TGIF :: Thank God it's Finally Stopped Raining

Woke up to a little bit more than morning dew today. Unless we can measure dew in inches! 

It rained hard during the night. Really hard. At 8 a.m., we had more than 4 inches and it was still coming down. Looks like we tapped out at a little more than 4.25 at our house. And that was almost "officially" accurate. See...

The only time our little unincorporated wide spot in the road gets official mention is when Kellner gets a lot of rain or snow or heat. So there we are at 4.30 inches overnight. Wow. 

At one point I could hear Mr. Deck Chair calling Noah. I swear! 

And the other phone calls coming in were from Jim's golf partners. They were supposed to do the Assumption scramble today at the Ridges. The morning session was canceled. Unsurprisingly. But since Jim was also golfing with a different foursome in the afternoon session, he was still able to have some fun.

Meanwhile, my work day was incredibly boring compared to yesterday. But since I had no plans for the night, I bonded with Mr. Deck Chair – a cleaner Mr. Deck Chair, then watched a Cinderella musical on Prime while crocheting a baby blanket, and I might sneak in some ice cream. 

I mean speaking of princesses... Sylvester is looking at me like she needs me to give her a bowl to lick. It's the least I can do for her. Hope she like coconut and chocolate. It's a fabulous new frozen yogurt I found. 

TGIF :: Thank God it's Frozen treat Friday!

A Good What Spoiled?

Golf is a good walk spoiled. 
– Mark Twain

Mark Twain is credited with saying that "Golf is a good walk spoiled." Did you know Robyn Austin is credited with saying, "Work is a good golf day spoiled"? At least I got to be in and around it for work today. Now Robyn is the one spoiled!!

We've started the countdown to the 2023 U.S. Senior Open. And by "we" I mean the folks at SentryWorld, where it will be played, and us folks who work in and around and for SentryWorld. 

Today was a media preview day to get excitement rolling, now that the 2022 one is done and it's only 349 days to the next one. My job today, and it was important, was to serve as a tour guide of sorts for the TV guys who needed to shoot some "B roll" (background/filler video) on the course. I took them to the hot spots – which of course included our famous Flower Hole with the 33,000 flowers blooming around the green.

I also got to serve as guest sportscaster for a Milwaukee station. Well not really, but the sports guy grew up close to Luck, if you can believe it! (Rice Lake for you back home readers.) 

And if you watch another Milwaukee station and the Brewers, you might recognize this guy. 

Why yes, they are all good looking. And you know I have thing for sports reporter types. I mean I'm married to one, after all!

Oh yeah, and the focus of the day was next year's event, what we're planning, and who will win this trophy. Can look. Can smile. Don't touch!

Then it was back across the street to the office to work all afternoon while my new friends played. Good for them. We can't wait to have them tell everyone how amazing I am as a tour guide – I mean how amazing the course is for this prestigious event.

It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it. And I love it!

By the way: If you haven't signed up to volunteer OR want to get in on early bird ticket sales, visit here. 

Hap-Bee Hump Day

Someone in my family thought I might appreciate this sign! I won't name names but... she was born 9 minutes after me! I'm kidding. She saw it said she wouldn't dream of putting a bee in my bonnet, so to speak, by buying this for me.

And I'm not quite over it.

My right ankle is still a bit swollen but not as bad as Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. And thank the good lord – all of your suggestions – I can finally sleep at night! What did the trick?

Honestly, I'm not sure. I think a combination of my "Sting Operation" here!

On day 2, finding the lidocaine helped some and slathering the heck out of my lower leg with good old anti-itching cream. My cousin had a suggestion about marking my sting with an X and slapping it. I think that actually popped the stinger out. Is that not weird? Something came off anyway. Then I applied the other stuff. And kept applying it. And kept applying it.

For days on end, it seems.

Today we're down to morning and afternoon anti-itching cream. And we're good.

Pretty sure I'm done with outdoor chores for the summer. Mr. Deck Chair was chastising me, reminding me that I don't get stung (or see snakes) when I'm hanging out with him. Thank goodness, he talked some sense into me with half the summer still remaining!

Bee careful out there!

Pre-Nuptials Preview

Had a gorgeous day off today. And by gorgeous, I mean traveling nearly 3 hours to see the pretty venue where Casey and Emily will tie the knot. In 1 year and 73 days! It's never too early for a preview where weddings are concerned.

Liberty Tree Farm is located outside Stockholm. So now I've been to Stockholm, Sweden, AND Stockholm, Wisconsin. Which isn't near anything really. Close to Lake Pepin. We went through Durand to get there and it's close to some river towns like Maiden Rock and Pepin. 

It's the perfect setting for their rustic, outdoor wedding vibe. I won't spoil their fun by showing pictures of everything, but they do have a website.

You can see here where they have lights wrapped around many of the trees, too. As the owner said, I want people to find their way around in the dark but I don't want to interfere with the stars. Nice.

They had reserved it after Emily's parents checked it out in person. Today was the kids' first time seeing it in person. We pretty much walked around, took pictures, asked questions, got ideas, and all agreed it'll be perfect for them.

On the way home, we grabbed an early dinner in Durand. Then stopped to see Grandpa and Grandma Austin for a bit. Now we're all tired. And excited. But mostly tired right now. This is going to be a fun journey.

Par-Fect Rain

Move over, Rain Dance. I now hold the power of rain clouds in my hand. No fancy moves. No rhythm required. I just need to make a tee time and BOOM, it rains!

There is scientific proof behind this, believe me.

Yesterday, hot and sunny about noon. So I call my friend Marigene and we set a tee time at 4:20 p.m. Just as I'm picking her up at 3:45 p.m., it starts to sprinkle. Then rain harder. Then downpour. Oh, and don't forget the lightning. So we sat in the clubhouse at TriCity and pondered the wait. Decided to head home.

Fast-forward 24 hours. 

I was asked to sub today in ladies league at The Ridges. And, as it happened, Jim, Casey and Clay were teeing off there right before league started. Perfectly sunny and 80-some degrees when we left the house. And when they teed off. And when my ladies' foursome teed off.

We made at through 3 holes and it was clouding up fast. Two of the ladies got severe weather alerts on their phones. Two of us didn't. So we played onto hole 4. Was just about to chip onto the green when the sprinkles started. And, like yesterday, quickly turned to a downpour.

And the golf course siren went off, indicating it was time to quit and seek shelter. Luckily we were close enough to a bathroom/vending area with a covered area in front that we could fit two foursomes and keep us dry. Well, we were already wet. Keep it from making it worse.

It was coming down hard. Look at those puddles! After awhile, it let up enough that we could ride our carts back to the clubhouse and call it a day. Jim and the boys were already inside, enjoying drinks and appetizers. I guess they'll use their "rain checks" on Saturday.

I'm not sure when I'm using mine, but I'll let you know so you can plan accordingly. I might just start a side business. Your yard looking brown? Call me. I'll make a tee time. Your crops looking droopy? Call me. I'll make a tee time. Your hanging flower baskets hanging lifeless? Call me. I'll make a tee time.

For the right price, I'll take your requests!

Bee Serious!

I think I led you to believe that the Friendly snakes were my nemesis in the yard. But maybe not anymore.

Last Sunday while digging out some landscape rocks by the end of the driveway. Something got under my shirt – no, not hubby – and managed to sting me twice on my right side before I could get it out from under the fabric. It was a painful sting. I yelled "Oww, ouch, oww!" all the way to the house.

I'm not allergic like my epipen-carrying husband, but I always feel a bit woozy afterwards. This time it was not the woozy I was worried about. It was the pain. Not your standard bumble-bee but maybe a hornet rolling up its sleeves like above or wicked ground bee. Either way. So hurtful. And that lasted on and off for two days while the site of the sting grew a nice reddish itchy-owie area as big as my hand. Finally tempered that with some hydro-cortisone and lots of lotion.

Exactly one week later and I'm push-mowing the areas that our rider can't reach. I feel that stab of pain again. This time right on top of my right foot where it bends. Ouch. Mother mother! I iced it and then put some of that hydro-cortisone on it. That did nothing for the pain.

I tool a Benedryl and went to Wal-Mart to grab some "medical" pain relieve like the Sting Kill ointment (did do diddly) and Dermaplast something spray (that also didn't remove the pain). So I tried some baking soda trick. Not doing it either. I just need something to numb the area like they do at the dentist or doctor's office. 

Any suggestions? I'd like to get some sleep tonight. Thanks. 

Bee careful out there!

Two Lakes, Two Kids

Our dinner at Two Lakes was special tonight not just because of the sunset, but because it was with two of the kiddos! Casey and fiance Emily flew home from Portland to Minneapolis and are in the Rapids area for the next week. 

We haven't seen them for 856 days. You know, right when the pandemic started and after visiting them out in Seattle area, I didn't go back to work? Now they're in Oregon and engaged to be married in fall of 2023.

Tonight's dinner was also special because we got to meet Emily's parents. They live in the Twin Cities and happen to like the Twins, just like me! Her dad and Jim could've talked about baseball in general all night. That was fun to see. Nice parents – just like her! They're heading back to Minnesota tomorrow but we'll see the kids a few times this week – including a trip to see their wedding venue on Tuesday. 

Lots of fun and excitement for all of us on the horizon.

 And pretty sunsets, too!