My T-Shirt Era

For us working folk, there's not many casual days in our lives, if you think about it. Saturdays might be an occasion, but there's usually a little dressing up for church on Sundays. After yesterday's fun coincidence of matching my neighbor, this morning I thought, "I'm going to start wearing all these t-shirts I insisted on buying but don't get an occasion to wear."

First one off the pile – King Cone of course! It's a pretty cool shirt, if I do say so myself.

Don't worry, I'm not boring you with a picture everyday. Just had to prove at the same time that I am leaving my desk and getting out walking. A must-do when working at home can keep you chained to your desk. 

I discovered today that 3 laps around the neighborhood "larger circle" will net me 5,000+ steps. So that's a start anyway. Each lap is a nice short break. Just have to keep reminding myself to do it!

Today was also highlighted by military jet training overhead and sonic booms and a nice thunderstorm. All ending before Jim's golf league, naturally.

Also, thanks to the internet and livestreaming, I was able to watch my cowboy nephew Zach compete in the AQHA Versatility Ranch Horse World Championships in Amarillo, Texas. He's doing pretty good. Now I feel the need to watch The Man From Snowy River, which helped fuel his horse obsession as a young boy!

Don't be to jealous of my exciting life these days! 

Beating the Odds

Sometimes life is like the Kentucky Derby. We all start out with the notion we all have an equal chance at surmounting our challenges.

Even when we're aways into our journey, we think we have a chance.

And sometimes we can overcome it. Not be a nose, but maybe by a nostril. Pretty insane.

Congrats to Mystik Dan for winning the Kentucky Derby. 

And congrats to my sister that today – 5 weeks after her head-on collision – she has her IV's and her feeding tube removed. If anyone has beat the odds and deserves a crown of roses around her neck, it's Rachel. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you, for all your prayer and positive thoughts. Thanks to you, she keeps beating the odds. 

Weekending Right

When the snow is melting and the sunset reflects off ice in the fields, you know we're having a mild February. 

When you step out of a saloon and there's a horse tied up to a dumpster, you know you're from Wisconsin. Or a few other places.

Last night, Jim and I picked up our friends Craig and Sara to go to the Assumption boys game up at Auburndale. Along the way we stopped for a fish fry at the infamous Sherri Land Ballroom. Or I should say bar and ballroom. No one was dancing. We were just eating. I've never been there but it's the hotspot of activity for Sunday polka bands!

To continue my weekending vibe, I did not even take my camera to the game. Just took the night off and spectated. And our boys lost. I guess they do better when I'm courtside!

Afterwards, we stopped at Patsy's bar and bowling alley in Rudolph for a few hours. I was really seeing the highlights of Wood County! Late night, slept fast.

Had book club first thing this morning. Then my friend Cindy and I went from there to the Empty Bowls soup and raffle fund-raiser. Pretty bowls, delicious soup and yes, I am a basket winner. Keeping that streak alive!

The rest of the day was cleaning out some "old stuff" from our bedroom – things we decorated with 20 years ago just have to go – as we prepped for the Empty Nest Shuffle. We got Carter's bunkbeds and mattresses up to the garage. A friend is picking them up Sunday evening. We'll move our queen bed down after one more night's sleep on it. And our king will be delivered tomorrow afternoon! 

We both realized we have a pile of books by our sides of the bed so I guess I should get reading before I think I need to buy more books! I also realize I could use about a week off just to keep this "out with the old" streak going, too! 

For now though... I'm weekending. And learning how to do it right.

Back to My Snow-Covered Roots

It was so fitting that our family Christmas gathering was in Mora, Minnesota, since all of us "original kids" in my family are three-fourths Sweden. 

This 22-foot-tall Dala Horse statue downtown is a replica of the Dalecarlian horses hand carved in Mora, Sweden. And stands a reminder of the community's (and my family's) cultural heritage. Like I said, fitting for a gathering of the other roots in my family tree.

Of course, Saturday dawned sunny and perfectly blue skies after the treacherous Friday night. The snow totals looked something like this:

Not a ton in Rapids, but enough that we're extremely grateful to the next-door neighbor for snowblowing us out so we could arrive home and not have to dig ourselves in. Although our route Friday night caused some serious angst, we were glad we went north first, then west. Had we gone our usual route through Hudson and up, I don't know where we would've ended up. They got 17.9 inches there!

So we had a nice easy drive from our hotel in North Branch up to Freddie's restaurant in Mora. It was a fun relaxing time with a buffet of food (none of us had to make!), our usual family program, and time for games and visiting.

Festive sisters Nell and Ro.

Decorating gingerbread men and women.

RoAnn and her family hosted and it was great! Here they kick off the program. Yup, there was even a stage and microphone available. Like the place was built for us!

I convinced Jim, Carter, and Mamie to participate in the program with me, doing a "2021 by the numbers" thing. Mom was of course the star of the show, singing a some she wrote for a previous program and reminding us all we are "hers." Blessed to have her for another Christmas!

Game time and who has the winning card?! We know where we get our competitive streak!

Made my twin a "Lene's Hallmark Movie Mug" mug!

Silly Siblings Part 1.

Silly Siblings. Part 2. (AKA Silly SKOL Sisters!)

Hit the road home around 4-ish. Had clear roads all the way back the Wisconsin Rapids. Whew.

When we got home, we celebrated Christmas with Mamie since we won't see her on Christmas. She's modeling the vintage Mountain Dew hat Jim picked out and the pink and orange (her fave colors) blanket I crocheted her!

Carter and Mamie headed back to Potosi this afternoon and I caught up on a few things that I couldn't concentrate on Friday morning while packing and fretting over the forecast. I may just sit and watch TV this evening. 

Anything good on?

Back in the Saddle

Feeling a little more human each day. Only needed a few doses of caffeine to get through the work day. But will fall asleep in no time tonight!

Had a fun evening shooting some pictures of my friend's daughter competing in gymkhana at the riding club down the road. Still not exactly sure what a gymkhana involves, but I know you ride your horse in circles or around barrels or around poles. And you try to do it fast.

Colleen's daughter Elsa was riding her pretty horse Lena in the younger age group (think grade school). A few of my faves from tonight..

Love both their faces on this one!

It was good to be back in the saddle, so to speak, shooting action photos. I was out of practice! Can still handle selfies, though...

Glad Colleen was in the neighborhood. It's been 8 month since I left my job and I miss her! And a handful of others, of course.

Why the long face? It's my last day in my 40s. How did that sneak up on me?

To make the most of my evening awake, I made a trifle treat for work tomorrow. Coconut Dreams, I call it ...

Chocolate cake, coconut creme pudding, crushed Samoa cookies, whipped cream, crushed coconut wafer cookies, repeat. I love coconut. So yum. Just yum. Good thing calories don't count on my birthday.

And good thing I could stay up 'til after 9 to get things done. Slowly but surely, my body will be back on central time! In the meantime, I'll be feeling my age.

Sisters in Scandi-hoovia :: Day 6 (Father's Day)

It's not a Scandi-hoovian myth that too much fresh air makes you tired. It's fact.

In fact, we packed so much into our time outdoors that our morning activities seem like days ago already! Not complaining one bit. It's a good kind of tired.

This morning, Raylene and I went off the beaten path and went for a pre-breakfast walk-run-rock climbing-hill climbing adventure. Yes, it was as tiring as it sounds. (Side note: Don't ever complain when things go down hill. It can be a lot harder going up hill!)

Well, OK. We weren't blazing completely new trails. Just the most difficult one.

There is an old water mill community of perhaps 3 buildings called Rottle. That was at the bottom of a windy hill. With a few steep parts.

Oh look. A bridge! Let's cross it and keep on going.

There were pretty flowers...

And pretty steep hills on that side, too. We somehow ended up by a road. But since we didn't know if it led back to the hotel and we didn't know how to pronounce the name of it either, we turned around and retraced our steps.

 Every single one.

Uff da! We made it!

Little did we know how closely we escaped the rain. Got on the bus and went to the Granna harbor to get on the ferry and didn't catch the sun for man, many hours! Thankfully, our leaders Martin and Anna gave us all rain ponchos. Practical AND stylish. You'll see! And we couldn't complain. They have been waiting something like 7 weeks for rain!

We took the ferry -- large enough to fit the bus! -- over to Visingso Island.

Got to see two castle ruins there. The first one was the site of the very first royal castle in Sweden in the 1100s.

Yes, that's my twin, taking a short cut. Gotta keep my sisters on leashes!

See what I mean by stylish? Check out that thin rail behind me. I think the rain was so bothersome that I forgot to be scared of heights!

Second castle we saw had a bit more to it. It was built in the 1600s. Can't tell, but it's still raining!

We got a break from the rain for a lunch of meatloaf... and potatoes, of course! Then we went on a horse and carriage ride. It was like a covered wagon you might see on hayrides or pumpkin patch tours. We were tucked in with tarps over our legs, too, so we could stay dry. One of our stops was the Kumlaby Church, which is one of the oldest and best preserved medieval churches in Sweden.

 

The church was founded in the middle of the 12th century, so even though I can't read the tombstones, I am sure there are some interesting characters buried there.

 Vikings of some sort, no doubt!

Another neat church we trotted by.

I was on a different wagon than my co-travelers. Here is the wagon ridden by Raylene, Rayna, and her friend Sue.

After the ride, we said goodbye to the horses, hopped on the bus and rode the ferry back to Granna for a few free hours to shop. If you didn't know (and I sure didn't), this is where red-and-white-striped peppermint candy got its origins. I know. I was thinking North Pole, too.

So candy cane-like peppermint sticks are big deal here. When you see the word "polka" it is referring to peppermint. Just a little Swedish language lesson for the day.

In all the shops, we got to peer through windows at handsome young Swedes and watch them make the candy. Very cool.

 These were in Swedish colors!

So many varieties and the only word I recognized was polka!

I didn't get too much candy but discovered I need a bigger carry-on for the trip home. Isn't this guy cute?

Not sure if it's required to kiss him for luck, but I did anyway!

And this one will probably have to go in my checked luggage! For real, I am so an HOME here. Nine out of 10 business -- including gas stations -- have ice cream or gelato or both. HEAVEN.

Speaking of heaven... we took a moment to think of Dad. I brought him with and I am sure he is with us in spirit as we visit his half-homeland (he's half Norwegian, too). In fact, the fact that the sun came out was a good indicator.

And stayed out! What a glorious day!

And a pretty spectacular ending, too! Well, at 10:15 p.m. anyway.