I have had a few customers asking me, “Where’s Ernie? Who is this biker dude you have cooking in the back? Is Ernie gone for good?” And lately, I have been getting phone calls from concerned patrons who haven’t seen me lately either. Life has been more complicated for me, and less complicated for Ernie, so pull up a stump and I’ll let you in on our whereabouts.
Ernie has gone on hiatus indefinitely. He decided he needed a big change in his life, and went to live at a wilderness retreat in the Forest of Ubangme with no power, running water or internet. The only modern convenience he will have is a weekly shipment of Blue Beaver Beer, to be delivered by horse drawn wagon. I was sad to see him go, but a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. I told him he’s going to have to hike out and borrow the forest ranger’s laptop once a month or so and let us know how it is going out there.
Ernie whipped up a batch of salad before he left, and it was spectacular. Not quite to die for, but certainly all that and a bag of chips. Bacon and broccoli salad, with a tangy Balsamic tomato vinaigrette dressing.We had a little gathering at The Redneck to send him off, and his salad was a big hit. Apparently it is a great cure for yeast infection in dogs, although that’s just a rumour from Old Man karhoffer. I tend to let sleeping yeast infected dogs lie.
About this same time, I realized that my credit card debt was way out of control. According to my credit reports, I was headed for a major disaster. I have been frantically trying to keep up with all the Blue Beaver Beer Basket orders by purchasing on my mastercard. Now, it seems the card is indeed the master. In need of a quick fix, I took a job working away from home to make extra money on a major pipeline near the Alberta Saskatchewan border. I will be out here for a total of 60 days, working 11 hours a day. Hefty workload, but I’ll be out of debt in no time.
Meanwhile, some of you might be thinking, what the heck is going on down at The Redneck Bar and Grill? Is the place boarded up, with a couple hobos lighting fires on the floor and drinking all the beer? Of course not! Our buddy Robert Jones is working behind the bar. We found a cook to take Ernie’s place, and our waitress Jackie can handle most of you rowdies out there. I’ll be stopping by online to keep an eye on things. If you stop by, have a Blue Beaver for me!
Where did you get your blog layout from? I’d like to get one like it for my blog.
Aaron: under blogroll on the left sidebar, under the link for Platformate
Wow, I wish the best of luck to Ernie. No water, or electricity, or even the internet! That is very tough!
Jeans last blog post..Equipment needed
hey Tim,
Thanks for the update. I think Ernie will be fine as long as he keeps getting that weekly delivery of Blue Beaver. Your pipeline job sounds intense, especially considering the time of year.
If you want some more Broccoli Bacon salad and Ernie isn’t around to make it, I recommend Costco, if you have one (I think they’re taking over the world along with Starbucks and McDonalds). Anyway, we get their packaged Brocolli salad. It has a creamy poppyseed/honey type dressing instead of the Balsamic tomato vinaigrette. Only problem is it comes in a 10 pound bag (well, maybe 2 pounds but it seems like 10 pounds) so we only get it when we have a lot of friends over.
Anyway, hope you get the “real world” out of the way as quickly as possible and can get back to posting!
~ Steve (aka the Trade Show Guru) and noble UV Minion. Go Minions!
Trade Show Gurus last blog post..Joy of Fatherhood
Jean: I know, but that was what Ernie wanted!
Steve: That wacky real world, eh? Always interfering with my imaginary ones! And you are right, Costco is working hard to capture all of the market-share it can. Great place to shop, too, if you can use a 30 lb bag of rice, a side of beef and a gallon of salad dressing.
The only thing I don’t like about Costco, is the membership fee you have to pay in order to shop at Costco. Isn’t it like $30 for one year?
Jeans last blog post..Equipment needed
I was wondering what you guys were up to… thanks for letting us know! I kinda get why Ernie would want to do that. Things can get so busy in this crazy world, sometimes you just need to unplug! Good luck to him… hope to hear updates!
Hope things get cleared up for you as well. It can be pretty hard to be running full tilt and still be behind. The new job should help even things out again! Good luck to you too Tim!
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The broccoli and bacon salad sounds like yum. Um, I’m hungry.
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Hi,
I am a Bud man myself, but if Ernie wants me to drink a few crates of Blue Beaver for him I’m sure I coud help him out.
I have never heard of Blue Beaver beer (I live in the UK)but the thought of it just sitting there un-drunk is too much to bear. I think I must have some redneck blood in me somewhere.
Cheers all….Burppp!!! That Bud was for Ernie
Take Care All
John
What a remarkable idea. This is the kind of ingenuity that restaurants need!
Jean: I think the membership is worth it
Cindy: thanks. I’m gonna try to make this extra effort count
Florida Girl: I’ll email you a to-go container!
John: don’t worry, Blue Beaver Beer will never go to waste. You are welcome to some, though.
Kevin: that’s right. All restaurant and bar owners should take second jobs or go on wilderness retreats and hire bikers or farmers to do the cooking and bartending. Or are you referring to something else?!?
And they say who’s that biker dude out the back like it’s a bad thing. It might keep the kids away
Dwayne.
http://probablysucks.com
Dwayne from Probably Sucks Blogs last blog post..Emailling A Spammer Experiment – Success
Dwayne: Ah, those wacky biker dudes. I don’t care what anyone says, ‘Grease’ can cook a burger like no one’s business!
I’d say that you are in debt for the right reasons, as you seemed to be buying something important. As for the broccoli bacon salad, it actually sounds really good, and I’d like to try something like that sometime.
i really enjoy reading your blog…thanks for all your entries!
I have heard that the food can be really good on those pipeline sites- steaks everyday?
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Did Ernie at least leave the recipe for the bacon broccoli salad? I hope he doesn’t get too lonely. Actually, that sounds rather perfect to me. And you! Don’t work too hard. That sounds like a rough job, but I bet it’s good money.
Hang in there. Keep the bar open.
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I’m trying really, really hard NOT to think about how the salad is administered as a treatment for yeast infected dogs!!
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Just found your blog…interesting!!!
What first caught my eye was your post for the Bacon & Broccoli salad…I’ve been making one for years, but I also use shredded cheese and a creamy dressing…love it!
I would never have thought to use as vinaigrette…:0)
I think I arrived in the middle of something so will check back…
Cheers
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I want a bacon and broccoli salad! That does sound good!
How do you know if your dog has a yeast infection? EWH!