alexandriacardinals

[This is beautiful Lake Darling on December 3rd, two days before the girls’ basketball season opener.  And yes, I know that boys’ basketball and hockey have already been playing and I’ll get to them sans scheduling conflicts.  😉  But the point here is that we had January in November.  Very seldom do you have ice on the lakes in early December, let alone being thick enough for fishing and driving on!]

[Game day.  Now we have a situation where the temperatures are going to be in the mid-40’s this weekend – temps we haven’t seen since October.  We face the possibility of having had a white Thanksgiving followed by a brown Christmas!  We had 7 inches of snow on November 3, but nothing but occasional flurries since.  Define normal anymore?]

[I arrived in time to catch the last few minutes of the JV game.  We were playing Detroit Lakes.  The JV did their part, but I knew going in we would be the underdog in the varsity game.  We lost 8 seniors off last year’s team, and DL is one of the preseason section favorites.  I expected this to be a transition season.]

[With not much effort, you’ll notice this is a sophomore dominated team . . . and that bodes well for the future.  And I’ve heard the 9th-grade team even has some size!]

[Fans settle in . . .]

[The team meets to make post-game plans for dining.  The new high school is not distance conducive to the old DQ, so they may be considering Culver’s flavors-of-the-day?]

[I’m sorry I missed Anna Lee (23) play soccer – I believe she was an all-stater.]

[I’m sure she’s checking to see if Kim Kardashian found the new high school – referees and other teams already have not.]

[And we have player introductions.  The indefatigable Kendall Kohler (3), sophomore,  really has to learn to have fun out there!  😉  ]

[Senior center Brooke Heggie (45) has already signed to play for Moorhead State next year. The first shot she took in the game was a 3.  I’ve never seen her even attempt a 3 before.  She made it.]

[Cheyenne Hendrickson (55) is now a starter in her senior year.  Good for her.  Then I must have dozed off for a while because I missed Macy Hatlestad (11) and Emma Ziegler (1) as sophomore starters.  But at least I was was now well rested.]

[Boom shakalaka, boom shakalaka . . .]

[Kendall gets splattered by a pic.  She probably got the foul.  She was in early, middle, and late foul trouble.  Oy!  But you can probably tell, we suffered from a size deficit, and DL probably has better shooters.]

[Kendall takes an elbow . . . probably another foul on her.  OK, just kidding!  But the one thing we always have going for us is pesky defense, and by its nature we get a lot of fouls.  Did I mention we get a LOT of fouls?]

[There’s Emma!]

[Not to pick on her, because at least we got a bunch of them, but we missed a ton of bunnies!  Those are our best opportunities to score, to beat the other teams’ bigs down the floor.]

[The brain trust thinks, “Lay-up practice, with people banging on them while they do it!”  Oh, and since she’s in the picture, senior Carly Dropik (33) is our clean-up hitter, and with a power hitter’s stroke, in softball.  Good athlete – in the next game she had a terrific game defensively.]

[“Floor burn” Macy spent a large part of the evening picking herself up off the floor.  Also had probably the best game of her career.  With other teammates struggling and/or in foul trouble all night, Macy revised her usual point guard duties to include scoring as well.  Though she usually looks to score by driving through traffic for lay-ups, and always getting knocked to the floor, I think she was 6 for 6 on 3-point shots, other than the desperation heaves at the end of each half.  I think she finished with 25 points and a super all around game.]

[Kendall readies to pass; then through prestidigitation, makes the ball disappear?]

[Macy sets the offense . . .]

[Then sets the defense.]

[I guess Kendall and Macy were destined to be backcourt mates from the beginning . . .]

[Especially with their moms as their coaches!  🙂  ]

[Cheyenne, then Emma, shoot freebies.]

[Then Emma, in her excitement over being photographed for the blog, jumps partially out of the picture!]

[Brooke is a good mid-range shooter.]

[Emma shoots . . . and tickles the twine!]

[Except for Macy, the play was a little ragged.  The Lakers got a ton of free throws.  We always had the feeling we were way behind . . . and yet?  Somehow it got interesting at the end.  I think we wore them down a bit – I think we used an 11 player rotation, and couple other players got in toward the end.  That’s going to be a strength – just keep coming after ’em with numbers.]

[I was back at the high school again the next night.  Different team, predictable result, this time in our favor.  The Cards were too much for Little Falls in both the varsity and JV games.]

[It was parent’s night as Kohler led the entourage onto the floor.  (Psst, hi Angie!)

[Kendall again leads the happiness parade.]

[I was awake for Macy’s intro this time.  Was trying to figure out which Ole and Lena joke was making them all laugh?]

[I missed Emma again . . . as she unfortunately rolled her ankle while warming up and was on crutches.  Sophomore Kiyana Miller (21) started in her stead.  She played well against DL the previous night.]

[And Brooke said, when I’m open in the post it’s Little Shop of Horrors time . . . feed me!!]

[Cheyenne, let’s roll!  Then exit, stage right.]

[I actually had the camera turned on for the tip-off this time.]

[Kohler exhorts, “Pick off that pass!”]

[Floating, floating . . .]

[It wasn’t necessary for Macy to hit 6 3’s in this game, but she gives one a launch.  I think she made it too!]

[Where’d the ball go?]

[Macy here . . . and with Kendall at the other guard, we should be good at the end of games when the other team starts to foul.]

[Ms. Dropik (33) got a lot of PT in this game – she deserved it.]

[Chances are . . . ?]

[Kendall will be pretty automatic at the line all year.]

[Known singer of the National Anthem . . .]

[Also makes a pretty mean scone!  😉  ]

[Wrapping it up, the starters on the bench go into the “It’s over!” clap.  A good win.  Better because I opted out of the Big 10 championship football game and Jingle Bells to provide complete and total cub reporter coverage.  😉  ]

I put instant coffee in a microwave oven and almost went back in time.  ~  Steven Wright

Up next:  I can hear music . . .

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2014

WARNING:  This is way too long.  Apologies.  But I spent months (OK, more time than I wanted to) whittling it down.  The supervisor and I, however, are of an age where there is dark at the end of the tunnel.  So we are now rushing through life with a Bucket List, trying to have a much fun as we can.  And this is our report.

This was a year like no other.  Principally, it is believed to be the only year in the history of our species to be labeled “twenty-fourteen.”  There are unsubstantiated rumors that there may have been a “twenty-thirteen” previously – snopes.com is looking into it.

In other “like no others,” we took three major trips, I got two new eyes (thank you Dr. Gess and Medicare), we had an interstate car accident, I peeked up Marilyn Monroe’s dress, we lost a great friend and local entertainer, we lived long enough to see the new high school, and a partridge in a pear tree.

We decided to lead off with Lisa again this year.  And why not . . . the best Christmas video I ever shot.  🙂

And now, with a bit of adieu and apologies to Dave Barry (as always), may we present 2014, the year-in-review . . .

January

If you go to Minnesota in January, you should know that it’s gonna be cold. You don’t panic when the thermometer falls below zero. ~ Peter Lynch

No one ever regarded the First of January [a/k/a, the supervisor’s birthday] with indifference.  ~  Charles Lamb

You may recognize from the attire and background in the opening photo that we were not in Minnesota.  How observant of you.  But it was nice to have a photo of us together to lead off the letter (it is ours after all), because most of the time one or t’other of us is on the other side of the camera.  We spent the first two weeks of the year in San Marcos, California, joining Ruthie’s sister, Rita (a/k/a, Reetz or Biddy 1), in a house she rented to escape the brutal Nashville, Indiana, winters.  Locals may recall those two weeks were ungodly here in Minnesota as the polar vortex was setting all kinds of low temperature records.  We timed our escape well.  The San Diego area was sunny and 75 everyday, as advertised.  But California has issues . . .

***

Below, we discovered the Pacific Coast marine layer, a lost bikini top, Biddies on the beach, my long lost twin, Biddies having fun, and going “bats” at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park:

       

[So, how did you like our first week in the San Diego area?]

Below, we have Marilyn and me in Palm Springs where we were visiting Beryl and Don, Lucille Ball, and other things fun:

 

Below, it was then back to the beach, dining in La Jolla, watching the sun go down in San Marcos, and winding up two great weeks in which we celebrated my roommates’ one-day-apart birthdays:

      

Below, back home we celebrated the quilt Jami made from our old t-shirts, a book signing with Jess, and me schlepping out the garbage at oh-dark-thirty:

February

But February made me shiver with every paper I’d deliver.  ~  Don McLean

Below, whatta winter with snow, cold, sun dogs, and the Polar Plunge in beautiful Lake Darling:

 

We were warmed by our annual Valentine’s Day anniversary at SAWA, and by our annual trek to the girls’ state hockey tournament:

March

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.  ~  Charles Dickens

Below, shortly after the girls played the last Cardinals’ basketball game ever at the old Jefferson High School gym, the boys’ team, and the girls’ coaches, made it to the state tournament at venerable Williams Arena. The super and I made the most of state tournament time by visiting venerable Al’s Breakfast in Dinkytown:

We also had time to appear in photos with some of our close personal friends, and in the latter, we’re just slightly out of the frame behind Jennifer Lawrence:

April

Till April in Paris, Whom can I run to, What have you done to my heart.  ~  E. Y. Harburg

Below, April is a transition month.  On the 11th, Robo and I were the first to play our golf course; on the 20th the ice was gone from in front of our house; by the 26th the wind had blown it back:

May

The month of May was come, when every lusty heart beginneth to blossom, and to bring forth fruit  ~  Thomas Mallory

Below, on the 1st, I got my first of two “new” eyes (on July 8, the pasta sieve went on the other eye); on the 2nd, the super got a new car; on the 3rd, we reunited two old friends from Grand Rapids, taught Deb how to “put bread in [his] jar,” and ran for the roses for Theatre L’Homme Dieu; and on the 4th, brother Cam and I were at the old high school for a kind of all-class good-bye:

On the 12th, we lost, the community lost, and the world of music lost our friend, Bruce Kelly.  We all think of him often whenever his old groups play:

Below, Bruce and friends remind us of the hazards of a Minnesota winter!

Below, Awake the Lakes weekend with BAT at the golf club, with Mary and Crazy Dave, and winery, Breakfast at the Fort, and at SAWA with friends from Austin, TX, Tom and Pam:

June

And what is so rare as a day in June?  Then, if ever, come perfect days.  ~  James Russell Lowell

You may have heard.  We went to France in June.  Rick Steves featured it on his program (well, he probably wishes he had).  It was the trip of a lifetime, featuring a river boat that died, a train strike that directly affected us, and Rita never met her luggage during the entire trip.  And all that is what made it so fun!  We took thousands of photos.  We could not properly feature some here without leaving out too many other, so I made a management decision not to, thus saving the internet from crashing.  If one should be so interested, just type “France” in the blog’s search block:

By now you’ve gotten the idea that I travel quite often with the sisters Callecod, a/k/a, The Biddies.  As a result, I’ve come to learn all about life in a sorority as explained in the following video by Frank Costanza:

July

Don’t worry, the fans don’t start booing until July.  ~  Earl Weaver

Below, at month’s end we began our annual trip to Camp Brosius in Elkhart Lake, WI, by taking the scenic route around northern Wisconsin and Michigan’s UP.  First stop Hinckley and Tobie’s caramel rolls, then the Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward, then Bayfield, where we stayed at Lucy’s and dined at the Rittenhouse Inn:

    August

The pleasure of jogging and running is rather like that of wearing a fur coat in Texas in August: the true joy comes in being able to take the damn thing off.  ~  Joseph Epstein

Below, on our grand tour to Camp, we cruised the Apostle Islands at Bayfield, WI, in Lake Superior; cruised Lakes Michigan and Huron on the way to Mackinac Island; had our photo taken with Father Marquette and a gull, with Al Capone, with an IU alum flag, and enjoying a champagne lunch . . . :

And then we arrived at Camp Brosius, where, by the end, I had purchased, and modeled, official Brosius shades:

Back home, we celebrated the first athletic event in the new high school – a volleyball game captured on “digital” by The Voice of the Cardinals.   It was followed shortly thereafter by the first football game:

 

By month’s end, the supervisor was enjoying Perfidia, her favorite song by Kevin Klimek, here with partner Jim Faber as Enterprise at Bug-A-Boo Bay:

September

I love September, especially when we’re in it.  ~  Willie Stargell

Below, on September 2, the new high school opened for business (Echo Press photo); a shared birthday at SAWA; a routine weekend afternoon at the winery; and marching in the Homecoming parade with classmate Sara Smith Sevey:

And finally, we have to report we partook in the world’s largest hotdish at the winery; and went to a DFL picnic:

October

October, baptize me with leaves! Swaddle me in corduroy and nurse me with split pea soup. October, tuck tiny candy bars in my pockets and carve my smile into a thousand pumpkins. O autumn! O teakettle! O grace!  ~ Rainbow Rowel

Below, “Weakie” and I went to the Alex cross-country invite at Arrowwood on an incredibly cold early October day.  The Hasz twins, Megan and Bethany, finished 1 & 2, as they did at conference, section, and state meets – they finished 1 & 3 (Megan wasn’t feeling well) at the Nike regional meet, and then finished 5th & 9th at the national meet.  Incredible!  Shortly thereafter we had fun (well Kathy certainly did!) at a fundraiser for our local candidates for the Minnesota house, Jim Miltich and Jay Sieling, who both performed with Anthony Miltich.  Unfortunately, they both lost as voters determined they were over-qualified for the position:

 

Then we went on to the ‘U’ where some people of note were speaking; I took a picture of Senator Franken’s personal photographer, she took some pictures of us:

We returned home in time for football, senior night in volleyball, and the first girls’ hockey practice:

November

In Britain, the major public holiday used to be Guy Fawkes Day… that was celebrated on November 5th with things like bonfires and fireworks… I think that made Halloween seem preferable. The idea of having pumpkins and costumes and parties seemed much more appealing than burning down your neighborhood. ~ Lisa Morton

Below, we stopped at the Science Museum (for the Monarch butterfly movie) on the way to Basketball Dan’s annual turkeyfest, girls’ hockey season began, the supervisor demonstrates her prowess on immediately notifying everybody via Facebook on what’s happening music-wise, and “Weakie’s” designated pre-hockey game meal:

December

How did it get so late so soon? Its night before its afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?  ~   Dr. Seuss

Below, last December, the Super Fans sponsored a Puck Shoot; I coveted a car; the super and her kids; me and a lamp; The Biddies at San Marcos on Reetz’s birthday, New Year’s Eve; and my biography:

Above, the grandson and his family wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it ‘Christmas’ and went to church; the Jews called it ‘Hanukkah’ and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People passing each other on the street would say ‘Merry Christmas!’ or ‘Happy Hanukkah!’ or (to the atheists) ‘Look out for the wall!’  ~ Dave Barry

(Pssst, and did I mention they finally published my biography?)

[The perfect complements to a Thanksgiving dinner are cashew brittle and Hallowine.  OK, we were off by one holiday regarding the wine.]

[For the occasion, I contributed my first ever attempt at making artisan bread.   I’ll do better next time.]

[Mostly the supervisor and Jami contributed to the feast.]

[East Coast relatives submitted the above.  D.C. denizens Gretch and Mo decided that as a twosome they would just drive around the metro area to see that was available.  They ended up at a Bob Evans where they were able to get the classic Thanksgiving dinner, to include chili and French fries.  🙂  ]

Whatever happened to good, hard loaves of bread? Alexandria Echo Press – 11/07/2007

Editor’s [of the Echo] note: The following piece was submitted as a commentary but because of the subject matter we thought it would be a good fit to run in the Country section.

By Tom Obert, Alexandria, MN

Glorious bread . . . the staff of life. This fundamental of human existence was brought to mind again in the recent Jeffersonian article [printed in the October 24 Echo Press] about our high school’s German exchange students who lamented they couldn’t find good German bread – hard bread – in our community. I just want to tell those students – you are not alone!

What follows is not for the faint of heart. Children should probably leave the room. And always remember – this is just one person’s opinion and you are always free to disagree. But the number one premise of human gastronomical endeavors should be – good bread is a dangerous weapon if used as a projectile.

A good bread should have crust like tree bark. A good bread should thump like a ripe melon – it should sound hard and hollow. A good bread should be able to stand up to a chain saw without losing its shape. A good bread crust should threaten your dental work like peanut brittle – in both cases, the risk is worth it. If you slice good bread, it will not schmooosh into a lifeless piece of lefse.

There is an expression that goes back to biblical days called “breaking bread.” Although the expression generally means dining with friends, it reflects the idea that bread was made to be broken – that the breaking of bread should send crumbs flying in a mad dash for freedom. After breaking bread there should be a need for vacuuming – both of yourself and of your surrounding 10-foot radius. And then you should have to empty the bag. You can tell a good restaurant if its staff carries crumb tools – indicating they have a need to clean tables of residue from previous diners breaking bread. Unfortunately, you can’t break much of today’s bread – you can tear it, peel it, fold it, use it to plug leaks in your boat – but you can’t “break” it.

Before it was Weston Station, it was Sonny’s; before it was Sonny’s, it was Carl’s Fireside Steakhouse. Carl’s used to feature a poppy seed hard roll – when you broke one, crumbs would fly like snow inside a Christmas snow globe when you shook it. They were also the best dinner rolls I have ever had in my life. I haven’t found them anywhere since – but I still have delicious dreams about those rolls to this day.

I like good bread more than I like a good steak. I like good bread more than I like a hot fudge sundae (OK, that one’s close). I like good bread more than I like an afternoon nap (OK, that one’s really close). There is no better smell in the world than bread baking, or toasting. A good sandwich begins with good bread – if the bread cannot stand up to the sandwich contents, you will not have a pleasant dining experience. How many times have you been eating a sandwich, or hamburger, only to have the whole thing fall apart in a soggy mess before you can finish?

Most Alexandrians prefer soft bread – local food merchants would not stock it to the exclusion of just about everything else if that was not the case. All we ask – as a friendly gesture to our German students – is to throw us a hard loaf (though not too hard, please) occasionally.

  

[The Friday after Thanksgiving marks the official beginning to the holiday season – it’s Christmas at Ft. Alexandria!  Hot cider, popcorn, cookies, reindeer, the high school carolers, and the lighting of the city Christmas decorations!]

[It was cold that night, my friends.  Darn cold!  The super and I decided to amble apace back to SAWA, where we had parked the car, and we would see the lights on the way home.]

[When we first walked in, I immediately ordered a hot glass of mead around which I first wrapped my frozen fingers.  Then we partook of salads, bread, Chef Paul’s salmon cake, a fine bottle of Don David malbec, and the musical stylings of Finestra.  🙂  ]

[On the way home we captured the internationally-famous city Christmas lights.]

[Saturday morning it was off to the high school for a four-team scrimmage of girls’ basketball teams.  Plus, it got me out of house decorating!  Anyhoo, the new school provides a venue that allows five games to be played at once (each school had their varsity, JV, and 9th-grade teams).  We in the stands had to look across our JV games to see the varsity at center court.  The JV looked good.  The varsity lost 8 seniors and will be a work in progress.  They invited Marshall, who were state runners’-up last year, and it looks like they’ll be contending again.]

[While I was away scouting basketball, this was occurring at home.]

[Theatre L’Homme Dieu presented it’s 2105 schedule Tuesday night at Interlachen.  Then I had to rush off to the girls’ hockey game against River Lakes.  Upon research after the game, we would have been favored in this home game based on performance against same opponents.  It didn’t work out that way.  The team seems to be in a hangover from their annual overnight to play Mound-Westonka and Orono on Thanksgiving weekend.  Lots of things were wrong here.  When I arrived, no other Super Fans were in sight.  So I stayed the whole game at ice level behind the goal.  After the 1st period, Super Fan Robo came down to join me – I didn’t see him, as he was standing up top, similarly not noticing any Super Fans sitting.  It was his first game of the year – oy!  (At game’s end, we did see Teddy and Jerry Hockey, who had been standing as they usually do.)  But we were down 5 – 0 early in the 2nd period – we were toast(?).  To the team’s credit, we pulled it together in the 3rd and started skating – amazingly, we eventually came out with a shots-on-goal advantage.  This, in spite of a recent trend of taking way too many penalties.  We hope this is just a mid-season lull to be fought through.]

[This just in!  Summer Alexandrians and music fans, Ruth Ann and Randy Tronnes, are snowbirding in Naples, Florida, and got this shot of Patchouli at the Christmas Tree lighting at the Mercato.  He got a “hi” for us from Julie.  😉  ]

Love is not entirely a delirium, yet it has many points in common therewith.  ~  Thomas Carlyle  [Editor’s note:  Think about it.  How often do you run across a sentence containing “therewith”?]

Up next:  If I don’t get cracking on the Christmas letter, the supervisor is going to crack my butt!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Before we go any further it behooves me (don’t you just love being behooved?) to let those outside the normal Alexandria commuting area know that tomorrow will be the coldest Thanksgiving in 29 years (two years ago it was 60 degrees!).  And to add insult to injury, tomorrow will be that one in 10 Thanksgiving in which we have snow on the ground – the result of having the longest stretch of days below freezing in November since . . . 1880!  But despite all that, we still have open water (and, surprisingly, fish houses) on beautiful Lake Darling.

[Photos taken Thanksgiving Eve morning.]

But I digress.  The purpose of this missive is to remind you all we’re heading into the holiday season, a/k/a, the gift giving season.  And by virtue of your “membership” in this publication’s mailing list, you all qualify as someone who as a smart friend once remarked, “If I can’t eat it or drink it, I don’t need it or I already have it.”  Thus, on those special holidays, i.e., birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, and Guy Fawkes Day, it would certainly be appreciated if you “gifted” the United Way (UW) of Douglas and Pope Counties in the name of your intended giftee.  Thank you very much.

If I Had a Million Dollars . . .

Now I realize that only about 50 per cent of you have a million dollars.  But all of you have a certain amount of disposable income.  Here’s an example of what you can dispose of it on:

The super and I started going to the Empty Bowls fundraisers at the high school a few years ago.  I was so impressed by this “needs” list on all the tables that I took this photo.  These are UW facts . . . and the “whys” as to the necessities of these programs.  These figures really haven’t changed – 1 out of 5 kids in Douglas County is hungry; and you may have noticed the story in the Strib last week that 1 out of 30 kids in this country is homeless.  Hunger and homelessness are the two main issues for the local UW.  The high school kids do their part with the Empty Bowls program, where you can also be entertained by the likes of Terry Kennedy!

And here once again is the local UW website.  Please help if you can . . . and also please share this message family and friends.  Again, thank you!

http://www.uwdp.org/home.aspx

I think I am, therefore, I am. I think.  ~  George Carlin