All Hands on Deck (Chair)

Does the floor need sweeping? Yes. Does the carpet need vacuuming? Yes. Does my office need a major organizational overhaul? Yes.

Did I do any of those things today? No.

Did I bond with Mr. Deck Chair? Heck yeah!

With our late arrival home last night and getting up early for church, I really had no ambition to do anything resembling work, well, movement even, when I got home.

So I took a little vacation from reality. I put on a Sag Harbor suit and hung out with Mr. Deck Chair for a solid 60 minutes. I was totally feeling a nap coming on so didn't read. Didn't crank any tunes. Nothing but silence ... and birds chirping... and dogs barking... and the garage making "I'm sweating" sounds.

While it didn't sleep, it was relaxing to have an hour where I didn't HAVE to be anywhere and didn't HAVE to do anything. Nice. What a treasure.

In the early afternoon, we headed over the shelter at Nepco Lake for a graduation party for the girl next door. It was the same place Carter had his party. This time, I wasn't in charge. Yay. So we sat at a picnic table outside and visited all afternoon. I took a break for cake, of course! Down to only one more grad party – next weekend – then thankfully, we'll have two weddings in August. My cake run is not done yet.

Despite the fact Mr. Deck Chair was telling me differently. He doesn't always understand that his job is to support me... as in hold my weight and back my decisions. He's a tough guy. I think he can handle it.

Still, Monday sounds like a logical day to get back on the "wagon". I just don't think it will feel as comfortable as my Sag harbor chair! I'll let you know.

Running to Remember

It's been 10 years this week since Jim's young cousin Ben was killed in a car accident. Although the 23-year-old's life was taken, others were saved because of it.

This evening, nearly 100 people ran to remember Ben, including John, the man who received some of Ben's organs donated after the crash. This is the second year Jim and I have joined Team Koppa (Running to Remember Ben) in the Capital City 5k for the National Kidney Foundation and Organ Donation.

We don't do it just because we have the Orange Dot on our driver's licenses. We do it to support family.

As Ben's mother, Jim's cousin Kathy, shared recently, "It is hard to believe we are coming upon the 10-year anniversary in the loss of such a wonderful and loving son. Ben touched the lives of so many in such a positive way. We still remember and talk about him in our daily lives. He gave the greatest gift – of a better life for others with the donation of his organs. Everyone should be signed up to be an organ donor."

Kathy, husband Jeff and daughter Jennifer had a goal of having the largest team at this year's event, to have amazing support network of friends and family in matching red t-shirts. Did they accomplish that? Stay tuned.

One of the cool features of this event is that although we meet at the Alliant Energy Center, we are shuttled downtown to a start by the capitol building. Pretty cool with 1,200 participants this year!

Also on hand is Dottie, the orange dot mascot, who is pictured here with Ben's mom Kathy.

 Before the starting gun, we also get team photos (plus our own selfies).

Jim was walking it today but I was running it again with his cousin Nancy. We paced each other last year and did OK.

You know today was slower if we could stop to take selfies along the route, which is beautiful along Lake Monona.

Despite some walking during our run. and temperatures at least 10 degrees cooler than last year, we were a hot sweaty mess when it was done. But we survived it!

Jim made very good time walking it.

And last but not least were Ben's dad Jeff (front left), his Grandpa Lyle (Jim's uncle) in the middle, and Ben's donor recipient (far right). What a cool show of support!

When we got back to the finish at Goodwin Park, there was a display of special messages on some orange flags.

No. 22 was Ben's sports number and, therefore, the number on the back of our team's shirts.

Speaking of Team Koppa...

Yes, we did get the largest group participation award, 94 members! Here are Ben's parents, sister Jennifer and her husband. Very impressive. I hope we continue the momentum into next year.

And maybe by next year, both Nancy and I will be on the same page with running skills so we can run the whole thing!

#capitalcity5k #bebraveandsave

Triple T (Twins Territory Trip)

Between baseballs, golf balls and orange construction barrels, my mind was too full of objects to make room for a blog Thursday. Plus, by the time I sat down at my computer at 10 p.m., I was exhausted. So I cashed in one of my "Get out of Blog free" cards.

Had a great solo road trip to Twins Territory and back. Yes, solo. When you live with a Reds fan and an undecided, you take advantage of an opportunity to see your own team, and just go!

Back in May, my sister Rayna and husband Paul moved up from Texas to Hudson. Since Paul is a Braves fan, we thought it would be great to see our favorite teams in person when my Twins hosted Atlanta. The good news is that even though they are the two worst teams in baseball, somebody had to win!

Got over to Hudson early Wednesday afternoon with enough time to tour their apartment and take a ride on the resident pontoon. We didn't get too far on Lake Mallalieu before we had our trip shortened due to severe weather warnings. Didn't mind the abbreviated ride so much as the possibility of a rain out at Target Field.

Traveling through this on the way from Hudson to Minneapolis wasn't painting too pretty of a picture either. By some miracle, though, the weather gods smiled on us. After meeting our niece and her hubby downtown for a quick bite to eat before the game, we walked over to Target Field in the sun.

Felt right at home in Twins Territory!

Love the atmosphere around Target Field. While I didn't catch a glimpse of Paul Molitor during the game, I still got a nice picture.

Kirby Puckett was with me in spirit, too! Love this statue!

For some reason I let these darn Braves fans near Kirby. My bad. But I kinda had to put up with their shenanigans since I needed the ride back to Wisconsin!

I'm quite a catch, aren't I? Haha.

The promotion for the night was a 1991 World Series stein. That's when we beat the Braves, if you recall. Didn't get as lucky this week, but still I had a blast.

We had nice seats, not terribly far from the field.

Good seats despite the Braves fans, who, unfortunately, were the only ones who had something to cheer about with a quick 7-0 lead. Uff da.

Then, we started a little rally, including a hit from my favorite, Joe Mauer.

Couple runs and we were back in business!

Had to gloat we're No. 1, even if that is only from the bottom up. Like my new sweatshirt? Well, after the rain, it unexpectedly cooled off. A lot. Rayna and Paul were too proud to buy any Twins gear so they had to suffer and I was all snuggly warm.

Of course, the Braves ended up getting the win – only 9-7 after our amazing rally – but it was great to be "home" for 3-plus hours!

And as a bonus, I got to see the new Vikings stadium on our drive back to Hudson that night. Very cool!

On Thursday morning, the weather gods continued to cooperate. Despite plenty of rain during the night and some in the morning, it was mostly dry to go golfing with Paul at Applewood Hills Golf Course by Stillwater, Minn.

See the sand traps-turned-water hazards? Yup, plenty of rain in these here parts.

The score card specifically said we could help ourselves to apples. We passed on the offer but I did eventually switch from the pink, almost apple-colored ball to a white one. Not that it improved my game, but always fun to bond with a brother-in-law!

After golf, we met up with Rayna for lunch and I was on my way home. During my rainy drive back to Rapids I couldn't get over our luck that neither one of our outdoor activities got rained out! Sweet.

Got home just in time to grab Jim (and some food) and head to a potluck picnic with friends. Since the weather was a little sketchy, it was good we had it in a shelter at the park. Got home after 9:30 p.m. and that's when I realized I can't keep up with my own social life!

Thank goodness we had a free evening after work so I could recover before our busy weekend. Jim mowed the lawn while I installed a car-top carrier on the CRV (for future kayak hauling). Then we went into town for a quick bite to eat and, by coincidence, ran into some Assumption friends who are also Twins fans. Had a nice visit and dinner and I should be snoozing by 10.

By the way, my Twins won last night. Now we're only 20.5 games out of first place in the American League Central! Still love my Twinkies!

Finding Joy in Mudville

Do you remember Casey? Poor Casey who had the entire pressure of a baseball game on his shoulders and stepped up to the plate... and struck out?

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;

The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,

And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville – mighty Casey has struck out.

- Casey at the Bat by Ernest Lawrence Thayer

What do you think? Do you think he ever played again? Despite failure, maybe even humiliation, he mostly likely did. There's always another at bat to try again.

What about my Minnesota Twins? Sitting with the absolute worst record in the American League, have they given up, packed their bat bags and headed for home? I sure hope not. As you are reading this, I am likely sitting at Target Field turned Mudville, but hoping the 90% chance of rain was a weatherman's failure! And hoping the Twins find success against the Atlanta Braves, who have just a handful more failures under their belt this season, and reside in the basement of the National League.

But I am with the church book study group in spirit, discussing the "failure" chapter in If You Want to Walk on Water You've Got to Get Out of the Boat by John Ortberg. I'm not sure what angle our pastor is taking on this part of the reading, but I find a profound connection between Peter's faltering steps on water and America's Favorite Pastime.

Do you know how much praise a batter gets if say, their batting a .333 average? That means 2 out of every 3 at bats end in failure. Granted, they could get an RBI and save face, but having recordable success only 1 out of 3 times doesn't seem like anything to brag about. In fact, only 3 of the hundreds of baseball players in all the Major League have a batting average better than that right now.

Yet, we are so hard on ourselves when WE fail.

Likely it isn't happening in front of a crowd of hundreds or thousands. But we still feel pressured to succeed. In everything. And feel sizeable self-deflation when we don't.

In this chapter of the book, the author reminds us it is human nature to fail. Are we still crawling around on our hands and knees? Or despite having fallen down time after time, we learned to walk, even run? As Ralph Waldo Emerson so eloquently put it, "Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but rising up every time we fail." In other words, we could respond to our failures with shame, fear, denial and blame – or we could rise with increased determination.

Do I rise after my failures? Do you?

The author shared David's story from the Bible. A man who once had everything and a quick change of circumstances sent him running away, finding no help from friends, and eventually hiding in a cave. He writes that it was called the cave of Adullam, but we might think of it as the cave named Failure. The cave is where you end up when your props, supports, and crutches get stripped away. The cave is where you find yourself when you thought you were going to do great things, have a great family, or boldly go where no one had gone before, and it becomes clear that things will not work out as you dreamed. Perhaps you are in a cave because of foolish choices. Perhaps it is a result of circumstances you could not even control. Most likely it is a combination of the two.

And we've all been there. Everyone has been in the cave.

The key is how people living in the cave of Failure find the strength to venture out. How does Mr. Low Batting Average find the courage to swing again? How does a divorced man or woman become willing to open their hearts for another try? How does the victim of a car accident find comfort behind the wheel again? How does an addict who relapsed find strength to start recovery back at day one?

How does one rise after they fall? How do we grasp the concept that just because we fail does not mean we are failures?

I'm pretty sure you know the answer. They... and by they, I mean WE... can't do it ourselves. We need God's strength. Sometimes He supplies that internally. Other times in the form of people who can help us. People who love us don't want us to fail. When we hurt, they hurt. When we're sad, they're sad. When we learn from our mistakes and becoming willing to try again, they are relieved, proud and encouraged.

My favorite baseball players didn't start out wearing a Twins jersey. They had years of failures – and successes – in T-ball, little league, high school and college first. It's true when they say every failure is a stepping stone to success.

Now it's our turn at bat. Are you ready to swing?

(While you think about that, I sure hope I am finding joy in Mudville, er Twinsville!)

Empty Nest Night

Figures the one night I finally bring my good camera with me while kayaking, the trees along the river were eagle-less.

Now there was one eagle flying around but it swooped over us when we didn't expect it – and certainly not with any warning where I could grab my camera. So all we saw were empty nests here.

And empty nests there...

And a silhouette that turned into a false alarm. Sorry to invade your privacy, Mr. Hawk. I thought you were important.

I did manage to get one dragonfly photo to work out near my "lily pad park."

At least it isn't like this was the last opportunity to paddle this summer. I'll have other opportunities to catch those eagles and herons and cranes. As for our own nest, every day it's getting closer to being empty... and staying that way.

How am I coping? Well, I am trying to help Carter get ready with packing (and purchasing) checklists. For some reason he doesn't want me buying his school supplies.

I don't understand. It's on sale AND fits a laptop. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

Guess I'll let him handle that part and be grateful he hasn't flown from the nest yet.

And remember that at the end of the day, even the sadness of empty nests can be erased with something beautiful.

Christmas in July

Thank goodness my mother is single-handedly keeping snail mail in business with her handwritten letters and thank-you notes, because I am no help.

Other than those graduation invites and thank-yous and, obviously, Christmas cards, we don't have a lot for our mail carrier to pick up on Blue Jay Drive. Today though, in July, she picked up a bill with the stamp above on the envelope.

Hey, the beauty of those FOREVER stamps is that you can use them, well, forever. And sadly, they may outlast the USPS business. I mean that stamp says 2014 on it. Have I had it that long?? Wow. Needless to say, I had no qualms about using a Christmas stamp in July.

It also put me in a Christmas-y mood. Sort of.

Didn't play any music or anything. But since that chocolate-chocolate chip muffin on the counter was daring me to eat it, I thought, why not nuke it with some Schwan's Peppermint Stick ice cream and have myself a treat? Oh yes, Schwan's Peppermint Stick ice cream is Robyn's version of a FOREVER stamp. Always on hand, whether it's January or July.

Now don't go thinking that I am wanting to fast forward to any holiday.

Saw this at Wal-Mart tonight. As much as I love everything pumpkin, it's just too soon. Really, too soon.

I should at least wait a week so it's August, no?

Path of Destruction

When we find ourselves on a path of destruction, it may mean we ignored the caution cone warning us to stop and take a look where we are and where we're headed. It also may mean, we were moving too fast to slow down and change course.

I thought it was fitting that I got to view some of the storm damage on Highway 54 near Nekoosa on my way to see my nephew in Black River Falls.

It appears Thursday's storm must have downed many, many trees in the Wood County Forest area. Judging from cleanup piles on both sides of the road, some must have blocked the highway or at least a lane of traffic.

Riverside Park in Nekoosa also saw damage.

Trees of all sizes were snapped off or simply uprooted and blown over.

Yikes.

Just because we know a storm is coming, doesn't mean we know exactly what it's going to bring. Just because it has the "potential" to produce strong winds, dangerous lightning and hail, doesn't mean it will. Then again, we might get all three.

I believe my nephew has experienced all three. Unfortunately for him, the storm produced alcoholism, post-traumatic stress disorder (after service in Iraq) and a felony conviction.

Where to start the cleanup with that storm!

Believe me, it was a mess. But he is doing an amazing job dealing with the damage.

After serving time over in the prison in Winnebago County, he has now earned the right to participate in a treatment program of sorts at the correctional facility in Black River Falls. Still part of the Wisconsin prison system, but with a focus on "storm cleanup."

I was blessed to spend the afternoon with him, sitting at a picnic table in the shade and hearing about his program and progress. He is doing some things that would be hard for any of us to do: Looking back at his path of destruction, determining what went wrong and why, and what he could have done differently. Not to dwell on it, but rather to learn from it and use that to make the appropriate behavioral decisions in the future.

Sounds like he's in the right place!

I hope he finds the answers he needs, bring order to his mess, and arm himself with the proper mindset going forward. He's feeling very positive about it. It's like visiting a different person than a year ago. Amazing. So proud of him and continue to hope for the best.

I was encouraged by the visit and even more so when I saw a sign that could direct all of us onto the right path.

Is it that easy to change course? Doesn't hurt to try.

Non-Garden Tour

Now you know if Robyn is using words "garden tour" it's going to be pictures of pretty weeds, right?

Close.

After I got home from Core and Strength Class this morning, I walked out the mailbox and noticed at least a few our tiger lilies weren't completely pummeled during the storms on Thursday. So as long as I had my phone on me I took a few pictures... and a few more...

I have renamed these orange ones our Platteville Pioneer flowers!

What is this purple balloon thing? I can't wait 'til it opens. I liked it because it was puffy and, obviously, because it was purple!

Probably close to 100% sure this is weed or wild flower on the edge of being weedy. But still it was pretty because, well, it sort of is a shade of purple.

Definitely weeds but had to crouch down to get the rising sun behind the puff ball.

Then got a little closer.

Then changed it to black and white and got artistic. Ha. I just can't leave well enough alone, can I?

I did pause to take some wildlife pictures, too.

This hornet or wasp was carrying quite the heavy load. Probably an egg or something disgusting. He or she was very focused, though, and didn't even look up to tell me to buzz off!

Ha, tour guides have to be funny to get good tips.

How's that working out for me? Not so good yet! So I had to make some money by finishing up a freelance project this afternoon.

Was at my friend Becky's this morning doing some more scrapping first. Now Carter's senior year scrapbook just needs baccalaureate, graduation and Memorial Day band concerts. Getting closer.

Jim and I were going to go to the races in Marshfield tonight but those got called off due to rain. So I made some use of a gift of zucchini from the neighbors and made some zucchini bread with a yummy cinnamon and nutmeg flavor plus walnuts and craisins.

Miss Two Black Thumbs here can't grow a thing, but I can bake the heck out of anything.

And yes, if you were wondering, that pays as well those self-guided garden tours of mine!