The Calm Before the Alleged Storm

I love purple – but not when it indicates we could be in for a nasty wake-up call tomorrow. We're right on the bottom of the Ice Storm Warning and close to the milder Winter Weather Advisory. There's a chance the storm won't follow the boxy county lines, so I'm holding out home.

Still, we made sure our dinner plans started early enough in case it started this evening.

Since one of Jim's classmates lives over in the Fox Valley area and the rest of us are in Rapids, we decided to meet halfway at Simpson's in Waupaca. Five people in this photo are from the Assumption Class of '81. I still marvel at how close hubby is with classmates after all these years. So not my post-high school experience.

We had a good meal and great conversations. When you can linger over a meal for more than 2 hours, that's good stuff! A fun group! 

And as a bonus, the skies stayed clear our 45-minute drive home. 

We'll see what happens while we're sleeping. I'm supposed to sing in church choir tomorrow – coincidentally the same song we were supposed to sing on Ash Wednesday when that service got stormed out. Honest, Lord, we sound good. Let us sing it already!

Whatever happens, be careful out there! And remember – it's not the worst thing to be home-bound during March Madness! 

 

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!

Inching Toward Real Spring

I feel bad for the robins and other birds who thought it was spring a few weeks ago. After the lovely snow and ice storms, I was relieved to see a survivor in our yard tonight. Have they not learned their lesson that April is the earliest month to return – and May is even safer?

The human side of me was just thrilled that we were inching closer to 60 degrees. My friend Marigene and I took a walk after I got home from work and I even wore short sleeves. The madness!

But since I knew tomorrow was going to be a hair warmer, I took my car to a "manual" car wash so I could hang my car mats and give them a good power wash. So much salt on my driver mat. And so nice to get rid of that. 

For now.

I mean you never know in Wisconsin. And there could be rain on Saturday – or ice. It's too soon to tell. But for $3, I can handle re-doing today's wash and vacuum again! 

My preference, however, would be to keep inching toward real spring – and stay there!

Cowboy Up

If there's one thing I've learned from my cowboy nephew Zach it's to "get after it!" – whatever "it" may be.

Because he does just that and creates his own opportunities in life, he and his wife are in New Zealand this week, where he's conducting a "Cowhorse Clinic," going a hunt of some sort, and enjoying the gorgeous Down Under scenery with his wife.

I'd be 100% jealous if I hadn't had my own opportunity to "Cowboy Up" today.

OK. I admit it's a complete stretch. But I did get to try out some cowboy gear at work today while we prepped for a video shoot related to a Wild West sales trip for some top employees. I say, if you can't have the fun, you gotta invent it. 

Side note: I just happened to be wearing clothes today that would match any Western gear, hat, or lasso. Yay me! (Or is it Yee-Haw!?")

My advice: If life gets boring, play "dress up" and create your own fun! You might find your own cowboy swagger as a result!

The First Birthday Without You

This is the first time in my entire life that I could not wish my mom "Happy Birthday" via phone, card, or in person. It hurts.  

When we celebrated her birthday last year and she was smiling and enjoying her cake, we had no idea this was her last birthday. Never take your parents for granted!

And of course, just like 3 days before she died in May, she was a card-playing wizard!

Her youngest grandson happened to beat her that day, yet she still smiled because anytime with children and grandchildren was so treasured.

Of course I am crying as I type this because we just never know when it's the last time we are all "normal." We could never have predicted that the next weekend – Easter – would include a head-on collision that nearly claimed my sister's life and that a few weeks later my mom would fall and that signaled enough problems to end her life.

I appreciate that Mom can finally celebrate a birthday in heaven with Dad. But knowing how her birthday was the beginning of the end is a tough pill to swallow. 

Don't feel bad for me. I just ask that if you have one or two parents still alive that you treasure them!

White as Snow

Not to  be confused with the Disney live action movie (failed version) of Snow White, I literally have seen snow white (er, white as snow) 2 weeks in a row now.

After visiting my back cracker after work today, I stopped my car on the way home for 3 brown deer crossing the road. Then Mr. White Deer, the second I've seen in 2 weeks, starts to cross then turns around and bolts into the woods. Both me and the driver in the opposite lane stopped to watch. For some reason, we figure it's bad enough to hit a normal deer, but super bad luck to hit a white one.

Not sure there's any proof behind that thought. But I know from experience, every car versus deer collision is painful to the car, the passengers, and the pocketbook.

I'm glad it ventured just a bit into the road because when it changed directions, it was using that white snow as a camouflage!

Speaking of snow... Apparently official reports put our community at just 2 inches of the slushy stuff on top of the layer of ice. Our street never did get plowed during the night or today. I guess they were relying on Mr. Sun to melt it away. 

Not quite.

When I left for the chiropractor at 4:15 p.m., there was still some unkind slushy ice piles dragging against my low-rider vehicle. I don't mean it's  a cool low-rider, it's just closer to the ground than hubby's truck.

Hope you all were able to enjoy some white or interesting winter scenery today!

Deja No Thank You

Since the winter storm came through on Wednesday, we had choir practice at 8:15 a.m. today before church. Little did I realize we'd have the same weather exiting church today. Mr. Deck Chair was not a fan.

Yup, all day on and off again snow and sleet. With a mix of a ton of NCAA hoops on TV. 

Later in the day, I finally decided to watch a movie on Netflix that I'd read the book on. It Ends With Us was not fun to watch but it did match the disturbing storylines of the book. I guess that means I'll have to turn my attention to a different book tonight. 

Hope you all stayed safe traveling today. Please continue to wish for spring!