Pheasant Forever Banquet Report

Well folks if you bought a raffle ticket from either myself or Makita, you didn't win a gun. Neither of us won anything all night either. Ellie won a case of 12 gauge shotgun shells and a case of clay pigeons. Dave Jr. won two guns (he was a lucky dog). Ellie did have the winning bid on a fur hat on the silent auction. It's fox. It's her! As you can see by her picture below, she looks like she has a fur halo.

Soldiers' Angels

This week I became a member of Soldiers' Angels and adopted a Soldier. His name is James and he's in the Army serving in the 62 Quartermaster Company, 68th CSSB (Combat Sustainment Support Battalion). That's about all I know about him. I looked up his Battalion and it looks like they are supplying Troops in Baghdad.

Once you join (no fee to join) they assign you a Soldier. The Soldier could be from any branch of the service. Mine just happened to be from the Army. After you receive your Soldier's info you are asked to write to them once or twice a week and send one or two care packages month. Evidently it's a big deal to hear your name at mail call. And of course they could always use the stuff you send in the care packages.

If you'd like to learn more about adopting a Soldier, check out this website: http://soldiersangels.org/

Aitkin County Pheasants Forever Banquet

http://www.aitkinpheasantsforever.org/

This Saturday night is the Aitkin County Pheasants Forever Annual Banquet. Check out the website above for more info. There are still seats available. Grab your friends and come on over to Aitkin. You can buy tickets at the door. I know there's lots of guns to win as well as other great prizes. And don't forget the silent auction. I'll be there helping my friends Dave and Ellie with a card game. Makita will be emceeing it. I promise I won't throw up on the way home this year.

Global Warming My Ass

Brainerd and other surrounding area schools have closed again today due to the cold temps. It is currently -23 degrees, with a wind chill dipping down around -35 degrees. Let me make myself clear.....I'M GETTING SICK OF THIS COLD WEATHER. There, I said it. Frick'n ground hog.

Ryan Newman Wins the 500

Ryan Newman snapped an 81-race winless streak yesterday, using a huge push from teammate Kurt Busch to give car owner Roger Penske his first Daytona 500 victory.

With one lap to go, it appeared Tony Stewart finally would get his first Daytona 500 win in his 10th try. Running out front in the high line, he held off the two Penske cars as they circled the famed speedway. But as the Penske teammates closed in on him, Stewart didn't feel safe running alone without any allies. At the last second, he dropped low on the track to line up in front of Kurt Busch. The JGR teams had talked all week about the importance of teamwork, and Stewart thought he'd need Busch to make it to the checkered flag. But the decision backfired in the blink of an eye. Stewart couldn't hook up with Kyle Busch fast enough, and the two Penske cars steamrolled past him on the top. Newman pulled away for his first win since New Hampshire in September 2005, while Stewart had to settle for third.

The Hendrick drivers didn't fair very well. Jeff's car broke and he finished 39th. Jimmie was involved in a crash and he finished 26th. Casey Mears was also involved in a crash and he finished 35th. Junior ran as hard as he could, all by himself and finished 8th.

On to California......

Daytona 500 Lineup

http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2008/1/data/lineup.html

After yesterdays Gatorade 150's the field is set for this Sunday. Jr won the first race and Denny Hamlin won the second. If Jr wins the Daytona 500 he will be the first driver ever to win the Shootout, a Gatorade race and the 500.

Drivers of interest: Jimmy Johnson Row 1, Little E Row 2, Tony Stewart Row 3, Jeff Gordon Row 4 and Kasey Kahne Row 5.

And don't overlook the Craftsman truck race tonight and the Nationwide race tomorrow.

I think Darrell Waltrip says it best when he says:

Happy Valentines Day!

Daytona 500 Pole Set

Jimmy Johnson will be on the pole this upcoming Sunday for the Daytona 500. Michael Waltrip will be next to him on the outside of the front row.

Last Sunday during qualifying, Johnson was the only driver to top 187 mph, as he powered his No. 48 Chevrolet around 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway in 48.109 seconds (187.075 mph). Waltrip, the 48th of 53 drivers to attempt qualifying, ran more than a half-second faster than Johnson on his first of two laps but couldn't squeeze enough speed out of the second lap to knock the defending Cup champion off the pole. Waltrip covered the distance in 48.197 seconds (186.734 mph) in his No. 55 Toyota.

So now on to the rest of qualifying. The Gatorade Duel, is NASCAR Sprint Cup preliminary event to the Daytona 500. It consists of two 150-mile races, and serves as a qualifying race for the Daytona 500. The finishing order in the two 150-mile races, held tomorrow, determine the starting lineup for the Daytona 500 held on Sunday. Drivers participate in one of the two races. Half the field entered for the Daytona 500 races in the first race, and the other half the second. The finishing order of the first race fills the odd positions of the starting grid (inside of each row), and the finishing order for the second race fills the even positions of the starting grid (outside of each row).

Beagle Is Top Hound at Westminster Dog Show

On Monday, at Madison Square Garden, a nearly 3-year-old, 15-inch-tall beagle named Uno took one small step toward the coveted title for his breed by winning the hound group, the first beagle to do so since 1939.
Now the only Beagle I know, Sadie, doesn't possess any of the qualities of Uno.

Welcome to the Family!

Welcome to the family Jr. Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.
The "new" was Dale Earnhardt Jr., who on Saturday night won the 30th Budweiser Shootout in his first race in a Hendrick Motorsports car -- with new sponsors AMP Energy Drink and National Guard and new car No. 88.

Who will have the Pole for the Daytona 500?

Sunday Feb 10 starts the Cup qualifying for the Daytona 500. Qualifying is very unique for the 500. Some teams must race their way into the Daytona 500 field. However the top 35 teams of the previous year in owner points are guaranteed a spot in the Daytona 500. The first row is set by one round of qualifying, that will be held this Sunday. The remainder of the field is set by a pair of qualifying races, the Gatorade Duels that will be held on Thursday.

The Pole Qualifying that will be held this Sunday shakes down like this: Each car, one at a time, makes a two-lap qualifying attempt, with the best single lap of the two counting as his qualifying speed. The fastest qualifier wins the pole position, and the second fastest is considered the "outside pole." Both front row starters are locked in to those positions on the Daytona 500 starting grid. The pole position winner is awarded the pole position for the first race, and the outside pole winner is awarded the pole position for the second race.

Side note: Kurt Ass Busch and Tony Crybaby Stewart are in trouble already. They went after each other Friday night during practice for the Bud Shootout. I thought I was watching a hockey match. The only difference was in hockey they go at it with full body contact and in stock car racing they go at it with a 2000 pound car contact.

Let Speedweek Begin

After taking a 3 month break, Nascar kicks off the season tomorrow during Daytona Speedweek with the Budweiser Shootout at 7pm CST. It's a non-points All-Star race featuring the previous season’s pole winners and past Budweiser Shootout champions. They'll do a 70-lap dash for cash. This year there's a record field of 23 drivers battling for the top prize of over $200,000. Kurt Ass Busch has the pole and Mark Martin, whom I've always like and is now driving the #8 car for Ginn/DEI, is starting in the #2 position. Other drivers of interest are: Jr starting 7th, Kahne 8th, Stewart 10th, Johnson 18th and Gordon is starting 22nd.

Stay tuned for a lot more Nascar info. There's lots of racing coming up. All I have to say is "Gentlemen, Start Your Engines"!

WCHA Hockey

The Minnesota Golden Gophers and the North Dakota Fighting Sioux. Fighting ... very appropriate after last Saturday's game. Leading up to the end of the tied overtime game between them, the Sioux players were out of control. There was more fighting on the ice than in any NHL game I've ever seen. I couldn't believe what I was watching.

And the coaches where just as nuts as the players. North Dakota coach, Dave Hakstol, who flipped off referee Don Adam during the second period, was slapped with a two-game suspension by the university. And the Western Collegiate Hockey Association issued a public reprimand of University of North Dakota men's head hockey coach Dave Hakstol for violating the league's Code of Conduct and Sportsmanship policies.

I'm not sure what players will be suspended, if any, for their conduct on the ice this past Saturday. It was as if all hell had broke loose. Even during the hand shake at the end of the game they were brawling.

North Dakota is currently in second place in WCHA Men's Hockey. Keep watching for more news on this subject as the season draws to an end. The Final Five will be held in St Paul on March 20th - 22nd. The NCAA Regionals will be held on March 28 - 30th. And the NCAA Frozen Four will be held in Denver on April 10 - 12th.

ahhh...yes when I smoke again

When I'm 80 and in a nursing home and smoking again, this could happen:

My friend Robin and I are outside our nursing home, having a drink and a smoke, when it starts to rain. I pull out a condom, cut off the end, put it over my cigarette, and continue smoking. Robin asks: "What in the hell is that"? I reply: "A condom. This way my cigarette doesn't get wet". Robin then asks: "Where did you get it"? I answer: "You can get them at any drugstore". The next day, Robin hobbles herself into the local drugstore and announces to the pharmacist that she wants a box of condoms. The pharmacist, obviously embarrassed, looks at her kind of strangely(she is after all, over 80 years of age), but very delicately asks what brand of condom she prefers. "Doesn't matter Sonny, as long as it fits on a Camel."

Super Bowl XLII

Sunday marks the 42nd NFL Super Bowl. As you may remember I predicted way back when that it would be the Patriots vs the Packers. Well that went all to hell when the NY Giants removed the Packers from the mix a couple weeks ago.

All I can tell you is when #67 Patriots Center Dan Koppen bends over and you hear "Hut Hut Hike" and he hands over the pig skin to #12 Patroits Mr. Tom Brady, it's going to be exciting!

Oh ya, we all want little Eli to have a good game but I have to root for the undefeated New England Patroits. The only down side to them winning is that Randy Ass Moss will get a ring. Sad.

I will be watching the game at Dan Goshey's again this year. Dan and Julie put out a spread like you can't believe. And their bar, Charnies, is always fully stocked. And rumor is there's a new 47 inch television in the family room.

Ground Hogs Day

http://www.groundhog.org/

Some may think Groundhogs Day is a pretty stupid day. A furry, dumb critter comes out of his hole and looks for his shadow and from there makes some lame prediction about how much winter is remaining. Now I know for a fact there's a hell of a lot of winter remaining no matter what that varmint sees or doesn't see.

As the legend would have it, on February 2, Phil comes out of his burrow on Gobbler's Knob - in front of thousands of followers from all over the world - to predict the weather for the rest of winter. If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring.

Now all this craziness takes place in Punxsutawney Philadelphia. And I don't know about you but something in me wants me to get on the next plane to go see this madness. And you can bet I've put it on the list. Yep, the bucketlist.

This Groundhogs day is special to me because it will be 10 years since I've smoked a cigarette. Wow... time flies. I could use a smoke just thinking about it. But don't be sad, I've promised myself that if I live to be 80 I'm going to pick up the habit again. I'm looking forward to it.

It's Damn Cold

It's so damn cold, they're closing the schools tomorrow. Tonight's forecast is "Dangerous wind chills may approach -50 degrees. Temps will dip down to -22 with winds of 20 to 30 mph and gusts up over 40 mph. Tomorrow will be bitterly cold with dangerous wind chills approaching -45 degrees. High will only reach -4". Bundle up folks!

Girl Scout Cookie Time

Well the Girl Scouts are in full swing selling their cookies. My granddaughter Kiehra stopped by this past weekend to give her pitch. I'm going with five different varieties this time.

This years choices include: All Abouts, Do-Si-Dos, Lemon Chalet Cremes, Samoas, Tag-alongs, Thin Mints, Trefoils and Sugar Free Chocolate Chips. Below is a link for all the descriptions. If anyone would like to order some just let me know. I'll make sure you get them wherever you are. Cost is $3.50 per box. //www.littlebrowniebakers.com/cookies/cookies_main.html

Western Lost All Star Game

Well it was a fun game to watch even if we didn't win. The Eastern Conference ended up winning 8 to 7 with only 20 seconds to go. During the game Gaborick from Minnesota had a goal and Rick Nash from the Columbus Blue Jackets not only scored the quickest goal in All Star History but also had a hat trick (three goals). Paul Stastny from Colorado didn't play because he went and had his appendix removed.

It was fun. But now back to regular season play please. Right now Minnesota is leading their Division but it's anyone's to win (with maybe the exception of Edmonton). Wild has 59 points, Flames 58 points, Canucks 57 points and Avalanche 56 points.

Tomorrows NHL All Star Game

Tomorrow night Atlanta will host NHL's 56th All Star Game. Tune in at 5pm Central time

on Versus. On the Western Conference I'm going to be watching for Marian Gaborik from the Minnesota Wild making his second All Star appearance and Paul Stastny from the Colorado Avalanche making his first. The West should be strong with 4 Detroit players, three of whom fans voted in to play in the starting line up. The Western Conference coaching staff will be made up of Head coach, Mike Babcock, Detroit and Assistant coach, Ron Wilson, San Jose

The National Hockey League All-Star Game is an exhibition hockey game that traditionally marks the midway point of the National Hockey League's regular season, with many of the league's star players playing against each other. The starting lineup for the two teams, including the starting goaltender, is voted on by fans, while the remainder of the teams' rosters are chosen by the NHL's Hockey Operations Department in consultation with the teams' General Managers. The coaches for the two All-Star Game teams are typically the head coaches of the teams that, at the time of the All-Star Game roster announcements, are leading their respective conferences in point percentage (i.e. fraction of points obtained out of total possible points).

Blogs New Look

I've been playing around with my blog today. I hope you like it's new look.

In Memory of DD

I realize you can't read this obituary because it's so small but I wanted to include it in this post. Diane was a very good friend to my sister Lorrie for many years. At just 43 years old, it's a huge tragedy and shock she's gone. She was snowshoeing this past Saturday and simply died. As of this moment we still do not know what killed her. Her body was transported to Denver for an autopsy and we're awaiting the results.

Just over a year ago Lorrie and Makita went hiking in the Grand Canyon with Diane. Here's a photo of Kirk, Makita, Diane and Lorrie during that hike.

Here is some of what the obituary says "A celebration of the life of Diane Kae DeBoer will be at 5:00 pm, Thursday, January 24th, 2008 at Highland Park Community Church in Casper. Military Honors will be afforded by the Natrona County United Veterans Council and the Wyoming Army National Guard. Visitation will be from 2:00 pm until 7:00 pm Wednesday at Bustard's Funeral Home.

Diane died unexpectedly on Saturday January 19th while cross-country skiing in the Wind River Mountains with her soul mate Clint Conner.

Diane was born November 9, 1964 to Wesley and Sally Boerner in Winner, SD. Her siblings include twin sister Debra Rae, brother Dewayne and sister Dawn.

Diane graduated from Chamberlain High School in 1983 and attended court reporting school in Sioux Falls SD. In 1991 Diane moved to Casper with her husband Derek DeBoer and continued work as a Court Reporter. She enjoyed her many travels and all the new people she met. Derek and Diane later divorced.

In July 1997 Diane joined the Wyoming Army National Guard. Her military career included 15 month tour in Iraq where her Unit (the 14th ID) was responsible for the capture of Saddam Hussein. She was Honorably discharged after having reached the rank of Staff Sgt. in July of 2005.

Ini 2000 Diane started her career at the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming as Chief Judge William F. Downes' Deputy Clerk. She was a great asset to the Courthouse and will be greatly missed by her Court Family.

Diane touched so many lives and never met a person that wasn't a friend. Family, to Diane, wasn't only bonded by blood. She never passed up an opportunity to try something new. She was an avid hiker, kayak er, skier, golfer, biker and she recently found a new interest in snowboarding. She had accomplished everything from skydiving to hiking down the Grand Canyon. She enjoyed all the seasons of Wyoming and all it had to offer."

Salute from Cabo Wabo

One day we disembarked in Los Cabos and went over to Sammy Hagar's bar, Cabo Wabo. We had some cerveza and a shot of Sammy's tequila.

Home from Cruise'n

More details later.... Here's a shot of "Barney" and what looks like a Bloody Mary. Barney had a good time!

Minnesota Wild....go wild!

My friend Dan is a Minnesota Wild season ticket holder. He and a few of his friends that are also season ticket holders went on a road trip this past week to see Minnesota play in Detroit and in Chicago. Holy cow! The Detroit game was out of this world. Detroit is not only currently leading their Division (Central) and their Conference (Western) but they're also leading the entire leaque with 70 points. The next highest is Ottawa with 60 points. Minnesota currently has 52 points and my beloved Av's have just 47. But what happened Thursday night was awesome. Minnesota beat Detroit in a shoot out. It was very exciting. Then on Friday they beat the Blackhawks in Chicago 5 to 2. Good games to go to Dan!

On another Wild note: MINNESOTA WILD TO BE SOLD TO CRAIG LEIPOLD – FORMER OWNER OF NASHVILLE PREDATORS.

Today in History

My son, Michael, celebrates his 25th birthday today. He shares it with a few famous folks. Rod Stewart now 63 years old, Pat Benatar now 55 years old and George Foreman who was born in 1949 making him 59 years old. Foreman, a high school dropout, learned to box in the Job Corps. In 1968 he was the Olympic heavyweight gold medalist. Foreman beat Joe Frazier for the world heavyweight crown in 1973 and defended the title twice before losing to Muhammad Ali. He retired to the ministry in 1977, but launched a comeback in 1987, losing a title fight at age 43. In 1994 Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer to win the World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) titles and become the world's oldest heavyweight champion, but he was stripped of the WBA crown in 1995 and relinquished the IBF title the same year.

On a much more serious note, yesterday January 9, marks the 25th anniversary of the last time Brainerd had a commercial plane crash that killed one and seriously injured another. My friend Ellie's sister, Barbara, just so happened to survive that plane crash. Republic Airlines Flight # 927, Minneapolis-St Paul - Brainerd, Convair 580-11A, 33 (passengers:30 crew:3), Fatalities: 1 (passengers:1 crew:0), The plane landed 1,725 feet beyond the runway threshold, right wing down, veered to the right until the right propeller struck a 2 to 3 foot snow bank. The blade separated from the engine and penetrated the cabin. Proper alignment not attained by pilot in command. Terrain condition, snow bank. Lack of NOTAM. Improper snow removal.

Snowshoeing

This past weekend it really warmed up here. We went snowshoeing on Saturday.
If you see snow all over me it may be from a fall.

Correction: Seattle and Green Bay will play next Saturday 4:30pm EST in Green Bay not in Seattle as I earlier said.

Seahawks kick some Redskin ass!!!!

What an awesome game! Seattle 35 Redskins 14. At one point I thought maybe the Redskins was going to pull it off. But no way. Seattle is going forward to play the Greenbay Packers in Seattle next weekend. Now that will be a game. I'm rooting for Seattle but question if they have what it takes to go against Farve.

My nationality is mainly Irish and Norwegian with a dash of English and I would guess a few other things. I've tried living up to my Irish roots by loving a pint of ale on most any occasion. This St. Patricks day I'll be in St. Paul for the celebrations. Next St. Patricks day I'll be in Ireland. That being said, in effort to live up to my Norwegian roots I've tried cooking some things in Norwegian tradition. I just finally figured out lefse. It took me awhile and a few resources. My friend Bonnie Franke helped tremendously. She gave me all the important tips and a real good recipe. When I went to buy the equipment I ended up at Chef and Company, a kitchen store here in Baxter. Chef and Company has all the kitchen gadgets you can dream up and they also have a huge actual kitchen where they conduct cooking classes and demonstrations. It just so happened that when I walked in there a lady was in the kitchen making lefse. After speaking with her I found out that the very next day they were having a free lefse "clinic". So the next day I went over there and they put an apron on me and let me use their stuff to cook lefse. They even let me take my creations home. So I thought I was all ready. I had all the equipment minus the actual lefse griddle. I used a griddle I already had. But my grittle didn't get hot enough and the lesfe was just okay. It dries out if you don't cook it hot and fast enough. So now I'm on the lookout for a lefse griddle. Walmart had them at Christmas time for around $70.00. I haven't been back since before the holidays so I don't know if they still have any but I'm thinking if they do they may be marked down. I'll have to check it out.

The other Norwegian thing I want to properly cook is potato dumplings called coumpa (Koom-pa) or klub (cloob). My sister Lorrie has been making them for years. I tried it for the first time last year and on a scale of 1 to 10 I'd say I scored an eight. But this year I think I can improve on them. I received a Kitchen Aide mixer and the grinder attachment as gifts and I'm hoping that they may help.