Well That Was Fun

I could dub thee Sarcastic Sunday. Because some parts were not that fun.

Take church choir for example. There were 4 us. Not a fancy barbershop quartet. Just 2 men, 2 women. Not the strongest singers. Myself included in that. And our director sang with us to bring it up to 5. Yes, it was just the melody for On Eagle's Wings. But still. Cringe. 

But then it got fun. 

Ran up to Herrschners for some baby blanket yarn (bless them for Sunday hours) and worked on blanket #3 (boy them #2) while watching golf.

I love watching The Masters – especially on Augusta Sunday. And frankly, I want it to be a close competition. And today delivered big time. So many lead changes and people climbing the leaderboard. In the end Rory repeated for a back-to-back win, but he tried to blow it on the last hole – driving it into the woods!

I noticed his daughter Poppy is getting big. Yes, I do "know" some of the kids. I just wonder if they understand what the big deal is when Dad always wins things! You know?

And as the leaderboard was heating up, so too were the temperatures. The windows in the house and the screen door were letting in fresh air! Also, maybe something related to pollen. Not pollen yet, but I sneezed no less than 20 times this afternoon/evening. Grrr.

Did get out for a jaunt around the neighborhood after golf concluded. 

There was a hen party going on around the bend but since I just saw 5 out of 6 sisters the other day, I kept on walking. C'mon, that's funny, right?

Ok. Break time is over. Time to get back to hookin' something! Hope you had real FUN at some point today!

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.

Silver Linings

 

I pretty much should just put my blog on DND (Do Not Disturb) during the Olympics, because I am that weird junkie and I want to see as much as I can... while working full-time... and capturing high school sports.

Today, it just didn't work out that I could see the LIVE pairs curling competition between my original homeland Sweden and my current/real one USA. It did my heart good to see hundreds of people in nearby (somewhat) Duluth cheering on Korey and Cory. Cool.

And, spoiler alert, even though I'm about to sit down and watch delayed NBC coverage, I know they fell just a teensy tiny bit short of the gold. Still... yay USA! I usually wear more silver than gold anyway!

As for other events, you know I love figure skating but I do love a good hockey game (saw Miracle of 1980), long ski jumps, and the very creative snowboarding runs with flips, corkscrews and mathematical degrees of twists.

Just throw in all the other sports, and I'm good. Enjoy the games. No matter what OG Homeland (Scandi-hoovians are awesome in winter!) you're cheering for!

Snoop, Meet Myles

After watching some coverage of the Olympics, I have two thoughts about Snoop Dogg. One, I don't know why we keep elevating his status. I mean I don't DIS-like him, just don't get the fascination. And two, he needs to spend some time in Wisconsin and Minnesota in the winter to really understand winter. 

And how to do it.

I saw a video of him riding a flying saucer type sled and having no concept what to do. Then these pictures of him as a curling "coach." Well thankfully, our U.S. duo is off to a good start anyway! And he may prove me wrong and curl in the next Olympics. 

It brought up an old curling memory, though. (Something you never thought you'd read.)

Shortly after moving to Wisconsin Rapids in late 1995, I recall a local guy here vying for the Olympics. Myles Brundidge. I even remembered his name!

What I also remember is that I had no idea what curling really was. Apparently there's sweeping but it's not the same as broom ball (if you know, you know.) It was also not something I purposely watched before. (Part of that is because in the late 1990s, we still had limited coverage of all events compared to today's live-streaming and whatnot.) And it definitely hadn't achieved the great popularity it has now – well in the Midwest anyway. Heck, even my company has a curling center named after it!

Then there was the part where the curlers didn't look like "typical" Olympic athletes. No offense. But maybe I already offended. Sorry.

But Myles did indeed represent U.S.A. in not one but two Olympics! My sports writer hubby got to meet and interview him a handful of times and said he was a nice, down-to-earth guy. Which is quite refreshing, actually, when you think of some high-level athletes these days.

Here's the Robyn-pedia scoop (not Snoop) on him: Myles Brundidge (born 1960 in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin) is an American curler. He competed at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, where the American team placed 4th, and at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where they placed 7th.

So no hardware to bring home, but he was certainly a positive representative of our country – and, of course, central Wisconsin!

Snoop could maybe learn a thing or two from us hardworking (mostly humble) survivalist-minded winter people! 

Whatever your thoughts... enjoy the Games!!

A Challenging Moment in Time

When one of my nephews turned 40 earlier this month I realized, holy crap, high school was quite some time ago!

A clear memory for me – besides his birth on Elvis' birthday – was the space shuttle Challenger tragedy. 40 years ago today.

It was mostly a big deal to watch in school because there was a nontypical-astronaut teacher on board – Christa McAuliffe. I mean she was from New Hampshire, I believe, so no ties with Luck, Wisconsin. Yet there were some TV's on at school in the library and few other places.

I happened to be in typing class (yes, it was a thing) when the launch was happening. Then suddenly another teacher came in and told our instructor Mr. Lake something. Since we were approaching the end of class, he let us know. In a choked up voice because, well, it was a fellow teacher that gave her life.

I remember I had study hall the next hour and was grateful so I could watch the repetitive footage in the library. It still didn't seem real because it looked like one part of the shuttle was separating from the shuttle like it was supposed to.

I think it really did take the eyewitnesses a few minutes to realize what they'd just seen as well.

Up to that point, I sort of remembered to TV footage of John Hinkley Jr.'s assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan. But even then, after knowing my mom's account of JFK's assassination, it failed in comparison in terms of hype and memorability.

But 40 years later, I'd like to think positive moments in history were part of vivid memories, but instead we have weird things like 9/11, Covid, January 6th, and now... ICE in Minnesota. No political commentary here. Just praying for many nieces and nephews and family in the Metro.

It is, indeed, another Challenge-ing moment in time.

Flew the Warm Nest

15 degrees below zero with a "feels like" temp of 25 below was not enough to cancel church this morning. So I bundled up and headed out. The only reason I flew the coop, er warm nest, was so I could sing with the rest of the choir and what I expected to be a handful of brave souls in attendance.

Turns out, we had a big crowd. I know part of that was because we had our Annual Meeting immediately following the service – and we needed a quorum. We had it! Nothing controversial this year. And more importantly, I didn't get talked into serving on a committee or something in the last minute. It's hard to say no in front of a crowd, you know.

Did a little grocery shopping on my way home (as long as I was out). Then we pretty much lazed about watching the NFL Championship games.

I am not a Patriot fan but I am glad they beat the Broncos. We Viking fans have no love or respect for their coach Sean Payton after "BountyGate" years ago! Grrr.

Now it's halftime of the Rams-Seahawks game. Jim and I can't decide if we should be rooting for or against Darnold – or former quarterback. He had the talent with us. But now I'm thinking I should pin some blame on our offensive line for not giving him time to make throws like he is with the Seahawks. 

Not going to overthink it. Just hope for a close, interesting game.

 

Strange Sighting

I saw something yesterday out of my office and couldn't believe my eyes. This morning, waking up to snowfall, I though I must have dreamt it. Then mid-morning, it appeared again.

Sunshine and blue skies! About time, 2026! It lasted long enough for me to smile during a few errands before coming home.

Where the snowfall has since resumed.

Guess we have to enjoy it while we can. No matter how short-lived. I guess by the end of this month, the won't set until AFTER 5 p.m., so there's some hope on the horizon!

Two of my sisters are down in Florida for a bit. Mr. Deck Chair and me are super jealous. But I am making good progress on a blanket I'm crocheting that keeps me warm as I go! I might just work on that all evening since the other football game is on Amazon Prime. We have that but I don't want to sit in my uncomfortable desk chair to watch it on my computer. I'm sure I'll hear how it goes.

Stay safe out there and enjoy the little patches of sunshine when you can!

False Free Time

The holiday season is over so in reality, this should be true. But the reality is that when I was too sick to even watch Hallmark movies over Christmas break, that just means I'm behind.

So change the 5th heart to "I can finally watch all the other HALLMARK CHRISTMAS movies on my DVR."

Although that will have to wait until the weekend anyway. Last night hubby and I watched our only current "joint viewing" show High Potential. And tonight, we have our respective choir practices. Then tomorrow night I could potentially shoot some wrestling pictures.

But there may be a winter weather advisory.

I guess we do live in Wisconsin so these probably take place every day between December and April! Duh.

I did make it into work today. A few slippery spots but it wasn't too bad of a commute. Another 8 hours of training/planning/whatever today. This old dog is starting to understand/sort of learn some of the new tricks. But I'm wondering what TREAT I get for performing them? 

My guess is it's something called a paycheck every other week. Boo.

Back of my mind says there's gotta be a Hallmark movie where the stressed writer quits her corporate gig and releases the next best seller! 

Ha. I better cut back on the leftover eggnog. Keep dreaming, my friends, and enjoy your free time!

Hookin' Away My Saturday

As soon as I woke up and was about to get up, hubby says, "You might as well stay in bed. We're at war." Say what?!

My first thought was "What did he do know?" and my second thought, as someone who avoids all news as much as possible, was "Did we know this was coming?"

No matter the answer to either, I knew I needed a day of distractions. I did watch a little news but then headed into town to Lighthouse to get a few papers for upcoming Camp Crop-a-Lot in 7 weeks since I picked up more photos yesterday and am jumpin' to go!

Then I cleaned my office "aka Oh My God Room" a bit before I earned my chance to relax.

Can't do too much cleaning on a weekend when there are projects waiting in the wings.

I have a wedding shower coming up in the same time frame as camp. The couple has many "sage" colored things on their list so I am making them a blanket that is mostly sage with a strip of white, then multi color for a wide strip, then white again close to the top – and the rest sage. 

I'm liking it. And today I realized I could close my eyes and do a whole row without looking, just feeling. I am a Jedi Crochet Master, I guess! That also means I can head back to the livingroom now and watch a Hallmark movie AND multi-task without even blinking.

Well, I better pay a little attention. This is a gift after all!

And oh yeah, it snowed again today. Stay warm and safe, everyone!

Solstice Shopping and Singing

 

Happy Winter Solstice! Although officially today, I'd almost argue that yesterday and today seemed equally short when it comes to the "to do" and "tis done" lists.

Yesterday was a shopping whirlwhind. I went to the farmer's market/winter's market in Stevens Point in the morning because a new coworker was exhibiting his woodworking there – including something on my final list. 

Then I heard from the woman who successfully won a trifle of mine in a silent auction earlier this year. She'd like that plus an extra one she'll pay for. This coming weekend. Since my 2nd trifle bowl is MIA, I went to Goodwill in Point/Plover, Walmart, Kohl's and Target to see if I could find one. No luck.

Got home in early afternoon and showered (finally, ha) and got myself ready for an afternoon and evening of music.

First stop was the 4 p.m. mass at St. Philip's in Rudolph where a few of us (well hubby mainly and me by default) sang along during the service. Then it was off to Wausau to hear our friend Kat sing with STEEM and fun accompaniment by the Neenah high school symphony group.

A group of us went last year and it was so enjoyable to listen to – especially when you know one of the rockstars.

Jim's high school classmate Kat (Kathy) is pictured 3rd from the left.

Great to see/hear her solo performance. And since we've seen/heard her perform in several bands over the years, we could pick out and appreciate her beautiful voice throughout! A great concert for sure.

As a bonus, I ran into one my former co-workers at my current company. He has since moved onto TV only and is loving his gig in Salt Lake City, Utah. My work "sons" are all growing up!

Today was another day of shopping and singing.

Sang in choir and church and then went shopping to prepare (the best I could) for hosting Austin family Christmas later this week. I think I got most things. Shopping among thousands, I swear. Will have to reevaluate on Monday.

In the mean time, we got a Vikings win but I'm just hanging on for my fabulous fantasy football team to advance to our finals. We'll see if Santa grants one or both of those pending wishes or not.

Micro Temperature Multi-Tasking

 

I almost think that if it was a was a work day and we woke up to 10 below zero, we both might have stayed at home. But it was a Sunday and we both had to ding in our church choirs. So we warmed up our vehicles, and that's what we did.

And we survived just fine.

Since my one-loss fantasy football team is on bye and my real-life NFL team doesn't play until tonight, I decided to get my work secret Santa shopping completed. After I stopped home and layered up with long underwear, that is. I had gotten a few things awhile back, but today's stops included Home Depot (don't ask), Walgreens and Dollar Tree.

I should have started at Dollar Tree based on the prices of gift bags, etc. Duh me.

Got home and have watched a little bit of football while trying to wrap up a high school basketball design project – and prepare for my book to be discussed at tomorrow's Book Club meeting. 

Never underestimate the power (and sometimes stress) of multi-tasking. 

I even did my festive nails this afternoon to look like I'm 100% in the holiday spirit (whether that's true at work or not.).

At the end of the day, let's all just focus on staying warm and safe!

B-b-b-east Mode!

 

I can't recall the first 6 months of 2025 but I know today was definitely the coldest day of the second half of the year!

And wouldn't you know it, we had the guy coming over to clean out/vacuum whatever our duct work. With the heat turned off!

His giant suction machine was called Beast so we were literally in Beast Mode rather we wanted to be or not. Thankfully he got done in less than the 4 anticipated hours. I promptly took the hottest shower of my life when he left!

Today was the Rudolph Christmas celebration but with the ultra cold temps, all outdoor activities (including petting the reindeer) were canceled. Jim went up there to go to church with his guitar choir peeps and socialize after.

I stayed home and opted to buy a Powerball ticket to get us out of Wisconsin Winters...

And catch up on a cozy Hallmark movie or two. (Duh!)

After getting a Hallmark BINGO yesterday on my day off – where the prize is eating the spicy gumdrop game pieces – I had to try again. Looking good so far!

Be careful out there and stay warm!

TDF (Technical Difficulties Friday)

Honestly it wasn't a hard day, just a long day. Which I should have realized when my work laptop needed a lengthy security upgrade. 

Then I had a meeting about a website launch that I heard 10 minutes before that that I needed to write some copy for by end of day Monday. I was not feeling any Friday vibes.

To sort of cheer myself up, I caught the end of today's Ryder Cup action at the end of my workday. That didn't go as well as I hoped. Let's go, USA!!

After running a few weekend errands in town, I figured I would relax with the remote since hubby's keeping stats at the Royals' football game in Edgar.

Unfortunately after watching Pretty Woman more times than I can count, I realized I used our non-cable remote to watch it on some unknown channel. And it took me a more-than-frustrating hour to figure how to get our TV back to our expensive cable channels. I was ready to throw so many things at the cable box! Life should not be so complicated when it comes to marrying cable and streaming channels!

Disclaimer: Jim considers me the IT/tech expert in the house but it's time to hire someone younger. I especially realized today I have official old person no-patience vibes running through my veins. And I'm not as smart as I thought.

I've also gotten sideline reports from Edgar that our Royals aren't doing so hot. Right now I'm just wishing we all have a great Saturday! 

Winners for the Win

My lucky fox talisman is on fire this week! I mean I did get a win a BINGO Sunday and my Vikings got a victory, so I have to give somebody or something the credit!

As for central Wisconsin, both the Packers and my Vikings were playing at noon so I hoped that would increase my odds if I went to BINGO. Turns out it might have. There were more than 100 of us so the larger jackpots were in order. And here I am winning the "kite formation" BINGO for $70. Works for me!

While sitting there and dobbing my heart away I knew that my Vikings were somehow winning and my fantasy team was on fire, too. Maybe I should credit going to bed at 1 a.m.!

Got home after BINGO and took a picture of our flag at the end of the driveway before I even pulled into the garage. Gotta keep the good vibe going!

And it worked for once! A 5-star re-run, if I do say so myself. Jim enjoyed it too after his return from golfing in Minnesota this weekend. I'm like "thanks for leaving the good vibes there"!

Tonight, after some "winning" (I think tennis matches), I'm about to embark on the next season of The Voice. Where I will wait for quite sometime before I declare a winner!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all you dads and father figures out there! Loved this banner hanging in church today – every good and perfect gift is from the Father. So true!

While I was missing my dad in heaven, I was fortunate to spend time with my father-in-law and the father of our three brown-eyed blessings.

Jim's sister hosted lunch so got to share a meal with Grandpa, Sherry and her clan (including our cutie-pie great-niece and great-nephew), plus Clay, Carter and Mamie. 

When the kids hit the road, we headed to couple's golf league. We were fortunate the close U.S. Open had a rain delay while were golfing, so when we got home we got to see the exciting conclusion.

Today's lesson: No matter how many bogeys you have on the front 9, don't give up! JJ Spaun ended pulling of heck of win at -1. Now I want to go outside and golf some more!

Just kidding. It's almost bedtime for this old lady. That was a fast weekend!

Hope all you dads got spoiled like you deserve! 💖

Masters Week at the Office

For golf fans and golf "watcher" fans, this week is special. Not only is the Masters a unique championship  – with its pristine course and mostly uninterrupted commercial coverage – but it has some fun, heart-warming elements to it, too. Like today when we can see the littles of the players dressed in their cute little caddie uniforms. Precious!

I am not embarrassed to admit this putting green 18 inches away from my desk is not just for Masters week. It's been there nearly 4 months and we do not wait for special occasions to use it! (What can I say? Marketing is the Fun Department!) 

But it seemed natural to take a turn or two this week while one of our "news" TVs was tuned to the Golf Channel.

The plus side? I'm thinking that if I actually do devote a little more time to this distraction (a.k.a. stress reliever), I might be able to figure how to putt straight by the time I get on the real course.

Just another perk at work!

I look forward to watching what I can in the coming days. A weird combination of my PGA TOUR faves and "those LIV guys". Always interesting and hopefully entertaining.

FORE! 🏌

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.

BING-Oh Shucks

Like the meme above illustrates, I was pretty excited to go to BINGO at Assumption today. The progressive jackpot was $4,000+ AND I had a special guest.

Thanks to peer pressure from a few of our friends, Mr. "Hard No" at BINGO came along today for what he called his first – and last – time. He did have fun visiting with the guys, but that was about it. 

One of our group of 8 won a game, but had to share winnings with other winners. The 50-50 prize was $900 and none of us won that. As for the progressive blackout jackpot, that pot is going to keep growing for the next session on March 2. 

Knowing hubby has no interest in the game, I'll just keep my mammoth winnings to myself when I surely win in March! Ha.

I still had fun. And it's always fun to have friends there, too. Being losers together is a good bonding experience!

The rest of the day was recliner time watching golf and I guess some racing. I think I fell asleep for that part. No sense doing anything too exciting. We're plunging into a deep freeze, so I'm just snuggled in my chair and counting down to bedtime at this rate.

I used to say that just because I play BINGO doesn't mean I'm old. But counting down to bedtime at 6 p.m. might count!

Bundle up and have a good week!

Soup's On

We woke up to enough snow that hubby needed the snowblower. Something like 4" but it has been floating down on and off all day so who knows the amount?

After Jim shoveled out his dad's driveway, we went to the South Wood County Empty Bowls event – where $10 gets you a locally crafted pottery bowl, a bowl of soup from a local restaurant, and a dinner roll and yummy cookie. Also, for those who do that sort of thing (Me!) there were more than 100 raffle baskets.

We took our soup to go so we could deliver some to Jim's dad on our way home.

My Beer Cheese Soup from the Junkyard Bar and Grill was delicious! I did not win any raffle baskets. But maybe my luck is just waiting to change. Perhaps at BINGO tomorrow??

The rest of the day was major couch potato (or recliner potato) time. Watched the Badgers upset Purdue. Yeah, Bucky! Got all our tax stuff scanned for the Tax Man. Then I managed to get in two Hallmark movies with some leftover pizza in between. 

I was super lazy and owned it like a boss. And surprisingly, don't feel guilty about it. Very unlike me. I must be maturing! 😀

We'll see. Be careful out there!

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!