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! 

A Two-Some Weekend

Saturday was sort of like an episode of Wedding Crashers... but we were more like Wedding Surfers!

We happened to have two weddings on Saturday – one family, one friends. We somehow managed to get to both ceremonies. First our friends' daughter Allyse (one of Carter's prom dates from forever ago) at 1 p.m. When the ceremony start was delayed a bit, we wondered if we'd get to the other ceremony at 3 p.m.

Thank goodness both wete within 5 miles of Wisconsin Rapids.

After Allyse's absolutely beautiful wedding, we got out to Rooted in Red for Jim's goddaughter's Becca Austin's wedding. It's a nice venue for any outdoor ceremony, etc. The weather was just pleasant – not super hot. So nice. And so great to visit with Austin family and cousins.

Becca was the happiest bride!! Just loved to see her joy! 

After our dinner and some dancing – oh yes, two dances with hubby – we headed home and stopped at wedding No. 1 reception at The Ridges on the way. Got to officially congratulate the bride and visit with some friends. Full day of two-some fun!

Then this afternoon we started our "two-some" couple's league at Tri-City. The fun thing is that Jim and I go against another couple and we get to do a scramble format so we can keep the pace of play going. The non-fun thing is I realize once again my hubby is a phenomenal golfer and I am a complete dead weight. Unfortunately, according to couple's league rules, they have to use at least 3 of my drives in the 9 holes. 

I need more rounds than 2 before I can contribute, that's for sure! But somehow we came out ahead in the match tonight! Whew.

At least on a surprisingly cool Sunday I had my new Cutter and Buck golf pullover that I may or may not have bought myself on my trip to Minnesota last weekend. 88 degrees that day and yet I thought, "I should plan ahead!"

Very comfy and light but warm enough when whimps like me can't deal with wind and chill!

Side note: I love it and I'll be wearing it for much more than golf!

Carter called when we were putting out our last hole. Then we connected later when we were home. We're looking forward to seeing their place up in Duluth and showing them a few sights. How is it that all the weekends in the summer just fill up so fast?!

Hopefully something works out in July. Hubby hasn't been up there and I want to show both of them plus Mamie some of the must-see sights. 

At least we all agree it has to be a summer-type month.... not winter! Appreciate summer right now!

Spring. For Real er No?

In my heart I know that our first full day of spring is fake. But it felt so good to embrace it anyway!

After an in promptu choir practice this morning, it was really just hoops and hoops and little outside exposure.

And I got to meet our new neighbor! She's so cute!

That was the highlight of the day other than remembering how to use my Cricut for an upcoming bridal shower. And visiting with my father-in-law. 

With the warm temps I did sit out on the deck steps for a bit. But dang, we really want this to continue! It won't of course. Despite the calendar. But please know, Mother Nature, that I truly liked you for one day!

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! 

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. 😁💗

The Boys of Summer Meet the Field of Dreams

If there's one thing my father-in-law and his brother Joe loved (besides their wives and kids, that is) it was baseball! Uncle Joe coached baseball for decades. And I have more than a handful of pictures like this where the brothers are at Witter Field to "watch" an Assumption High School baseball game. Surely not there to supervise my hubby and his coaching skills, right?

Today, when I saw Uncle Joe was dressed in that same red Rapids baseball jacket as he lay in his coffin, I lost it. Another boy of summer has moved on to the Field of Dreams.

It was surreal to have almost a repeat of 2 weeks ago when we laid his wife – Aunt Janice – to rest. At her funeral it was nice to see dozens of Austin relatives we hadn't seen for quite some time. Today it was more of a "this is not how we should be getting together again" vibe. Lots of tears.

Still it was a nice service. Jim did the readings again and both he and Clay were pallbearers. Casey drove over from Minneapolis as well (Carter had sleet going on down in Dubuque to prevent his travels).

So after the sad stuff, we were blessed with some smiling time with our big sweetie grandpup Rey – and the humans Casey and Clay too.

I unfortunately had to finish my work day with some meetings. But I could hear three of the four brown-eyed bandits talking and laughing down the hall in the livingroom.

That, my friends, are the moments we need to cherish. Those are the memories that make us one day say, like today, "Remember that time we did this with Uncle Joe..."

I might just have to step and tell November "Move over, Gratitude Month. There are things happening every month that make us grateful."

Hug your loved ones!

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! 

How Great Thou Aunt

The best part about being an auntie is that you get to watch your little nieces and nephews grow up – then they have littles of their own and you get to watch it again!

Was excited to learn a few weeks ago that my nephew Travis and his family were going to be in my neck of the woods today on their way south. Not many family members come through here, that's for sure. So it was a treat. Of course I was happy to see Travis and Michelle but my great-nieces Kenlee and Khloe (above) kind of steal my heart! 💖

Since they were spending the night in nearby Plover, I thought I'd treat them to some time at our friends' store – Feltz's Dairy Store – where they can see cows through the store window and do some fun farm-like activities.

Since 2-year-old Khloe just learned to sing Old MacDonald, she was thrilled that was what was playing on the little merry-go-round. She bravely held onto Jake the cow so she could do actions while singing!

And Kenlee fed the bigger cow that they could also pretend to milk!

And then there was Buttercup, the biggest cow. A must-see must-photo opportunity. It burned off a little energy after their long drive anyway. If you haven't checked this place out, do so. Once school lets out, they also have a fun outdoor play area opening up. Shop local – entertain yourself locally.

From there we hopped over to Chili's since we figured they'd have something for every aged appetite! Good food. Good visit. And good reminder I better get in shape if we ever ever have grandchildren. I couldn't keep up. And this was in a restaurant! Ha.

Loved every minute of it. Seeing the grown-up dad version of the kiddo I saw the day he was born also melts my heart.

Treasure family time. Always!

Oh Sweet Hump Day

Today was another reminder that we somehow managed to work 5 days in a row most of last year – and now it feels like a challenge.

For me, a "5 days in a row" work week hasn't happened since before Thanksgiving. So I'm already caving to mild exhaustion this week. Who made up this rule of 5 days in a row anyway?

Luckily there has been plenty to keep me awake – er, mind occupied – at work so I can be productive. And tonight I had our monthly Girls Night Out to look forward to and carry me through Hump Day.

There was 8 of us who met at Gordie's (formerly Layla's, Goose's, etc on the west side of Rapids). Our food was amazing and we were there catching up for at least 2 hours. That's how you jump into Hump Day and gain momentum to finish out the week!

Hope all of you are adjusting back to your reality after the holidays. Don't judge yourself. It does take a minute!

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!

Oh, Christmas Trees... and More Trees

If I was lacking in holiday spirit in any way, that's no longer the truth. My oldest sister Rayna came for a visit yesterday and today and we fa-la-la'd to our hearts' content.

On Friday afternoon we went to the Shriners Fez-tival of Trees (where Carter and I went last week).

And, yes, we got to hang out with Santa again. I think we convinced him we've been good girls this year so maybe we'll get what we asked for come Christmas.

If you haven't made it there, there's still one day left to view the gorgeous trees and wreaths and enter for your chance to win. I runs from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday at the Masonic Center near the Firefighters' Memorial Park and boat landing on 2nd Avenue.

For dinner, the three of us went to The Ridges for fish fries. They just happened to have R decorations so the R sisters had to take a selfie. It's what we do!

After that, we went home and watched the Merry Gentlemen movie on Netflix (ooh-la-la) and then let Jim beat us in two games of 3-to-13. We couldn't hog all the weekend fun to ourselves!

This morning, he set his alarm and we went to the Cookie Walk at St. Lawrence Church. If you've never done one, you put whatever you want in your container and then pay for it by the pound. Can you believe this is exactly one pound? That's all it takes. No wonder I put on so many over the holidays!

After that, I went to a funeral visitation for one our church members whose son and daughter (and granddaughters) I've also befriended and known for quite some time. Since Roger was one of the few Vikings fans in my church, I made sure to wear purple in his honor. 💜💛💜

When I got home, Rayna and I headed back into town to check out the 8th Annual Christmas Tree Walk at our South Wood County Historical Museum. I've attended this many times and when I posted pictures of it last year, she definitely wanted to see it in person.

It's an amazing display. Every room in the museum has multiple themed trees and decorations that volunteers provide. They're all so different and so beautiful. Enjoy just a few...

Creative use of dried fruit!

The island themed decorators made each of these Hawaiian shirt ornaments from paper, too. So tempted to try that! Cool.

The blue Starry Night room was fantastic!!

Like I said, so many different types of themes! 

An upside down tree. Why not?

Part of the Veterans' tree.

Ideas for homemade ornaments.

God, bless us, everyone!

Oh and this event runs from noon-4 p.m. Sunday and Monday, then 5-8 p.m. December 13, and noon-4 p.m. December 14 and 15. Free will offering. So worth the visit!

Rayna hit the road after that. And, since it was in the high 40s out I (and everyone else in town) thought today would be a good day for a car wash! Lines everywhere. But my car needed it since we had that one day of crappy snow and, thus, salt.

Late this afternoon, Jim and I wrapped up our holiday weekend with a Christmas concert by the  Wisconsin Rapids Area Community Choir. It's about 60 members and I knew about 10 – including several from my church choir. Excellent show for a full house! 

Now that we're home at a decent time, there may be a chance for more spirit a la Hallmark! 🎄🎅

Hope you're all finding ways to enjoy the season as well! 

Good Black Friday

Today turned into more of a Good Friday than the traditional Black Friday. That's because it was a rare but treasured day with my grown son. 💜

Since Jim had to work the Cranberry Classic basketball tournament all day, we were on our own. I did take pictures of the Assumption JV girls game in the early morning while Carter was still asleep. But once he was awake, I headed home. 

Our first stop for today's adventure was the Fez-tival of Trees hosted by the Masons. You can buy raffle tickets to win trees (and every amazing item on them and beneath them) plus some wreaths too. 

And as a bonus we could see Santa! Apparently he really does know me because he said he's heard I don't keep my room very clean. And knowing my office (aka my Oh my God room), he's right about that.

Then when Carter asked him for a Vikings' Superbowl victory, he literally "Ho-ho-ho"-ed. 

Naturally I was grateful one of the volunteers suggested taking a picture of both of us with Santa. That was priceless for me. 

We were also entertained by our friend Craig on the keyboards. Aways a treat!

So get there if you can in the next week or so. It's just south of the Firefighters' Memorial Park and boat landing. Bring a non-perishable food item, too!

From there, we did some shopping in Rapids and the Plover-Stevens Point area, wrapping up with a visit to Feltz Dairy Farm for some goodies – including King Cone ice cream!

Got home and watched a little Black Friday Football before meeting Jim in town for supper at Ida's. He had to get back to the tournament so we headed home and watched some TV together before our yawning took over! 

Still smiling, of course, because I can't treasure days like these enough!

Hope you found plenty of reasons to smile and feel grateful today, too.