Aitkin County Pheasants Forever Banquet

Last Saturday was the Aitkin County Pheasants Forever Banquet. It looks more like a birthday party in this photo. But the balloons are actually a gun giveaway. You purchase a balloon and after they're all sold, you pop your balloon and there's a ticket inside. If your number matches the number drawn you win the gun.

Did you purchase a raffle ticket from me? Stay tuned for that wild ass story.

Ellie was also selling chances on a gun. She had a hundred squares she was selling for $10.00 each. I did not win.

Dave and I ran "Dave's Dice Game". We did pretty good I think. For $20.00 you got three chances to shake the dice and attempt to cover the clay pigeons. If you covered them all you went in for a drawing for a 12 gauge. If you didn't cover them you went in on a drawing for a 17 cal. rifle.


Good grief. What was Makita's job (besides drinking)? I believe he was the emcee.

Oh yeah....the raffle ticket story. So here it goes. I sold 10 raffle tickets. The total amount of tickets sold was a fair amount. The barrel seemed like it had a lot of tickets in it. There were five guns on the raffle. The first person drawn was a ticket that Dave Boeckermann had sold. Cool. Then there went the second gun. Then the third. Then when they drew the fourth ticket which was for a Browning 12 gauge pump, they said my Dad's name. Very cool. So I went up there and claimed it for him. Since we live in a third world country, I have to go register the gun. So I'm standing there waiting to register the gun and the guy doing the registering asks me if that's my gun. I tell him it's my Dad's. Then Ellie walks up with a nice little 17 cal bolt action rifle. It's the fifth gun on the raffle. She said Jerry, my step-Dad, had won it. Now I'm standing there with two guns to register. The guy asks me again, who's gun is the 12 gauge? I tell him it's my Dad's. Then he asks me about the other gun. I tell him it's my step-dad's. It was all very amusing. So long story short, if you're not my Dad or step Dad you're out of luck this round. But don't worry, I'll give you another chance next year. Thanks to all that did buy a ticket from me.

Farewell to Billy

This past Friday night David Boeckermann Jr. had to do the sad sad task of putting his dog Billy down. Billy was a good good dog. He was a big brute but a gentle giant. If he knocked you down it was by pure accident. He was an excellent hunter and loved by all. Unfortunatly Billy had a very large tumor in his throat that was pressing against his esophagus. It was quite sudden and a huge shock because no one knew he had the tumor. Billy is pictured here, far left, chewing on a bone. Also partaking in a treat is his daughter Maggie (far right) and grandaughter Abby in the center. Bye Bill Doe, we'll miss you.

My friends Kurt and Robin Hopp are proud new grandparents. Avery Elizabeth was born last Friday and weighed in at only 4 pounds 14 ounces. But she's growing really fast. She's up over 5 pounds now. She's pictured here with her cousins Oliva and Molly.

Fellowship last night was a flop. Makita, Bill and myself were the only people that showed. Stella did tell me that her and Mac weren't coming but I still don't know what happened to Jen and Nick.

My friend Bobbi is out of ICU. She has a trach and can't speak but as soon as the swelling goes down in her throat they will remove that. So things are looking a lot better for her right now.

Wednesday Update

Last night Makita, myself, Kurt and Robin Hopp went up to Pequot Lakes and met up with Mark and Pat Neurauter. Mark and Pat were down from Bemidji staying at Breezy Point for a few days. We hadn't seen Mark and Pat for quite sometime. We had a couple drinks and a nice visit.



Dad came over Monday and installed my new bedroom closet doors. It worked out great because it was a holiday (Presidents Day) and I didn't have to work. So he could make all the noise he needed to get the job done. And a job it was. The opening is all out of whack and needed a lot of "adjusting". I think it looks great. In the spring, when it's a little warmer out, I'll take the doors outside and stain them.

This Saturday is the Aitkin Pheasants Forever Banquet. Makita and I will go over and help out as we have in the past. Maybe I'll get some better pictures for the website.

The Daytona 380

Matt Kenseth won his first Daytona 500 race in 380 miles. Rain stopped the race after 152 laps of a 200 lap race. Boring, snoring. Jr. had problems all day. Not with the car but with his driving. He missed his pit all together once. Another time he was penalized for rolling past his pit box. He was pissed and he took it out on Brian Vickers and caused a 10 car wreck. Jr. finished 27th. Jimmy Johnson sucked all day. He finished 31st. Jeff was consistent and up front all day. He could have won if they hadn't stopped the race. Jeff finished 13th. Mark Martin finished 16th. Best part of the race was when Kyle Bush wrecked his car.

Jeff Wins 1st Duel

Yesterday Jeff Gordon won his 5th career Duel and his 1st race in over a year. Jeff will start in the 3rd position Sunday. That's Nascar baby!

Best part of yesterdays race was Jeff raced Tony Stewart right to the end for the win. Tony Stewart SUCKS. I had to get that in for all my friends and family that think he's all the shit. Here's some more news for you dips: Tony is driving a Hendrick car with a Henrick engine. But at least he's back in a Chevy. Tony will start 5th Sunday.

Anyone that knows anything about stockcar racing at all, knows about this asshole: Kyle Bush. Kyle won the second duel yesterday. Crash already would ya? Puke.

Tonight is the Camping World Truck race. I think I'll be rooting for Johnny Sauter in the #13 Chevrolet Silverado driving for ThorSport Racing. Johnny will be starting 9th tonight. I'll also be keeping an eye on the Randy Moss teams of Mike Skinner in the Toyota #5, starting in 5th and Tayler Malsam in the Toyota #81, starting in the 11th spot.

"Boogity, Boogity, Boogity. Let's Go Racing Boys!

Get off Your Ass Kim

This winter has been very long and I've been sitting at a desk the entire time. It was below zero all of December and January and I didn't get out and do anything. So it's time to get off my ass. This past week I bought an elliptical to work out on. Let's hope it pays off.


The ice auger finally got fixed. Runs like a champ and has a new recoil. Problem is that you can't get on the lakes anymore. There is two or more feet of water standing on top of the ice. Unless that freezes again there'll be no ice fishing this year.

A couple days ago Bobbi got off the respirator and started breathing on her own again. This was very good news. I'm hopeful she will continue to get better and better.


Today is the Gatorade Duel which 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 determine the starting lineup for the Daytona 500 held on Sunday. The pole winner and the front outside position was already determined last weekend during the Bud Shootout. Martin Truex is on the pole and Mark Martin, now a Hendrick driver in the Kellogg's #5 car, is starting second. Hey notice they both have "Martin" in their names. Weird.

Nascar has a full weekend planned in Daytona with a Friday night Camping World truck race, a Saturday afternoon Nationwide race and of course the Superbowl of stock car racing, the Sprint Cup Daytona 500 on Sunday. I guarantee you won't find me on any stupid elliptical. More than likely you'll find me in my stretchy pants with ample beer and chips.

Last night the Minnesota Wild beat the Colorado Avs at home. Sad sad night. Wild is doing really well in comparison to the Avs. I may start rooting for them. That usually does a team in.

Bob's Farewell Party

As Bob prepares to go to Afganistan on March 7th, Joy gathered their friends and neighbors together for a farwell party. It was a big hit. There was a lot of people there. Joy did a fabulous job with the whole event.
I'm sure whatever he's talking about is full of bull.
Some of the girls got to dancing at one point. It looked like everyone was having fun. We got back to Bob's somewhere around 2am.

Meet Mojo

Rhonda sent me a photo of Mojo so we could all see how small and cute he is.

Catching up...

My sisters good friend Bobbi Meyer, whom I've met and adore has lymphoma and is in Denver getting a stem cell transplant. Yesterday she lapsed into a coma and is on a respirator. Her temp at one time had spiked to 104. Let's keep our fingers crossed. She's been fighting very hard for a very long time. She deserves a break! Lorrie is driving down there tomorrow to be with her.

Last night was Fellowship. We went to Grizzlies for wings. Then we went over to Black Bear and Mac sang Karaoke. Everyone showed up this week. Jen's ultrasound shows that little Kimmy has a peepee.

Bill and Rhonda got a new kitty. Mojo. Haven't seen him yet. Don't have a picture to share.

I've adopted a new soldier. My previous Soldier, James, who was stationed at Camp Victory in Baghdad was sent home at the end of January. My new soldier is Estella and she's stationed at COB Summers in Iraq.

My brother is leaving on March 7th to go to Virgina for a couple weeks of training and then off to Afghanistan. He bought a new laptop to take with him, so maybe we can communicate easier with that. It will depend on the Internet service there in Kabul.

My daughter Tonya got into a car accident 50 feet from my house yesterday morning. She had her three kids and Kyle in the vehicle. All where fine. Airbags didn't go off. But I have no idea how her van is???? Okay I hope.

Saturday we're heading down to Benson for my brother's going away party. Should be a good time. He's been sick so I hope he snaps out of it before I get there.

St. Patricks day is all set for St. Paul again. Wild and Av's play that night. Can't wait! Sad part is Lorrie and Brad won't be able to come this year. Won't be the same.

Welcome Nakita

The Boeckermann's welcomed their new addition, Nakita, in to their home last night. She's eight weeks old. She's a handful. She's a cutie!

Superbowl Party

The Superbowl party was a good time. We all were equipted with the 3-D glasses for the halftime commercial. Here's Rhonda, Bill and Mitch.
Here's Robin and Ellie (both were traders and were rooting for the Steelers).
Dan Goshey was looking sharp in his 3-D specks.

Makita grilled hotwings for the shindig. It was up around 25 degrees I think.

Last nights Fellowship was pretty quiet. Nice and relaxing. Makita worked up in Lakeshore and Moon was a no show, so there was just five of us.

This photo I commandeered from my sister Lorrie's blog. It's my niece Erin with her new puppy Mason. Erin got Mason for Christmas. How darn cute are they? Mason is a weenie. Or maybe a doberman? My mom will remember when she took us kids to get a wiener dog puppy and it grew up to be a doberman (with long floppy ears and a killer long tail). Bootsie (how gay is that for a boy dog) got run over by the cop that lived down the street from us. Bootsie had a little car chasing problem. Bye bye Bootsie. Oh well. Mason won't have much opportunity to chase cars up on Casper Mountain. Nice life for canine and human alike.

I watched Scott last night on "Without a Trace". He played Detective Wayne Stevens. He was really good. Kind of a bad ass cop.

Tonight Fellowship resumes at Grizzlys. Wings Wednesday. Good stuff. Jen's birthday is fast approaching. She's a Ground Hogs Day baby.

It's still below zero. You hate to be the complainer but good
golly Molly. Last night when we went shopping for stuff for the Superbowl party it was 1 above and I thought we were in a major thaw. It's getting ridiculous.

Dad is stopping by this afternoon so we can work out a "plan" for installing a closet door in my bedroom.

This dog has no association to anything.

Scott MacDonald

Scott MacDonald, brother to my buddy Mac (Colin MacDonald), whom is an official member of the Fellowship, will be appearing on CBS "Without A Trace" tonight at 9:00 PM CST. "Without a Trace is a riveting drama about the New York Missing Persons Squad of the FBI. The sole responsibility of the special task force is to find missing persons, by applying advanced psychological profiling techniques to peel back the layers of the victims' lives and trace their whereabouts in an effort to discover whether they have been abducted, been murdered, committed suicide or simply run away. The team reconstructs a "day of disappearance" timeline that details every minute of the 24 hours prior to the disappearance and digs into every facet of the victim's life, following one simple rule: learn who the victim is in order to learn where the victim is".

Scott's made lots of TV appearances and has been in some movies as well. You can see an entire listing of his work at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0531924/

You may remember him from Bud Light Ladies Night back in the day (big guy on the left with dark hair).

Weekend's Gone

NHL All Star Game

Final score, 12 to 11 East. What a high scoring game. It ended in dramatic fashion when the East took it in a shootout. Alexei Kovaleu, of the Mondreal Canadiens, earned MVP after making 2 goals in regulation and one in the shootout. Alex was on his home ice and his mvp acheivment won him a new 2009 Honda Ridgeline truck.

Backstrom (MN Wild) was in the net for the second period. He saved 17 shots and surrendered 4.

Hejduk (Col Av's) had one goal and two assists.

Over the weekend I painted my bedroom. It turned out interesting. I thought I had picked out a nice, mellow, light, warm yellow which turned out to look like "Lemon Yikes" when it went on the wall. I think I'll learn to like it. I'm calling it my sunshine room. It's just about done. Dad's going to help me put in a much needed closet door. For over 8 years I've had curtains hanging where doors should have been. But of course the opening isn't standard and it will need some serious carpentry work. I'll keep you posted on how that projects goes.

The ice auger is still at Doc Pete's. It will be summer before we get out fishing.

TGIF

Well another week has pasted by. This weekend I'm going to take on the project of painting my bedroom. That should be a hoot. The ice auger is still at Doc Pete's. And besides that it's going to be very cold and windy this weekend. So we'll probably not get out ice fishing.

Next weekend is Superbowl. We'll be gathering at Makita's to watch the game on the big 42 incher. Kurt Warner is my man! Go red birdies.

My brother Bob and his family are suppose to come up to Brainerd next weekend. Bob is leaving on March 7th to go to Afganistan and work for 12 months. So it will be nice to see him before he leaves. Maybe he can stick around for the Superbowl party.

Fellowship got a bit messed up this past week. We moved it to Tuesday and only Stella, Makita and myself showed up. So it's back to stay on Wednesdays. Stella wanted to watch Lost on Wednesdays, so she'll either have to record it or miss Fellowship. Makita works most Wednesdays so he'll be missing out too. But I guess that's the way it goes. We'll toast whomever can't make it as well as Helen!

NHL All Star Game

This weekend the NHL takes a break for the All Star Game in Montreal. The Avs have one player making an appearance, right wing Milan Hejduk. The Wild have one All Star Player in goalie Niklas Backstrom (whom they are considering trading....). Neither player is a starter. As a matter of fact all the Western Conference starters are from either Anaheim or Chicago.

Saturday Jan 24th 6:00 PM CST NHL Super Skills.
Sunday Jan 25th 5:00 PM CST NHL All Star Game.
Both on Versus.

U.S. Has A New President

As I write this I'm listening to Obama's Inaugural Speech. I'm trying to stay focused but after ten minutes all I hear is "blah blah blah".

One thing I thought was cool was that Obama's luncheon will sport some of the same menu items as President Lincoln's Inaugural Luncheon. First, a seafood stew. The main course, pheasant and duck served with sour cherry chutney and molasses sweet potatoes. As for dessert, the Obama lunch will end with an apple cinnamon sponge cake topped with sweet cream glace. I'm having leftover Hamburger Helper.

Long Weekend

Friday night we went to the radio station's Christmas party over at The Lodge. We got into the wine that was set out on the tables. It actually was pretty good. I especially liked it. We ended up at Sheps before going home. I sorta remember eating a potpie at 1 o'clock in the morning.

Saturday we went to Walmart so I could stock up on supplies. I was down to my last two squares of toilet paper. Walmart on Saturday is like the dentist with no Novocaine. But the temps outside climbed to around 20 above. That was so nice.

Saturday night we went over to Dave and Ellie's. Ellie made a "Big Pizza". I had never had "Big Pizza". I guess it's a secret family recipe and they don't usually serve it to guests. Well let me tell you, it was a very big pizza and it was delicious. But one piece and you are really full.

The photo here is of me having a bonding (kissing) moment with Maggie (you can plainly see she's very much in love me). She has blown out her ACL in one of her back legs. You can see they have her rigged up in some fancy brace from Doc Hanson (used to be "Hundred and Eighty Dollar Hanson" but those days are gone. I think it's somewhere around "Six Hundred Dollar Hanson" now). Anyway I felt that some bonding was necessary to make her feel better. So I got down there and administered some.

Sunday we were going to go ice fishing. We got everything ready and the auger wasn't running right. So it's off to Doc Pete. Maybe next weekend. So we ended up going to the movie "Mall Cop". It was silly and cute.

Today, being a holiday, I'm not working but instead doing some much needed house work. I finished the 10th Lee Child's Jack Reacher book "The Hard Way" this morning. I have the 11th, "Bad Luck and Trouble", I'll start tonight. Then I need to find #12 "Nothing to Lose" and #13 "Gone Tomorrow". Great series.

Let me Tell you About the Gar

To my doubtful Fellowship friends, let me introduce you to the Gar.

"Longnose Gar" Lepisosteus osseous / Other names: Needle nose gar, billfish, Billy gar / Status: Texas nongame fish / Description: Lepisosteus is Greek, meaning "bony scale," and osseous is Latin, meaning "of bone." Longnose gar are distinguished from other gar species found in Texas by the long snout whose length is at least 10 times the minimum width. / Angling Importance: Longnose gar may be captured by entangling the teeth in nylon threads, or by bowfishing. In Texas, specimens in excess of 80 pounds have been landed using a bow and arrow. Biology: Spawning activity occurs as early as April, in shallow riffle areas. Females, typically the larger sex, may be accompanied by one or many males. Although nests are not prepared, gravel is swept somewhat by the spawning action itself. Each female may deposit a portion of her eggs at several different locations. The adhesive eggs are mixed in the gravel, hatching in six to eight days. Yolk-sac fry have an adhesive disc on their snouts by which they attach themselves to submerged objects until the yolk sac is absorbed. Fry feed primarily on insect larvae and small crustaceans such as water fleas. Fish appear in the diet very early. Longnose gar are typically associated with backwaters, low inflow pools and moderately clear streams. They often do very well in man-made impoundments. / Distribution: Longnose gar range widely throughout the eastern US and north into southern Quebec. The species is especially common in the Mississippi River drainage and in the Carolinas. It may be found as far south and west as the Rio Grande drainage in Mexico, Texas and New Mexico. Longnose gar appear in most Texas rivers.

From the Brainerd Dispatch: "School has been canceled for several area schools Thursday as the Brainerd lakes area braces for continued bitterly cold arctic air and strong winds.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Brainerd, Crosby-Ironton, Pequot Lakes, Pillager, Pine River-Backus school districts, along with Emily Charter School and Crosslake Community School, canceled school for Thursday. Other area school district officials said they are considering the possibility after the National Weather Service issued a wind chill warning in effect from 6 p.m. Wednesday until noon Thursday.

According to the National Weather Service, wind chills Wednesday night will range from 25-45 below and may continue until early Friday. Thursday's wind chill may drop as low as 43 below. On Friday temperatures are expected to rise above zero with a high near 5.

The lowest air temperature ever recorded in Brainerd was at 51 below in 1996. Brainerd's record for consecutive days at 25 below or lower was 12 days in a row in 1977, according to NWS meteorologist Amanda Graning."


Yippy Ki Aye! Not going to break my stride...Fellowship tonight at Grizzly's.

This and That....

This past weekend I came down with a bit of a cold. But that seems to be behind me now. It probably has nothing to do with the fact it's below zero every stink'n day.

We went down to Ryan and Bria's and heisted the Pickled Bean recipe. .
If you've never had a Makita Bloody Mary with a Ryan Pickled Bean, you haven't had a Bloody Mary. But they are not for the weak and meek. They're a bit on the "OMG" spicey side.

Mike's 26th birthday was this past Saturday. Here he is in the BWCA during a warmer, softer water time.

Got the Turtle

This morning Brainerd Power and Light changed out my water and electrical meters. These new meters have the ability to take readings and send them back to the electrical company through the power line(called the Turtle). The Turtle was invented and developed right here in Pequot Lakes by Hunt Technology many moons ago. Power companies all over the world use it now. Funny it took this long to get it here in Brainerd.
I was a little excited to learn they were coming to my place because I'm getting ready to change out my fuse box (yes... fuses) to breakers. I'm told that's how you get to be 100 amp service. Well so far four people have looked at my fuse box and not one of them can tell me for sure if it's 60 amps or 100 amps. This would include the two guys that came here today from the power company. So there seems to be some confusion about what exactly I have going on here. My garage, which feeds off my house, is 100 amp. So if you are an electrician please call. I'm obviously in need of an expert.

Fellowship at Sheps

Last night Fellowship was held at Shep's. We had a couple brewski's and some pizza. Gotta love the Loyal Order of Elbows. I'm number 3054. Currently there are over 14,000 Elbows.

We're Having a Heat Wave

This morning us hearty Brainerd Minnesotans were greeted with 12 degrees ABOVE zero. Now folks, that's a heat wave. Actually it's a 36 degree difference from the same time yesterday morning. 36 degrees. That's like the same difference between 40 and 76 degrees. Huge. But let's try to simmer down. There's still a whole lot of winter left.

Fellowship Adventure to North Dakota

First stop, after traveling through a blizzard for four hours, was Whitey's Wonderbar. It's a fairly historic place that was actually moved a few blocks after the flood of 1997. http://www.whiteyscafe.com/



We caught bus #7 at one of the local establishments. That bus took us right up to the front door of the Engelstad Arena. But upon departing the arena, bus #7 drove away, with us chasing it. Evidently the "bus was full". So we hitched a ride with Shannon on bus #17. Thanks Shannon. You rock! http://www.theralph.com/

The game was a lot of fun. North Dakota beat Bemidji in overtime. We loved our seats. They were right on the red line. A ways up (top row) but awesome all the same.

We visited a bunch of local bars after the game. We ended up at a little hole in the wall joint for what they call "grinders". Good stuff at 1am!

More Snow on the Horizon

Good Golly Molly. I have no idea what I'm going to do with the 6 inches of snow we're suppose to get tomorrow. The banks are over my head and I just can't pile it any higher. I'll have to go to plan B. Not sure what that is exactly but it's going to require moving those huge snow banks further back or something. Snowblower is still broke. Waiting for part. And if it would stay above zero for a couple days, that would be nice.

We're suppose to be traveling to Grand Forks tomorrow. We'll have to play it by ear. They've issued a Winter Storm Watch.

Bringing in the New Year

Here's the Fellowship, minus Mac (who made an appearance with Deb in tow, but opted to leave before the real fun started). Nick looks almost angelic. Or maybe re- birthing from the womb.

Stella brought the head gear and Makita brought the champagne. Evidently men over 25 cannot simply wear the head gear. They must make it into something more weird than it already is. Like Renaissance gear.

And if you're wondering, I made it 18 minutes after the ball dropped before the f bomb dropped. Resolutions and rehab are for quiters.