Playing in the Dirt

One picture tells the story of softball playoffs tonight. It was hot, dry, windy, dusty – and Assumption was making the plays.

Our Lady Royals avenged last year's playoff loss to Almond-Bancroft with a 4-1 victory today. Now, our recipe of hot hits, solid defense, and aggressive base running means the ladies in blue are one game away from state. They'll play Blair-Taylor in the sectional final on Thursday.

It was a fun – if not a bit nerve-wracking – game to watch. But we needed it.

Hubby and I had gone to the funeral home first for a visitation for the father of some of our friends. Louie was a Royals fan while his kids were going through Assumption back in the day. So it felt good to go from hugging them over to the field and seeing a victory.

And teamwork.

I gotta say I love the coaches' shirts with the "We before Me" motto on them. That could apply to every team in every sport. Oh and work teams. And church congregations. And even families.

That's how you attain success. Or in today's case, advance forward in the playoff bracket. 

Good luck on Thursday, ladies! Keep having fun!

Self-Heating and Cooling

Who needs a weather app when you have a cat who lets you know when it's hot. Today she traded in her heated bathroom floor (where she spends a good 19 hours a day) for the cooler kitchen floor. If she does that or presses her body against the north wall in the living room, then you know it's pretty stinkin' warm out.

And it was today. Totally fitting for Memorial Day and the unofficial start of summer!

And, since the temperature got up to 87 degrees, it was totally fitting we were at the rack track cheering on #87 – our nephew Colin.

It was a very, very warm afternoon at Golden Sands Speedway. A ton of people were there for the holiday races. Colin had a much better outing than when saw him in Kaukauna a few weeks ago. Today he finished 2nd in the heat race and 6th int the 99-lap feature.

And Colin's adorable kiddos were there, too, so I got to see my sweet little great-niece...

And great-nephew! Some day they'll know how cool all of this was when they were little!

And it was good spend a special day in a special way.

Hugs to you who've lost a loved one to war. And thanks to you who served or are still serving. You're a blessing!

Par-sistance Pays

Not sure what weather app we were looking at, but we sure didn't expect rain today. Just sunny and 80 degrees with a 100% chance of golf and 2 graduation parties.

We were sort of wrong there.

We had a tee time at noon to play at TriCity with son #2. I was raining when we got there and then there was thunder and the warning sirens going off. So we had to call that outing off.

But not before I got a father-son picture. I think Clay is in the running the John Daly of Wisconsin Rapids! Fun stuff.

Since we didn't golf, we headed to grad parties for our friends' son Dane from Lincoln High School and then to our friends' son Aaron from Assumption High School. Mother Nature threw intermittent rain and wind our way but it got steadily nicer through the afternoon. And we had really nice visits with friends.

On our way home around 6, we thought we'd swing back over to TriCity and see if we could squeeze in 9 holes before sunset. And we did. And saw the beautiful sunset above. 

At least something was pretty. My golf swing sure wasn't. But I haven't swung since last September-ish, I didn't expect any miracles. Just needed to shank off the cobwebs. 

Just a nice Sunday evening date. And we're home in time to get 8 hours of sleep tonight! Three-day weekends are awesome until they're booked and there's no recliner nap time for Jim or Mr. Deck Chair nap time for me. We'll get a third shot at that tomorrow.

Hope your weekend is going well. Be safe!

 

Rock and Roll

It's been a busy weekend. And there's still 2 more days to go. Whoo-hoo! We've got quite a full schedule since it's graduation weekend, but I did want to be sure I got some more of my rock-garden-snake pit project done.

Did I say snake pit? 

After work yesterday, I headed to the Out Back and wanted to get some underlayment down back there before I had to head to Assumption to shoot graduation.

And my friend Freddie was back! If I scream in an empty neighborhood, did I make a sound? I don't know. Literally no one was around. So I played nice and let Freddie keep sunning – I mean I like to do that, too – and kept up a stream of useless conversation so he knew I was there. You never want to startle a snake!

I just kept an eye on him... until that one time I looked and he wasn't there. And I wanted to pull from that rock pile I was pretty sure he slithered into. Uff da. I just kept talking and hoping he wouldn't jump out from somewhere. And needless to say, I got that underlayment down in record time. 

Follow me for more landscaping hacks!

After that, graduation was a nice calming experience. I stayed up until midnight getting the photos posted for the school. So didn't bother blogging. And today, I got back in the Out Back for awhile and didn't see Freddie or any other F-word Friend. Whew.

Later this afternoon we went to a graduation party and then picked up our neighbors Todd and Terri to go to Waupaca for a concert. Our friend Kat was singing with Vic Ferrari at the Indian Crossing Casino (which turns out isn't a casino at all). It was nice to trade in my rocks and snakes for rock and roll!

Here we have three members of the Assumption class of '81.

And here is Kat – proving once again she's a rock star!

She did amazing as always. And the band as a whole was awesome, too. Fun time – and so worth getting home at almost 1 a.m.! Don't forget this is Vic Ferrari's last year together so see them somewhere if you can. Worth it! 

And I even got 10,000 steps from all that dancing. Way better than steps earned from running away from my back yard! 

The Last At Bat -- For Now

The thing about postseason is that it eventually becomes season-ending. Ideally that's at state, but it can happen in the first round, too. Especially if you're playing in a cursed ball diamond.

Well I say it's cursed.

I don't recall ever winning a baseball game at Pittsville, in their dreaded "bowl" of a field surrounded by hills. Even back when Carter was playing for traveling tournament teams, we just couldn't find a victory. And I have seen it for high school either. Well, at least not in Carter's career or Jim's coaching career since. 

I don't know what it is. Just don't have the baseball spirits on our side!

Still, our Royals stuck with them today. Our boys have improved so much this year and they stayed right in the game with hits and good defense and pretty clean playing. We were all tied up at 1-1 through top of the 5th inning. Pittsville just edged us in the end with a 3-1 win. 

We only had one senior so I hope these guys return and build off what they did this year. I know the coaches would appreciate it.

Meanwhile, back at the softball field in Wisconsin Rapids, our Lady Royals took the regional championship with a 15-0 win. Wow! So their postseason is moving forward to Sectionals. 

Let's keep those bats flying!

#royalpride

Social Hour

Mental health awareness has definitely jumped back into the spotlight after yesterday shooting at an elementary school in Texas. It's too distressing to talk about those events right now. Not going to have a sad, depressing blog. Basically, if you're a parent, a teacher, or in law enforcement, I feel for you. And if you feel alone, depressed, or desperate, please get help. There are healthy ways out of that dark place.

I like this graphic shared by our Wood County Health Department today. I agree 100% that connecting with people boosts your mood. Why do you think we were all so down during the first part of COVID when we were all under house arrest? We need people.

We need to be social.

So tonight I took the perfect medicine for curing these depressing 24 hours where it has rained continually and the news feed has been continually tragic. Got together for dinner in Stevens Point with 9 co-workers. One of them is moving away so we needed a sendoff since he'll be gone before we return to the office next month. He'll still work with us, just really remotely now. 

So we spent nearly 3 hours just chatting and eating and laughing and not thinking about the sad news of the day. It was refreshing. And fun. And the perfect distraction.

Oh, and good for my mental health.

I highly recommend little social hours here and there. You deserve them. And you need them! 

Sometimes they even come with hugs. 

Bloomin' Good

I can't believe that it's taken all of two decades, but this is the first time ever that these two lilac bushes in our front yard have bloomed! Ever!

Even though they were just little shrubs, we still took care over the years and years to mow around them, not over them. Though more than a time or two I thought we should just get rid of them. They're defective!

Good thing we're loaded with patience! 

(That's sarcasm.) But really, what a treat to finally see them and, more importantly, smell them. We're big lilac fans here. Hopefully I can bring a few flowers in so the house smells nice, but I'm scared I'll kill the plants! 

After all that hard work and waiting, maybe I should just steal from the neighbors like the "old" days. 

Be careful out there! 

Don't forget to stop and smell the lilacs.

Tapped Out

Now that my feet have stopped tapping, I can sit down and blog! Since Riverdance has been touring for 25 years, I may be among the last people to finally cross it off my Bucket List. But it was worth the wait.

Our foursome of Royals Class of 2016 moms left Rapids around 3 p.m. so we had time to eat dinner in La Crosse before the 7 p.m. show. After filling up on endless breadsticks at Olive Garden, we were ready to burn off the carbs with some serious toe tapping.

What an entertaining show!

I've always been impressed with tap-dancing when you see it high skill levels. And these Irish dancers were taking it to new levels. Just so cool to watch! Plus there were instrumental numbers with various Celtic instruments – pipes and drums I didn't quite recognize, plus a violin (or was it a fiddle) and more – along with a fantastic soloist.

Throughout it, there was the underlying story of being at one with the earth in Ireland and then emigrating to America and finding a home. You probably should just Google a video if you've never seen it. I'm not sure how the dancers are physically capable of some of the moves they did, but I'm pretty sure I won't try any of them at home!

I am pretty tapped out, though. (Pun intended.) Three late nights in a row and I need to sashay to bed. Slowly and carefully!

Showers Of Blessings

I love spending time with family. And it's even more fun when we're celebrating the upcoming addition of a new member! Looking forward to welcoming a great-niece in August. Actually, based on the enthusiasm at the baby shower yesterday, quite a few are excited about my nephew Travis and Michelle's blessing.

Special occasions always call for a trifle, of course! And pretty in pink!

My sister RoAnn and I had so much creative fun planning this. Our food had a baby theme with wraps. Grab a blanket to get started...

Add some clothes... Baby shower tip: Use cookie cutters to cut your cheese slices! 

Had other "stations" too, ending with a chance to fill up a bottle (or cup) with punch or coffee. Also played Baby BINGO and a game I made up where you draw a name, that person draws a lollipop from the centerpiece and reads or does what the note on it says.

We never did get to the one asking who will spoil the baby more – Mommy, Daddy, or Big Sister. I think it'll be a tie!

They all helped with opening gifts. So many cute baby girl things!!!!

Got my blanket finished. It's big sister-approved! She loved a LOT of the gifts!

Very nice afternoon! I hit the road around 4 p.m. And then again after turning around 5 miles down the road to go back and get my suitcase. Duh me! Just wanted to get back to Rapids before dark.

Because of deer, you know! What are the odds I'd see two white ones when I was 9/10 of the way through the drive? Wow. I had to stop and takes some pictures. No surprise.

Met up with Jim at Homestead Golf Course to celebrate our friends' retirement. They sold the golf course and are moving onto the next chapter of their lives. Saw a lot of people we knew. That was fun. Got home too late to think about blogging, but tonight will be even later. 

Heading down to La Crosse to see Riverdance with some girlfriends. Very excited! Gonna toe-tap that right off my bucket list! 

Have a great Sunday.

Sister Protection Program

Drove so far north today I feel like I could go into hiding and no one would notice. I mean I'm wearing a Twins sweatshirt in the middle of Twins Territory, after all. Blending right in!

Not going to a Twins game though. Just in Minnesota to celebrate one baby. My new great-niece coming in August. 

My sister Ro (the grandma-to-be) and I are co-hosting a shower tomorrow. So we both took some time off today. Me for driving and Ro for food prep etc.

It was only a 4-hour drive. But i saw that FBI truck on the way. Reminded me of the Ozark series but even more redneck. And it wasn't even north of Highway 8!

I could tell you more but Max, the head honcho holding me captive with his stare won't let me!

He let me pet him though. Guess I had to drive 196 miles to find a cat who likes me. No offense, Princess Poops-a-Lot!

Blue Jay Drive

We've lived on Blue Jay Drive for 20 years and, naturally, we've seen our share of blue jays. We hear them with their loud, harsh "jay" calls more than we see them. Because they don't sit still. Trust me, this photographer hasn't had any luck capturing them. Until today.

After last night's rain storm, this morning I noticed two hopping around the lovely Out Back area I just cleared (somewhat). I thought Mr. Blue Jay was looking for worms. But do they even eat worms? Or just stick with the high-protein acorn diet? I am not sure.

I was just excited that he (or she) was turning around for me so I could see his tail. They are such pretty birds!

And they're apparently good omens, too. Native American lore says that seeing a blue jay nearby ensures good luck for whoever crosses its path. Their symbolism can vary somewhat. To some, they are thought to represent a symbol of fortune and luck – which I needed BEFORE I saw the snake back there. They are also thought to be good omens that symbolize happiness and peace.

I was snapping away through the picture window, just hoping I'd have that luck and one picture would turn out. I was thrilled a few did.  Then Jay turns his head and I can see what he was hunting for. Not food but building supplies for his nest. Oh Jay, that is going to take a long time to build if that's the size of the "lumber" you can carry!

He showed it to his buddy Jay-Jay and he wasn't impressed either.

So he flew off with it into some hiding place I'm sure I'll never find with my lens!

It's storming again tonight. Maybe tomorrow the equally elusive Mr. Cardinal will pay a visit. 

Strong Hold

I demonstrated my power today. Well my growing power. As in strength. Been taking some strength-building classes and while my body isn't reflecting changes yet, I have graduated from my starting 3-pound dumbbell to a 15-pounder!

Part of today's challenge was pushing this sled...

This is pushing 320 pounds – or the equivalent of Sean Rhyan pictured above, the offensive lineman the Packers drafted in the 3rd round a few weeks ago. Sit down, Sean. I can push you around! Not very far. But I can do it!

And there you have my accomplishment of the day. 

Well, that and getting half a baby blanket crocheted tonight. Because even though I've been planning for a baby shower I'm co-hosting Saturday, I forgot about the gift part. Gonna have to use my newfound strength for some power hooking tomorrow night!

With great power comes great responsibility.

Definitely the Crying Towel

I rarely stick with many actual television series these days when we can binge watch most things. But This Is Us had me from the get-go. And after 6 years of emotional investment, tonight was the penultimate episode. 

But based on the tears still flowing, it felt like it was the last one. Spoiler alert: I think next week will be more of a recap of the 6 seasons and I'll cry some more. 

And no, I don't have a Pittsburgh Steelers Terrible Towel to cry into. But I had to use this image. If you know, you know.

And you're still swallowing that lump in your throat.

I know. I'm a dork. But if met Jack Pearson, you would've been along for the ride, too! I think I'll wipe my tears and dream about that first episode when he was "wearing" that little towel! 

Sweet dreams!

Field Work

I switched from back yard work to field work today. Baseball field, that is.

I was senior night so we got to honor Aaron, the lone senior for the Royals baseball team. Then it was game time against Nekoosa. Neither team has many victories this season so it was a close one as they battled for hits and runs. 

Got to witness my first high schooler over-the-fence home run at Witter Field. Unless I saw one years ago, but this is the first under the Ryan-Jim-Greg coaching regime. Then Nekoosa answered with one of their own. Lots of runs and rallying, but we ended up losing 13-8.

Just got done with photos so I'm going to bed. This is the banner I designed for Aaron. I like how it turned out and wished there were more seniors. But he's a great kid – who I've watched grow up – and he deserves his time in the spotlight.

That'll be it for me for sports shooting this week. I think everyone's away now. Or I am!

Have a good week, everyone!

Oh S-s-s-snap!

Warning: The following blog may contain graphic images that will either make your heart beat faster or possibly make you scream a little.

So after a lovely morning of church and editing racing photos, I headed to the Out Back again to tackle the remaining stumps and shrub root crap. If you recall, I was hoping to get this all done before bee and snake season started. Guess I missed that deadline.

Wasn't too far into my work today and was throwing a branch on my little pile when I came very close to this slithering friend in the grass. I screamed. Did an about face and ran up the little hill in the yard with a string of expletives behind me!

Since no one was around to rescue me, I tried talking myself believing he is harmless. Then grabbed my phone and snapped a few photos. Because he absolutely was not moving. Final warning!

Large and in charge and totally scream-worthy, right? I decided to call him Freddy – along with other F words – and figured I'd get right back to work. When I saw him slide inside one of the railroad tie steps, you can bet your ass I was on the lookout for a "S-s-surprise!" at some point in the next 4 hours. But nope, he let me get my digging done. Several roots looked like snakes, so they yielded little squeaky screams, but not too bad.

I had sent the picture to Carter and you would not believe what he sent back to me with the text caption: Like mother, like son – almost stepped on this rattlesnake today! (Final warning again!)

If you want to zoom in – which I wouldn't recommend – you can see the rattle tail! OMG! 

Another reason we never quit worrying about our kids. And here I thought he's only have to worry about elk out in Colorado. Carter just called, gave us a video tour of their duplex, and said they live in a very safe neighborhood. That just doesn't apply when they leave it and go hike in a canyon somewhere! (Note to self: This was in Eldorado Canyon State Park so don't let him suggest going there if we ever get out to visit.)

Oh and I wouldn't blame you for turning down invites to our backyard either. Ha.

But I'll leave you with two pretty images from the park so you won't think it was all rattle and ho-hum...

Be careful out there!