Close to Home

Hard to believe a year ago today was when my sister and I first laid eyes on the majestic Denali mountain. And we've never been the same. Still gives us goose bumps when we think of how big that mountain is! Crazy.

Now this summer we're just close to home. Her Friday was spent working at a lake in Minnesota somewhere and mine was watching a baseball game. Of course!

I know. A free night and I grab my camera right away. But it worked out I could watch one of our Legion teams in action. The 16U team coached by our Assumption baseball coach was playing down in Nekoosa. I knew more Nekoosa kids than Rapids kids because only one Royal – the coach's son Nolan – is on that particular team.

So I got some nice pictures and had a nice visit with another member of the Coaches' Wives Club and got to see a win. Cool! 

It's still windy and still dusty around here! So I'm going to have to figure out how to really clean my camera lenses before other photographic fun begins for the summer. 

Even though there's nothing like last year's scenery in Alaska, I bet there are plenty of photo-worthy sights to see close to home.

I'll be looking.

Think Pink

Crazy that after all the wicked storms went though last evening, we were treated to blue skies and a sunset with a touch of pink. Even though I'm facing southeast from our front deck, it was sunset colors. Better than the green skies earlier anytime!

Pink was the theme today, too. Had golf league after work – yes it's my third time golfing this week but this actually MY league night rather than a sub night. My co-worker and cart partner Nancy and I were twinning in pink today.

I said we could consider ourselves pretty in pink tonight. Playing pretty awful at times, but having a pretty good time! 

Our only weather-related issue as the wind. We saw it push the golf balls around mid-air if they got to high at just the right moment. Made it pretty tricky. But at least it was raining or 97 degrees. Just nice at 80.

Tonight I was actually the only Thursday night regular. But had a blast with the 3 co-workers from our marketing department. Skill is not mandatory, but fun is!

Got home by 8:30 and I am ready for bed! Fresh air plus three straight days in the office make Robyn a tired girl. Good thing tomorrow's a work-from-home day so I can sleep in. Comparatively speaking.

Sweet dreams!

Green Sky at Night, Something's Not Right

Red sky at night, sailors' delight. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning. 

We didn't have the red skies tonight. Just red warning signs on the TV and a greenish sky right before the storm hit. Right before the storm that COULD HAVE BEEN a tornado hit.

Everyone knew as early as yesterday that we could be in for some wicked storms in Wisconsin today. And those darn weather dudes were right. Since the severe stuff was going to hit around 5 p.m., we all left work in time to get safely to our homes.

I wasn't home long and I turned on the Weather Channel and they were showing tornadoes in Wisconsin with one of those TORNADO WARNING lines on the bottom of the screen. Say what? So I change to local channels and it's tornado talk everywhere.

We're in the middle of the state and the line of storms were not going to miss us. A tornado touched down in Tomah, which is southwest of us and, of course, it was heading northeast. It's not too often we're in a tornado warning so even though we saw it on TV, we jumped when our phones alerted us LOUDLY to "Get in the basement!"

Nothing reveals your priorities like a tornado warning. Like knowing it was a real possibility you could lose everything. So what did I do?

First of all, I brought Mr. Deck Chair safely into the garage so he wouldn't blow away. Well, duh. Then I grabbed my phone, camera and laptop and headed into the basement. Jim just grabbed his phone. Now that we have our "beverage fridge" in the basement, he was set for the long haul. We both just left kitty asleep on her heated bathroom floor. She slept through everything. Per usual.

I'll admit it was freaky seeing Wisconsin Rapids and the Town of Grand Rapids in the direct line. Apparently the funnel dissipated right before it got to Rapids. Well praise be! We also didn't get hail here (it melted on the way down) and the strong winds didn't do damage except for a few branches. 

I saw just a few downed trees in town on my way to my hair appointment. Yup, that was my main concern. Let's get this tornado over with so I can get to my hair artist on time! 

The Lord sure looks out for drunks and ne'er-do-wells because it all timed out perfectly!

Be careful out there!

When You're Hot, You're Hot

Leave it to a heat wave to overshadow news of my first day back in the office in 2 years, 3 months, and 1 week!

But I guess I can't say I did anything newsworthy – or even vaguely productive – today. My desk was still sitting there like March of 2020 when I was excited to go on vacation to Seattle and Bellingham.

And there were items on my desk – and my desk chair (Hello, Inflatable Hulk) – that I don't know how they got there. At least I didn't any food growing mold or anything. 

I still didn't get everything organized. Took a while to set up my computer with a different system and, well, SEE PEOPLE!! Then after work it was time for golf league. That's when I noticed it was warm in Stevens Point and apparently in Rapids, too!

They called Wisconsin Rapids the "warm" spot.

If a heat index of 102 is just on the "warm" side, that is! Crazy huh? And tomorrow this will all develop into severe stormy weather. Uff da.

But golf league was fun and didn't seem too hot thanks to a breeze. We had a good time. I was subbing for someone and we needed another sub. For our league, they can only be company employees. Well it just so happens that one of my favorite Vikings fans is an intern this summer so he qualifies AND he was available.

I'll just call Trent my adoptive nephew since his mother and her sisters are like sisters to me! We had fun. He's in college and can drive the ball a mile. My two co-workers were like "He can come back anytime – especially when we have a scramble. He'll be our ringer!"

He also inspired me to shoot my best round of the season so far. When you're hot, you're hot! It's only the 6th one so maybe I can improve even more from there. Either way. It's always great to be golfing at the gorgeous SentryWorld course with great people!

Now I need to shower and then see if I missed anything on Days of Our Lives today. Just another back-to-the-office adjustment!

Be careful out there!

There They Go

These geese that crossed the road in front of us and plopped into a pond are pretty much symbolic of today. There they go, swimming off like my days out of the office.

It's been 830 days out and I am about to set my alarm for tomorrow's return. Guess I should've been super symbolic and gone to bed at 8:30. Don't think that that didn't cross my mind! 

It was a busy last day.

After work, Jim and I went up to Halder (that's God's Country for those who don't know) and met up with two cousins at the St. Patrick's cemetery. Sounds odd but not when they're all into genealogy and had some catching up to do – along with a bit of a walking tour. 

Nice to see Nancy and Barb and especially nice we were all above ground for it.

Since we were in the area, Jim and I headed over to Marshfield for dinner. We knew it was Mac Monday at Nutz Deep II. And had been looking forward to it for awhile.

Take one look at my Cajun Mac & Cheese and you'll see why! In the background you can see Jim's Philly Mac. We were both very happy with our meal. Yum!

Also since we were in the area, we went to Festival Foods. I know what you're thinking. No one lives it up like we do! Cemetery, Mac Monday and Festival Foods. All in ONE day?? Don't be jealous.

Seriously, the freshness and bounty that exists at Fest does not exist in our town. Unfortunately, it's a bit out of the way with gas prices as they are. Still, we did some recon and we'll come armed with a list next time.

Got home at 7:30 and I had to find something to wear to the office tomorrow, which will be the hottest day of the year so far. I assume the A/C will be cranked but I'm golfing after work so it'll be a golf outfit that fits our dress code. After 830 days, they'll just have to take me as I am.

Alright, gotta sleep fast! G'night.

Sunday Haven

We escaped to a sunny, peaceful haven today. Oh and hilly, too.

Left the house at 7 a.m. and headed east to the Green Bay area to meet up with our friends Scott and Sandy for a round of golf at Hilly Haven.

We typically get together with them at least once a summer to golf, but I think we fell behind thanks to the pandemic. So it was great to see them again today and catch up. And golf, of course.

There's nothing super fancy about Hilly Haven. It's just a pretty, pretty course.

With ponds and flowers and occasional chances for par.

Well I got one par at least. Sandy was on fire and on the back 9 had 5 in a row! Whoa. It was one of her best rounds in years and it was fun to be a part of it! Perfect weather and the perfect pace for our game, too. 

Afterward, we headed over to their new house. They had it built over the past year and moved in this spring. 

It's gorgeous! We couldn't be happier for them! Also gave us some ideas to upgrade our own home. Well, we can start a dream list anyway. After visiting and eating a delicious lunch off the grill, we headed home. Had a quick stop at King Cone in Amherst (hey it's an ALL-DAY date!) and got home at 7 p.m.

Pretty sure this girl is going to sleep like a rock tonight. Lots of fresh air, laughs, and hugs. My kind of Sunday.

Have a good week, everyone!

Golden Girls

Getting up and on the road at 5 a.m. turned out to be the start of a great day. A great GOLDEN day. Yup, spoiler alert: Our Lady Royals took home the gold today, defeating Barneveld 3-1! Yay!! And the rain held off so it was a great setting for a great game. 

The game was always too close for comfort, but it was more exciting than nerve-wracking. Finally, I got to see one of our girls hit one out of the park! They've almost all done it this season but only at games when I'm not there. Thrilled it was my birthday twin Ava!

So fun to see the whole team ready to greet her at homeplate!

There were a lot of good plays on both offense and defense. So proud of these girls! Love, love, loved seeing all their smiles and even some tears (of joy) today. Well deserved, Lady Royals! 

And I not only got to touch the trophy, but carry it! Somebody's gotta do it.

It was quite a long day of travel plus following team bus police and fire escort around town plus editing hundreds of photos – plus some celebration socializing for both softball and our girls soccer team, which won sectionals today and are going to state next weekend. What a time to be a Royals fan.

Should have sweet dreams tonight. In fact, it's time to get to bed since we hit the road at 7 a.m. for another long but fun day. Pretty sure there won't be any cameras or trophies involved. Just fun. 

And hopefully sunshine.