A weekend with Larry Peterson

C-man and I spent the last few days of our staycation in Winter with my family. We ate cream puffs and cake and pie. We played ladder golf. We looked at eagles. We played card games. And C-man fished. The biggest catch was with the lure he'd made his last week of summer camp - a 23" northern pike he named Larry Peterson. I do believe the great story of Larry Peterson will become so epic, it will be told to his own children one day.

And now, the kitchen demolition begins.

Muscle Hamster

Last night was C-man's first tackle football scrimmage. On the first play, #57 got the very first tackle. He was pretty amped up. (And since I was cheering, I didn't get a shot of the full tackle to the ground, but it did happen.)

And since he's just a wee bit smaller than the other kids on defense, he has earned the nickname "Muscle Hamster". (It started as the "Weasel" because he pops out of nowhere, and then somehow morphed to the Muscle Hamster.) It cracks me up.

And now, he gets to rest for a long weekend before next week's first official game.

Day 4

Today's staycation fun took us to the Milwaukee Art Museum, where the Kandinsky exhibit is in its final days. It was a good exhibit, and while Kandinsky isn't my most favorite artist, we learned a lot and had an enjoyable time.

Then we, of course, went to have lunch at the lakefront and enjoy a beautiful day.

And tonight, he has his first football scrimmage. Something for which he is absolutely thrilled about.

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In other news, we were all challenged in one way or another to do the Ice Bucket Challenge - C-man by a friend, Beerman by his sister, and me by Beerman.

On this National Dog Day

It's been a slower day of dog parks, school supply runs (cough, choke - the cost of that nonsense is oppressive), kitchen cleaning out (oh, this renovation is going to be the death of me), and football talk (it's really non-stop).

Happy National Dog Day to you!

Staycation Take 1

We started Staycation Day 1 with a trip to and tour through Lambeau Field. It was a grim, rainy day, but it didn't seem to dampen our spirits. And thankfully, it stopped raining in time for us to go outside.

Being near the field was pretty cool.

But walking the players' tunnel to get there was the ultimate in coolness.

And we, of course, Lambeau Leaped after a Pro Shop visit. (Shiny, new hat)

Then we headed north to see Grandma Lou and the bees. (Band name?) With my trusted helper at my side, we smoked 'em good.

Laughed about the hair in our eyes.

And smiled at the beautiful frames of honey. (Amelia has one complete honey super full, although very little of it is capped yet. Beatrix just got her first honey super, but the hive looked tremendously healthy and happy.) I ordered my honey extractor in anticipation of the sweet stuff this fall, so things are getting serious!

Only one day in the books, but my mission to make this staycation a good one is definitely on the right path!

I suppose I should learn this game

These past two weeks have been about football in our house. Messing and cleaning up uniforms. Talking plays. Talking sprints and burpees.

I don't know if he'll play a lot, considering he's a 4th grader on a 5th grade team. And that's probably okay, too. But oh my, does he love this. Every night, after 2.5 hours of practice, he's sweaty and stinky, and gloriously happy, discussing what great hits he made.

I guess I should probably learn something about this game, because it seems we might be in it for the long haul.

(On this play, he's playing center in the green socks)

Here comes the ahhhh...

It's Friday. The last day of work before vacation. Kyle Lohse came to work. I may have actually swooned a little. I cleaned out my inbox. C-man is at a friend's house. Ahhh... The calm before the kitchen remodel storm. But at least I'll be off work.

Staycation is coming

As the week winds down, I'm finding myself really looking forward to next week's vacation. While it's usually a week away on the lake as a family, with football and the impending kitchen renovation, this year's week ahs turned into a staycation. C-man wants to see some art and each some French food. Maybe we'll day trip it to Chicago. (Returning for 5 p.m. practice, of course!) I'd like to geocache and play some mini-golf.

No matter where we go, I'm going to make sure it's a week to focus on the calm and the fun, and not be so scattered. Because I really do feel scattered lately. I try to read a book, and my mind wanders. I start to clean up the kitchen, and I end up elbow deep in cleaning a toilet bowl. Or I just find myself staring off, not really able to concentrate on anything or anywhere.

Only 2 more days...

Wordlessly finding beauty

Another day

It's Monday again

This weekend went far too quickly. What I'd intended to be quite lazy turned into a bit of a frenetic get it all done around the house. Beerman and I did get to go see a movie (The Hundred-Foot Journey) while C-man was staying over at a friend's house. (Despite it being an Oprah movie, sitting in front of an older couple who reiterated the points to one another aloud (often minutes after the point or connection was obviously made), near a woman who not only didn't shut her phone off but answered it and talked in a regular voice without leaving the theater, and behind another woman who repeatedly checked her phone on highest brightness throughout, it was a feel good fun time.)

This morning, C-man was so tired we had to peel him out of bed this morning (what I believe is the result of both the sleepover and his body still recovering from week 1 of football). But he's off to his last week of camp - a fishing one this week. And then next week, we are lazing around on our duffs all week. Well, except for him from 5 - 7:30 each day, of course. It's hard to comprehend it's all winding down. Sigh. I am going to miss summer break.

Lazy days

• It's National Honeybee Day. So lay off your insecticides and herbicides and enjoy their beauty.
• I sure hope my honeybees are making honey today.
• C-man had his baseline concussion test today. I should have explained better what to expect, because his 4th grade mind was going wild. It was just a simple computer-based test.
• He finished his first week of tackle football off strong, but is exhausted. I'd forgotten that sick pit in your stomach, pure and absolute exhaustion of every fiber of you, including your brain, tired until I saw him last night after practice. He's a trooper, though, and wants to keep going.
• I'm glad it's a semi-lazy weekend of household stuff. We all need this.

Let's get this weekend started

• Having completed 10 full hours of practice, C-man gets to put football pads on for the first time tonight. He is thrilled. I am nervous.
• He has his baseline concussion test tomorrow. Yikes.
• Harry is so smelly, I can barely stand it. He really needs a bath, but we don't do it weekly because it's so hard on him. He's going to have to suck it up on Sunday!
• I've been downloading audio books from the library, but they only give you a week to finish them. That's a lot of listening in one week.
• I hope my bees are doing well. I just ordered two more honey super boxes just in case they need them, and a hot knife for harvest time. I still haven't invested in an extractor, but Beerman thinks he can rig something up for me for at least the first year.
• Since it's Friday, I'm getting out of work early to see C-man's "gallery" display at summer camp. It's a really good excuse to get the weekend started early.

The weekend. It is calling me.

I think I've fit several weeks into this tiny, not even full, workweek, and could really use a nap. This weekend, I'm going to nap. Or at least spend time in my hammock chair. I can almost hear it calling me...

Beaning

I'm in Chicago for work. So, of course, I made a mandatory bean run. It wasn't intentional, actually. I just went for a walk, and an hour later, I was strolling past the bean and there was a concert going on in the park. I stayed until a few raindrops fell, and made my way back to macaroni and cheese on my bed in front of the Food Network. You know, not a bad deal overall.

Weekend: The End

I'm happy to report that the bees are doing well.

Beatrix's hive is still way behind, and doesn't even have a honey super. But there were several frames of capped brood, and they'd moved into the second brood box, which was a big step forward. Hopefully when I get back again, I'll be able to put a honey super on to Beatrix's hive. I don't see harvesting anything from this hive, but they need at least that to get through the winter.

Amelia's hive is crazy good. The honey super I'd put on two weeks ago was totally full of honey. (Two of the frames were capped, meaning the honey was less than 18 % water. The rest weren't capped, which means they need to fan their wings at it until it evaporates, and then cap it.) So I put two more honey supers on it. Hopefully they'll be able to fill them before I head back in two weeks.

In other news, I'm heading to Chicago the next couple of days for a certification class on test writing. (My life is so riveting, isn't it?) And that about ends a pretty darned good weekend.

A day at the state fair goes a little something like this...

On a day off

After dropping C-man off at camp downtown, I spent a couple of hours walking the lakefront. It's a fantastically beautiful day, and it was nice to just breathe for a while. I listed to the waves, I watched the runners, I got out of the way of the bikers with the streamlined helmets, I watched a grandfather take his grandson around the lagoon in a wagon, saw the seagulls fly everywhere, listened to the ducks quack, and observed the boats sailing in and out of the marina. After that, I spent an hour at a French cafe, nursing a couple of cappuccinos and a chocolate croissant.

It's good to be able to breathe once in a while.

Thursday thirteen

1. It's football equipment pickup night. That's right. We agreed and signed C-man up for tackle football. Lord have mercy on us all.
2. Practice is every single night from 5 - 7:30. This child is going to be exhausted.
3. Thank goodness the fourth grade teacher he's getting doesn't believe in homework!
4. Grandma is still in the hospital. No word yet on her release. We continue to be worried sick and praying hard.
5. I'm heading to the Brewers game for "work" today. Sweet.
6. My arthritis is total crap lately.
7. At least I have two coolers of beer chilling in my trunk for the game. That should help with the rest.
8. Harry's been getting liver in his meals. He is back to being his puppy self and waking us up for breakfast. Spoiled puppy.
9. I'm heading north to see my bees this weekend. I'm so excited. I hope they're doing well, and I can add more honey supers.
10. I pulled the sugar syrup from Amelia's hive, and am hoping I can do the same for Beatrix's. This bee thing might actually work out for me.
11. A year ago, I went to NYC with my sisters and mom. It feels like forever ago, unfortunately. That was a fun trip.
12. I have the day off tomorrow. I need to schedule a massage.
13. I think I get to pick C-man up from camp today. Maybe I'll take him for the giant shake he always wants and his dad doesn't stop to get him. :)

Wordless

Some days

Because some days are full of prayers and chocolate.

Oddities

It's really hard to write anything when so much and so little is going on all at the same time.

Weekendilicious

TGIF. The weather is beautiful. I'm working from home. Let the weekend arrive!