Stuck in The Middle With You

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We traveled today on the heels of a fairly significant winter weather event.

 For much of the way there was only one clear(ish) lane - if you call a thin strip right down the middle of the road a lane.

I DO so I took it until forced over by the rare oncoming logging truck.

Atlantians:  Yes we DO continue to travel in these conditions or we'd be hibernating until March or April or quite possibly even May.

We do expect to be completely snowfree by July.

Sad to say we passed three vehicles along the way whose drivers had failed to account for the less than pristine conditions.  Two of those were on their sides and one was completely upside down.

While we are very thankful to be safe and sound, I feel a wee bit sick for those others who took what turned out to be a much greater risk.

Off We Go Into the Wild White Yonder

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 Headed to the Northwoods to once again spectate at the Birkie.

Last step before departure - a good old fashioned Fisherhubby staffed carpet steam cleaning.

See you soon!!

Birthday in My City

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I've been celebrating my birthday in my city.

This was one of those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad birthdays.

You know the kind - - - the ones where the first digit of your age gets bigger.

You are forced to graduate into a new decade.   

Not a better decade either.

My first digit is now larger than 5.

Sigh.
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I decided if I must move into a new decade of old age, the LEAST I could do was prolong the celebration.

U.P. Annie helped with this - - - in fact I rather think she was the originator of the month long birthday celebration.  Anyway, she sent me random e-cards all month long.  It was awesome.

Next, my FIL and MIL Robin sent me a lovely birthday check.

Money is ALWAYS an appreciated gift!!!  I went shopping with that money and even still have some of it keeping my pocket book warm.

Then our oldest daughter sent me an e-gift card for DeBrand.  DeBrand is ONLY the very best chocolate on the planet.

I am doling it out to myself very slowly in order to savor every single bite.
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Today was the apex of my celebrations - - - the big birthday bash itself.

Our friends Bill and Eloise (pronounced E - Lois) went with us to Stevens Point.  First we shopped, I did most of the shopping - - -
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Eloise gave me birthday treasures like this stinkin' cute snowman boots and britches coffee mug.
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Then we ate.

NO birthday bash is complete without delectable food.

I had shrimp tacos from Chili's.
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Fisherhubby had Chicken California flatbread.

In Wisconsin no less.

He hates avocados, so I got to eat all of his.

SCORE!!
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And this is my birthday shopping haul.
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Which ever shall I wear first????

I don't have any idea - - - but I've only got a few hours to decide 'cause I'm definitely wearing ONE of them to church in the morning.
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This part has precious little to do with my birthday or its bash, but since I've been so blog challenged lately, I want to throw it in here.

It is, of course, a Fisherhubby funny.
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The man bought himself two remote control helicopters for Christmas.

Two.

I guess one wasn't enough.

Anyway - - - he's been working hard to train himself to fly them.

This more often than not results in collisions with the ceiling and other household objects - - - INCLUDING my forehead a while ago.  OUCH.

But I digressed.

The collisions with the ceiling are knocking off tiny bits of styrofoam texture, which are transported all over the house via the air vents.

This makes for extra dusting work for our wonderful cleaning fairies.  So just look what they left posted near the ceiling over the helipad:
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Never a dull moment around here!!

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Today I'm joining Unknown Mami

For Sundays in My City.
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My city is Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin

Thanks for joining me today and now

Please hurry over to Unknown Mami's to see

What's happening in other cities around blogland.

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"Hello, My Name is Keetha" Friday Frags

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Hello, Remember me??  My name is Keetha and I used to be addicted to blogging.

I've resurrected my blogging habbit enough to join all my old bloggy buddies over at Mrs. 4444's place for Friday Fragments where we can unload the bits and pieces in our minds AND make our confessions.  

Er hmmmmm. 

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* * * * * * Bloggy Blues * * * * * * 

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(photo from problogger.net)

First, let's address this "issue" I seem to be having with blogging.

I'm choosing to call it the blogging blues.
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(photo from shoestringmarketinguniversity.com)

You see, I don't KNOW why I've been in absentia from blogland for so long.

I am well.  I am happy.  I am busy.

I have plenty of fodder, but little imagination or creativity and positively NO DRIVE to "get R done" when it comes to my blog.

You are all great.  I miss hearing from and about you on a regular basis.

So - - - to answer all of your kind SOS emails which asked if I was all right and what in the blue blazes was WRONG with me and my blogging, here's my answer:

I DON'T KNOW.

I'm not going to be foolish enough to PROMISE that my blogging blues are now over and that I'll be back cranking out a post or more a day like I did for over 7 years.

But I will say this:  I have no intention of tearing my blog down and from time to time I will post.  Any of you that don't TOTALLY give up on me, will again find my "wit and humor" (if I have any of that) here.

Think of it as potential for a surprise.  Phhhht

Thanks for caring.
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* * * * * * Family Time * * * * * * 

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We were very blessed during November to have two chances to be with our family.

First we made an unplanned, unexpected trip to Indiana where we were able to see all four of our children, three spouses, my dad, our grans, AND the two granpuppies.

At the Cracker Barrel dinner pictured above, all of us except our youngest daughter and her hubby and their two puppies enjoyed an evening together.

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At Thanksgiving, three of our children, two spouses, one girlfriend, my dad, two grans and two gran puppies all piled into this little duplex with us for the holiday.

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Oh what a time we had!!!

There was eating.  Lots of eating.  Too much eating.

There was game playing.

There was laughing.

There was NO fighting or crying.

It was awesome.
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Christmas came at Thanksgiving for the grans this year so we could all be together when they opened their gifts.
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* * * * * * Dreaded 6 - 0 * * * * * *

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Someone in this immediate household had one of those dreaded decade changing birthdays on December  30.

That's right folks, she is now officially OLD.

A granny.

Kin to the dinosaurs.

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But still and all, I'm PRETTY SURE good old dad REALLY meant to send THIS particular card Sister Pam!!

;-)

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* * * * * * Fisherhubby Antics * * * * * *

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I'm pretty sure one of the best of my blogging topics comes to me free and clear of charge via my very own Fisherhubby.

He just CAN'T resist performing various and sundry antics - - - including wearing his ski hat indoors on a long winter's eve.

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He's SUCH a kid at heart.  When a recent gift arrived in the mail, he was far more interested in the bubble wrap than in the gift itself.

I, on the other hand, went STRAIGHT for the chocolate.
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The other day he said he was going out to get a new bird feeder.

I envisioned something MUCH smaller.

Then the "fun" ensued as he tried, masterfully, to figure out how to use it WITHOUT reading the directions.

The box said, "easy to open."  I dare not tell you how long it took him to figure it out. 

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For Christmas he purchased himself TWO remote control helicopters.

Now, he "sends himself" to his room at regular intervals for flying instructions, self taught of course.

He says his instructor frequently gives him an "F" on the lesson - - - when he spikes the copter right into the ceiling and crashes it to the floor.

So far, the highest grade he's earned from his very tough instructor is a C-.

We have bits of ceiling texture Styrofoam ALL OVER the house.  If he continues to take these lessons, soon our ceilings will all be smooth.

Oh well, textured ceilings are "out" anyway.
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* * * * * * Badger Girl * * * * * *

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Bucky played in the Capital One Bowl on New Year's Day.

We were invited out to our friends' place to watch it.

I wasn't sure I wore enough Badger Bling to ensure a win.

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Also, I knew my friends didn't have ANY Badger decor, so I brought some along.

A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to ensure a win.

However, I must not have worn enough bling nor brought enough decor,  because my boys didn't win.

I'm still grieving.

Sigh.
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* * * * * * You Know You're in Wisco * * * * * * 

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When  your world is a snow globe from early December right through Spring.

Isn't it BEAUTIFUL???  No, it is NOT too cold - - - why, according to the weatherman we going to have a slightly chilly HIGH of  -14 come Monday.

I do LOVE my winters.

(BTW - that water isn't frozen simply because that is the Wisconsin River which keeps moving.  Most waters are round these parts are covered with at least 12 inches of ice.)

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You also might just be in Wisconsin if the entrance to your Supper Club is a giant beer barrel.  (Hill Top in Stevens Point, WI)

I'm just sayin'
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* * * * * * Ice Fishing * * * * * * 

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On New Year's Day, Fisherhubby would rather go out and sit on the ice than stay indoors and watch football.

This year, our little friend Jessie joined him for a spell on the ice.

We'll save how tangled Jessie's fishing line got for ANOTHER post - - - shall we??
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Fisherhubby got himself a portable two man ice palace with a built in bench and sled complete with a heater.

He has been chomping at the bit to try it out.  In fact, he is out on "The Pete" right now as I type this bloggy post, this time sans Jessie.

I think all he needs now is a colored TV and "that which I dare not mention" for fear he'll actually try to get it.  (It has to do with PULLING all this paraphernalia onto the ice.)
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He even sat on the ice outside his palatial tent for a while.  It was a balmy 4 or 5 degrees that day if I remember correctly.
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* * * * * * Lots O Joy * * * * * *

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Our lives are full.

Our hearts are fuller.

We head into 2014 with hope and a song.

Hope you are all able to do the same.
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* * * * * * * * * * *  *

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And that's it for this week's  

(Month's, year's??)

Edition of frags.

Please head over to Mrs. 4444's place

To check out more frags.

I'm pretty sure none of them 

Will be as slow to update as am I.

While you're there, why not join in the fun???

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One Of These Frags Just Doesn't Belong Here

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Ahhhhh, Friday Frags.  That time of the week when we all get together to rid our souls of the bits and pieces, fragments if you will, of useless - though possibly entertaining - information that have been collecting there.

Many thanks go to Mrs. 4444 for hosting this meme AND putting up with all of us.

I am once again LATE to the party - - - but here I come anyway, hoping late is better than never.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * 

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Oh my dear bloggy friends, THIS is the footwear that Fisherhubby deemed appropriate for Sunday-Go-To-Meetin' wear this past Sunday.

My attempt to dissuade him and get him into more church-worthy foot coverings was an abysmal FAIL.

I KNOW Jesus wore sandals, but I'm pretty sure He did NOT pair them with Packer socks. 

Shaking my head.
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* * * * * * * * * * * *

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This is little Miss Piper's latest artistic rendering.  It is, of course, her Mama and Daddy.

We do NOT know why her daddy needs to shave his entire face NOR why her mama looks like Jar Jar Binks.
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* * * * * * * * * * * *

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My friend Eloise (pronounced E - Lois) and I went on a shopping adventure one day this week.  I'll talk more about the shopping part in my last frag of this post.

When we were hungry, we stopped at Chili's for lunch.

Imagine our surprise to find on our table a game/payment/internet terminal box.

We began to play the "kick a field goal" game.
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It was a little harder than it looked - - - so exclamations of joy and high 10's were in order when Eloise kicked it through the uprights for the first time.

She is so fun.
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* * * * * * * * * * * *

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Sister Pam, BIL Joe, their daughter Misti and her fam have gone to West Virginia for a wee fall get-away.
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They've been taking in the sights, hiking,
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And even biking for miles and miles.   After days full of all that - - -
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Some of them have been found unwinding in the hot tub.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * 

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MOST of the frags of my week involve FOOD.  Dreaming of food - - - getting food - - - and ENJOYING food.

This was my supper tonight at our fave Mexican Restaurant.  It's called Jimidore con Pollo.

It is SOOOOOOO yummy I am forced to go ummmmmm, this is sooooo good - - - right out loud - - - with every bite I take.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * 

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Our sweet little Pipes is suffering terribly with her very first true love crush.

She's crushing on her young computer teacher at school.

Whenever he is around she gets red in the face and wears a goofy expression.

"He's pretty cute, isn't he???"  queried her mama when they were safely out of ear shot range of the school.

"No!!"  says Piper, "I HATE HIM."

Yep - - - it's gotta be true Kindergarten love.

Now, don't you DARE tell her I told.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * 

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WARNING - WARNING - WARNING

Do not read any further if you 
Don't wan't to encounter TMI.

Do not read any further if you happen 
To be a male reader of this blog.

OK - - - If you read further and then are 
Appalled and incensed 

I don't want to hear anything negative
From you about it
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For:

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Forewarned is forearmed.

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When Eloise and I went shopping this week, it was for me to purchase some new bras.

Girls, I HATE shopping for bras - - - all that stripping down and trying on only to do it all again when the size is wrong.

Bucky here consented to model one of my new bras, though he was NOT happy to do it.
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Mostly because, and I HANG MY HEAD IN SHAME TO ADMIT THIS, I have had to graduate into the infamous GRANNY BRA!!!!

I don't know WHY I am so shocked at this, for I AM MOST CERTAINLY a granny these days.

I guess I just didn't want to ADMIT I needed over sized sling shots to corral my boulders.

I also learned something rather more disturbing than graduation to granny bras in this process - - - 
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I learned that one of my girls "just doesn't belong here" because she is substantially larger than the other.

AND, as far as I know they do NOT make bras with a leftie DD and a rightie D.

So - - - I was forced to choose between suffocating leftie or allowing rightie to swam free.

I shall leave you to GUESS which I chose - - - suffocating or swimning.

And such is the life of a senior.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * 

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And that's it for this week's edition of frags.

Please head over to Mrs. 4444's place

To check out more frags.

I'm pretty sure none of them 

Will be as shocking as mine.

While you're there, why not join in the fun???

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Wanderings on Sunday in My City

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Fall has arrived on the highways and byways of my state - Wisconsin.
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This year it seems to be a kinder gentler Autumn in many ways.
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One way it is kinder and gentler is that we are still very warm for mid October.  Highs have been in the mid to upper 70's.
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The other way it is kinder and gentler is that its colors are quite muted.
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Many leaves seem to be falling while still pale green, yellow, or brown.
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I think these muted colors are a result of drought and no early frosts.
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Still - - - the leaves are falling,
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The corn and beans are ripening,

And the farmers are harvesting.
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The sun has gone down on summer,

And the clouds of winter are on the horizon.
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But for right now let's just enjoy these in-between Fall days, shall we?
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Thanks to Unknown Mami

For hosting Sundays in My City. 

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