DIRTDIVA

Thanks for the kindness folks, really appreciate it. My dear sweet Mr. Owl? It would be an honor to share your cot again this year. Ooh goodie goodie, I get to share Owl's cot, I get to share Owl's cot!! We didn't Crow rode the bike & I caged it up to PiP. Depending on the weather we'll see how it goes. I'm going to at least try to ride to breakfast, that's short enuff of a ride so where my knee shouldn't hurt too bad.

Howdy folks! Don't know if it's been my usual "every 6 months" or not but here goes. I'll keep it short this time. Still truckin' but haven't gone back to work yet. They have a couple jobs running in Bismarck and in Poplar, MT but it's flippin back & forth between the two. They bid on a job in April for Max, ND that will run the rest of the season. They've started the pipe work and when they're pretty much done with that they'll bring the side-dumps up so off to work I go when that happens. For those of you that know me you've seen me limping around here & there for about 5yrs now. I fell on my right knee in the winter of 2003 and just never did anything about it, couldn't afford to take time off of work. So I've babied it, relying on my left knee to carry the load (and yes, the load could use a lil work but that's another story!) and as of last Friday, an MRI revealed that the cartilage is about gone. Since this WAS my good knee I'm sure the right knee has gone to s^*t as well. Again, not being able to afford missing work I won't be doing anything about it really until I get laid off this winter. So I'll keep on limping my way around. At PiP, just give ol' gimpy some room and don't be in a hurry if you're waitin on me, it'll take me awhile! Crow & I are doin' pretty good. He's still working at the greenhouse in town here. He does most of the physical work there and it's starting to show on him too. Damn aging, it sucks! Kids are doing fine as well as the grandkids. My son never made it to Afghanistan. They want him to spend some time as the reservist he signed up to be before they'll let him go active. I'll leave it at that.................lol. So other than the knee thing, everything is going pretty well. Haven't ridden the scoot yet this year, just too painful. She started right up this Spring so that's a good thing. Can't wait til Sept to see some of you folks. Gary/Annie......... here chicky chicky! Red....... bring some plugs, you'll be okay! Steve........... did we decide on fried chicken or grilled hon? (LMAO) Ya'll take care & be safe! Brandi

Momma of the Heavy Horses MC

I would like to formally introduce to you the Vroom Vroom Crew. This is a newly formed group operating out of Laporte, MN. Coordinating this fine crew of professionals (cough...cough....BS....cough...cough) is Mr. Owl. Diligent and persistant this gentleman (cough...cough....BS....cough...cough) is, and a champion at multi-tasking. He can work on 2 bikes at one time while smoking a cig and drinking a Ginger Ale and bandaging a cut finger! Secondly we have Mr. Gary. His hospitalty is immeasurable and candid humor is remarkable. Working side by side with Mr. Owl, these two are a dynamic duo in every sense of the phrase. They assess your problem and incoporate an intense system of research to find methods of correcting that problem. When the challenges before them prove to be too tough, they call in reinforcements from their Canadian Team, Rick & Marilyn. Though a little OCD over clean hands before touching, they get down in the dirt and get down to business. Watching this team of experts (cough...cough....BS....cough...cough...) is truly a sight to behold. Crow & I were inoccent (cough...cough....BS....cough...cough) bystanders in this menagerie of talent but I have to tell ya, if you want to spend the day sitting in front of your TV watching the big game or on the lake waiting for that great catch, go on, do that. But I have to tell you, watching this great team go through 4 pots of coffee, ponder an issue for hours at a time, render potshots that will leave you speechless or wet from laughing so hard. then add at the end of the day, well, okay, 11:00pm, hugs all around before saying good-bye, there's nothing better than that! Thanks guys for trying to fix Ol' Girl. It wasn't meant to be but we had an awesome time trying! By the way folks.......... Windshields, bolts, brakes, and whatever else they came up with..........are overated! Love y'all, Brandi

Thanks for the info. Will be puting it back together and running up to Gary's to meet with Black Owl. Any excuse to see VentureRiders works for me! Brandi

Okay folks, maybe ya'll can help. I know it's not a Venture but I gotta crawl before I walk so here goes.......... My V-Star quit running last summer. Took it in to a bike mechanic, says the CDI unit went out. Finally replaced that a few weeks ago. Still won't start. Have had ppl tinkering to avoid having to take it up to Fargo and get raped for a simple job. The latest is it has no spark but it's arcing somewhere like where the seat goes but Bones (Tinkerer #3) can't find where. He's more of a motor man than an electrical man. I just know it's something so simple that a guy could look it up and bam there's the problem and it's an easy fix. I just haven't found that right guy. Just for taking the tank off Fargo would charge like an hour labor and it took Bones 3 minutes to get it off so you see my problem. Gawd do I wish it was Labor Day W'end and I was at Pork in the Pines and my bike was the pity bike! But it's May and it's riding time, and gas is through the friggin roof and more importantly, I've got the itch dammit, I wanna ride! I know ya can't fix a bike without it in front of ya so suggestions are all I'm asking for. H E L P ! Brandi

Well, I did it. We'll see how it goes........................ Brandi

Thanks Juggler! Yes Margaret, it's because of my pootie bear Jimmy better known as Crow. I got a tatt on my arm of a Fairy (me) in a nest guarding the heart of again, my pootie bear and a Crow (him) flying above me bringing me a rosebud. Folks in town call me Crow's Nest, where Crow lays his head, where Crow lives, etc. Gawd, can I get any more sappy? Plus I've been changing over all my online stuff to CrowsNest so I figured since the bug was going around I'd change it here too! Brandi

Ok, I've heard of fast service but come on Don........ I'm telling ya, he's got lightning in his blood I swear. I was reading about the two fellas that changed their names and have been doing the same with a lot of my online stuff and caught the name-change bug so I sent Don an email to change mine. As I'm in the forum I happened to lok up & there it is......... POOF! OdinsMaiden becomes CrowsNest. Thanks Don Brandi

Ordered a CDI unit for my Vstar. A good $120 cheaper than I found anywhere else. Bike still won't start so back to the drawing board but their prices are awesome. Shipping was quick and cust. svc was great. Highly reccomend. Brandi

OMG I'm a junkie! Since year one. I Tivo it. Even worse, last year my brother and I would make a night out of it. Every Tues at the local bar was open pool night so I'd meet him there & watch the fellas play pool. We'd go back to his house when his girlfriend got home from work, he'd cook supper and we'd watch Tivo'ed American Idol. Sad case. Looking for a support group right now........... Okay, not really cuz I'm going to go watch it since I Tivo'ed it tonight:rotf: Brandi

KiteSkid? WOW what a small world! I'll hafta look him up. Totally cool! Juggler? Aint it just like me? And yes, my "Special Necklace" was the 2nd thing he saw after we met. Laughed his butt off! Yammer Dan? I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that it may incriminate me........... Thanks for the thumbs up 86er. Mini Muffin? Nice to meet ya, love your philosophy. And your avitar? Man, she's my fav! Big Ron, my sweetie, thanks for who you are. My son still remembers your conversation with him and still asks about you. You're so kewl! My dearest Charlie. Do you not know that you sooo can never be replaced? I'll always have a huge crush on you, you know that! Thanks for the 'atta girl' folks, Brandi

Okay, now that I'm all settled in I can get down to business! Let me get the sad news out of the way first. I lost my farm. It was heart wrenching at first cuz I loved that place and it was hard to walk away. I've had the place for almost 5 years and haven't done a thing with it except install a new furnace. Upkeep on a 1924 farmhouse, well lets just say a bulldozer would've been the best option! My neighbor that farms the land surrounding it got the place and for the most part he'll do exactly that with the exception of a couple of buildings. I moved about 22 miles NE of where the farm was, to Barnesville, MN, for a couple of reasons. I signed on with a couple different companies after I left my job in the cities, the last one being in Wahpeton, ND about 12 miles from the farm. I ended my season with them in November but I'm checking into a couple of companies in Fargo, ND. Just haven't quite found that "right" company yet so I'll go back to Wahpeton until I get a call from Fargo. Barnesville puts me closer to Fargo so that helps. Second/main reason I chose B'ville is because this past July I met someone, while on sort of a date mind you, that turned my life around. His name is Jimmy but everyone calls him Crow. The guy literally swept me off my feet. Which by the way have yet to touch the ground! He's been a Godsend through all my struggles, he cherishes me in his life and I've never been this happy. Moving to Barnesville actually became the icing on the cake so to speak so within that sad chapter in my life, it's actually turned out to be for the best. My children (24 & 18) moved to B'ville as well. A feat I never thought I'd be able to accomplish. Being born & raised in the cities and being that young, into the nightlife and all, country life wasn't their bag. At least so I thought. I mentioned it in passing and in less than a month later up they came! My daughter has been here a month and she's loving it. She decided to move for her kids, better upbringing, surroundings, etc. My son just wanted to be close to his Momma! So I've got my kids, my grandkids, my man, what else can I ask for! Oh yeah............ A BIKE THAT RUNS! Did I just start venting a little? Yep, I did. Sorry! My CDI unit went out last year in like July so my riding season was short. Couldn't afford a new part, didn't want to put in a used part to have to buy another one so I waited til tax time to get a new part. Good thing I waited. Initially a new one priced out at around $400. I paid $286 for a new one through Seattle Sports online! 10-15 minute fix and a new battery (she's dead, I mean DEAD!) and she'll be running again. So now that I've put everyone to sleep.... errr.... I mean caught everybody up I'll sign off for now. Thanks for the well wishes and the hang in theres' from a select few, greatly appreciated. Gary? And all the rest of the MN folks? Sorry I missed P-i-t-P. Don't know for sure about this year yet, it'll depend on who I'm working for. Good to know when the lil sheep gets lost, you're always welcomed back into the fold. God bless, Brandi P.S. The attachments are of Jimmy & of my latest Tattoo. Long story short....... I'm into Fairies. Jimmy's nickname is Crow. Folks call me "Crow's Nest" He asked me to protect his heart when we got together. Here's one way of promising that I will. The fairy (me) is in the nest laying over (his) heart to protect it and the crow (Jimmy) is bringing me a rose. :sign isnt that specMushy mushy mushy I know............ Oh yeah, and the bra? Don't even ask!