Turkey Days, 10KLF, and missing phones... oh my!

It sure has been busy around here.
Uffda!
This past weekend has been a whirlwind, and what a great one! Starting on Thursday night some family of mine came up to stay at the resort. What a great treat! They came just in time to hear the band play at the resort. The weather was perfect which made it a great night to dance with our friends and neighbors. It was funny because as the band played on into the night we could watch boats pull out on to the lake and anchor out just in front of the resort. So we ended up having quite the crowd!
Friday night lead to a lot of dancing and well... too many beers from the beer garden! I blame it all on my friend Reyna who was able to come from Fergus Fall and dance her pants off with me at the annual Turkey Days Street Dance. What a night! I think I even brought out the running man and the sprinkler moves a couple of times. My whole family goes every year and it is always a blast, and this year proved to be just as true!
Saturday morning started off with some confusion. I had lost my phone the week before, and so I ordered in a new one that arrived on Friday. Saturday morning my new phone was "stolen." I just might not get a new phone.... I like this "liberation feeling" of not having one.
But Saturday ended up being a pretty cool day too. It is the normal check in day for the resort guests so the morning was spent cleaing cabins, making welcome baskets, meetin' and greetin' and hanging out with everyone by the lake. Later that night, however, I got to sneak away with my brother and my cousins; Matt and Susan, to go see the Dave Matthews Band play at the 10,000 lakes festival in Detroit Lakes. It was a great night with some great music. I felt like I was back home dancing around with hippies... just like the good ol' days. Definitly a highlight for the summer.
Sunday was spent lounging around...(trying to catch up on some sleep). Jake and I went kayaking, the family and I went to watch the Turkey Day Parade in Frazee.... where we got to see Tiffany (Erik's "friend") for the first time after being crowned Miss Frazee, and then we spent the remainder of the day in the lake tubing, playing board games and enjoying the fine company we all had to share.

Oh! And did I mention that I got 2nd place at the annual Frazee Flower Show! Because... .I did! Woo hoo!

It was a great weekend filled with entertainment and fun! And I have a feeling this upcoming week won't be anything short of amazing either!

Only in Minnesota can you...

Today is a good day.
Nope. Let me start over. Today is a great day!
I can't even tell you how many times I caught myself either smiling for no apparent reason, whistling, or thinking... "man! This is one cool day!" But it is what it is.
There are many reasons that I love this "up north" life. I love the small towns, I love the sense of community, I love the food, I love the lakes, and I love the sense of tradition. But today has given me many more reasons to love this place.

Reason #1. Only in Minnesota can you trade fish for getting your hair done.
After months of trying out the "hippie/resort do" I decided to call into the hair salon to get my hair done. After catching up with Jonathon my hair stylist we got to talking about how he loves to eat grilled fish, and I happened to throw in the fact that I have a whole freezer full of fish, and from this small conversation came the barter of haircut for fish. Yes! I did it! I traded fish for a haircut. Again, only in Minnesota can you do this!

Reason #2. Only in Minnesota can you go to visit someone in the hospital and you get approached by the front desk lady if you would like to enter in a meat raffle. For those of you who don't know what this is, believe me it is pretty interesting! I was first introduced to the concept when I moved to the area 4+ years ago. While it is mainly done at bars in the area the concept is this; a person approaches you with a roll of tickets, usually a dollar a ticket. You buy as many tickets as you see fit, and then when they have sold all the tickets they pick the lucky winner and, should you win, you get to pick your choice of "meat" from the meat bin. (e.g.) a pkg. of bratwursts, a roast, or if you are real lucky they will be raffeling off like a 6 pack of ribeyes!. So I guess the hospital today jumped on the band wagon and started their own meat raffle. Again, only in Minnesota can you do this!

Reason #3. Every year at the end of July our nice friend Joyce from down the road calls us with the good news that Raspberry season is upon us! I got the call two days ago that in deed the berries are ready for the picking! So now, for the next few weeks, I get to call in my order of exactly how many pints I would like. We started off the season with a load of 10 pints, but she surprised us with an extra 3 just for good measure! I love this time of year! I love being the girl who for a few chosen weeks gets to bring delicious berries to all the pot lucks! Again, only in Minnesota can you do this!

Reason #4. Well... I guess there are only three today! But tomorrow I am sure I will have another hand full of reason why this place is so neat! As for tonight I'm off to spend time with my family, (my grandparents and my great aunt and uncle came to visit for the rest of the week) enjoy the avid cocktail hour with everyone, go drive some golfballs at the course next door and take in another great day at the lake!

Yeah! I did that!

The day started out slow, another quiet morning on the lake. I like working in the mornings because everyone here is on vacation so they all sleep in which gives me some quiet time to catch up in the office and pound a pot or so of coffee...(really it is vital that I do so though... I guess word on the street is I get pretty "testy" without coffee in the a.m.) Most of the day was spent looking for my phone. I lost it on Saturday and still have not found it. I think I have covered every square inch of the resort and yet no sign. I am just short of making wanted posters and hanging them on all the cabins. But, that probably isn't a good idea.

After everyone had headed home for the night it was a perfect time and temp for a walk around the lake, and I think I owe it to Berkley... he has been sitting in the house for the past few days just itching to get out and burn some energy, I can say this only because if at any chance a door or window was open he was finding a way to jump out and find his freedom! So I packed up the pup and headed out. We walked along lake road into the back woods and back through the city park, there wasn't a soul to be seen except for Stan and Wilma (some resort friends) out taking their cocktail cruise around the lake.

So we walked and walked and then after our hard work we ended up in the lake taking in the pretty evening.

When I got back home I was shocked to find that Kathrine and Caitlin had made me supper and a special after dinner treat! They said they felt bad that my phone went missing and wanted to do something to cheer me up. It was awesome! I joked that now Jake might leave me becuase two new girls were in the kitchen cooking! Which as you all know I don't do too much of!
But I ate way too much! But so worth every last bite!
After supper Kathrine and I attempted quite the feat. See, last week at the softball games (go Muskies!) One of the players was showing us, post game, how to rip a phone book in half. So while we sat stuffed with ice cream and brownies we found ourselves staring the ol' phone book in the face. We had to see if it was in deed possible!
And guess what? We totally own that book! We ripped that thing in half like it was no ones business!
I will gladly rip one and autograph it for anyone who would like.
Needless to say, it was funny! And we laughed hard!
Another great night spent laughing and enjoying great company in the beautiful summer air!

Where did this weekened go?

So I guess I am apparently not good at writing on the weekends. Saturday's are always hectic and Sundays are usually my sneak away and do something interesting sort of days..... And well Monday... who are we kidding, that snuck by and before I knew I could look at a clock it was already 10 at night!
And so this is how the weekend goes generally for every week of the summer, and now I am in shock because it is already towards the end of July! HOLY BUCKETS!

Saturday I spent most my morning and afternoon chasing my tail trying to get the cabins ready for the next guests. Our check out is at 10am and then check in for the new guys is at 2 pm, so it is a lot of hustle and bustle for those 4 hours! And this Saturday seemed extra trying because some of... well... who am I kidding... all of the guests this past weekend left their cabins in the worst shape imaginable! I swear some people must be born in a barn with out any ideas what the word "manners" or "clean" mean! Have you ever seen a sub sandwich smashed into a wall? Or perhaps have you ever heard of throwing all your drinking glasses into the fire pit? I know about throwing plates from my greek friends back home, but I don't think this counts! Or perhaps have you ever heard of taking your dining room chair and throwing it off the dock into the great blue lake?
Yeah! Me neither! And that is just SOME of the stuff I had to deal with on Saturday...
But we got through it with smiles on our faces (mainly for the new guests because I had some choice words I was feeling like I should be saying) and we got everyone new checked in for the week.
I forgot how nice it is to be able to hear the lake and have peace and quiet at night! This week is awesome already!
Then on Sunday we made our yearly attendance at the Water Carnival Parade in Detroit Lakes! I love this parade, even that no matter what I always leave the 2 hour parade sunburned, sweaty, and stinky, I wouldn't miss it for anything!
This year we timed it right so we could have lunch on the lake, and then watch the parade from down on the beach. It was perfect. We even got to see the new senetor of MN rocking out singing oldies on the back of a flat bed truck! I tell you what! Minnesotans know how to have fun!
After the parade we went over to Jake's moms for a picnic. It was a quiet night spent outside, which was perfect. We ate too much and played kickball until our ankles hurt! Or maybe just mine did... I always forgot tennis shoes!

Monday morning brought rain and more rain, along with some loud thunder storms and lightening. My electricity went out, and again there is another lake in front of my beach! So needless to say it was a quiet day around the resort.
I was a little nervous yesterday because at 11:30 I was scheduled to talk with Jim Ferguson of Outdoor Trails for a talk radio show about the resort. It is heard by 80,000 people or something crazy like that! I had this great idea of talking in my "authentic Minnesota accent" and telling him he should call me crappie Kellie... (not crapy like poopy! But crappie like the fish!) But those great ambitions went out the door as soon as he had me do my voice check and count down from
5
4
3
2
1
And we're live with Kellie Dodds!
Yeah! This is where I paniced! It was a great experience. I hope those 80,000 plus listeners don't fall asleep when I hit the radio waves later this week....

After my radio debut... Jake took me out to lunch at the Palace Cafe in Frazee. You rarely see more than 15 people in town at one time, but I sware when ever you walk into the Palace at the noon hour everyone and their brother was there! And yesterday their special of the day was tator tot hotdish! I laughed becuase only in MN is this a special that you can get at a public place! Usually this is something you get at your grandma's or a funeral. But I got it!! And I enjoyed every last tator tot it had to offer.

After the office was closed I ended my day sitting on a dock watching the sunset. It couldn't have been more beautiful! I love nights like that!

I can breathe!!

I'm starting to think that maybe July has disappeared. I woke up this morning to yet another day of maybe 50 degrees. This kind of weather is usually typical for late September or October, but July? Really?
I'm not going to lie, this weather makes me lazy. And so this morning it took me nearly an extra hour through the snooze button, and a whole pot of coffee to finally get me up and going. But after sitting in the office and taking care of the normal phone calls, bills, and emails I found myself thinking about bed again.
But then a much better idea jumped into my head! Road trip! Nothing gets me out of a bad weather/boring day funk then a nice drive through the great land of the north. The winding path that takes you past dairy farms, woods, lakes, and quiant towns is exactly what the doctor ordered for me.
One of the best "cure all" towns for me is Vergas, maybe only 6 miles from where I live. The road is fun to drive on because you can sneak around the back roads and spy on all the people's flower beds, then you can go past Bennie's bait where they are said to have the best bait around, and then from there you follow the road down to the smelly dairy farm, take a right at the stop sign and come around the bend to meet the world's largest loon! Once you see that ol' Loon you are only seconds from what might be one of the greatest small towns in America... Vergas!
Population 311 it sits against a couple hundred lakes it seems and it honestly feels like you walk into a town that is nestled somewhere between 1952 and old tradition of yesteryear. I love this place!
I giggle every time I drive into town (just past the loon) when I pass Big Jim's. Its a drive through "eatery" where you can also buy bait. They do have some awesome cheese curds too! But this is not why I giggle. I giggle because right across the road from Big Jim's is the Vergas baseball field where 10 years ago my dad joined the Frazee Flames and hit a homerun that knocked against the wall of Big Jim's Eatery! It was quite impressive! But the best part is that everytime we have company my family always takes them to Vergas and when we drive past that great ball park my dad gets to tell his story how he knocked one "out of the park and all the way to Jim's! This is something that will always stick in my memory.
So I spent sometime in Vergas looking around the unique shops, I talked myself out of having another piece of pie at the Loon's Nest, I ventured over to Goodman's market to look at their olive loaf and head cheese....(yes, I said head cheese. It's a Minnesotan thing,) and then after accomplishing all that I could, I felt as if I could breath again. My boredom and hum drum way of thinking was lifted from the great vibe I always get in Vergas!

The night was topped off when Kathrine, my mom, and I were driving into town tonight to have supper at the Shoreham Pub in Detroit Lakes. (This place has the best sweet potatoe fries!)
We pulled up behind an SUV whose license plate read "OleLena" and I bursted into laughs! Quickly I was reminded that I must be becoming a Minneostan because I had to explain to Kathrine exactly what that meant.
So for those of you who don't know who Ole and Lena are, they are an old Norwiegen couple that millions of jokes are based upon up in this area. Jokes that are only funny because they are absolutly stupid!
So, in honor of a great day spent in small town America I leave you with this:
"Ole and Lena were at the bank one day cashing their checks when all of a sudden a bank robber came in, pulled a gun, and demanded all the money be put in his bag. He pointed his gun at everyone there and said, "if you say to anyone that you saw me rob this bank I will shoot you!"
So he goes up to the first guy and asks, "did you see me rob this bank?" The guys says "yeah."
BAM! He shoots him dead. The robber goes up to another guy and asks, "Did you see me rob this bank?" The man replies, "well.. yeah!"
BAM! He shoots him too!
So the robber walks up to Ole and asks, "Did you see me rob this bank?" Ole looks at the robber and says, "no! But my wife Lena did!"

A cool crisp 50 degrees!

It's another quiet and cold day at Eagle Lake. The high of the day....55 degrees! You know it must be cold because even the fisherman aren't out for the afternoon. To top that off, Charlie was at the Loon's Nest for afternoon pie, not out trying to catch the 40lb. walleye, so it must be cold! (really though, we all know the routine... pie and coffee for 99 cents! Even a beautiful day of fishing can't top that!)

So today is one of those days where you wake up knowing that something is going to take place. Something that is neither good nor bad. But something that is going to take your attention and shed light on a new way of seeing things, no, better yet, a new way of feeling about things.

It started out this morning when I saw two little girls out swimming in the lake. It couldn't have been but 50 degrees outside but that didn't stop them from enjoying their vacation. I went out and asked them, "aren't you cold?" And they replied... "No! We're strong!"

I giggled to myself, thinking "yeah, I guess your right! I sure as heck wouldn't try to swim in this weather!"
Throughout the day the same word of "strong" kept re appearing into my mind with certain things that were taking place.
Simple words lead to show a strong character of wanting to be heard.
An ear to listen for a troubled friend gave strength to someone who needed it.
The determination and stamina of someone training to do something great and new reminded me of inner strength...

And I was in awe of all the amazing people and things taking place around me!
I love being able to sit back and just watch people and their reactions. I like to take it in, absorb the feelings, and learn as much as I can from what is going on. I guess I've always been a visual learner.

But today I learned no matter how small something seems or how big something can seem... we all have to dig deep within to find a little thing called "Strength" to pull us through or to show us that we CAN do the things we thought we never would.

Now for myself, the only thing I had to use strength to do today was to hold myself back from not eating 2 slices of pie at the Loon's Nest. That is what you call real strength!!

Tonight I am off to watch the mighty Muskies battle their last night of games in Perham! Always a great time. Hopefully it will stay above freezing for the games!
GO MUSKIES!!

My favorite three words.

Most girls hope and pray to hear those three special words sometime in their lives... They think of what the day will be like when they hear those beautiful words, and imagine where and will it will be, not to mention who is going to say it to them.
Well today... I heard that beautiful phrase. CHARLIE'S FISH FRY! (I might have failed to mention that I am not talking about "I love you")
To me, this might be one of the greatest things I could hear. This time the special someone that told me was Sue, Charlie's sister in law and she called this afternoon with news that the big event would take place in their garage at 6pm, bring a dish to pass.
For those of you who don't know Charlie he is my neighbor. A man with the best stories and the greatest fried fish. He would tell you without a doubt that he has caught at least a million fish in his life time, and the ones he hasn't caught yet... is due to the fact that they are like the mysterious creatures of Eagle Lake, tipping the scales at monstorious weights that the old fishing poles can't handle. To say the least he is great and one of the best neighbors I have had.
Not only is the fish fry a wonderful meal of everything typical and Minnesotan (from deviled eggs to cheesy hashbrowns, rhubarb anything, and butter) but more so it is a treat cause I get to spend time with some of the best people Minnesota has to offer.
We have Ken and Dolores who fill the room with laughter and have one of the most amazing gardens I have ever seen. Which supplies the ample amount of rhubarb for all the summer parties!
Then we have Joe and Sue, Charlie's brother and sister in law. Sue provides the quick one lined comebacks to everything said, and Joe has the sweetest smile of anyone I've seen.
Charlie and Shirley. Charlie as previously stated is the best fish fryer around, and Shirley keeps him grounded when his stories might get a little out of hand.
Then there is Nick. One of my most favorite people ever! Nick lives across the street from me. And this year he will turn 97. He loves his sweets and the Twins. And he has the craziest stories but a heart of gold. The best way to his heart? Give him some cookies and he is done!
These are my neighbors. And they are one of the many reasons I fell in love with this lake and all that it is about. Their humor, their love for life, and their kindness don't go un-noticed, but rather spark something within me everytime I am around them, to slow down and really enjoy the simple things... like fried fish and laughing!

As if my night wasn't great enough... it was topped off with a visit from some of the "little guests" at the resort. Gracie, Madison, and McKenzie paid a visit tonight and brought me s'mores just because.

Needless to say, I ate enough for the next 3 days! But... that is a small price I can pay for the great time I spent with my dear friends.

Whew...

The weather man was actually right today. He said there was suppose to be rain and he was sure right! It rained, and rained, and rained! So much so that now in front of the beach there is another lake?
I always like when it rains during the "busy season." It gives me a chance to catch up on things that I some how neglected during the sunny days and oddly enough it gives me the kick in the butt to try new things! And that is exactly what happend today.
While the constant pitter patter of rain hit my roof I pondered up what I was going to attempt to make for supper. Now this might not seem like something of great importance, but coming from me, this is HUGE! Actually Jake noted that in our near 3 years we have been together I have cooked supper a possible 4 times! So see, this is a big deal!
So I sat and watched the splashes of rain on the lake and thought to myself...."I've always wanted a panini machine!" So that is what I got. I drove through the wind and rain all the way across town to Walmart, got myself a sweet little panini machine (along with some paint and other resort items) and the grabbed what ever looked fitting off the grocery store shelves.
I tried to keep supper a secret becuase I knew that this just might be something to knock Jake's socks off, either that or give him the worst indegestion, but non the less... I made supper!!
So my new found family of Jake, Kathrine, and myself dined on spicy pork loin paninis. Complete with peach marmalade, brie cheese, garlic butter and red peppers. Sounds horrific, but I think it went over ok! Or they were just being nice?
So that was my day. Contemplating my divine meal... and finishing up quarterly sales taxes. Fun, I know!

Now I am on my way to relax... as if my day hasn't already consist of just that. But the weather is perfect for sleeping and that is just what I am going to do!

Jumping Point...

I call this my jumping point only because this is how I relate things now; living on the lake. It is like when you run down the dock to jump into the cold water and it is that quick second before you hit the water where you know that it is going to be exciting... a rush more or less. This is how I feel.
My dear friend.. no, I will say my sister and I, took a vow to document our lives for the next year. A sort of way to stay in touch, with words and thoughts and the idea of sharing a photo a day in representation of how we come to feel. So this is where I start. The begining. The jumping point... full speed ahead, holding my breath and going for it.... with hopes in ending in an awesome cannon ball!

So this is where it stars. Its a quiet night here at the resort, which is actually pretty remarkable giving the circumstances. We have a group of well... very unique individuals. I'm not saying by any means that it is okay to pass judgement... but they are of a different breed. The first night that they were here consisted of shooting off fireworks maybe 20 feet from my bedroom window while yelling in drunken tones, "woo hoo now lets have some weiners!!!" I knew it was going to be quite a week. But for only their third night here.. things are considerably... quiet. Now I better go knock on wood.

So if you don't know me, I live at a resort. My family has had it for the past 12+ years. And already this is my 5th summer of being the manager. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would be well-practiced in plumbing, electrical work, snow plowing, and cleaning... but I would like to think that I am now! And I am proud of that! It took me alot of exploring and self searching to realize that I wanted nothing more that to be here, helping out my family business and enjoying the unique life that resort life offers.

So I am here, in little Frazee America, home of the world's largest turkey with my wonderful boyfriend Jake and my puppy... well... my extremely long, loud, and loveable dog Berkley... and I wouldn't have it any other way!