A Little Year End Inventory

I have been realigning and packing away a lot of the junk that has accumulated in my house over the years. I have collected art pottery forever, so it is everywhere. I decided that I needed to take some photos before this stuff was boxed and forgotten. Some will stay, some will be moved elsewhere and a bunch will be stashed in a tote until I have my auction.

Roseville Futura Jardiniere

Mostly Peters & Reed w/ McCoy Frog

More Peters & Reed w/ Bulgarian Icon

White Pottery, Denver

Her Husband sits on the other end of the Mantle

Fossil Skate & Fish

Western Stoneware & Weller Pots

Big early McCoy Jardiniere & Pedestal

Very Large Piece of Peters & Reed

Misc. Jardinieres

Swedish art pottery lamp

Indian Pins

1907 US Army Recruiting Calendar

Roseville Vase & Packard Hood Ornament

17th C Persian Tile 18th C Wedgwood Tile

My Favorite - Peter the Great

Piles of Weller

Rookwood Rook Bookends

18th C Chinese Birds

Some of my reverse painted lamps.

Mr. Flannery

Once in a Blue Moon

Tonight is one of those rare occurrences. Its a blue moon. And a blue moon on New Years makes me want to sing.

Blue Moon, you saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

Blue Moon, you knew just what I was there for
You heard me saying a prayer for
Someone I really could care for

And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only one my arms will ever hold
I heard somebody whisper, 'Please adore me'
And when I looked, the moon had turned to gold

Blue Moon, now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

I won't be running outside (in our below zero weather here on the Tundra) to see the blue moon. 'Cause its all a lie. The moon won't be blue, it will be the same old yellowish-white color.

Have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Mr. Flannery

P.S. - Click on the blue moon photo above for a beautiful screen filling example. Blue moon has come to mean the second full moon in a month. And to RNC - it does not mean the sight of getting up from the outhouse when it is minus 20*.

So I took a lump of electrical tape . . .

I finally figured out a way to get the battery into the 4 wheeler and all wired up. It involved the use of a wadded up lump of electrical tape. I balled up some tape (with the sticky side out), attached the square pseudo nut to the tape and then jammed the whole thing into the terminal box. I used a screw driver to align the nut with the hole in the terminal bracket. I was then able to line up the cables while the tape held the nut in place. And the 4 wheeler started!

I now plowed the latest two inches of snow off the driveway and need to get back to the place where I was when this crap all started. The next task is to figure out a way to bend the plow frame back to its original position. I jumped up and down on the blade while I had the frame elevated on a two by four. It didn't work. Didn't even make a small dent in the problem. So next I need to dismount the plow and bring it somewhere that can bend the frame members back into their proper places.

I listed those two crocks on eBay with auctions ending on Christmas Day evening. They did very well. Maybe I will try to get a few more items listed on eBay this week.

Mr. Flannery

'Tis the Day After Christmas

I give up! The damn fill it yourself battery for the ATV has the most Mickey Mouse terminals that I have ever dealt with. It has a roughly square nut that fits into a terminal box and then can be connected from either the top or the front depending on how you place the nut into the box. Well you need one hand to hold the nut, one to tip the battery and the THIRD to turn the bolt while holding the cables. Now even if I had a 3rd hand (either attached to me or in the form of another person) there is no room for 3 hands and arms around the battery under the fender above the tire.

The temperature made it to 35* yesterday. The snow got all wet and heavy. It was 18* overnight so the snow has now frozen into a single block. I cannot move it with a shovel. The ruts that I cut into the snow in the hour trek of getting my truck to the top of the driveway are now rock hard glacial ridges. Even if I get the ATV moving, it will not have the power to move the massive amounts of snow.

I give up! I just called the neighbor with a Bobcat. He is out plowing snow (it is one of his winter businesses, landscaping in the summer). He will plow me out sometime today. That is a good thing. But I still hate this damn do it yourself battery.

Mr. Flannery

UPDATE: It was snowing so hard that I had snow snowing out the satellite picture on TV. I had to remove the snow from the dish to remove the snow from the snowy picture.

Then the cavalry arrived. Eric and the Bobcat saved my day. He moved the snow quickly and much more cleanly than I could even hope to do with the ATV.

RNC - Babe and I made snow angels just for you. They were to the left of the tree before plowing took place. (And mine was much better than Babe's).

Mr. Flannery

Joy to the World

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Mr. Flannery

Christmas Eve Santa

This is my favorite Santa postcard. Its not the oldest or the most colorful or even close to the most valuable. It just strikes me right for Santa and Christmas and poetry and picture. The sentiment is right.

So Merry Christmas to everyone. I enjoy your company, appreciate your comments and relish all my new bloggerific friends.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Mr. Flannery

Christmas in the Bullseye

I was watching the Weather Channel where they are predicting 12" to 20" of snow for parts of the Midwest. I then switched to the all weather HD channel 11-2 to see how our part of the Midwest was sitting. There were ellipses drawn on the map showing potential snow depths. Right there in the middle of the deepest snow was ME. I may very well receive 20" of snow over the next two days. It is coming over my part of the Midwest in waves. The first tsunami-like wave crash overnight. Waves two and three are headed this way. I went outside to look at the snow. As I looked in the sky I saw it. No, not Santa making his rounds, not the star of Bethlehem, but that damn bulls eye from the weather charts. It was hovering right over my house. Ground zero for up to 20" of snow for portions of the Midwest was scheduled right on top of me.

I drove the 4 wheel drive GMC pick-up to the top of the driveway. It was touch and go on whether I was going to make it. The snow is heavy and wet, in addition to being deep. Now I get into local snow removal. The first step is to get my ATV (and snowplow) operating. It is under a tarp outside of my door while I replace the battery.

The trend for customer self service has taken a rotten turn here on the tundra. I bought a new battery for my ATV at Walmart. I opened the box to find that the battery and the acid were separate. The customer is to put the acid into the battery after purchase. So my job today, ranking in desirability right near setting fire to my hair, is to play with battery acid.

I loaded the acid into the cells, only rushing to rinse spillage from my hands two or three times, using the the washing machine as an acid resistant bench. Now I get to charge the battery for 3-4 hours. And then I can install it in the ATV.

Simon and Willie like the new HDTV.

Willie is as laid back as ya'll find.

Now its my time for me to fa some la's, deck some halls and plow some snow before dark.

Mr. Flannery

'Tis the Day Before Christmas

Commie Christmas? Russia c.1970's.

Mr. Flannery

Where's the Real Christmas Music

I am not much for Christmas music, that is the all Christmas music all the time starting at Thanksgiving or sooner. That station doesn't get much play in the Flannery mobile. However, today I decided that I wanted to hear a few tunes while I was on my way to Sam's Club and other death defining locations in St. Cloud. I turned on the All Christmas music station. Brenda Lee "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree"; Gene Autry "Frosty the Snowman", but no real Christmas carols. I wanted to deck some halls and fa some la's. There were no Christmas carols. It was secular Christmas. "I'll be home for Christmas" but no virgins or mangers or stars over Bethlehem. I wanted the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and what to my wondering ears shall appear? Porky Pig singing "Blue Christmas". Bah humbug!! I couldn't take it anymore. I turned on the classic rock station and listened to Jim Morrison and Jimmy Hendrix. So much for Christmas carols this year.

Mr. Flannery

2 Days 'til Christmas

Psychodelic Santa c. 1910.

Jabba the Santa.

Mr. Flannery