Every Day's a Holiday

There's so many random "holidays" every day, I don't know how a person keeps track! In addition to allegedly being National Kissing Day and National Onion Ring Day, it's Robyn's First Day Working From Home For The Next 6 Weeks Day! 

Also, I haven't had cake in FIVE days! That was a good streak while it lasted. Let's not celebrate that.

Someone who really paid attention to holidays – in particular "personal holidays" – was my mother. She was so good about sending cards for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, graduations, babies, get well thoughts, you name it. Always addressed in her perfect penmanship and including a nice, handwritten note.

Tonight at Book Club we discussed The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. I thought of my mom the entire time I was reading through. 

The main character wrote in one of her many letters that "the value of the written letter is, namely, that reaching out in correspondence is really one of the original forms of civility in the world, the preservation of which has to be of some value we cannot yet see."

I think I mentioned this book awhile back when I first started reading it. There is no narrative. There are only letters, set in such an order that you piece together the story. A lot of themes of grief and guilt and trying to mend relationships. Good stuff! 

I have a hard cover copy if anyone wants to borrow it.

And now I have to prepare for tomorrow. It's National Pink Day but also National Eat at a Food Truck Day so I need to find something loose-fitting. 

Happy holidays!

A LOVE-ly Day

Happy Valentine's Day! We currently have a lovely floral display in our kitchen – thanks to the tulips from the girls last night and the roses from hubby this morning! Smells great. Now just gotta keep them all alive!

Sometime this morning, my sister Rachel texted me to see if we had plans for the day. Turns out that she and our sister Rayna were not anxious to get home to Wisconsin after a month-plus in Florida so they wanted a detour.

So they came from St. Louis and made it here to have a tasty Valentine's dinner at The Ridges. Rachel got her hair braided and beaded when they hopped over to the Bahamas last week. How fun!

After dinner, the four of us played cards – competing like it was an Olympic sport, naturally – then watched some real Olympic recaps so we could see our Wisconsin boy speed skate to another gold! That's so awesome.

My sisters are staying here tonight at the Bloody Run Creek Cabin and we'll figure out the mayhem of church choir and pancake breakfast and BINGO in the morning.

For now it's just nice to have a house full of love. Hope you can say the same! 

Fa-La-La-La-Love!

Despite the fact Old Man Winter is trying to dump 10 inches of snow on us, it's been a really nice 2 days.

It's Cranberry Classic weekend, which means hubby (who is on the committee) was tied to Assumption High School yesterday and today for the annual basketball tournament. I shot pictures in the morning Friday then Carter, Mamie and I headed out to Black Fridays-ville.

I mean if you count buying raffle tickets to win Christmas trees and lawn ornaments! Locals, be sure you check out the Feztival of Trees put on by our local Shriners running through December 10. So many gorgeous (gift-filled) trees and wreaths you could win!

Last year, Carter and I sat on Santa's lap. This year, we sacrificed Mamie. Not sure what she wished for but Carter is still mad he didn't grant him his Vikings' Superbowl win wish from last time!

From there we went shopping in Stevens Point-Plover area to find Carter's gift. Success! 

Ate nearby at Chili's and enjoyed the fantabulous Nashville Hot chicken strips. Leftover box number 2 added the fridge!

Went to boys game last night and shot pictures of the varsity girls today before heading home in the snow. Unlike last time, it's sticking more to the roads than the trees. Ick.

Played some Five Crowns cards with the kids. By the third round I had 52 points (bad) and they each sat at zero. Then momma rallied all the way to the last hand when kings were also wild! That was fun.

When the basketball game was done we met Clay out to eat at the new BBQ Shack Bar and Grill (formerly Danny K's). 

Great visit and food. Wow. My oversized BBQ brisket sandwich means, you guessed it, leftover box #3 added to the fridge!

Now we're home safely, relaxing, and not really looking forward to tomorrow's snow removal! 

Stay safe out there!

Looks Like Christmas-ish

There are certain people who cannot resist mint chocolate – especially during Christmas season and, well, during St. Patrick's/Shamrock Shake time either. Me. I am those people!

Today, since I was actually home on a Saturday with no solid plans, I checked out some holiday expo that was being held at the Hotel Mead. Well it was HUGE this year with 80+ vendors spread out all over the first floor of the hotel, filling conference/banquet rooms and the lobby. I ran into so many people I knew, too, making it the best social hour (er, 90+ minutes) ever!

I had no real agenda or shopping list in mind (rookie mistake) but I found plenty to buy – including the homemade mint-chocolate bark pictured. Also, Millers' Amish farm had Coconut Creme fry pies as their featured flavor of the day. I bought 2 for the "deal" and said I didn't plan on sharing them! I did buy some fresh garlic beef sticks for hubby (possibly to appease my guilt) and a few stocking stuffers, but not really that much. 

Still it really got me in the mood for the upcoming season. I may have to turn on Hallmark tonight!

When I got home, Jim and I went up to Stevens Point to visit an old newspaper friend we very much keep in touch with – who just had some back/neck fusion type surgery. Great to see Scottie, but wow, I would not do well being in a neck brace for 12 weeks! So many hugs and prayers, my friend.

Got home and decided to work on our family Christmas card because Walgreens has a 70% off deal until 11:59 p.m. TONIGHT! Well, that's been interesting. I asked the boys for pictures of them and their ladies. I didn't think I had to point out "from 2025" but Mr. Smooth had a nice picture from early 2024 in Raleigh, N.C. Nope. Mom says no. Follow the basic rules of family Christmas cards everywhere. Also, while I think he and his girl are super photogenic, people can be hyper-sensitive so I am respecting that.

And sending them the bill if they can't agree on something well before midnight for this discount!

You're right, that is pretty Grinch-y. Maybe I will just head to the basement for a 2-hour Hallmark timeout. 

Looks and feels like the Christmas-y thing to do! Embrace the season, my friends.

TGIFF (Thank Goodness It's Fun Friday)

When Friday fun is on the agenda, I go all out. First was our company picnic. I worked a few hours in the morning then headed up to Stevens Point. My goal after last year was just to get a spot at the BINGO tables and win something.

Plus save 2 spots by me for my co-worker/friend Sharon and her daughter. 

Mission accomplished. Then Sharon won. Then I did!! I picked the Five Crowns card game as my prize. It's on that my sisters and I always play during sister weekend!

After that, it was time to eat and cross fingers we'd win one of the "big" raffle prizes – with an obvious 2,000 to 1 odds. I did not win.

But in Robyn's world, getting free ice cream is the same as winning. Just not the same dollar value as say a 4-some golf round at SentryWorld or a PS5. I crossed my fingers so hard! To no avail.

Then this evening the fun continued at the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters game. The church in Rudolph where Jim sings in the guitar choir had the Rat Trap upper deck platform reserved.

Nice view of the game, but mostly just chit-chatting with friends and eating for a few hours. The scoreboard was not working so I don't know if our hometown team won. Based on the lack of cheering, I don't think we did.

Still it was a fun evening after a fun afternoon. I'd take a "work" day like this anytime!

Enjoy your weekend!

The Clouds are Always Greener...

Usually the saying is about the grass being greener on the other side of the fence. But today, the unsual thing is the clouds in the weatherman's forecast being greener. I mean green as in RAIN, not snow or sleet. 

All day.

Since I had today off I opted for an oil change instead of a car wash (look how smart I am at the end of the year?!). Then sat inside and knocked off two DVR'd Christmas movies. Making progress there!

Late this afternoon, my nephew Tony (twin sister's son) arrived and is staying the night on his way from Up North to Green Bay. We went out to eat for a delicious (but super slowly delivered) fish fry at Ryder's Roadhouse. And now might play some cards as long as we're snowed, er rained, in.

I guess we should've left our rain gauge out. Hopefully it doesn't turn to ice overnight. If so, be extra careful out there!

Shooting Hoops and Stuff

After our boy hit the road Saturday morning to head back to Iowa, the rest of the weekend flew by.

Jim and I both pretty much spent the day at Assumption High School for the Cranberry Classic basketball tournament yesterday. He was doing official committee-type duties and I was shooting pictures of our 3 Royals teams I didn't get to on Friday. 

Our Lady Royals won the girls tournament and our boys went 0-2 with some close, hard-fought games. Should be a fun season watching them all!

The "and stuff" part of the weekend was me waking up stuffed up with a scratchy throat this morning. Took me some time (and hot tea) to get my voice up to normal. So unfortunately I had to miss church choir. And BINGO.

And then I almost lost my voice again yelling at the Vikings! I had hoped to stuff Christmas cards into envelopes and put on stamps and labels while watching the game. But I couldn't relax enough to multi-task!

Thank SKOL-ness we had one final reason to raise our voices in the end when we came back to beat Arizona 23-22. Uff da.

I did start working on the card project after that. But when the first mailing label on the list is my mom's, my heart was not in it. Gonna need a minute. That's the worst part about updating labels – having to remove people who physically left our lives over the past year, but are still with us in spirit. 

I suppose, since it's only December 1st, I could put that off for a few days and, for fun, log onto my work computer to see how many hundreds of emails showed up during my vacation! I don't think I want that to be part of my "and stuff" for the weekend.

I do have to remember how to set my alarm again. Totally worth it.

Have a wonder-SKOL week, everyone!

Girls' Getaway

There were many times this spring when we wondered if we'd have our 26th annual sister weekend this fall with all 7 of us sisters. By the grace of God, we could.

Since we had to wait some time to know if our sister Rachel was OK first, then OK to walk in some fashion second, we waited to find a place for a getaway. What ended up working was a few days in the middle of the week rather than a weekend. 

In November.

So I found (via VRBO) a huge house in the Twin Cities area that had a first-floor bedroom for Rachel, plus plenty of dining and relaxing space also on the first floor. As a bonus, we all got our own bedrooms and queen beds – except my twin and I sharing the master suite.

And here's one view of that master suite. A king-size bed plus a couch and two chairs for relaxing or visiting, then a huge bathroom with a jacuzzi tub and shower and walk-in closet as big as my home office. Wow. We were willing to share.

This was one of the nice living room/gathering spaces.

It was very nice and perfect since we didn't need to go anywhere and sight-seeing. We've all been to the Cities a bajillion times! The sad part was that this was our first down-time where we could talk through Rachel's tragic accident and miraculous recovery – and grieve Mom. What a year!

Somehow a bunch of childhood pictures came out of the woodwork...

Yes, me being a clown. Not far from my personality 50 years later!

Me around kindergarten age loving on one of our barn cat kitties that we never seemed to keep.

My sister Rachel helping me walk. And then decades later me having to help her walk after her accident. A sad but victorious twist!

Just hamming it up before there were selfies.

I had never seen this picture of my twin Lene and I riding tricycles. 

And this one with us (I'm on the left) and Dad. Never saw that. We both cried over that one!!

Current day at Sister Weekend (aka Sister mid-week getaway)!

This year, since we were in the Twin Cities and our brother Ron lives there, we met up for dinner at a place called Junction 70 – literally 5 minutes from our VRBO rental.

Took pictures around the table... Ron and Rayna...

RoAnn and Renell...

Rachel and Raylene...

And Romey and me...

Then our cooperative R-sister waitress Rowan took a picture of all 8 R's. We just can't take that for granted! The sad part is that we can't show this picture to Mom.

And yes, I'm crying as I type this because dang, that really, really sucks.

We did, however, manage to have plenty of fun catching up, playing games (me losing at cards but winning $$$ off my sisters at dice). Everything will just sit a bit different now going forward.

I'm sure I've said it a hundred times, but hug your parents, your siblings, your kids, and any loved ones! You just don't know! 

P.S. Love ya, R sisters!

Many Thanks to Our Troops

I may have mentioned a time or two how amazing my employer is – and my team of fellow marketing writers. Our company does provide us paid "volunteer time off" and it just happens that our team is doing two volunteer events.

This week!

This afternoon, we gathered in a meeting room at the Point Brewery and created (and wrote) Christmas cards to the troops for the A Million Thanks program. A Million Thanks provides support and appreciation to our active and veteran military men and women through sending letters and granting betterment of life wishes, as well as providing higher education scholarships to their children.

Their current initiative is the holiday card and letter program. According to their website, all holiday letters for our troops need to be received by November 1 for Thanksgiving letters and December 1 for the winter holidays.

Our team of 10 writers concentrated on Christmas cards and hand-written messages. Give me a paper trimmer, tape runner, and holiday cardstock and I am in my own version of heaven!

I let others write the messages. I just made cards like I was a one-person assembly line! Turns out, every one on the team had a creative streak whether they thought so or not!

I was proud of mine. A few shown here. Sorry they're upside down on the writing end of the table! 

In the end, we crafted and completed more than 75 cards that will be sent to troops far and wide to wish them a happy holiday season!

Interested?

Remember, you don't have to have a large group to do this. But if you want to try a worthy service project with a group, go for it. Here is the link to the A Million Thanks "send a letter" page with the details of what to say, what to do, and where to send. 

As I express my gratitude of the nephews – and brother and uncles – who have served, it solidifies my appreciation of those who are willing to lay their lives on the line for this country. That's who we should be thinking about and thanking during this election season! (In my humble opinion.)

P.S. If you need a teacher or some advice on the card-making, I'm your gal! Message me! 🎄🎅💖♡💙

The Corner Piece of Life

I've been experiencing the "corner piece of life" the last few days. I was somewhat joking during golf Sunday that it was my birthday WEEK. And I (or others) have found reasons to celebrate each day.

I couldn't believe that I was with my team all day Wednesday and we got back late from the Brewers game that they'd somehow found time to decorate my desk by the time I showed up at 7:30 a.m. yesterday. But they did it. With the help of some "Birthday Fairies for Hire" that is. I have the best co-workers. 

And that big frosting-ed corner piece of cake for breakfast was delicious. Put me in a sweet frame of mind for the day.

Then when I got to golf league last night, our opponents for the week – who happen to be friends of mine – surprised me with a balloon for my pull cart and tiara that fit nicely over my new golf hat! Fun, fun! Plus even had my first "par dance" of the season and my lowest score. Happy birthday to me!

Of course, today is my actual birthday. Who I share with my lovely twin Raylene. We're both celebrating separately. But we're hoping to connect some weekend soon!

I actually worked for a half day. Then had lunch with my friend Jenny and her cousin Melissa – who is also my friend and co-worker.

When I asked the waitress to take our picture for my birthday, she came out with a big slice of chocolate cake to take home with my to-go box. Not gonna lie, I love being spoiled!

A big treat tonight was Carter coming up to help his momma celebrate. We enjoyed a big, tasty dinner at El Mezcal then were all so full, we figured we'd play cards until we weren't. I thought maybe they'd let the birthday girl win.

But with hands like this, Carter won the first game and Jim won the second. I'm going with "I didn't lose, I just regifted my birthday wins to them."

Probably the greatest gift though...

After 91 days (aka 13 weeks), my sister Rachel was the released from the hospital and headed home! Of course, she's not all fixed up and ready to take on the world. But she's made great progress and is ready to take the next big step – in the familiar surroundings of her own house. Praise the Lord!

Pretty sure this is a good sign that he's still listening to our prayers so we can all enjoy a little "corner piece" of life this week, right? 

"I fold."

Mom played her last hand of cards this week. And typical of her sneaky but skillful approach to any game, she left on a winning streak. 

Those of us R kids (and grandkids) who could, visited her one last time in the past few days to say our goodbyes. I raced up there yesterday to do the same and she'd taken her last breath before I got home to Rapids last night. 

May she rest in peace – with no worries about struggling for breath. And definitely no worries that her kids are going to do something to embarrass her. Ha. That threat will guarantee good behavior for at least 2 generations!

We will plan a celebration of life at some point down the road when my sister Rachel (who still needs prayers) can leave the hospital and attend. 

In the meantime, hug your parents if you got 'em! She had a full life at 92 years, but for this baby of the family, it doesn't feel like it's enough. Emotionally, I can't wrap my head around the words to express my sorrow right now. But I can tell you this...

My creativity. My cleverness. My courage. My compassion. My competitiveness. I owe it all to this beautiful person! I miss you already, Mom! 💔 Do me a favor and let Dad win the first hand up there -- he's been waiting 11 years! 💔

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?