Day 301 :: Let the Sun Set on 2020

The sun is setting on 2020 and it can't happen fast enough. Pretty sure we're all saying the same thing!

Here we are on New Year's Eve... Day 301 – Post Washington. Now that is insane amount of time to be mostly at home except for grocery store trips, photo shoots, golf in the summer, and that's pretty much it.

We tell our kids that this pandemic is the strangest thing we've lived through in our entire lives. From the virus to the TP shortage to the riots to the election, it really seems like we're in some crazy end-of-days movie. And, like you, I'm hoping when we turn the calendar page tomorrow that we start getting closer to a Hallmark happy ending!

While hubby and I – and most of our families – have remained virus-free, we lost out on plenty. We both should have been traveling for work – I was so excited about Salt Lake City. We were not able to have dinners, campfires, and concerts with friends. And I missed out on several musicals that were rescheduled, then canceled. We missed the Ryder Cup. Thankfully tickets will work for 2021.

But most importantly, we missed time with friends and family and, well, anyone we normally would greet with a hug. Oh I miss those hugs. Seriously, look out when this is over. I will not be able to contain myself!

So will it be over soon? Here are the current numbers in Wood County where we live.

I remember how horrified I was when the numbers jumped from single digits to the teens. I did not see this coming. For my own historical perspective, there have been two vaccines that have been approved and are starting to be dispersed worldwide. Obviously, they'll do elderly and essential workers and who knows who else long before it gets to John Q. Public. And I don't know if we're talking months or another whole year. Plus there's a new strain of the coronavirus out there somewhere, too.

No other news for me to document. I'll continue to work from my home office through the winter at least, I'm guessing. It's hard to plan for anything at this point.

I don't even know if we're planning to stay up until midnight tonight. We have absolutely nothing going on. And we don't really need to experience any more of 2020 than necessary.

Let's hope and pray there is sunshine on the horizon of 2021. Happy new year!

Technology Time Capsule

Thought I'd actually try to accomplish something today while hubby was out of the house working the boys' Cranberry Classic basketball tourney at Assumption. So I tackled the closet in what was formerly known as "the computer room" and has been "Jim's office" for the past eight years or so.

The picture above shows what happens when you're cleaning out a closet and you stumble upon a Technology Time Capsule. Apparently, we were concerned about keeping the instructions – and boxes – just in case we needed them. For what, I don't know. (Pretty sure I inherited that logic.)

How many gadgets from the past decade can you identify? Ha. 

We've got a flip phone box, a few non-working pedometers from our days in Iola, boxes for at least three different generations of Samsung Galaxy phones, a box for a Garmin (I guess that was pre-GPS in vehicles and on phones), two for wi-fi routers, one for a "netbook," and lord knows what else.

I got as far as taking them out of the closet and to the kitchen table. I really meant to go through and figure out if it all can be discarded or recycled. But purposely distracted myself and went to take pictures at the basketball tournament. Just the two Assumption games... so I could justify my procrastination.

Looks like it's going to be a Thursday project. After a few more basketball games, of course. 

I mean those boxes aren't going anywhere. Technology might advance while I'm still sorting through them, though!

Winter Wonder What Day it is Land

That space between Christmas and New Year’s where you don’t know what day it is, who you are, or what you’re supposed to be doing.

Yeah, I’m there. And thank goodness with a winter storm happening, I have nowhere else to be.

And thank goodness, when I looked at the calendar, I realized I still have 5 days until I go back to the office, er home office, but to work. 

I'll admit my productivity has waned since the pre-Christmas rush of trying to make (crochet) or buy last-minute gifts. But I'm not resting on my laurels. I'm getting stuff done! (Or as we say in the office, GSD, getting "stuff" done.)

Now my accomplishments include: Finishing off the holiday treats, uploading basketball photos, buying a 2021 calendar, completing season 2 of Virgin River and watching all of The Queen's Gambit (both good and both on Netflix) and, of course, clearing off – well, watching then deleting – at least two DVR'd Christmas movies per day. In addition, I did shred some old files, took one bag of "stuff" to Goodwill, and may or may not have gotten sucked back into Days of Our Lives.

Definitely no rest for the wicked on vacation, that's for sure. If you're riding the same GSD train as me, keep up the great work. We might as well exit 2020 however we darn well please!

Purple Hearts, Hugs, and Prayers

The Assumption Lady Royals basketball team and the Spencer Rockets teamed up to play a Cancer Awareness game this evening. And this time it was personal.

I told you a few month ago about Natalie, a 2020 Assumption grad who battled a rare form of cancer this spring – so rare she may currently be the only person in the U.S. with it – and appeared to have conquered it. Unfortunately, after being cancer-free for 6 months, the epithelioid inflammatory myofibroblastic sarcoma (EIMS) returned. How heartbreaking! We love this spirited girl!

Both teams sold t-shirts and raised about $800 for Natalie, who starts treatment – again – tomorrow. 

The fundraiser was organized by Royals Coach Klein (showing the front of the t-shirts) and...

Coach Jaglinski (showing the back), who included Nat in the huddles for the JV girls game tonight.

They presented Natalie with a check before the start of the varsity game. You can see that players from both teams were wearing the shirts. That's awesome! In fact, if you want to donate to this fundraiser, Channel 7 news was there and said they'd have a link on their website wsaw.com to do so at some point.

Big hugs from her former coach!

And more importantly...

Big hugs from Mom!

I can't fathom what you two and the rest of your family are going through – physically, emotionally, and even spiritually. Just know that your extended Royal family has got your backs. 

Bless you, Nat! We're all praying for you! 💜💜💜

Snow Use Being Negative

The snow was just starting to fall after my neighbor and I started a walk around the lake at 11:30 a.m. The weather dudes said it would begin about noon and they were spot on. Gotta give them credit when they deserve it, right?

At first it was such a light snow you could hardly see the flakes. Then, by halfway around the lake, it was coming down a little bit more. And definitely sticking to the walking path and roadways. It was so pretty, though. Was really what those walking in a winter wonderland lyrics are talking about.

Plus, it erased the dirt and ugliness of the dead part of winter – just like a lot of us would like to erase 2020! Put it behind us. Way behind us. Please.

Still... there are things to be grateful for.

When we saw this beautiful wreath hanging on a memorial bench, we knew there was a family close by who was missing someone this holiday season. How fortunate are we that we can at least virtually see everyone in our families. And be healthy enough to trek 4 miles around the lake in the snow!

As the year draws to a close, let's think about what we have to be grateful for. Think about challenges we've overcome. Give ourselves credit for the inner strength needed to get through illness, new work environment, teaching or learning during a pandemic. Just like this fresh-fallen snow gives us a clean path, we can make new footprints and chart our course for 2021. 

It may not go as planned. We know that from 2020. But have faith that we're strong enough to clear quite a few obstacles. The past 9 months have surely taught all of us that.

And when all else fails, just think, "frozen hair, don't care," and smile. It's a great source of positive energy!

Socially Long Distancing

When you come from a family of 8 kids and we have spouses or kids or both, it's a big crowd at holidays. Probably bigger than governors in either Minnesota or Wisconsin would allow. So we had to cancel a physical Hedberg Christmas party this year. But today, the virtual one was on!

There were some connectivity issues here and there, but I at least got see about 20 family members on the call at various times today. That includes my mom – thanks to my sister Rachel for having her over and showing her what the Internet is and, most importantly for today, what Zoom is.

Usually we put on a program for Dad and Mom (just Mom now), so a few people had some songs and poems. 

And Mom was even singing and yodeling! That was a treasure!

Due to the pandemic, I hadn't seen 90% of the family since last year's Christmas celebration. Now some of my great-nephews are old enough to talk and sing. That's a measure of what can happen a in year. I got a lump in my throat. Just thinking of how much togetherness we missed out on. It's so sad. Yet so out of our control!

All we can do is stay smart and stay patient so we can stay healthy. 

When we do have the next family gathering, those long "Hedberg goodbyes" are going to be epic! Cannot wait.

Sending virtual hugs to all my family – and friends who are like family – this holiday season!

Home for Christmas

I'll be home for Christmas

You can plan on me

Please have snow and mistletoe

And presents on the tree

– I'll Be Home for Christmas

When they wrote that Christmas carol in the 1940s, members of the armed forces were begging to be home for the holidays. In 2020, it's kind of a punishment of sorts. But we made the most of it.

Santa visited overnight. We all got goodies in our stockings. Carter and Dad both got Seinfeld calendars. Carter also got this one from Heidelberg, Germany, where he lived for a semester way back in 2019. That didn't arrive until Christmas Eve so I'm glad I had a backup. 

I was thrilled to find a golf punch card in my stocking so I can play several times next summer – vaccine and the good lord willing. Definitely something to look forward to. Thanks, Mr. Claus.

We had a pretty low-key day at HOME. Carter left after presents and breakfast so he could be down in Platteville area in the afternoon to celebrate with his girlfriend's family. Both hubby and I got a walk in this afternoon before watching a bit of the Vikings game. We didn't have to suffer too long before heading up to Marshfield to deliver a gift to his aunt, who's been in a care facility and hasn't been able to receive a hug during this whole stinkin' pandemic! So sad. Glad we could spread a little cheer.

After seeing her (masked and 6 feet away, of course), we headed over to Wildwood Park in Marshfield, where they have a winter wonderland light display each year. It's been a long time since we saw it. This time, instead of driving through, we took the walking path. It was like 9 degrees and felt like zero so it was a brisk walk. But oh so beautiful! A few highlights...

Did I mention Wildwood Park is also a zoo? This mountain lion or bobcat or kitty is probably pretty sick of hearing Christmas music by now!

Cold selfie!

A holiday hole-in-one!

Quite the variety of lights!

When our walk concluded with a purple and gold display, I thought for sure it was a sign our Vikings were gaining ground on the Saints while we weren't watching.

Nope. They managed to put the "ugly" in ugly Christmas sweater. Good thing we left the confines of home and skipped most of that. As an added bonus, we saw the Christmas Star. Well, sort of.

Earlier this week, the solar system decided to grace us with a cosmic Christmas miracle that hasn't been witnessed in nearly 800 years. On Monday/Dec. 21 (aka the December solstice), Jupiter and Saturn aligned so closely in the night sky that from our vantage point, looked like they collided and created a radiant point of light often referred to as the "Star of Bethlehem" or the "Christmas Star." It was rainy/snowy and cloudy that night, so we couldn't see it from central Wisconsin.

Now, since it's been a few days, the planets aren't aligned the same. But one of the two definitely was giving off more light than the other. Looked real to us.

Happy birthday, baby Jesus. Thanks for staying in our home for the holidays!

 

Non-Traditional Christmas Traditions

Merry Christmas Eve from our COVID corner of the world to yours! The only normal thing about this holiday season is that we still sent out a Christmas card. But this time there really wasn't much to update anyone on. We're all kind of in the same boat.

But above you'll see Casey (age 29) and Emily (left picture) who are in Bellingham, Washington; Clay (age 28) and Becca who are in Wisconsin Rapids; and Carter (age 22) and Mamie, currently in Platteville. Not much more to say than that! 

So today was too chilly to do anything outside...

We only got a dusting of snow compared to my family elsewhere. But at midmorning it was 8 and felt like minus 10 degrees. Just now it's 5 degrees and feels like minus 12. No need to leave the house!

Our usual Christmas Eve tradition is spending the evening with hubby's parents and his sister and her family. This year, this was all we could do...

Sherry made the main meal and we dropped off some Apple-Snicker Salad – my mother-in-law loves it.

And they got to see Carter. Since it was still single-digit weather and we were social distancing in the garage, it was not a long visit. So strange!

Then it was home for some Christmas Chili. Not a traditional ham and cheesy potatoes this year. We asked Carter what he wanted and he picked chili and cheesy garlic bread. You know what? It was the perfect warm-up food for such a cold day!

We'll open presents in the morning, but I figured I better get a my scrapbook photo tonight. Sometimes kids are cranky in the morning. Even on Christmas. (Sometimes moms are, too!)

So we stayed in and played some cards after dinner. See how the three kings visited in this hand when kings were wild? That didn't help. Jim beat us in two games of 3 to 13. Still, it was just fun to sit around the same table with family. Even if it was just the three of us.

Casey and Emily's gift box arrived out west today. And we'll see Clay and Becca on Saturday when they're not working. I won't see my family at all but we may Zoom a virtual party.

Some of these new traditions don't need to stick. I'd rather give in-person holiday hugs. For now, we're feeling blessed we are all healthy and pretty happy. Can't beat that in 2020. Though Santa is welcome to try!

Have a merry merry Christmas! Hope you could feel the love of family or friends even if it was virtual. That's the best gift.

A Tale of Two Cities

Hold your horses, Ebenezer, I have the right Charles Dickens novel in mind today. And perhaps a Seinfeld episode, too.

How unusual for us to have no grievances with the weather the day before Christmas – also known as Festivus for the rest of us. Thank you, Frank Costanza. Naturally, I took a good walk in the nice fresh air at lunch today. And I didn't even need a jacket.

If you zoom in, you'll see I'll need one tomorrow with a high of 10 degrees. Bah humbug! Poor Santa.

Meanwhile today, in a city far, far away (well Minneapolis, plus all of northwest Wisconsin), they needed more than a jacket. They needed shovels, plows, and those chains you put on tires. That might not have been enough.

By pure coincidence, my family lives in the purple zone. The one that says "extreme impact" and "travel not advised." Based on stories from my siblings, they were all quite grateful to drive home safely today.  Uff da.

Meanwhile, the light blue zone flows like a river of "minor impact" from here to Platteville. So Mr. Independent made it home just fine this afternoon for a dental appointment. Oh, and Christmas. Yay for holiday hugs!

My commute across the hallway today was uneventful. Worked the day and logged off for the last time in 2020. Hello, vacation. Hello, relaxation. Hello, eggnog-ation. Hello, Hallmark Nation.

Oh, and merry Christmas to Mr. Scrooge, Mr. Dickens and friends. God bless us, everyone!

ISO Three Wise Men

Apparently, Sylvester is looking for three wise men. Good luck, sister! Now if you want to find three wise acres (PG version), you don't have look too far. Hop to the other chair to start. Then saunter down the driveway to greet one of the wise neighbors!

I don't need three wise men. I could use about three days, though. The fact that we got three more seconds of daylight today isn't exactly putting time on my clock. You know, for shopping and Christmasy stuff.

I guess if our baby is coming home for the holiday, we should have something besides frozen pizza for Christmas dinner. Though Sylvester says none of the wise or unwise men would complain. I also kinda sorta didn't really get him anything. We gave the graduate his Christmas gift early to celebrate his accomplishment. Now, well, there's nothing else. Ugh. And he's actually on Santa's nice list. Sigh. 

Tick tock. Tick tock.

If that Christmas star is really shining this week, maybe kitty and I will both get our miracles.

I believe, don't you?

The Long and Short of It

Happy Winter Solstice? Do we say that? Maybe in some countries where the "winter "part of that sentence is more welcoming. 

I'm just glad that the shortest day of the year fell on a Monday this year. Mondays need to be as short as possible! Yes, I'm aware there are still 24 hours in the day, but this is the little mind game I play with myself when I only have two more days of work now until WINTER vacation. I like the sound of that kind of winter.

I often overlook that this is, by nature of fractions, the longest night of the year. I should already be in bed then! I'm too old to think party all night. I'm like 9 hours of sleep on my heated mattress pad will do! Also not going to happen.

What is going to happen now is... winter will really arrive – as soon as Christmas Eve day actually, with its high of 11 or something. But, on the plus side, the days will start getting longer. Let me rephrase that, there will be a longer segment of time when there is light. Yay!

And tonight we were all supposed to enjoy the light of the Christmas star.  Hope some of you could. It was cloudy and precipitating here in central Wisconsin. The longest night and no stars. See why that whole sleeping for 9 or 10 hours sounds good? Not missing a thing.

Though I do have some girls basketball photos to go through from tonight's rough loss against Aquinas. That does make for a long night. Sorry, girls. Keep hustling. The light is about to shine on you!

All is Calm, All is Bright

We completed our "Christmas present to ourselves" home improvement trifecta. First it was the fancy nightlight in the hallway a few weeks ago. Then it was the new dishwasher. And now, new lights in the kitchen and dining room.

Just like the dishwasher, the lights came with the house and were still functioning, but definitely were due for an upgrade. I had a hard time finding a "before" picture. I thought I took some last week, but I guess I must have just intended to.

Possibly you can see that the dining area chandelier and the two hanging lights by the sink all feature gold chains, gold-plated everything, and some circa 1970 or 1980s glass and plastic combos. They used the little 15 watt or whatever chandelier bulbs that eventually just quit working and we were down to three sockets of working light.

And I do hate to keep saying "chandelier" because we're not middle class fancy and not part of the Phantom of the Opera musical.  Still, here is the new chandelier and matching hanging lights. (Thanks mostly to our electrical genius friend Mike!)

They take 100 watt bulbs and thankfully the chandelier has a dimmer switch. I am pretty sure we have not been at full-light capacity for at least a decade. You know what this means, don't you? We'll see things more clearly... and see the need for more upgrades.

Too bad Christmas only comes once a year. Though our birthday-anniversay palooza week is only 6 months away. I can behave that long, Santa.

He Sees You When You're Sneaking

My days of being the Stealth Elf were over before they really began. Thought I did a good job sneaking up to my Secret Santa White Elephant victim, er recipient's, house. But during our Zoom department holiday "party" yesterday, I learned differently. 

My co-worker in Auburndale (about half hour away) didn't see me or hear the doorbell. But I was caught... on video camera, that is. Dang. Foiled again! What's this world coming to when you can't stalk people properly?!

For my gift, I got a weird flat felt mouse... and my giver mailed it via personalized stationary. Ope! Maybe it's a good thing none of us are that good at sneaking around. Santa's watching, you know!

I did sneak in some exercise today...

Haha. Not me here. Saw them when I walked around the lake. I did find it ambitious that "kids" actually cleared off the ice and were playing hockey and skating just for fun. I think I knew a few but was pretty sure they wouldn't acknowledge me.

Because my days as Fashion Elf were also over before they began.

Yes, I did wear my festive fleece-lined leggings in public. It was a nice day to relax at the beach! Yes, they were warm. Nope, hubby didn't even notice when I got home that I was coming in from the outside world, where I'd been seen with elf pants on. Good thing he's not Santa. He's not paying attention.

Of course, maybe I can get away with some sneaking then. This Procrastination Elf needs to get some presents wrapped! 

Do You See What I See?

Things aren't always as they seem. Like you buy something with "some assembly required" and it doesn't look a bit like the picture on the box.

Or you buy some yarn that has a neat color scheme to match your recliner – if you were 80 years old and inclined to crochet a lap blanket – but it ends up looking like a government-issued bath towel.

Case in point...

I like the brown and white colors when I picked it out. Obviously, I envisioned something way different than desert camouflage. Of course, I wasn't following a pattern and randomly picked 40 stitches across. It might have looked different at 38. And yes, I am that 80-year-old woman who needs a lap blanket in her office. And maybe the recliner, too. Unless we have company. Which I guess won't happen anytime soon.

This of course led me to thinking that maybe I had something negative that could turn into a positive surprise – the complete opposite of a camo action figure blanket.

So I took that special box out of cupboard. You know the one.

It was already open since this was the second messed up shipment that arrived somewhat smashed with the perforated cardboard torn to create an opening in the box. I took one out and convinced myself that it could be a tasty evening drink on cold nights. 

Spoiler alert: It won't be.

In all fairness it was not awful. The smell was good and that jacked up some ridiculous expectations. And taste was OK. Was thinking that if I added a bit more cream or even eggnog, that it would be tasty. Then halfway into the cup, I just couldn't the handle the flavor anymore. Just wasn't right.

We'll see if the recipient of my white elephant gift tomorrow feels the same. If they actually like it, they're in for a nice surprise (which is good since I'm 0 for 2 on happy endings here) come Christmas or New Years or Mardi Gras – whenever we're back in the office again.

In the meantime, enjoy the mystery and magic of the season. Don't always believe what you first see, hear, smell, taste...

The Colorful Spirit of Giving

When it comes to giving and receiving, it's the givers who often say they enjoy the process as much as the receivers. They like seeing the joy on the receiver's face. And as a nice bonus, the givers often get something in return.

That was my experience tonight.

I was on a top secret Secret Santa mission to something to someone in a nearby (sort of) town. It was one of those ding-dong-dash sort of moments, where I sneaked up to the house – under the cloak of fading daylight – hung the gift on an entrance door, rung the bell then ran like... heck. I don't even know if the door bell worked, but I got in a good cardio workout. #iRanToday

We'll see how that plays out. I was already rewarded, though, for my good deeds.

When I saw the sun setting in the very cloudy sky, I caught sight of something bright to the south. I was thinking a fire, but it was too pink. 

I didn't want to click and drive too long so this was the best I could do. But you can see it popping color. It was pretty just to see that little bit of the colorful sunset.

Plus somewhere in that direction, there's people who will be blessed with a gloriously colorful view at the end of their day. Some of them might be humming Joy to the World. Some may be stressed about the pandemic – or simply finding time to get stocking stuffers. 

No matter what was in their minds, I believe they forgot for a minute, enjoyed the gift, and soaked in the spirit of the season.

Nobody said red and green are the only Christmas colors!