Sneaky Sticker Shock

After an oil change this morning, I had to stop and gas up and... I must not have paying attention lately because gas prices have jumped sky high.

Also why I was putting gas in my mileage-friendly Honda vs hubby's truck for an evening trip to Green Bay for a friend's retirement.

I looked it up – on my trusty, historical-record-type blog, of course – and the last time gas prices were of concern or of note was in June of 2022 when we hit $4.87 per gallon of the regular unleaded variety. God bless you diesel people. Ouch.

We did have fun at our friend Scott's retirement party. We both worked with him at Rapids newspaper and then again at the publishing house in Iola. He and his wife Sandy are the ones from Green Bay that we meet up with each summer for at least one golf round on a nice course somewhere!

On the way home, we had to keep a sharp eye out for deer and orange construction barrels. It's that time of year.

You'd think this would be a nice sunset reflection on a lake. But nope its a flooded farm field near Shiocton. Nearly half of the 400 homes in the village were evacuated two weeks ago as the Wolf River reached record levels with that constant rain. The road was dry today. But there is going to be quite the agricultural impact on that area of Wisconsin, I'm sure.

Got home in time for me to get 8 hours of sleep before I sing in church in the morning. Then BINGO. I gotta play for gas money now!!

Cheering for a Green Bay Team... Wait, Wut?

You knew there'd come a day when the Austins would cheer for a Green Bay team. Spoiler alert: It ain't football!

The quick back story is that our friends' three little girls used to think there were referring to Jim and me as Mr. and Mrs. "Awesome" rather than Austin. So how could we not fall in love with them and consider them ours as they grew up through school years at Assumption, college years, and beyond.

All 3 played softball at their respective colleges. Ava, the youngest, was a star pitcher for the Royals and is in her sophomore year at UW-Green Bay throwing for the Phoenix. In past years, our spring road trip/travel time was limited when Jim was coaching baseball. This year, his freedom opened up a new freedom to leave town. (As you may have noticed on recent weekends!)

Ava's team had their last regular season home games today and tomorrow so we figured we'd go to Green Bay, now that all the NFL Draft enthusiasts were out of town. Unlike the MLB, they don't necessarily announce their starting pitchers until game time. So there was a chance she wouldn't be taking the mound today with 2 games today and 1 more tomorrow – all versus the University of Detroit Mercy. 

With a Phoenix as their school mascot, it was inspiring to see the uplifting messages on the drive in to the field.

It's Ava's place to continue to rise, for sure!

The good news is that the Phoenix won game 1.

And came back after a rough first inning to dominate game 2!

Unfortunately, our dear girl didn't get to pitch today. But she was still all smiles seeing us and her parents and one sister – and a few other fans who drove over from Wisconsin Rapids today. She deservedly has the biggest fan club! Now we know that next year we'll just have to get some earlier games. Like someplace further south maybe!

We did not let the chilly, windy weather or her lack of pitching time spoil our day. It was still great to see everyone – so not a wasted trip!

As a bonus, we stopped on our way home at a new BBQ joint in Waupaca that our friends recommended.

Located on Hwy QQ almost across the street from our fave Waupaca hangout – Clearwater Harbor – this place is just in its second year of operation.

 

Very cool vibe inside and the food... wow. This is Jim's ginormous Brisket Tacos. Two is all you need and might be one too many!

Meanwhile, even me and my big mouth could not bite into this tall Pulled Pork Sandwich. I tried 3 different BBQ sauces as I made my way down the pile – with a fork! Always fun to try new places. Highly recommend!

With all that fresh air and food, I think we'll sleep good tonight. And knowing that there's definitely only one Green Bay team we're cheering for, we should rest easy. 😃

That Bloomin' Draft

I thought it quite appropriate that my lovely flowers are blooming Vikings colors in time for the NFL draft.

Though hubby has some sort of draft pool with friends each year, I normally don't pay much attention to it. But this year, it's being held in Wisconsin. So we can't ignore the hype.

Our friends who own Feltz Family Farms and Dairy Store made the news big time last fall when this was their corn maze. Pretty cool. And as someone who does marketing for a hotel, I've been paying attention for months.

Between Jim and I, we know at least a half-dozen friends who are among the 200,000 NFL fans in Green Bay. As far as we know, they haven't been squished or trampled yet! 

But as for the actual picks? Well I hope every year our Vikings will build an offensive line that can give our QB of the moment some time to throw. In my many decades of fandom, that hasn't happened yet. But like every other football FANatic, I still hold out hope.

Good luck to your teams – and enjoy our Wisconsin hospitality!

Golden Girls

I'll begin with how it ends. Spoiler alert: Our Lady Royals brought home the gold ball today!!

And it didn't come easy.

This is the 6th time we've battled Barneveld in the Division 5 championship game. Four of those were every year Carter was in high school when his classmates brought home two golds and two silvers. Always tough competition.

And today was a nail biter. We were behind and then kept it close to a 2- to 4-point margin most of the game. No one was grabbing complete control of the lead. It came down to our girls making some must-make free throws in the final seconds to put us up by 4. And our low-scoring victory was 34-30.

We'll take it! 

So proud of these girls – especially the 4 seniors who played at state as freshman. They worked hard for this and deserve it!

Now, after editing and uploading 425 photos in the past 2 days, this photographer is going to bed and relaxing for 20 days until that first softball game!

TGIF Victory!

What a great day off! Except for the very early alarm, that is. Our friends Craig and Sara got to our house at 6 a.m. and the four of us headed to Green Bay for the girls state basketball tournament. Since we made good time, we had to stall awhile before entering the Resch Center. 

But (spoiler alert) every minute was worth it in the end.

Our Lady Royals were ranked No. 1 out of the 4 state Division 5 teams but really, we are still battling one of the top 4 teams in the state. So I was very conservative with my confidence. And it was a slow start before both teams started scoring. It took quite a while for our girls to get past nerves or whatever and start taking control.

With my "school photographer" pass I had the honor of sitting courtside on a hard floor (since when do I sit for a half hour at a time in the criss cross applesause stature?) I was glad to successfully rise to my feet after the first half. Not kidding. But my second half location had several friends saying they saw my on TV (above). All I can say is the camera adds 20 pounds.

It was an exciting game, though, and our feisty girls did what they always do and even set the record for most steals in a tournament game – across any division.

So awesome! Hope they can carry that momentum into Saturday when we face Barneveld – the team we faced all 4 years of Carter's high school years. Both teams ended up with 2 gold balls and 2 silver balls. Quite the long-standing rivalry.

We did get back in time to enjoy a nearly record-setting  Friday in central Wisconsin. The weather will dip a bit tomorrow, but I hope we can still latch onto some records at the championship game. Go Royals!

Lighthouse Lovers, Anyone?

Since my first real job in a town that had a lighthouse – what I refer to as MY lighthouse – I've been a tiny bit obsessed.

In normal people's language, "A TON obsessed"

So yes, after re-doing our kitchen and dining room and having no need for lighthouse replicas or a lighthouse and seascape decor theme in central Wisconsin, I'm getting rid most of my lighthouse-related decor, etc.

So if you have an interest in anything from cookie jars and plates and "fish net" to framed prints of lighthouses, let me know. I always try to give stuff to good homes if they want them. Otherwise I'll promptly get to pricing these things. 

Not that I want or need to let it go, but it's time.

Contact me for details. You know who you are!

Wonder-SKOL Sunday

 Wake-up temps were at the freezing mark, but I never did feel cold today. Even after 6 or 7 hours outdoors. This indoor NFL fan can handle the elements after all. Especially in close quarters during tailgating and the game.

I picked up my friend and host and ticket-giver Dave at 7 a.m. and we made our way to Green Bay.

Even though they (Packers) claim their border battle is really with the Bears, the made special buttons for today. Thank you!

Dave and I before the battle. I loved his Halloween hat. But that was it. 

I immediately ran into some Vikings fans face-painting each other so I felt good I was not the only Vikings fan in the Packers tailgating area.

Then I saw more and thought: This is going to be a good day!

This is my friend's Lot 1 setup. I designated myself as the person who took people's phones to take pictures of them doing the shot-ski. That was fun.

And as for dressing up, it got crazy and cool. Here's Dave with the friendly minion.

Meanwhile, I only posed when I could cover up the ugly G on his midsection. I'm strategic!

I thought this was a highly clever Halloween snack display!

Hi Vikings fan. OMG those are legit upper-body tattoos of Viking things. Wow.

And this guy was a scary Vikings fan but had a wife who dressed similarly as a Packers fan. Does Halloween matter? I don't think so.

Of course you know this guy from TV. I decided to pose with him for my siblings who are Packers fans.

Then, even smiled to be nice. LOL.

And then met lots of cool Vikings fans. Go bald and bold, I say!

Hello, SKOL Vader!

I'm pretty sure we're both on the Dark Side when we're at Lambeau!

Random Joe Exotic sighting.

And yes, I met Eddie Lacy and he says hi to my family and friends who are legit Packers fans! 

My friend and co-worker Hannah and I were able to tailgate together for all of 3 minutes before it was time to head in.

Cute couple. Sorry your day wasn't as good as mine!

When I see some purple and gold flowers going in, I know it's a good sign. And it was.

Badger Marching Band playing National Anthem!

Flyover one.

Flyover two.

Game time!

Our seat views. In comfortable Club Seats with backs and cupholders. Nice.

I could see action!

Game-time temp. Thank goodness for the hand warmers. I never did need the foot warmers. Yay!

A little touchcown play.

Badgers at halftime. You rock!

As you heard media outlets predict, there were a lot of Vikings fans at Lambeau today. And it was exciting to participate in our SKOL chant in the 4th quarter!

Yup we won! And was a privilege to witness in person. Thankfully there were 2 other Vikings fans within high-five distance so I felt OK celebrating the win!

And the UW Marching Band played a 5th quarter, so that was a treat too! 

Of course, driving into the sunset was a treat onto its own. Hope you enjoyed it. Or at least some part of your Sunday.