Sunday Scavenger Hunt

My search for a nice photograph is sort of like a scavenger hunt. But I don't really have clues. And the ones I have are really weird.

After talking about eagles yesterday, someone asked if I'd seen any snowy owls? I haven't but I remembered a friend photographing several a few years back on a road kind of near here. There's a first clue for a photo hunt.

So this afternoon I drove other there and followed that road a lot of miles, only going about 45 mph so I could look both ways and up and down and drive. Did not see any animals with or without feathers. Took an artistic photo of this old barn, figuring that was it for my hunting outing.

Finally decided to get off the main road and took some side roads, trying to keep it in a square so I wouldn't get lost. Was just about to turn back when I saw a bird flying in the distance. A bigger one. I thought maybe a hawk or eagle but had to snap a picture to be sure. 

When I zoomed in and saw the white tail, I knew I at least had an eagle in my general vicinity.

That one flew off before I could follow it, but when I glanced to the south and saw a black. spot on a tree, my hope and curiosity made me check it out. 

Had to get close before I confirmed it was an eagle, not a hawk. Tried shooting a picture but it was hidden behind branches and my camera loves to focus on little branches in the foreground. Grrr. Decided to drive past the tree and hopefully get a better view from the other side.

And I did. Hopped out of the car, not caring that I was standing in the middle of the road and looking up. Thankfully a dirt road in Wisconsin rarely has traffic. So I sneaked closer to get a shot. By the way, you can't sneak up, under, or near an eagle. They are smarter than your average bird.

So Mr. Eagle promptly took off and I could only snap a few pictures because red pickup truck was barreling towards me. Well it sounded like it was barreling. 

When he got past, Mr. Eagle was already in the distance. I didn't follow him back down the road from where I just came. Selfishly I thought I might see him on the other side of the block. Or finally see some snowy owls.

Nope for both.

I guess they crossed "human" off their Sunday scavenger hunts and had something better to look for.

We Get Out Once in Awhile

Didn't blog last night just to prove we do get out once in awhile – and don't get home early. Well, I did get home early, just didn't get to bed early.

Went to the boys basketball game. Both JV and Varsity lost to Stratford, but I still took pictures. And was sorting through them late enough that I had no creative thoughts left in my head to blog. So I went to bed and neither one of us had to set an alarm for anything.

So I was close to do my favorite winter sport today – hibernating – but I ventured out for a drive. This weekend down in Sauk City they're having Eagle Watching Festival or something. So I thought if I found some open water on the Wisconsin River around here, I wouldn't have to drive 2 hours.

Instead I did 2 hours of driving (practically) going up and down both sides of the river south of the Nekoosa dam. No luck. Not a single eagle. In fact, I saw two crows and that was it. Nothing made me want to stop and take a picture. Now that's just plain sad.

So came back home and started sorting through some pictures from 2017 for my next scrapbooking weekend. Camp Crop-A-Lot 2022 is only 40 days away, people. It's a like a whole Lent between now and then. I should give something up.

But eating sweets certainly goes well with hibernating.

To illustrate... Carter got me this shake at Arby's today. Sweet dreams! Wake me when it's spring.

Designing and Dining to Distraction

When you don't have a ton to smile about, you make stuff up. And you know what? It works.

Our princess loves to sleep in all kinds of awkward positions. Sometimes her head is twisted at painful-looking angles. And sometimes she lays there and looks like she's touching her toes. Or as Carter and I agree, she's like an Olympic high diver. 

So to distract myself from sad thoughts, I got a good laugh turning the image above into this one...

She says: Dream big. Why settle for the silver medal in Napping when you can take the gold in 10 Meow-ter Platform Diving?

It has cracked me up all day. Not to pick on kitty. But I needed that.

We also left the house and gave ourselves some new surroundings for the first time this week. After we saw the daily special at Ida's online, we had to go. Pretty easy customers when we can sit down and say, "We'll take 4 of the specials." What was so special about the Spicy Chicken Mac Flatbread Special?

Well you can see it was flatbread topped with cheesy macaroni, grilled chicken, sriracha curds, bacon, and then drizzled with sriracha garlic dipping sauce. Hot? Yes. Delicious? Yes, yes! Did we have leftovers? Of course!

It was nice to get out with the kids and not think about the whirlwind of concerns for awhile. 

They're still swirling, of course. But we can face them with silly smiles on our faces and very full tummies.

The Bright Side

Only in the Midwest do we look at the current temperature and proclaim, "It's 36 degrees! I gotta get outside and take a walk!" Then come inside and say, "It's so nice out!"

And it was. I needed the sunshine and fresh air to lift my spirits a bit. It certainly helped.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and kind words of support for my sister and my family. I think we're all emotionally exhausted from yesterday's ups and downs. Crying at the drop of a hat or the ping of a text was not unheard of today either. 

We'll get through this by holding each other up and letting our favorite memories of Paul do some heavy lifting, too.

Unfortunately, we still need our Hedberg Hotline to Heaven to remain active. We have the other loved one  in a serious condition who still needs our unrelenting prayers. I feel like we're already 3 months into 2022 instead of just 12 days. I know it's worse for my family members closest to the situation. And I'm virtually sending all the love and hugs to them! 

All I can say is hug your loved ones – whether human or furry – while you have them here. I'll pretty much be divvying out hugs and "I love you's "at a record pace this year. 

I mean if you're vaccinated, that is. 

Yup. There's still a global sh*t show going on outside of my little world. Be careful out there. And try to see the bright side – or feel it – when you can! 

Move Over, St. Peter – St. Paul Has Arrived

Heaven not only gained an angel today – but a saint! St. Paul to be specific. And our hearts our hurting.

My brother-in-law Paul was a saint – and not just because he's put up with my sister and her crazy family for more than 3 decades. (Well I guess that is mostly it.) And on his way to sainthood he became one of my favorite humans on the planet.

As you can see from the top photo, he was my sister Rayna's adventure partner in everything in life. They traveled near and far, covering all the states in the union, more tropical islands that I can count, and several European countries to boot. 

He knew my sister's love for taking pictures (I got that from her) meant a 10-mile drive could take a good hour or so. "Paul, pull over!" "Paul, stop here!" You see the sainthood mounting, don't you?

Over the years (yes, we're both young here), I've gotten to share in some of those adventures, too. Here we are in the mountains of Georgia with a new friend. (I hope it was a statue.)

And in South Padre enjoying Carter's first trip to the ocean! There was also...

Hanging out with Uncle Paul across the border, too. A little shopping in Mexico can be quite an adventure!

Drinking green beer (or just root beer) with 100% Irish Uncle Paul at Pepe's on St. Patty's Day. 

And seeing the Grand Canyon together when Rayna and Paul were just "wintering" a bit in Arizona before moving there in 2020.

Through the years, Paul and I have had a healthy rivalry. His Braves versus my Twins. Above we're with a college friend of mine at a Braves game in Atlanta in 1990 – the year before we beat them in the World Series (and Paul gifted me with a Braves World Series Champions t-shirt accidentally printed before the Braves lost in 7 game). 

While he may have turned his wife to the South side, I've held firm to my convictions all along. And we've had a lot of fun with it. Jim, too, since his Reds don't exactly like the Braves either! And we know if the Braves stomp all over the Twins and Reds this year that someone up above is pulling some strings.

One game we could always agree on is golf. We agreed it's both fun and frustrating! He was fortunate, in his retirement years especially, to be near golf courses year-round and able to swing a club. I'm pretty sure heaven will have the best course imaginable and he'll get his share of birdies.

But all along – during all the adventures and blessings in life – he had his share of health issues, too. Like a cat, he had 9 lives. Was saved a number of times when his ticker didn't want to tick anymore. Sadly, this last time around was too much. 

Our family has been praying hard for him while he's basically been hospitalized since Thanksgiving. God bless the doctors and nurses who have saved him and helped him all these years. We know that this time there was a lot stacked against him. They just couldn't fix him.

And can't fix our broken hearts, either.

I'll miss you so much, dear brother. I'm convinced God must be planning one helluva St. Patrick's Day party this year and He needs your help.

Love you forever, Paul. I'll always be your Bynski. 

Hail to the Chef

Well the Minnesota Vikings might not have a GM or coach as of today, but thank god the Swedish Chef Mafia do. That's right, you're not only looking at the GM and coach of this stellar fantasy football team, but the new Superbowl Champion!

Boom! I knew I had to have a bit of good news eventually in 2022. And here it is on Day 10. Finally.

Actually, after losing in the championship game last season, I didn't have high hopes of returning. But this time, through weird flukes of backup players picked up after injuries, I somehow kept plowing through. I even had a 7-game winning streak at one point.

So with an 11-3 record and playoff victories, I will claim the coveted traveling trophy. Just as soon as I get back to the office. Which may be awhile yet. Still, I look forward to taking it from the guy who beat me last year and who I beat in round one of the playoffs this year. 

Not that I have a competitive bone in my body.

So there's my good news for the day. Hopefully not for the whole week. Still waiting for God to answer prayers for the two loved ones in serious conditions. Good things come to those who wait.

She says as she hoists the invisible trophy over her head!

#SwedishChefMafiaRules

Indoor Recreation

 

Days like this are perfect for enjoying winter. From inside, that is.

I did venture out to go to church and the grocery store. And that bright sun sure is misleading. Of course, it would help if I wore a coat or gloves or both. But you know me. If my exposure is less than a minute, I'll be fine with my long sleeves.

For our indoor fun, we watched football – could only catch the scores on the ticker for the Vikings game so we were glad we ended our season with a W. Even though it is the end of the season for us. We'll see how quickly we get a new coach. 

We ventured outside briefly when we went over to Jim's sister's house to deliver her birthday gift.

Oh yes, definitely something warm! Perfect for lazing on the couch to watch her favorite athlete Tom Brady or read a good book. If you see Sherry tomorrow, wish her a happy birthday! (Unrelated... Anyone else need a blankie? My hands don't know what to do with themselves now that Christmas is over!!)

For other indoor fun today, we watched golf – glad that stayed close and interesting – and played a hardcore game of Scrabble. Jim claims he's rarely played that in his life, but he kicked our butts. Mamie came close to catching him but Carter and I were left out in the cold. Well, just the super losers' column!

Capped off the night with some hot chili and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. Yum if I may so myself.

It was definitely a good winter's day. From the inside looking out.

Gonna get colder. Be careful out there!