Back to My Snow-Covered Roots

It was so fitting that our family Christmas gathering was in Mora, Minnesota, since all of us "original kids" in my family are three-fourths Sweden. 

This 22-foot-tall Dala Horse statue downtown is a replica of the Dalecarlian horses hand carved in Mora, Sweden. And stands a reminder of the community's (and my family's) cultural heritage. Like I said, fitting for a gathering of the other roots in my family tree.

Of course, Saturday dawned sunny and perfectly blue skies after the treacherous Friday night. The snow totals looked something like this:

Not a ton in Rapids, but enough that we're extremely grateful to the next-door neighbor for snowblowing us out so we could arrive home and not have to dig ourselves in. Although our route Friday night caused some serious angst, we were glad we went north first, then west. Had we gone our usual route through Hudson and up, I don't know where we would've ended up. They got 17.9 inches there!

So we had a nice easy drive from our hotel in North Branch up to Freddie's restaurant in Mora. It was a fun relaxing time with a buffet of food (none of us had to make!), our usual family program, and time for games and visiting.

Festive sisters Nell and Ro.

Decorating gingerbread men and women.

RoAnn and her family hosted and it was great! Here they kick off the program. Yup, there was even a stage and microphone available. Like the place was built for us!

I convinced Jim, Carter, and Mamie to participate in the program with me, doing a "2021 by the numbers" thing. Mom was of course the star of the show, singing a some she wrote for a previous program and reminding us all we are "hers." Blessed to have her for another Christmas!

Game time and who has the winning card?! We know where we get our competitive streak!

Made my twin a "Lene's Hallmark Movie Mug" mug!

Silly Siblings Part 1.

Silly Siblings. Part 2. (AKA Silly SKOL Sisters!)

Hit the road home around 4-ish. Had clear roads all the way back the Wisconsin Rapids. Whew.

When we got home, we celebrated Christmas with Mamie since we won't see her on Christmas. She's modeling the vintage Mountain Dew hat Jim picked out and the pink and orange (her fave colors) blanket I crocheted her!

Carter and Mamie headed back to Potosi this afternoon and I caught up on a few things that I couldn't concentrate on Friday morning while packing and fretting over the forecast. I may just sit and watch TV this evening. 

Anything good on?

The Longest Drive

We had a grand plan to beat the storm. Leave before snow. Head north. Cut left to the west to Minnesota. Avoid the heart of the storm.

Hahaha, said Old Man Winter.

We got going a little after 2 pm and still didn't miss it. Ha. These were the good conditions on Highway 29.

By the time we turned right / north on Hwy 53, it was getting dark and the roads were disappearing.  Pretty much all that blowing snow we were warned not to drive in. 

There was a good 2 hour chunk of time when we couldn't see the roads. Thank god for Jim (our fearless driver), rumble straps, and 4-wheel drive!

After 5 hours, we got to North Branch, Minnesota. Still have a half hour drive or so in the morning but Old Man Winter promises us he'll be done with his shenanigans by then.

So we enjoyed a tasty meal at a Viking bar (they all are here!) and can finally relax and enjoy the view.

Hope you all stayed safe!

The Timing of Things

Had a busy day today. Worked while watching the snow fall. This is the first snowfall. The 1-3 inches one. Not the alarming one coming Friday. After work I went up to Stevens Point to shoot pictures of our co-op hockey team. Yes, the Vikings were on TV but it was parents night and I had committed to being there.

I got the parents pictures beforehand and one coach asked me to stay after to get his picture done since his wife had to work or something and couldn't get there on time. After an 11-5 loss, I was ready to hit the road and watch my other game. The Purple one. But I stayed and waited about 15 minutes and got that last photo.

In retrospect, I was glad I did. 

When I came upon this accident on the way home on Highway 54 by Country Road F, I realized I could very well have been in it or close to it if I hadn't been delayed. The timing of things can change everything! Hopefully the people in the two vehicles involved are OK.

Of course, I got home just in time to jinx the Vikings. Could they blow a 27-0 lead? They certainly can on my watch. The Steelers just kept scoring. I was tempted to go back outside and sit in my car. And take my bad karma with me. Again, poor timing!

Thankfully, this time when there was a last-second play, it was in our favor and we pulled off the win. Cue the Gjallarhorn! Ugly, but we'll take it.

Good night and have wonder-SKOL dreams!

Getting from Here to There

So we had this thought that we might head to my family Christmas location on Friday afternoon so we don't have to leave super early and drive 4 1/2 hours for a noon lunch. Then drive back. Figured we could find a hotel in or new Mora and sleep in Saturday and only have to drive a few blocks.

Well that was a nice thought.

Now we have a snowstorm (probably worthy of an official name) to contend with. Our local forecasters say this is the most snow we could get since a storm in April 2019. Crazy.

So now our options are leave even earlier Friday so we can sort of beat the storm, which we think is starting mid-afternoon but that's subject to change. Hopefully we'll know more tomorrow. Or second option, leave Saturday morning when the storm's done, but only after we dig out. Probably miss the family meal at that point.

Think we're going with option 1. Just gotta keep our eye on this thing. According to the current pretty map, all of my family sits outside the red and yellow areas so at least this won't impact the whole family gathering.

The joys of Midwestern living in the winter! Be careful out there!

Just Hoopin' it Up

Had to show some love to the Middle School basketball teams since our high school teams were not home tonight. This picture cracks me up because it shows the size difference in middle schoolers. Now granted our No. 4 is jumping high for a lay-up, but the 7th-grader in the lower left corner looks like a really little kid.

They all worked hard no matter their size. It was a close game throughout and our boys won by basket.

I stayed for half the 8th-grade game. They just keep scoring. So that was entertaining. 

Left at halftime to go meet hubby and drop off his truck for an oil change tomorrow. The roads were a bit slick tonight. Snowed all day. I guess that's a daily thing for December now. Don't recall that one.

So I'm glad I got home at a decent hour. And had plenty of time for my bed to warm up! Time to hoop it up in my dreams.

It's a Dry Heat, er Cold

Just got home from a nearly 2-hour church committee meeting. It's just a t 15-minute drive but it took all of that for my car to warm up. Now I check the temperature (and real feel, uff da) and I see why.

No wonder some of the city streets and side road were ice rinks. Even with the sun, nothing had a chance to melt today. 

And you know what that means... where there's cold, there is the need for heat. And where there is dry hot air blowing, we have static!

Not to pick on kitty, but I could not stop laughing at her static-y hair after I brushed her. It was rising to the brush just like those metal shavings in science class used to rise up to meet the big red magnet. Thankfully I didn't give her a shock. Totally picture worthy, though!

Of course after pushing my hair out of my eyes while wearing minutes tonight, I have the same issue. But no need to photograph that. 

It did remind me though of always getting static cling when we had to wear dresses – and nylons, of course – for winter choir concerts or special program back in the day. That dry air was a killer. Since we didn't care about the Ozone and always had cans of AquaNet on hand, we'd just lift our skirts a bit (scandalous), spray some on the clingy nylons and it helped. 

I guess using lotion also will, but I don't tend to wear dresses for anything these days, so I'll pass that new tip along to you. You're welcome. Follow me tomorrow for more winter grooming hacks.

Now though, I gotta go heat up my bed. I don't care how my hair looks in the morning. I just need to get through these single digits. Be careful out there.

The Good, The Bad, and The Pretty Ugly

Today was definitely a combination of the Good, the Bad, and the oh-so Ugly. And not necessarily in that order. But here's the Good first...

Got our tree up and decorated. It's fake, but the beauty is real! We had to get a skinny one a few years back to accommodate the non-skinny TV at that end of the living room. So this fits nicely in the corner and always puts me in the Christmas spirit.

Which I needed today. So for the Bad...

I know they got dumped with snow Up North, but we had the continuous sleet all day. Hard to tell in the picture, but it was yuck. Jim shoveled twice and managed not to fall on his backside, so I'm very thankful for that. Also thankful I didn't have to drive anywhere today.

Unfortunately I was home for the Ugly...

No photo needed. Though I am sure there are dozens of memes of the Vikings choking. I'm gonna chalk it up as the holiday spirit of giving. We just wanted to give the Lions their first win of the year. Yeah, that's it. Uff da. 

Glad I had a supply of Hallmark movies on DVR to change that mood. And I watched the Annie musical I recorded from last week.

She's right. Thank goodness. There's always tomorrow!