A Basket Case

My Sunday day of rest was a day of doing good. I'm excited that our co-op hockey team is holding a Stick it to Cancer fundraising night for our friends and their son. 

Cale played on the Pacelli-Assumption-Amherst-Etc Co-op team when he was in high school at Assumption. The fall of his freshman year of college at Madison is when he found out he had cancer. It's been an unbelievable roller coaster – physically, emotionally, spiritually – for him and his family. But the good news is that for today, he's cancer-free. 

We all know we can only count on today and hope God prepares us for tomorrow!

So as part of the fundraiser night, there'll be raffle baskets. Figured I could put some of my creative talents to work and come up with a basket or two. When I crocheted a blanket and threw in some wine and chocolate, I figured the basket needed something more. That's where hubby stepped in and suggested maybe I could make something on my Cricut. 

And that's what I did...

Got some $1.48 stemless wine glasses at Wal-Mart and made two of these to complete basket number one.

Totally adds the finishing touch, right?

Then I think I'll do a coffee-related one so I got some mugs at the Dollar Store. They were out of black ones, so I took what they had. I think they'll work.

Of course, coffee drinkers like me probably need a bigger mug! The good thing is that now that I saved my design, I can use if for other things – including large coffee mugs. And as Jim pointed out, I can replace the word HOCKEY with whatever else a person is obsessing over! I could take orders, but be aware of supply chain issues! Ha.

I also managed to re-create our team's hockey logo and put that on a skinny tumbler (since I bought those in bulk before Christmas).

Very happy with how that turned out. I'll have to see if I shove that in with the coffee treats basket or start a third. If anyone wants to donate items for a basket or create your own basket for the raffle, let me know. They need them by the end of this week and I'm hopefully delivering mine Wednesday or Thursday. 

Or mark your calendar and join us Feb. 8. Or just offer up continued prayers for Cale and his family. These are incredibly special people in our lives, so every positive thought, word, or action means the world!

Count your blessings!

Plenty of Hoopla

Somehow managed to sleep in until past 8:30 a.m. today. That's pretty good for a Saturday!

I needed the energy as there was a lot of basketball action at a Assumption today. Varsity girls and both JV and Varsity boys played Pacelli. And in between games and halves there were the Little Royals dribblers (super cute), some "big shot" free-throw club members, the 8th-grade hoops team, and let's not forget plenty of people to visit in the stands.

Since Pacelli is in Stevens Point, I saw two of my co-workers that I haven't seen in person during the pandemic. So that was nice. And weird at the same time. Almost 2 years. Whoa.

Was going to go through all my pictures tonight but since Jim is gone to Rudolph – he had church choir performance tonight – I took advantage of controlling the remote and watched a few episodes of a Netflix series. 

Now that it's almost 11 p.m., I should go to bed save my leftover "work" for tomorrow. I'll have time. Might not have ambition, but I'll have time. 

Rink Rat

Pretty sure I've been at the ice rink more times this "season" than the last 3 combined. But that's OK. I'm almost starting to understand the game. Just kidding. Not even close. Still, it's fun to watch, I'll admit.

Tonight I decided to head to my first Wisconsin Rapids RiverKings (Junior A Hockey) game ever for a couple reasons.

One, my cousin Luke messaged me this afternoon that he and some UWSP friends would be there playing in the RiverKings Pep Band. Oh yeah, it's a thing!

Two, I knew my friends from the Family Center were going to be there as a sponsor – and my friend Debi got to drop the ceremonial puck. Cool.

And three, I've wanted to catch this guy in action since I took his senior pictures a couple years back. Ethan is from Colorado but has a family connection in town here. He's one of the team's 3 goalies and wasn't in the net tonight, but I caught up with him between periods to say hello and send his mom back home a picture. 

I also ran into a few friends – of course – so it was a nice evening. But no worries on me becoming a rink rat (probably not even a real term) because I liked coming home to my warm house and bed way more than a shootout victory for our local team!

Sorry, not sorry. Nice win, though!

A Trifle Busy

I feel bad that my trifle bowls (yes, I have 2) have been sequestered away in a cupboard during the pandemic as they'd done something wrong. Nope, just the world hasn't created enough opportunities to make one. Because making one requires a bit of a group gathering so we won't scarf it down ourselves.

Because, we probably would. Because, yes, they always are that good!

Today I was a trifle busy during my lunch hour whipping this together for such a gathering. Baked the cake last night and added the other layers in today. Basically, bottom layer is mint-chocolate cake with Andes mint baking chips, a layer of cheesecake pudding (colored green), topped with crushed Thin Mint cookies, then Cool Whip, and start the layers again with cake.

Yup, as good as it sounds.

Definitely had to treat it like precious cargo since it had to ride all the way to Wausau. It arrived intact and was well-received. Actually it was the perfect trade – I provided the long-awaited trifle to the game night crew and they provided the much-needed laughs I've missed this year. 

It really was a blessing to just set aside life and worries and big concerns to just eat and visit and laugh and laugh. It is the perfect medicine for the blues, that's for sure.

Even came home with just about a serving or two in the bowl. In case I want to share with the mister tomorrow. He'll have to act quickly though. I mean, who doesn't love some tasty trifle for breakfast?

SWEET dreams!

Mind Over Meow-Ter

We get this look when our princess does not understand the human agitation over sub-zero temperatures. What's the deal? Find a sunny spot, lay down, and soak up the heat coming through the glass.

We wish. Obviously, she's been an indoor cat forever. So she's never experienced the pain of ice forming on her whiskers and whatnot. But also hasn't had the pleasure of walking into a warm house from the frigid air. Ahhhh.

And you know predictable me had to record the temperature on the coldest day of the year... so far.

I wouldn't mind if that was it for the year. But even though it feels like 2022 is 3 years long already, it is still January and there is plenty of time left to chill. We can do this. Just put mind over matter, like kitty does, and take a nap in that sunny spot.

Or the heated bathroom floor if you have one.

I guess I'm guilty of the human version of this. I don't lay on the bathroom floor, but can't go without my heated mattress pad (almost 365 days a year) or my heated car seats. In fact, I had the nerve today to complain that my steering wheel isn't heated. First world problems.

No wonder Sylvester rolls her eyes when we whine about the cold. We've got it pretty good. 

Remind yourself of that the next time you take a breath of fresh air. I'll cheer you on... from the warm side of the glass.

Winter Wonder-Where-the-Lines-Are

Winter parking rules are now in effect in Wisconsin. As noted in the photo... If you can't tell where the lines are, you make your own. And if you see them and the car already parked didn't, then just play along and everyone else will follow suit.

It's just how it is.

Not that anyone wants to go anywhere unless they have to. It did sneak up above zero today, but not by much. That sun is so darn deceiving. I can you it did nothing to simmer the Arctic Blast when I went to the post office at lunch or when I went to the store after work. I was hustling so fast from car to building and back to car, that it almost constituted exercise.

Well we both know that's not true.

What is true is that nothing is going to get me back out there tonight or tomorrow. The words "bitterly cold" give me goose bumps just sitting here. In my heated house, with a hoodie on (of course) and long underwear. Uff da.

Will definitely keep myself parked inside – I don't care where the lines are painted.

Be careful out there!

Extreme Sports Therapy

 

When I show up at my massage therapist's and tell her she'll have her work cut out for her, I have to explain that my extreme sports injuries are Extreme Sports by Robyn standards. 

In other words, taking 2,000 photos while standing on Friday night, then 5+ hours of sorting and editing said photos on the computer on Saturday, followed by 6 hours of extreme crocheting on Sunday.

And culminated with sore neck and shoulders and forearms on Monday.

Ouch.

So yes, it's a good thing that we had a deep-tissue torture session on the books for today. (And a back-crackin' spinal adjustment with my chiro on Wednesday.) And that my massage therapist has non-judgmentally dealt with all my random sports injuries over the years – including the Hallmark movie marathon in the recliner that did a number on my glutes!

Was it worth it? Of course. It's just embarrassing that I can't handle these extreme sports at my age! Even had to take the night off from shooting pictures. Jim and I went to the girls hoops game (a close one losing to Neillsville) and I just sat there and watched. And it was kind of fun.

Now when I'm typing this, my shoulders are burning so I better stretch out a bit before hopping into bed for some extreme reading!

Be careful out there!

Rockin' with the Oldies

We've had something on our calendar quite awhile now. Our friend's band was playing at Junkyard Bar & Grill (most recently was Octane Bar) on Saturday night at 8 p.m. Of course, bands like Rising Phoenix book months and months out, so there's no way they could've known they'd compete against a certain playoff game for an audience.

So those of us in our house were free to go listen as planned since we didn't have anything we had to watch. There was a decent crowd anyway, but many were swiveling their chairs back and forth between the band and game.

And I'm not saying it's our fault, we were sitting at table 12. Might have created some bad ju-ju.

It was great to hear Jim's classmate Todd sing and play. They are an amazing rock band – if you like any 80s-90s rock from KISS and Journey to Def Leppard and Queen. So good!

And our friend Kathy (Jim's classmate in a different band) was able to join us. Not that you can visit much with such loud music playing, but we yelled a lot during their brief breaks. We all made it past 11:30 p.m.! Not bad for a bunch of oldies out rockin' on a Saturday night!

Got home right around midnight but was much too tired to blog.

Today we have our hearing back (ha) and it's been a low-key Sunday. I was at church and our annual meeting and Jim was at church then shoveling at his parents. Only an inch or so so not bad. This afternoon was more NFL playoffs. I've sort of been watching while crocheting a blanket I'm trying to get done for a raffle basket. 

A girl can make a lot of progress when her team doesn't make the playoffs! Bring on baseball season for all of us!

My Favorite Visiting Team

Normally when I think of a blizzard, it's either ice cream or weather related. But there's a third option now – and it involves a mini family reunion.

Hockey... it brings families together. Who knew?

The Blizzard hockey team is a co-op of skaters from Webster, Siren, Frederic, Luck, and Grantsburg schools. And tonight they were in town, well Stevens Point, to play our Pacelli co-op team that has a few Assumption skaters (so, sort of my home team).

But not only did the team come to town – but some of my Up North cousins did too! The Blizzard goalie is my third cousin – or do you say first cousin thrice removed? Anyway, my cousin Gene's daughter Rachael's son Tyler. And Gene's other daughter Sara was along. And Rachael's other two college-aged kids (Luke and Savanna) were with, too.

So naturally photos are a necessity at a family reunion (Rachael left, Sara right). I had to laugh when Luke was taking the picture and said "Open your eyes" because I realized the small "Hedberg eyes" are thing for all of us. A hundred percent related!

Just nice having the visiting team include visitors that are a joy to see. We got to visit before and after the game, and during the intermissions. Good to catch up a bit. We had gotten together two years ago when Luke first started going to college in Stevens Point. Then, you know, that darn pandemic hit and basically I wasn't working in the office (just down the road from UW-SP) so our paths haven't crossed like we thought. Still, he knows he's got family (once, twice, thrice removed or not) close by if he needs someone.

As for the game, it was a close, very physical game. That's my polite way of saying lots of physical contact and even a fight or two. And Pacelli ended up winning 9-6. I felt bad every time the team I normally cheer for scored a goal against my little cousin.

Got lots of good pictures, though! Will have to share tomorrow. My body really needs to get in my heated bed right now.

Even though I was tempted to stop and get DQ type of Blizzard on my way home!

Dr. Rick's House Call

In today's episode of not becoming our parents...

I'm a bit guilty of this. But to be fair, my parents wouldn't have done this. That's a waste of film, you know! But I do it more often than I realize.

And I realize it when I start going through pictures before a scrapbooking weekend.

Why did I take pictures of these little icicles? Was it the camera angle or did something freeze that impacted our life? Why is there a picture of the back deck and the front deck? Were we snowed in? Was it a snow day or did I get to work from home? 

Thank goodness I blog so I know usually what prompted that same view you've seen out my front door and deck. Doesn't mean I have to scrapbook about it, too. Doesn't mean I have to keep taking the pictures.

But I will. And I'll probably throw of few of these January snow pictures from 2017 in my next scrapbook.

Sorry, Dr. Rick.

And don't get me started on screen shots of current temps!

The Long Range

It got winter again today.  You know, the single digits kind. After sprinting to the mailbox – OK walking quickly – to spend as little time outdoors as possible, I noticed these jackets on the chair when I came back in. 

Took me a minute to realize there are two there since they're both black. And I immediately recognized them as belonging to our young son and his lady friend. Who left on Monday.

When it was nice – Midwest standards nice. And no jacket required. Especially if you're riding inside a car for 3 hours.

But that was Monday. Today we've got temps that'll dip down to about minus 8 while we sleep and not get too far over the positive line in the coming days. I hope they don't plan on going outside much. I'm sure she's got another coat but our boy pretty moved his stuff home. 

I guess we forgot that one of the important lessons of adulting is checking the long-range forecast. It could change a dozen times, but check it anyway. It's not like we have to call Time and Temp to get the weather anymore. Or wait for the evening news or even just Local on the 8's. These fancy phones take any excuses out of the picture.

I wonder if they're cold. I wonder if they'd admit it.

Nope. Another lesson of adulting is that you don't have to tell your parents every time they're right. We already know, kids. We already know.

Oh and to save you all some time...

Bundle up and be careful out there! 

Needed That

I love when I really need a mindless giggle and God throws a random person in my path to deliver it. Today it was this post on Facebook...

Yup. I needed a laugh so I took it! And no, I haven't felt that power in ages. Just the minor power when no one else is in the house and she chooses me. Very minor.

Anyway, it was a full day between work and taking photos of a barn-burner of a 5th-grade basketball game. Did squeeze in a lunchtime walk with my neighbor while the temperature was hovering at 32 degrees. Had to get that in before we plunge into the Arctic Blast the rest of the week.

Stay warm. Be careful. And find your source of power.

P.S. Never rely on a cat for that!

Footprints :: Winter Edition

While I was taking a walk at lunchtime today, I came across footprints in the snow. Now in Wisconsin, even for us indoor types, we're pretty sure these are deer prints. But to me, they looked like hearts. 

Two hearts.

When I bent down to take a picture and noticed a single track by itself – a lonely heart – two things came to mind. My grieving sister and that old Footprints poem.

I'm going to believe that this is sign, Rayna, that God is carrying you now during this tough time. Your heart may feel lonely and broken and even shattered, but think of all those memories that can fill it up. Think about how much you were loved by Paul and are loved by all of us. And God, too. May that be enough to carry you. 

Even for one step.

Just one step at a time.

So many of you are grieving right now – recent losses of parents and family members and friends – and this message is for you, too. 

Rejoice in the good news that when I continued to follow these tracks today, the next set showed two "hearts" again. You may feel like the single heart right now, but God is carrying you through this dark and sad time. Just know that it won't last. There will be two prints again. There will be light and joy again.

Unfortunately, we don't know the distance between those sets of prints, do we? For everyone, it's different. Seeing any ray of light might seem so far down your dark tunnel right now. But keep the faith. Be patient and trusting. God has you in His care and he'll keep leading you though the darkness. Through frigid temps and deep snow. Until one day it's suddenly spring.

For today, for right now, just keep inching forward. While God carries you, I'm here to walk beside you. In fact, every person reading this can look around and there's more than one person who'll make tracks with you.

Just ask. Believe me, we all look forward to spring.

Sunday Scavenger Hunt

My search for a nice photograph is sort of like a scavenger hunt. But I don't really have clues. And the ones I have are really weird.

After talking about eagles yesterday, someone asked if I'd seen any snowy owls? I haven't but I remembered a friend photographing several a few years back on a road kind of near here. There's a first clue for a photo hunt.

So this afternoon I drove other there and followed that road a lot of miles, only going about 45 mph so I could look both ways and up and down and drive. Did not see any animals with or without feathers. Took an artistic photo of this old barn, figuring that was it for my hunting outing.

Finally decided to get off the main road and took some side roads, trying to keep it in a square so I wouldn't get lost. Was just about to turn back when I saw a bird flying in the distance. A bigger one. I thought maybe a hawk or eagle but had to snap a picture to be sure. 

When I zoomed in and saw the white tail, I knew I at least had an eagle in my general vicinity.

That one flew off before I could follow it, but when I glanced to the south and saw a black. spot on a tree, my hope and curiosity made me check it out. 

Had to get close before I confirmed it was an eagle, not a hawk. Tried shooting a picture but it was hidden behind branches and my camera loves to focus on little branches in the foreground. Grrr. Decided to drive past the tree and hopefully get a better view from the other side.

And I did. Hopped out of the car, not caring that I was standing in the middle of the road and looking up. Thankfully a dirt road in Wisconsin rarely has traffic. So I sneaked closer to get a shot. By the way, you can't sneak up, under, or near an eagle. They are smarter than your average bird.

So Mr. Eagle promptly took off and I could only snap a few pictures because red pickup truck was barreling towards me. Well it sounded like it was barreling. 

When he got past, Mr. Eagle was already in the distance. I didn't follow him back down the road from where I just came. Selfishly I thought I might see him on the other side of the block. Or finally see some snowy owls.

Nope for both.

I guess they crossed "human" off their Sunday scavenger hunts and had something better to look for.

We Get Out Once in Awhile

Didn't blog last night just to prove we do get out once in awhile – and don't get home early. Well, I did get home early, just didn't get to bed early.

Went to the boys basketball game. Both JV and Varsity lost to Stratford, but I still took pictures. And was sorting through them late enough that I had no creative thoughts left in my head to blog. So I went to bed and neither one of us had to set an alarm for anything.

So I was close to do my favorite winter sport today – hibernating – but I ventured out for a drive. This weekend down in Sauk City they're having Eagle Watching Festival or something. So I thought if I found some open water on the Wisconsin River around here, I wouldn't have to drive 2 hours.

Instead I did 2 hours of driving (practically) going up and down both sides of the river south of the Nekoosa dam. No luck. Not a single eagle. In fact, I saw two crows and that was it. Nothing made me want to stop and take a picture. Now that's just plain sad.

So came back home and started sorting through some pictures from 2017 for my next scrapbooking weekend. Camp Crop-A-Lot 2022 is only 40 days away, people. It's a like a whole Lent between now and then. I should give something up.

But eating sweets certainly goes well with hibernating.

To illustrate... Carter got me this shake at Arby's today. Sweet dreams! Wake me when it's spring.

Designing and Dining to Distraction

When you don't have a ton to smile about, you make stuff up. And you know what? It works.

Our princess loves to sleep in all kinds of awkward positions. Sometimes her head is twisted at painful-looking angles. And sometimes she lays there and looks like she's touching her toes. Or as Carter and I agree, she's like an Olympic high diver. 

So to distract myself from sad thoughts, I got a good laugh turning the image above into this one...

She says: Dream big. Why settle for the silver medal in Napping when you can take the gold in 10 Meow-ter Platform Diving?

It has cracked me up all day. Not to pick on kitty. But I needed that.

We also left the house and gave ourselves some new surroundings for the first time this week. After we saw the daily special at Ida's online, we had to go. Pretty easy customers when we can sit down and say, "We'll take 4 of the specials." What was so special about the Spicy Chicken Mac Flatbread Special?

Well you can see it was flatbread topped with cheesy macaroni, grilled chicken, sriracha curds, bacon, and then drizzled with sriracha garlic dipping sauce. Hot? Yes. Delicious? Yes, yes! Did we have leftovers? Of course!

It was nice to get out with the kids and not think about the whirlwind of concerns for awhile. 

They're still swirling, of course. But we can face them with silly smiles on our faces and very full tummies.

The Bright Side

Only in the Midwest do we look at the current temperature and proclaim, "It's 36 degrees! I gotta get outside and take a walk!" Then come inside and say, "It's so nice out!"

And it was. I needed the sunshine and fresh air to lift my spirits a bit. It certainly helped.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and kind words of support for my sister and my family. I think we're all emotionally exhausted from yesterday's ups and downs. Crying at the drop of a hat or the ping of a text was not unheard of today either. 

We'll get through this by holding each other up and letting our favorite memories of Paul do some heavy lifting, too.

Unfortunately, we still need our Hedberg Hotline to Heaven to remain active. We have the other loved one  in a serious condition who still needs our unrelenting prayers. I feel like we're already 3 months into 2022 instead of just 12 days. I know it's worse for my family members closest to the situation. And I'm virtually sending all the love and hugs to them! 

All I can say is hug your loved ones – whether human or furry – while you have them here. I'll pretty much be divvying out hugs and "I love you's "at a record pace this year. 

I mean if you're vaccinated, that is. 

Yup. There's still a global sh*t show going on outside of my little world. Be careful out there. And try to see the bright side – or feel it – when you can! 

Move Over, St. Peter – St. Paul Has Arrived

Heaven not only gained an angel today – but a saint! St. Paul to be specific. And our hearts our hurting.

My brother-in-law Paul was a saint – and not just because he's put up with my sister and her crazy family for more than 3 decades. (Well I guess that is mostly it.) And on his way to sainthood he became one of my favorite humans on the planet.

As you can see from the top photo, he was my sister Rayna's adventure partner in everything in life. They traveled near and far, covering all the states in the union, more tropical islands that I can count, and several European countries to boot. 

He knew my sister's love for taking pictures (I got that from her) meant a 10-mile drive could take a good hour or so. "Paul, pull over!" "Paul, stop here!" You see the sainthood mounting, don't you?

Over the years (yes, we're both young here), I've gotten to share in some of those adventures, too. Here we are in the mountains of Georgia with a new friend. (I hope it was a statue.)

And in South Padre enjoying Carter's first trip to the ocean! There was also...

Hanging out with Uncle Paul across the border, too. A little shopping in Mexico can be quite an adventure!

Drinking green beer (or just root beer) with 100% Irish Uncle Paul at Pepe's on St. Patty's Day. 

And seeing the Grand Canyon together when Rayna and Paul were just "wintering" a bit in Arizona before moving there in 2020.

Through the years, Paul and I have had a healthy rivalry. His Braves versus my Twins. Above we're with a college friend of mine at a Braves game in Atlanta in 1990 – the year before we beat them in the World Series (and Paul gifted me with a Braves World Series Champions t-shirt accidentally printed before the Braves lost in 7 game). 

While he may have turned his wife to the South side, I've held firm to my convictions all along. And we've had a lot of fun with it. Jim, too, since his Reds don't exactly like the Braves either! And we know if the Braves stomp all over the Twins and Reds this year that someone up above is pulling some strings.

One game we could always agree on is golf. We agreed it's both fun and frustrating! He was fortunate, in his retirement years especially, to be near golf courses year-round and able to swing a club. I'm pretty sure heaven will have the best course imaginable and he'll get his share of birdies.

But all along – during all the adventures and blessings in life – he had his share of health issues, too. Like a cat, he had 9 lives. Was saved a number of times when his ticker didn't want to tick anymore. Sadly, this last time around was too much. 

Our family has been praying hard for him while he's basically been hospitalized since Thanksgiving. God bless the doctors and nurses who have saved him and helped him all these years. We know that this time there was a lot stacked against him. They just couldn't fix him.

And can't fix our broken hearts, either.

I'll miss you so much, dear brother. I'm convinced God must be planning one helluva St. Patrick's Day party this year and He needs your help.

Love you forever, Paul. I'll always be your Bynski.