Embracing Mother Earth

 

Well Mother, Mother Earth is having her annual spotlight in the sun! Happy Earth Day!

Some years my friend and I pick up trash from the ditches, some years I completely let it pass by without thought, and this year there was too much going on for me to give the day the full honor and observance it deserves.

But...

I did connect with some "solar power" on the swing while working quite awhile after hours ... on my swing. That counts, right?

Then I bonded with the Earth when I trimmed down our Pampas Ass Grass. Which according to multiple sources (since I have 2 black thumbs) you should do in late April or early May when you KNOW there won't be another frost.

Well, when I got home from work and saw hubby brought up the fan to the bedroom window to replace the wintertime vaporizer/humidifier, I figured he must know something. Like maybe Mother Earth told her mentally disturbed sister Mother Nature to chill out and move onto spring already.

I hope that's the case!

But since my hubby stores the wheelbarrow in his One-Key-for-Jimmy-Only Shed, he'll have to do part 2 tomorrow as it will be dark when he gets home from golf tonight!

What habits have you picked up to help preserve the planet?

I admit Jim and I are so accustomed to recycling EVERYTHING, that I feel guilty when I'm in a situation where the vibe is "Just throw everything in the trash." 

But I did attempt to give up Aqua Net hairspray to save the Ozone in the '90s. I admit the liquid-type stuff didn't work the same. So I relapsed to aerosol spray and I hope some Earth-loving big hair fan picked up where I left off.

And don't get me started on how we deal with keeping volume in our thinning hair after we turn... ahem... 40? Sorry, Mother Earth, you are millions of years older than that. Please understand and forgive.

Enjoy Earth Day every day!

Define Precious Cargo

So what defines a "precious cargo"? This weekend meant our neighbors transporting their newborn son home. Yesterday was our son driving his and Mamie's belongings from Dubuque to Duluth for their new start. Today was me and this birthday trifle.

I will say having this tasty bugger strapped in was a good idea since I had to slam my brakes for deer just 5 minutes into my commute! (Side note: It arrived in beautiful status and was 98% snarfed down before I took the bowl home today!)

But what about invisible precious cargo?

Think about who you are carrying around in your hearts – especially those with needs for additional prayers right now.

Like when our son called me tonight and said they quickly traveled from Duluth to southern Wisconsin because his girlfriend's best friend's dad died this morning from pancreatic cancer. His call was partly to share the sad news and also him saying how grateful he is he has both his amazing parents.

Yes, I'm ugly crying now! 

I'll confess, when I was in my 20s, I can't imagine I'd ever have made that call to my parents. So who's more grateful now?

Just think about what precious things you are trying to keep safe. If you need extra prayers, ask for them! And if a friend or loved one needs prayers, share that. 

There's a pretty good group of people around here who will pray and care about your precious cargo!

Sunday, SumDay and Mon(ey) Day!

Well as it turns out, I don't really have that much luck at BINGO per se, but for the second time in the past month I won the 50/50 raffle associated with it. Last month it was $300+ and Sunday (Sum-Day) it was $600+. 

So yeah. $1,000-ish to me!

I guess you can take the girl out of Luck... but you can't take the Luck out of the girl!

Me... I'm that GIRL!

I obviously had a moment yesterday when I questioned why ESPN covered card games and corn hole... when BINGO would be so entertaining? I mean, I have a pretty mean "I just won $621" happy dance!

Also, I just have to caution the "young 'uns:" etc that they should never mocketh a "middle-aged" lady and her BINGO dobber. You could use a surprising $600+ right+?

Short answer: BINGO!

A Tale of Twisters and Monsters

What a strange two days! I took Friday afternoon off to head up to Hodag Country to meet my sister Nell. Not a local? Rhinelander is the home of the Hodag pictured above.

This mythical, mischievous creature was first “discovered” in Rhinelander in the late 19th century but may have been roaming the Northwoods for eons before that. I can't confirm or deny! Today, the Hodag has become the official symbol of Rhinelander – it’s even the mascot for the local high school and can be seen pretty much anywhere visitors go in Rhinelander.

That is not the reason we were going to Rhinelander. We swear. But it you can believe it, for me, meeting up with one on my sisters up there is twice as close (less than 2 hours) to driving 4 hours to see them in our Up North back home towns.

So when she said she was going to a conference Friday and Saturday and could use the company, I said sure!

In our routes up and over yesterday we were both more like the Storm Chased versus the Storm Chasers. We knew tornadoes and crazy stuff were predicted. In fact, on my route up I-39 they had already dismissed schools early for safety. We both had sunny skies and stayed ahead of it thankfully!

Me arriving to town: "Hey, sis, I found the Hodag!"

40 minutes later... clouds and high winds before we find a place to eat!

As we scarfed down our delicious Friday night burgers at a place called Bucketheads Sports Bar & Grill, we heard no less than three tornado warnings on the multiple TVs! We're like, should we take shelter? And... wait is that what county we're in? 

Who knew being a tourist in Hodag Country could be so dangerous?

We did make it back to the hotel fine and she beat me in two games of Five Crowns before we realized the twisters did destructively touch down between Rhinelander and Wisconsin Rapids. Uff da.

And this morning we woke up to 30 degrees and a "real feel" of 21 degrees. So Wisconsin had sunny and golfing Thursday, twister Friday, and winter Saturday.

*Checks calendar*

Oh right, it's spring.

Got home about 6 p.m. tonight and am grateful for at least a little sister time. And super grateful for our safe travels.

Prayers to all dealing with tornado/wind damage and flooding right now. Consider any way we all can support them!

Oh and keep an eye out for those sneaky little monsters among us!

The Power of Un-Powered Tools

Full disclosure: This is all going to seem like it's coming out of left field... because it sort of is.

My main agenda item today besides getting through work was delivering two pair of arborist pants to my cousin's son. Have I lost you already. He's in Stevens Point (well-known for its DNR related programs and degrees) and saw these for sale through Facebook Marketplace – but in Wisconsin Rapids.

So I picked them up and yesterday I was like, "Dude, I have your pants in my car. When do you want them?" So it worked out that I could meet him and his fiancee for a dinner after work. 

So what exactly are "arborist pants"? Turns out that if you're using a chainsaw like the well-intentioned beaver above, they're chainsaw-resistant. A bullet-proof Kevlar protection layer from serious harm. I can see why he wanted to buy these 20-dollar pants that normally sell for almost $200. Good call. (Also note that according to my blog title they are un-powered tools.)

But who cares about arborist pants? Obviously it was most important to hear about their upcoming wedding plans in 2027. And perhaps dish about our families. Lol.

So after that meal I headed into Wisconsin Rapids to WalMart to find a replace my hair dryer – who died inconveniently, of course. RIP.

And I can't make this stuff up. First my TIRE PRESSURE IS LOW warning comes on. So I pull over knowing that I have to have it in park to "calibrate" or whatever. That happened again when I got WR WalMart. So I did recalibrate again but that wasn't my main concern.

I've recently attached my key fob to a lanyard because it sometimes can fall our of the very shallow pockets of work pants. Well when I parked, I realized the lanyard was there... out of my pocket... but no fob was attached.

So I knew it was in that deeply imbedded spot under the seat that is impossible to reach with human hands. What can I do?

You know, I suddenly realized that I still had scrapbooking tools in my vehicle that I've neglected to unpack that might include some sort of tweezers to grasp it from its secret hiding spot.

And the tweezer for tiny stickers or alphabet letters won the day! A powerful tool that requires no power.

So after that, of course, I wanted to tell my scrap sisters about our life-saving tools!

Well, it turns out my monthly Girls Night Out group was meeting and eating a Whoudini's and I still had time to catch them there. I zealously shared my story with my scrap sister Jenny and then they all asked me what "arborist pants" are and I could not understand how they knew this.

They said, "Well you texted your husband about your dinner plans." I'm like "Yeah, did I accidentally send that to this group too?" No, they said. He's here.

So here we were – my girls night and his last-minute three classmates from high school meeting at a bar we go to maybe once a year. (Including your hubby, A.P. my loyal blog reader. Not that I'm tattling!)

As Rick in Casablanca says: "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine." Ope sorry.

Of course I really just wanted to show off a cute shirt I got at GW Boutique (yes, Good Will) the other day...

Random patterns and such a steal. I pointed out that I was fashionably late because I was so fashionable. Thank you to the person that donated it. You've added some POWER-ful spice to my life!!

It's in our Genes (and Jeans)

I had to laugh at this because today I went to my favorite fashion hub – GW Boutique (OK, it's Goodwill but appreciate my creativity) – to find some jeans over my lunch hour.

I don't think it's a far stretch for me to say that there are two main things that women everywhere hate shopping for (and trying on) and that's swimsuits and jeans. Am I right?

Ugh.

The issue is that there is no such thing as standard sizes in the fashion industry. One brand's size 8 is a size 12 by another brand. So of course, I seek the brands that let me boast (to no one actually, who am I kidding?) about wearing a smaller size. Ha.

I did successfully find two pair of jeans – by two different brands and two different sizes – that had the right fit. Granted I'm thrilled the numbers are lower than a year ago. But are they really? 

Hmmm.

You wonder why women play so many mind games in their heads. Well this is why. How come guys have standard 32x34 and we all have random size numbers. Sometimes odd, sometimes even. Never understood that either.

It appears I'll be working from home quite a bit in the coming 3+ years. You know what's not judgmental about sizes? SWEAT PANTS.

You're welcome.

The Sad Part About the Sandwich Generation

 

No offense to people of younger and even older generations, I don't think you understand the impact of being part of the Sandwich Generation. On the one hand, we're trying to raise our children as responsible adults... while simultaneously attending to our parents' ever-changing needs in advanced adulthood.

Between Jim and I we are down to one parent left. So we've dealt with that a little bit. But I realized today when I heard word one of the ladies at church passed away that I was not ready for the ripple effect.

I forget that when you worship with someone for nearly 30 years that they become part of your circle of people you care about. Just the compassion her and her husband showed each other in church each Sunday was something any couple of any age should aspire to.

And they always appreciated my writing for the church bulletins or monthly newsletters. Bonus points for loving them even more.

This past weekend three of my sisters made the trek to St. Louis to lay our Uncle Charlie to rest. The last OG Hedberg of that generation. So grateful for a trip there a year ago to celebrate his 90th birthday.

But my fellow members of this Sandwich Generation – my cousins there – have to deal with their father's death plus their mother's advancing dementia.

I recognize that certain generations have dealt with insurmountable tasks. but please give grace and understanding with some of us are trying to process as the Sandwich Generation. 

Because many of us are Gen X. I know we can handle it, but thanks for recognizing the challenge and that life is .... gosh darn it, so hard to deal with sometimes!