Game On and On

We're a gaming family. Not the Play Station or XBox type but the board game variety – and cards of all varieties.  So it's only natural we'd have some game time at sister weekends. Usually games we created just for the purpose of Wild Women's Weekend. I've crafted a few over the years – everything from Bingo to Family (or Sister) Feud. This year's was the putzy-est.

I recently saw a customized version of Monopoly and thought two things. One: That would be cool to do a sister version. And two: I don't have time to do this!

Oh and three: Oh what the heck? How important is sleep?

So I whipped this together over a few nights last week and created new squares for every "property" on the board (a find at Goodwill). My Sisteropoly didn't involve buying property but paying with information, thoughts, and actions. Every street had a name to match ideas. If you landed on Wild Woman Way, you'd have to sing a few lines of a song with the word "woman" in it. If you landed on Dear Ol' Dad Drive, you'd share a trait you share with Dad. And so on.

Interspersed for fun were Do You Remember cards in place of Community Chest. These came from some get-to-know-you box I got a gift shop once. I also replaced the railroads with Curse Cards from the game Curses. You land on this and you had to do whatever the card said... for the rest of the game. One sister had to talk like a leprechaun every time she talked. Another had to pretend to be on a CB. You can imagine we pretty much laughed so hard we couldn't breathe!

And we had our Wonder Woman game pieces, too, labeled R1, R2, R3, etc for our many R names. And for the record, even though we're all competitive, there wasn't a clear winner. Just all of us having fun.

There were many other creative activities from my sisters. It's just a thing in our family, I guess!

And fun selfies, of course! I can't take a straight one to save my life. Ha. Rayna (aka R1) and me.

R7 and R8 with the wild things in the Northwoods!

My SKOL sistah and chocolate mint ice cream fan RoAnn (aka R4).

Straight selfie – thanks to a selfie stick. LOL. I do own one for sister weekend only!

And I got my own "senior portrait" done, too. Yup. I'm over 50 so I'm close to a senior!

Yup. We pretty much entertain ourselves. Who else would understand?

Not many. We're OK with that.

Perfect Sister Setting

Home safely after another enjoyable Wild Women's Weekend in the wild! Well, in the northwoods. More specifically, Sarona. Never heard of it? Well it's in the Rice Lake-Spooner-Birchwood region of the Wisconsin. And we were on Long Lake (one of many in the state, I'm sure.)

Nope. Mom wasn't with us for the weekend. I did get to have lunch with her in Rice Lake on the way. And she did get to see where we were staying, too. We oooh-ed and ahhhh-ed over Eagle Bay Lodge and pointed out we'd never stayed at such a big and beautiful space for our sister weekend!

You can see by the kitchen area alone how gorgeous the interior is.

Plus, a ton of gathering areas that could seat all 7 of us – the 4-season porch here plus about 4 family room/living room type area. And there were enough bedrooms most of us got our own! Nice. Wow. Crazy amazing.

And we were on the lake, too! Little too windy to kayak or paddle boat, but it was so calm Friday evening that the lake surface served as a mirror. Really cool.

I mean really, really cool!!!

The only disappointment was that there was no fall color yet. None. But we were grateful the weather was mild – super sunny and nice on Saturday – and waited to rain until today on our travels home. Got home in time to go to a senior photo shoot that I ended up canceling due to rain. And in time to get to King Cone before they close for the season tonight. And in time to see my pathetic Vikings lose the the Bears. Yep. It's not always worth it to see your team on TV!

I'll have to tell you about some of the activities and scenery we enjoyed – especially a game I kind of, sort of invented. But for now, I need to spend time with hubby, my recliner, and my comfy bed!

Road Warriors

Among other things, I was excited the Twins set another record for this season tonight. Most road wins since before I was born. Which means more than 50 years ago. Because I'm old. And because it was an amazing record.

52 wins on the road. That's awesome. They're definitely road warriors!

Which I will be in less than 12 hours as well.

One more sleep until sister weekend! I actually took the afternoon off to get some stuff done that I didn't want "hanging over my head" the next few days. Plus, to get packing. So far, at 10:15 p.m., I've packed pajamas and... that's it.

But I got my stuff done and now am just waiting for the Cleveland-White Sox game to wrap up. Twins won today. Cleveland is down. If they lose, Twins clinch the division. So hopefully a few more outs and I can do a happy dance!

I suppose I could do some more packing in the mean time. But I'm watching each pitch on an app. And I'm going a little nuts with Cleveland loading the bases in the 9th.

And.... this just in!!! WHOOT!!!!!

Now I'll have sweet dreams!!

Another Season on the Score Card

Much like the groundhog – or perhaps the gopher in Caddyshack – once you see long shadows on the golf course, you know there's just a few more weeks of golf league left.

Tonight ended up being my last night. I was subbing for someone tonight who, in turn, will sub for me next week when I'm out of town for work. We got lucky with summer-like weather. And I got lucky on a few shots, too. But not enough.

Still, what a fun season. I'm privileged to get to golf on such a gorgeous, well-maintained course. And this year especially when it was at the height of perfection for the USGA Girls' Championship. Pretty amazing.

If you haven't golfed SentryWorld this year, there's still time. We'll officially "close the course" with the Close the Course Run/Walk and Family Fall Festival on November 9. That's a fun day of events, too!

Doubt I'll get out anywhere again this fall unless hubby and I have a free morning or afternoon – at the same time. During my round tonight, I just kept thinking, at least I won't golf any worse than this the rest of 2019.

Plus, you can't beat the scenery! Always gotta find the positive, right? Fore!

From Summer to Spice

First day of fall already! This summer lover is not a fan. Well, I mean, I love fall but second to summer and my bonding time with Mr. Deck Chair and Mr. Kayak.

But, of course, that does mean it's officially Pumpkin Spice Season. I may have sneaked in some already, but now I feel emboldened.

And I did just check the forecast for sister weekend (in 3 more sleeps), and it's going to be very autumnal, as they say. Lows in the 40s at night. Yowza. So if that's a clue, you now know we're not heading south anywhere! And here's even a picture of the outside of the place.

Could be anywhere, right?? Haha 

I finally got around to a little Wild Women's Weekend prep tonight. Have plenty more to get ready. But all top secret for now. Gotta have some surprises for my sistahs! Plus I gotta get 'em done so I can get some sleep and quit dreaming up more ideas.

Gonna give that sleep thing a try right now!

Me Letting Go of the Weekend

OK it's not me letting go of the weekend, but I feel like that. Crashing into Monday at top speed. Gah.

It's actually the final picture from a senior photo shoot today. My first one got canceled due to rain. Hubby's golf plans were also canceled so we had lunch at the Royal Event. Then he went homeward and I did my second scheduled shoot, starting down at Sandy Valley.

This time we had a cart and I saw more of the course. Still impressed. Then we went back to their house and took waterski-related photos. Very, very impressed. Good time.

Here's a few of what he can do...

And be cool and sassy...

I only have 3 more shoots but he definitely raised the bar in the entertainment category!

Now it's time to set my alarm for the fun job that pays the bill. Hope you found moments to enjoy this weekend, too!

Studies Show...

After a busy day of Royal Event stuff, book club, shopping, mowing, dinner and dancing, I am tired – a good kind of tired – and now can't wait for breakfast.

Hey, if it's on the internet, is has to be true. And I, for one, am not going to mess with my mental health!

Sweet dreams. And sweet wake-up, too!

Where Two or More Are Gathered

For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.
                                                               – Matthew 18:20

Sometimes when I go for a walk at lunchtime, I take along the committee in my head. Just in case we need a meeting to brainstorm some excellent word choices for my next writing assignment at my desk. Or some other creative project in my life.

Today, I left them behind. After a stressful morning, I just needed time to myself. No thinking allowed.

The purple flowers in the ditch caught my eye and, of course, I wanted to get a picture. Even though my purple team did horribly last weekend, I still love purple. When I got closer, I realized that not one, but three, Monarch butterflies were gathered.

It was so pretty. When I managed to capture a picture on my phone, I just knew they were gathered in His name (as Matthews says) to bring some peace to my mind. It worked.

One of them flew closer to me so I could get a closer picture, too. Every time I looked at that this afternoon, I just felt calm. That butterfly is stopping to smell the flowers, so why shouldn't I?

It was a good reminder to release the stress on the way out the door and slow down a bit. Tonight, with hubby on the road keeping stats for the football team, I had the evening to myself. I worked on a little creative project for a bit and now I'm going to sit in the recliner, maybe watch a movie or read a book. And stop and smell the flowers.

Or at least some fragrant hot tea!

Blind Squirrel... or Butterfly

They say every once in a while even a blind squirrel finds a nut. Sometimes that's how it is with photography. You accidentally get lucky.

And this has nothing to do with a stellar image or anything but just timing. So here are the boys at the middle school football game today...

Now look even closer...

Did you notice the butterfly? I thought it was kind of cool! It's kind of blue, too, to match the Royals.

Maybe it's a drone of some kind, zooming in to get better pictures! I'll let him/her/it keep shooting while I get to bed.

Gotta save my wings for tomorrow to have a productive Friday.

Calling Dr. Feel Good

Remember at the end of the original Karate Kid movie when Mr. Miyagi did some voodoo magic trick on the injured Daniel-san to fix his leg enough so he could return to the tournament and kick butt?

Apparently there's something to be said for Eastern medicine magic. And I can now concur.

Last week, I alluded to a unique adventure. Well, it was basically me playing the role of Daniel-san. Not with Mr. Miyagi, but with a practitioner of "unique Eastern bodywork modality" who is just known around here as Dr. Feel Good. Now I know why he's earned that reputation. (And it’s nothing to do with the methods mentioned by Mötley Crüe.)

They call this type of healing (for lack of a better word) alternative holistic solutions. Some just call is miracle healing from pain. That word "alternative" tends to scare people away, though,  especially since there's no insurance coverage for it. However, a spendy 45-minute appointment is nothing when I've paid literally thousands over the years for chiropractors and such. Plus, once you go, you should be good – a.k.a. pain-free – for a year.

Too good to be true?

It took me a few years to make the appointment. I first heard of Dr. Feel Good from some friends who experienced success. Then, most recently, my massage therapist recommended giving him a try. First I had hubby go (as a gift from me) to help with a shoulder issue. Then I thought, why am I not going, too? Plus, I heard he may be retiring, so I had to move quickly to get in.

I showed up Friday after work not really knowing what to expect. Especially when I was warned it would be painful and that I would probably cry. For the record, I didn't cry. Thanks to recalling my Lamaze breathing, that is!

It was a painful working over of my entire body – toes to nose. I guess my chronic back and hip issues were due largely to locked up hip flexors. Well... Doc unlocked them. He basically can take any painful area, untangle your muscles and ligaments and set them straight. And yes, it is as painful as that sounds.

The work on the hip flexors was pretty painful and getting my shoulders back into proper location was crazy painful. And my mouse hand (as I call my right typing, mouse moving, computer operating picture taking hand) was a big ouch. The way my forearm got worked on, he just might have reversed any carpal tunnel that may have been in the works. At least it felt like it. He also untwisted an optic nerve that likely had been causing headaches.

As he said, I was a piece of work!

Needless to say, I did feel like I'd been hit by a truck and dragged around a bit. But before I left, I had full range of motion in my neck and arms and legs. And I could bend down and touch my toes. Easy Peasy.

So after 3-plus days of a ton of water, no soda, Epsom salt baths and stretching, I feel good. Still a bit bruised up, but no back or hip or headache pain. I don't know if this "feel good" part will last a full year, but it's worth it already.

No pain, no gain. It's a true story.

Sundae, Monday, Tuesday

I have a little bit of a love-hate relationship with ice cream. I mean I LOVE it. But I HATE that it has calories. That's it in a nutshell. Or waffle cone.

Today, though, I was going to pass it up. Honest.

You've heard of the Freshman 15 for college kids. There's also what I call the Festive 15 over the holidays. And now we have the Fundraising 15. Yes, it's a thing.

All this week and next week at work we are doing our big United Way campaign. And I mean big. Huge. Like we raised over a million dollars last year big. So to raise that, we have a crazy calendar with daily bake sales and lunches and afternoon snacks. Along with lots and lots of raffles and fun activities (you recall our mini-golf course last year).

Today, some of us walked over to the new office building to buy lunch for a good cause. Got back to our building and caught the end of a bake sale. Will have to eat that tomorrow since I was too full from my hot ham and cheese sandwich and chips and lemon bar lunch. I actually told my boss: "Mark your calendar. I'm too full to have ice cream today." There was no way I'd venture upstairs for the afternoon Ice Cream Sundae Bar.

But an hour later, I'm like: "Two scoops, please."

I'm hopeless. I have not willpower whatsoever... when it comes to donating to charity. OK. Or to ice cream. But yeah, it IS for a good cause. And it was yummy. And yes, almost painful to enjoy because I really WAS that full.

There's always that little compartment for ice cream, though. Always.

And possibly something else. We'll see what's on the menu, er agenda, for tomorrow's fundraising events! No judging. It's for a good cause, folks.

Birds and Bees... Well Just Bees

 When I was doing some photo shoots at the museum yesterday, a volunteer was working in the gardens. Since I am me, I struck up a conversation while waiting for my photo subjects. She was bee watching – not to be confused with bird watching.

She noted that since it was a cool morning, the bees were moving slowing. I guess that makes sense since I know they are pretty active on hot days. Suddenly she let out a loud whisper (it's a thing) and said, "Oh my! There's a queen bee!"

I'm like, "How can you tell?" She replied, "See how big she is?!"

Well, they all look big to me. Anyway, she ran to her car to get her camera and I just happened to have mine!

So here's a queen bee for you. Looks like she's spread out on the comfy couch for a nap.

Still... I wouldn't mess with her! There were plenty of her loyal subjects around. Moving slowly, yes, but they can fly faster than I can run, I'm quite sure!

She also commented that people her that count bees or whatever noted that a certain kind of bee not seen around here since 1967 was just spotted in the next county over. How do they get that close to them to tell the difference? I guess when you live with someone who carries an Epi-Pen, you don't get that close.

Every had a hobby. While she did hers, I did mine. Might as well stop and smell the flowers – but check for bees first.

Little hornet buzzing around.

Big Daddy Long Legs in top right flowers. I did not kill it, so don't blame me for any rain!

I don't know if this bee is royalty or not. Just glad that despite reports of bee shortages, there are still some around!

We'll just keep our distance and use the zoom!

My Skowl Man

My Skol Man now has a Skowl on his face after the Vikings' loss to the Pack today. This picture was taken pregame, but I now have a Skowl on my face, too!

To be fair, I can't defend or explain my team. I had three photo shoots today and saw less than half the game. Obviously, we sucked it up somehow. On a positive note, it was a super productive day. And now it's way past my bedtime.

Hopefully I'll have some wonder-SKOL dreams tonight!

On the Final Lap

The countdown to being great aunt and uncle on hubby's side of the family is nearing its final lap. And that's how we talk in a racing family. Today I got to go to a baby shower for our nephew Colin and his wife Amy. Well, mainly Amy, but the dad-to-be showed up later.

It was decorated in a racing theme and completely adorable and creative! Nice work, Amy!

The diaper track above is awesome and useful. And this sign greeted us...

Reminding us that the October due date is near AND that we don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet! No one knows. Exciting.

There was a little photo booth set up with one of Colin's real racing trophies. Here's mom-to-be and Jim's sister Sherry, the grandma-to-be!

Of course, there was also amazing food and drink. We could have "motor oil" (iced tea) or "radiator fluid" (lemonade)!

And games, too. While I didn't win this one (was 8 off) I did get a few other prizes. Not that that's what it's all about.

There were presents, too, naturally. Since there were a couple dozen of us there – between family on both sides plus friends – they should be pretty set when baby Reffner arrives.

Good luck to both mommy and daddy in the final lap. Can't wait to see you at the finish line!

Bring Out the Crazies

I didn't even fact check this. I just saw that I'll be 80 years old the next time there's a full moon on Friday the 13th. I just wonder if it will bring out the crazy in me. I sure hope I'll still be up to shenanigans!

It was windy, cold, and cloudy tonight so I didn't see the full moon. Doesn't mean it's not there. We'll know when the cat starts doing jumping jacks at 2 a.m.

Since we escaped any weirdness today, hubby and I had a football Friday night date. Sort of. Joined friends at the Nekoosa game to watch a senior on the Nekoosa team and an assistant coach on the Adams-Friendship team. Cousin vs Cousin and we adore them both. In the end, it was Nekoosa by one point.

I had another crazy adventure today – for me – but I'll wait to tell you about that in a few days to see if the positive results hold true. Right now I feel like I was hit by a truck – driven by Jason from Friday the 13th, ha – but no pain, no gain, they say.

Be safe out there!

Rain Delay and Deluge

Blame me for saying my summer flowers could use some rain. I mean I know so little about anything plant-related that I forget it's logical for "summer" flowers to wither away. Unless you really, really care for them and water them.

Well, this might be too much water.

We had crazy rain yesterday that made my morning commute pretty stressful. Today it didn't start up in earnest until I got to work. Then not really until tonight... when we had a football game!

Hubby was there and reported that first lightning delayed the start. Then well, they just figured that instead of standing around under Royal blue umbrellas all night they should just postpone the game. So now it's going to continue on Saturday at 1 p.m. – right in the middle of the first quarter with Assumption already down a touchdown.

Between now and then we're in a flood watch (and warnings closely to the south). Plus... heavy rainfall from thunderstorms with the potential for hourly rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour. Yup. We need that, don't we?

So we'll see if Friday night football (for Nekoosa) will be a thing or not.

For now, it's colorful, but not pretty! Be careful out there.

Fresh Emotions

Eighteen years and still the emotions are raw on this date. Everyone says "Never Forget 9/11." We're not going to forget that. I'm sure of it. But we are forgetting – some days – the feeling we had that we were all "in this together." Whatever "this" turned out to be.

I found this online and it says it succinctly...

I loved that we cared and that being kind was just a natural way of treating each other. We just appreciated what and who we had. For awhile.

Unfortunately, tragedy on much smaller levels still happens around us. If we are getting stagnant in our gratitude, it quickly gets a reboot. Almost always we are so grateful for who we have in our lives – not what. And we treasure each moment like it's our last. And pray to God it's not.

And that just gives me a lump in my throat while we sit in our empty nest.

Carter must have sensed that. Here I was sitting in the dentist chair after work and I hear the Sweet Child of Mine. I signal the hygienist to stop. "I have to take this call." I told Carter I'd call him back when I was done with my checkup.

And then sat in the parking lot and talked about nothing major. Just talking. And I was getting that lump in my throat again.

You see, when Mr. Senior in College calls me, this is who I'm picturing on the other end of the line. And my heart is so full, it starts to leak tears out of my eyes.

I think: How was I blessed with this? And also think: Please, God, don't take this from me!

I don't know how the friends and families of those lost on 9/11 can cope. Even after almost two decades, there are fresh emotions from average people like me. Just your little neighborly American who loves her country... but God and family first.

Don't just count your blessings on 9/11 or anniversaries of other tragedies. Live in the spirit of 9/12. Every day.