A Blog by a Berge...Matt Berge

The Berge's

2011-02-05T10:43:00.003-06:00

It was a cold and snowy day...

Sailor's Delight

2011-02-04T09:07:00.005-06:00

"Red sky at night, sailor's delight", was a frequent quote that my dear mother would tell us kids. Here is another one..."Red sky at night, God's artistry in sight", or "Red sky at night, His blood shed for our plight". Our God is truly an awesome God and what a creation He has given us!

photo taken from in front of my garage door the evening of Feb 3, 2011.

Mississippi River on a Cold Day

2011-02-02T14:44:00.004-06:00

This morning, heading to work, I was intrigued by the steam rising from the Mississippi River outlet from Lake Bemidji. Although the water is quite frigid, the surface movement keeps any ice from developing in this area. It is the temperature differential between the water and the -20 degree F air causing the steam.

Children of Light

2011-01-30T16:27:00.002-06:00

Sanford Date Night

2011-01-29T17:16:00.004-06:00

I had an opportunity to take my most lovely bride out on a date. We caught a hockey game at Bemidji's most recent addition, the Sanford Center. Too bad the BSU Beavers lost 5 - 1! But does that really matter when you are with the woman you love?! Absolutely NOT!

Photo Challenge: Day 7 and success!

2010-06-09T13:26:00.002-05:00

Last day of the photo challenge. Playing around with the shiny cut glass again. Here is a piece I call...."Double" pronounced (doo-bla).

Photo Challenge: Day 6

2010-06-08T10:43:00.004-05:00

I realize I have started to run out of interesting things to take pictures about. Weekdays are pretty standardized for me. Yeah, I could take photos of interesting sample products or office equipment, but the number of people who actually think those things are cool are probably in the minority. I thought about a photo of a sharp pencil, but I realized I was grasping at straws. The weather today is cloudy and basically dreary. Not really inspiring out there for cell phone photography. So, like any desperate critter would do, I was drawn to the magical properties of cut glass (a.k.a. a prism). The only question that remains is how far can one take this style of photography? Hmmm, might have to work with this a bit! Stay tuned...

10:35 AM

Photo Challenge: Day 5

2010-06-07T17:03:00.004-05:00

Another reflection photo...can you guess what object I'm reflecting from?

5 PM

Photo Challenge: Day 4

2010-06-06T12:43:00.002-05:00

Northern Bible Church in Bemidji, Minnesota
10:20 AM

Psalms 31:19-20
"How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you. In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues."

Photo Challenge: Day 3

2010-06-05T17:50:00.003-05:00

Thomas strikes a silly kung-fu pose before heading down to the garden with me.

10:30 AM

Photo Challenge: Day 2

2010-06-04T09:14:00.003-05:00

Part of my daily routine!

Time on deck is nine and one quarter bells and all is well.

Photo Challenge: Day 1

2010-06-03T09:51:00.004-05:00

Ok...not sure how consistent I can be on this, but I'll give it a whirl. My sister Melanie is doing a photo challenge that was thrown out there by the Tinglestad girls. Always up to a challenge and armed with my nifty difty mobile communicator complete with image capture technology, I figured I would step up to this challenge.

So, in my wanderings through the Ken Berge Construction Design Center, I stopped to grab a shot of my reflection in our Moen Chateau kitchen faucet display.

Wow! What a handsome devil!

Photo taken approximately 10:15 AM after 1 cup of coffee.

New Office Digs

2010-02-11T09:50:00.003-06:00

As some are aware, I have been heavily involved in getting the new office for Ken Berge Construction, Inc. up and running. After many years working out of a back bedroom office, my father and mother took a huge leap of faith in building an office in the city of Bemidji. Many years have gone into the planning and this project is one of the reasons Beth and I relocated back to Minnesota It has been a delight to be involved in this move and to take on the responsibility of the sales and marketing for the company.

Latest

2010-01-13T20:45:00.001-06:00

Hey faithful blog readers! Ok, that was a joke. I am most likely talking in a big tin can all by myself since I haven't posted in quite some time. Frankly, the whole idea of regular posts started to bore me. Ok...enough updates for today.

Tooth Bomb!

2009-01-14T14:39:00.001-06:00

Snow

2008-12-24T10:39:00.000-06:00

This past fall, I spent some time using the plethora of rocks on my property to construct a flower bed in the front of the house. I did not get any plants in, so that will be a project for this coming Spring. But you can see the end result in this first photo.

Yesterday, we received another several inches of snow. It seems to be piling up quickly this year. You can see the mound of snow in comparison to the photo above.

Melanie, this next photo below is for you. I love the glistening of the newly fallen snow when it gets really cold, especially when untrampled by kids! This shot is of our front yard and I'm sure it will not last, so I decided to grab a pic last night of it. The snow was really crystallizing last night. Driving back from Bemidji, the street lights were shooting beams of visible light directly into the air like a spot light, reflecting off the snow crystals drifting down. Very spectacular.

Church Christmas Program

2008-12-24T10:18:00.000-06:00

Beth and I attend Northern Bible Church in Bemidji and the kids were able to take part in the Christmas play this year. I was pretty impressed by the amount of coordination that went into the whole deal. Very well done with prop setup and lighting. Katey was an angel and Thomas was a sheep. They did an awesome job!

Why the 2nd Amendment Matters

2008-12-23T12:34:00.002-06:00

Need to Watch!

2008-10-09T11:59:00.003-05:00

The video below is very interesting. I encourage you to take a moment and watch through to the end.

The problem that I see with public education today is that it has the effect of relieving parents of the responsibility in the education of their child. I believe it comes down to a simply and fundamental lack of acceptance in the personal responsibility God has bestowed on the mother and father. To demonstrate that point, I'll give you an example that we recently experienced. At the beginning of the school year here in Bemidji, there is always a meet the teachers evening where you can go to see what the kids will be learning, review the curriculum, and talk with the individual teachers. Sounds important, right? Unfortunately, I had another meeting, but Beth attended on our behalf. Out of a 8th grade class of over 150 students...there were less than 5 parents who attended this event! To me, that speaks volumes. How as parents do you maintain oversight of public education if you don't engage? If parents keep a laissez-faire attitude, doesn't that create a vacuum? Of course!...and the state will step in to fill it. Parents lose control. The future of our society, our children, is now shaped by a godless state, not by Godly parents.

So what is the answer? Pull the children out and home school? Private education? Perhaps. I believe that will not fix the problem unless the majority of children are educated in that manner. No, the state must be held accountable to recognize and teach the moral and biblical values that are the cornerstone of a strong family unit. Doing so is another issue and another topic and requires a unified body of believers. Something that we, with all our denominations and quibbling, have eliminated throughout the years. That's something to think about!

If you are reading this through Facebook, click on 'view original post' below to see video.

Air Force: The Next Generation

2008-10-01T08:55:00.001-05:00

Fixing Our Financial Mess

2008-09-23T09:01:00.001-05:00

Clear direction in a CNN news article? Oh yeah..Ron Paul is writing this one!
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/23/paul.bailout/index.html

Lake Itasca Family Music Festival ~The Peazall Sisters

2008-08-09T20:14:00.001-05:00

Lake Itasca Family Music Festival ~The Berge Family

2008-08-09T19:44:00.001-05:00

Lake Itasca Family Music Festival ~The Hartley Family

2008-08-09T18:42:00.000-05:00

2008 Lake Itasca Family Music Festival ~ The Johnson Family

2008-08-09T17:31:00.001-05:00

Car Commercials You Don't See Every Day

2008-06-19T17:04:00.001-05:00

Concrete!

2008-06-17T14:43:00.000-05:00

Finally, we had a good enough day to get some concrete poured. The garage apron and sidewalk was all formed up and ready for the gray stuff.

7:00 AM sharp, the concrete truck pulled up with @ $850 worth of slop. What is this world coming to?

My good buddy, Verne Parks and his boys, assisted me with the pour. Or should I say...I assisted them.

9:00 AM, the slab is poured, screed, and floated. Now...just to keep the neighbors dogs off the slab until it hardens. Ma...get my gun!

Katey Turns 13!

2008-06-17T14:37:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, we celebrated Katey's 13th birthday. Her actual birthday was on June 11th, but we decided to have a small family get-together on Saturday. It was a lot of fun! There was the opening of presents, the eating of pie, and bowling.

The Caron's, fashionably late, making a grand entrance!

Is it my birthday too?

Melanie finds time to pose while supervising the gift opening.

The Campaign for Liberty

2008-06-13T08:58:00.000-05:00

Don't you think it is time to set up and join with a group of men and women who value Liberty? Tired of the political rhetoric of a donkey and an elephant? Go to http://www.campaignforliberty.com/ today and sign up. I did.

B. Hussein Obama

2008-06-10T10:38:00.001-05:00

The Fox and the Hound

2008-04-09T14:26:00.000-05:00

This morning, we had a good show put on by our neighbor's dog and a wild fox. I am standing in our Master bathroom looking out into the back yard taking these photos from the window. The dog wanted so bad to chase the fox, but due to the recent snow, had a hard time floundering through the white stuff and only ended up getting tired out. The fox was loving it. He would run away for a short distance, being light enough to stay on top of the snow. When the dog got tired enough to head back toward our house, the fox would follow him, just taunting him into a chase. This went on for a while, until the dog finally gave up and went home.

In the photo below, the fox is making this crying schreechy noise. Very strange. This is the sound we have been hearing during the middle of the night. I thought at the time that is was some sort of cat, such as a bobcat; but today confirmed what we heard was this crazy fox.

Katey Gets Inducted

2008-04-09T14:01:00.000-05:00

Katey was inducted last night into the National Jr. Honor Society. We are so proud of Katey and the hard work she puts into her school work. She has really been a blessing to us and we wouldn't change a thing about her.

The keynote speaker was Phil Verchota (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Verchota), one of the members of the 1980 US Hockey team. He spoke about the need for preparation and not just relying on ability. Of course, he had with him the Olympic gold medal that he won. Here I am fingering the merchandise!

Katey with Mr. Phil Verchota

Thomas

2008-04-09T12:03:00.000-05:00

Thomas is quite the kid. Yesterday, he decided to dig out his harmonica. I couldn't help but laugh watching him walk down this sidewalk. He looks like a little vagabond playing the blues or something.

The other thing he loves to do is play on our bed. Somehow, there is much excitement trying to use the footboard as a balance beam.

See the mischievious look in the eye. Seconds after taking this picture, he jumped right at me...the little critter!

Random Photo

2008-04-09T11:56:00.000-05:00

I couldn't help but put down my shaver on Tuesday morning and go get my camera to snap this photo. I think it was the frost on the trees constrasting to the darker woods in the background that really caught my eye.

Snow Fun in April

2008-04-09T11:51:00.000-05:00

The kids had a blast getting out in the snow this past Monday. Bemidji schools ended up cancelling classes, so Katey and Thomas were able to get outside and take advantage of the wet snow. Perfect for building Mr. Snowman! I was a bad photographer and did not take the prerequisite blizzard photos, but my sister did. You see them at her blog http://www.melanieberge.blogspot.com/

Birthday Party for Thomas

2008-03-11T10:29:00.000-05:00

Had a little gathering for Thomas since he was turning 4 years old.

Ella was very interested in the whole process. Thomas wasn't totally comfortable with the supervision.

She found picking up the discarded wrapping paper and ribbon to be a good use of her time.

Random Shots

2008-02-23T16:50:00.001-06:00

Put snow and a boy together, and it has to be thrown!

Ummmm! French fries!

Melanie Berge enjoying some beautiful Minnesota weather.

Katey on Lake Bemidji, site of the U.S. National Speed Skating Marathon event.

Sled Dog Race: Post #2

2008-02-23T16:39:00.000-06:00

Sled dog races are composed of different types of combinations of dogs and sleds. You may have noticed in post #1, the dogs are actually pulling a person on skis. Regardless of the number of dogs, the starting chute is where the team is guided in about 2 minutes before release. The dogs are going crazy at this point. They just want to run. The teams are released about 5 minutes apart, so you don't have congestion on the trail.

One of the teams was composed of some beautiful dogs. They were focused and jumping in the air with excitement!

With 15 dogs all pulling on the sled, there is no way you can physically restrain them by holding the sled back. They had a Dodge pickup truck parked with this rope attached to the bumper. If you look at the end of the blue rope, you should be able to see a curved deer horn peg at the end. When the timing official counts down to zero, a guy pulls out this peg and the dogs take off like a shot! It is pretty incredible!

And there they go! Hang on!

Sled Dog Races

2008-02-23T16:24:00.000-06:00

Today was an amazing day. The weather was incredible, with the temperatures above 32 F. It felt like a heat wave. There was a lot going on this weekend in Bemidji, of which one event was the annual sled dog races out at Buena Vista Ski Area. I will follow up this post with some pictures of the actual sled dogs. We found these minature statues of Paul and Babe that are used in the parade.

Auntie Melanie came with us and as you can see, she is enjoying the weather. Beth is looking like it is -30 below instead of 30 + above! You can take a girl out of California, but you can't take the California out of the girl.

I think the kids enjoyed watching the dogs. If you have never seen the staging area before the race, it is quite the sight and sound! Every single dog is barking and yapping in anticipation of the race. They know what's about to happen!

We hit the chateau for some food and music. Freedom's Call was slated to play, so we got to enjoy a little bluegrass music while dining. What could be better?

Wise Man

2008-02-11T14:58:00.000-06:00

“The wise man can pick up a grain of sand and envision a whole universe. But the stupid man will just lay down on some seaweed and roll around until he’s completely draped in it. Then he’ll stand up and go, ‘Hey, I’m Vine Man.’” — Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey

Super Bowl Party

2008-02-04T10:51:00.000-06:00

What better excuse to get together than the Superbowl? None that I can think of! We had an enjoyable time with friends and family.

The kiddo's being silly !

Thomas and Valerie do battle, although I'm not sure who is the good Jedi and who is the bad Jedi here.

After the game, Craig, Ben and I had fun with some Halo death match action.

How Cold is It in Minnesota?

2008-01-25T15:04:00.000-06:00

I decided to snap a photo of my in-truck temperature gauge as I was headed to work yesterday morning. It was cold enough to delay the house set we had planned by an hour (9AM instead of 8AM). It warmed up to a toasty -17 below by that point, so work proceeded as normal. Turned out to be a wonderful day overall!

Wisconsin Dells - Random Photos

2008-01-23T15:31:00.000-06:00

This is a shot from the balcony of our room. Pretty cool, eh?

The Chula Vista Resort is huge and the hotel goes on forever, so imagine my surprise when looking out the balcony and seeing this small little cabin. Pretty neat. You can see the river through the trees on the right.

Marines

2008-01-22T11:03:00.000-06:00

Do you understand what it takes to be a Marine? I'm not talking about the physical endurance and strength stuff. I'm talking about things deeper. Things that set the Marines apart. Things that the Army, Navy, and Air Force will never and can never duplicate. What drives or makes a man or women to commit to claiming the title of United States Marine? This video, although longer than the attention span of most on the internet these days, shows some insight into what I felt in joining the Marine Corps. Semper Fi!

The Fruit of our Labor

2008-01-22T08:13:00.000-06:00

It is always fun to see something you worked long and hard on come to fruition. Last week we set a cabin that I designed in the program Chief Architect. The first photo below is the exterior view in the software program. The second photo is the actual cabin. We did make some minor changes to the basement walkout area since we ran into some lake setback issues. This caused us to keep the dirt level higher, which effectively eliminated the patio door in the concept drawing. As you can see, we simply placed a door on the side instead (by the blue ladder). The posts supporting the covered porch roof are temporary. Once the porch floor is built, the permanent posts will be placed.

Human Tetris

2008-01-04T16:39:00.000-06:00

Mary's Boy Child

2007-12-24T13:32:00.000-06:00

Uncle Matt and Ella

2007-12-24T12:41:00.000-06:00

Ella is an angel, she is my little niece.
Her deep blue eyes remind me of a priceless sapphire piece.

Perhaps a ring that past adorned a princess' hand so fair,
or pendant chain of yellow gold entwined in lovely hair.

She'll look at me unblinking, deep eyes of indigo;
piercing right down to my heart and causing love to grow.

I oft thank God for blessings that shower from His skies;
and that my favorite color, matches Ella's eyes.

A Message to Remember this Christmas Season

2007-12-17T13:43:00.000-06:00

Original Poem: My Coffee

2007-12-06T17:02:00.000-06:00

I like my cup of coffee, so much I called it Joe.
I drink a swig morn, noon and night, to keep my brain on go.

When empty is my thermos, I wonder what to do.
I ask why Joe has left me thus, yust twitching like a fool.

That coffee is some awful stuff, not fit for man nor beast.
Yet us Norwegians drink it up; be it lunch or supper feast.

My wife says I'm an addict, and she may well speak fact.
But Joe says I'm just normal, and coffee isn't crack.

author: Matt Berge

The Reason We Celebrate!

2007-12-06T09:58:00.000-06:00

I received the nicest CHRISTmas card from Myrle Olsen at Realty Executives here in Bemidji. It is nice to know that some businesses are not 'afraid' to recognize the true reason we celebrate Christmas. Too many, out of fear of offending someone, choose to use the 'Happy Holiday' catch line with the snowflake motif. I say, let people be offended if that is the way they wish to react. Christ was sent to us as a Savior. It's not like God is forcing you to accept Jesus as a Savior! It is a choice. Did you get that? A CHOICE, albeit with eternal consequences, that every individual has to make on their own. How does making a individual decision offend if you are the one in control of the decision? It doesn't. It can't! So forget being 'safe' and obscure this Christmas season and recognize the greatest gift we have ever received...that is Jesus Christ! Merry Christmas!

Snow update 4:15 PM

2007-12-04T16:17:00.000-06:00

Still snowing. Haven't touched my truck all day, so you can see the accumulation from 8 AM to now.

Fun with Saturation

2007-12-04T11:26:00.000-06:00

Call me weird, but one of the things I like to do with pictures is play around with the "Tuning" options. Saturation is one of my favorite. Thomas is great because his eyes are such a brilliant blue color. You can see how well blue glows when an extreme amount of saturation is applied to a photo. I thought this one turned out especially vivid with color.

Winter Wonderland

2007-12-04T11:20:00.000-06:00

My truck was clean this morning! I took this photo about 9:30, so you can see the accumulation since I arrived at work. We are expecting a full day of snow. Bring it on, says I. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

2007-11-07T08:57:00.000-06:00

Deer number 4 and 7

2007-11-06T12:12:00.000-06:00

Here is a photo of the seven point buck I shot on Saturday morning. It was a good size and was a tough pull to get it out of the woods.

This is the six point buck I shot this morning. I decided to get out early and spend an hour hunting before going to work. I passed on a small doe that walked by me. About a half hour later, lo and behold, this buck decided to bed down about a hundred yards away from me. I watched him for a good five minutes before deciding to take the shot. He watched me the entire time, but couldn't decide what I was. There was another deer that I could hear with the buck, but I did not see it until after I shot the buck. It was a nice sized doe and she ran away to live another day. Anyway, this buck puts me at number seven for this hunting season and we can still hunt through November 18. Hmmm, might need to go get those bonus tags.

Day at the Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-29T10:52:00.000-05:00

One of the fun things about Fall is enjoying things like hayrides, hot apple cider, and the pumpkin patch. Beth, Katey, Thomas and I, along with Aunt Nancy and my sister-in-law Jamie headed out to the patch a few weekends back. We met up with my sister Mindy and her husband Ben, along with Elianna and baby Elijah. I really enjoyed the experience. It is such a pleasure to spend time with your kids and watch them experience new and exciting things.

Thomas and Dad on the hayride

Katey with a kitten

Matt launches pumpkin chunks (note my beautiful assistant holding the pumpkin pieces)

Back to Front (Jedi Master Aunt Nancy, Jamie's hair, Beth, Katey, me, Thomas, Ben, Elianna, and Mindy)

Pics

2007-10-22T16:49:00.000-05:00

Here are the pics that should be showing in the post below. They are being stubborn for some reason.

Whitetail Deer Hunting

2007-10-17T13:49:00.000-05:00

October 13 and 14 was designated in Minnesota as the early rifle season for whitetail deer. It is the first time that I'm aware of in which an early season was held here in the state. Regular rifle deer hunting starts mid November, so it was nice to get out hunting and not have to plow through snow to get to the deer stand. I thoroughly enjoyed the two days out in the woods, accompanied by my brother-in-law Ben and his dad and brother. On Saturday, we hunted most of the day without seeing a thing. We ended up going to a different location during the afternoon where I ended up harvesting three whitetails (Odocoileus virginianus).

My firepower is a Remington 700 BDL in a 30-06 caliber. I have a Nikon Pro Staff scope with Leupold scope rings and base mounts. It is fun to shoot and very accurate. The rounds that I used during the hunt were a Nosler partition 180 grain round. It has real knock down power, which means minimal tracking!

The result of a good evening hunt. The deer on the left is an adult doe and the two smaller deer are a male and female fawn. I figure that the two fawns were born about a year and a half ago due to their size. Should be great eating and a good start to filling the freezer with venison.

A Couple of Wild and Craaazy Girls!!

2007-10-12T15:58:00.000-05:00

Elianna strikes a pose!

Melanie not to be outdone!
Now where does the real hair-doo start and where does it end? Hmmm.

A Prayer

2007-10-12T15:40:00.000-05:00

Lutefisk Supper

2007-10-12T10:22:00.000-05:00

Last night we (Mom, Dad, and myself) had the privilege and pleasure of feasting on the finest of Norwegian fare...lutefisk. It had been a while since I had sampled such epicurean delights such ligonberry sauce, Swedish meatballs, lefse, and the staple, lutefisk (covered in warm melted butter, of course. Yum yum!

Below is one of the many volunteers from the Aardahl Luthern Church that make this such a wonderful event. She was a little taken aback when I told her I was going to post her picture on the internet.

This is the Aardahl Luthren Church. Very quaint and old from American standards, as it was established back in 1896. My dad (Ken Berge Construction) added on the portion of the building to the left a few years back, which is basically a kitchen and dining facility.

Sunset at the Berge's

2007-10-04T12:19:00.000-05:00

Sunset at the Berge residence.
Note: this is a real picture taken from our backyard .
No saturation, warmification, coloring, or other common
doctoring methods were used on this.

Katey sitting on the rock in our front driveway round-a-bout.

Status of Existence

2007-10-01T13:04:00.000-05:00

After about a month of cyberspace hibernation, I figured that one should stick his head up to get a breath now and then. In truth, I have been on the Internet but have not had the energy to blog.

Q. What's been happening in the Berge household?
A. We officially moved into our new house two nights ago. I have not taken any recent pictures for several reasons. The first is that the batteries died in my digital camera and it has taken me forever to change them. Secondly, the house is in the perpetual state of unpacking chaos at this time, which makes for a less than Kodak moment.

Q. Anything new other than the house?
A. You bet! I have two new little nephews, Simeon Olaf Sahlstrom and Elijah Kenneth Caron, that have come into this big world over the past week or so. Since my sisters do such a wonderful job at posting when babies are born, I will not attempt to emulate them. You can visit their post by going to Melanie's blog or Mindy's blog .

Q. How about church? Are you going anywhere or did you decide to become a heathen?
A. You know...I'm glad you asked that question as our spiritual development is as important, if not more so, than our physical or mental development. Beth and I have begun to attend a small Christian and Missionary Alliance church plant that is in Bemidji called the House of Prayer. We have really been blessed by the attitude of the people, are happy to be able to worship in an Alliance church, and are looking forward to serving the Lord with this body of believers.

Q. What are your upcoming plans?
A. Let's see...deer hunting, painting doors, more deer hunting, miscellaneous honey do's (and don'ts!), perhaps some dirt work before the ground freezes, get my garage set up with work bench and my tools, and probably a million other little things that need to still be done before setting back and relaxing. We are not planning on doing any traveling for the near future. The next big trip will be out to Pennsylvania to see my brother-in-law married off. That won't be until the spring, I think. Plenty to do around the homestead, so I am not in any hurry to travel just for travel sake. Believe me, I had my fill of driving during the move from Texas.

That's about it for now. Should be able to post some additional house pics soon, so remember to tune back in...same Bat time...same Bat channel.

Katey Learns Gun Safety

2007-09-05T00:18:00.000-05:00

Katey and her Aunt Melanie decided to take a gun safety course recently. In Minnesota and many other states, a gun safety course is required before you are allowed to hunt. As firm supporters of our 2nd Amendment rights and in responsible hunting, it was logical for us to get Katey engaged in a course such as this. To not do so would be...uncivilized! As you can see, Katey is a natural when it comes to handling firearms. Melanie needed the course for her elk hunting trip this fall to Colorado. I'm sure she will post with all the details after she returns.

Katey receiving instructions about the use of a shotgun. Let me guess...keep the butt of the shotgun tight to the shoulder? Yeah...you learn that one pretty quick after a few rounds!

Katey sighting down the barrel of a 30-06. She is one mean, yellow, shooting machine!

Melanie shooting in the general direction of some sporting clays. Check out the textbook posturing and follow through! And the bright orange hat!

A group of well trained shooters.

More House Stuff

2007-09-04T23:45:00.000-05:00

I promised a picture of the rock retaining walls that I've been working on. Well, here they are! As you can see, some of the rocks are quite large. Amazingly enough, all rocks were in the top 2 feet of soil, with the exception of one. I kind of stalled out on finishing the walls as the interior work has taken priority. There is still plenty of critical rock arranging to be done before I will be satisfied with the walls.

This photo shows the completed front porch and the addition of lighting by the garage. We still need to put up the shutters on the far left windows to complete the look. The cedar porch rails will most likely be painted white, but again...interior work is my focus right now.

I managed to get the microwave and stove installed this past weekend. We ended up getting them from Sears and the sales person failed to tell me that the appliances do not include power cords. I actually knew this once, but had forgotten. Anyway, I was irritated to be reminded only when I was at the house ready to install the units. No power cord! After much grumbling about the poor service one receives these days, I went back to Sears to inquire about the power cords. Since one of the units was a dishwasher, I figured to get a regular 110 volt cord and use that. The sales associate insisted that the dishwasher could only be hard wired to the house electrical supply. It was at that point that I realized I again lucked out and found the one totally inept sales person in the entire store. Perhaps my look of 'What? Are you some sort of an idiot?' gave the guy a clue. I promptly announced that I was buying my power cords at Home Depot! That showed them!

Here is Katey, patiently waiting for me to finish one of my endless tasks at the house. Such a good sport!

What I Do For a Living

2007-08-28T21:59:00.000-05:00

One of my main responsibilities in my new job is working with our clients on the design and overall concepts for their new home or cabin. Below are four different models that I have produced. All are houses that have been locked in, meaning that Ken Berge Construction will be building each of the buildings shown below this fall. Those that know me can only imagine how much fun I am having in doing this stuff. What a blast!

Cabin on Sucker Bay

Resort cabin on Lake Winnie

Addition to a house previously built by Ken Berge Construction

Poured the concrete on this house today and will set the house on Thursday!

Kitchen Cabinet Closeup

2007-08-28T21:47:00.000-05:00

Here is a close up on the kitchen cabinets. The cabinet is produced by Merillat and is in their Classic line of cabinets. We went with satin nickel hardware. The drawer pull is called a canoe pull based on the shape and the knobs are basic round types. The counter tops are the sensible approach using a Wilsonart laminate called Antique Rocca with a full 180 degree edge design. Counter tops is where most people make the mistake of burning their money, going with solid surfacing or granite. Not worth it, in my opinion!

Long Overdue House Update

2007-08-28T21:34:00.000-05:00

Well, I thought I would take a moment to update everyone on the latest progress with the house. In reviewing the photo's that I've taken, I realized that there are some things I don't have documented, such as the rock retaining wall. I guess that can be another post later. What I can show you is what is happening since my last update. In the photo below, the septic tank has been set and is ready for inspection. It has since been covered up and the drain field installed.

Another major accomplishment is the drilling of the well. It can be seen in the following photo. It is the little white thing sticking up from the ground. We achieved a flow of 55 gal per minute, which is wonderful.

I have been working diligently on installing the laminate wood flooring. We picked a color called Antique Cherry and ran it in both the kid's bedrooms, the living room and kitchen areas. It really looks good and went down very well.

Another exciting addition to the house is the kitchen cabinets! In this picture, we had just finished the first day of installation, so there is quite a bit of trim and such that has not been applied. We are really pleased with the natural maple coloring in contrast to the wood floor and wall color.

House Update

2007-07-21T00:20:00.000-05:00

Stuff has been happening with the house since my last post almost two weeks ago. I installed, along with the amazing Craig Westlund, our 16 foot garage door (sorry to my Italian and French friends...you will have to convert to meters since I'm blogging at midnight and lack the mental capacity to do so at this time). I think it looks pretty sharp, if I do say so myself. Of course, things always look good if you do something yourself, regardless of reality.

The other major milestone is the installation of the sheetrock...YEAH! This really puts the room layout in perspective and is pretty darn exciting! This shot is looking toward the kitchen and stairwell from the living room.

We are also digging the basement walkout and septic. There is quite a lot of dirt to be moved in order to make the walkout useable.

Luckily, I had the perfect place to pile the dirt! I am using it to establish the building pad on the site of my future shop, which for reference purposes is located in the back yard in the right back corner of the property.

That is about where we currently stand. Next steps are finishing the taping and sanding of the sheetrock seams, acoustical spray on the ceiling, and priming / painting of the walls. Then flooring! Monday morning is scheduled for drilling the well and completion of the septic installation. That means water and sewer for the lay person. Moving day is looming every closer!

More Misc Pics

2007-07-20T23:55:00.000-05:00

I captured this double rainbow as I headed back from Wisconsin. Pretty amazing.

Here is another whitetail deer that was drinking in this pond. He spooked when I stopped the truck and dashed off, but I managed to get this picture.

Miscellaneous Stuff

2007-07-20T23:49:00.000-05:00

Well, I can't believe it was July 5th when I last posted. Sorry folks. I have been very involved with the house lately. I know...shame on me for not updating regularly.

With the multiple trips back and forth, I have had a few opportunities to catch some pictures of local wildlife. This whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus - Christelle!...in case you are wondering!) was just standing by the side of the road. I actually drove by it, stopped, and backed up to get this picture. Crazy thing just stood there and stared at me like I was some kind of an idiot...ok, comments from the peanut gallery not needed here!

I'm not entire sure what kind of bird this is, but it was a big one. Perhaps a heron.

I recently took a road trip to Wisconsin and my path took me through the city of Duluth, MN. Duluth is a major sea port as it lies on the tip of Lake Superior. This tanker was docked and I snapped a photo as I zoomed past.

House Update

2007-07-05T22:37:00.000-05:00

Well, the past week has been extremely busy. My brother in law, Sam, has a heating and air conditioning business down in Tracy, MN. He came up to do the heating program on the house. We started on Monday morning and finished up running the duct work and hooking up everything on Tuesday afternoon. Here is the furnace, which actually consists of an electric heat pump (provides heat and a/c), an electric plenum heater for additional heating assistance, and a gas furnace for when the electric company cycles off the electricity. That is very common up here and it qualifies you for cheap electrical rates. These furnace units operate seamlessly, so the homeowner just sets the temperature and the unit takes care of the rest. Most of the rest of the house is on a separate electrical meter, which cannot be turned on or off by the power company.
Below is a view of the walkout side of the house (north side). As you can see, there is still quite a lot of dirt work to be done. There will be a rock retaining wall to the right of where Beth is standing. We pulled out quite a few rocks during the building process, so there will not be a shortage of rocks to work with. A few of them are pretty hefty and will be set in place when the excavator comes next week to finish up the dirt work. The dirt to the left will be dug out and used to level out areas on the property and to create a building pad for a shed and work shop.

The crew has been working on installation of the vinyl siding. As you can see below, the back of the house has been sided. The large white area left incomplete below the patio door is space for a treated 2x8 ledger board. This is where the deck will attach to the house. The deck will come later once we complete the excavation and build up the dirt level a bit more around the house. The cool thing is that I have a gas line already coiled up in the basement to run out to the deck. I'll am planning to run both a gas grill and a gas fireplace off the line. Should be pretty slick once everything is set up.

Branta canadensis

2007-06-22T10:27:00.000-05:00

I had been watching this pair of geese for a while. The female had been sitting on some eggs in a small section of grass right off the dirt road by our house. Canadian geese, scientifically known as Branta canadensis, incubate their eggs for about 28 days. It was with some pleasure to see this pair floating around with their 5 hatchlings. I have to say that it is truly amazing to watch this process over a period of time.

Update on House

2007-06-22T10:13:00.000-05:00

In reviewing my latest posts, I noticed my last house update photos showed only the rafters up with no sheathing. Well, we have made progress since then. I have almost completed applying the shingles on the rear of the house and will start on the front of the house this evening. As you can also see, we have our front door installed and the electrical wiring has been run. Next on the agenda is to get the plumbers in to run pipes and I am going to run all the low voltage wiring, such as the coax, Cat5e (network cables), speaker wires, etc. Plus, the phone company up here is going to run fiber optics right into my basement, which is pretty cool.

Just Down the Road

2007-06-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

This farm is just down the road from our new house. I was headed up to do some roofing and had to take a photo.

Set Day!

2007-06-07T22:49:00.000-05:00

Thursday, May 31 was the official set day for the house. Set day is when the trucks come in with the components and the house is set into place piece by piece. It is kind of building with legos or something like that...only different. The bottom photo is the progress made by the end of the day Thursday. Not bad for one day of work, eh?

Baby Rabbits

2007-05-28T22:37:00.000-05:00

As we were transplanting some flowers today, we ran across two baby rabbits in one of the old flower beds. Thomas was pretty excited about seeing them. Although they are small, the little critters are fast. I had to run to catch one of them! Don't worry, we let it go.

Fishing on Lake Winnie

2007-05-28T22:20:00.000-05:00

One of the things to do up here in northern Minnesota is fish. So, in order to properly blend with the native population, I dug out my fishing pole and went fishing the other day. It was actually the annual Ken Berge Construction fishing trip. We had a lot of fun and caught some decent sized fish. Lake Winnie is a fairly large lake, as lakes go, and is great for walleye, northern pike, and muskie.

More House Progress!

2007-05-19T18:20:00.000-05:00

We have had quite a bit of activity since my last posting. The forms have been pulled off the basement walls and the dirt has been backfilled. The basement floor has been poured, and as you can see below, we have electricity at the job site, which is a big deal! Thomas accompanied me to the site today to check things out. Here is a picture of Thomas in the basement, plus one of him sitting in the dirt mover. He was loving it!

Forming up the Basement Walls

2007-05-09T21:27:00.000-05:00

Today, the concrete crew worked to set up the wall forms and poured the concrete. Everything went well! I will get some photos of the walls after they strip the forms tomorrow. Here is a couple of pics showing the process.

Foundation Footings Done!

2007-05-06T22:14:00.000-05:00

Today, we took a field trip to the property to inspect the work completed on Friday. Friday was the day that the footings were poured. Everything looks great and is ready for the next step, which should happen on Wednesday. That would be the pouring of the basement walls. Things are taking shape!

Here is a photo of my sister Mindy with her little girl, Elianna. Mindy's husband, Ben is in the background.

2007-05-03T21:33:00.000-05:00

Hurray! The basement is dug! Here is some photos of today's action.

Hard at Work

2007-05-01T17:34:00.000-05:00

Well, as promised I am posting some photos taken from Melanie's camera. As you can see, we are hard at work pounding stakes into the ground at the critical points.

Who says that I can't multitask? Piece of cake!

Brush Hog'n!

2007-04-30T13:46:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, my dad and I loaded up the Bobcat along with a mowing attachment to knock down some of the higher grass at the property. Here is some shots of the event!

Lot Planning for the DeYoungs

2007-04-29T13:52:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning was spent laying out the house location on my in-laws piece of property just east of Lake Bemidji. Jim and Kathy were up for a week as they were getting Jamie settled in her apartment, so we took advantage of the visit to locate the house. My mother-in-law, Kathy, is supervising the whole process! The neighborhood is really nice and falls within the city of Bemidji. As you can see, the property is more heavily wooded than the property I purchased, so I will need to get over there at some point to do some clean up.

Progress on the Berge House

2007-04-29T13:38:00.000-05:00

Well, I understand from my wife that my readers are unhappy with my blogging frequency and the lack of photos. There hasn't been a whole lot to post. Running around signing insurance paperwork and sitting with a banker discussing construction loans isn't the most interesting topics to write about. In a week or so, there should be some actual construction activity starting.

Yesterday, I did some actual work out on the property. I staked out the physical location of the house, which is the first step before any excavation can begin. It is strange standing in what you know will be the garage or living room and seeing the actual house dimension laid out. As you can see by the writing on the closest stake in the below photo, I am standing at the corner of the garage looking north.

The photo below is the view that we will have from the master bedroom. There is a small little lake past the trees. Saw some guys launching a canoe in there just the other day. Perhaps there is some fish in there!

My sister, Melanie, was also taking some photos that actually have me in them. I will post them when I get a chance!

Update on Minnesota Living

2007-04-23T21:47:00.000-05:00

Well, life has been crazy to say the least over these last few weeks. I finally have a full week of working at my new job under the belt and I think I am going to enjoy this. The week has been kind of choppy in terms of routine. There is soooo much to do when you decide to relocate.

I just realized the other day that I'm not a Minnesota resident yet. This came to light when we were talking about fishing opener coming up in May. I guess I'll be stuck with getting an out of state license for the interim!

I am anxiously waiting for the ground to thaw enough to start the digging process. I think we may be in a position to start sometime later next week. This will be good as I cannot get a physical address established until I have the driveway put in. Of course, the physical address is needed before getting drivers licenses and the other multitude of required elements needed to exist in today's society. A good thing is that the weather has been beautiful. In fact, the rest of the week is looking nice as well.

Anyway, that is the latest. Hopefully, I will have time this week to take some pictures of the surrounding sights and get them posted. Until then, you will have to put up with my random thoughts put to writing.

Finally in Bemidji!

2007-04-11T22:01:00.000-05:00

Whew! That is the one word that finally sums everything up. Even though I'm dead tired, I thought I would get one post out before I collapse.

I thought I had left plenty of time to pack all our gear up (three days), but wouldn't you know that just a few hours before closing would find me trying to shoe horn into the moving van the final pieces of stuff we have accumulated over the years. Oh well, the best laid plans... I did officially run out of room in the van. I ended up donating my charcoal grill to the church in hopes they could sell it and use the money for an upcoming youth trip to LIFE.

Closing was scheduled for Monday afternoon and we duly showed up at the appointed time. Typical of these types of deals, it was hurry up and wait. I was having serious flashbacks to the Marine Corps...Semper Fi! It turned out that the lady buying our house was rolling in remodeling loans and who knows what else, so we didn't get out of the closing until 5 PM. Too late to jump in the van and start the trip. Instead, I decided to just chill with the kids and watch a movie (Happy Feet, which turned out to be pretty good).

Tuesday morning dawned with torrential downpour, which turned out to be kind of a theme of the entire trip. I kissed Beth and the kids goodbye as they stayed behind for another 5 weeks until school is out, and headed north. The time was 7:30 AM and I was right on schedule. Fast forward to 11:30 PM that night. I had stopped a few times for fuel and take out food and managed to make it up to just north of Des Moines Iowa. The weather had turned from driving rain to driving sleet / slush at this point, so I decided to kick back at a rest area to grab some shut eye. I had forgotten a blanket (they were all packed) and found it too cold to sleep. So I would turn the diesel truck on and warm up the cab, then shut it off to sleep about an hour. After three hours, I gave up and kept driving. The sleet had turned to snow at this point (about 3 AM Wednesday morning).

Anyone who has driven at night with heavy snow knows the mesmerizing effect the snow has. Add into the mix the rhythmic whump whump of the wipers and you can imagine the trip. It didn't help that no one else was on the interstate at that time of night. I swear I was the only crazy person out there...due to the weather.

I finally pulled into my parents driveway at 1 PM this afternoon, much to my relief. Bemidji, ready or not, here I am!

Last Day at Neiman Marcus

2007-04-06T22:07:00.000-05:00

Well, today was just surreal for me. It was my last day working for Neiman Marcus. I had sent out the obligatory goodbye note on Wednesday or Thursday and was touched by the many kind words returned to me. I printed and saved each note so that I can pull them out once I get settled up in Minnesota. I also received a number of nice cards, a beautiful floral arrangement from my dear friends in the Milan, Italy office, a Waterford crystal cross from the International group, and a cool coffee cup and deer bobble head doll (very cool) from Expeditors. It makes me realize how much these relationships have come to mean to me over the years. Hard to walk away from people you care about, but at least I know I'm going somewhere good for my family.

Neiman Marcus...I say goodbye and thank you for the last 11 years!

2007-03-21T07:40:00.000-05:00

The first flowers to pop their head from the ground down here in Texas is the daffodil. One of the places to visit during the few weeks the daffodils are really blooming is this daffodil garden down south of Gladewater, TX off HWY 271. We recently took a field day trip with our Sunday School group and had a picnic lunch. We will sorely miss our dear friends when we move north.

Heading to Minnesota

2007-03-17T23:36:00.000-05:00

Well, I have officially revealed that Beth, Katey, Thomas, and myself are Minnesota bound. With that, I feel free to post on the upcoming move. I'll expand on the move more in a later post.

Below, are some pictures of our 5 acres just east of Little Bass Lake, which is just north of the Mississippi River on the east side of Lake Bemidji. Right now, the land is a blank canvas. I do, however, already have my palette of colors in mind and I'm itching to start dabbing on some paint! The August summer picture is taken from the rear of the property looking west / southwest toward Little Bass Lake. The fall and winter pictures are taken from the front of the property (standing on Pincherry Lane) looking roughly northeast / east. If you are wondering where all the snow is in the winter picture, it came soon after this picture was taken.

Matt and Beth dancing the Waltz (or trying to...)

2007-01-17T22:40:00.000-06:00

Thomas and the Tree

2006-12-12T19:17:00.000-06:00

Dad...where are the presents?

Hockey!

2006-12-12T19:04:00.000-06:00

Myself, John Jergens, and Laura Myers at the American Airlines Center

Had an opportunity to go to a Minnesota Wild game against the Dallas Stars. My friend, John, had some great seats center ice...row O! Had a blast. Too bad Minnesota lost, but it was a close one. 3 to 3 and went into OT! Dallas won in a shootout. I think I was the only person cheering for Minnesota, much to Laura and John's dismay. Ha!

Dallas Stars versus the Minnesota Wild

Granola Attempt: Take 2

2006-11-02T17:32:00.000-06:00

Well, I have finally gotten around to making a second batch of granola. I tweaked on the formula quite a bit. The original batch was a bit dry for my tastes, so I wanted to make this one more...juicy. :)

Some changes were:
More liquids, such as increasing the honey and peanut butter to a full cup. I also increased the amount of coconut and wheat germ. Last time I left the almonds fairly chunky, which I found to be slightly irritating when eating, so this time I did a finer grind on the almonds.

Here is the result...tastes awesome, by the way, plus the moistness of the granola was maintained, as you can see in the bottom photo.

Granola Attempt: Take 1

2006-10-07T18:44:00.000-05:00

In my desperate search for better granola down here in Texas, I decided that the only way to true granola enlightenment was to make my own. So I decided to give Karen's recipe a shot.

In my own particular manner, I printed the recipe for mere reference purposes, but was going to wing it from a measurement standpoint. My wife, however, stepped in to provide her professional opinion on why I should use a measuring cup. Or make that two measuring cups...one for wet ingredients and one for dry. Isn't that kind of like a pound of bricks and a pound of feathers? So, like a dutiful husband, I measured meticulously so as to not create a schism in the time warp continuum.

Karen had stressed in her recipe that the oats were to be preheated and that, in addition, it was very important to check and stir the mixed granola once it was put into the oven. This had to be done every five minutes!! What she failed to tell me was the type of holding device needed for the cooking process. So it was with careful deliberation and some trepidation that I decided to utilize one of our extra large cookie sheets. I had predetermined in my mind that I would cook the granola for 15 minutes, which meant two stirring opportunities and three heating cycles.

After the granola was taken out of the oven, it finally revealed its true nature under the more natural light of the cooktop. I realized that I had made several critical miscalculations during the process.

1) During the first stirring operation, I did not get 100% mixture and left some of the granola close to the edges. It caused this granola to get overly crunchy at the edges once the cooking process was complete.

2) I did not adjust my cooking time, even though something was telling me to, by eliminating the third five minute heating cycle. I attribute this to the fact that I am a hard-headed Norwegian and had already decided on the ultimate cooking time. I think inflexibility is what caused the Japanese to lose WWII, but that is another post for another time. I do think there may be a larger lesson of life here, though.

I have now been eating on the granola for about a week. I can say that I'm pleased with the results and taste (thanks Karen!!), but I will tweak it slightly on my next batch.

Semper Fidelis!

2006-09-23T14:36:00.000-05:00

Semper Fi!

Dress Up

2006-09-02T08:48:00.000-05:00

The problem is...once the kid got into this getup (thanks to Katey and her costuming skills), he didn't want to take it off. Is that normal?

A Blog by a Berge...Matt Berge

The Berge's

Sailor's Delight

Mississippi River on a Cold Day

Children of Light

Sanford Date Night

Photo Challenge: Day 7 and success!

Photo Challenge: Day 6

Photo Challenge: Day 5

Photo Challenge: Day 4

Photo Challenge: Day 3

Photo Challenge: Day 2

Photo Challenge: Day 1

New Office Digs

Latest

Tooth Bomb!

Snow

Church Christmas Program

Why the 2nd Amendment Matters

Need to Watch!

Air Force: The Next Generation

Fixing Our Financial Mess

Lake Itasca Family Music Festival ~The Peazall Sisters

Lake Itasca Family Music Festival ~The Berge Family

More Festival Video ~ Johnson Family!!

Lake Itasca Family Music Festival ~The Hartley Family

2008 Lake Itasca Family Music Festival ~ The Johnson Family

Car Commercials You Don't See Every Day

Concrete!

Katey Turns 13!

The Campaign for Liberty

B. Hussein Obama

The Fox and the Hound

Katey Gets Inducted

Thomas

Random Photo

Snow Fun in April

Birthday Party for Thomas

Random Shots

Sled Dog Race: Post #2

Sled Dog Races

Wise Man

Super Bowl Party

How Cold is It in Minnesota?

Wisconsin Dells - Random Photos

Marines

The Fruit of our Labor

Human Tetris

Mary's Boy Child

Uncle Matt and Ella

A Message to Remember this Christmas Season

Original Poem: My Coffee

The Reason We Celebrate!

Snow update 4:15 PM

Fun with Saturation

Winter Wonderland

Deer number 4 and 7

Day at the Pumpkin Patch

Pics

Whitetail Deer Hunting

A Couple of Wild and Craaazy Girls!!

A Prayer

Lutefisk Supper

Sunset at the Berge's

Status of Existence

Katey Learns Gun Safety

More House Stuff

What I Do For a Living

Kitchen Cabinet Closeup

Long Overdue House Update

House Update

More Misc Pics

Miscellaneous Stuff

House Update

Branta canadensis

Update on House

Just Down the Road

Set Day!

Baby Rabbits

Fishing on Lake Winnie