Nice is Relative

It was a nice day today in central Wisconsin. Yes, the temperature was still below freezing. But there was no wind. Wind is to winter chills what humidity is to summer heat. No humidity is a perfect summer day. No wind in January means a pleasant walk outside – even with the lack of sunshine.

It was definitely trying to peek out when I went walking around the lake after work. Didn't last long, but yes, it was pretty nice. Until I got home and realized how nice the weather REALLY is ... in other places.

"Our" golf tournament started today. So it's traditional that the Golf Channel compare temps on Maui to those back in Stevens Point, where our home office is located. Even if we got up to freezing, we'd be still be 50 degrees colder.

Wish I was there! But with everything else in the past 9 months, numbers of actual people on the premises are pretty limited. I'd rather go when I can see players and shake hands and sneak hugs. (Ha – depends who's there!)

Instead we watch from our comfy recliners and spot our brand everywhere we can, ha. Hey, we marketing folks take pride in our work.

As a bonus, we're watching some great golf. The Sentry Tournament of Champions is a winners-only affair so these guys have to have won a PGA tournament this past year. Well, some exceptions due to the crazy year that 2020 was. 

So yeah, it's pretty cool. I will watch much more of it this weekend. Tonight I watched for an hour (TV coverage starts at 5 p.m.) and then went to shoot wrestling down in Nekoosa, then came home and watched the victorious end of the Assumption girls basketball game via livestream.

I call that a pretty nice day. 

Aloha!

Wrestling Up Some Ice Cream

My computer is so slow tonight so I'll keep this brief and to the point...

Had a busy day starting with book club, then shooting regional wrestling over in Waupaca. Don't you just love that t-shirt? Our Assumption wrestler in contention took third so he won't be moving onto sectionals. The combined Nekoosa-Assumption is sending four on, though, so that was exciting!

On the way home – yes, it was right on the way – had to stop at King Cone, which opened yesterday.

The king has come out of hibernation! And so has the  Blueberry, "Yes, Please," Cake ice cream. Oooh, so good!

Got home, sorted through hundreds of photos and now the weekend is half over. Dang.

Gonna have to "wrestle" up some productivity tomorrow!

Twist and Shout

It takes a special kind of person to wrestle. Like someone who loves pain and getting their body twisted up like a pretzel. Ouch.

Just as the photographer, a bystander, it's painful to watch. Mostly I'm just zooming in and hoping to capture some action or expression. Tonight, when I saw this guy's face seconds before the final period was done, it looked like real. Serious. Pain.

Like arm getting ripped off or at least pulled out of joint kind of pain. Uff da.

There is so much yelling going on by fans and coaches that I couldn't hear if he really was twisted up and shouting – or no sound could come out. I imagined primal screams, though.

He lost his match by decision (I know, I sound like I know the sport now. I don't.), positioning our joint Assumption and Nekoosa wrestling team two points behind Adams-Friendship with one match to go. It was up to Benny, one of our Assumption boys. I'll spare you from looking at any more painful pictures. Bottom line...

He won by decision and our team won by one point! Nice job! Note that there can be happy, nice, non-painful pictures of the sport. I'm sure all the guys that I know on the team would love to finish each match with a smile!

And nice shout of exultation instead of excruciation.

God bless you, wrestlers!

Oh That's a Sign

I find this hilarious and well-timed because, for me, it's also a sign I need to go to bed.

Tonight I shot a few hundred photos of wrestling. You don't realize what you have until you get home and see the images on your 22-inch computer monitor. Lots of painful expressions and oh so many butts.

I need a new image in my head! And this sign does it for me. Ha. You'll understand why I just need to step away from the computer and go to bed!

Please, Lord, let me have sweet – not sweat – dreams.

KC and the Sunshine

Remember K.C. and the Sunshine Band? Well, my version of that is KC (King Cone) on a very sunny day. Works for me!

After doing my Saturday "chores" this morning, I headed over the Amherst for wrestling regionals. We have four kids from Assumption who wrestle on a combined team with Nekoosa. Since the calendar was open, I figured I better capture the action since I'll be out of town the next two weekends for sectionals and state.

Glad I went. Three of our four were victorious in their finals and took regional championships in their weight class. The other Royal took a third so he won't go onto sectionals. But still, what a great representation. Since I know the families, I can feel the stress and excitement right along with them. Fun actually. Yes, I know. Wrestling. Who knew?

As I left Amherst – where King Cone originated – I was thinking, "Oh it would be so nice if it was open." It's not, of course, in the winter. Then I remembered, "Wait, it IS open at Feltz Dairy!"

So I stopped on the way home since it was only a minor detour. I felt the need to celebrate the victories but, more importantly, the fact the temperature was above zero. That totally calls for a cold treat, right?

Salted Caramel Truffle certainly did the trick. Definitely my kind of KC in the Sunshine!

Can't Be Left Unsupervised

Sylvester had one job today: to keep me on task. No goofing around on the computer. No frivolous activities. Stay on task to get ready for Christmas Up North tomorrow and get whatever errands done that you can.

I didn't do too badly considering kitty is a terrible supervisor – constantly taking cat naps and leaving me to my own devices. Trust me. Even I know I can't be left unsupervised.

It's amazing that I did get everything done on my list of things for tomorrow. Plus, I got photos from hoops last night edited and uploaded. And even went to a wrestling match at Assumption tonight and got those photos taken care of.

Now I just have to turn on the crockpot so my cheesy potatoes can bake while I sleep. And we'll hit the road in 6 hours.

I hope my supervisor doesn't mind if I clock out before midnight!

Singlet Saturday

Singlet: Now there's something I don't need to type again – or see – for a year.

I say that but the reality is I did not go to wrestling regionals today under duress. It was under my own power. My own volunteerism.

It happened that one of our Assumption kids on the combined Nekoosa-Assumption-Port Edwards team was out most of the season on crutches. Now he's back and today was potentially the last opportunity to get any photos of him. It's only fair that the high school yearbook staff has images of all of four of our Royal wrestlers. Right?

So I traveled over to Almond-Bancroft High School – really only like 20-some minutes away – this morning with action to start at 10:30 a.m. It went pretty quickly for having several rounds and I was home by 3 p.m. Two of the Royals are regional champions so it was actually pretty cool to be a part of that. For the record, I am not traveling 2 hours away next week for sectionals. My work here is done.

Didn't do much the rest of the day besides upload photos and catch the Olympics here and there. Opening ceremony in South Korea was yesterday. I don't really care what's live and what isn't. I just like to watch. And not just figure skating, though I love that.

Since was hubby was down in the Dells watching Royals hoops, Sylvester sat down with me to watch some of the luge action. When a German guy was competing, she turns to me and says, "You mean you could have named me Wolfgang?"

I know. Way cool name. But you still look more like the Looney Tune Sylvester, so you're stuck with that. Though, we could add a middle name. The next competitor was Tucker something. Plenty of cool names in the Olympics. I may have to keep a list!

And the announcers have interesting names for the participants, too. A 5-foot-5 racer was considered "diminutive." I'm not even tall enough to be diminutive! Olympic dreams... shattered.

Guess I'll stick to photographing the action.

Red-Headed or Red-Jerseyed Stepchild

The meaning of red-headed stepchild is clear enough: it's used to describe a person who is neglected, mistreated or unwanted. 

For a few weeks, I've been thinking our wrestling team – combined with two other schools – was sort of the red-headed stepchild of winter sports. Not unwanted, so much as just not supported by a huge fan base compared to, well, basketball.

Now I know that wrestling can't claim the title. 

But hockey can. It so happens we have two Royals playing for the Pacelli Assumption Amherst Almond-Bancroft Iola-Scandinavia Co-op Team. Yup, that's a lot to fit on a jersey. They just call it the Pacelli Co-op Team for short.

Like wrestling, the Assumption hockey fan base is made up of parents and a few grandparents or siblings. But there are only two Royal hockey players and four (oooh, twice as many) wrestlers.

Tonight I took pictures at hockey in Stevens Point. Our combined team was playing against the Rapids team, which is division one. Even though my friend Michelle (one of the two hockey moms I knew) loaned me her gloves, I didn't have the stamina to stay for the whole thing. I am hoping I got enough pictures in the first 2 periods. We were behind 6-1 when I left.

I actually feel fortunate that I am taking some pictures for moms and for the Assumption yearbook. I get to see these other sports I wouldn't normally watch voluntarily. But more importantly, I get to witness some more talented Royals giving their hearts to their passions. You know they love it if they are willing to go on a team with several other school names attached!

There's not much time to check out a match or meet or whatever their competitions are called, but you can try to squeeze one in this week.

Even if they have navy and red jerseys, you can still wear your Royal Blue if you want! #royalpride

Heart Strings

It's a good thing the "strings" that tie our hearts to others are unlimited in their reach. It is an amazingly resilient bond that only gains strength over time. That's why we can see a friend after a long absence and still feel just as close.

Today I got to pull strings, so to speak, in three different directions.

This morning, I met up with my college friend Carrie, whose son was wrestling in a state tournament up in Wausau. Although she and her family live in the Milwaukee area, we just don't get to that neck of the state that often. And when we do, it's usually tied to some event and we are on a schedule. So we do what we can to get together, even it's a wrestling date far from either of our homes.

Since I am now officially "experienced" in wrestling photography, I brought my camera to take pictures of her son Ben and, well, yes, his 3 teammates that also made it to the state JV tournament. It was actually a fun time. I felt pretty official.

Wow! Look at me with a Floor Pass... I can go anywhere. Even sit with the coach at the edge of the mat to get really good pictures! That was admittedly pretty stinkin' cool. Especially since there were matches going on simultaneously on 8 different mats so the chances of seeing everything from the bleachers were minimal.

Here's Ben in one of his matches.

And the proud momma – my fellow RA on the first floor of Angell Hall at UW-La Crosse back in 19XX. You don't really need to know that, do you?

Anyway, we were having fun watching and catching up on life when I got a text from College Boy that his ride back to Platteville was leaving today instead of tomorrow, just to get ahead of the projected winter weather.

That threw me for a loop because I wasn't mentally or emotionally ready to say goodbye. I mean, we really didn't get any one-on-one time with him. Our last family meal was Christmas morning. And so on. So I raced home to get there in time to see him off.

"Can I at least get a picture so I can look at it each day?" I said. Yup, he was accommodating. Probably had some guilt, says wishful-thinking momma. Either way, it was definitely tugging at those tough but tender heart strings. Empty nest equals empty heart.

Didn't have much time to lament since we had dinner plans over in Waupaca. We met up with our friends Scott and Sandy from Green Bay.

Sandy and I decided that when our hubbies make silly bets over college bowl games that require one of them to buy dinner for the other couple, we are the winners. We didn't have to know anything, watch anything. Just order food and drink and be happy.

It was great to see our favorite golf partners in the off-season. Maybe Jim and Scott can bet on something else to bring us together before spring. We'll see.

In the meantime, my heart will remain securely connected to my baby and these special ladies.

Royal Focus

Just a quick note to say I'm still around. Just had a few late, late nights. And since it's midnight now, I'm going to bed pretty quick.

Both nights were sports nights. Last night I took a second swing at capturing wrestling photos of some of our Assumption boys on a combined Assumption-Nekoosa-Port Edwards team. I had taken a few two weeks ago and wanted to improve it a bit.

So here are a few from last night...

Our guys just lift their opponent like it's nothing. Wow.

Other than that, they are always straining to pin the other guy, who's typically got a painful expression on his face.

Can you blame him? Ouch!!!

We did win the meet. I can say "we" since I've been to two now!

Tonight we had a double-header basketball game at home versus Rib Lake. No camera. I knew the games would be close and I just wanted to watch and cheer!

Our varsity boys won in overtime. Crazy! Very physical game. Well, I guess not as physical as wrestling, now that I can compare the two. The JV girls won but the varsity girls team just came up short.

Afterwards, quite a number of us gathered at a watering hole to catch up on life beyond the court. It was very nice. Now off to bed so I can focus tomorrow. No matter what I type tomorrow night, do not assume I suddenly love wrestling. Just love some people involved.

And happen to have a camera available. Hope you had a good week and can do something – anything – to enjoy our brief mild spell!

Made of Stern Stuff

Stop me if you've seen this before...

You know, I met Al Gore once back in 1988 during a campaign stop at UW-La Crosse. He was celebrating his 40th birthday that day. I still should have taken him aside and told him then there'd be days that whole global warming thing would be a tough sell.

Not just to Wisconsin and Minnesota folks either.

My friends in Florida had legitimate reasons to complain this morning when their wake-up temperature was only 26 degrees. Yowza.

And my sister Rayna and husband Paul had a long road trip from Hudson, Wis., to Gulf Shore, Ala., before they hit weather above freezing. This winter is not for wimps. You're either made of stern stuff, or you'll suffer from the cold or a bad case of useless whining.

You know who else is made of stern stuff? Wrestlers.

What?

Weird transition, yes, but I spent the evening taking pictures of a wrestling match since we have some Assumption kids on the co-op team with the nearby Nekoosa and Port Edwards high schools. I hadn't been to a match in a long time. Like when my brother wrestled in high school... and he graduated in 1979. So I definitely forgot what it was like.

Still managed to take hundreds of photos for some moms – and the Royal yearbook. Not sure moms want to seen the grimace of pain and strain on their boys' faces. But I think I got enough decent shots that I won't have to go to another one. Unless I just go for fun.

Not sure I'm tough enough to handle that. Let me face the weather first and see how it goes.