Fair-Weather Fotog

The term "huddle up" means a lot things. It could mean the sports team is prepping for a game or an inning, or it could be the fans and photographers have to huddle for warmth on a sunny, yet only 42-degree afternoon at the ball park. 

Honestly, this fair-weather "fotographer" only stopped by because she knew a player on the opposing team. When I learned he wasn't playing for Pacelli this year, I still stuck around since the sun was peeking out. It was cold. I was cold. And my camera was cold. But I still gave it an inning.

Hours (it feels) after I left, I learned our boys pulled out the victory. In the dark (I can say with an excuse). Yay for them.

I hope Mother Nature can finally look at the calendar and see it's officially spring and that we shouldn't have winter temperatures.

Since I have a ton of travel in the next 14 days, I won't be able to capture much in the way of spring sports. In other words, Mother Nature, I am giving you this one last chance to turn things around.

Don't mess with a Scandi-hoovian!

Little House

If your childhood bully was a fictional character named Nellie Oleson, we can be friends. And if you looked forward to 7 p.m. on Mondays to see your crush Michael Landon play "Pa Ingalls," we can be BFFs!

This blast from the past was brought to you by the South Wood County Historical Museum, which is currently presenting the traveling Laura Ingalls Wilder exhibit!

Knowing I wasn't going to be around the next two Sundays, I was glad I could squeeze it in after BINGO yesterday. 

Every picture of her and her family made me automatically compare those to the TV cast.

But having read every book from Little House in the Big Woods to These Happy Golden Years, there were parts of the exhibit that drew my mind right back to the written pages. The photo above – about the grasshoppers – I remember reading that and wanting to gag. Thanks to the Kansas State Historical Society, we can see an image are realize once again that these were true-life stories for this girl.

So, of course, now I'm inspired to re-read them all again. And we had them all! Not sure if my twin sister has them or they got old and moldy at the homestead. LOL. Talking old-time now! But the local library may have them.

If you were a fan, check it out. It's interesting reading/viewing and doesn't take too long to get through. Plus, there are some "period costumes" to accompany it. 

As for the real "Pa" Ingalls, I'm not going to let reality ruin my clean-shaven memory! If you know, you know.

Sundays in Dobberville

After a little hiatus since the BIG jackpot was won, I was wondering what my good luck (er, good duck) fox would do.

As usual with fair-weather dobbers, we had a smaller crowd today since the progressive jackpot was starting over at just shy of $600. But we did have over 100 players there so the jackpots were the larger of the two choices in each game. 

Thank goodness I sat with my group of veteran players because playing 12 cards myself, I almost missed the fact I could yell BINGO during the 4-corners game. Unfortunately, the $70 pot for this one doesn't go far when you have to split it between 4 winners. Still, they graciously rounded up from $17.50 each to an even $18. #winning

None of us at our table won the 50/50 raffle or the big coverall round. I will say being achingly close with just 2 squares to go was pretty painful. But per usual, we smile and nod and promise to be back and say it was for a great cause – this time our high school soccer team.

For me, winning was seeing an interesting exhibit at our museum after BINGO (which I'll blog about tomorrow) and catching a 2-mile walk in the "fake spring weather" with a friend. 

We'll see what other nice surprises are in store this week!

You Had Me at Feels Like 34

 

It's such a downer when Robyn's Day Out turns into "Why are you even outside today!?"

But my trusty camera – who may or may not be cursing me – set out to catch some action at the ballpark.

With the snow, we had to have our Assumption games on the turf (again) at the Lincoln High School quad plex. Both baseball and softball teams were playing today. At the same time.

The first thing I noticed was that without my husband on the coaching team this year, I didn't know all of the baseball team. Or half of it, anyway.

Just like softball yesterday, there seemed to be a lot of new faces. Especially for this old lady whose son graduated almost 9 years ago. (Say it isn't so!)

Anyway I took pictures of baseball and when it got to be a long defensive inning, I hopped over to our softball team just 20 feet away. While the boys lost their double-header, the girls turned things around from yesterday and took 2 W's in their outing.

With the wind making the temperatures cooler than normal, I didn't last the whole afternoon. Even with a winter coat on, that windchill with a real feel of 34 degrees did not agree with my camera. Or wimpy me.

But hey, spring sports in full force now. As long as Mother Nature mildly cooperates. And hubby grilled burgers tonight so that has to mean something.

Please!

Swinging Clubs and Bats

Since our golf course did open today (thank you, Mother Nature), I decided to spend my lunch hour there. Just the driving range – not an actual round – but it felt so good to get those ugly first swings out of the way. Hopefully for the season. But we'll see. 

After work, I booked it over to the turf ball fields by Lincoln High School. Apparently Assumption's "home turf" (which is not fake turf stuff) isn't ready.

While the new-ish quad complex is impressive to most people, it's a beast for photographers. Too many layers of fences and nets to shoot through and batting cages situated where I should be able to stand and shoot pictures of our stars in the outfield. Hopefully we'll be back on our home turf at Robinson Park next week.

Today was a softball double-header versus Adams-Friendship. I shot action photos of the first game, which we lost 5-4 but we did win the second game – which me and my cold camera missed.

They play again tomorrow. And so does baseball and soccer. We'll see what I can capture. My camera batteries are charging now.

Of course, if it's actually really nice, I may have to do some more swinging of my own! 🏌

Yes Spring Chicken

Usually the phrase includes "no spring chicken" but I'm changing that to "yes spring chicken" after the sun finally came out today and the neighboring farm roosters and hens were scampering about and enjoying it!

Could this be the real sign of spring? Maybe. Here's a few other clues.

Suddenly the summer vibes of Yacht Rock Radio reappeared in my Sirius favorites.

And... our golf course where Jim and I have a couple's membership is opening TOMORROW!! I may head to the TriCity driving range at lunch. I mean I really need to test out my new club somewhere beyond our livingroom carpet!

Other signs of spring include the Twins home opener. Not a win, but they had a game. 

And the sun was bright enough at 6 p.m. for me to take a walk after work.

Don't worry. I haven't drunk the Mother Nature Kool-Aid. I know we're probably going to get screwed over, er disappointed, at least one more time. But let's go with it while it's here. Even for a day!

They CAN Fly!

After a day of work that felt like a week, I was not amused on my foggy, rainy commute home when two dozen turkeys in a field decided they must cross the road in front of me. So I brake and then suddenly some of them are flying to expedite the mass movement.

I immediately thought of the famous quote from a WKRP in Cincinnati episode: "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." You weren't wrong. They can! They really can!

I was thankful half of them crossed in front of my car and the other half I saw crossing in my rearview mirror. Whew. Definitely don't need a collision with a flying bowling ball!

Of course, when I got home my mood lifted – as it does anytime there's an Amazon box with my name on it sitting in my office.

The long, skinny box contained my new 4-iron – to match the rest of my new blue SMOKE clubs I got last summer. I realized I needed a "long distance" iron in the rare chance I have to shoot out of the rough. (Insert eye roll here.) 

I can see now why part of the Amazon logo is a smile. They pretty consistently deliver happiness. It would be nice, though, if Mother Nature had similar branding. The overnight snow and sleet did little to expedite my first tee time of the season. 

Because it's Lent, I'll give her some grace. But even that is in short supply.

Trifle Tuesday Has My Vote!

As a former newspaper reporter and editor, I still get a little PTSD on Election Day. I should say Election Night! Waiting, waiting, "hold the press until results come in" waiting.

With more than a decade of experience in the trenches, I was schooled to be neutral (or write neutral) on just about any type of public decisions – including elections. I mean all my reporting had to be unbiased. I still can't break that habit. I honestly have my opinions, but I just try to see both sides and don't exclaim to the masses how unjust or outrageous certain sides / candidates / campaigns, etc, are.

Even though the educated voter in me says, "Are you kidding me?"

According the machine at our town hall, my vote was "counted" today so that's what matters.

If I ran the world, though, of course I'd say Trifle Tuesday should be a national WEEKLY holiday. (See my Roll a Rolo to a Friend Trifle in Exhibit A above.) 

And really, can we NOT have a serious election on April Fool's Day? It just makes me very nervous for the coming hours. This is also why I'm blogging early. I might not be able to contain my allegedly neutral outside opinion later. 

But if you haven't voted, get out there. Our freedom to do so is not to be "trifled" with! 

Seasonal Defective Disorder

After surviving Saturday night's ice storm (a.k.a. Another of Mother Nature's Mood Swings) and being able to sing in church choir, it seemed like Sunday would be fine. But "she" just couldn't let things go.

We were able to hold an enjoyable Book Club and meal at El Mezcal last night. But as soon as we exited, the snow was coming down. And by the time I was on the home stretch, it was that fun Millennium Falcon-warp speed view. 

Not a fan.

I did get home safely but forgot how snow falls silently while we sleep.

When I woke up this morning, I thought "Yay, tomorrow is April 1st and TriCity Golf Course opens!" I mean, I have been counting down. But this view out the front squashed my dreams. 

So now I think the TBD opening date should mean "Take Bad weather Down!"

If only we had the power, right? The encouraging thing is that when I took a walk after work with my golf partner the snow was rapidly melting away. And based on the forecast – which I never know when to trust – temps will be well above freezing the rest of the week.

Not sure if there will be golf, but perhaps spring sports in the form of baseball and softball will make their debut! 

Get over you seasonal defective disorder, Mother Nature! Remember how good sunshine and warm temperatures feel!

In the Blink of an Eye

Pardon any photos that might be too graphic. A year ago today my sister Rachel was on her way to Easter weekend services at church in Minnesota when an approaching car crossed the center line and hit her head-on. 

When fire department personnel and paramedics arrived, it took an hour for them to extract her and her passenger (friend Brian) with the hopes that at least one of them – hopefully both – would survive. Honestly, it was touch and go. The med flight from the accident scene to the Twin Cities included some emergency blood transfusions just to keep Rach alive.

Brian had a fractured pelvis and a shorter, but still painful, hospitalization and recovery. For my sister, there were literally months of time in the ICU at Regions Hospital where we all took turns visiting – and you, my prayer warriors, were with me on those journeys. Thank you!

Three months after the accident, Rachel could finally return home. But it was during that time that my mom had her own home accident and ended up in a nursing home, then hospital, then passed away. We waited until Rachel was able to attend a funeral – months later – and that's where that top photo is from. All of us together – and our wardrobes giving a nod to Mom's love of flowers.

Today, Rachel is not out of the woods. She's fighting an infection from some of her new internal hardware. And, once that's clear, needs to have major surgery on that left leg that didn't heal at the correct angle.

What I've learned from this is that we can never take even the tiniest of moment of our lives for granted. Never take your family, your friends, your job, your health, your home, the air you breathe for granted. Life can change in the blink of an eye!

I also learned that when I reach out to friends and family – even strangers, there is an army of prayer warriors just waiting to support us, whether they've met my sister or not.

We so appreciate all of you for not only praying during the immediate crisis, but continually asking "How is your sister?" It means the world to all of us. And God is definitely listening. 

In turn, I pray none of you have to go through anything remotely as stressful and painful as this. Treasure each minute of each day!

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!

Spicing Up Our Saturday

You're never too old to try something new. Sometimes your only regret is that you didn't try it sooner. After tonight's delicious dinner, hubby and are definitely wishing we'd tried Korean food sooner.

We finally got to celebrate son No. 1's birthday. He had some car issues during his actual birthday weekend 2 weeks ago, but Casey and Emily it over from the cities this weekend. Clay and Becca recommended we all go up to Stevens Point and try one of their favorite places – BroKogi Korean Fusion Restaurant.

According to USA Today's 2025 Restaurants of the Year list, this little restaurant (which started out as a food truck just a few years ago) is one of the top 44 places to eat in the entire country.

We could see why.

My dish above was the Spicy Sweet Gangjeong (fancy for boneless chicken). I got to choose my spice level from 1 to 5. I love spicy but I went with a 3 level to be safe. It was super tasty. Jim got the Jobchae. Both boys managed to eat their meals with chopsticks! We gotta get out more!

Anyway, it was so great to have at least 75% of our little clan together. And now that our Rapids contingent knows the is restaurant is within eyesight of my work, there may be to-go orders on the way home in my future.

Looking forward to returning. So many other dishes I'd like to try. 

Including their larger than life cheesy Korn Dog. Emily gave it two thumbs up! And Casey had to help her finish it. It was ginormous.

So tomorrow starts a new week. Make a goal to try one new thing. You might like it!

TGIMM (Thank God It's March Madness)

 

Of course I filled out a bracket at work. No cost so it's not illegal. We just have some interesting "traveling trophies."

Do I even know what I am doing? No. Does the competitive me still hope to win? Of course.

But I just pick a random upset here or there and see if it pans out – after no more than 3 seconds of picking each winner. Today Memphis lost and I had them set to win 2 more games. So I logged off and started my weekend pity party early.

And by party I mean taking a 2-mile walk with a friend and watching a few more episodes of The Crown while Jim works his church fish fry. I will watch Marquette tonight to support Wisconsin. But don't judge me if it's on mute and I am listening to an audio book.

March Madness means different things to different people. Good luck!

First Day of Spring or Something

Happy first day of Spring! Or something. I mean we were eventually above freezing today, it didn't completely erase the "winter hangover" that occurred last night. 

To start the day, my commute was atrocious. Lots of icy, slippery spot but the sunrise made it seem beautiful.

After work, when I needed to get some steps, I realized there was still some icy messiness.

And also realized many neighbors got their dogs out for walks and the dogs probably loved it!

While I got my post-work steps, I also noticed the "frosted flakes" looking hay bales.

And the neighborhood kiddos making a snowman. Thank goodness I took this picture early since there was a Packers hat on him later!

Just. a few proofs of icicles last night that hung today!

And the big snow/ice chunks that ended up in the streets in town. I'm not blaming my "townie" friends but keep in mind low vehicles like mine can't handle that . 

Probably logical for what we call Spring in central Wisconsin! Be careful out there!

Spring Eve?

I don't know about you, but my calendar says that the first day of spring is Thursday, March 20. Uhm... that's tomorrow! Today, though, looks like this in central Wisconsin.

I drove to Stevens Point for work knowing that the Winter Storm Warning wasn't in effect until 1 p.m. Figured I'd work in the office and drive home at lunch. I guess the weather dudes were a little off schedule because I drove home at noon and it was flakes the size of quarters and quite the sh...shlush show on the roads.

Took me 50 minutes to drive my 30-minute commute.

But I'm not the only disgruntled one on Blue Jay Drive.

After grabbing some quality time with Mr. Deck Chair last week, he's pretty ticked off. I hear you, my friend!

Since today is Wednesday, I did venture out to bring bars to our soup supper before Lenten services and choir practice at church. Only to realize that was canceled tonight.

By then, visibility was even worse and the roads atrocious. So, as my baby advised me, tonight will be a good night for Hallmark. I hear you as well, my child! 

Hubby has his 37th annual March Madness "draft" party so I wish him safe travels home later. Hopefully plows get out. I might tackle a little shoveling later. But I like the idea of a good Christmas movie (I'm still behind) to set the mood!

Be careful out there!