Buzz Off!

It's not easy for me to admit, but I am stuck in an abusive relationship. I'm now 40-something years old. How did I not see the signs? Did I not notice how broken he is? Did I not realize his sense of abandonment would force him to retaliate ?

It is becoming worse than I ever expected.

Mr. Deck Chair is a raving lunatic!!

Well, maybe not raving, but buzzing anyway.

I hadn't realized how much I was neglecting him. Apparently I have been working too hard or traveling too much or sitting at the ballpark too often. I have not been giving him any attention. My white legs are proof of that.

And, I now know, he has become attached to someone else. He calls her Honey, but she's evil. He was really secretive about it and kept her out of my sight.

Until it was too late...

Can you believe a bee hive has taken residence under my chair?? We had no idea until Jim moved the chair on Friday and it buzzed and swarmed. And stung.

I had no idea Mr. Deck Chair was the jealous type but he exacted his revenge. Jim is allergic to bees!

Last night, expecting the worker bees to be inside at rest, Jim and my brother-in-law Paul attempted to eradicate the hive, using a 10-foot pole and killer foam spray. Jim tipped the chair and Paul foamed up the nest, but not before one escaped and, you guessed it, stung hubby.

So my wonderful birthday weekend was bookended with bee stings and Epi-Pens.

Today, I kicked the evil mistress to the curb. The question is, can I forgive Mr. Deck Chair and continue our relationship? Or should I tell him to "Buzz off!" and move on?

Eyeing my pasty legs, I am having a weak moment here...

Rest and Recovery

When you get old like me, it takes longer to recover from birthdays.

We unofficially declared Sunday a day of rest. And compared to yesterday's jam-packed schedule, it was.

Had breakfast and I ran a few errands to drop off stuff for a graduation party for the young man across the street. Then my photographer sister and I walked over to take some neat patriotic pictures of my favorite old barn in the neighborhood. 

Cool, eh? That barn has now become my go-to object for photos. 

After our "shoot," the five of us went to the graduation party. There I finally got my birthday cake... well, courtesy of Sam the grad, that is.

Nice time there, then when we got home, we bored our guests to sleep with World Cup action we cared nothing about. 

Poor Rayna and Paul. I was tired just looking at them. And I still could use that nap!

When supper rolled around, we headed to Ida's for some excellent pizza! Ran into Carter's former sitters there. Nice to see them as always.

Just as it has been nice to have our favorite transplant Texans in the house. Birthday or no birthday, I have to start incorporating those afternoon siestas. At least on Sunday!

I Scream, You Scream....

Got the perfect birthday card from my sister Romey. Has a picture of ice cream on the front and says: I scream, you scream, we all scream... because we are getting older!

We sure are! But ice cream (on a card AND in person) makes it easier to swallow.

Not complaining a bit. Had a wonderful birthday. Did not get to spend it with my twin but was surrounded by loved ones – another sister, her hubby and my guys. Wonderful.

After our complimentary breakfast at the hotel, we met up with Rayna and Paul and headed up to Grandad's Bluff – that tourist hotspot we La Crosse people (or former La Crosse people) have to show visitors. Plus, I needed to prove that I am not OVER the hill, just on TOP of it!

Just a bit on the windy side! So glad I bothered curling my hair!

My OLD-est sister and me with a cloudy view of the city behind us. We somehow lucked out and did not get rained on all day!

My campus – UW-La Crosse! Now that WAS forever ago!

More bluffs – maybe a grandson of Grandad?

Onto baseball... Carter had two games scheduled today. Since they were concerned about the weather early on, they got them going a bit early. Got skunked in the first one against Osseo.

Carter tries to lay down a bunt here.

 Ended up getting on with a walk during this at bat.

Have you seen a baseball field with grass for the first and third base lines? Weird. Here Carter is at third and ready to score our first run of the tournament. Yup. That came in the third of three games. It broke the seal on the skunked can, though, and we scored four more that inning.

Was an exciting game versus Sparta. Thanks to that 5-run inning, we had the lead.

They eventually got the lead back and were ahead 8-5 going into the last inning.

We tried valiantly to rally. Got two runs and ended up losing 8-7. Bummer. My sister got some nice photos of Carter in action. She has a much nicer camera than me. Here you go (photos courtesy Rayna Delaney)...

Since we didn't win any games, we headed home and will not be playing Sunday. It was a nice day at the ballpark, though. Quite breezy, which kept the temperature reasonable and the gnats away. Still got fried on my thighs and feet, which haven't seen much sun this summer. Ouch.

On our way north from La Crosse to Rapids, I rode with Rayna and Paul rode with they guys. We stopped for dinner at The Lure Bar & Grill on Lake Petenwell (that tourist hotspot the Austins tend to take summertime guests). Why? Cool view and good food. And now, a new outside eating area mimicking Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville.

Pretty sure this is my "Is it time for ice cream yet?" look. And in fact, it was just about that time.

On the way home from The Lure, I rode with Rayna and we found the ice cream place. The guys missed the turn and ended up going straight home. Maybe we should have been the lead vehicle. I may be getting old and forgetful, but I will always find ice cream.

Plus, I was feeling lucky...

I found not one, but TWO four-leaf clovers today near the bleachers. It didn't help the baseball team, but I will send one to my twin and hopefully that will give us both some luck for the coming year.

Hard to get any better than a day with loved ones, sunshine and ice cream.

Mature Audience

The last time I spent a birthday in La Crosse I was in college and turning 21. Fast forward a few years and it couldn't be more different.

Granted, I was in summer school back in 1989 and had a final the next day so I couldn't really party that night, but I made up for it the rest of the weekend -- and summer, I'm sure.

This time around, there are still some boys involved -- if you can count 15- and 16-year-olds in cleats -- but I have definitely become a member of that "mature audience" we've been warned about. I want to defend myself and say the "mature" part purely reflects my age, not my attitude. But here I am in the hotel room, ready to call it a night at 9:30 without a single thought of going downtown.

Holy cow. What happened??

Something good, I guess.

It's actually "Carter's weekend" to be here. I'm just along for the ride. But it's still kind of cool for me to spend my birthday tomorrow in one of my favorite cities.

His first game was at 5:30 today so we left home by 2:30, checked into the hotel and went to the ballpark on the south side of the La Crosse. We lost by a lot to the host team. Carter didn't bat well but had some great defensive plays.

All of us were battling the pesky gnats!

Will have to find some spray that actually works before game time at noon Saturday.

The initial plan was that my Texas sister Rayna (who has been Up North a month now) was going to pick up her hubby at the Minneapolis airport and meet us in La Crosse to stay. Flight got delayed or something so they will still get here tonight, but not until midnight. We will have tomorrow together then we'll drive back to Rapids and they'll stay at our house overnight.

What a special birthday it will be - in La Crosse and celebrating with my boy plus 3 members of that mature audience. I'm sure I can learn a thing or two. Perhaps even more than in college!

Ha. We'll see.

The B-a-a-a-dlands

As promised, here are more photos of my Wild West Adventure. This time, we are driving through the Badlands – or B-a-a-a-dlands if you are lucky enough to see the big horn sheep!

What was so amazing on our 24-mile tour was the ever-changing landscape. Sometimes we were at the top of the rocky "mountains" and other times at the foot. And sometimes in between. I was in awe of the striped pattern on the rocks, which was so even and so perfect. Just marveled at that.

Here are a few of the photo highlights. You'll notice the appearance / colors of the rocks changed depending on sunshine.

Honestly, I kept looking, but I just couldn't find one!

Big Horn Sheep in disguise! I thought they were "mountain goats." Is there really that much of a difference?

C'mon, kids. You gotta keep up!

Fighting over the beautiful necklace??

Just so darn cool!

Different coloring and formations here.

The Sphinx in South Dakota? Or just my imagination?

Snake Trail! (Or maybe just a dried up creek.)

Almost like a city skyline.

Flat-tops.

So what did you think? Not a BAD place to visit, is it?