Voice Night!

While I usually get excited about my fave show The Voice, I need to talk about a different voice tonight.

Six months ago today, my sister Rachel and her best friend Brian (pictured here last month) were in a near-fatal head-on collision. I say near-fatal because they are both literally walking miracles. 

Rachel was in ICU forever, it seemed, and ended up in staying in the lovely Regions Hospital Resort in the Twin Cities for 3 months. Brian was released a bit earlier but had a stint in the nursing home in Luck before getting home. Today, she gets around with a walker and he has upgraded to a cane.

Sadly, they still have quite a long ways to go to get back to normal life, normal mobility... you know, things we take for granted.

It was a defining moment for both their families. So scary. So much uncertainty. And thanks to all of you, so many prayers to lift them upward toward recovery. Love you all for that!

This weekend while we sang in church at our uncle's funeral, I could tell Rachel was anxious to get her full voice back. She can talk, sure. But she used to sing like a bird. She's still recovering from having all those tubes jabbed down her throat for weeks on end.

We can't wait to hear you sing!

In the meantime, they're taking baby steps and dealing with the aftermath of things like "no fault" (i.e. no benefits) vehicle insurances and medical insurance benefit maximums, etc. It's super overwhelming. And while they are grateful for their lives – and their friends and families who've donated and are still donating – they could use more help.

As I mentioned this weekend, I was delivering some raffle baskets for their upcoming benefit. Here's the details on that...

To my local readers, please realize this is in our hometown 4 hours northwest of Wisconsin Rapids. But if you feel moved to support it, let me know. I can take monetary donations, items for raffle baskets or the auction – or even put tickets in raffle baskets for you (if you have some specific interests – like not Packers. Just kidding!).

Otherwise, those of you Up North: Please mark your calendar and show up October 26. Our entire family thanks you in advance.

#CountYourBlessings

What the Purple?

If I didn't know any better – which of course, I DON'T – I'd think that's a V for Victory. Wouldn't you?

There was quite some time today that I wouldn't have dared bring up purple pride, but the signs were all there.

My church choir song was pretty purple (the song above). Then, right after the service, we celebrated our dear pastor's birthday with a lovely cake that just happened to have purple flowers on it. I'd show you a picture if I still had some cake!

And I swear that even though I was about to boast about lilacs and other Purple Pride, I'm so glad I kept my mouth shut!

Of course, with a sigh of relief, we'll take our purple pride victory and keep crossing our fingers! If you know, you know.

P.S. Thanks for the amazing smell of lilacs – especially in "almost" October!  💜

Friends and Family Time

What a full and fulfilling couple of days.

I took Friday off just to get some errands done - including waiting in a forever line just save $25 on my oil change. Good thing I shut my car off or I might have gone through $25 worth of gas!

For real fun, I caught part of birthday lunch with my golf partner. I missed the golf part thanks to that stupid long line!

For fake fun, I also vacuumed my car after removing all the golf stuff and photo shoot ladders. I needed the space for some precious cargo to take Up North today.

If you want to know what love looks like, it's something like this. A car filled with 11 raffle baskets for my sister's benefit next month. It worked out conveniently to drop them off at Rachel's today (Side note: She's getting around great with a walker now!!) while we picked her up to go to our Uncle Hartley's funeral. 

On the way there, we stopped at the cemetery to visit what I always called "Dad's grave." It's so weird to think Mom's there now, too. Just hasn't sunk in. 😢

Then it was onto the funeral... The first hard part was that mere days after Uncle Hartley died, his son (and our cousin) Jeff died of cancer. So much loss!

The second hard part was that the funeral was held in the same church in Grantsburg where we just had Mom's service. Just too soon. 😭

The good part, though, was seeing so much family again. Some people I didn't get a chance to talk to at Mom's funeral. And of course, the 8 R's hadn't all been together since Mom's funeral either.

Lots of love and hugs.

Jim and I drove back tonight since we both have church obligations in the morning – he's reading at his and I'm singing at mine. Top photo was our pretty sunset drive home before two detours, darkness, then 90 minutes of intermittent fog on Deer Alley (that whole route from Osseo to Neillsville to Rapids). Grateful to be home safely!

And grateful for special times with people we care about. Hug your loved ones!

Prime Country Date Night

In 1997, country music artist Collin Raye recorded the song "Little Red Rodeo." At that time, the love of my life was driving around in a red Rodeo. 🥰 Fast forward 27 years and the love of my life and I are sitting in the front row, merely a few feet from Collin Raye, listening to him sing it in person.

Now that's a date night! 

If you listen to the Prime Country channel on SiriusXM radio – with its '80s and '90s country playlist – you'll hear a lot of his hits. Or just go to his concert. Ha. His voice is still phenomenal! We were so glad a group of our friends had 2 tickets available at the last minute, so we could go.

He was entertaining. Made us laugh as he talked on behalf of men everywhere before singing "That's My Story and I'm Sticking to it."

He also made us cry. He sings with such emotion. "Little Rock." "One Boy, One Girl." "Love, Me." "I Think About You." "His Love Remains." So, so good! And a few songs I didn't know, the lyrics still grabbed me. 

That was a treat and a fun trip down music memory lane.

Sure makes me miss that little red Rodeo!

Yelloh! And Goodbye!

If you haven't heard the news, my Schwan's man (aka my Yelloh man) will no longer be visiting.

Here's the news story (or one of them): Schwan's out of business 

So no more buying gallons of Peppermint Stick Ice Cream (pictured above) to get me through the winter. And how we love those Chicken Pot Pies (and I love those Nashville Hot Chicken Breasts) for easy meals. And how Carter loves those yummy Caramel Rolls for breakfast.

Does this mean I have to cook now? 

Or just find more microwaveable options to match my skill set in the kitchen? That sounds about right. 

As for ice cream, I do have a lot of sources for that. There was just something special about that delicious over-priced creamy frozen treat!

We can survive this, folks! Just keep praying for us undomestic goddesses! Thanks.

You Wanna Piece of Me?

It's always fun to start your daily commute following a logging truck in a construction zone who just happens to kick up some big rock. Right into my windshield.

It looks like a big diamond here – and it's actually about a quarter-sized chip (er, missing piece!). Thankfully it didn't spread into a crack during the day and thankfully I should be able to get it fixed at minimum cost.

My work day didn't necessarily get better but I did have the trifecta of bee-bopping after work.

So I knew hubby was golfing and I had no plans for tonight so I just bee-bopped around Point and Plover, hitting my 3 favorite spots.

JoAnn Fabric, TJ Maxx, and Hobby Lobby!

My goal was to find something to go with this blanket I crocheted for a raffle basket...

I had a few different thoughts, but then realized I could make a "Piece-ful Night In" basket.

Yup, throw in a puzzle and a puzzle roller-upper mat. I almost want to try to win this basket since I don't have any of these things! Ha.

Either way, I've got a few places I can shop for these "essentials" if I don't win it! 

Monday Views

When you wake up to 40-some degrees and just want to snuggle under the warm covers for the day, you know it's going to be a long Monday.

Thank god there are some redeeming moments after a long day of work.

I actually had a few errands right after work, including delivering some flash drives of senior photos. Then it was on to Book Club.

We were supposed to meet at one restaurant, and when that was surprisingly closed, we went to our old standby corner booth at Applebee's. Which seated 5 of us just fine.

This month's book was the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. You probably read it in high school. We chose to re-read it after reading James earlier this year, which was the point of view of the surprisingly educated slave Jim, aka James.

It was interesting to compare the two. And of course, interesting to catch up on each other's lives.

The parking lot sunset shot above was our exit view. Love it!

I got home in time to catch the season opener of my show – The Voice – too, so everybody wins. Plus, did you know...

Now that's a summer-lovin' girl like me can keep in mind! Enjoy these pleasant summer-like days this week!

Our Wonder-SKOL Good Luck Charm

Thank goodness my charming SKOL sister stopped to see Mr. SKOL this weekend. We needed the good luck!

We almost didn't get to watch the Vikings game (finally on TV here) because I did some idiot thing with our TV remote. I was watching Netflix (Emily in Paris, of course) and then couldn't get back to cable. Like this was Friday night. And I've tried every thing I could think of – plus numerous suggestions from the Google.

Nothing worked.

Finally I put out a shameless yet embarrassing plea for help. And a friend who works for our cable company said the 24/7 tech guys could help with that. For real. I never wanted to be that old lady who doesn't understand technology. So I had hubby make the call.

Wouldn't you know – by the time I got home from church, he was just finishing up on the phone with the tech guy and it all worked again! Phew. It also might not have been total user error as one of the cables might need to be replaced.

Either way, we were able to watch our Vikes on CBS. Yay!

Fun to see the stadium now that we've there. And of course, super fun to see our Vikes stomp on Houston for a 3-0 start to the season! And it looks like my fantasy squad is holding its own for now, too. 

Yay for delight-SKOL Sundays!!

Royally Busy Day

It was Royal-ly busy day today, that's for sure. I even went to my favorite golf course – twice.

First was the Assumption Cross Country Invite at TriCity. Took pictures of both boys and girls high school and middle school races. We continue our streak of having some pretty decent runners for boys and girls. Fun to watch. Our high school girls team ended up taking this lovely trophy home! Way to go!

On the way home, I stopped by Lincoln High School, where our Lady Royals tennis team was in action again. There were a few girls I didn't get a chance to take pictures of the other night, so I got them today. While it was nice a sunny.

As soon as the rain clouds hit in the early afternoon, we hoped they'd be short-lived. I ended up sorting through, editing, and posting the pictures from both events before Jim got home from singing at 4 p.m. church in Rudolph.

Then we headed to TriCity with intentions of golfing in the basketball fundraiser scramble. Even though it was raining on the way there, we figured there was a chance we'd golf.

Lots of carts decked out for glow ball! But then we had a rain delay. Then storm delay.

We could constantly see lightning behind this strange break in the crowds. When it finally looked like we could go, we headed to our carts once again. Wiped them off once again. And turned on our lights once again.

Thankfully our scramble partners Sean and Michelle brought the goods.

We could have disco lights and everything. But then the stinkin' rain started yet again! We decided to call it a night. 

We know from the summer that it is absolutely no fun to golf in the rain! But I'm sure most of them gave it a go in the lightning round, so to speak. We're OK with our decision.

After a busy day, I don't mind being home by 9 p.m.! Stay dry!

Cheers to TGIF

It's been quite a busy week at work while we "work" to have fun for our United Way campaign. One of the fundraisers was "Send a beer and a smile" so people could give someone a Point Rootbeer and smiley cookie.

Two very nice people sent me beers and smiles. So I got a tasty cookie for breakfast yesterday! Feeling the love.

Speaking of love... after worked I raced down to Rapids so I shoot some pictures of our Lady Royals tennis team. It was Senior Night so I got there in time for that anyway, and the first love-love serve! 

From there I headed down to the Lake Camelot area to take some senior pictures. This handsome young man also happens to be on the Shermalot Waterski Show Team I photograph. So it was no surprise that after a few "land shots," we were in the boat!

That was so fun to see him show off his bare-footing skills! Fun. 

I even got a bare-footing father-son duo photo!

I think ON THE WATER is my favorite new photo shoot location. Just sayin'!

Maybe we all be in for some this weekend!

Be a Blessing

I had pretty special start to my day. I got to attend Mass at the high school. For a personal reason. 

They did their mass intention (I believe it's called) to honor my mom's memory. Yes, MY mom!

Did anyone in the school system know her? No. Did it matter that Mom (and me) are Lutheran, not Catholic? No. Did they do this because Jim and I are part of the Assumption family?

100% yes.

I felt so moved by the gesture. Especially having purple flowers (my mom's favorite) blooming in front of the school. Well done. And thanks for sharing a message of hope during the service. 

Something we can hang onto while we continue to grieve. Her memory truly is a blessing.

Back to the 9 to 5

The par 5 9th hole at SentryWorld was the last hole we played tonight for our work golf league. When I saw the sign, I reminded how next we go back to the "9 to 5" so to speak. No early exits for afternoon league.

Dang.

At least we had perfect summer-like weather. It was very un-September like today.

Except for the fall colors on my morning commute. Those definitely speak September.

The shadows were getting long on the course, too. It seems like there golfers on every hole. Everyone wants another summer round – it is technically still summer!

I liked that when our round was wrapping it, I got another dose of color on my commute back home.

Oh and then pull over to see the colorful full moon, too.

I guess when I get stressed about life in the "9 to 5," I should just look around. I can see God's trying to get my attention. "9 to 5?! Work, smerk," He says. "We got this."

 

Many Smiles in the Minne-Apple

You win some. You lose some. But sometimes you have a weekend where everybody wins – eventually.

We arrived in Twins Territory and our hotel in midafternoon Saturday. I was excited we could see Target Field from our hotel room – as advertised!

Cool to be right in the heart of the atmosphere.

After we got settled, we headed to a nearby pub to meet up with Casey and Emily for some pre-game apps. A very short walk from there to the field.

So we had time for Robyn-forced photos!

There were even a few new props that got me excited!

Saturday was Military Appreciation Night at the field.

This included a unique flyover with military helicopters. Very cool.

Our seats were in the front row of a second-level section on the third-base line. Close to Jim's Cincinnati Reds' dugout. At least he had something to smile about. A pitching change for the Twins was a common occurrence Saturday night!

Still amazing to be there, win or lose.

And boy did we ever lose! But great to catch up with the kids for a few hours. And Jim had plenty to smile about with his victory!

Sunday morning was the breakfast of champions at the hotel. Pretty fancy for a continental breakfast, eh?

The stadium was just a mile's walk away so we headed over there so we'd have time to soak in the sights. Including the Bob Dylan mural. Holy amazing!

There's a big fun and games area for all ages on the north side of the stadium. This must be extreme bags because they're throwing coach pillow-sized bags!

Lots of music was rocking the pre-game area – including some beats from our Skol Line!

I can't describe U.S. Bank Stadium in simple teams. It's just such a unique architectural park. Just awesome.

 

Getting our game day faces on!

All the cool glass features had me drooling. I could spend hours taking pictures of this place.

And the Minne-Apple downtown skyline is reflected in the windows, too.

Inside the stadium, we got to walk around a bit and see the highlights – including the local FOX guys doing their pre-game broadcast.

Found our seats! See where the lady wearing the #43 jersey is standing above Bud Grant's name? Our seats were front row to the right of his name.

Nothing between us and our Vikings but a piece of glass. Yup, those pesky railing obstruct the view sometimes. So let's have a scared-of-heights Robyn plop down on the "safe" side of the glass non-railing.

Thank goodness we got there early enough for me to have plenty of time to get used to it. Thankfully!

Also, we got our shirts several years after, I'm sure, another quest for a Superbowl trophy fell short. Or went wide right. They pleadingly say: "Just one before I die." We are hopeless optimists.

Since this was the season home-opener, they did a lot stuff before the first kickoff. Including... wait for it...

Snow inside the stadium!! What?

Yup, they were representing Norse blood with that. It was time bits of foamy-type flakes that disappeared after impact. What a crazy cool thing to do now that we're back indoors!

I began to love my unobstructed view. 

Specially loved that we scored first (despite way too many red uniforms in the stands).

Totally reminded me of the Dome days and how loud we'd get it!!

And I was thrilled to finally get to participate in person with the Viking fan's SKOL clap. So cool!!

And we had plenty to SKOL about – including a Justin Jefferson 98-yard touchdown. I'll never top as one of the greatest plays we've witnessed in person! 

It was exciting to upset the 49ers with a nice win – and fun to have my Twins finally winning at the same time.

I guess everybody does win! Thanks, MN!