April Showers

April showers bring... soggy messes. But on the bright side, this is all the snow we have left in our yard. For now. It's way too soon to predict what the rest of the month has in store.

Hopefully, at some point, Spring Sports can start. For the ball fields, that means dry weather and all the white stuff melted away. Fingers crossed Tuesday is the day.

Other than weather concerns, it was a typical Sunday. Church choir, some golf (watching not playing), some women's hoops (watching not playing), and the CMT awards (definitely watching only!).

But since the rain was light, Jim grilled brats for supper so it felt like spring anyway. 

And most everything else is status quo from yesterday. Just keep praying for spring to really arrive – and my sister to keep improving.

Have a great week and be careful out there!

Surprising Spring

Not sure where my mind was, but I was totally surprised to arrive at work today and realize we were a few short hours from a Winter Storm Warning. I forget that when I live in Wood County and work in Portage County, I get different alerts. But Wood County was added to the warning shortly after.

Needless to say, a month ago we were reveling in 72-degree FAKE spring temps and now we get the REAL stuff. For the record, I don't like the "real" Wisconsin spring!

Thankfully, my boss is understanding and let us go home to work while the flakes came down.

On my way home, I could see how the slushy, icy stuff was clinging to signs...

And the roads. Definitely clinging to those.

Oh and it was Election Day. Many of you know that! No opinion here, I promise. Just managed to get through the slushy parking lot and vote after work!

 

As for my flowers... Same view as yesterday. Snow in the background of Easter tulips like yesterday!

So it was nice to just sit home and watch the pretty flakes and not be driving anywhere. And price a few more garage sale items. You'll get that commercial tomorrow. Whether you want to or not.

As for my sister, she survived another surgery and is still stable. I thank all of you who've offered up prayers and positive support. This will be a long road, but I know each word up is helping her. Thanks!

P.S. I think the snow is easier to deal with right now because we know the pain/inconvience it causes is much more short-term!

WTF (What The Fools?)

Figures when we don't have time to think of any April Fools' jokes, Mother Nature has a few up her sleeve. I mean What the Flake? These snowflakes this afternoon were seriously huge. My poor Easter tulips from hubby had no idea what was happening. Do we open? Do we close? What?!

Just craziness. And yes, it did stick to the deck and the grass. The roads? Not so much, thankfully.

And as those big flakes fell, I saw this poor, confused, and obviously super pregnant mama robin trying to figure out why some of the grass was green but there were these big white flakes coming down.

Kind of like our whole family has been feeling for the last 60 hours. Things were good and now we have these large flakes (aka Challenges, Scary Thoughts, and Major Concerns) raining down on us.

I was so happy to see that despite the confusion and tough times weighing down on her shoulders, Mama Robin was able to fly.

Hopefully the same will happen to my mom and siblings and all extended family as we pray for my sister Rachel. By some miracle she is still here. Let God lift the weight, take charge, and let us fly!

A Not So Perfect Date

I always love this reminder from the Miss Congeniality movie that today. – April 25 – is the perfect date. I especially love this version of the meme because the end is edited to say: "All you need is a winter coat because this is Wisconsin."

So true.

I thought I was being smart and planned ahead to shoot pictures of middle school baseball after work. I brought my camera to work and even brought it up to my desk so it wouldn't get too cold in my car. After work, I headed straight to Mead Field to catch the first pitch at 4:30 p.m. It didn't take me long to realize I forget to pack something.

A winter jacket. Or at least gloves.

Game time temperature was around 46 degrees, I think. Thankfully I had some fans in the crowd and one of the baseball moms at least loaned me some gloves for a bit! 

Think it through, Robyn.

Got a few decent pictures and when my camera was slowing down, I figured it was time to get it out of the cold and head home. All for the camera, you realize, right? (They ended up losing to Pacelli by 1 run, dang.)

Coach Austin and the varsity boys were on the road to Edgar. Was able to catch the final score on the much-appreciated Game Changer app. The final score (a 10+ run loss) was not so appreciated.

I'm starting to think April 25 is not such a perfect date after all. C'mon, Royals. Plenty of season left to grab some W's – no matter what the date!

Spring Sports Weather

On the one hand, it was great to finally have spring sports resume today after several weather delays and cancellations this week. On the other hand... B-R-R-R!

Yes, I would say 45-degree temps only draw out the die hard fans and maybe one fair-weather photographer.

Does heat rise? Nope. I was on the roof of Witter Field and it was not any warmer. Not even by the stadium lights. Darn.

Still, I managed to get a little softball action in. See how cold they look?

We were leading 3-1 in the 3rd inning I think when I had to head to baseball to deliver Jim some warm mittens. I was just stepping away from softball when it started to rain anyway. The girls ended up splitting the double-header versus Auburndale.

Baseball was a tough battle. Our boys were struggling and the weather didn't help. Getting hit by pitches doesn't feel good either I'm sure.

There was a precipitation mix happening. My camera didn't like it. So I left after the first game, which we lost 8-1. And the second game was an even bigger margin of victory for Auburndale. Hopefully next week the weather is warmer and our bats are hotter.

Let's keep working hard, Royals!

You'll get 'em next time!

And Again!

Wow. After begging for spring to arrive, we've had the second day in a row of record-high temps in Rapids. And again, we were the warmest in the TV audience radius, anyway.

I'm probably the only one loving this!!

To be fair, there's super low humidity so really, everyone should enjoy it. Except that means this...

I've never been in a Red Flag Warning area. But it means absolutely no burning outdoors. There are too many wildfires going on right now in Wisconsin. Not that I planned a fire or anything.

The nice temps also mean that not only is road construction in full swing, but the motorcyclists are out and about too. I had a scary experience with that on my morning commute.

There's one area of I-39 near Hwy 10 in Stevens Point that is down to one lane right now. I saw a few vehicles ahead of me that suddenly a care swerved into the ditch / median area. It was freaky. Then we all slammed on our breaks. And I could see people moving a man off the road.

We sat there and I was only 4 cars away from the scene. There were road construction guys on their phones so I thought maybe one of the workers was hit. I heard sirens so I knew the police or ambulance or both were en route.

Then the stopped vehicles in front moved over to the closed lane and we could inch forward. That's when I saw the damaged motorcycle. Not sure what exactly happened but two vehicles had very distraught drivers standing there. Uff da.

A good reminder to pay extra attention now that spring has sprung! 

Be careful out there!

A Bit Extreme

Apparently Mother Nature doesn't do anything half-arsed. When we want it to warm up for spring sports, she says, "Here. How about setting a heat record!" Wow.

I'm here to tell you I don't mind one bit. I raced home from work just to bond with Mr. Deck Chair awhile before heading to my monthly Girls' Night Out. That's a relaxing evening all around!

We went to Aaron's Wines and Steins down by the river. And they lived up to their reputation of having super delicious pizza. I tried the April pizza of the month – a shrimp concoction – and it was amazing!

The company was good, too! Nice to spend time with my friend Jenny – and the other six in attendance too, of course!

It was also nice to hang out after wearing a path between the baseball and softball fields last night. Since both teams were hosting a double-header against Stratford, I didn't have a problem "covering" both sports. Started with baseball game at Witter Field and got each of our Royals at bat before heading over to softball at Robinson Park to do the same.

Our Division 5 defending state champion Lady Royals managed a victorious sweep. Our boys, however, struggled against the Tigers and lost each of their games by 10 runs. We gotta start somewhere. Nowhere to go but up now, right guys?

Shake it off. Enjoy the weather and the gorgeous sunsets and get back at it on Friday!

With the snow melting Up North, the Wisconsin River is flowing high and fast. Be careful out there!

Well Played, Mother Nature

Honestly, if I hadn't witnessed it myself, I would have been skeptical of anyone here saying we had a winter storm overnight. April Fool's Day, anyone?

But here were our wake-up views on Blue Jay Drive.

Mr. Deck Chair saying "I did not come out of hibernation for this!"

Then 8 hours later...

Crazy, right? But we'll certainly take it. I really didn't need to shovel this morning. Part of me was being nice and the other part was just getting some exercise.

But we literally were in meltdown mode all day so that works, too!

Didn't have anything firm on our agenda. So I did get a little decluttering work started on my Scrap Cave. Instead of buying new storage bins for new crafty things – like Cricut vinyl – I decided to get rid of current stuff I don't use and make room fo it. It was a good start. Catch me at a weak spring cleaning moment and this happens sometimes.

To celebrate – not really – we got shrimp pizza from Two Lakes (which just opened for the season) and watched Final Four hoops action. The pizza was delicious and the second half of the first game proved to be close and interesting. Now onto the second game – with full bellies and perhaps a living room window cracked open for fresh, spring air.

We're not going down without a fight, Mother Nature!

Snow Delay

Well guess what happened to the spring sports schedule today? It got wiped clean. Again.

This time not because of rain or snow. But COLD. It's a balmy 34 degrees right now with a 27-degree windchill. This photographer thanks them for call it off. But I realize we are in for a huge mess with the schedule as more and more games get pushed off for one reason or another!

For today, though, I'm inside and warm and about to snuggle under a blanket and watch This Is Us. 

Look at me having a slow and uneventful day?! It can be done.

Go Royals!

Spring Finally Sprung

I don't want to jinx it by saying spring has finally sprung. But I mean that it has finally sprung – for a day.

Somehow we got up to 76 degrees here in central Wisconsin. I didn't quite feel that warm thanks to a pretty steady cloud cover and very steady wind!

If you can believe, I did curl my hair before heading into town today. Obviously, I wasn't aware of the wind. And that it required super-powered '80s AquaNet. Not just regular hairspray!

Even with hair in my eyes, I somehow managed to shoot a ton of photos of our Lady Royals soccer team. Finally got a game. They are 7-0 overall this season so far and piled on the goals for an 11-2 win over Aquinas this afternoon. Pretty fun to watch!

Soccer requires power and stamina...

And guts and determination ...

And a tough skin! Ouch. It's quit an aggressive sport. Keep up the great work, ladies!

Hubby enjoyed the warm weather by going golfing. Now he's up in Rudolph singing with the choir and church (and socializing afterward). And I've got some windows open and am enjoying some girly TV.

Mother Nature, you have my permission to keep the sprung spring around!

More Easter Blessings

It was a gorgeous day today! I have to thank God and Mother Nature for not gifting us with any snow while we slept.

Instead it was sunny – still cool in the 40s, but not as cool as our catcher on the softball team. Ha.

After a busy day, I did manage to catch the second half of the game versus Auburndale. The Lady Royals beat them 5-0 and I got to see all the runs, so that was a nice bonus. 

The game got done in time for me to race over to the baseball game. We were down 19-0 and had 2 outs and the bases loaded. I saw us score our one run before the game ended. So I guess that was sort of nice. But yeah, not a happy day for the boys.

We did have a happy evening, though. Carter and Mamie just got here. He survived his eventful travels to and from D.C. and will be heading back on Saturday for a week. At least the Easter bunny finally got to deliver his goodies to the "kids."

I'm still hoping the streak of no snow continues. That would be a great Easter week blessing. Thanks in advance, powers that be!

Tired of Re-Runs

Tired of waking up to the same view – different day. Seriously, it was a green Easter Sunday. Then we go to sleep, being none the wiser, and winter sneaks back in.

So spring sports were called off. Again. And I don't know if everything will be rescheduled. Probably baseball and softball for sure since they were supposed to play up at Auburndale. And supposed to host Auburndale tomorrow. (Please cooperate, Mother Nature!). Golf was to take place just down the road at The Ridges. Who knows if that'll get rescheduled. And I was going to shoot track and field at the new Nekoosa facility. I do hope to see that some day (maybe a warm one!).

So without those plans, I just worked, got myself a deep-tissue massage after that, then went to Book Club at Applebee's (relocated from Perkins, which was closed – not weather related). That worked out for me.

And I could taste the food fine there and at home today. So whatever cold or ickyness I had, it seems to have passed. Leave it to COVID checklists to make us all over-paranoid about every little thing. Just grateful for the NEGATIVE experience. I have more plans this week that I don't want canceled due to virus – or weather.

Hope you're listening, Ol' Man Winter. You are so last season!

We're the Forty-Niners

Ended the day on top of the world. Well, on top of a Wisconsin list of wind gusts today anyway. There's Wisconsin Rapids at 49 mph. I know it can't compare to my fam in Minneapolis – 59 mph is just bragging, isn't it?– but it was pretty wicked out there. Even had a windchill! 

Still, I'm pretty happy that this was the view at 7:30 p.m.

Why yes, that is daylight out there! It might be windy, but that didn't rush the sunset. Yay!

Also good news is that nothing blew away – as far as we know. And, more importantly...

The spring colors are out for brooms! Just in time for these wind gusty days. Ladies, let's ride in style!

April Showers Bring... Hail

Apparently the warmest day of the year (so far) wasn't meant to bring sunshiny happiness to all. Instead, the high winds moved some storms out West into the Midwest in no time.

So even though the school bus took the baseball and softball teams north to Stratford. They were coming home before game time – thanks to rain and lightning. So I went to workout instead. While inside the gym, we could hear the rain pounding hard as the lights went out. Then we stepped outside and we were...

"Oh hail!"

No wonder the "rain" was so loud.

My car wasn't damaged. It just served as a hail holder!

Oh the drive home, it was like a normal winter commute with a path cleared on each side of the road. There was steam on the left side of the road. Sure enough, the temp had dropped 20 degrees to 43. The warmed up earth was in just as much shock as we were.

So I got a free night. Baked some cranberry bars and am catching up on Virgin River (one episode left to go of Season 3) and This is Us (last season but plenty of crying left to do). 

Just good to be home. I know there's wicked weather everywhere and more is coming this way, too. Be smart and be safe!

 

Turkey Crossing

Why did the turkeys cross the road? To get to the other side... And out of the rain. I guess they're smarter than we give them credit for.

Well, I mean, I did stay inside all day. So I guess I'm smart, too. But I'd rather not have to dodge raindrops for another solid 24 hours.

Yeah, I feel like Eeyore on the gloomy days in the Hundred Acre Wood. It's cloudy and gloomy and downright depressing. 

So I binged the rest of Bridgerton tonight on Netflix until I got over it. But then realized I probably have to wait a year for the next season. And that's a bit depressing, too. What a vicious cycle!

Too bad there's not a Turkey Crossing sign somewhere so we can escape. This lovely spring weather is for the birds.