Eleven Down

The year 2020 has sort of turned into a Survival of the Fittest competition. Or at least the Luckiest.

So we do weird things like celebrate surviving 11 months of 2020 – with 8 of those (or 270 days) in a "working from home, wear a mask in public, social distance from loved ones" frame of mind. So, yay!

Unfortunately, this is where we're at in my county (Wood County) regarding the virus that won't go away...

A month ago, we had 1,782 total positive cases versus 4,230 today. Our county COVD-19 related deaths tripled from 9 to 27. In Wisconsin we jumped from 214,996 to 387,235 cases and from 1,948 to 3,313 deaths. 

If this was a report card, we'd be failing. Actually, if this was real life, we'd be failing, too. 

Now that hubby and I personally know about a dozen people (not all our county) who have battled this – some still battling – we see it impacts everyone differently. Not only the symptoms, but the severity. It's a crap shoot what you're going to have to deal with if you get it. And I'm not ready gamble.

I hear there are some cute Christmas face masks out there!

Be safe, everyone. Let's finish strong!

Seven-plus Swans A-Swimming

Seven swans a-swimming?! I heard you groan. Don't worry, I'm not going to take my blog through the 12 days of Christmas. Though I have before.

Today's swans a-swimming were literally swans a-swimming on Lake Wazeecha when I walked around it today. This family here is a mom and day and their 7 swan kids... a-swimming or something. Ended up seeing 16 so I guess it was a perfect day for them to rest on their way South. 

I won't be able to walk around the lake tomorrow since it's "return to work after a 5-day weekend" Monday. So I don't know if we're transitioning into the geese a-laying part of the song. I guess there were way more 6 geese today on the lake, laying around doing nothing, if that counts.

It all makes sense this is happening since this is the first Sunday of Advent and we've got all kinds of Christmas excitement to both experience and look forward to.

When I saw this single ornament hanging from a tree along the walking path, it just spoke Advent to me. Is this the first of many ornaments along this path? Or the only one? It's the start of the beginning, if that makes sense, like pregame before the Vikings game (by the way, their victory actually aired on TV here today. Thought I'd throw that in there). 

While the NFL season is pretty hopeless for some of us, at least we know Advent is always a season of hope and wonderment. With a very happy ending, er beginning.

Were there more ornaments on this trail today? I won't tell. Every individual should experience the faith, hope, and magic of Advent in their own walking shoes. 

On their own path.

#advent #countdowntochristmas

Gratitude from A to XYZ

Alphabetical gratitude month concludes today with the letters X, Y, and Z, which kind of means I'm cheating at the end. But I'm in a multi-tasking frame of mind.

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest
F = Family, Friends, Faith, Flu Shot, FastForward
G = Games, Golf, Guilty pleasures
H = Hugs, Hurricanes, Humor
I = Ice cream, Impromptu Invitations
J = Jim, Jokes, Job, Java
K = Kindness, King Cone, Knock on Wood, Karma
L = Laughters, Love
M = Mom, Masters, Musicals
N = Nieces, Nephews, Neighbors, Norse Force
O = Outage
P = Pigging Out, Passport, Phone
Q = Quiet
R = R People
S = Scandi-hoovian-ism, Sisters, Sylvester
T = Thanksgiving, Tree, Teachers, Turkey
U = Unicorns, U.S. University 
W = Whirlwind, Walk

XYZ: The whirlwind of activity has continued. Pretty much the quickest 4 days off here with nothing to show for it. I should be at the family cookie bake Up North today, but COVID canceled that. So for the first year, I was able to attend both days of the Cranberry Classic basketball tournament hosted by Assumption. To reduce crowd sizes they had just girls play yesterday and today. Boys will play close to New Year's. So I was able to shoot photos over two days. Hundreds and hundreds of them.

In between that, I did get to a few places on Black Friday – specifically Michael's and Joann Fabrics looking for yarn. There's a Y word. Grateful I found some. I also had a photo shoot this morning for someone's family Christmas card. That was fun. And since today was like 40 degrees out, I decorated our outdoor Christmas tree – surprise gift from our friends Mike and Cindy!

Just had to put on the white lights. God provided the sunset!

It sure put me in the Christmas spirit. I'm exhausted from "working" so this was as far as I got. But maybe I'll add some cheers indoors tomorrow. 'Tis the season.

And still the season to be grateful, too. Thanks for riding along on my alphabetical gratitude journey. In a nutshell: X-amine Your bleZZingZ daily!

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet

Wonderful Wizards

Happy Thanksgiving! Alphabetical gratitude month continues today in the final stretch with the letter W, which is a shout out to all you wonderful wizards!

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest
F = Family, Friends, Faith, Flu Shot, FastForward
G = Games, Golf, Guilty pleasures
H = Hugs, Hurricanes, Humor
I = Ice cream, Impromptu Invitations
J = Jim, Jokes, Job, Java
K = Kindness, King Cone, Knock on Wood, Karma
L = Laughters, Love
M = Mom, Masters, Musicals
N = Nieces, Nephews, Neighbors, Norse Force
O = Outage
P = Pigging Out, Passport, Phone
Q = Quiet
R = R People
S = Scandi-hoovian-ism, Sisters, Sylvester
T = Thanksgiving, Tree, Teachers, Turkey
U = Unicorns, U.S. University 

Whirlwind: Today I was blessed to be part of a whirlwind of my own making. There's a crazy amount of prep that goes into holiday meals. Anyone who can synchronize the completion of the turkey, potatoes, and dressing is a wizard to be sure! 

I had to cheat. Pies yesterday. Turkey breasts in the oven this morning then crockpot. Made the Apple-Snicker Salad while those were cookin'. Potatoes today in the crockpot. Dressing in the oven. (Yes, I tried my mother-in-law's recipe and it was passable!). Somehow it was synced enough that when Carter and his girlfriend showed up at 4 p.m., we could deliver Thanksgiving Meals on Wheels to Jim's parents and then to Clay and his girlfriend. They were wayyyy appreciative. And then come home to eat our meal. I told everyone to eat in slow-motion because no way did what felt like 24 hours of prep work deserve to disappear in 8 minutes.

Walk: So glad I took a walk in the early afternoon to pre-emptively burn all these Turkey Day fat calories. That's how it works, doesn't it?

I hope you had a good Thanksgiving! It was different to not be surrounded by family. How we wish things were different. But it was the smart thing to do. Plus more pumpkin pie and whipped cream for me. Wow.

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet

V-V-V-Very Nice

Alphabetical gratitude month continues today in the final stretch with the letter V, which could be very, very good!

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest
F = Family, Friends, Faith, Flu Shot, FastForward
G = Games, Golf, Guilty pleasures
H = Hugs, Hurricanes, Humor
I = Ice cream, Impromptu Invitations
J = Jim, Jokes, Job, Java
K = Kindness, King Cone, Knock on Wood, Karma
L = Laughters, Love
M = Mom, Masters, Musicals
N = Nieces, Nephews, Neighbors, Norse Force
O = Outage
P = Pigging Out, Passport, Phone
Q = Quiet
R = R People
S = Scandi-hoovian-ism, Sisters, Sylvester
T = Thanksgiving, Tree, Teachers, Turkey
U = Unicorns, U.S. University

Video: Thanks to COVID, the winter sports season is going to look a bit different than usual. But not so different from football and volleyball. Limited spectators – like 4 tickets per athlete – and video viewing of the games via lifestream for the rest of us. I'm so grateful for that! Last night we got to watch our Assumption girls start their season up at Edgar. Since we got a few inches of snow during the day, I was fine with not driving anywhere. It's just not the same as cheering them on in person. But that's life in a coVid world. Very vexing at times!

Vacation: Since we did awaken to this scene, I'm so grateful I'm on vacation. Not that had a commute anyway, but still, I can only call it "pretty" when I have no place to go! And I didn't have time. It was not meant to be a relaxing vacay day. Not the day before Thanksgiving.

I do prefer this "snowman" to the ones outside. Yup, got 4 pumpkin pies baked today. Potatoes peeled. Bread cubed up for dressing. And house cleaning, too. Very productive! Can't wait to act as the Austin Meals on Wheels tomorrow! 

Veterinarian: I'm grateful the vet could put up with Princess Hiss-A-Lot today. She doesn't like strangers. Or being out of our home. But it's just once a year. The vet said she was healthy as a kitty though! She did have to get a rabies shot in her backside somewhere. I think she's still holding a grudge against her favorite human. I mean he grabs her while she's napping, shoves her in a box, makes her ride in a moving vehicle, then thrusts her into the arms of someone who just poked and prodded her and inflicted pain. Sylvester is literally napping on my office floor right now while I type and while her human is in bed. Total cold shoulder move. Hope she forgives him by morning! 

Hope you find a variety and vast amount of blessings on your Thanksgiving, too!

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet

The U in GratitUde

Alphabetical gratitude month continues today with the letter U which reminds us to be grateful for our unexpected blessings!

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest
F = Family, Friends, Faith, Flu Shot, FastForward
G = Games, Golf, Guilty pleasures
H = Hugs, Hurricanes, Humor
I = Ice cream, Impromptu Invitations
J = Jim, Jokes, Job, Java
K = Kindness, King Cone, Knock on Wood, Karma
L = Laughters, Love
M = Mom, Masters, Musicals
N = Nieces, Nephews, Neighbors, Norse Force
O = Outage
P = Pigging Out, Passport, Phone
Q = Quiet
R = R People
S = Scandi-hoovian-ism, Sisters, Sylvester
T = Thanksgiving, Tree, Teachers, Turkey

Unicorns: What's not to appreciate about unicorns? I, for one, am grateful for them. A couple of us at work call it a "unicorn" when our to-do list is done. Yes, it is as rare as a unicorn. I mean they exist, but they're rare, right? We've had only a handful of unicorns in 2020. Now we call it a "partial unicorn" (isn't that a horse?) if we just get to the point we don't need the computer mouse to actually scroll through the entire task list. I'm grateful for my partial unicorn, horse, reindeer, whatever you want to call it, today so I can take one of those unusual guilt-free Thanksgiving vacations! 

U.S.: I'm also grateful for the United States of America. No political comments, I swear. Since I just watched Hamilton recently, I was reminded again of what it took to actually create these states to begin with, let alone unite them. We live in a pretty incredible country. I'd like to see more uniting than fighting. That would be the ultimate blessing!

University: I'm hoping that by pre-appreciating the University of Wisconsin-Platteville for providing 4 1/2 years of education to our son, that it'll lead to something unbelievably good when he virtually walks across the commencement stage in a couple weeks. Thanks, University!  (Hey, I might as well keep the unicorns coming!)

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet #unicornsRreal

Thankfulness to a T

 

Alphabetical gratitude month continues today with the letter T which leads to Thanksgiving, which is what started this whole gratitude month to begin with! It's terrific!

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest
F = Family, Friends, Faith, Flu Shot, FastForward
G = Games, Golf, Guilty pleasures
H = Hugs, Hurricanes, Humor
I = Ice cream, Impromptu Invitations
J = Jim, Jokes, Job, Java
K = Kindness, King Cone, Knock on Wood, Karma
L = Laughters, Love
M = Mom, Masters, Musicals
N = Nieces, Nephews, Neighbors, Norse Force
O = Outage
P = Pigging Out, Passport, Phone
Q = Quiet
R = R People
S = Scandi-hoovian-ism, Sisters, Sylvester

Thanksgiving: I love Christmas, but I really appreciate Thanksgiving and what it stands for, too. It's what this gratitude month is all about. Our acts of thanksgiving. Not lamenting what we don't have or can't do in 2020, but appreciating the blessings we do have and things we can still do – even in a pandemic. Thanksgiving is more than a holiday. It's a 365-day action of thankfulness. An attitude that goes a long way to positive, healthy thinking!

Tree: What tree? Oh, my family tree. I am grateful for my hubby for spurring my interest in family tree work. He started in high school and I started after Carter was born. So I missed out on a lot of time with living relatives who were the brain trust of our family history. My active interest and work on it goes in spurts. Usually more attention in winter months when there's not much else going on. Or in a pandemic year. My mysteries are many. And I continue to welcome clues. Jim could write a book on his but still, he was overjoyed tonight to learn two more names on his tree – grandparents that I think are 4 or 5 generations back. Totally awesome! I'm also thankful for technology, which has enabled me to search and find many answers and ancestors. Our history is at our finger tips. Just need to set aside time to tap into it.

Teachers: Just a shout out to teachers today, too. I can't imagine how you do what you in normal circumstances. Throw in social distancing, a virus, and virtual learning (and teaching), and it's crazy amazing. I know a lot of you are teaching to two audiences at once – half class in school and half class online – plus still trying to get to know your students, who've been hiding behind masks or a computer monitor. Bless you and all you do to keep our future on track.

Turkey: As excitement goes, I suppose turkeys are the lefse of meat. But I'm grateful to cook and deliver some turkey meals for isolated family on Thanksgiving. Plus thankful that tomorrow is my Friday so I have time to get things done. Thank you, Tuesday!

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet

Sweet BleSSingS

I don't do math, but I think we're about two-thirds of the way through! Alphabetical gratitude month continues today with the letter S which so sweet when I think of all my bleSSings.

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest
F = Family, Friends, Faith, Flu Shot, FastForward
G = Games, Golf, Guilty pleasures
H = Hugs, Hurricanes, Humor
I = Ice cream, Impromptu Invitations
J = Jim, Jokes, Job, Java
K = Kindness, King Cone, Knock on Wood, Karma
L = Laughters, Love
M = Mom, Masters, Musicals
N = Nieces, Nephews, Neighbors, Norse Force
O = Outage
P = Pigging Out, Passport, Phone
Q = Quiet
R = R People

Scandi-hoovian-ism: Ya sure. You betcha I'm grateful for my Scandi-hoovian-sim. I believe that's a condition where one is three-fourths Swede and one-fourth Norwegian. Stubborn as hell. But carries it well. Right? And to observe this great heritage, we drove to a gas station 89.2 miles away to buy some lefse. So not kidding. Good story, though.

So our high school football coach hails from the southwest sector of the state. Early last week, knowing we were going to be playing in Blair, he told my hubby that they have the "world's best lefse" there (Wisconsin's anyway) and that he'd just have to try it. So Jim – who is zero percent Scandi anything – looked up the website for company and called to see where they sold their product and they told him Kwik Trip in Blair does. In fact, you can call and they'll set some aside for you. So he did. And they said they would. 

So I said, "So I'm your 100% Scandinavian wife and the football coach gets you to try lefse?" 

He said, "You never asked me to try it."

"And I wouldn't have," I said. "It's not that exciting." No offense, family.

But we picked some up and this photo is of my morning breakfast. Warm lefse with butter and cinnamon and sugar on it. That's how I roll! Jim said it was fine. I mean, what more can you say about paper-thin Russet potatoes? Still, it's a traditional food from my Scandi-hoovian homelands. So I'm glad we got it. It's like celebrating St. Lucia Day early! Skol!

Sisters: Of course I'm grateful for my sisters! Even though I've mentioned them before, I better so I remain the most popular.

Sylvester: And yes, we're blessed to have Princess Pukes-A-Lot with us. Even though she greeted me with a morning mess when her heaving prompted me to heave her off the carpet and into the dining room – where she deposited puke puddles as she was flying. Very long, runny, runway for that plane to land. As we say in my homeland, uff da!

She's still a special, sweet 16-year-old, though! Until the next time...

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet

So GR-8-ful

We're on my favorite letter! Alphabetical gratitude month continues today with the letter R which means Robyn is rockin' the gratitude attitude.

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest
F = Family, Friends, Faith, Flu Shot, FastForward
G = Games, Golf, Guilty pleasures
H = Hugs, Hurricanes, Humor
I = Ice cream, Impromptu Invitations
J = Jim, Jokes, Job, Java
K = Kindness, King Cone, Knock on Wood, Karma
L = Laughters, Love
M = Mom, Masters, Musicals
N = Nieces, Nephews, Neighbors, Norse Force
O = Outage
P = Pigging out, passport, phone
Q = Quiet

R People: Well maybe R is more like my mom's favorite letter. Why did she name all 8 kids with R's? She said she was in a r-r-r-rut! And that's how she says it. Ha. So yep, if you missed it before, we've got Rayna, Romey, Renell, RoAnn, Ronald, Rachel, Robyn, and Raylene. Each as unique as their name! So blessed to have such amazing siblings. So loving, creative, talented, and giving.

Like sending this surprise to my mailbox today! "I just want to bake stuff and watch Christmas movies" and "Cookie baking crew." Somebody knows me! Thanks R2! It inspired me to bake AND watch Christmas movies after I got all my running around and chores done! How relaxing! And now I'm going to do some reading. 

I mean, it would be rude to say anything equaled the 8 R's when it comes to blessings. Right?

So, g'night. Be careful out there!

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet

Q is for Quiet Intentions

I skipped a day because I got home late last night, but alphabetical gratitude month continues today with the letter Q which means I have both quality blessings in quantity.

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest
F = Family, Friends, Faith, Flu Shot, FastForward
G = Games, Golf, Guilty pleasures
H = Hugs, Hurricanes, Humor
I = Ice cream, Impromptu Invitations
J = Jim, Jokes, Job, Java
K = Kindness, King Cone, Knock on Wood, Karma
L = Laughters, Love
M = Mom, Masters, Musicals
N = Nieces, Nephews, Neighbors, Norse Force
O = Outage
P = Pigging out, passport, phone

Quiet: I've been a little stressed lately so I decided at the last minute yesterday to use up a vacation (I have plenty still) to take a nice quiet day off today. That was my intention. Per usual, that didn't happen. I mean my schedule was low-key and quiet. There was nothing stressful I had to do. But it got chaotic. Per usual, only inside in my head. 

I got stressed over holiday grocery shopping with hubby. I have waisted a day's worth of frustration trying to upload football photos from last night (they lost) to Facebook. Due to that, I haven't even be online for anything else. Maybe that was the quiet I needed. And the walk around the lake seeing the "resting" geese helped. And the cajun fish fry for dinner helped. And so did the ice cream and Hallmark movie... that I'm about to enjoy, that is! 

Q is for quite a day. And now it really is going to be a quiet day. Thankfully.

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet

P is for Plenty

 

We're more than halfway there! Alphabetical gratitude month continues today with the letter P which means I have Plenty of blessings to be thanks for.

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest
F = Family, Friends, Faith, Flu Shot, FastForward
G = Games, Golf, Guilty pleasures
H = Hugs, Hurricanes, Humor
I = Ice cream, Impromptu Invitations
J = Jim, Jokes, Job, Java
K = Kindness, King Cone, Knock on Wood, Karma
L = Laughters, Love
M = Mom, Masters, Musicals
N = Nieces, Nephews, Neighbors, Norse Force

Pigging Out: I never said that every blessing that brings me joy is good for me. By sheer coincidence, I have been Pigging Out this week on pizza (Monday night dinner) and popcorn (today's lunch AND dinner) not to mention Pumpkin Spice coffee. And, next week, here comes Pumpkin Pie! Perfect! 

Passport: I will never take for granted my ability to travel "wherever I want" thanks to my passport. Because, what good is a passport 2020? No place to go abroad and nobody wants us. That's why I'm so grateful I got two trips to Europe stamped on my passport – Norway, Sweden, Denmark two summers ago, and Germany and France 18 months ago. So amazing to expand our horizons! It has opened my window to the world. Cannot wait until this global pandemic is replaced by global travel! 

Phone: I do panic a bit when I leave the house and realize I forgot my phone. It's not like there's that many people besides telemarketers that actually call. But I get plenty of texts. And yeah, I what if a photo op comes up and I don't have my phone (aka small camera)? Guess I just picture it in my mind, right? (Unless I'm traveling somewhere a passport's required. I need share that image somehow!) I am grateful that smart phones especially have made it much easier to stay in pretty constant contact with my siblings and, uhm, parentally persistent contact with the boys.

Hey, it all pleases me today. 

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet

O No

Alphabetical gratitude month continues today with the letter O which means I have O so many things to be grateful for – most days.

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest
F = Family, Friends, Faith, Flu Shot, FastForward
G = Games, Golf, Guilty pleasures
H = Hugs, Hurricanes, Humor
I = Ice cream, Impromptu Invitations
J = Jim, Jokes, Job, Java
K = Kindness, King Cone, Knock on Wood, Karma
L = Laughters, Love
M = Mom, Masters, Musicals
N = Nieces, Nephews, Neighbors, Norse Force

Outage: I'd by lying if I said I am grateful this internet outage – which is just something unstable with our router or something. My hair and patience are on fire like the letter O above. But the good news for you is that you don't need to spend another minute reading my blog opining my misery. Instead, look at this beautiful "O" hanging on our house. Thanks to our friends, Arndt's Trees, you can say "Ooooh" "Ahhhh" "Ooooo!"

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet 

N-n-n-ice Blessings

Our alphabetical gratitude month continues today with the letter N which means I have such nice blessings in my life! And not just in November!

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest
F = Family, Friends, Faith, Flu Shot, FastForward
G = Games, Golf, Guilty pleasures
H = Hugs, Hurricanes, Humor
I = Ice cream, Impromptu Invitations
J = Jim, Jokes, Job, Java
K = Kindness, King Cone, Knock on Wood, Karma
L = Laughters, Love
M = Mom, Masters, Musicals

Nieces and Nephews: I'm incredibly blessed to have an amazing set of Nieces and Nephews and "great" ones, too. To be fair, they're all great. And nice! I have 8 nephews and 7 great-nephews plus 3 nieces and 3 great-nieces. Plus several bonus ones, too! Since Carter is the youngest on both sides, I should be used to seeing his cousins doing grownup things like getting married, buying homes, starting adorable families and, well, turning into pretty cool adults. Love them all!

Neighbors: We hit the jackpot when we moved to Blue Jay Drive 19 years ago. First they were fellow parents as many of our kids grew up together.  Then, when we weren't looking, our kids flew the coop and we were left with empty nests but a neighborhood full of life-long friends. Sometimes I borrow the sugar. Sometimes a neighbor borrows mine. Sometimes they surprise me with fresh-baked bread. Sometimes I deliver homemade cookies. Sometimes they fix a broken thing-a-ma-jig. Sometimes I deliver homemade cookies. Ha. It's mostly give-and-take. We're just so, so blessed!

Norse Force: Gotta love some tough Monday Night Football action amongst NFC Central Division rivals. Pretty grateful the Norse Force prevailed and our Vikings beat the Bears. Barely. But it counts. Nice!

Good night!

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet

M-m-m Grateful

Our alphabetical gratitude month continues today with the letter M which means I have a multitude of blessings to be grateful during Gratitude Month and every day!

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest
F = Family, Friends, Faith, Flu Shot, FastForward
G = Games, Golf, Guilty pleasures
H = Hugs, Hurricanes, Humor
I = Ice cream, Impromptu Invitations
J = Jim, Jokes, Job, Java
K = Kindness, King Cone, Knock on Wood, Karma
L = Laughters, Love

Mom: I am so blessed to have this purple-loving woman in my life. (Not a Vikings fan, just a purple fan.) She's 88 and of sound mind and two very sound green thumbs she uses to raise her favorite – African Violets. Purple, of course. I've said it before that Mom loves to write, has perfect penmanship to this day, and appreciates a clever sense of humor. We're probably much more alike than I would have thought – or appreciated – earlier in my life. Now, I'm so grateful she's with us. And can still kick our butts in most card games!  

Masters: C'mon I have to give a shoutout for the perfect weekend-long distraction. When it's rainy, cold, windy, or all three here in central Wisconsin, there's nothing better than seeing the world's best golfers take on a course we normally only see in springtime  and make it entertaining to boot. A perfect 2020 escape! And Tiger even carded a 10 on a par 3. He's human, ladies and gentleman. And far too honest. I never card more than a 9. Ever.

Musicals: Oh  how I miss seeing my Broadway Musicals in person these days. Had 3 from our season tickets get postponed or canceled. So glad that thanks to Disney-plus, I've been able to see Hamilton a few more times. I am not throwing away my shot ... at seeing that and The Greatest Showman on demand. Heck, it's early yet. I've already watched one Hallmark movie, I might was throw a musical into the mix!

Sweet dreams! Hug your moms if you got 'em! 

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet

La-La Land of Gratitude

Our alphabetical gratitude month continues today with the letter L which means I am beyond lucky to be so blessed!

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest
F = Family, Friends, Faith, Flu Shot, FastForward
G = Games, Golf, Guilty pleasures
H = Hugs, Hurricanes, Humor
I = Ice cream, Impromptu Invitations
J = Jim, Jokes, Job, Java
K = Kindness, King Cone, Knock on Wood, Karma

Laughter: They say laughter is the best medicine. I don't think it'll cure COVID, but it certainly eases the pain of life as we know it in 2020. So very grateful for opportunities to laugh – whether it's friends, family or something goofy on TV or the internet. Just losing it over a deep-belly laugh. It's what we long for and what we need! And since we are a data-driven society these days, did you know there is data mounting about the legit positive effects of laughter? According to Mayo Clinic (quite reputable, if you ask me):

A good laugh has great short-term effects. When you start to laugh, it doesn't just lighten your load mentally, it actually induces physical changes in your body. Laughter can:

• Stimulate many organs. Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain.
• Activate and relieve your stress response. A rollicking laugh fires up and then cools down your stress response, and it can increase and then decrease your heart rate and blood pressure. The result? A good, relaxed feeling.
• Soothe tension. Laughter can also stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation, both of which can help reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress.

Long-term effects, too! Laughter isn't just a quick pick-me-up, though. It's also good for you over the long term. Laughter may:

• Improve your immune system. Negative thoughts manifest into chemical reactions that can affect your body by bringing more stress into your system and decreasing your immunity. By contrast, positive thoughts can actually release neuropeptides that help fight stress and potentially more-serious illnesses.
• Relieve pain. Laughter may ease pain by causing the body to produce its own natural painkillers.
• Increase personal satisfaction. Laughter can also make it easier to cope with difficult situations. It also helps you connect with other people.
• Improve your mood. Many people experience depression, sometimes due to chronic illnesses. Laughter can help lessen your depression and anxiety and may make you feel happier. 

If you can't find anything to laugh about, watch mindless TV, rent my husband (he's the funny one), or try on a pair of your pre-COVID quarantine jeans and see how that goes for you. If you're like me, you'll laugh 'til you cry. Or just cry.

Love: Well that's a given. Of course, love can improve your mood, too. It's truly a blessing to have someone love you and to be able to love in return. Even after 254 days in "light quarantine" together. 

See, that's funny. Maybe.

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet

My Kind of Blessing

 

Our alphabetical gratitude month continues today with the letter K which means I am beyond O K – I'm so blessed!

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest
F = Family, Friends, Faith, Flu Shot, FastForward
G = Games, Golf, Guilty pleasures
H = Hugs, Hurricanes, Humor
I = Ice cream, Impromptu Invitations
J = Jim, Jokes, Job, Java

Kindness: Did you know November 13 is always World Kindness Day?  It should be every day. Especially in 2020. In a world, in a state, in a town where there is discord, I am so grateful to people who are kind. And not just on international holidays. I am grateful when people show respect for the elderly, for authorities, for their parents – for humankind, really. It's missing in a lot places. The other day I encouraged an elderly man (anyone over my hubby's age) to get ahead of me in line at the store because he only had two items. He says, "Pull your mask down so I can see you face." I pull it down and I'm like, "You don't know me. I'm just being nice." And I get a "Well thank you, young lady." Hey, we need more people calling me young AND a lady. I'll let you know when Robyn Kindness Day is!

King Cone: It had to be said.

Knock on Wood: I'm not superstitious, just a little stitious. So on days like today, I knock on wood for luck.

When you wake up to this and it's Friday the 13th in 2020, you wonder, has someone checked to make sure this white powdery substance isn't lethal? Not that I have paraskavedekatriaphobia or friggatriskaidekaphobia – you know, long words with Ks that mean fear of Friday the 13th. But still, we all hoped today just be normal. As normal as any Friday the 13th in 2020 could be anyway. So far – knock on wood – we're O K!

Karma: Grateful for karma? Yup. That's all I need to say about that.

Be safe and Kareful out there!

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet

J is for Just Blessed

 

Our alphabetical gratitude month continues today with the letter J which means I am just so blessed!

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest
F = Family, Friends, Faith, Flu Shot, FastForward
G = Games, Golf, Guilty pleasures
H = Hugs, Hurricanes, Humor
I = Ice cream, Impromptu Invitations

Jim: You saw that one coming, too, didn't you? I would hope so. He's my much, much, much better half.  He does the laundry and cleans the toilets. And best of all, loves me for me. And that's a huge undertaking. I've obviously hit the jackpot! Did I mention his sense of humor? He's quite the jokester, in that sly funny way that makes me laugh or makes me mad when I don't realize he's just joking. But he has the biggest heart. Ever. 

And even after 23-plus years bothering each other, I still love him to the moon and back and even to Jupiter and back. Blessed doesn't cover it.

Jokes: Speaking of joking around, though. I do love the occasional clever pun. OK, as often as I can hear them, read them, think them, say them. I'm like my mom that way. In fact, Jim had emailed some pun-filled jokes recently to share with mom the next time I talked to her. So tonight when I called her I said, "Oh Mom, I have to tell you some jokes Jim sent me." She replies, "He sent you? Aren't you living together anymore?" Oh gosh. I forget my 88-year-old mother doesn't realize we say sent emails or sent texts. It's not send me a letter via USPS from some other house not on Blue Jay Drive. I had Jim talk to her a few minutes just to allay her concerns. Funny, not funny. Right? Jeez, Mom.

Job: I never thought I'd do anything other than being a newspaper reporter or editor. Then I got into magazines and online publishing. Then, after a brief stint in the ed-tech sector, I'm writing creatively (mostly) in a growing marketing department at an insurance company of all things. And I love it! I feel especially grateful in 2020, that I have a job and that I can do that job from my home office. Even though I may jest that this is Day 252 in captivity, I am beyond blessed to be in this situation!

Java: Finally, I couldn't handle any of these blessings today without my morning coffee! And anyone I come into contact with before noon is grateful for what my energy juice does for me. Yes, I am a princess and require tasty flavors in my Keurig (ope, a K word for tomorrow) or flavored creamer. Still, I drink it. I like it. Plus, once you're 50, you deserve to spoil your jolly self. And you don't have to explain yourself. Judge away.

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet

I Scream Gratitude

Our alphabetical gratitude month continues today with the letter I which means I am screaming thankfulness.

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest
F = Family, Friends, Faith, Flu Shot, FastForward
G = Games, Golf, Guilty pleasures
H = Hugs, Hurricanes, Humor

Ice Cream: You saw that coming, didn't you? I mean, you would've been disappointed if I said anything else. I should say I'm grateful for the incomparable deliciousness of hard ice cream – not soft serve. I'm a snob that way. I mean yes, after King Cone closed for the season, I have patronized DQ for their Pumpkin Pie Blizzard. And yes, on very rare occasions, Culver's does the trick. I mean that's like once a year. And well, usually a pumpkin or eggnog shake. Oh gosh, I'm beyond predictable! 

Here's a little something you might not have known about ice cream... It's the confection that we can count on in all circumstances – from "Yay!" to "Ugh. What a lousy day." In its own sweet way, ice reminds us to enjoy life... before it melts away!

Impromptu Invites: Speaking of enjoying life... two impromptu invites made my day today. To be fair, I'm kind of any easy "yes" these days. Anything to see people, even if it's outdoors or masked up at a social distance. So getting invited to walk around the lake after work, was a quick, "Yes, let's do it before the sun sets!" So invigorating! And grabbing dinner with a few girlfriends only took minor arm twisting. The talking, the laughter, just a sweet illusion of normalcy. 

And I'm grateful that when I do say yes, God rewards me with this image. Hard to believe the wind was practically raising the roof off our house last night and this afternoon, we get water as smooth as glass. Or as my walking partner pointed out, "As smooth as a bowl of Jell-O – unless there's cat hair on it."

Intrigued? 

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet

Heart-Felt Blessings

Our alphabetical gratitude month continues today with the letter H which stands for blessings of the Heart.

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest
F = Family, Friends, Faith, Flu Shot, FastForward
G = Games, Golf, Guilty pleasures

Hugs: I didn't realize until the coronavirus took over the world how much I take human touch for granted. I miss hugs! Social distancing is not for huggers! I miss giving and receiving a heart-felt embrace that can deliver everything from comfort to love to strength. Hugs are just plain magical. Too bad they can't double as our vaccine.

Hurricanes: OK, I'm cheating. I am grateful we do NOT get hurricanes in central Wisconsin. Today though...

More than 2 1/4 inches of rain. And it was still raining. I just had to take the picture before it got dark. So yeah, I'm grateful it's not accompanied by gale-force winds or, in a lot normal November instances, ice or snow. We don't board up our windows around here. Sometimes we use a hair dryer to add plastic wrap in the winter. But that's about it.

Humor: Holy cow. Where would we be without humor? I get my sarcasm-poking fun humor from my dad and my clever with a side of pun humor from my mom. Of course, growing up we don't think anything our parents do is funny or remotely entertaining. Now, though, I am so blessed they passed it on! I'm hilarious! Ha. I obviously passed on the helping of humble pie.

Hope: Today I'm most grateful that despite the poop show that is 2020, I still have hope. If I can say that on Post-Washington Trip :: Day 250, then anyone can! Even in this climate of negativity and unrest, I still witness random acts of kindness. And it gives me hope that humans will act with more humanity. We can do this. If you don't see kindness, be kindness.

If all else fails, HUG it out! Hug it out.

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet

G is for Gratitude

Our alphabetical gratitude month continues today with the letter G which stands for Gratitude. Oh wait, that's way too easy!

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest
F = Family, Friends, Faith, Flu Shot, FastForward

Games: I'd definitely say I'm a bit on the competitive side. But still – win or lose – I love games and game days with my family. And games during girls weekend are a hoot!

Do we get into it a little bit? Oh just a little bit. And that makes us all giggle. Like hard. Like I can't breathe because I'm laughing so hard. Games might be a bit of health hazard at that. Grateful for the family fun, that's for sure!

Golf: Well, golf is one game I will never be competitive at. Even though, as hubby points out, it's just me against me, trying to do better than the time before – or even the shot before. I'm not good but I don't go enough or practice enough to be good. It's frustrating as heck. But dang. I sure love the game! And it's a fun time with girlfriends or guy friends or the whole gang.

Guilty pleasures: I have to acknowledge how grateful I am for guilty pleasures. It just happened that I had my monthly massage from 4-5 p.m. today, followed by my 6-week "please remove the glittery grays" hair artist appointment at 5:30 p.m., wrapped up with a oh-so-good Pumpkin Pie Blizzard from our "they close for the season in 2 weeks" DQ. I'm not sure why they call them guilty pleasures. I don't feel one bit guilty. Do you, Me, Myself & I? Nope, nope, nope. Great!

Good night!

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet

ThankFul F Words

 

Our alphabetical gratitude month continues today with the letter F, which means I'm about to unleash some F words. The good kind, though!

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest

Family: That's an easy one. I'm so very, very grateful for my birth family, hubby's birth family, and the family we've created together. Since fuel prices are somewhat low now, we even took the truck down to Platteville today to enjoy some family time with Carter and friends. (Well, friends will be another F word shortly.)

It's his girlFriend's birthday on Tuesday so I made some treats (scotcheroos) for her and crocheted a scarf – and did the same for his roommate (brownies for her) who's having a birthday on Wednesday. We went to lunch with the household and enjoyed good food plus visiting outside in what turned out to be another fanta-bulous fall day! 

We also spent some time with Bennie, the feisty feline of the house. 

Do not tell Sylvester. We don't need a long-distance cat fight!

Friends: Lots of our friends are just like family! I love my circles of friends from high school and college friends to close co-workers at my handful of workplaces to my current social circles of church, school, book club, neighborhood, and so on. And the list really does go on. I'm so fortunate God has put so many wonderful people in my path. I seriously wouldn't be the person I am without you. Thank you!!

Faith: This is a big one. I'm not bragging about it. I'm just saying I'd be lost without my spirituality. God once game me a second chance at life and I'm not gonna blow it. I'm eternally grateful and try to pay it forward. Sometimes – when there's nothing we can control – that just means fervent prayers. Thanks for listening, God, and teaching me your will is far better than any of my silly ideas of control.

Flu shot: I have to include this! I survived my flu shot yesterday. No pain. No crying. No fainting. And hopefully.... no flu this season. Between the COVID-19 virus and the possibility of just the normal crappy flu, there could be some serious F words over the next few months. Here's to our health!

FastForward: Just a quick mention of gratitude that we could rewind out TV back to noon when we got home tonight and fastforward through our football victory today. Thought I'd spell it out for you in case you missed to purple F up top!

#SKOL #gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet