Month: December 2007

  • FAMILY CHRISTMAS EVE AT THE GUYPITHECUS RESIDENCE

    Once again Nana & Guy had family over for Christmas Eve dinner.  So what does an Irish/Norwegian family eat on Christmas Eve you ask?  Italian beef sandwiches and homemade chow mein. 

    Our family get-togethers are getting larger now as the older granchildren are bringing their friends.
     
     
    Melanie & friend Dave are freshmen at different colleges.  Cousins John and Shannon acting goofy.

      
            Cousins Lauren & Melanie.                  Shannon the cannon showing her moves.

      
           Our daughter Mischelle & Husband Don.                    Our son Steve & wife Karla.

      
    Mike and friend Kendra who is living in Bolivia and made a solo trip to Illinois just to visit her (ahem) sister.  Luke is lurking around behind.
    On the right Patrick and Katy who both attend Benedictine college.

       
    Abby & Vicki with friend Kevin.                                         Cousins Shannon, Lauren & Melanie   

        
    Our daughter Leanne & husband Curt.                           A cute babe with some wild haired old fart.
            
               

  • PLAY CHRISTMAS HANGMAN

    CLICK HERE TO PLAY CHRISTMAS HANGMAN


  • One Hundred Years Ago

    The year was 1907, One hundred years ago. 


    Here are some of the U.S. statistics for the year 1907.

    The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years old.

    Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub.

    92 percent of the homes didn’t have a telephone.

    A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.

    There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles of paved roads.

    The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

    Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California.

    With a mere 1.4 million people, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.

    The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!

    The average wage in the U.S. was 22 Cents per hour.

    The average U.S. worker made between $200 and $400 per year.

    More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at HOME .

    Ninety percent of all U.S. Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!  Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and the government as “substandard.”

    Sugar cost four cents a pound.

    Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

    Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

    Most women only washed their hair once a month and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

    Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.

    Five leading causes of death in the U.S. were:
    1. Pneumonia and influenza
    2. Tuberculosis
    3. Diarrhea
    4. Heart disease
    5. Stroke

    The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn’t been admitted to the Union yet.

    The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was 30!

    Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn’t been invented yet.

    There was no Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.

    Two out of every 10 U.S. adults couldn’t read or write.

    Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

    Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores.  Back then pharmacists said, “Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health.”

    There were about 230 reported Murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.!

    What a difference a century makes!

    What do you think it will be like in another 100 years!

  • TEST YOUR REACTION TIME.

    I’M A ROCKETING RABBIT!

    How fast is your reaction time?  Find out here ….
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sleep/sheep/reaction_version5.swf

    My fastest time was .18, but after a vodka and lemonade the best I could do was .2553.

  • MUSICAL MEMORY LANE


    Tropicalglen.com is a Jukebox website that plays some of your favorite songs from 1950 through 1984. Each year has a scroll or drop down box that shows all the great songs for that year.
     
    Once you select a song it will play and when it finishes it automatically plays the next song in the list and continues until it has played all the songs.  It will play in the background.
     
    Pick and play any popular song from 1950 through 1984


     CLICK HERE


  • TAKE A COLOR TEST

    Here’s a left brain/right brain test.  It’s harder than it looks and I bet you that you can’t take it just once!

    CLICK HERE TO BEGIN

  • SANTA SINGS WHITE CHRISTMAS!

    A musical Santa is accompanied by the reindeer at http://www.thecompassgroup.biz/merryxmas.swf

  • WILL THE REAL LITTLE JOHNNY PLEASE STAND UP!

    Everyone has heard and probably repeated those “Little Johnny” jokes.  You probably thought that this little kid was too precocious and worldly to be real.  Well, I am providing photographic proof that Little Johnny actually exists. 

    See if you can spot him.  Click on the picture to enlarge it.

  • CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

    Now that there’s a snowy blanket around the house, it’s time to unpack those stored away treasures that help give our home a Christmas holiday spirit ambience. 

                                 Christmas Rag Dolls

                   Card Holder Sleigh & Snowman

                          Patriotic Santa

                     Uncle Sam-ta Claus


    ….. and of course, we’ll need some Christmas music.

  • SNOWY NIGHT

    Last night snow started falling on Chicagoland. For those of us who didn’t have to be driving in it, it was a beautiful night.  I just had to get out the Nikon and snap off some pix.

    The back yard!

    The Anderson house.