That Odd Mix of Summer, Turkey Day and Christmas

What a strange seasonal weekend! Saturday dawned with summer-like temperatures and I was excited for some time with Mr. Deck Chair! 

Beware of roadside turkeys first!

Then in the mean time, there was shopping for Christmas cookie exchange ingredients – and supporting our community's Best Christmas Ever endeavor for families in need.That turned out to be fun. 

I convinced the Grinch that no one could silence me from spreading Christmas cheer for all to hear!

And he reminded me, "Does your husband know you're sitting on another man's lap?" LOL.  Also, he didn't care if I was good this year or not. So kids got a free pass in that department!

They had a good 100+ raffle baskets and your friend Lady Luck won two of them! Including some Tupperware EZ Speedy mixer thing that more than covers the cost of raffle tickets I purchased.

Then last night we re-joined AHS classmates (plus) to hear our friend Lance Black sing. This was at 17sixteen, the way former Baker Street Grill. He was amazing as always and it was great to see friends!

Today was literally both of us singing in our respective church choirs and watching football. Because, guess what, the weather turned quite November-ish again – despite the sun. So we stayed inside.

P.S. I did sneak one Hallmark Christmas movie in yesterday... and I'm pretty sure I can get another one in tonight!

They CAN Fly!

After a day of work that felt like a week, I was not amused on my foggy, rainy commute home when two dozen turkeys in a field decided they must cross the road in front of me. So I brake and then suddenly some of them are flying to expedite the mass movement.

I immediately thought of the famous quote from a WKRP in Cincinnati episode: "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." You weren't wrong. They can! They really can!

I was thankful half of them crossed in front of my car and the other half I saw crossing in my rearview mirror. Whew. Definitely don't need a collision with a flying bowling ball!

Of course, when I got home my mood lifted – as it does anytime there's an Amazon box with my name on it sitting in my office.

The long, skinny box contained my new 4-iron – to match the rest of my new blue SMOKE clubs I got last summer. I realized I needed a "long distance" iron in the rare chance I have to shoot out of the rough. (Insert eye roll here.) 

I can see now why part of the Amazon logo is a smile. They pretty consistently deliver happiness. It would be nice, though, if Mother Nature had similar branding. The overnight snow and sleet did little to expedite my first tee time of the season. 

Because it's Lent, I'll give her some grace. But even that is in short supply.

Stay-Cation Day 3 : Chillin'

When you leave the house and go directly into the garage, you don't always have a sense of what the REAL weather feels like. 

This was me running errands this morning. Without a winter coat. Or jacket of any kind. People probably thought I was nuts. Or maybe that I was tough. 

In reality, I was dumb.

I survived though. Do you know who else survived?

Apparently this brood. Not that most people hunt for their Thanksgiving meal, but these guys (or gals, don't ask me) have lived another day. And have stopped traffic another day. Not sure how long their luck will hold up.

So even though I was physically chilling with the temperatures, I was also mostly relaxing today. I had one major thing to do....

Bake my pies. And even though the crust got a little too dark for my liking, I think they'll be fine tomorrow. I will eat them if no one else will!

I also managed to get one Hallmark movie in (so far) and went to my Hair Artist for my 6-week check-up. Happy Thanksgiving to me!

Side note: This stay-cation week is going way too fast!! Hope you all can relax tomorrow and enjoy the blessings in your life.

Today's Dress Code :: Thanksgiving Pants

Today was a FULL-FILL-ing day! Thankfully I didn't base my attitude on the images from the first light of day.

Yup. Our first measurable snowfall and Mr. Deck Chair and I were not happy. But there was no way I was going to work from home today. Our Marketing Department was having our "Progressive Thanksgiving."

No, thoughts weren't necessarily progressive. But like a "progressive dinner" you may have heard of, we wandered from area to area within Marketing to eat all day. And I mean ALL DAY.

Breakfast was provided by our digital team – those who do the behind the scenes work on our websites, e-newsletters, SEO, and social media. Since I've been on the stomach mend, I just had a half bagel with cinnamon-brown sugar cream cheese. Oh, and a slice of bacon. Because it was there.

Starting at 10 a.m. our creative team of graphic designers and videographers plus our customer experience team (who do all kinds of surveys) provided appetizers. I volunteered to bring home a deviled egg for hubby, but he declined. I don't like them so I couldn't even enjoy one for him. But I did have some meatballs and surprise Pumpkin Pie-looking snack.

If it's not really miniature pumpkin pie slices, what is it?

Turns out it's sliced cheese on top of a triangular cracker with some cream cheese dip that was a Cool Whip look-a-like on the edges and top. My mind was blown! Just the perfect putzy type of snack I'd try to make! Cool.

Lunch time was on our team of writers. The turkey sandwiches were provided and we were in charge of the sides. Thus the reason I had to drive slowly and carefully to work to protect my crockpot of cheesy potatoes. Yes, it arrived safely. And no, there isn't any leftover for me to show you a picture! (I take that as a win.)

Around 2 p.m., our brand management team and events team provided dessert. Are you full yet? We sure were. And wishing we all wore our "Thanksgiving Pants."

But I managed a pumpkin spice cupcake and piece of cheesecake. The sacrifices we make for work!

After that I had to stop at our clinic at work and get my previously scheduled COVID shot. Not a fun way to end a FULL and FILLING day at the office for sure. Especially after just getting over being sick. I'm feeling a little "off" this evening but hopefully the reaction doesn't develop into anything more than that.

Just going to take it easy and pray I'm back to my version of normal by tomorrow so I can do hunter's widow shopping this weekend. And no, my husband doesn't hunt. But I can pretend for certain circum$tance$.

How to Get Out of a Broody Mood

Our new neighbors are a bunch of turkeys! I mean, literally. I think there are a few broods that have taken residence down the road. Because this is not the same group I saw yesterday. They had smaller young 'uns. (If you pay me during turkey hunting season, I'll show you where!)

But there are easier ways to get rid of a brood, er broody mood.

This morning after a I finished a slightly stressful work project, I thought, "What a nice day to take an afternoon off!" So I did.

Yes, the rest of my steaming pile of work will still be there Monday, but it was just such a nice, upper 70s temperature kind of day that will be fleeting before we know it. So I logged off, took a nice lunchtime walk with my friend Jenny, then did some weeding (very tall weeds) in front of the house, rested in the sun a minute, then decided to go golfing. 

Now that my golf partner is retired, I thought there was a chance she was free! That worked out great!

So I evaporated my broody mood by splitting my time between Mr. Deck Chair and Mr. Fox. Sorry, no time for Mr. Austin today! Plus he's taking stats at the Royals' first football game of the season down in Markesan. (Don't worry, I had to Google it, too.)

Of course, coming off my best round last night, I was expecting greatness on the course. Guess that's an every-other-day kind of thing. Ugh. The good news there is that I'll be "on" for our golf scramble tomorrow! 

After our round, Marigene and I grabbed dinner at the clubhouse. This week's hot honey spiced chicken sandwich is mucho yummo! Loved it so much, I brought half of it home so I could enjoy it for another meal. 😋

Now I'm relaxing at home, taking care of a bit of laundry, and might catch up on a little Emily in Paris season 4 while crocheting a raffle basket blanket. 

And that's how to uplift your mood. Any day. Follow me here for more stress-relief hacks. 😆

Cold Turkey

It's the beginning of a new year. Time to quit all our bad habits – cold turkey. Pretty sure I am going to have to ease off my sugar addiction. There's still too many treats in the house. And at work. But I'll work on that.

For the record, not giving up caffeine. No point in that at all. My body actually requires it to function so let's pretend I have a doctor's excuse!

As for anything else, I'm a work in progress and since we're 3 days into the new year, there's not much progress to report.

So let's just concentrate on these cold turkeys invading our neighborhood...

In addition to icy roads and deer, it's just one more thing to look out for on my commute! Too bad neither one of those animals make New Year's resolutions to stay off the roads.

Be careful out there!

Happy Thanksgiving

I don't think anything tops laziness like Thanksgiving. Watch football. Eat. Watch more. Have pie.

That pretty much sums up our day. After watching the Lions-Packers game, we went over to Jim's sister's house. Then watched some football, ate a delicious meal, watched some more, then had pie. It was nice to visit, too! Clay and Becca were there, Colin and Amy and the kiddos, and Jim's dad.

Mainly we were entertained by my very non-lazy great-niece and great-nephew. Mya and Eli did not sit still long enough for me to get a picture so thankfully their mom snapped one earlier in the day. They're just so darn cute.

I don't need tryptophan to make me tired. Just watching those two did it. That and stuffing myself with pie when I was already full!

Hope you able to gather with loved ones and give thanks today!

Beauty and the Bleat

What I discovered today while visiting a friend's hobby farm is that even though I know I'm not pretty, at least I'm not turkey ugly. It was quite a boost to my self-esteem!

Apparently her turkeys like to stand against their fence and harass the chickens all day. I'm siding with the chickens since they produced the two dozen eggs I got. Very nice.

Also, the chickens probably know the turkeys' days are numbered. That's the word around the coop, anyway.

My farm favorites were Gwen's kids. Oh her children, yes, but also the baby goats! I want one! The black one was bleating while I walked away, begging me not to go!

One of her sons has become quite the goat whisperer. He treats them like pets. But I know from another  friend who's had goats as pets that they like to head butt. No matter how much they love you. And they'll leave a bruise. Hope it works out OK!

Anyway, it was nice to see my former Wonder Twin from kickboxing days. And since I was down south in Adams County, I decided to take the scenic route home in hopes of maybe seeing some eagles or something. Apparently the eagles are too smart to fall victim to this fake spring today. But I did see a blue heron or two plus some sandhill cranes...

I snapped some shots at a few other spots that I'll share tomorrow. For now I gotta get a few more "Saturday chores" done before Monday arrives!

As God is My Witness, Turkeys CAN Fly

It's one of the most classic lines in television history: "As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."

It was uttered by befuddled station manager Arthur Carlson after a turkey giveaway gone awry during the "Turkeys Away" episode in the first season of "WKRP in Cincinnati." And on more than one occasion since, I've said, "I thought so too, Mr. Carlson!"

Case in point – hubbies co-workers today...

With temps in the mid-30s, the melting snow revealed some green grass goodies to gobble up.

As soon as Jim stepped close to the patio door, they must have spotted him and took off. And dare I say, flew off!

So yes, some turkeys CAN fly. As long as their wild.

Yup, Wiki-Robyn strikes again! This is what I learned: Wild turkeys can fly. The birds feed on the ground but sleep in trees, so while they aren't as prolific fliers as some of their other feathered brethren, they can fly, reaching speeds of up to 55 mph. They prefer to travel by walking or running though and can run up to 25 mph.

Also, unrelated... if one flies into the windshield of your car, it's like having a bowling ball drop out of the sky. Or the WKRP helicopter.

Be careful out there!

Turkey Eve

Today was actually a vacation day I had scheduled several weeks ago. I knew I'd need to get 2 things done before serving Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.

Number 1 was bake my pumpkin pies and number 2 was set the scale back 15 pounds – at least 5. It's tradition, right?

I was glad I had time to get the almost perfect pies done plus whatever other food – and house – prep I could do, plus a few creative projects, plus run what errands I could. I had hoped to get my car washed since it was 40+ degrees out. But everyone else had that idea. Add that to another day's to-do list.

For now, it's time to rest up so I can join everyone else in overexerting ourselves to eat as much good food as possible tomorrow until we need a nap. Come on. We've all trained for this!

Happy Turkey Eve! And count your blessings with gratitude tomorrow!

Cold Turkey

I'm wondering if the phrase "cold turkey" really means quitting something abruptly or if maybe it means these turkeys and cold and really, really wish they could fly south for the winter! 

Based on the forecast that we're dipping down into the 20s tonight, I'm thinking it's the these frigid fellas looking for an escape. I know I am!

Besides very cooooool temps today, the wind was wicked and our trees are getting naked!

I was glad I was able to snap this photo yesterday. I call it "Moses Parting the Red Sea." 

We were so blessed with a gorgeous colors this fall. I hope we'll still see some color Up North this weekend for sister weekend, but I'm OK if we don't.

Fallen leaves often create a gorgeous blanket, too. And Lord knows, we all are gonna need an extra blanket. Starting now!

Bundle up and be careful out there!

Turkey Crossing

Why did the turkeys cross the road? To get to the other side... And out of the rain. I guess they're smarter than we give them credit for.

Well, I mean, I did stay inside all day. So I guess I'm smart, too. But I'd rather not have to dodge raindrops for another solid 24 hours.

Yeah, I feel like Eeyore on the gloomy days in the Hundred Acre Wood. It's cloudy and gloomy and downright depressing. 

So I binged the rest of Bridgerton tonight on Netflix until I got over it. But then realized I probably have to wait a year for the next season. And that's a bit depressing, too. What a vicious cycle!

Too bad there's not a Turkey Crossing sign somewhere so we can escape. This lovely spring weather is for the birds.

Happy Thanksgiving

Woke up to a Thanksgiving Day dusting of snow today. Well, a little more than a dusting, but we were still surprised. Pretty sure it was not in our forecast unless we read right over it knowing we were staying put today.

We hosted my in-laws and Carter and that was it. Just 5 of us. But I'll glad I baked 2 pumpkin pies. Yum.

I cooked two turkey breasts and successfully made my mother-in-law's dressing. And had the usual corn, cranberries and mashed potatoes. Nothing fancy but it sure eats up a day preparing. 

Now we're in our tryptophan comas. Had dinner at 4-ish (had to go on the elders' eating schedule). And was fighting sleep by 6 p.m. Gonna power through and hope to make it until 9!

Hope you had a Thanksgiving filled with as many blessings as the calories consumed today. Wow. I am VERY blessed then! 

And full.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cold Turkey

You gotta call "same seats" in this neighborhood. Otherwise, when you're off flying around practicing your V formation someone's going to take your spot. Like these jive turkeys who are squatting in the field – just brooding – while our wintering Canadians went out to lunch.

Thanks to a little of sunshine and crunchy snow, I couldn't sneak up them. So most of my shots (camera, no guns) were focused on the corns stalks by accident. Still, I got a few decent shots.

Mass exit here. Yes, turkeys can fly! Maybe it wasn't the goofy photographer they were fleeing. They might have heard the Canada geese returning. They can't resist that "Honk if you love corn" bumper sticker. It gives them away.

They were definitely once again the "geese a-laying" in the field when I walked by after work. We'll see who shows up tomorrow when they might have to dig through some snow. Supposed to get 3-5 inches here overnight but if the local birds haven't taken flight, I'm skeptical.

Plus, like my feathered friends, I don't have any place to go anyway!