school that the first successful shipment of frozen mutton from Australia arrived in London aboard the SS Strathleven.  Hello!  Lets celebrate mutton.

Did you know the word mitten comes from mutton as school children in Scottland, to keep their hands warm, used to put their hands in warm carcasses of lamb as they went to school?  In fact wheelbarrows were invented just for this as the mutton's were too heavy for small children.

It is assumed that this is why the people of Scotland are so strong from years of harsh winters with mutton carcasses on their arms.

Have a great until I see you again! 

Rod