Close Doesn't Count

The saying goes that "close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades". It does not count in BINGO and doesn't count when we say it's almost a nice day.

For the last weekend of summer, we were robbed. Rain all day yesterday again forced us indoors. We racked up 2 1/8 inches between Friday and Saturday, according to my rain gauge tender. Yuck!

Today was church, a meeting with our new choir director (a talented college kid!), then onto BINGO.

I wore my mom's rings to try to channel her energy. She was always lucky – just like her mother (Grandma Flossie). I even have Royal Blue nails for Homecoming Week.

It did not work. Here I just needed that stinkin' B15 forever to form the A (for Assumption). Close does not count. Winless in everything today.

Oh except for my Vikings squeaking out a victory. Must be my purple dobber! 

Got home and bundled up and went for a walk. Did not get far. The cold wind was making my eyes water. And hubby was golfing all afternoon in this! Of course he said it was fine. No such thing as a bad golf day no matter what the score (or weather) is.

Since he and his buddy were eating at the golf course, I invented a little sandwich for myself. Pulled pork topped with Japanese BBQ sauce and honey goat cheese. Yum yum! 

Now I have to brave this "summer weather" (calendars lie) and get in a few more steps.

Hope you had a more enjoyable last weekend of summer!

Ditto Day with Extra

While today's schedule was pretty similar to yesterday's, I had some extra fun – and sadness – at church today. Today was our last day of "work" for Dave, our choir director of 14+ years. And as a grand finale, we sang Handel's Messiah (aka The Hallelujah Chorus)!

Not to sound like a choir geek, but this has been one of my favorites to sing since I was a freshman in high school which (check history books) was long before some of you were even born! It was a staple in our high school choir Christmas concerts. Then fast forward 30-some years and I learned it was a "grand finale" as well in the Assumption Golden Mass right before Christmas break. I've never joined them on stage, but I know my soprano part to sing from the seats.

This is the You Tube link to the service. Fast forward to 01:24 in the service for our performance. I'm the short one far left in the front row. I was ready to cry by the last 4 notes. I love that song. And we'll all miss our director! We had a nice pot luck brunch after church. 

Then this afternoon we had two graduation parties this afternoon. One found us a Lake Arrowhead and the other was just a mile-plus away. I came home before hubby because I needed to search through 5 years of softball images for a few "particular photos" before playoffs on Tuesday. Found 'em!

Side note! It was summer-like today!! Still 74 degrees at 8 p.m. I'll take it. Tomorrow I'll have time to actually relax and enjoy. Gotta love 3-day weekends no matter the serious reason for them!

Hope you're taking time to relax and convince Mother Nature this is how we launch summer in Wisconsin!

Well That Was Fun

I could dub thee Sarcastic Sunday. Because some parts were not that fun.

Take church choir for example. There were 4 us. Not a fancy barbershop quartet. Just 2 men, 2 women. Not the strongest singers. Myself included in that. And our director sang with us to bring it up to 5. Yes, it was just the melody for On Eagle's Wings. But still. Cringe. 

But then it got fun. 

Ran up to Herrschners for some baby blanket yarn (bless them for Sunday hours) and worked on blanket #3 (boy them #2) while watching golf.

I love watching The Masters – especially on Augusta Sunday. And frankly, I want it to be a close competition. And today delivered big time. So many lead changes and people climbing the leaderboard. In the end Rory repeated for a back-to-back win, but he tried to blow it on the last hole – driving it into the woods!

I noticed his daughter Poppy is getting big. Yes, I do "know" some of the kids. I just wonder if they understand what the big deal is when Dad always wins things! You know?

And as the leaderboard was heating up, so too were the temperatures. The windows in the house and the screen door were letting in fresh air! Also, maybe something related to pollen. Not pollen yet, but I sneezed no less than 20 times this afternoon/evening. Grrr.

Did get out for a jaunt around the neighborhood after golf concluded. 

There was a hen party going on around the bend but since I just saw 5 out of 6 sisters the other day, I kept on walking. C'mon, that's funny, right?

Ok. Break time is over. Time to get back to hookin' something! Hope you had real FUN at some point today!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! He is risen! He is risen indeed!

This morning I sang with the choir at both of our church services. Hubby had his service last night so this morning and he our brother-in-law helped clean up some of the fallen branches (from that ice storm) in my father-in-law's backyard.

There's still so much wreckage everywhere around here!

This afternoon we drove down to Lake Wisconsin in the Lodi area to meet Carter and Mamie for a late lunch. It was a good halfway point for us both.

Food was great but how did they know from my simple order of chicken tenders that I am a Picky Eater?!? They are not wrong. But what?! Crazy. And the source of a good laugh amongst us all.

So great to deliver Easter "baskets" and visit with the kiddos! They had a positive time in Duluth despite the wicked weather. They're pretty excited about the possibilities so we, in turn, are excited for them! Just a nice lunch!

I don't think we've been in that exact area of Wisconsin before. It was a nice sunny drive with some pretty views, too.

And some unusual ones. Yup pelicans in Wisconsin! You can see the white cap wave there. It was quite windy out but for some reason they'd rather fly here than a beach in Florida?? That's where the phrase "bird brain" must come from!

Anyway, despite not having a full family gathering, it was a blessed Easter. Hope you all can say the same!

Love Favorite Feelings

Our nephew Colin's wife does an amazing job each Christmas of creating a family calendar of sorts for the next year. 

So when Endless January did indeed finally end, it was nice to see cute pictures of him with his family at the racetrack, with his mom at the awards ceremony, and just a random shot of his favorite uncle and aunt at the Nashville Music Hall of Fame Museum.

I like the title: You are my favorite feeling.

What's your favorite feeling? Does it involve a person, place, or object?

I can tell you I love goodbye kisses in the morning from my husband... but also loved the feeling of eating that Andes Mint Chocolate Cupcake at work 2 hours later today (Bless you, 2 1/2 Cups Bakery in Marshfield!)

I also love when people drool over my trifles, genuinely appreciate my photography, and give me the best hugs ever (usually my sisters – there's no holding back!).

But it depends on the day, doesn't it? 

On many Sundays my favorite feeling is nailing our choir song in church. Then later hanging out with BINGO friends I didn't even know a year ago – whether we win or lose.

On Mondays, my favorite feeling is sleeping until the last possible minute to just cross the hallway into my office to work! No shower. Maybe comb my hair.

On Tuesdays, it's going into the office and seeing the people I sincerely like and respect, who care if I had a decent weekend and days out of the office.

Wednesdays typically mean my monthly Girls' Night Out dinner then church choir squad. (Yes, a squad. We're that cool.)

On Thursdays, my favorite feeling only applies in the summer when I have my Foxy Ladies Night golf league.

Friday it's ditto of Monday with an occasional fish fry sprinkled in.

On Saturdays, my favorite feeling is no alarm and no plans. 

So yes our favorite feeling can vary by the calendar. But mine, no matter what, is just feeling loved, respected, and appreciated – no matter who or what prompts that feeling! 

Hope you all have some favorites that never let you down!

Flew the Warm Nest

15 degrees below zero with a "feels like" temp of 25 below was not enough to cancel church this morning. So I bundled up and headed out. The only reason I flew the coop, er warm nest, was so I could sing with the rest of the choir and what I expected to be a handful of brave souls in attendance.

Turns out, we had a big crowd. I know part of that was because we had our Annual Meeting immediately following the service – and we needed a quorum. We had it! Nothing controversial this year. And more importantly, I didn't get talked into serving on a committee or something in the last minute. It's hard to say no in front of a crowd, you know.

Did a little grocery shopping on my way home (as long as I was out). Then we pretty much lazed about watching the NFL Championship games.

I am not a Patriot fan but I am glad they beat the Broncos. We Viking fans have no love or respect for their coach Sean Payton after "BountyGate" years ago! Grrr.

Now it's halftime of the Rams-Seahawks game. Jim and I can't decide if we should be rooting for or against Darnold – or former quarterback. He had the talent with us. But now I'm thinking I should pin some blame on our offensive line for not giving him time to make throws like he is with the Seahawks. 

Not going to overthink it. Just hope for a close, interesting game.

 

Sisterhood Hump Day

It's much easier to get through the workday when you've got time with some of your "sisters" afterward.

Tonight our Girls' Night Out group met for dinner at the Barbecue Shack (formerly Danny K's) for our January outing. This is where I ate with Jim and the boys Thanksgiving weekend.

Last time I had a brisket sandwich. Tonight my friend Jenny and I both tried the Pulled Pork Tater. An extra large baked potato topped with butter, sour cream, cheese, and pulled pork. We got to choose the mild, medium or hot BBQ sauce to go on top. I liked the hot but the medium had the most delicious flavor. There were 6 of us and we all agreed it was good!

After that I went to see my soprano sisters at church choir practice. Our numbers get pretty small in the winter, that's for sure. But there were 8 of us crossing our fingers we can all show up Sunday morning to sing! Between cold weather and coughs & colds, you just never know.

I'll tell you, that hot sauce certainly cleared my sinuses. Might have to try that trick Sunday morning.

Do what you can to stay warm at least in the coming days! 

Grin and BEAR it

 

We had brutal wake-up temps today when you took windchills into effect. But since I had to sing at my church and Jim had to read at his, we had to brave it.

In our heated vehicles, that is. We're not terribly brave after all.

After church and a little shopping, I headed back into town for BINGO. Hey winning the $1,400+ cover-all jackpot would've made it worth it.

Came up well short again. Story of my life. Nobody got cover-all in 54 calls or less so that jackpot will keep growing for the next session in a few weeks. Nice to see friends anyway!

Came home and sort of watched the Patriots-Houston game. Houston really choked.

While hubby got out the leaf-blower... yes! 

It works magically when we just have a dusting. While he did that, I baked a cake for trifle and started a new blanket. A baby one this time.

All while somewhat cheering the Bears on to support my father-in-law, a life-long fan. After being out in cold just a teeny bit. I can't imagine playing in that cold! And then overtime! Oh, Bears. So close. Guess our Central Division will not be represented any further. 

That's the playoffs.

Now back to your regularly scheduled... winter! Ugh. Cold tomorrow. Be careful out there!

She Never Sleeps

Mother Nature must have the same problem as us women of a certain age have. We can't sleep for crap. Otherwise, why would she be up and about and constantly making more WINTER?!? Dang, girl, take a Tylenol P.M. or something!

Of course, that doesn't work for me most times anyway.

Not looking forward to snow after today's very cold and super windy day.

I regretted letting my gas tank get low because I had to fuel up after choir practice tonight. And just about froze. For real! My teeth were chattering and I was chanting "Just 5 gallons, just 5 gallons. No more." That took long enough!

I even had to put my winter coat on for that. And that usually happens only half a dozen times all winter!

Just be careful out there. We probably have to survive a good 60-90 more days of this.

Thanks, no thank, Mother... Nature!

Chance of Accumulation

Had to get up a bit early today since we had a short choir practice before church since we were off from practices during the holidays and wanted a great performance. Naturally! I was still a bit stuffed up – including my stinkin' ears – but went anyway since I also had to read in church today. 

No one fired me from these two volunteer positions so I guess I did OK.

Our last Vikings game of the season was on TV since, well, we were hosting the Packers. We won, but not an exciting game. And it would have been better for our Draft situation if we had lost. Oh well, SKOL!

After that I switched onto craft mode. Not crocheting today. My big project I INTENDED to attack on my week off was tackling my office a.k.a. Oh My God Room a.k.a Scrap Cave. Which I obviously was too sick and weak to do. But I did make some more progress today.

I have a pile of "to donate" scrapbooking paper that continues to accumulate. It there was something unique, I offered if for fellow scrap friends on Facebook and so far have most of that claimed for. Still have a ways to go.

Why get rid of it? First of all, I will never admit I have "enough" scrapbooking paper or that "I don't need more." But some of this I've had for 20-plus years – a lot were free samples when I edited scrapbooking magazines back in my "best job ever" days – and it's just sat there "in case" I needed it for this page or that. 

And that hasn't happened yet. LOL.

So next step it choosing which "organization" or whatever would really use this stuff. I've been given a few ideas, so I'll see what's the easiest for me. Because if this hoarder-in-the-making is willing to let something go, she better have an easy way to do it!

But speaking of accumulation...

In addition to those icicles hanging from our still sexy soffits (top photo), we have a chance for so much more. I love the color purple but it is never a good thing on radar. It's accumulating right now and we'll have another round Monday night into Tuesday morning – when I actually have to drive into work.

Not fun. Be smart and stay safe, everyone!

Solstice Shopping and Singing

 

Happy Winter Solstice! Although officially today, I'd almost argue that yesterday and today seemed equally short when it comes to the "to do" and "tis done" lists.

Yesterday was a shopping whirlwhind. I went to the farmer's market/winter's market in Stevens Point in the morning because a new coworker was exhibiting his woodworking there – including something on my final list. 

Then I heard from the woman who successfully won a trifle of mine in a silent auction earlier this year. She'd like that plus an extra one she'll pay for. This coming weekend. Since my 2nd trifle bowl is MIA, I went to Goodwill in Point/Plover, Walmart, Kohl's and Target to see if I could find one. No luck.

Got home in early afternoon and showered (finally, ha) and got myself ready for an afternoon and evening of music.

First stop was the 4 p.m. mass at St. Philip's in Rudolph where a few of us (well hubby mainly and me by default) sang along during the service. Then it was off to Wausau to hear our friend Kat sing with STEEM and fun accompaniment by the Neenah high school symphony group.

A group of us went last year and it was so enjoyable to listen to – especially when you know one of the rockstars.

Jim's high school classmate Kat (Kathy) is pictured 3rd from the left.

Great to see/hear her solo performance. And since we've seen/heard her perform in several bands over the years, we could pick out and appreciate her beautiful voice throughout! A great concert for sure.

As a bonus, I ran into one my former co-workers at my current company. He has since moved onto TV only and is loving his gig in Salt Lake City, Utah. My work "sons" are all growing up!

Today was another day of shopping and singing.

Sang in choir and church and then went shopping to prepare (the best I could) for hosting Austin family Christmas later this week. I think I got most things. Shopping among thousands, I swear. Will have to reevaluate on Monday.

In the mean time, we got a Vikings win but I'm just hanging on for my fabulous fantasy football team to advance to our finals. We'll see if Santa grants one or both of those pending wishes or not.

Tell Me it's Finally Above Freezing

This is my "Tell me it's above freezing in Wisconsin winter without telling me the temperature" photo. 

I knew on the way to work that on the way OUT of work, I'd have to get gas or risk the Low Fuel light humiliation. That's when I realized we actually had a surge from sub-zero a few days ago to 40 degrees ABOVE zero.

Now you see the evidence! 😀

It was a whirlwind of a day. Got to work early to get work done but then stayed late to help wrap presents for the family our Marketing Dept "adopted" through Operation Boot Straps. Also where I confirmed I am a bit of a gift wrapping perfectionist with advice from my mother in the back of my mind. In the best possible way.

I'll admit when our new hire on the writing team volunteered to help – but didn't know how to wrap a present – I was a bit surprised and challenged but realized quickly I could teach a class on how to wrap presents! So that's my post-retirement plan.

Which based on current work stress I sure hope falls in 4 years, 192 days, and 1 hour. Not that I'm counting down or anything!

After work and wrapping, I sort of sped (don't tell the officers) to Gordie's on Rapids' west side for our monthly Girls Night Out at 5:30. I was slightly late. By the time I got my food, I got a few bites and had to box it up to head to choir practice.

We're singing Sunday, Christmas Eve (2 songs) and January 4. So this was a longer practice since the next 2 Wednesdays are holidays. I am sure we have it down and will entertain the large audience of church choir fans. Ha.

Hubby also had his Christmas practice at his church. Based on our post-work schedules I think I'll see him late Thursday night. We can't ignore that hockey photos have also sneaked into the schedule!

Embrace the "warmth," people!

Micro Temperature Multi-Tasking

 

I almost think that if it was a was a work day and we woke up to 10 below zero, we both might have stayed at home. But it was a Sunday and we both had to ding in our church choirs. So we warmed up our vehicles, and that's what we did.

And we survived just fine.

Since my one-loss fantasy football team is on bye and my real-life NFL team doesn't play until tonight, I decided to get my work secret Santa shopping completed. After I stopped home and layered up with long underwear, that is. I had gotten a few things awhile back, but today's stops included Home Depot (don't ask), Walgreens and Dollar Tree.

I should have started at Dollar Tree based on the prices of gift bags, etc. Duh me.

Got home and have watched a little bit of football while trying to wrap up a high school basketball design project – and prepare for my book to be discussed at tomorrow's Book Club meeting. 

Never underestimate the power (and sometimes stress) of multi-tasking. 

I even did my festive nails this afternoon to look like I'm 100% in the holiday spirit (whether that's true at work or not.).

At the end of the day, let's all just focus on staying warm and safe!

Choose Your Luck

Being from Luck, Wisconsin, I have had the occasion to be "in Luck." It doesn't always equate to a lucky streak, though.

Case in point, last evening. I stopped at the library on the way to choir practice to see if maybe they'd have our December book for Book Club. Then, there it was – on the Lucky Day shelf! Whoot!

But then when I got back to my car, I thought, did I just use up my luck on that book and those lottery tickets I just bought won't win me anything? The answer is yes, that's exactly what happened. Dang.

I did have a fortunate – I won't call it lucky – turn of events after that, though. 

When I got to practice, I got a text from hubby that he was going to the Springsteen movie he wanted to see. I did, too, so I replied, "Darn choir practice!" But then only 2 other people showed up besides me and the director so he said, "You might as well go join Jimmy at the movie!"

And since the theater is like 5 blocks from my church, I only missed the first 5-10 minutes.

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere is a biographical drama which focuses on the making of the 1982 album Nebraska. I mean I knew older songs like Born to Run, etc., but I honestly didn't fall into fandom with him until I was in high school and his 1984 Born in the U.S.A. album became the first vinyl record I bought!

So while I liked the movie, I didn't honestly love it. Unfortunately, it was pretty darn depressing. So in essence, it successfully reflected a dark period of his life with an alcoholic and abusive father, but there wasn't a balance of lighter moments like we've experienced in Bohemian Rhapsody or the Rocketman Elton John story. 

Wow. I just realized I'm coming off as a cynical movie critic! See it if you love The Boss because you'll love and respect him even more.

And I'll let you know in 14 days or less if I give my book thumbs up!

That Odd Mix of Summer, Turkey Day and Christmas

What a strange seasonal weekend! Saturday dawned with summer-like temperatures and I was excited for some time with Mr. Deck Chair! 

Beware of roadside turkeys first!

Then in the mean time, there was shopping for Christmas cookie exchange ingredients – and supporting our community's Best Christmas Ever endeavor for families in need.That turned out to be fun. 

I convinced the Grinch that no one could silence me from spreading Christmas cheer for all to hear!

And he reminded me, "Does your husband know you're sitting on another man's lap?" LOL.  Also, he didn't care if I was good this year or not. So kids got a free pass in that department!

They had a good 100+ raffle baskets and your friend Lady Luck won two of them! Including some Tupperware EZ Speedy mixer thing that more than covers the cost of raffle tickets I purchased.

Then last night we re-joined AHS classmates (plus) to hear our friend Lance Black sing. This was at 17sixteen, the way former Baker Street Grill. He was amazing as always and it was great to see friends!

Today was literally both of us singing in our respective church choirs and watching football. Because, guess what, the weather turned quite November-ish again – despite the sun. So we stayed inside.

P.S. I did sneak one Hallmark Christmas movie in yesterday... and I'm pretty sure I can get another one in tonight!

Northern Lights Envy is a Thing

I was so frustrated with our cloud cover on Bluejay Drive last night. I literally stepped outside every few hours to hopefully catch sight of the Northern Lights.

Especially after viewing stunning photos from family Up North in Wisconsin and from the Twin Cities on up in Minnesota (like my niece's photo above). So lucky! So envious.

And I'm not kidding that there were clouds at 9 p.m., 10 p.m., and 2 a.m. But I could see something was hiding behind them!

Then.... shout out to Mr. Tiny Bladder for awakening my body at 5 a.m. I look out the bathroom window and see... stars! Holy crap! No clouds.

So I run out the front door and onto the driveway in my slippers and PJ's and finally caught a beautiful view above our tree line!

It was a brilliant pink! And because I was not exactly dressed to hop in the car and find an unobstructed view in an open field somewhere, I don't know if our pinks were attached to any greens like other photos I viewed. 

In retrospect, I should have. Because I didn't fall back asleep anyway for my 6:20 alarm.

So tonight I caught colors early...

As in sunset colors on my drive home from work. But because the Northern Lights are supposed to be visible like everywhere tonight, I will try again. Between sunset and choir practice. Then between choir practice and realistic bedtime.

Good luck to all of us Northern Lights dorks! 📷

Close Doesn't Count

The good news is that both hubby and I made it to church and sung in our choirs and coughing wasn't an issue! About time.

The bad news is that some things didn't go quite as we wanted after that.

I've been batting a thousand at BINGO this fall. Two wins in two sessions. But today this was the closest I got with one to go during Ring Around The Free Space.

There goes my streak! The only saving grace (besides having fun with my BINGO babes) is that no one won the Progressive Jackpot in the last coverall game so that'll be up to close to $4,000 in November! I'll just keep crossing my fingers!

The other negative, of course, is that while I was betting the odds, my Vikings were just odd. Ugh. I hate losing by one score! But since I didn't watch it personally, maybe the dirty Eagle were just stinkin' good. I have no excuse.

Unrelated... My undefeated Swedish Chef Mafia fantasy football team is sitting at a 99% chance to win. So there's that.

The WIN though is that I took a few pictures of fall colors yesterday. Because today we had so much wind the trees are quickly turning naked!!

And Jim was on the mission to bag them up! We may need one more round in about a week, but that's fine. This is the only case today where "close to being done" actually counts.

Waiting For The Magic To Happen

 

I almost titled this blog "Ditto" because not much has changed from yesterday. The Magic Pills we finally got late last night from the pharmacy didn't exactly kick in and cure everything. Or much.

Yet.

We are terrible patients with no patience. 

So for caution's sake, I professionally distanced myself from work and stayed in the home office today. I socially distanced myself at choir practice, sitting 3 pew rows back during practice. (Jim tackled practice at his church tonight as well.) 

And maritally distanced myself as both Jim and I pretty much stayed to our own offices/separate rooms. Based on our back-and-forth hacking heard across the house, we're still on the Respiratory Struggle Bus. Where is that darn next bus stop so we can get off??

Thanks for the kind words and prayers. We're adults. We've got this. I just happen to have a blog that allows me to whine about it. SORRY!!

Be careful out there!