Fun With The Niece-To-Be

When a Sunday drive is about 9 hours on the road, it helps that it is worth it. Hit the road at 7 a.m. to attend the bridal shower for my nephew Eric's soon-to-be wife. Due to so much road construction it ended up taking about 4 1/2 hours to get to Grantsburg. but I still got there in time to set up the welcome poster (above) that I designed and many more decorations.

My sister Romey (mother of the groom) outdid herself but is was all a wonderful theme of sunflowers, chickens (which they raise) and a tribute to the bride's mom, who passed away from cancer earlier this year.

I especially loved the center pieces because I immediately recognized the chicken salt and pepper shakers to the right of the vase as something my Grandma Flossie had. (She had hundreds in her collection!)

Bride-to-be Stephanie is in the center flanked by her daughter on the right and a foreign exchange student (left) they're hosting for the upcoming school year.

The soon-to-be mother in law and aunties!

Regarding gift opening... I was thrilled when the bride gushed over my blanket, wrapped it around her shoulders and said she loved it. Multiple times. Long live personal off-the-gift-registry gifts. Ha!

After the shower, I had a chance to visit with Dad and Mom. The gravestone finally has Mom's "end date" which was a bit jarring. As I said in my convo to them "I still don't think it's fair I'm this young to have no parents!" Every time it's refreshed grief. As one of the babies of the family, probably won't get over that. Ever. 

In the last hour or so stretch of the trip home, I noticed I was going into some very darkened skies to the east. But then I caught sight of more than one rainbow.

I actually pulled over and took a picture on the side of the road because I could see hints of purple – not always the case. Or as I say it, the IV in the ROY-G-BIV color scheme!

It did help guide my home. And to be fair, I went a completely different than I did on the way up. Still road construction, but for way fewer miles!

When I got home I learned my hubby's team – the Reds – ended the Brewers' win streak. Sorry about that. I say with fake sincerity since we all grasp for a win – even at a word scramble game at a bridal shower!

Game on!

What the ... Heal?

It stinks that when I'm ready to raise a banner saying, "I only coughed 3 times today!" that hubby continues to hack away. Feeling quite helpless at this point.

We both did got to our churches this morning, but then it was pretty much hunkered down at home. I had few more scrapbooking odds and ends to take care of, but mostly it was just checking out who would be in the superbowl.

In the Eagles-Commanders game, I was actually pulling for the Commanders even though they knocked us out. Mainly because a sort of local kid – Tyler Biadasz from Amherst – plays for them. If you can believe it, Carter played against him in both middle school football and basketball. Too bad they couldn't hold on and win.

The Bills-Chiefs game is on right now. The Bills are like the Vikings in that we've been to 4 Super Bowls but have never won. But I do I want them to win this year instead of us?? Not necessarily. The only reason I am cheering for the Chiefs has nothing to do with Mahomes or the Kelsey/Swift thing. 

Linebacker Leo Chenal is from Grantsburg, Wisconsin, the town I was born in (thanks to Burnett General Hospital) and where I still have family living. He's been such a gracious super star and mentor there, it'd be cool to see him get the change to continue that at the mature age of 24!

So we'll see what the final score brings. 

And what another medicated night's sleep brings to the house. This has to evening end, right? Stay safe and healthy out there, friends!

Friends and Family Time

What a full and fulfilling couple of days.

I took Friday off just to get some errands done - including waiting in a forever line just save $25 on my oil change. Good thing I shut my car off or I might have gone through $25 worth of gas!

For real fun, I caught part of birthday lunch with my golf partner. I missed the golf part thanks to that stupid long line!

For fake fun, I also vacuumed my car after removing all the golf stuff and photo shoot ladders. I needed the space for some precious cargo to take Up North today.

If you want to know what love looks like, it's something like this. A car filled with 11 raffle baskets for my sister's benefit next month. It worked out conveniently to drop them off at Rachel's today (Side note: She's getting around great with a walker now!!) while we picked her up to go to our Uncle Hartley's funeral. 

On the way there, we stopped at the cemetery to visit what I always called "Dad's grave." It's so weird to think Mom's there now, too. Just hasn't sunk in. 😢

Then it was onto the funeral... The first hard part was that mere days after Uncle Hartley died, his son (and our cousin) Jeff died of cancer. So much loss!

The second hard part was that the funeral was held in the same church in Grantsburg where we just had Mom's service. Just too soon. 😭

The good part, though, was seeing so much family again. Some people I didn't get a chance to talk to at Mom's funeral. And of course, the 8 R's hadn't all been together since Mom's funeral either.

Lots of love and hugs.

Jim and I drove back tonight since we both have church obligations in the morning – he's reading at his and I'm singing at mine. Top photo was our pretty sunset drive home before two detours, darkness, then 90 minutes of intermittent fog on Deer Alley (that whole route from Osseo to Neillsville to Rapids). Grateful to be home safely!

And grateful for special times with people we care about. Hug your loved ones!

Bringing Joy to Others

We laid Momma to rest today. After a lovely memorial service in a church filled with people whose lives she touched. She would have absolutely loved it.

The theme for today – as you'll see in our group photo later – was anything floral (she had two green thumbs!) and her favorite color purple (except not the Vikings).

My nephew Eric read the eulogy and everyone in attendance was quite familiar with Mom's love of writing and sending out cards for birthdays, anniversarys, and other special occasions – and letters to raise funds for the annual Cancer Walk in Luck.

Mom always said she was most comfortable with a pen in hand – and her penmanship was immaculate. I may have gotten the gift of writing from her, but not the gift of penmanship!

In her words, "Of course I like to write. That's why I feel the need to keep on writing to people for as long as my hand will do it. Someday my hand will be still and I can't do that anymore. If there's something that comes easy to you, do it. See if will bring some joy to someone else."

She sure did that! Something we all should strive for, if you ask me.

For special music, our cousins Laryn and Lydell sang, "Why me, Lord" and the church soloist sang Mom's favorite song from her record player days, "One Day at a Time" by Marilyn Sellars. Both songs were beautiful. And of course the closing "How Great Thou Art" had me sobbing uncontrollably, per usual.

The luncheon was a nice to catch up with so many cousins and the amazing people who traveled from Wisconsin Rapids, Milwaukee and Madison to support me and my family. Thanks, Clay, Becca, Baird, Sherry, Mike, Christine, and Julie. Love you all!

Since the service was held at larger church in Grantsburg, we headed down to our tiny home church, Laketown Lutheran, for the burial.

When Dad died, he wanted the grandkids to dig the hole for his urn. Mom wanted the same and this time the little great-grandchildren lent a hand with the shovels. 

After some words from the pastor, my twin Raylene and I were honored to lower Mom's urn into a resting place beside Dad. 

We had 8 yellow roses at the service representing the 8 R's – and had 3 white roses in memory of the babies Mom lost – a full set of twins and Rachel's twin brother, all who died shortly after birth. Raylene and I placed the white roses around Mom's urn, knowing she is once again united with her angel babies.

Did I mention there was a lot of crying?

We did manage some smiles, though, for out group photos...

The 8 R's and our floral palooza.

The OG 11 grandchildren all grown up!

And some but not all of the great-grand littles.

We were all pretty sure that by the time we pulled out of the church driveway, Mom and Dad (who loved to dance) were already Waltzing Across Texas!

Thanks to all of you who came in person today or sent cards and texts of support. It means the world to us.

Just like Mom did. 

In her gratitude journal on March 25, 2022, she wrote: "Today I turned 90. How did I get this far? ONE DAY AT A TIME, I guess."

Rest in peace, Momma. You deserve it!

Roller Coaster Weekend

Not to sound like old hat, but I'd prefer a boring weekend with nothing to do and no place to go over a roller coaster of a ride through ups and downs and loops of emotions.

Saturday morning dawned sunny and warm – and about to get hot. 

My only mission was getting hanging flower baskets. I always wait until later in May, hoping to miss the risk of freezing temperatures.

I was not the only one with this line of thinking. Apparently hundreds of people – at one store alone – thought it was National Spend Too Much Money on Hanging Flower Baskets Day. I was happy with my purcha$e$. 😀 Got home, hung them up, mowed around the house, clipped the long grass close to the curb and front landscaping area, then took a shower. 

That was an "up" the roller coaster part.

Then it went "down." My twin called me and let me know that Mom had gone from the nursing home to the ER and had pneumonia. But it did not look good. Like "maybe you better drive up and see her" type of not good. 😟

Nothing like trying to make a 4-hour trip in less than 4 hours when there's road construction and detours! Two promising signs on my drive: 

These clouds were opening up like God was saying "I got you" when it comes to prayers for my mother, sister, and close friend with scary health issues. 

Then, as I was scanning channels, some song named LeRoy came on and I figured Dad was guiding my drive and watching over Mom, too!

Got there just before visiting hours ended to see Mom and see that thankfully their emergency administrations of oxygen and whatnot (not to diminish it, I just don't know) were helping her. She was able to communicate again. And though she had a tough cough, I was there when the tele-doctor was visiting her. 

When he asked her about what she thought might be bringing on her bouts of nausea, she answered, "I know one thing it's NOT. I'm not pregnant." The doctor got a good chuckle from that and said, "Marlys, if you're still making jokes, you're doing just fine."

That's my mom! 😀

After that, I called hubby to update him and learned that we got hail twice in the evening and the future state of my new flower$ was que$tionable. 😟

I slept at my sister Nell's place nearby and was able to get back to the hospital before 9 a.m. She just finished breakfast and was very tired. I offered her a chance to nap or play cards and she responded, "I think you know what I'd rather do." So I retrieved her cards from her nursing home room.

And she proceeded to kick my butt. (I'm embarrassed to show the score!) There's a fine line between luck and skill, but I haven't determined what that is yet. Her nurse said Mom has basically played cards against every nurse on every shift and even taught a few how to play. She's definitely not ready to give in and miss her play time!

On my way out of town, I had a quick lunch with my sister RoAnn, her son Travis and his family.

My great-niece is pretty much the cutest lunch date I could have! 😀

I managed to find a route home with minimal construction – thankfully! And was still an hour from home when Jim called me asking if I got a text. I said my phone dinged but I was waiting to stop at a gas station to check them.

Turns out I won the Assumption grand raffle of $5,000! Well that's something to end this roller coaster ride with! 😀 Before today: "I never win anything!" Now: "I might not beat Mom at cards but I can win something!" Based on all my "medical trips" to see family, I'll count this is gas money for now.

And maybe hail-damaged flower replacement. We'll see. 

Thanks for all your continued prayers. Let's all have a normal, even-keel week, shall we?

Lights, Memories, and Bears, Oh My

The past two days felt more like a very long weekend with all the activities going on between here, Up North and back again.

First of all, even though I left by 8:30 a.m. Friday, it was a long haul going up to Grantsburg. For you future travels, it's almost all one lane going north on I-94 from Osseo to Bloomer (via Hwy 53). In the picture above we were pretty much at a standstill the last few miles on I-94 before I could exit onto 53. 

Guess Friday is a travel day even if it's not summer. Of course, those weren't my only delays.

Saw at least 5 deer – hey, they even cross roads in daylight! And, for the first time in my life, a black bear crossed the road in front of me. I was so startled that between slamming on my brakes and trying to grab my phone for a picture, I only caught this...

His quick scamper into the woods. Unreal! I mean most of my siblings who live in the Northwoods have seen a black bear – even Carter did vacationing up there as a child – but not me. Wow.

The only other delay was one of my own choosing – stopping to visit Dad. Unfortunately, the only flowers nearby were dandelions. 

Still, it was nice to visit with him and see my childhood church! 

I also stopped to see Mom at the nursing home before going to her apartment so I could give her her Mother's Day gift and visit a bit one on one. She's been having good days and not-so-good days. But she wants to get better and get her strength back!

The main purpose of my visit was to help go through her apartment with my siblings and decide what we wanted, what others might want, and what we could donate as we clean out her place by the end of the month. Friday afternoon was spent with a handful of my sisters as we cleaned out things and organized them into piles we could all look at today to see what we wanted to keep for ourselves.

Four of us had dinner at T-Dawg's in Grantsburg and Renell, who I was staying with, had some work training. 

I was enjoying the pretty sunset view from her apartment and considered it a good day. 

But it wasn't long after she got home that Jim texted me a picture of the Northern Lights from the Rapids area. My mind has been in so many places this week that I didn't realize this was a big thing that pretty much everyone in the contiguous United States could see.

So we got in the car and headed north of town to Phantom Lake in the Crex Meadows area. And dozens of other cars full of people had the same idea.

It was really strange. To the naked eye, we couldn't really see the colors, just some wisps of "clouds" in the sky. But then when we took pictures with our phones, we could see the brilliant colors everyone else was capturing. Pretty amazing.

And pretty cool seeing them by a lake where we could capture the color reflecting on the water. First time since childhood I've really got to see them. It was awesome!

This morning, the 7 of us (with Rachel there in spirit) were sorting through things at 10 a.m.

I wasn't expecting that Mom had all our baby shoes ready for us to take home. Yes, I guess my tiny shoes are antiques.

And yes, Mom wanted evidence that we were all alive and not fighting each other over anything. We survived it fine and really didn't had any reason for fisticuffs. 

By mid-afternoon, after I had two boxes of stuff "I don't need" but took anyway, I stopped by to see Mom one more time and hit the road.

I took a different route back. But turns out Highway 53 from Spooner to Rice Lake was just one lane so that wasn't a quicker route home. And, if you can believe it, I saw another black bear cross the road in front of me between Neillsville and Pittsville. It was far enough down the road, I didn't have to slam on my brakes but too far for me to get a picture. Just unreal to experience 2 bear crossings in 2 days.

And tonight, I could experience the special lights 2 out of 2 days. At least some of my unexpected surprises were good. And the others, thank goodness, didn't cause any damage to my car! 

Thanks, God, for the beauty and the safety!

Doing My Rounds

Just like a doctor or nurse, I was doing my medical rounds today. About 525 miles in 12 hours.

Left at 8 a.m. and headed north and west to Grantsburg, Wisconsin. Thankfully I was fueled by a Taco John's breakfast burrito to concentrate on 4 hours of driving in the rain. Yuck. Thankfully I wasn't hypnotized watching the wipers. As far as I know, that is.

I walked into the Grantsburg hospital – where I haven't been for at least a decade – and walked up to the registration desk and said "I was born in this hospital but I have no idea where I'm going." Thankfully they pointed me in the right direction.

I just happened to pass by this little tribute to Dr. Hartzell, who delivered 6 of the 8 R's (including my twin and me). Our names probably should've been on the plaque!

Got to Mom's room and of course, was just not prepared to see her tiny, fragile frame in a hospital gown and oxygen tubes in her nose. But she wasn't acting as frail as she looked. Lunch was just delivered so we chatted while she was eating – and I made sure she ate some of her chocolate cake for dessert.

She had quite a tale about her fall and the many hours until they found her. She admits she was dreaming alot of it, but she still had the details in her head 6 days after the event. Since she still has her wits about her 100% she said she's convinced the night nurses to play cards with her.

"That first night, I beat her pretty good," she said. That's so my mom. And also why her 8 R's are pretty competitive!

Speaking of R's... I found out that the reason I was named Robyn was because her sister Violet liked the name and after having her own Roger, Ronda, and Renae, she couldn't use it. And, by mere coincidence, one of those R's showed up as I was leaving. 

Since Mom is 92, she'll likely be under observation for awhile, but she's definitely not ready to give up! Thank the Lord.

After a 2-hour visit with her, I headed for the Twin Cities. It was sort of like the Medical Triangle... Northwest to Grantsburg then southwest to St. Paul then east to Wisconsin Rapids.

In Rachel's 2 1/2 weeks, she received a lot of notes, cards, and gifts of support. Today I found her in a regular surgical care room instead of ICU. 

A friend of mine who went through a similar trauma said it was so important for Rachel and her caregivers to see her as she really was before the accident. And one of my co-workers gave me the BELIEVE sign to add to her collection. I love that people who've never met my sister still support her and pray for her even if you haven't met her.

THANK YOU!

I was able to visit her for about 2 hours since she's not in ICU and no one was awaiting their turn. She has been through so much and has so many surgeries, we just marveled at how God must have a plan for her. But let's not worry about figuring that out right now.

If you didn't know, the state capitol is within view of the hospital. Pretty cool.

When I left Regions, I had to deal with rush hour traffic but didn't want to drive in the dark. The way it was, the last 2 hours were that stupid "deer like to play in the street" hours. I braked so hard once – around tripodometer mile 488 – that everything in the back and front seat flew forward.

Grateful for a safe arrival home and precious time with family.

Hug your loved ones!!

Tough Mudders

Earlier this week marked 5 months since my mother-in-law passed away. Some days it still feels like fresh grief for Jim, his sister, and dad. That's when I decided I should get Up North and see my own mom. Can't take her presence for granted. 

So I hit the road at 8 a.m. and headed north. I had my route planned out with several stops to make during my 4-hour trek to Grantsburg.

Stop 1: Hawkeye Dairy in Abbotsford. Can't break my tradition of ice cream for breakfast when I'm going solo for the long haul.

Stop 2: Buy lottery tickets in Luck. Still want to be that hometown girl from Luck who got lucky!!

Stop 3: Say hello to dad. You can tell they had tons of snow since his wreath pretty green. The other sign that they had lots of snow that melted is that top photo on the way to the cemetery. I'm gonna start calling my Honda "Moses" after successfully parting the Red Sea.

Made it to Mom's a little after noon. Not bad. I told Mom we could go wherever she wanted for lunch and we could drive wherever. I was hers for the afternoon. She had "walleye fingers" on her mind – which she enjoys at The Pour House in Siren – but we decided to take the scenic route to get there. She wanted to show me some places she lived as a child and went to school. 

By the time we turned off on the first super curvy road, I said, "Mom, it's like we're 4-wheeling! At least my Honda has 4 wheels!"

First historic site was where she went to grade school. While the Wood Creek School house is gone, they at least had a sign she could stand near. I made sure to get the street sign in there, too, so I'd know where it is! 

From there we went to what is left of the homestead. She was not kidding when she told us she walked 2 miles to school! Uphill both ways! There is a steep ravine that had to be tough going up on the way to school and the way home. She told me about seeing a bear on the other side of it once. And said on winter days when it was really cold, her dad (Grandpa Ernie) would hitch up the sleigh to take her to school since the car wouldn't start in the cold weather either.

The genealogy nerd in me was eating this up!!

We also ate the Walleye Fingers and Buffalo Chicken Sandwich at The Pour House, too. After a leisurely lunch, she wanted to show me another place she lived in childhood.

She thinks it was at the corner of Dan Johnson and Olsen roads. How's that for Scandinavian heritage? I let her think it over while I captured a trumpeter swan out for a swim. She still wasn't sure but figured it would be familiar to her if we headed west on Olsen Road. Which, mind you, was a dirt (aka MUDDY) road with too many pot holes to mention.

I felt like I was in a video game zig-zagging around the pot holes. Then the game got interesting. My "low fuel" light came on. I said, "Mom, you better know how to get us back to town because if I have to call for help, I don't know where we are."

After much jostling and laughter, we got to a road that headed west.

Not muddy exactly. Just a fresh pile of dirt that the grader just laid. More laughter and more 4-wheeling adventures. When we got to a road with a sign that said Daniels 70, I asked if this was Highway 70 leading to Grantsburg. Mom's like, "Yes, we're in Daniels Township."

Well that must have been an Old 70 because it went back north. Meanwhile, I'm keeping a close eye on that Low Fuel light and hoping it's not too much of a wrong turn. At one point I said, "Mom, you realize when I get home and tell Jim about this he'll ask me why I was asking a 91-year-old for directions."

At least we made it to a gas station and her house for a little more visiting before I hit the road.

One final selfie for the road. As I left, Mom said, "Thanks for the date!" My pleasure. Haven't had one-on-one time with her in forever. It was awesome.

From there I headed home via Burnett Dairy Cheese Factory. I ran into Mike, who Jim and I worked with years ago at the newspaper in Rapids. He's been living just outside of Grantsburg – next to my aunt and uncle if you want to talk even smaller world.

Then my twin walked in for my second date of the day. We had a small bowl of Wisconsin S'mores Ice Cream for supper. Yup, my day came full circle with ice cream for two meals. Ha.

Yucky drive back in rain and road construction but Moses got me home safely. I see a car wash in my future tomorrow, though!