Monday in December.

If you haven't checked this yet, give it a look. This is some cool art by my neice, Jenny, who just happens to have flourescent pink hair in this photo. For you dial up users, please be patient when clicking the dots at the bottom of the "portfolio" page. For me it takes about 45 seconds for the image to come in, and it's worth the wait. I'm trying to hint that Jen should do a landscape of the Ottertail Lodge in her unique style. I don't know if it's working, but I bet it would be one awesome painting!!!



Peggy took off last Thursday and Friday to head south to babyland. I had to work. Here's da kid and da mom.

This tyke is putting on weight like it means business!! Which is a good thing. Everyone seems to be getting along just fine.



And here's "pa" with the young un'.....







O.K., so here I am zooming down US 51 in the Toyota Celica GTS. You can tell the car by the big eye lashes.... Heading off to another fly lesson. I should have kept that car, it drives like a dream! A couple days later, Bryn took the car back to Wausau. Five days later, a flat on the front. The guy at the import dealer said that even if they could get the same matching tire, it would cost a fortune, it's a racing tire for God's sake... So they found a tire that would work for us mortals, of course having to put on a pair of them. So less than week afer handing it over, I'm handing over $140 bucks for tires.... go figure.

So anyway, I pulled in at the hangar and all the planes were scattered about. Steve's Cessna and John's Challenger were on the tarmack (isn't that a dumb word?) and the Quicksilver was just rolling out. Of course, that left the Mini-Max cool looking little plane in the hangar. It's hard to jam 4 planes in one hangar, and to make them fit, the Quicksilver needs to go way in the back, hence all the planes out. Steve stood by the door watching me drive in, stop and take a picture and then continue in. I guess he was wondering who the hell was driving in just then, as I realized that this was the 5th different vehicle that I have showed up in.


So tonight I did another 14 take off and lands, three with power off to simulate engine out. They were interesting, did good with the ones when we were at pattern altitude, but one he initiated just after making the second turn after takeoff. Obvious that we were not going to get to the runway to do a downwind landing, Steve said to land in the grass on the right. It was crude, Steve did some of the manuvering and we hit the snow covered grass. Steve hit the throttle and said "full back on the stick!" so we would take off again. Grass longer than he thought, lots of snow, too. This combination produced much drag and much snow flying around and into the cockpit through the hole by the front wheel. We finally got off the ground with Steve laughing and saying we looked like a couple of snowmen..... I didn't think it was THAT funny. Oh, well.

Steve said we don't have much left to do, "you're at the point where you don't need me anymore", or so he says. We'll do some crosswind landings next week, and I suppose a bunch of regular ones. I'm getting to like this landing business. Steve is taking his tests and checks to get his sport pilot instructor certification. Soon we'll be on to the next phase with my training, to nail down the sport pilot permit. The only bad thing about this is I wish I had started in JUNE!!! I'm learning new methods of dressing for cold. It's different than getting ready to go hunting and motorcycle duds don't do the trick. A light weight balaclava and some of those "hot hands" warmers that I use for hunting should get me close to geared up for winter flying in a semi-open "ultralight vehicle".

The view out the West windows. Who says winter is drab?