Simple Pleasures...

I just watched the replay. The spread of covid after that crowd will not be a simple pleasure. :no:

I asked my husband, what was the point of limiting it to 40%, they were packed together along the viewing rails?

But the horses are magnificent and there’s nothing like watching a thoroughbred go all out.

That was only 40%? Yikes. Still a horde of humanity.

I hope someday to attend the Kentucky Derby, it is a spectacle worth seeing live.

It is so beautiful outside right now. Not a breath of wind, I can see a few stars in suburbia, the frogs are an orchestra right now. And the random Who from an owl.

And then there’s one car out there who thinks he’s good enough for the fast and the furious. Seriously? At almost three in the morning?!

The frogs certainly did come out tonight.

Never attended the Derby, but I’ve toured Churchill Downs, the stables and the fabulous museum. It’s pretty spectacular overall, even without the race.

I watched a morning workout run of several horses, the hot walk area. I loved the stables more then the fancy viewing stands. There’s nothing better then the general smell of horses. They let you pet a retired horse (very CALM, unlike most race horses).

The museum focuses on the Derby and famous horses. They have this exhibit where you get on model race horses and they project a race in front of you. The horse actually moves under you to simulate a race. You have to ride like a jockey, if your butt sits down you’re disqualified. Crouching for 2 minutes kills your thighs! It’s really hard but fun. Somewhere I have an unflattering photo my friend took of me racing another friend.

https://twitter.com/kaprizovc/status/1389420437789052929?s=21

Have only been to Canterbury, but some don't get the watching of the horses in the paddock and the stables pre-race. I think it's awesome, to see some of the prep, how the horses are acting to the crowds, the noise, etc. Yes, it's for mythical (and in this case, yes, pure mythical) betting and such for me. You see the little things of the behavior of the horse, really tune in to the animal. There is this huge beast, that is trained to do one thing. All the hundreds of years from being wild, to being tamed, and sometimes going beyond that...it's amazing.

Ducks at School

https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/land-of-10000-stories/ten-ducklings-follow-mom-through-minnesota-elementary-school-continuing-20-year-tradition/89-f615a3cb-11a8-43fb-a8cb-ec18ed5b665e

They have the same thing at my daughter's school. I don't know how long it's been going on but definitely the 6 years she's been there

Our summer hockey league started up today. Haven’t played since the last big shutdown last November.

The not so simple pleasure will be all the soreness tomorrow.

Ric Flair doing Car Shield commercials. Wooo

We opened our cabin! Always a banner day on our calendar. No dead mice. Water pump primed on first attempt. No downed trees. Only issue was a crack in the toilet flush pump, but was quickly replaced after an emergency trip back to marina and local hardware spot. Rewarded ourselves this morning with donuts, too many donuts. But coffee on the front deck, sitting in the morning sun, watching the water made the extra calories a non-issue. Donuts eaten in the sun are diet free. Right?

Yesterday we witnessed a pair of male loons square off over territory right off our dock. Wing flapping, loud yodeling, rushing at each other. I’m sure there was a female temptress swimming somewhere out of the way, watching the battle with studied indifference.

[

Oh I can totally echo those sentiments opening the cabin with a lack of mice and leaks.

My uncle and I were priming our well pump this year and after I poured a few gallons in the system we turned the pump on. Now typically my mom has a checklist before we turn the pump on to make sure everything is attached/open so water will start flowing as we want it to. However, unbeknownst to me my uncle disregarded that checklist so after the pump turned on I hear this awful spurting noise coming from the bathroom. Water was spraying up in the cabinets like a geyser because we didn’t reconnect the toilets water intake pipe into the wall. Needless to say obscenities started flying like gulls after a gunshot, but I got the water turned off...and a mop and got it taken care of. Wasn’t fun but certainly a learning experience to properly utilize her checklist.

First asparagus from the garden.

Oh, that is a treat.

Was it your mom swearing like a sailor? Just imagine how it would have been if your dad didn’t follow the directions.

My daughter is a high school senior and today she got a fake baby she has to take care of for a week. The first time it cried it was screaming bloody murder and she said “I don’t want to do this”.

The whole scene is hilarious. It didn’t occur to me that this might end up being a very effective form of birth control.

Before even getting to and reading your 2nd paragraph that very thought crossed my mind. :yes:

This should be required for every high schooler...or maybe junior high. And this is more like the “light” version of having a kid. It doesn’t break if you drop it and it doesn’t make disgusting poops and tons of dirty diapers, drain your bank account, etc

I can’t wait until it wakes her up in the middle of the night.

The hilarity continues....we ordered pizza and right when it showed up the baby started crying

I think that’s the goal. Isn’t it?

My 9th grade daughter did it this year. First night the baby was up every 2 hours and she had to figure out if it wanted to be changed, fed or just held. It was pretty funny. And yes, very effective birth control.

A nice mother's day weekend. My wife bought herself a dress and told the rest of us don't do anything more. Yesterday we got her a bouquet of flowers as well as a new iPad charger and Bluetooth speakers which she had been complaining were faulty. Today we made breakfast, took care of everything around the house and for dinner ordered sushi and tempura which she loves.

My 14 month old always is up about 6-6:30am and for Mother’s Day this year the wife asked to sleep in. She is normally an early riser and just gets up with him. I said sure and he ended up sleeping in for me until 7:45am! Needless to say, Mom wasn’t impressed.

Baltimore Orioles and Rose Breasted Grosbeaks are back!

Hey GPL... I was told I my name was no longer on the banned list on GPL. My life has change a lot since I was active on GPL. I got married Fri, April 24th and closed on house in the "Bermuda Triangle" in the south metro (house in Rosemount and pay Lakeville taxes) on Thu, May 6th. I also pretty much gave up drinking over a year ago. Lost over 30 lbs. in 4 months between mid March '20 to mid July '20 cause of it. Though for some reason I put back on 15 lbs. Maybe it was my wife's green bean casseroll she would make for me!!! So several changes in my life in the past 2 plus years.

Don't know how active I'll be on GPL, a wife, 3 kids and a house is going to keep me busy!!!

[mention]gator[/mention] Good to hear from you. Congratulations on all the changes. Stay strong and safe.

Glad to have you back on and congratulations on all of the positive changes!!!

:banned:

Because someone had to be 'that guy'! :rotflmao:

Congrats on all fronts! Been a fantastic couple years for you. :dup:

With a wife, 3 kids and a house come lots of responsibilities. It's super that you are well aware of that, and I wish you all the best going forward.

Gator is on a very short leash...

Speaking neutrally, he has to earn his trust back.

This Twitter feed is fantastic.

https://twitter.com/OilersDayByDay/status/1331085226462892032?s=20

Welcome back and congrats on the changes. I told my wife I never wanted 3 kids because it doesn’t take them long to realize they outnumber the parents and all hell starts breaking loose

Hope we do see you around and maybe our paths will cross again outside GPL too

https://twitter.com/humorandanimals/status/1393258375291473923?s=19

Congratulations Superstar! I hope you have the most wonderful day!

Second this! What a beautiful day for a wedding.

Finally getting my vaccine shot (J&J, so one and done), and will be fully vaccinated in time for my vacations this summer.

The marina where we store our boat has had a long string of Rottweilers as guard dogs. The last one was Diesel. He was the friendliest dog when he knew you. We usually show up late in the evening, Diesel would appear out the darkness. Could scare the crap out of you if you didn’t know him, but mostly he wanted a pet and a roll in the dirt. Reminds me of this dog; happy, jumping, rolling on the ground to get a good belly rub. But woe to anyone who didn’t belong.

Diesel passed this winter and now we’re waiting for the new dog to appear. The marina owner is an excellent dog guy and they’re always well trained. With so many people going in and out, his dogs have to be, but it’s a skill.

This dog and little girl are hilarious, joyful indeed.

[mention]Kelly Red[/mention] how long have you guys owned your place? Daryl has had the friendliest dogs since I was a toddler. My kids love Diesel and I just told my 12 year old Diesel passed and he teared up.

My husbands family bought property on the island in the early 70s when he was a kid. They camped for several years. They built a cabin, trucked across the ice, in 1976. We inherited the cabin in the late 90s.

Daryl really does a great job with his dogs. Do you remember Merc? The dog before Diesel, another Rotty. There is a new dog, pit mix, it just showed up last fall, Sadie. But she’s not working out as she growls at guests. Daryl said he got her too late and she’s too aggressive. He doesn’t trust her. He’s looking to rehome. She’s an okay dog, just not right for all the people that go through the marina, the Unistar campers for example. I think there’s a chance a litter of Rotty puppies arrive soon, Daryl apparently gets first pick.

So funny Diesel story...Daryl had some boat/car break ins a few years ago. Trouble making locals knew people parked their cars at the marina or had stuff in their boats. Daryl hid Diesel in a boat and hung out nearby. Sure enough, here comes a couple of guys looking to steal stuff. Daryl waited until they were on the dock, arms loaded. He whistled for Diesel and this huge dog from hell leapt out of a nearby boat, barking away. Guys practically crapped their pants! :biggrin2: Diesel got extra treats that night.

All cabins are cool.

Places that have a long chain of family ownership are really cool.

The 1st name on our abstract is my great grandfather in 1892. Gdamn lucky.... then again I did grub out a lot of stumps as a kid when Mom & Dad built.

Today’s our wedding anniversary. 31 years! I told Superstar this was a good time for a wedding :good2:

Favorite memory: I wore a very pale pink wedding dress. My Grandmother didn’t like it and said “you should be wearing a white dress, everyone knows a bride should be wearing white.” I turned to her and said, “I’m 30 years old. That ship sailed a long time ago.” My mom started laughing so hard we had to redo her make up.

It is a good time for a wedding. My 16th is on Friday

For sure. Our 17th is Saturday!

I think I say this every year but my screened in porch is a simple pleasure for me. I love sitting out on it after the kids go to bed either to read or when I need to catch up on work.

I also just love listening to the rain or watching the wrath of Mother Nature when the weather gets more unsettled in the summer

My great-grandparents (Rochester, MN) who lived right next to Silver Lake had a screened-in. It was wonderful. I think that instilled the need for me to have a deck/balcony/whatever wherever I lived. Weather-watching, or just chilling outside while still having privacy, etc. It was a need, not a want.

We had one that we had to tear down to redo our deck, planning to rebuild it someday as it is great to sit outside in the evening s and listen to nature. Until the bugs come out! ????????????????

My parents 55th is today.