A Bit Flighty

For as many times as I've had to stop or slow my car to let turkeys cross the road, I had to wonder if it was just an urban legend that they can fly.

I mean why must they walk, waddle and lolly-gag across the road if they have wings? Because their brains are the size of a pea and they don't always make the connection of feathers and flight.

Tonight, though, I witnessed the miracle.

On my way home from work, there were a ton of turkeys on the side of the road. When I noticed they were taking turns hopping the fence, I grabbed my phone and snapped a photo. Not perfectly focused, but you can see there was actual wing flapping happening! There was a car behind me so I couldn't lolly-gag myself!

It was cool to see, though. I was just grateful they were flying in the opposite direction and not over the road. I've heard if one of them hits your car or windshield it's like getting hit by a bowling ball. Can they fly, too?

I guess if pea-brained turkeys can, bowling balls may be next. Better keep my camera handy.

Thursday Night Lights

Finally some redemption after our Royals lost that high-scoring game in Chippewa Falls on Saturday. Tonight – yes, Thursday night – they hosted conference rivals Wausau Newman Catholic.

Don't know if it was the magical Thursday Night Lights or a bit of home field advantage, but the boys in Royal blue dominated with a 35-0 win.

That was a much better way to spend a Thursday evening than watching TV or doing something productive like laundry or cleaning my office. Now I have Friday night for that!

I gotta admit it is still weird watching a sporting event when my child is not in the student section or pep band (which they don't have the numbers for this year). I did sit by and visit with parents of other college "freshmen" who are in the same boat. We are actually looking forward to homecoming next weekend because our kids are coming home – and we don't have to shell out money for tuxes or dresses.

Yup, Carter called last night and told us his plans. So that'll be cool. (Understatement, ha.) We didn't expect to see him until we go down for Family Weekend in early November, so this is a major bonus. Naturally, his weekend will be booked with seeing friends, but hopefully I can squeeze in a few hugs at least!

In the meantime, business as usual. I'll continue to nag, er check up, on homework from afar while relaxing under the Thursday Night Lights, er bedside reading lamp, in our empty nest. 

Bibbity Bobbity Ballot

I was working in my office the other night and could hear arguing down the hall, coming from the living room.

I swear it sounded like teenage siblings bickering or perhaps a stubborn ol' married couple.

Turns out, it was the presidential debate.

Hubby watched. I did not. I had a deadline and couldn't get away. I think I could hear enough from a distance to determine it was not friendly banter. And not all together mature.

I am not going to get on a political soapbox here. There is plenty of that to go around as is. Just reminding you that there is another party option. C'mon, I'm not the only one who loves the '80s, am I?

Like totally. Join the '80s Party!

Also, a reminder that no matter how upset you are with the candidates or how impatient you are with new procedures at the polls, please be nice to the election workers! This process doesn't happen by "bibbity bobbity" magic.

I have friends who volunteer each year and two sisters who are town clerks up north. There is an insane amount of work to be done to give each of us the freedom to cast our ballots. They folks rock as much as the '80s!

Time to get the party started.

Trick About Treats

It's been established that I am a bit of a pumpkin freak. Well, make that pumpkin SPICE freak. For someone who could take or leave Halloween, I do love this time of year when the flavor of fall comes in so many packages.

And just because Culver's has Pumpkin Spice Shakes and DQ has Pumpkin Pie Blizzards does not mean we have to make unhealthy choices. For example, I do like the new Pumpkin Spice Cheerios. They are good by themselves – with milk or as a dry snack – or mixed with vanilla yogurt. There are some yogurt brands with pumpkin flavors as well. (Chobani is the best I've had so far.)

But let's face it. Fall and Halloween time are not about healthy choices, are they? They are all about the pile...

The reality is that if you're buying bulk candy and it's still September, it's not for the trick-or-treaters. It's for your own personal stash. It's for you to get dibs on your favorite, like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, for example. (Not that I would know, of course.)

You don't want hubby to find it so you take it for work for the "candy dish" on your desk. Only you don't share it with your o-workers. It's for you to eat your emotions at 3 o'clock in the afternoon after you get stuck with another project and are forced to hate life.

They're for stealthily consuming in the kitchen on the down low while you make noise about needing more fresh fruit in the house and rifle through the cupboards so no one hears the wrapper tear. (Here's a tip: If you want to inhale quickly in case of an intruder, stick with the non-caramel or chewy variety. Peanut Butter Cups, Crunch Bars and Kit-Kats work well for this. Snickers and Baby Ruth, not so much.)

Practice looking shocked when your family finds candy wrappers on the floor the next morning ("Santa must have been here!" or "That darn cat!")

I read the following statement on the Internet, so it HAS to be true: This is the only time of year when there's no shame in buying mini chocolates 50 pieces at a time. So I figure we, I mean you, should stock up. Not for the 5 trick-or-treaters in your neighborhood. And not for your co-workers.

Do it for yourself for the other 364 days a year when life is just too darn much and you need medicinal chocolate or caramel or peanut butter or, well, sugar!

Do it for your health. Do it for your family. Do it for your sanity. Do it for you.

*This message has not been approved by Weight Watchers or any person or entity associated with a healthy eating plan.

Just Smurfy

Not sure how the farmers are coping with the unusual amount of rain lately, but if you are into growing mushrooms, there is a bumper crop this year!

I have no idea which kind is which and if any are edible. It's not something I eat (or pick). It's just that when I took a walk yesterday they seemed to appear overnight, like a whole village of Smurfs had moved in. And those little blue creatures have some strange digs.

The mushroom up top is like a Smurf condo with a bunch of connected rooms. Don't worry, this is not Gargamel's foot. I just wanted you to see how big the housing unit is.

Now this big, fat one has to belong to Papa Smurf. It's huge!

Seriously bigger than my hand! From the top side, it looks like a pancake. Because we always stumble upon pancakes on the side of the road, don't we?

This looks like a cute place for Smurfette to make her home. Those yellow curtains in front better stay closed to Peeping Tom Smurf. Or wasn't that a character?

And Johnny Appleseed Smurf lives here. Seriously, I thought it was an apple on the ground. But nope, another variety of fun fungi.

Here's a quaint bird bath in the middle of the village. C'mon. You really have to use your imagination, kids!

Meet the Sunblock Smurfs. Wow, these pasty white folks have not seen the light of day yet.

And the Baked Potato Bar is open from 4 until Midnight!

Don't forget the new Smurf Stadium... decorated with Skol Smurf's favorite color palette! It's hard to get tickets to that place.

Maybe I can sneak in with Azrael??

Water Under the Bridge

water under the bridge: Something in the past that cannot be controlled or undone, but must be accepted, forgiven, or forgotten.

If you want a true visual of what "water under the bridge" means, you merely have to look at any moving body of water in the area and see how the rain has pushed the flow into high gear.

The origin of the phrase actually comes from the ancient Greek Heraclitus, who said, "You could not step twice into the same river." The river is ever changing because of the flow of the water, the river is never the same a second later. In other words, what happened in the past should stay in the past. People can change and become better persons.

Forgive and forget. That's water under the bridge.

Or is it?

After church today I went to my nephew Tony, who is eyeing up his release next month after serving time in prison and participating in a correctional facility guided treatment program of sorts. With each visit over the past 2 years, he has been more positive, more honest, more goal-driven, more like his true self. He is so close to being done with this stage, but there is a long road (or river) ahead.

Freedom comes with many strings attached. Rules to follow. And a general re-entry into society. That may be the hardest part.

While we can't entirely dismiss the seriousness of some of his actions, I sure hope people recognize how serious he is about learning from those, moving forward and not repeating them.

His focus right now is inspiring. It has been a privilege to have been a part of his journey and a witness to his transformation. We realized today that it was probably going to be our last visit in a setting where we sit with a table between us, under the watchful eye of security guards. That's OK. We know our paths going forward will be intertwined.

Thankfully, the water he was treading in the past has moved under the bridge and down river and been replaced by water flowing in a new direction.

I pray it is mostly smooth sailing.

Fall-owship

It's late but I'm so grateful for a close to ideal fall day.

While we enjoyed traveling with Assumption friends up to Chippewa Falls for Saturday afternoon football, it was a bummer that our Royals lost 56-41. Would have been an ideal road trip if there was a victory in there or at least some fall colors. They seem to be a little slow at making their appearance this year.

Still it was nice to share the journey with friends.

And that continued when we got home and added 3 more couples to the mix. Sort of a Royal brat fest at our place. Grilled out some very tasty Ski's Meats concoctions plus some crane. Yes, you read that right. One of our friends brought crane from a hunt in the Dakotas. And yes, I was brave enough to try it. It wasn't bad. I think I was just freaked out knowing it was crane and we had seen dozens flying south today.

We had planned on building a cozy fire out back after dinner but the guys ended up congregating on the new driveway (ha) and we ladies stayed inside to chit-chat around the kitchen table. And we held our positions all night. Worked out great, though. Had plenty to eat and plenty of time to catch up, mainly on the trials, tribulations and triumphs of our children. Do they realize they'll always be the center of our lives?

At this stage in life, no one had to get home early for a babysitter. Just couldn't stay out too late because there's church in the morning for most, long drives for some, and that feeling of being old and tired – for me a least.

Worth it, though. Fall-owship with friends really needs a longer season!

Noah Way

If you live in Minnesota or Wisconsin, you may be on the waiting list to get on Noah's ark.

Have we had a day without rain lately? How about a night without a "sound and light" show? In our area alone, there have been roads, schools and even lakes closed this week due to flooding. Crazy.

So far, the typically dried-up Bloody Run Creek in our backyard is not kayak ready. And we're OK with that.

What we're not OK with is fall temperatures like highs only in the mid-60s. Yes, I realize autumn is officially here, but I don't want to paddle if it's cold and rainy and the trees are ugly. Fall color is seriously lacking around here. I suspect it will be pretty one day and the leaves will be blown off (or rained off) the next. We do hope we can see some nice leaves from the 'yaks. Just have to make sure we can time it for a weekend excursion. It would be nice to go after work some evening, but guess what? Fall means the sun falls out of the sky faster.

Tonight we were in the living room and I thought it was pretty late. I looked at the clock and said to hubby, "Ohmigosh, it's 7:22 and it's already dark out!" Needless to say, not much daylight for paddling. And needless to say, I was ready to go to bed by 8:30!

Didn't help I got up for 5:40 a.m. kickboxing class today. Had to do it since I wasn't going to go out in the rain and do something silly like walk or run. Hopefully, Mother Nature gives us a little break so we can enjoy some outdoor time tomorrow. Initially this was going to be a golf weekend away but our friends had to postpone that. Now we'll cheer on our Assumption Royals football team in Chippewa Falls under clear blue skies.

Right, Mother Nature? Right, Noah?

Why don't you two just take the weekend off? Thanks.

Letters Home

I don't always get big letters, but when I do, they are nothing to do with written communications!

I took the picture above in response to a photo Carter took a few days ago after checking out the Miners' M in Platteville.

If you recall, I took this photo of the M on our way out of town a few weeks ago. Even from the road, it looks huge!

But when Carter is standing close to it, it doesn't seem all that big, does it? Shouldn't the hill at least be taller or steeper? An optical illusion, I guess.

Still, it's great to SEE him, isn't it?

He's been a very good boy and stayed in touch. Maybe seeing that M for MOM helps. Either way, we've been happy to hear encouraging reports, such as, "I've been getting up in time for class," "I couldn't have a better roommate if I had picked him myself," "I found the weightroom," and something, too, about girls, but that's not anything to write home about.

Yet.

It is hard to believe it hasn't even been 3 weeks since we dropped him off. It seems like months. And we have more than a month to go before we see him (in person) again. I guess I will have to be content to look at photos.

If I get desperate, I could go out and sit in his car. It still smells like him. Or an Axe factory. I'm willing to suffer through it... until the next letter.

Wild and Wacky

Not that you would doubt that our Wild Women's Weekends are truly wild, but I'll share some wild and wacky photos to confirm it. Just a few weird snapshots and then I'll move on to real life one of these days...

OK, nothing tops the Sasquatch sign. Just found it hilarious when you read the fine print at the bottom that he is "prone to beer" and that the warned was posted by the "Wisconsin Department of Unnatural Resources."

Sign hanging at the apple orchard store we visited because, well, they were selling apple wine!

Did you ever see the Disney or Pixar movie Monsters, Inc.? That's what came to mind as soon as I saw this chair and door hanging on the outside of a building. If you are ever in Shell Lake, Wis., stop by the Potter's Shed and see the eclectic collection of items on display. And bring your camera. Oh, and wallet. Even though I just browsed.

Cool parrot crafted from a crescent wrench and other rusty items from the tool box. Polly wanna cracker or WD-40/

Where is the restroom? Oh just follow the signs. And make that "honeywagon," not restroom.

I love the "unattended children" signs. And they are serious. Although it looks like a lot of "junk" at the Potter's Shed, it's pricey junk. And old.

Venus Fly Traps already freak me out. Sharp, metallic teeth seal the deal. 

Blue Ribbon beauty in the Northwoods! Nothing says Wisconsin like a boat, a lake and PBR!

Didn't see Sasquatch, but we think we saw his hairy offspring. Walka! Yes, I killed it. And yes, I may have screwed up the whole ecosystem of the Northwoods. Just couldn't risk it getting into the cabin! (You're welcome, sisters!)

Me pondering how wild I should get on Wild Women's Weekend. Right. The answer is heck no, I did not get a tattoo.

Out for a bike ride with my sisters...

OK, maybe not. We may have been in the middle of nowhere, but we weren't roughing it THIS much! I saw this on the way home Sunday. I often see Amish men on bicycles along the 4-lane Highway 29. This was the first I saw the ladies out for a Sunday stroll.

What did I do before having a camera on my phone? Grab. Click. Capture. And yes, I kept my eyes on the road. That's why I got 2 pictures out of 8 to work!

Thanks for letting me share part of our weekend. We did plenty of bonding, talking, laughing, crying, and game playing. But most of what happens at Sister Weekend stays at Sister Weekend...

Wilds in the Wilds

Since the Wild Women were in the Wild, so to speak, it's time to see what Mother Nature had in store for us. The color forecast indicated only 5% of trees had changed, so not much to look at there. Still, between clouds and rain, I did get out for some "natural woman" time.

And snapped some photos with my phone (of course) ...

The road less taken. Probably because there were Big Foot sightings in the area!

Somebody's been munching on my mushroom!

Kind of cool to look at it up close and see the "structure" of the plant.

This one looked like a little table top.

Raindrops are pretty but I prefer sunshine...

Or sunsets! View of our little lake from the dock. This was Friday evening.

So pretty!

A little diving raft we could have used for swimming, but didn't.

Could have used this boat, too. But it looks good just sitting there, reflecting in the water.

More raindrops and spider webs! Cool.

And lily pads reflected in the night waters.

Seriously, a full moon on sister weekend? That's wild. That is really WILD.

Cabin Mates

Suppose it doesn't matter now if I reveal our actual location for Wild Women's Weekend 18. We were in northwest Wisconsin, north of that stretch of State Highway 70 between Spooner and Hertel. Just a cabin in the woods on a little body of water called Bass Lake. (Way common lake name in Wisconsin!)

Our locations are rather arbitrary. Mainly we want a nice place that sleeps 7. We learned long ago that the best way to find decent, somewhat secluded, lodging is through the Vacation Rentals By Owner (VRBO) website. Has worked out so far!

 View of our cabin from the lake side. Set in the middle of the wild, ha.

I knew just from the walkway to the main entrance that I was going to like it!

Open living room-dining area-kitchen concept, which served us well. Had a wood stove we ended up not using. Amazing how much heat is generated when 7 women get to talking. And laughing.

We don't always get seating for 7 at the table. This year, it worked out great having the benches. Ever heard of "bleacher butt" from being parked too many hours on your backside during a sporting event? Well, after the first morning, we ended up sitting on pillows for our long talks, card and game playing!

Kitchen area where we served up breakfast and lined the counter with treats, treats and more treats. There may have been healthy options but I wasn't looking!

The screen porch was a huge hit! There was enough seating for all 7 of us so we spent hours out here talking. It was awesome! We needed that.

The screened-in part led to another section of covered, but open porch.

There was definitely enough seating here, but we just got too comfy in the screened-in area.

The many, many, many steps leading down the lake. There was a dock and some boating options, but we mainly just stood down there taking nature photos. I'll share those another day. Today I just wanted you to get a feel for the place.

And see why my cabin mates and I had such a "Wild" time!