A Different Kind of Day at the Office

It was a completely unproductive day at work today. And none of us cared. Our writing team hopped on a bus and headed to Milwaukee this morning to see one of our PR agencies. From there, they hopped on our bus and we all went to what I still call "Miller Park" for the 1:10 p.m. game vs the Texas Rangers.

As a Twins fan, I don't know a lot of Brewers players. To be honest, I only knew Yelich going into today. But still, nothing beats a live baseball game, no matter who is playing. 

My day was made immediately when I spotted the parents of one of my college friends. I got to spend some quality time with her dad last summer when he was at the U.S. Senior Open. So he recognized me. All because I took the long way to our section. Providence! 😊

We had great seats just 13 rows up. But anyone who goes to day games there knows there's a good chance we'll suffer if it's sunny and hot. No shade!

And yep, it was warm! You know me, I love the heat, but this was a little bit stifling. I lasted 3 innings and had to just chill in the concourse by a huge ceiling fan for an inning. Needless to say, expensive water was my friend today.

It was funny that we all cheered when this teeny tiny cloud gave us 15 seconds of relief from the sun! 

Group photos about the time we all started melting! 

See, we're still smiling anyway! Plus there was lots to smile about.

We had good seats. I could see Yellie in person. We witnessed a grand slam! And an in-the-park homerun.

Plus those adorable sausage races!

And with a 5-5 tie after 9 innings, extra innings! Rally Time!!

Thankfully, the Brewers had a walk-off single in the 10th inning. And thankfully, bigger sporadic clouds floated by to help us all cool off and enjoy the game.

Not a bad day at the "office" at all!

Proof I didn't completely melt! And of course, I had fun. And it wasn't hard to cheer for the Brewers since they're in the National League and those darn Rangers are in the American League with my Twins. 

By the time we dropped off our PR friends at their office, we got stuck in Milwaukee rush hour traffic and weren't really "out of town" until after 5 p.m. So it was really a long day by the time we got back to Stevens Point.

But when you're sitting in an "office" with a retractable roof, who cares? We'll bounce back. 

Tomorrow.

Score: Low, Fun: High

We don't often take bus trips to Brewers games. But when we do, they better be playing one of our teams. And we better be going with good people. 

Today was both. The Brew Crew hosted hubby's Cincinnati Reds for a 1:10 p.m. start. That meant the nice coach bus was leaving Assumption at 7:20 a.m. – totally worth it to not have to drive! If you haven't been to what we all still call "Miller Park," it's a pretty nice place to see a game. For any fan and any weather.

Our group of more than 60 Assumption and Rudolph friends consisted of approximately 56 Brewers fans, 1 Reds fan, and 3 neutral Twins fans.

I even wore black to prove that point. Just here for fun and good baseball.  

We could see pretty decently down the first base line. And we were thankfully in the shade all day. Even though it was only 76 degrees, I'm sure we would've melted in the sun! 

Although there were plenty of hits, a lot on both sides were left on base. Brewers ended up squeaking by with a 1-0 win.

Poor Jim. But at he pointed out, the Reds are still in first place over the Brewers in their division.

Meanwhile, my Twins got slaughtered by the Orioles today so we slipped a half game behind first in the American Central. Good thing it's early July. Lots of baseball left.

And hopefully lots more fun with friends this summer! Hope you had a great weekend.

Having a Ball or Two

Having a ball this weekend. All kinds. Including golf. Wait. What?

Yup, Mr. Two New Knees finally got to swing at his friend's indoor simulator this afternoon. And he said it felt good. Yay for the little normal things! He's missing out on his winter indoor league, but maybe he'll hop aboard yet. We just want to be sure he's all good and recovered by baseball season.

Oh baseball. That's one ball not a part of this weekend. But basketball was...

Our Assumption Royals and Port Edwards teams traveled down to Fiserv Forum to play where the Milwaukee Bucks play. What a cool opportunity! It was an early afternoon game since the Bucks play tonight. We did not go since we pretty much had to commit a month ago and we didn't know what the progress of Jim's knee recovery would be by now. That's a long day to sit without elevation.

Still fun to watch on TV. And extra fun to see our boys come away with a convincing enough win that all of the bench got to see action on the pro court. Pretty, pretty nice.

We also didn't go because I knew I'd be tired after working all day yesterday, shooting pictures at a wedding, reception, and dance. Was at the church at 10:30 a.m. so it made for a long day. But it was very special to see a friend's son and his fiancee tie the knot – and capture as much of it as I could.

The bride was absolutely gorgeous. That's her on the right! 😊 Everyone had a ball – even cooperating for outdoor pictures in the 10-degree weather. Uff da.

Today was even colder so I stayed in. And after watching hoops, I finished season 3 of Emily in Paris (that ending, what?!) while Jim golfed, and we're watching football championships. Another ball. Oh, and I'm multi-tasking and crocheting with... you guessed it, a ball of yarn.

Alright, halftime is over. Gotta go. Hope you all have a ball this week!

Weekend Visiting Hours

We were blessed today to have two surprise visitors in the early afternoon, then four more visitors later in the day! 

For the past two days, my sister Rachel and our mom were down in the Milwaukee area. Rachel had a wedding and Mom was her plus-one. They added an extra day so Mom could finally see the painted chimneys around Greendale. She saw them on a TV show or in a magazine a few years back and has wanted to go ever since. Since all roads lead through Central Wisconsin, Rachel called me this morning on their way back up north to see if they could swing by and see us. Of course!!

Haven't seen them since Mom's birthday party in early April, so it was so nice! The four of us went to a nearby cafe for lunch and then I sent them home with fresh-baked Hornet's Nest Cake. It was a short visit since they had another four hours to go. But we got our hugs in!!

Later, the big boys and their special ladies came over for dinner. Clay actually prepared the prime rib on his fancy Traeger grill. He and his girlfriend Becca brought that out and I made a few sides to go with – including Apple-Snicker Salad. Gotta stick with the favorites. Thus, the Hornet's Nest Cake for dessert. (The irony of Clay being the area Orkin man was not lost. He could get rid of the hornets. AND the cake!)

Love this picture. Miss the baby brother but he is in Washington, D.C. for the next two weeks anyway.

It was just awesome to have a nice family dinner. Probably be some time before we can do it again. Hopefully before next year. It was Emily and Casey's last evening in Wisconsin, but we'll see them bright and early to take them to her parents in Minnesota.

If I haven't said it before, family time is the best. Planned or unplanned. 

Hope you're having a fantastic weekend, too!

The Out Back

I had ambitions after work today. I wanted to go out back get more yard work done. I honestly didn't know it was THIS warm out until I called it quits. Because, well, I was hot!

This is the BEFORE of what I was facing. See all those roots and stumps to the left of my new pile of heavy underground treasures (aka landscaping rocks from 2+ decades ago)? I needed to keep working on it since things are blooming everywhere.

And this is AFTER. So I did make progress! I still have more to do that will have to be for another day.

While I was out there, I was pleased to note that my bleeding hearts I transplanted last year came back! 

The only non-black thumb thing I think I've ever accomplished! Except for managing to keep hanging flower baskets thriving.

Didn't get my hanging baskets yet, but I do have a few wildflowers growing in the Out Back as well.

Mother Nature must know I like purple! 

After that fun work out, I showered and got some groceries and now am watching the Celtics-Bucks game in my air-conditioning. Jim had baseball up in Abbotsford this evening (tough 8-2 loss) but he should get back in town in time to catch the end. While most of the state is chanting "Bucks in 6," my lifelong Boston fan is praying for "Celtics in 7!"

We'll see who this Friday the 13th is unlucky for.

Be careful out there!

Big City Scenes

Oh I forgot to share some of the scenes from the big cities – Milwaukee and Madison. The photo above was the nice sunset on our way to eat in the Third Ward Explorium on Saturday night. Not time to dawdle and look long because the temperatures bleepin' cold and it was windy.

On Sunday, when we made our way through Madison to drop off our friends' son and girlfriend – both students there – we saw a few unique scenes.

First was this dog actually wearing shoes and a jacket, just like his owners. Except the owner was wearing a certain brand and style of winter coat that retails for $1,500. Yup. Only in the big city.

And then there were these cute little R2-D2 type robots all over the place. They were delivering pizzas! Not kidding. I wouldn't have believed it if we hadn't seen them on several streets around campus. 

Guess we're finally getting to the kind of living we predicted the 2020s would be when we watched The Jetsons. I mean, I guess we are ... sort of...

More over, big town. We've even got most of these gadgets in our little sections of rural paradise! Still, it's fun to see an unusual thing or two in these strange lands that make us feel "normal," just the way we are.

A Weekend to Rave About

A few months ago, hubby was under the influence – of friends – and ordered tickets to a country music concert in Milwaukee. Disclaimer here: Jim is a big fan of classic country and I listened to some country in the '80s and '90s, but not since. When Jim told me about the concert, I asked, "Who the heck is Cody Johnson?" 

Well, now I know.

The influential friends are country (and every kind of) musicians he's come to know though the guitar choir he sings with at church. Turns out quite a few were going so we just sort of hopped along for the ride. All totaled, there was close to 25 of us hitting the big city yesterday afternoon. 

The concert was at The Rave (yes, a play on words in my title today) and that in itself is an experience. Carter's been to a few concerts there, but we hadn't. Pretty cool venue but not one I'd go to again if I wanted to really SEE a singer. 

It's mostly standing room only with some reserved seating on the balcony level – which we'd recommend. 

Here's the crowd last night and ...

And here's where we were! It didn't take long to see why the crowd was generally half our age. It's tough on the ol' knees and backs to stand on concrete for 4 hours!

Anyway, onto Cody Johnson. Very talented singer and he put on a good show. A good LOUD show. Again, we're 100% showing our age! We remembered our masks but not our ear plugs!

For the vertically challenged, it was tough to see him at all times and I could for enough of the time. Just really good music and a few songs I could sing along to, thanks to a crash course in Cody Johnson this week!

Here's a few photos from my view, which was just far enough for me to realize my smart phone camera sucks.

Anyway, I suggest you look him up. Google his song "Til you Can't" and watch/listen. Great message and one I belted out singing along to. And still had in my head when going to sleep after 1 a.m. Oh yes, this was a good time! 

Today, we're all tired, of course. Got back late afternoon. Did a few projects and now I'm ready for bed. Early. But I'm gonna have to catch up on some Olympics first. Apparently those kept right on going while the rest of us were tapping our toes.