Hot Buttered Rum

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 cup Brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup Butter
• 2 cups Vanilla ice-cream
• Rum
• boiling Water
• Nutmeg

Mixing instructions:

In 2-quart saucepan combine sugar, brown sugar and butter. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted (6-8 min). In large mixing bowl, combine cooked mixture with ice-cream, beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often until smooth (1-2 min). Store refrigerated up to 2 weeks or frozen up to one month. For each serving, fill mug with 1/4 cup mixture, 1 oz. rum and 3/4 cup boiling water, sprinkle with nutmeg.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

So, where is it going to be? You can leave your thoughts (votes) in the comment section.

In Australia, the names of drunk drivers are printed in newspapers under the caption, “He’s drunk and in jail.”

In Malaysia the driver is jailed and, if married, the spouse is jailed.

In the United Kingdom, Finland and Sweden there’s an automatic jail term of one year.

In Turkey, drunk drivers are driven twenty miles out of town and forced to walk back ten miles.

In Bulgaria, a second drunk-driving conviction results in capital punishment.

In El Salvador, your first offense is your last — execution by firing squad.

From the August Road & Track.

It seems Memorial Day weekend is always nice up around Neenah, Wisconsin. The weather was once again excellent for our annual get-together at Gail and Earls in Omro, Wisconsin.  It’s always a pleasure seeing family and friends in this setting.

Omro offers up citywide yard sales which draw people from all around and gives us a chance save a lot of money on those hard to find items. These yard sales have become a Memorial Weekend tradition there and it’s relaxing to go from one to another looking for deals.

We’ve included some photos of Sundays gathering, and if anyone wishes to add a few of their own…just send them along. We will begin an archive of these so you can easily reconnect from years past.

Our “mini” reunion will be held this year up at Gail and Earl’s in Omro over the Memorial Day weekend. Stay in touch with this site for a full report afterwards, including some updated pictures of those in attendance.

Well, people are saying that “Spring is right around the corner” and we can finally get what turned out to be  one of the worst winters in three decades over with.  I think the snow fall this year was a bit reminiscent of the winters we had growing up.  That “jet stream” did have a tendency to droop farther south since then though, bringing snow to places that never really experienced it in the past.  Don and Howard certainly received their fair share of the white stuff out in the Philadelphia area, while the folks up in Wisconsin pretty much dodged the bullet…compared to out east anyway.  We saw a long winter here in Southern Indiana, longer than normal.  Even the temperatures were on average 20 degrees below normal.  Let’s all hope we can put the season behind us soon.

Jill has found a nice job out there in Omaha recently.  She’ll be in the billing department at Werner Trucking and will be learning the ins and outs of the business side of the trucking industry.  I happened to talk with a couple Werner drivers down here and mentioned to them that they should look her up when they’re at the main office, just say hi and “welcome aboard”…to sort of make her feel at home type thing.  I doubt if they will because most truck drivers I talk with prefer to stay far away from the home office.  In any case, with her experience she’ll fit right in.  Congrats.  By the way, Jill will celebrating her 60th birthday in March and a few of us will be traveling to Omaha for a visit over the weekend of March 13th.  Happy Birthday.

Another birthday will be Aaron’s on the 29th.  Jo’s birthday will be March 4th.  Let us know if anyone else can be included this month.

Judy told me some interesting information a few weeks ago; it just may turn out that my wife’s Great Grandmother may be the sister of our Aunt Jesse’s Grandmother.  You remember Aunt Jesse, Uncle Fred’s wife?  I remember Jo introducing me to Ersa Rassmasun (spelling), her Great Grandmother, before we got married.  Jo says if this is true it could explain why our kids are messed up!  (She was only kidding, of course).  If anyone would like to comment on this, please feel free to do so.

Terry’s daughter, Darcy, has not been called up to help out with Haiti at this printing,  We think she’s doing a wonderful thing by volunteering her expertise.  If she does get down to Miami, Mike said he would be happy to write an article about her travels here.

I found a few hints about what we can do to better prepare ourselves for the coming cold months:

• Add a second layer of insulation to your attic. R-30 insulation is considered the minimum. If your house is relatively new, it probably conforms. If not, consider adding insulation.

• Caulk around window and door glass and trim, and all exterior trim. Install or replace weather stripping on all doors and windows.

• Install storm windows and doors if you have them. Consider purchasing storm windows if you have older windows that are not made from modern insulated glass.

• Have your heating system checked by a licensed heating/air-conditioning professional. Most furnace manufacturers recommend at least annual inspections.

• Check gutters and clean them if necessary. Clogged gutters can result in basement flooding when the snow melts.

• Check the foundation for areas where water may puddle.

• Drain and shut off outdoor water faucets.

• Insulate any water pipes that are exposed to freezing cold.

• Make sure you are stocked with rock salt, sand, snow shovels and any other items you will need during the winter.