A Very Merry Christmas With Cheryl.

Well... how long has it been?   Too long, if you ask me.....  Since I posted anything on the blog, that is....

But here I am... The Holiday Season almost behind me, and I finally get the opportunity to post something.   So....  Let us begin!  

We had plans for Cheryl to come to Wisconsin over the Christmas break.   I had a 4 day weekend and she had  three days to visit.   Everything was fine, right up until that blasted cold air hit the Midwest and kicked up a small blizzard.   It did not help that the weather channel and all of the news outlets spun it into the STORM OF THE CENTURY!  Which... it was not.  ( Hurray for Journalistic integrity!) 

But the news DID scare the heck out of Cheryl, who decided that a five hour trip through a blizzard was not a wise decision.   As disappointed  as I was with the situation, I had to agree.   I already worry about her traveling alone for that distance.   Having to  think about her navigating through  white-out conditions and sub zero wind chills would drive me crazy!  So... it was looking like a cold and lonely Christmas this year.   Almost poetic, if you think about all of the other happenings of 2022.  It would not be the first time I spent a Christmas "alone," away from family....  But I would not be entirely lonely as I had Dave and Christina and a number of Parties they were prepared to drag me too. ( Yes, yes...  Friends don't let friends be alone on Christmas, apparently.)  So... I had prepared myself mentally to try to enjoy Christmas without Cheryl by my side.  

But Cheryl had other ideas.  

On Saturday,   The weather had cleared up and Cheryl texted me that she thought she could make it.   What did I think?  

Before I could answer,   she texted me that she was already on her way!  Ummm.   Ok?  

This should have been joyous news if it had not blindsided me so effectively.  I had planned on shopping for her gifts on Friday.   But with the weather and the change in plans,  I had put it off figuring I would buy what I had targeted for next weekend. ( New Years Eve.) I quickly ran out and purchased her gifts and wrap attacked everything.   She arrived at 3 P.M. 

And from there,   what else is there to say?   We enjoyed a great weekend together.   Doing a whole lot of nothing.    The weather might have cleared up, but the arctic blast was still chilling everything down.   Add in that there was pretty much nothing open on Christmas day.    Except Kwik Trip!  

Ah,  Good old Kwik Trip!   Our salvation from starvation.   Without any stores or restaurants open, we were forced to get our meals and drinks there.   Thankfully,  they have plenty of things to choose from.  ( Including Wisconsin Beer!)   So Cheryl and I spent the majority of Christmas day eating  convenience store foods and watching A Christmas Story in a nice warm hotel room.  Not a terrible way to spend Christmas, if you think about it.

I should also mention that we did attempt to go out several times during the day.   We toured Kenosha... again!  Only this time during the winter.   

We visited the lake shore and did a little sub-zero beach combing.    ( Cheryl found a brick!)  It was terribly cold  in the evening  by the lighthouse, so we did not stay there long.  But it was a beautiful sight to see.  

Funny how that seems to be an ongoing theme:  that many of the most beautiful moments in  life are seen during uncomfortable hardships.  

Cheryl lamented that her gifts were not as "thought out" as mine were.  But in reality,  she made me cookies and Banket.  AND she gave me the best Christmas gift I could have hoped for. ( Ok..  second best, if you count Jesus....) Being able to spend the holiday together meant more this year than previous years.  It is true that "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."  We must have taken the previous 25 years for granted. 

But all happiness must end eventually.  And Cheryl just messaged me that she is back home in Iowa.... Safe and sound.  She managed to beat the upcoming snow storm, which is a good thing.   And with a little luck, I will be able to see her again next week, as I have another long weekend planned.  

In the mean time.   I have been working on some Origami for a co-worker, who requested a cat.  I still have to work on another request for an Eagle.  But now that I am finished with the Pearson Project, and have my evenings back, I may have the time to work on them during the week.   And maybe even blog more than once every two weeks!    

Merry Christmas everyone!  I hope you all had a happy and joyful Christmas this year.  And let's hope 2023 is a better year.   A bright hopeful future is always something to look forward to...   Thanks for stopping in.

A Quick Weekend Update.

 I find my blog time being reduced as the holiday season approaches!   And so I have to squeeze in the posts when I can here and there.... And so here it is.  

What did I do today?  Score, Score, and Scored!   I had accepted a Pearson project several weeks ago and this is the week that  the Texas Starr kicks in.   I have been scoring every moment I am not at the Warehouse.  

This leaves very little time to do much else.   I managed to run a little.   I get to work out as much as I want between papers.  That sentence alone makes it sound odd,   but I mean after I score a paper,  I can take a break for a few minutes and get a snack or go to the bathroom.... Or,  do a quick 5 minute workout.  Sounds fun!  Right? If my calculations are right.... I should be looking like the Hulk by the end of the week! ( Without the Green Paint.)

But that means I have to bank a lot of the hours on the weekend.   And there are so many activities on the weekends that I have been missing!  Ah well...  It will all be worth it when I get that inflated bank account at the end of this. At least that is what I want to believe.  

Tonight,  After scoring,   I got to hang out with Dave and Christina.. And Ladybird the dog.   We had Jumble E-I-O... A .... with Shrimp!   It was delicious! 

Other than that,  A simple peaceful day.   Tomorrow begins another week.  Hopefully it will go by fast.   Especially since I have to work pretty much as soon as I get home for the rest of the week. My hope it to be able to snag at least 4-5 hours each night.  And get my Bonuses!  

And get my first paycheck before Christmas!   ( wishing and hoping and praying... right?) We shall see.  

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping in for this short post.   Cheers!

The Great Wisconsin Superbowl Showdown! With A Chili Chrismas.

 Yesterday  was a big day here on the border land of Kenosha. So big that you might have thought it was the Superbowl!    The Green Bay Packers played  against the Chicago Bears.    And the entire event was watched by a mixed crowd at the Starlight Club. 

And to kick off the event... There was a Chili Cook off!

I was invited to this event... Even though I do not care much about either team.  Or Football.... OR SPORTS for that matter.   But I do love Chili. And with so many different versions to choose from, I was bound to find one a liked. 

And I did!   #6 was the perfect combination of thickness, sweetness,  heat and flavor.   #7 was a close second with a thick consistency, several types and cuts of mean, and a more savory flavor with mild heat.  

I think there might have been more than 20 entries... And I was unable to sample them all.   But in the end,  # 6 and #7 were winners for the people's choice and the judges overall favorite.  One of the first people I ever met in Kenosha was one of the winners.  

Needless to say, I ate way too much chili.   But what a bargain!   $4 for a beer and a bottomless bowl for a chili buffet!  How awesome was that!

Well, the Packers managed to win the game in the end.   But I left just before the game sealing touchdown. It mattered not to me, because I had already enjoyed most of the event already.  

Upon getting home,   Dave and Christina stormed my peaceful basement digs by rummaging around for Christmas decorations.  I was recruited to help with some furniture moving and Christmas Tree Maintenance.   Mostly, I stayed out of the way while singing Christmas songs off the radio and taking pictures of the happy duo as they struggles with crooked trees, vertically challenged wreathes, and light bulb  issues.  

Ladybird also watched the episode with amusement.  

 In the end,   A little Christmas Cheer has arrived at the Pagel residence.   And I get the feeling the season will be hitting its stride very soon.   I hope everyone enjoyed their Monday today.   I wanted to get this post out  there before heading to bed, because it was a wonderful day yesterday.   Thanks for stopping in.

OH!  And The Origami Tree won  1st place in Kalona.   Yeah Origami!  

A Happy Cold And Windy Saurday From Wisconsin!

Happy Saturday!   The Weekend is in full swing and I find myself too wimpy to go outside into the freezing cold wind chill.  Last night was 48 degrees and calm.  I even went out for a 3 mile run!   

But BOOM!   The cold weather hammer fell and here we are with strong wind advisories and temps in the low 20's.   It might actually not be bad in the sunshine, if it weren't for that terrible, biting wind.   

If this were true, men would go to the laundromat instead of the gym.

So what does one do when Mushroom hunting and other outdoor activities are off the table?   Well,   since it is Saturday,  I get to catch up on a bunch of things that I have been too busy to do during the work week. ( Including Blogging! )  I have already finished the laundry and did the morning work out grind in the basement.   Subie's blower fan has been acting up again, so I got to play with that for a while.   And... I get to program my new phone!

Ah!  Yes.... The New Phone!   Not actually "New" new...  ( "New New in the fan... Brink!"  Inside joke.)  It is Dave's "Old" phone...  Which is still light years ahead of my fossil android phone.  So the term "new" is relative.   Dave has gone over to the "Apple" side of the Force.   And has abandoned the path of the Android. ( Are my Star Wars references coming through?   I have not watched any of the new movies, so maybe I'm a little dated.)   Leaving me with his old Samsung Galaxy.   All that was missing was for an old man Jedi to give it to me on an old smuggling freighter.  And then I can begin the "Hero's Journey!" 

But getting back to the actual phone...  There are a number of features that I never knew about.   The first one was the power cord.   I have several cables for my old phone, but none of them fit the Samsung.   And finding a specific cable for the Samsung Galaxy was difficult!  Luckily,   They sell adapters!   And I picked up two... one for the car and one for my nightstand.    And the Adapters are far cheaper than the actual cable, which is ONLY good for the Galaxy phone.  ( I think the connector is called the "C" version.)  So now charging up will no longer be an issue.  

And then there are the ways to unlock your phone.   "Biometrics!" They call it.  Apparently,   I can now use my DNA to tell the phone that it is me that is using it.   Back in the "old Days"....I used to have to type a 4 digit  code to unlock the phone.   Now...... All I have to do is lick the screen!  

Or use my finger print.    Or stare longingly into the two orbs as it scans my retinas.   

Or all of the above.. with the secret password that I have already forgotten. 

I settled for the fingerprint.   Because licking the screen seemed rather gross.   And unsanitary.  And staring at my phone to unlock it while driving seemed rather unsafe.  The only bad thing about the finger print is that I  have to hold the phone in my left hand, so if I only have my right hand available, I will be out of luck.   Hurray for Identity Security!

Other than that, I changed over my info and now get to see how all of the apps work.  It might take a while to see all of the features, like how the camera works as compared to the last one.   As long as it has more than 15 minutes of battery life, I'm all for it. 

As mentioned before,  Subie's blower motor has thrown a bearing.  This is  causing it to make funny noises while in operation;  Or just stop working completely!  Last time I replaced the resistor, and that seemed to fix the problem.  But now I am pretty sure the blower is on it's last legs. ( or bearings..)   Which, I'm ok with.  Because I love working on Subie!  And I get to fix something as easy as this.  

The part is supposed to arrive later today, but I may patch it all up tomorrow morning before Church.  We shall see how motivated I am when the time comes.   ( Especially in the cold!)  Speaking of cold...  Blowers are awfully handy when you have to defrost your windshield.   So fixing it is kind of a big deal.  

New New in the Fan!   -BRRRRINKKKK!-

Wow!  Another long post about nothing!   Hope everyone has an awesome rest of your weekend.   Stay warm!  And hopefully find something fun to do inside with friends and family... Or with your Subaru.  Thanks for stopping in.