In and Out of Luck

Headed Up North yesterday morning. After the detours and road construction I encountered a few weeks ago, I decide to take a different route north-westward. I went up to Colby/Abbotsford to get on Hwy. 29.

And it was one lane each way 'til my Chippewa Falls exit for 53 North. Grrrr.

By the time I got to my sister Rachel's in Luck, I was ready for a nap!

I visited with her awhile (while she got me hooked on Sullivan's Crossing) and then went up to my sister Romey's near Grantsburg, where two other sisters – Rayna and Renell – joined us for a short visit.

From there I went to Adventures restaurant in Siren to meet my twin and some of her family for a belated birthday dinner. Coconut shrimp for the win! My nephew Tony was home visiting from Green Bay so it was nice to see him, too!

From there I went back down to Rachel's to stay at her place for the night. She's just down the street from our high school. Even at 8:36 p.m., it was still class of '86 degrees out. Ha. Yes, this heatwave is ghastly.

Got home late this afternoon. Yes, my A/C works in my car, but there were times I wondered. It was just that hot out! 

Hope you all are staying cool and hydrated. My vacation is already going by too fast! 

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!!

A Madness Most Discreet

Now that I've finished reading the Shakespeare-inspired fictional book and see the Oscar-nominated movie Hamnet, I feel I can throw Shakespeare words and phrases at will. "A madness most discreet" is from Romeo and Juliet. But I'm sure thou already knewest that!

So this was my moment of madness today. Bear with me. I'm over 50. We have earned the rights to daily rants of "madness." So I want to finish up this bridal shower gift and my silver wrapping paper at home falls short by a half inch. Any way I situate the box. 

So I go to Walmart since I needed ingredients for two upcoming trifles anyway to get either white or silver wrapping paper. Looking at this photo would you not see silver wrapping paper and two matching silver bows?

Turns out. No. It was just clear cellophane around a silver-colored rather than cardboard-colored tube. Grrr.

I'd already ripped the label off so that's how they getcha. And back to Walmart I went. 

Guess what? I just settled on red. A color I can count on seeing correctly. One that won't cause me madness. And matches the new family name I Cricuted onto the tub. Maybe that's how it was supposed to play out all along!

As for seeing red, though... Ugh. My bracket! We'll skip over that convo today. Definitely March madness.

But as for another episode of March gladness...

We had the most pleasant evening at the Sky Club supper club with our friends Jeff and Cathy. Jeff was Jim's college roommate and Cathy was Jim's high school classmate. You see how this story played out! They just moved to the Twin Cities so were back in Wisconsin and it worked out to connect. Just a great visit as always.

Make the time to make the connections so you don't regret it later!

Buckeye Book Babes

Tonight was our monthly book club meeting. This time at Perkins (still in business thankfully) with 6 of us discussing Brenda's book Buckeye.

Buckeye is a 2025 multi-generational novel set in the fictional town of Bonhomie, Ohio, spanning from the 1930s to the 1960s. It follows two couples, Cal and Becky Jenkins and Margaret and Felix Salt, as their lives, secrets, and relationships become intertwined, navigating WWII, societal changes, and personal crises. 

A lot to unpack.

And of course, it was just nice hanging out with the girls for nearly 2 hours.

If you do further research on the book and are interested in reading it, I have the hardcover available to lend. 

That's what's nice about this amazing book club. Just chit-chatting for awhile and also having very different types of books each month. World War II saga this month and a murder mystery next month. Almost always books I wouldn't have known about (and therefore chosen) on my own.

Plus, even though I have a personal connection with every member, they didn't all know the others at the beginning. So it's enjoyable to see us deepen our bonds each month. 

That being said, I need to shut down the books conversation and go watch the TV for today's Olympics highlights! Happy reading.

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! 

You're So Vain... I Bet You Think This Blog is About You...

I'm at the point in life where it turns out the best-laid plans never work out compared to the last-minute plans.

So when friend Becky (who I plan to spend all next weekend with at scrap camp) told me yesterday she had an extra ticket to some live music at the Wausau Grand Theater for tonight, I said, "Heck, yeah. I'll join you."

I actually didn't care what was on the agenda since I'm that weird "I love musicals, stage and live concerts" chick. But in this case the band was called Three American Troubadours – a tribute to the music of James Taylor, Carly Simon, and Carol King.

As a fan of the Tapestry album, I was "count me in" in no time.

So I headed up to Wausau straight from work and met Becky for dinner at Texas Roadhouse (where one of her kiddos usually works when he's not injured from a wayward knife – ooof). It was great to catch up since we USED to do that at 2 a.m. at Camp Crop-A-Lot, but now value sleep much more. So next weekend we can scrap to our hearts' delight and feel good about where our friendship updates are at!

It was also a weird coincidence that we sat in front of one of Jim's cousins and his wife – who works where I work and we just happened to connect today. I swear I'm not stalking anyone!

While we felt like Flower Children from the '70s, I think Becky and I were among the youngest flowers there. As for the talent tonight, they were amazing. They each sounded like their Taylor, Simon, and King counterparts. And, obviously, there weren't any song we didn't know. And they included insights to the songwriting for some of the numbers – so that was cool, too.

Still surprised (in the back of my mind) how "tribute" bands do so well. But they do somehow fill the house!

Managed to get home by midnight with my only deer sightings within 5 minutes from home. Obviously listening to the '70s channel on SiriusXM radio kept me calm. Ha.

Bridgerton Distraction

 So yeah, even though I was taking Lady Royals basketball pictures last night, I still hurried home to start Season 4 of Bridgerton. 

And after work today, I continued.

If you know, you know. 

It's a bit of an addictive series to watch. So while I did watch after work, I also had Caribbean Jerk chicken going in the crockpot. That was yummy and delightful.

And a perfect sandwich as I watched the next two episodes. I hope some of you are "enduring" the same distraction this weekend!

It's worth it as far as I can tell.

Also, we have continued cold temps so just stick with your go-to survival tactics. For me, that's Shondaland!

Sisterhood Hump Day

It's much easier to get through the workday when you've got time with some of your "sisters" afterward.

Tonight our Girls' Night Out group met for dinner at the Barbecue Shack (formerly Danny K's) for our January outing. This is where I ate with Jim and the boys Thanksgiving weekend.

Last time I had a brisket sandwich. Tonight my friend Jenny and I both tried the Pulled Pork Tater. An extra large baked potato topped with butter, sour cream, cheese, and pulled pork. We got to choose the mild, medium or hot BBQ sauce to go on top. I liked the hot but the medium had the most delicious flavor. There were 6 of us and we all agreed it was good!

After that I went to see my soprano sisters at church choir practice. Our numbers get pretty small in the winter, that's for sure. But there were 8 of us crossing our fingers we can all show up Sunday morning to sing! Between cold weather and coughs & colds, you just never know.

I'll tell you, that hot sauce certainly cleared my sinuses. Might have to try that trick Sunday morning.

Do what you can to stay warm at least in the coming days! 

A Visit From the Wisemen... and Ladies

Just a quick note to say how blessed we're feeling after spending our family Christmas this afternoon/evening. All three wise guys were home at the same time! Hallelujah! 

We also had dad-in-law here along with Jim's sister and her family. Fully house with lots of great company and some good food if I do say so myself. After how many years, I finally got Jim's mom's dressing recipe right!! Now I just have to remember everything I did for the next time! (With perfect timing, Colin and Amy got us a dish towel with that recipe on it in Donna Mae's handwriting. Very touching!)

Had to be sure to get a cousins picture with all the C's: Clay, Casey, Carter, and Colin!

Opened presents later. The must have been very good for Santa to bring cans of PBR Beer Cheese Soup in their stockings!

Finally got to give the newest Mrs. Austin the sweatshirt I had a friend pick up for me in Austin, Texas. I have a matching one that I've been waiting to wear! What are Austin "vibes"? It's an Austin thing – you'd have to be one to understand.

And I'm so grateful I am.

We had a good amount of laughs reminiscing about a lot of childhood thing to make both Emily and Mamie feel even more connected to the family. It's what Christmas is all about. 

Let the merriment continue. Well at least through breakfast on Saturday. 😁💗

Embrace the Spirit of the Season

I'm getting very close to resembling this as I realize what I failed to pick up this weekend. Getting close though.

And yes, though our WalMart supercenter had close to a million people again, I think I finally got all I needed. Plus ran into 3 friends and was able to wish them a Merry Christmas! It's like the gathering place for holiday greetings.

As a bonus today while working from home, a kind friend stopped by with a newly purchased trifle bowl for me to deliver on my promise this weekend. You know who you are and you know that I love ya!

This evening I am literally just putting piles of ingredients together for various Christmas-related dishes. 

And thankful I only have 8 more hours to work in 2025!!

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!

Full Strength Gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving! Well this sums it up nicely. Now I don't have to have a super-long blog. I can just say I am grateful for everything. And every person in my life, too.

Grateful this morning that I got the tree up and decorated. And that Aunt Janice's Grape Salad recipe was a yummy success. We definitely use the word "salad" loosely in the Midwest. But hey, it does have healthy fruit – even though it looks like a trifle wannabe.

Grateful this afternoon and evening that Carter and Mamie made it home and joined us at sister-in-law Sherry's house. Great food and amazing entertainment via our great-niece and great-nephew! I wish I had an ounce of their energy!

Our is staying for the weekend so I might get to all the Cranberry classic games if I can spend time with them! Plus there's something silly like a big ol' snowstorm. Gah.

Be careful out there! Hope you all found moments of gratitude today! 

Finally My Turn

When the Northern Lights were already showing themselves at Lake Wazeecha at just 6:30 last night, I knew it was finally my turn to see them and, cross my fingers, capture an image or two.

Around 8 p.m. I headed over the Buena Vista Prairie Chicken Meadow – along with dozen other vehicles – for an open field / unobstructed view. I was amazed I could see the colors with the naked eye. But putting my phone camera on Night mode, I was able to capture more of the depth and vividness.

Red and Green colors like a Hallmark Christmas movie! Ha. Just glorious! But very cold out so I didn't linger for long!

No Northern Lights here tonight but...

But those Western Lights were exceptionally gorgeous on my commute home. Wow!!

Got home in time for hubby and I to go to "dinner and a show" tonight at Assumption High School. 

Opening night for Sister Act included a delicious dinner with 3 couples from the Smits family – how fun – then the musical!

Everything was amazing from the set design (wow) to the talented singers. So entertaining! They have shows Friday and Saturday, too. Highly recommend going. Although dinner was only available tonight.

I might actually get 8 hours of sleep tonight since I don't have to keep checking for those lights. Sure appreciate their beauty and uniqueness though! 

Tuesday Randomness

Tuesday mornings are hard after being home and away from the office Friday through Monday. Add in cold air temps and darkness – and I wonder why I live here and why I can't win a lottery that equals early retirement. Ugh.

Of course, seeing that my Swedish Chef Mafia fantasy football team won again to remain the only undefeated status in our two Marketing Department leagues gives me reason to smile. I've got injuries and a very shallowly qualified bench so this status could change any week. Still it's kind of a fun as a "girl" to be kicking ass!

This Tuesday in particular also meant it was Veterans Day, so thank you to all of you who have served! Something I don't take for granted because I know I am too selfish to ever consider putting my life on the line for anything other than my hubby, kids and family. God bless you all!

This Tuesday in particular was also our monthly Girls' Night Out. We had 8 of us tonight at Ida's. So nice to catch up. And no, we're not girls anymore. Our conversations are around health issues and grand-babies and challenging Millennials at work (ha). As always, though, good food and great company!

I'm excited that this Tuesday also calls for a great chance to see the Northern Lights! 

Unfortunately, we have a cloud cover here in Wood County, Wisconsin. As of 8 p.m. failed photo shoot. I'll try again later. Or tomorrow night. 

Happy Tuesday to you all – and let's hit Hump Day with some attitude (and energy, please!).

Fright Night, Frigid Saturday

This is still a picture from work on Thursday – me all cowardly. Our Halloween was not nearly that exciting. Since school was on a fall break yesterday I couldn't return the mascot costumes. So I dressed up again for all the trick-or-treaters.

All TWO of them.

We night get the quantity of trick-or-treaters out in the sticks. But we sure got the quality. Cutest little pirate brothers on the planet! 

Argh! So that was that.

This morning I woke up to 37 degree outdoor temps with slight rain/possible snow mix. You know what that means... must be State Cross Country Day! 

Not enthused to be outside for hours, I asked Jim to drop me off at the entrance for the Division 3 boys race at noon. I just needed to photograph two Royal runners and they finished 4th and 14th so I call him back pretty quickly for a ride home.

Our full girls team qualified and ran in the Division 2 race at 2:25 p.m. Yup because this group in particular has been at state 4 consecutive years, they bumped us up to Division 2, thus competing against mostly much larger schools.

Our Lady Royals did not back down! Lucy finished the best at 6th place and our team finished 6th as well. Not bad for scrappy little Assumption! Gonna miss all these seniors!!

Got home in time to clean up and change clothes to go out to the Sky Club in Plover with three other couples from Jim's high school class. We do this at least once a year but always SAY we're going to TRY to do it more often!

The food was great and the company was fantastic! Always love that they welcome us 4 non-Royal spouses into the fold. They're the most genuine, lovely people. Jim is so lucky to have this history. And I by marital default, feel lucky too.

Then on the way home he reminded me when get an extra hour tonight! Well we spent that well. And I got my photos all edited and still get to catch the end of the exciting World Series. I'll pack in the morning for Sister Weekend (well Sun-Tues Getaway).

Happy November.

Close Encounters With Book Club

Well we finally had book club tonight and could discuss the book Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs by Luis Elizondo. 

As I mentioned previously, we don't often do nonfiction and I never would have thought to pick this one up. But it was fascinating so I'm glad we did! 

We met up at el Mezcal and talked about what we used to call UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) but now label as UAPs – Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. These are unexplained objects or phenomena observed in the air, sea, or space that display unusual behaviors or performance characteristics not attributable to known technology or natural causes. In other words, they do more than just fly!

While the book was somewhat focused on how the U.S. Government has known about dozens of these encounters and has not shared with the public, there were a few fiction-turned-nonfiction moments to talk about too.

Like people – with either healthy intuition/perception or a Cherokee heritage (not kidding here) – are more susceptible to have an interaction with or receive an implant from one of these UAPs. This book just touched on so much of so many things.

Good meal and good discussion. Now hopefully I can quit overreacting to strange lights and sonic booms!

Mommies Seeing the Mummies

 
Back in the days when hubby and I commuted to work in Iola, nearly an hour drive, we listened to the Bob and Tom Show on the radio in the mornings. Their often close to R-rated programming format is showcasing lots of comedians and bands that also could pass as comic relief. 

That's when we first heard Here Come the Mummies. We immediately liked and were entertained by this eight-piece funk-rock band of 5000-year-old Egyptian mummies with a one-track mind. So this summer, when I saw they were playing in Wausau at The Grand Theater this fall, I bought tickets as a birthday or anniversary gift for Jim.

Fast forward 2 months and he scheduled his guys golf weekend at the same time. So I had to find a backup date in short order. You know who works well for that? Golf partners who also share an occasional raunchy sense of humor. So it was Molly and I – two mommies – off to see the Mummies tonight!

It rained all the way up there but it stopped so we could walk around near The Grand and get something to eat. Ended up eating at The Limerick, an Irish pub a couple blocks away. Good stuff.

The concert was almost like a micro-music festival with opening sets from TWO (very loud, rock-heavy) bands – Platinum Moon and Lachy Doley. It after 9 p.m. before HCTM took over and we could party like it's 1999 B.C.! 

It was impossible to get a decent shot from the upper balcony, especially since lights were constantly changing colors or flashing. But you can see they ARE dressed as mummies! And they played until 11 p.m.

They are such a talented and entertaining group. I'm glad one of us could enjoy our anniversary. Ha. And Molly did, too! Now to get the funky dance tunes out of my head so I can sleep fast for church choir in the morning. 

Micro Family Reunions

I hope the above GIF works on this blog because it's so awesome and appropriate today!

So my first disclaimer is that as one of the youngest 2 of 8 kids and my dad was young in his 9-kid family meant my cousins' kids were pretty much close to my age – not my actual "first" cousins. 

So what year is it now? Oh wow. So some 5+ years ago my first cousin Gene's GRANDSON from my old Up North stomping grounds was attending college at UW-Stevens Point. Mere blocks from my workplace.

Then COVID happened and we didn't get to see each other as much as we expected. But I was there for his graduation. And now my cousin (or 3rd cousin once removed??) Luke is back at UWSP for his Masters program and student teaching. 

Fresh new neighbor-ish.

Me: "No pandemic now, we are taking advantage of this this time! I am your only family less than 4 hours away!"

So we met for dinner tonight.

It was awesome. He's fresh off a new engagement announcement (yay!) and just a few weeks into his new role at college. So easy to talk and talk for 90 minutes. I think our family has a few traits: We're well versed in the art of conversation. And many of us have tiny Hedberg eyes.

This has been a running a joke so here we are with our Tiny Hedberg Eyes...

And the alarming NOT Tiny Hedberg Eyes...

Laughing out loud. But I'm also smiling because a relative of mine raised a tiny human who grew up to be a great mom who raised another amazing human to appreciate family, humor and the art of conversation.

My heart is full and I can't wait for many more micro family reunions!