1. The Cleveland Browns traded troublesome wide receiver, Braylon Edwards, to the NY Jets overnight. Edwards received (earned) the reputation of dropping catchable passes in the few years he was a wideout for the Browns. Sunday night, after the game against Cincinnati, Edwards got into a punching match with a man at a nightclub in downtown Cleveland. It has been all over the news, and the new Browns coach, Eric Mangini, won't put-up with off-field problems such as that. The Browns did a deal last spring with the Jets and traded their first round draft pick with the NY team for later considerations. This trade added to that will get the Browns a special teams player, a receiver, and a draft pick from the Jets. The Cleveland fans are almost one hundred percent happy with the move, including me.

2. I am thinking about getting out my tent spikes and nailing down the sidewalks. The wind is ferocious this morning. It rained off and on overnight and the cold front behind the storms always brings wind. But this is ridiculous! I see that east of here it is even worse. The Pittsburgh area has widespread power outages.

3. Sorry, Detroit Tigers fans! Whoodathunkit? A month ago it looked like they had the division sewed-up. The Twins managed to creep back and won the division title last night in a playoff. And they did it without their star first baseman, Justin Morneau, who is out with injuries. Their catcher, Joe Mauer, should win the AL MVP.

4. Baseball should also have an LVP, "Least Valuable Player." I have some nominees. They all wear Indians uniforms. Oh, yes... wait until next year? LMAO

5. Concerning my painting: I have done many landscapes, from my vineyard series to corn fields. I sell one now and then, but the results have not been what I expected. So, after reviewing what I have done with those completed works, and looking at the success I had with the Orchids I did a couple years ago, I have decided to embark on a new series of Orchid paintings. My canvas sizes will be large and square. I will use the double-thick stretcher frames, which obviate the need for frames. These are going to be both fun and colorful. Looking forward to it. I should begin the first few this week. When I painted the orchids I sold them even as I finished them.

Here is one of my Orchid paintings, now owned by Mark and Cindy Levans:


6. My great-niece, Savannah, who lives in Genoa, NV, came down with the flu. It was awful and the doctors diagnosed it as the H1N1 Swine Flu. She is recovering now. This strain of influenza is widespread, so be careful and wash your hands frequently. Also, change hand towels frequently.
............

7. I have spoken to the cats about having a mission statement. I am busy working on mine. It seems that every company on the Internet publishes theirs, so why not? Hobbie is busy writing his.