Happy Halloween!

Watch a few people get scared....BOO!

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Celtic Halloween!

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Tom Waits' "What's He Building In There?".

From the album, Mule Variations (1999). Watch it - I post this on my blog every Halloween.

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A plethora of Jeff.

 

Assorted Facebook profile shots. Too much Jeff?

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Happy Days, Uncle Rocky!

Happy Birthday, Uncle Rocky! My godfather (far left). Mom's youngest brother. Happy Days!! Love, Jeff

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dirty limerick.

 

 

My first stab at a limerick. Ever.

 

 "There once was an actor named Hap
who came down with a case of the clap
his ingénue amused,
'a rubber we should’ve used'
with the wife, his clap caused a flap"

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Hey, Uncle Fran!

Uncle Fran stopped by Waterford (via Madison) to visit with his brother (Dad) and the family.

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Happy Birthday, Uncle Butch!

Retired basement contractor, "picker" extraordinaire and farmer, mom's younger brother (by a year), celebrates "69" today. Love you, Uncle Butch!

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Welcome to Wisconsin, Chuck & Mavis Ircink!

 

Chuck & Mavis are spending a few days in Wisconsin before they head back to Spokane. Chuck's father, my great Uncle Paul, was my Grampa Ircink's brother. Chuck's brother Paul - and his wife Lavonda - came out to visit in May.

Chuck & Paul grew up in Wisconsin and moved to Washington State when my Uncle Paul was transferred during high school (or immediately afterwards) with NAPA Auto Parts. Wonderful people (and their children, our 3rd cousins, are just as great). Course - they're Ircink's so what did you expect?

 

First cousins - Chuck & Dad.

Brother Jas (far right) and I with Mavis & Chuck over at the Schroedl's in Greendale.

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Uh-huh...

“She was here on earth to make sense of its wild enchantments.”
- Boris Pasternak, Dr. Zhivago

Caption this picture. In the comment section - go ahead. It has nothing to do with Dr. Zhivago. I just liked that quote.

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#4 is 44!

Happy Birthday, Brett Favre! The NFL - at least for me and my brother - isn't the same without you. Matter of fact - we barely watch anymore.

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A fairy ring in Greendale!

See the ring of mushrooms around the tree? It's a "fairy ring" and it has origins in many parts of the world. Some say to never enter a fairy ring and some say it's good luck. Depends on which fairy you're talking to.

A traditional Scottish rhyme sums up the danger of such places:

He wha tills the fairies' green
Nae luck again shall hae.
And he wha spills the fairies' ring
Betide him want and wae. ...
For weirdless days and weary nights
Are his till his deein' day.
But he wha gaes by the fairy ring,
Nae dule nor pine shall see,
And he wha cleans the fairy ring
An easy death shall dee.

 

 

Check out this link for more information on fairy rings. By the way, these mushrooms are Green-spored Lepiota and account for more mushroom poisoning in North American than any other mushroom. Bon appetite!

 

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Happy Birthday, John!

Lennon. John.

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Bristol Ren Faire Part Deux & Trois!

 

Brother Jason & I visited the Ren Faire in Bristol on two more occasions this past summer. Click on READ MORE! for pics. Here's the link to our first visit in July.

 

Incidentally, at the end of the day, there's a pow-wow where everyone comes together and dances for a half an hour. Check it out.

 

"Merry Meet! Merry Part! And Merry Meet Again!"

 

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Lost...and found.

The prayer book my father was given while serving in the Navy was mailed back to dad by his cousin Paul in Spokane, who had it amongst his things. Dad doesn't remember this, but his signature is on the back. This particular book is dated 1960-61. Dad served on the USS Shangri-La (CV-38), an Essex-class carrier - the 2nd largest in the fleet at that time.

Saint Anthony, perfect imitator of Jesus, who received

from God the special power of restoring lost things,

grant that I may find my find which has been

lost. As least restore to me peace and tranquility

of mind, the loss of which has afflicted

me even more than my material loss. 

 

To this favor I ask another of you: that I may

always remain in possession of the true good

that is God. Let me rather lose all things than

lose God, my supreme good. Let me never

suffer the loss of my greatest treasure,

eternal life with God. Amen.

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make jam. not war.

Can you imagine if countries made jam and had competitions instead of killing each other? Not just jam though - the planting of the shrubs, tending to the bushes, harvesting, freezing. Why do I always have to think of this shit?

Well I did my part today. 32 - 8 ounce jars. That's what 9 quart bags will yield. 12 more jars than last year. Black raspberry...from the gardens here at Glen Mar.

Do you like jam? Probably cheaper in the store. This is special schtuff.

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mom's hops. rick's beer.

 

 

Rick Nowak (below), my Uncle Bob Nowak's brother, has been into craft brewing for....two years now, I think. Won a silver medal at a recent competition for his Twisted Belgium. He's brewed maybe 6 or 7 beers and they're tasty. Especially his American Honey Wheat - the honey being supplied by Brother Jason's bees.

 

Didn't realize until recently that my mother had been growing hops in the front yard on a trellis for years. Rick grows his own hops but he'll never know the difference if we slip mom's in the batch.

 



 

Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.

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TOP 50 for PASS THE SALT, PLEASE poster art.

 

So this short film poster website (shortfilmposters.com) took a looksee at 2,500 short film posters and selected their favorite 50.

PTSP made the cut. Congratulation to our graphic artist guru, Doug Tomich, for his creativity & efforts. You can check out the 50 posters here. PTSP is on the bottom row - fourth from left.

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#4 debuts with the Minnesota Vikings! 4 years ago today...

Brett Favre had his debut outing with the Minnesota Vikings on this day in 2009. Favre and the Vikings beat the Cleveland Browns, 34-20. Above:  Brett and Percy Harvin after the two connected for a TD. Read about it here.

The NFL - for me - has never been the same. SKOL, Favre!!!

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