Thinking Spring

We still have at least three feet of snow on the ground, with another foot predicted this week but it's not stopping me from thinking Spring!

I heard about a new garden idea.  Check this out.  You can start seeds in milk jugs outside.  Have you ever heard of this?  This is news to me. You poke some holes in the bottom of the jug, cut the bottom open and fill with dirt.  Soak it with water and sprinkle in some seeds.  Then you tape it shut and stick it in the snow.  The milk jugs act like mini greenhouses trapping the sunlight in.  The snow around it insulates the jug and supposedly by May these recycled containers will be full of flowers!

I have to admit I'm a little skeptical.  You would think they would just freeze, but people have had success doing this so I thought I would give it a try.  I figure I don't have much to lose - a few bucks in seeds at most.  I'll let you know how they turn out!

Busy newsroom + technical problems = CHAOS

 Newsrooms aren't exactly a calm and quiet place, it's why many of us got into the business.  On an ordinary day there is a lot to handle.  What's the news of the day? How do we tell the story well and get it on the air in seven hours?  But when you toss computer problems into the mix - yikes.  One of the main pieces we need to put a newscast on the air is our switcher, and Monday morning it just wouldn't turn on.  Plus, this particular day was a big news day, everyone was racing to get stories done on deadline. 

The production crew had to come up with a plan B.  With our switcher broken, it basically renders everything else obsolete.  Luckily we have a production van to cover live sporting events, so with wires running everywhere and people shouting back and forth we were able to pull off a newscast using a van that's sitting in our garage.

A true country bar

Last weekend I went home for a few days.  Traveling was a bit of a problem, snow storms managed to mess with both ends of my trip, but once I made it to NY I had a great time.

One of the highlights of the trip was going out with my sister and her boyfriend.  We stopped by a bar near their apartment.  There is no way any GPS would find this place.  Heck, more people arrive by snowmobile than cars this time of year.  It's a small bar called Rusty P's.  It's a 'come as you are' bar...you can wear a hoodie or hunting gear and it's perfectly normal.  The bartender splits her time making drinks and putting wood in the wood stove to keep the place warm.  (That's the wood stove right in the front of the bar.)

The best part about this place is that everyone is friendly.  I miss that.  If you don't know someone, they'll come over and introduce themselves, probably with a beer in their hand. 

Concert in the country

Last weekend we decided to check out a concert at a small venue about 30 mintues from our house.  We went to see the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.  What's funny about this is I remember adults listening to this band when I was younger.  I had an image in my head of hippie like middle aged guys.  I had to laugh a bit when they took the stage, because of course they're pushing retirement age now. They still put on a good show though. 

I'm not sure what entertained us more the band or the crowd.  It was the true country crowd, full of flannel shirts, belt buckles, and two steppers.  I seriously thought I was back in Montana for a minute. 

We had a few drinks and took it all in.  

Superbowl Letdowns

There was a lot of disappointment at our house on Sunday.  Aside from Jason yelling at Ben Roethlisberger for his many mistakes, I was yelling at the crappy half time show and commercials.  What happened there?  I'm a fan of the Black Eyed Peas, but seriuosly, that was a terrible performance.  And the outfits?  Apparently the Black Eyed Peas thought it would be cool to use the left over customes from the Bejing Olympics!  And the commercials - only a few were entertaining.  I liked the VW Darth Vader commerical and Best Buy's commercial. (I posted them below.)  Other than that, it was a dissapointing superbowl.

Digging out in NY

We've been moving snow for months in Minnesota.  We're above our average snowfall for the year.  Honestly, it's felt like a good old fashion Upstate NY winter here.  It was nice for about a month, now I'm just plain sick of it.  Our temperatures are now boucning all over the place.  One day it's -8, the next it's 30.

For awhile we had more snow than my parents, but that seems to be changing fast.  Apparently my hometown got their fair share of snow this past week.  My mom sent me these pictures.  Yes, that is our house buried back there.

A dry casino?

To beat the winter blues, Jason and I went to Mystic Lake Casino on Friday night.  We were so anxious to get away, we left in rush hour traffic!  (The casino is about an hour away from house.)  We spent five hours there, mostly playing slot machines.  Jason discovered a three card poker table that's ran by a computer.  The dealer is on a video screen, but other than that it's just like sitting at a real table, or some I'm told.  Poker is not my game.  I discovered digital roulette tables, that's more my thing.

We had a good time, but a few hours into the night we wanted a drink.   And guess what? It's a dry casino!  Yea.  I had no idea a casino could exist without alcohol.  Another casino we've gone to in Minnesota has a bar but you can't drink at the slot machines. Weird right?  This place doesn't even have a bar. When we asked someone, 'where can we get a drink?' The response was, 'The Indians don't believe in alcohol.'  Really? They don't believe in alcohol, but apparently supporting people's gambing habits is fine.  It's an odd concept, but I have to say, the place was packed.  Towards the end of the night Jason and I had trouble finding two slot machines next to each other.  Apparently alcohol is not needed to fill up a casino.