A house burning or burnt is not somethingwe want to see twice.I know I will be looking at the burned out shell of this home for a few days. The fire was just yesterday and only a few blocks from my home. A close friend lives directly across the street. Lucky for my friend that the wind was from the opposite direction.There are some things that deserve a double take.While this post is not directly related to Home Inspections it kind of is. Initial reports said the fire in the  home  above was started by an electrical problem.When I purchased my home the heart of the electrical system looked like this. The home inspector was not well educated on such systems so I had an electrician take a look at it. He discovered it was not adequate for the power service going into it. He commented: "You... 04/29/2025

Every Spring thaw reveals the garbage that was beneath the beautiful white snow. It seems to me that every year the volume of garbage revealed gets to be greater and greater. Even as a young man I never understood the mentality (or lack thereof) of anyone thinking it's okay to just chuck their trash anywhere on the ground.I think my disgust started with my first job at the age of 15 when I worked for a Holiday Inn as a porter and when things were slow I would pick up around the hotel (mostly cigarette butts).The picture above was the aftermath of the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. What were they protesting... that the pipeline would pollute the earth. I would be interested to know if there has ever been a study as to who litters. My guess would be that HOMEOWNERS would be very low on ... 04/22/2025

The photo above is a two fold sign of spring and with a new twist to me. The first thing that came to mind was the white duck. I have seen plenty of water foul all ready on the river but I don't think I have ever seen a white duck over the last 20 years. Second, today was the first day I've seen the river ice free this year.This picture is also two fold. I got the grill out and used it for dinner tonight BUT Timmothy and I also installed our screen doors today. There are very few flying insects out yet but now we are prepared for their invasion.And yet another double header. Timmothy and I got our bicycles out of storage and tuned up, ready to ride. In the background you can see the gate to Corbett Field is open (yes the gate that almost killed me last year). The Boys of Summer started ... 04/12/2025

This is a very brief video of Timmothy in his art studio creating two pieces (comic strips) for The Northern Sentry Newspaper (the official newspaper for the Minot Air Force Base). Timmothy produces a comic strip every day for this blog as well as for The Northern Sentry. I don't know how he does it, not just drawing the strip but having a funny message every day.  04/04/2025

The portrait above is part of a painting by Ben Slocum's grand daughter Tarryl Gabel of New York. If you look at her work you can see it was heavily influenced by her grandpa.This print by Ben Slocum was created January 4th of 1966. It is print number 3 out of an unknown quantity (my guess would be of 12 or less). The actual print, not counting the frame or matting, is 12-1/2" wide by 9" tall. Ben was a farmer/rancher in SW North Dakota. Since it has been displayed in the gallery several Western ND ranchers have perked up when they have seen it saying "Ben painted my grandfathers ranch". The only information I have found on line about Ben Slocum is a snippet of an interview with Ben's granddaughter Tarryl Gabel. Along with the interview is an oil painting she did of her grandpa sitting ... 04/03/2025

The Art Work of Len HaabakLen Haabak is a guest Artist at the Titus and Philemon Art Gallery. Lenn is well known in the Minot area not only for his art skills but as a Musician, Troubadour, & Building contractor.Len has been with us, the Titus & Philemon Art Gallery since we opened in 2020. Here are a few pieces we have in the gallery. Pardon the flash distorting things a bit.The pieces we have here are all prints brought to us by Len Haabak himself however Len will sell originals and will also create Portraits for you from your photographs. For more information call me and I will hook you up with Len.AMMENDMENTWhen I wrote this post I noticed the link to his website was not working so I called Len. The result of the call is that Len brought in more art, many being originals! It was a w... 04/02/2025

I made an unscheduled trip to my office downtown to help a friend look for her billfold. She thought she may have left it there on Thursday when she came to help me clean. When I got to the building I could hear a whole lot of honking going on. When I looked up there was a never ending flight of geese above. I must have stood out there ten minutes and the migration never slowed. I thought I'd take a few pictures for you. This is one of my favorite signs of Spring... oh, and the temperature as I write this at 9:00 AM is 21 degrees.You get the point... there were a lot of them.Another one of my favorite signs of spring is for the last several years one goose in perticular likes to hang around downtown going from rooftop to rooftop calling out for his mate. I spotted him this last week but... 03/29/2025

The little snow squall we had this evening (03/28/2025) had the largest flakes I'd ever seen. It reminded me of an old movie with W. C. Fields in it and it was snowing. I believe He said "it tastes like corn flakes". It was an inside joke as I understand they actually did use corn flakes  in the movies back then to simulate snow. This short video gives you the idea of just how big the flakes were.  03/28/2025

On Wednesday I posted a video of myself welcoming you to come see the Titus & Philemon Art Gallery. That video and this one were recorded to submit to the website builder working on Timmothy's Art Gallery and Studio website.We appreciate your input. The developer would like us to submit at least one or two video's per week. After these two we will work on stories about each creation in the gallery as well as Timmothy recording "how to" create comics, acrylic fine art, and more.Please let us know what you think and feel free to include constructive criticism. 03/22/2025

Timmothy and I have been submitting materials to a web developer for his new gallery web page. I just sent them this video as an introduction. We, Timmothy and I, hope to upload several more in a short amount of time so I hope you will let us know what you think is good and what is not so good. Here is my WELCOME video.I hope to have a welcome from Timmothy by the end of the day that I will post tomorrow. I don't want to post to much at one time. 03/17/2025

Leonardo da VinciOkay, if you can read the caption under the portrait you will see this a copy to the honor of artist da Vinci's Mona Lisa. The true artist is my good friend Len Haabak. Len usually turns photographs into paintings and they are so realistic that we have to tell visitors to the gallery that his works are paintings. If you are interested in purchasing this piece are any other work by Len please go to his website at lenhaabak-art.com and let him know we (The Titus & Philemon Art Gallery) sent you. 01/08/2025

As much as one may wish there is no way a human can hibernate for the 6 months of a North Dakota Winter. If you could the last 3 days would have been a good time to start.The photo above was from Thursday morning after we received 4" to 6" of snow overnight. Then we received more snow and an abundance of wind that moved it all around. Believe me if you are a homeowner you can skip the gym on days like these.Of course if you are a guest to Minot courtesy of the United States Air Force  and you live on base you are going to love the new indoor facility at the Minot Air Force Base fitness center.If you are a new homeowner in Minot ND and you have never shoveled snow before be careful. Heart attacks happen.   12/20/2024

One weekend a year, prior to Christmas, the LDS Temple in Minot has a display of nativity scenes. It is the only time we visit this church because it is not the denomination we attend BUT Carol has her own nativity collection and we all enjoy going to this event to admire the creativity shown there. It's very difficult to pick out a few favorites as there are always hundreds of nativity sets on display. I like the one below (L) because we have one like it but ours is about 12" tall.I like the simplicity of this: The Lamb Of God.Because I love dogs.So detailedWrapped in an AngelMary gets a breakSavior of the world.Lighted Stained GlassThe TimmsMerry Christmas from the Timm's. 12/08/2024

The poster above really tells it all. No Christmas season is complete to our family until we have taken that drive through the park. At $5.00 a carload Sertoma does a lot of good like In October, Minot Sertoma Club donated $20,000 to Minot Public Schools to fund 50+ new classroom sound field amplification systems for use in the district as well as an accompanying research study to measure the impact of this technology on classroom teachers’ practices that will be conducted by Dr. Holly Pedersen at Minot State University. Sertoma’s mission is to improve the quality of life today for those at risk or impacted by hearing loss through education and support.This is a really fun light show so pack up the kids and come see it before it's over. 12/07/2024

Being disorientated can be a disaster. No matter where you are, being disorientated can also be a very scary. Behind the wheel, out in public, or even at home when you have to ask yourself "where am I?" there is real danger involved.I am sure all of us have had a moment of disorientation. As a senior citizen I can say that I have had an episode of disorientation one early morning (before the sun came up) while driving in town in an undeveloped part of town. It passed quickly but it was scary.If I had continuing episodes I would get myself checked out by a medical professional but that was several years ago and has not happened again.Back in the 60's my grandmother was diagnosed as being "senile" as they did not have any other name for it back then. Because of this you can bet I would ha... 11/19/2024

I am planning a trip to Fargo soon and I was surprised at how little community information is available on the City website or Chamber of Commerce website.I was raised in Fargo's sister city, Moorhead MN however that was forty years ago and things have changed a lot over the years. Most disappointing is that the bulk of friends that I was close to have passed on or like myself, moved on.I'm not one to spend much time in the past and that is why I have not been back to Fargo/Moorhead more than 6 times in 40 years.So why now? I am meeting my daughter and son-in-law halfway as she is returning a car I loaned her six years ago. We all thought it would be a good time to visit as we will not be able too over Thanksgiving.Through careful searching I did find some arts offerings I knew Timmothy... 11/13/2024

I can't say that I've ever seen leaves sticking to the wall with the exception of Oshibana which is an art form one of our guest artists uses to create wall art.The artist is Shayna Rodriquez, a young Navaho Native American lady from NM who moved here last year when her father took a job in the ND oil field.Changing the subject slightly there is a section of sidewalk at the zoo I love that looks like this:Now, as the title of my blog states, I wish the leaves in my yard would go away. It is always such a joy to see new leaves bud in the spring. It will be about 7 months before I see that again. 🤔 11/04/2024

Let's hope and pray for a safe Halloween day and evening for our children today. Despite all the evil out there every day our children have "sweet dreams" about this day looking forward to showing off their costumes and collecting candy. I didn't have any pics of my kids handy to use for the post so here is one of Tina in the play THE ADAMS FAMILY when she was in high school. Ironically she is the one in a brides costume, ironic as she was a Bride just two weeks ago.Halloween is a scary time for parents with young children and a fun time for the children. I ask we pray for both of them. For some great Halloween safety tips I recommend you check with the local police department for tips on how to be safe.  10/31/2024

I am a firm believer that beauty is all around us no matter where you live. I have also stated that God is the greatest artist of all and man's art is just an imitation of God's.Even in a very urban setting like where my office is in downtown Minot there is great beauty Spring, Summer, Winter, and Fall. To make my point I just snapped these pictures on the block, my side of the street, of my office. Amazingly enough we have not yet had a "killer" frost yet. That is highly unusual for this time of year in Minot.  10/17/2024

Next Wednesday is the beginning of the largest Scandinavian festival in the Western hemisphere. Four days of FUN! I myself am German but during these four days I'm full blooded Scandinavian, it's so much fun! If you come early and stay late you may be able to take in most everything in one day BUT it's a lot more fun to take two or more days. Hotel/motel rooms are not always easy to find. I highly recommend The Clarion hotel as it is right across the street from the Hostfest. There are two hotels on North Hill you need to avoid so feel free to ask me which ones. 09/22/2024