Alotta Monkey Business

And So It Begins!

For "Andre's Old2New Years Party"  

Andre's throwing a costume party? I wonder what his costume will be? Me, I'd thought about going as Mrs. Doubtfire, a costume idea I did many years back. I had a borrowed dress that surprisingly fit me that looked like the one in the movie. A friend had a wig, and she also assisted with my make-up. The most difficult part was body hair, and I have plenty (not as much as Andre, but that's neither here nor there). My friends idea was to use Nair Hair Removal Creme, but after two attempts, I still ended up shaving my legs and my chest. We won't talk a out the misery I went through when the hair began to return. There were a few different options for boobs, but I ended up using water balloons to give the needed bounce.

For Andre's party, however, I decided to save myself the itch and problems associated with this costume. I want something comfortable to wear, easy to assemble, and something that won't take nearly as long, since I'm late getting ready and don't have a fairy godmother to assist. For this shindig, I'll simply put on a pair of old pair of worn jeans, my cowboy boots, a western style shirt I seldom wear, and my poncho. I'll top it off with my sweat-stained, well worn stetson and my pair of .44 back powder revolvers (unloaded of course). Think of Clint Eastwood in "Lone Plains Drifter", and another plus, I won't have to shave!

I'll be drinking bourbon with water and ice; it's my preferred drink and it ties in well with the drifter costume. If this was a pot luck, I'd bring a couple of banana cream pies. I make mine with homemade vanilla pudding; I start with a graham cracker crust lined with sliced bananas, pour the pudding in while it's still hot, and then after it's cooled, garnish the top with another layer of sliced bananas and cover with real whipped cream. Other than desert, I'm not picky, us drifters will eat damned near anything.

I could bring my own tin plate if Andre is serving beans, that also would go well with the costume! I like using canned beans, they're just easier. Any kind of white beans, some thick cut bacon, chopped onions, a dash of red pepper flakes, and Ole West Barbecue sauce make an easy but delightful pot of beans.

Added content: I missed the most unusual food and drink, so I'm editing it in now. That means the word count is a bit higher than listed... So sue me! Anyway, while I think on the food, I can say the most unusual beverage I had was a Bloody Brain. I'm not sure what's in it, I do know it's has Jägermeister, cream, and I think grenadine. I do know the cream is in first, then the booze, so the cream curdles. The grenadine is drizzled into the snot like shot to give the "blood" to the brains (the Jägermeister and cream curdle looks a lot like a miniature brain in the glass. It goes down like one big snotty glob, it doesn't taste very good, and it looks horrid. The strangest food was a snack served at the same New Years Eve party. One of the guests brought a barbecued dish that actually didn't taste that bad, but toasted or roasted grasshoppers in barbecue sauce isn't something that should be served to people who are drinking "Bloody Brains" if you know what I mean.

The Banana Bar is in a small town (real small) near where I live called Ottertail. Yes, that's spelled correctly, Ottertail is in Otter Tail County right next to Otter Tail Lake. Why is it Ottertail for the town? A misspelling when the town was chartered, or so the story goes. Anyway, there's a bar and restaurant called the Wood Shed that serves terrific food, a large selection of beers including some micro-brewery beers, and it has lots of room. It's a quaint, older building that has wonderful atmosphere, and since it's located less than a quarter mile from the Otter Tail County Sheriff, there's seldom any trouble.

How does one get there? It depends on where you're coming from! Seriously, punch it in Google Maps; I don't have time to write up a bunch of directions for people driving from other locations, I'll end up missing all the fun at the bar!

If anyone needs lodging, there is a nice place in Ottertail not far from the bar. It's by the golf course, so it's pretty fancy and comfortable, but in my opinion, the food wasn't anything worth writing home about and the service was pretty slow. I haven't dined there in over a year, so it may have gotten better. Perhaps it was just something that night, but for what I spent, I didn't feel it was worth a return trip to see if changed; not when The Wood Shed "Invalid Item"  is just a hop, skip, and a jump up the road. Speaking of which, is Andre providing a shuttle bus?

What? The most interesting place I've ever went to a party? I probably shouldn't say! But, since you asked, I once went to a part while I was in the Air Force that was held, discreetly, at the end of the runway at Ellsworth AFB. A group of us covertly set up a couple of picnic tables and carried in some coolers with snacks and beer after dark. We used a service entrance to gain entry inside the fence, and enjoyed a few hours of drinking before all hell broke lose.

The night we picked to party was, unfortunately, the start of a major, joint military operation; we soon had thundering B-52s taking off and landing right over us (I'm talking about ten feet over). Between aircraft landing lights and strobing runway lights, it didn't take long for us to be spotted. Things did not go well after the SPs (Security Police)arrived.

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"Reading soothes the soul, writing sets it free." T.J.