In and Out of Luck

Headed Up North yesterday morning. After the detours and road construction I encountered a few weeks ago, I decide to take a different route north-westward. I went up to Colby/Abbotsford to get on Hwy. 29.

And it was one lane each way 'til my Chippewa Falls exit for 53 North. Grrrr.

By the time I got to my sister Rachel's in Luck, I was ready for a nap!

I visited with her awhile (while she got me hooked on Sullivan's Crossing) and then went up to my sister Romey's near Grantsburg, where two other sisters – Rayna and Renell – joined us for a short visit.

From there I went to Adventures restaurant in Siren to meet my twin and some of her family for a belated birthday dinner. Coconut shrimp for the win! My nephew Tony was home visiting from Green Bay so it was nice to see him, too!

From there I went back down to Rachel's to stay at her place for the night. She's just down the street from our high school. Even at 8:36 p.m., it was still class of '86 degrees out. Ha. Yes, this heatwave is ghastly.

Got home late this afternoon. Yes, my A/C works in my car, but there were times I wondered. It was just that hot out! 

Hope you all are staying cool and hydrated. My vacation is already going by too fast! 

A Two-Some Weekend

Saturday was sort of like an episode of Wedding Crashers... but we were more like Wedding Surfers!

We happened to have two weddings on Saturday – one family, one friends. We somehow managed to get to both ceremonies. First our friends' daughter Allyse (one of Carter's prom dates from forever ago) at 1 p.m. When the ceremony start was delayed a bit, we wondered if we'd get to the other ceremony at 3 p.m.

Thank goodness both wete within 5 miles of Wisconsin Rapids.

After Allyse's absolutely beautiful wedding, we got out to Rooted in Red for Jim's goddaughter's Becca Austin's wedding. It's a nice venue for any outdoor ceremony, etc. The weather was just pleasant – not super hot. So nice. And so great to visit with Austin family and cousins.

Becca was the happiest bride!! Just loved to see her joy! 

After our dinner and some dancing – oh yes, two dances with hubby – we headed home and stopped at wedding No. 1 reception at The Ridges on the way. Got to officially congratulate the bride and visit with some friends. Full day of two-some fun!

Then this afternoon we started our "two-some" couple's league at Tri-City. The fun thing is that Jim and I go against another couple and we get to do a scramble format so we can keep the pace of play going. The non-fun thing is I realize once again my hubby is a phenomenal golfer and I am a complete dead weight. Unfortunately, according to couple's league rules, they have to use at least 3 of my drives in the 9 holes. 

I need more rounds than 2 before I can contribute, that's for sure! But somehow we came out ahead in the match tonight! Whew.

At least on a surprisingly cool Sunday I had my new Cutter and Buck golf pullover that I may or may not have bought myself on my trip to Minnesota last weekend. 88 degrees that day and yet I thought, "I should plan ahead!"

Very comfy and light but warm enough when whimps like me can't deal with wind and chill!

Side note: I love it and I'll be wearing it for much more than golf!

Carter called when we were putting out our last hole. Then we connected later when we were home. We're looking forward to seeing their place up in Duluth and showing them a few sights. How is it that all the weekends in the summer just fill up so fast?!

Hopefully something works out in July. Hubby hasn't been up there and I want to show both of them plus Mamie some of the must-see sights. 

At least we all agree it has to be a summer-type month.... not winter! Appreciate summer right now!

The Full Circle of Life

Today was definitely about navigating the full circle of life. This morning, I attended a baby shower for my co-worker and friend Hannah, who also happens to be daughter of one of hubby's high school classmates. That's how things work these days!

I love seeing the excitement of new moms opening gifts they have no idea may be life-changing... well, at least make the parenting thing go a little more smoothly!

And of course I won a raffle basket because, well, I always win!

I then moved from the beginning of life to the end... When I got home, Jim and I went to the visitation for our friends' dad.

As I mentioned last week, we are so blessed to have the Smits family as a second family to us! They really belong to Jim and his sister, but I'm just along for the ride. 💙 

After getting back from the funeral home, I went to the next lifetime milestone – high school graduation. I was blessed to serve as Ainsley's confirmation mentor at church and take her senior pictures. Turned out to be a pleasant afternoon visiting with her family members and my pastor and her husband. 

Just a weird span of covering so many aspects of life in one day! 

What I liked was the hope associated with a new baby and new life at college. What I appreciated was the sense of peace of losing a father and knowing he is no longer in pain. Thankfully we have God and great friends to get us through all of these!

Spring. For Real er No?

In my heart I know that our first full day of spring is fake. But it felt so good to embrace it anyway!

After an in promptu choir practice this morning, it was really just hoops and hoops and little outside exposure.

And I got to meet our new neighbor! She's so cute!

That was the highlight of the day other than remembering how to use my Cricut for an upcoming bridal shower. And visiting with my father-in-law. 

With the warm temps I did sit out on the deck steps for a bit. But dang, we really want this to continue! It won't of course. Despite the calendar. But please know, Mother Nature, that I truly liked you for one day!

A LOVE-ly Day

Happy Valentine's Day! We currently have a lovely floral display in our kitchen – thanks to the tulips from the girls last night and the roses from hubby this morning! Smells great. Now just gotta keep them all alive!

Sometime this morning, my sister Rachel texted me to see if we had plans for the day. Turns out that she and our sister Rayna were not anxious to get home to Wisconsin after a month-plus in Florida so they wanted a detour.

So they came from St. Louis and made it here to have a tasty Valentine's dinner at The Ridges. Rachel got her hair braided and beaded when they hopped over to the Bahamas last week. How fun!

After dinner, the four of us played cards – competing like it was an Olympic sport, naturally – then watched some real Olympic recaps so we could see our Wisconsin boy speed skate to another gold! That's so awesome.

My sisters are staying here tonight at the Bloody Run Creek Cabin and we'll figure out the mayhem of church choir and pancake breakfast and BINGO in the morning.

For now it's just nice to have a house full of love. Hope you can say the same! 

A Visit From the Wisemen... and Ladies

Just a quick note to say how blessed we're feeling after spending our family Christmas this afternoon/evening. All three wise guys were home at the same time! Hallelujah! 

We also had dad-in-law here along with Jim's sister and her family. Fully house with lots of great company and some good food if I do say so myself. After how many years, I finally got Jim's mom's dressing recipe right!! Now I just have to remember everything I did for the next time! (With perfect timing, Colin and Amy got us a dish towel with that recipe on it in Donna Mae's handwriting. Very touching!)

Had to be sure to get a cousins picture with all the C's: Clay, Casey, Carter, and Colin!

Opened presents later. The must have been very good for Santa to bring cans of PBR Beer Cheese Soup in their stockings!

Finally got to give the newest Mrs. Austin the sweatshirt I had a friend pick up for me in Austin, Texas. I have a matching one that I've been waiting to wear! What are Austin "vibes"? It's an Austin thing – you'd have to be one to understand.

And I'm so grateful I am.

We had a good amount of laughs reminiscing about a lot of childhood thing to make both Emily and Mamie feel even more connected to the family. It's what Christmas is all about. 

Let the merriment continue. Well at least through breakfast on Saturday. 😁💗

The Boys of Summer Meet the Field of Dreams

If there's one thing my father-in-law and his brother Joe loved (besides their wives and kids, that is) it was baseball! Uncle Joe coached baseball for decades. And I have more than a handful of pictures like this where the brothers are at Witter Field to "watch" an Assumption High School baseball game. Surely not there to supervise my hubby and his coaching skills, right?

Today, when I saw Uncle Joe was dressed in that same red Rapids baseball jacket as he lay in his coffin, I lost it. Another boy of summer has moved on to the Field of Dreams.

It was surreal to have almost a repeat of 2 weeks ago when we laid his wife – Aunt Janice – to rest. At her funeral it was nice to see dozens of Austin relatives we hadn't seen for quite some time. Today it was more of a "this is not how we should be getting together again" vibe. Lots of tears.

Still it was a nice service. Jim did the readings again and both he and Clay were pallbearers. Casey drove over from Minneapolis as well (Carter had sleet going on down in Dubuque to prevent his travels).

So after the sad stuff, we were blessed with some smiling time with our big sweetie grandpup Rey – and the humans Casey and Clay too.

I unfortunately had to finish my work day with some meetings. But I could hear three of the four brown-eyed bandits talking and laughing down the hall in the livingroom.

That, my friends, are the moments we need to cherish. Those are the memories that make us one day say, like today, "Remember that time we did this with Uncle Joe..."

I might just have to step and tell November "Move over, Gratitude Month. There are things happening every month that make us grateful."

Hug your loved ones!

Annual Checkup Challenges

So step one of the annual physical is getting some blood drawn to capture your current body situation as it relates to cholesterol and various unnamed things.

I fasted Tuesday night and went there Wednesday morning to "donate" blood. I have acknowledged many times over the years that I faint either at the sight of blood – or the lovely needle. So why stray from that pattern? 

So here I was and they poked my right arm... then my left arm... apparently I inherited tiny veins just like my previously mentioned tiny Hedberg eyes. Then I acknowledged I may faint soon and the ice pack for my neck became a reality. This is old habit for those of us who always faint.

Unfortunately, the phlebotomist then said the only option was the more painful blood draw from my hand. And it was. But I got a firm compression bandage and juice box out of it to keep me upright. Yay for physicals.

Of course, one of the outcomes of a physical at a certain age is the dreaded colonoscopy appointment. Sounds simple-ish but when you have to get in the drive-thru line at the pharmacy, you realize everyone on the planet needs their drugs, er meds.

I mean, I waited in line for close to 40 minutes for my "prep medications" and there were cars behind me. I feel bad for how much our society needs and relies on medications of some sort.

Unless we're all in line to clean out our plumbing in 2 weeks. 

Micro Family Reunions

I hope the above GIF works on this blog because it's so awesome and appropriate today!

So my first disclaimer is that as one of the youngest 2 of 8 kids and my dad was young in his 9-kid family meant my cousins' kids were pretty much close to my age – not my actual "first" cousins. 

So what year is it now? Oh wow. So some 5+ years ago my first cousin Gene's GRANDSON from my old Up North stomping grounds was attending college at UW-Stevens Point. Mere blocks from my workplace.

Then COVID happened and we didn't get to see each other as much as we expected. But I was there for his graduation. And now my cousin (or 3rd cousin once removed??) Luke is back at UWSP for his Masters program and student teaching. 

Fresh new neighbor-ish.

Me: "No pandemic now, we are taking advantage of this this time! I am your only family less than 4 hours away!"

So we met for dinner tonight.

It was awesome. He's fresh off a new engagement announcement (yay!) and just a few weeks into his new role at college. So easy to talk and talk for 90 minutes. I think our family has a few traits: We're well versed in the art of conversation. And many of us have tiny Hedberg eyes.

This has been a running a joke so here we are with our Tiny Hedberg Eyes...

And the alarming NOT Tiny Hedberg Eyes...

Laughing out loud. But I'm also smiling because a relative of mine raised a tiny human who grew up to be a great mom who raised another amazing human to appreciate family, humor and the art of conversation.

My heart is full and I can't wait for many more micro family reunions! 

How Great Thou Aunt

The best part about being an auntie is that you get to watch your little nieces and nephews grow up – then they have littles of their own and you get to watch it again!

Was excited to learn a few weeks ago that my nephew Travis and his family were going to be in my neck of the woods today on their way south. Not many family members come through here, that's for sure. So it was a treat. Of course I was happy to see Travis and Michelle but my great-nieces Kenlee and Khloe (above) kind of steal my heart! 💖

Since they were spending the night in nearby Plover, I thought I'd treat them to some time at our friends' store – Feltz's Dairy Store – where they can see cows through the store window and do some fun farm-like activities.

Since 2-year-old Khloe just learned to sing Old MacDonald, she was thrilled that was what was playing on the little merry-go-round. She bravely held onto Jake the cow so she could do actions while singing!

And Kenlee fed the bigger cow that they could also pretend to milk!

And then there was Buttercup, the biggest cow. A must-see must-photo opportunity. It burned off a little energy after their long drive anyway. If you haven't checked this place out, do so. Once school lets out, they also have a fun outdoor play area opening up. Shop local – entertain yourself locally.

From there we hopped over to Chili's since we figured they'd have something for every aged appetite! Good food. Good visit. And good reminder I better get in shape if we ever ever have grandchildren. I couldn't keep up. And this was in a restaurant! Ha.

Loved every minute of it. Seeing the grown-up dad version of the kiddo I saw the day he was born also melts my heart.

Treasure family time. Always!

The Clouds are Always Greener...

Usually the saying is about the grass being greener on the other side of the fence. But today, the unsual thing is the clouds in the weatherman's forecast being greener. I mean green as in RAIN, not snow or sleet. 

All day.

Since I had today off I opted for an oil change instead of a car wash (look how smart I am at the end of the year?!). Then sat inside and knocked off two DVR'd Christmas movies. Making progress there!

Late this afternoon, my nephew Tony (twin sister's son) arrived and is staying the night on his way from Up North to Green Bay. We went out to eat for a delicious (but super slowly delivered) fish fry at Ryder's Roadhouse. And now might play some cards as long as we're snowed, er rained, in.

I guess we should've left our rain gauge out. Hopefully it doesn't turn to ice overnight. If so, be extra careful out there!

Going Octo-Bananas

Who sets an alarm on a Saturday morning to get up and make a trifle? This girl! And yes, as shown by the photo, I've gone bananas!

At the request of my father-in-law, whose 87th birthday we celebrated today, he wanted something like the banana cream pie-type dessert his wife used to make. Thank goodness he was amenable to a dessert in the trifle format so I wouldn't have to compete with that memory. It was tasty. I'll share the recipe in a bit.

We went to lunch at Anchor Bay and he was surprised with a cupcake for dessert. We had a nice group – Baird and Sherry (you can see in the background), plus Colin, Amy and their kids, and Jim and I plus Clay and Becca – and Mr. Carter who arrived late last night!

We all came to our house after lunch to settle our full bellies and the have dessert. Dad looks pretty good for an octogenarian, doesn't he?

Tried to get a picture of the grandkids. You can see Carter and Colin cooperating in the back row but Eli, Dad, and Mya were looking elsewhere. Still, it's sweet. My favorite peoples.

By mid-afternoon the crowd had dispersed and Carter hit the road as well. It was so nice to see him for a short visit but it's also Mamie's birthday weekend so we understand why he wanted to head back.

Since we're laying low with an empty house, I figured I share what I threw together to make my first ever Go Bananas Trifle.

First of all, I could've baked a banana cake from scratch. But when we saw this I figured I can't compete with Dolly Parton on any level. So let's go with that. I baked that yesterday afternoon and today I sliced up cubes to make the bottom layer of the trifle.

Next layer was Banana Cream Pie pudding. I ran across the Snack Pack version before finding the instant version, so that's what I went with. Please know that if you try this at home you'll need to by 3 of these – 6 packs per layer. I sliced up some REAL banana and lay those pieces on top of the pudding layer.

The crunchy layer – as I call it – was Vanilla Wafers x 2. I used a rolling pin to crush up some of vanilla wafers pictured above and used a knife to slice up bits of the wafer cookies with vanilla creme.

That went onto the top of the pudding layer before I started again with banana cake cubes and repeated layers. The tip-top layer was whipped cream and some banana slices.

As a side option, I had both chocolate and strawberry syrup in case anyone wanted more of a "banana split" type taste. Overall, positive reviews. So go bananas! 

P.S. If anyone like banana cake, I've got about half of one left I could gift you with whipped cream or whatever!

London (jet) Bridges Falling Down

It's not often I have to set an alarm to wake up and watch the Vikings. But when I do, it better be worth it. 

And thank-SKOL-ly, today was!

Had to get up early enough to shower and get ready for church before sitting down for the 8:30 a.m. kickoff vs. The Jets in London. It was a great start and it was tough to trade the recliner for a church pew at 9:15 a.m. But witnesses can confirm I did! While I did have my phone on silent during church, I may or may not have been checking the score occasionally. We were kicking butt and I was missing it!

Raced home after to catch the 4th quarter and witness our defense saving our team that seems to be forgetting we play TWO halves. Grr. Thankfully, Aaron Rodgers could not lead his team to comeback victory. He was too close for comfort.

But in the end... we're 5-0, baby!

With an early game, it was the perfect opportunity to take advance of BINGO at Assumption. Didn't win anything but had a good time. 

This was as close as I got to winning the progressive coverall jackpot. Nobody did so that goes up to almost $2,800 in two weeks. It's already on my calendar.

That finished just in time for me to head over the funeral home at 3 p.m. for a visitation for our dear friend Dewey, who lost his battle with cancer last week. Jim was out of town at a Gene Watson concert (you probably have to Google it), so we paid our respects at different times. I found some friends to stand in line with because we have a ton of mutual friends. In fact, so many people, it took me 40 minutes to even get into the building. Obviously, Dewey was a kind, generous, and popular man – who impacted a lot of people in a special way. God, please bless his wonderful wife and family!

When I got home, I had to study a few minutes before heading out to a new type of volunteer work. I was on one of the panels interviewing young ladies (vying for a certain title) so they'd get real life experience answering questions and improving that skill before they face the real deal in a couple weeks. It was very interesting and I had a great time brushing up on those journalistic interview skills of mine! Can't wait to do it again.

For now, I need to brush up on that habit of getting 8 hours of sleep! The wind was so strong today, it blew us way closer to Monday than I was prepared for.

Be careful out there!

Sunrise, Sunset

I'm back in Wisconsin Rapids after a few days of my Home Health Nurse shift in my hometown. At least Luck treated me to a gorgeous sunrise off of Big Butternut Lake...

 

And a decent sunset off to the west of Rachel's place.

I was also treated to continuous surprises at Rachel's rockstar progress. And a chance to see every single sister over the course of my 3 days there! 

Got home to Rapids tonight and it seems like Facebook has deleted my account forever with no chance to appeal. So maybe no one will even see this blog. I'm pretty frustrated about that right now. I mean, what could a middle-aged woman from Wisconsin of all places do to "go against Facebook Community Standards"? If I didn't have connections with some people for senior portrait sessions this summer, I'd say screw it. But I do. So I'll see what I can do. Grrr. Way to screw up a positive 3 days!

So I guess I'll just hope for a pretty sunset here to ease my stress. I know – first world problems – but still! Ugh.

Weathering the Storms

My trip up to Luck and back can pretty much be illustrated in this photo of a very flooded farm field. Rain, rain, and more rain! Insane!

At home we got 2 inches overnight and I have no idea what they got at my sister's house, but it was 100000% humidity and wet garage floors today.

Our goal in "Luck Cardinal Country" was to move enough of Rachel's furniture out of her house and into her garage so she'll have room for a "hospital bed" in her living room and very few pieces of furniture in the way of her wheelchair - when she gets released from Regions Hospital in a week!

It sounds like good news but it's a bit disconcerting since she can stand on her right foot and leg but hasn't been able to take one step yet since she can't put weight on her left leg until August. Frustrating how quickly insurance companies ASSUME a person should be ready to go home. We'll all do what we can to make this transition work!

It was helpful that for the heavy lifting today that we had some strong Luck firefighters helping. (Flashback to my fun newspaper reporter days! IYKYK!)

Anyway, it's going to be a lot of "learn as we go" while we see how she adjusts. Rachel's doing so amazing, we don't doubt her determination. It's just, like I've said before, the little things we take for granted - like making a cup of coffee or heck, just showering. 

Continued prayers are always welcomed. 

P.S. We will have a benefit for her and her friend/passenger Brian in Luck in late October, so if you want to contribute anything toward raffle baskets (or create one), let us know. It's quite a ways away, but I'm mentioning it now as a reminder to get my crochet hook hookin'!

Some Bunny Loves You

Hubby texted me this backyard photo today and my first thought was, "Awww, some bunny loves us!" We can think that way because we don't have a garden and concerns he will nibble through it.

Instead, when Jim sent me the second picture, I thought, "Is there anyway you can order it to eat through those weeds he's trying to see over?"

No such luck. But I appreciated the cute photos.

Especially this week. Good grief, is it only Tuesday night? This has been a very stressful few days for reasons I can't blog about – for fear of offending the people who are contributing to my stress. But, I'm learning life lessons in patience. And learning that there's always some bunny out there who loves me.

Just need to focus on loving myself and trying to be the best version of Robyn that I can. And try to be that some bunny who makes someone's day brighter. Just like our little visitor.

May you all find positives in negative situations this week. Some bunny's got your back. And some bunny (this bunny) cares!

Miles to Smiles

 

We decided to celebrate our mom's 92nd birthday two days early for several reasons. One, it's hard to gather on a Monday. Two, some folks had Palm Sunday plans tomorrow. And three, half my family is under a winter storm storm warning Sunday into Monday. Something like 10 to 15+ inches possible. Depends on who you listen to.

So 6 of 8 R's, 2 spouses, and 1 grandchild gathered at my sister Rayna's in Siren. The usual 4-hour trek for us.

Lunch was some of Mom's old favorites – meatloaf, potatoes, baked beans, corn, and her classic strawberry Jell-O with slices bananas. Mom liked it. Great job, Rayna!

After lunch, Mom, per usual, was ready to play a game. Her "tell" when playing cards is to start humming when she has a good hand. All of her children are quite aware of this.

Today she says, "Who wants to play cards? I need practice humming!" I hope I'm that confident and sassy when I'm 92!

Although Mom started out strong, Carter ended up winning in the last hand. The way she's smiling, I don't think she minded. Time with any of her kids or grandkids is precious to her.

We managed to get home by 8 p.m. Daylight for most of the trip and a full moon chasing shadows for the last part. Thanks to Jim for driving. And thank you, deer, for staying in the fields and ditches.

Be careful everyone in the snow zone tomorrow!