Br-r-r-!

Whoever thought it was a good idea to settle in NW Minnesota had to have arrived here in the summer. Waking up to -18 below zero this am is not my idea of warm. At least it's not windy today. It's a good thing we don't have too many of these cold snaps. Otherwise, I might have to move down to Indiana where it is warmer! I do like our nice cover of snow all winter and having fun in that. Not so much ice and slush like you have? Well, I am a little jealous of you people who are in Florida, soaking up the rays. Last weekend in Bemidji, MN they held the annual Br-r-rmidji Polar Days. A whole lot of crazy antics go on, the highlight of it all is people jumping into Lake Bemidji in their swimsuits or other outlandish outfits. It is almost always the coldest weekend of the year. I believe it was -26 below zero that morning, and they did it around noon. the water was 34 degrees when they pulled out the ice blocks for the jumping hole. They golf on the lake and they decorate the "golf course" with discarded christmas trees. Broomball tournament is next...it's hockey for poor people...you wear your warm boots and winterwear, take a broom and cut off all the bristles down to the stitching, tape it up with silver duct tape and there you have a hockey stick. (you can actually buy a fancy brrom ball stick at the sporting goods store if you have the extra cash, but they are much too fancy and it detracts away from the idiocy of it all.) You use a heavy duty ball that usually is flattened shortly after the game begins. This is a highly-esteemed tournament in Bemidji, where there are all businesses form teams and behave like they are competeing for the stanley cup. Of course then there are snowmobile races and dog sled races and you can also catch our Curling team, who so often participate in the Olympics. So, we have fun amidst our frigid weather. Next we look forward to guessing which fishouse will fall through the ice in the spring because they put them so close to the open part where the river runs through. idiots! Next time I'll tell you all about the area of the lake that turns into a parking lot for the college students-i'm not kidding. -Sara