Happy Columbus Day Observed

There's a couple reasons I don't necessarily observe Columbus Day. One, I'm not a federal employee so it doesn't strike me as a holiday. Two, there's this line of thinking, which makes total sense...

And three, there's my cousin Leif...

Leif Erikson Day is an annual observance that occurs on October 9. It honors Leif Erikson, the Norse explorer who led the first Europeans thought to have set foot in continental North America. And his cousins Red and Bjorn...

And now you know a little of Robyn the Well-Read's Scandi-hoovian heritage.

Happy... Monday!

White Celebration Confetti

Finally got to see my boys in purple pull off a victory today. They were on TV here since the Green Bay team plays on Monday Night Football.

By the time I got home from late church, I had to quickly whip on my purple and take my seat! First half was a joy to watch, as we were kicking the Eagles' butt a bit. I was happy as I took a walk at halftime until... what is this white stuff raining down?!

It looked like snow. Sort of. More like if someone exploded the innards of a bean bag chair. Ya know? Little white balls. Weird. I think I'm gonna go with white celebration confetti!

It was like the Eagles were trying to rain, er snow, on our parade. But nope. Not today, birds.

It was a closer second half but we came away with a 38-20 win. That left the rest of the afternoon to do chores and get some stuff done around the house.

I must have had a black-out or purple-out because while I know I didn't do those things, I can't think of what I did with the rest of my day. There was a nice phone conversation with my mom in there. And one load of laundry. The rest? Not sure.

You might have to ask Mr. Recliner about that.

Cold Hands (and Camera), Warm Hearts (and Belly)

Cold hands, warm hearts was definitely the theme of the day. Woke up to these types of temperatures and it didn’t get much warmer than that.

I had told myself if it rained, I pretty much wouldn’t leave the house. But since it was just chilly (and mostly sunny), I decided to pop over to the Ridges Golf Course and watch our Assumption runners in the Lincoln High School cross country invitational.

It was sooooo windy and yeah, very chilly. I felt bad for the runners! I had bundled up since I didn't have to run for time – just run from spot to spot to take pictures. Even then... B-R-R-R!

I was captured capturing photos. And you can tell a person had to really layer up. Naturally, I forgot gloves (obviously not prepared for this weather) so had to sit in the car after the varsity races to warm up my camera before the girls JV race. I suppose I warmed up myself a bit as well.

After the invitational, I headed home, downed hot coffee and hubby and I headed down to the Whiskey Rapids Saloon for a pot luck and to watch the Badgers game. It started snowing on the way there. Nothing stuck, though. Yet.

Good food. Great game. Big win. Wonderful seeing friends.

That's how you spend a cold and blustery day in autumn.

Electric Blanket Warning

If you hadn't heard – or were just ignoring the plummeting temps all day – a freeze is expected tonight across Wisconsin. I guess temperatures will dip down into the 20s for almost everyone. Mother Nature does not play favorites.

Back up home, cloud cover and winds may limit the frost factor somewhat (especially across northwestern Wisconsin), but overall this freeze will likely signal the end to the growing season across the state. That's big news in my area because, well, we're cranberry country!

I definitely don't have to worry about any "tender plants" because I already killed those off with my two black thumbs. But there's more to the freeze warning than meets the eye...

The forecast dudes also say the first snowfall of the season is expected by tomorrow evening into tomorrow night, with 0-2 inches of snow possible across central and northern Wisconsin.

That means the electric mattress pad is on (like most nights, ha) and I can turn on the heat (guilt-free). It also means I can ignore kitty's pleas to open a door or window so she can watch the night time activity and feel the fresh air. Based on the very loud wind chime outside my office window, I'm thinking you're not quite prepared for wind chills, Sylvester!

Lord knows I'm not.

Bundle up, my friends. Looks like a good weekend to drink hot coffee, make some soup, and bake!

Or snuggle under a warm blanket and watch the Badgers or Hallmark.

Poop, There It Is!

For those too young (or too old) to remember, there was a dance tune in the early '90s called Whoomp, there it is! And today at work, I was singing Poop, there it is!

And eating my words.

Say what?

Honestly, they have every time of cupcake out there. And apparently the birthday boy at work is older than ... poop. Plus his puppies are big on pooping all over the place. So it was fitting. You still hungry?

The trick to eating one (because I can't resist sugar in any form) was quickly taking the bottom half of the cupcake, putting it on top and squishing it together so I couldn't see that it was sh*t sandwich. Just tasted like chocolate frosting.

So I guess if people say something "tastes like sh*t," what they really mean is it tastes yummy! Simply poop-tastic!

OK. Enough potty humor. Sometimes when you're having a crappy day, it can put smell, er smile, on your face!

Try it. I dare ya.

A is for Autumn, B is for Bad

When your eye doctor asks you "Which looks better – A? Or B?" sometimes it's hard to tell the difference. But here's an easy one for you... Which looks better:

 A?

Or B?

What the heck? I certainly think A (or C for Commute) is looking pretty good. But B? No thank you.

I'm just getting into my Pumpkin Spice Season. Don't rush me into snow, eggnog, and Hallmark movies already!

Plus my commute along the county line is just getting to a gorgeous stage. I don't want to think about snow or wind and driving rain whipping those leaves off before I get a chance to enjoy them.

Good luck to my family and friends in Montana and the Dakotas. After this October storm passes through, just push it up to Canada. I don't think they require Old Man Winter to have a passport, eh?

Brooding Today

How fitting I had to wait for a brood of turkeys to cross the road on my way to work. After 6 hours of sleep – thanks to my undying faith in my Twinkies – I was in the mood to brood!

And not in the mood to strike a turkey (aka flying bowling ball).

Got over the playoff termination by keeping busy at work and surviving a flu shot and a fire drill, thankfully not at the same time. This evening I had part one of my "rain date' senior photo shoot. After rescheduling it twice due to major precip, we decided to do what we could with the last hour of daylight and finish up tomorrow.

I gotta admit, the lighting was fantastic last evening and this one. And timing is everything, too. I happened to glance up and saw a pretty cool silhouette of my subject tonight.

No need to see his face. Great lighting and a damn cool hat make for a great photo! Probably my favorite this year.

We had some fun with his big ol' truck, too...

And his bow...

Looking forward to part two tomorrow. And the "almost" conclusion of senior photo season. One more to fit in if rain and snow hold off!!

It's been a hoot. And very uplifting on those broody days!