>The garden center calls these “Lemon Zest Petunias” in a green basket.
I call them Green Bay Packer flowers. I like to display my loyalties year round.>I spent most of the day huddled in a blanket on a recliner next to a vaporizer. I drank half-caff coffee, cranberry-apple tea, and eventually diet Pepsi. My goals were to rehydrate and rest. I achieved both while watching alternately CNN and The Weather Channel.
In my neck of the woods, the high tomorrow might hit 0. Maybe. That’s without wind chill.
In Florida, buildings constructed to withstand hurricane force winds have been levelled by tornados.
But from a newspaper in Biloxi, Mississippi, there came a ray of sunshine. As far as hard news, it wasn’t. But for an average Midwesterner, especially those too far North to cheer for Da Bears, the news put a smile on many a weary, cold face.
Brett Favre is coming back.
>I didn’t know this until I read Mary Tsao’s blog, but today is National Soup Swap Day! In honor of this delicious idea, in the middle of cold January no less, I decided to post the instructions (okay, recipe) for the chili simmering in the crockpot behind me. The basic recipe is from my mother (Thanks, Mom!). I modify it a little depending on what we have in the pantry. It’s a good Wisconsin chili, which means it’s doctored up with beans and noodles. We know how to stretch a soup up here in the Frozen Tundra Region!
1 1/2 lb. ground beef or ground turkey
1 can Bush’s Chili Starter
1 can diced stewed tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
1 16 oz. can tomato sauce
onion and green pepper to taste
Optional: grated cheddar cheese
Brown the ground beef or turkey (with diced onions and/or green peppers if desired). Drain.
Add ingredients to crockpot in this order. Do not stir.
Tomatoes
Kidney beans
Ground beef or turkey
Chili Starter
Tomato Sauce
(Add 1/2 cup water if it looks too thick.)
Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 5-6.
Add one cup noodles (elbow macaroni or shells) about one hour before serving. Turn heat to high. Now you may stir it.
Serve with grated cheddar on top. Mmmm…now that’s a chili to warm a person up after driving or walking home in the cold.
>Regular readers know that I live and breathe Packer Green and Gold. My teenage son wears the colors with pride and knows all the NFL stadium names by memory (watch out Jeopardy), my daughter can stump her college friends (male or female) with her knowledge of the game, and Husband sometimes works Sundays to get away from the frenzy at home. What to do when the home team doesn’t make the playoffs? For whom do we cheer? How can a family like ours choose a team that doesn’t have our favorite 3-time MVP at the the helm?
Our “logic” works like this.
We could cheer for the NFC team nearest ours, the one that won the division title, even though our Packers beat the heck out of them in the final game of the season (sorry, Bear fans, I couldn’t resist).
We could choose an AFC team that boasts another talented quarterback from the south who does priceless commercials. (“D-Caf! –boom, boom– D-Caf!”) And the Colts’ coach, Tony Dungy, has gone through a lot of private suffering in a very public arena, maintaining his dignity and class the whole time.
Then there’s the “storied past” angle. Mike Holmgren, currently of the Seattle Seahawks, coached the Pack to their last Super Bowl win ten years ago, uniting the entire extended community of Green Bay in the celebration.
But what about the New Orleans Saints? They were hit hard when hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast and trashed their home dome. Haven’t they earned the respect and admiration of fans across the country with their amazing comeback?
La Petite found a solution. Click here, and NFL.com will analyze your preferences and assign you a surrogate team.
Enjoy! And trust me, fellow cheeseheads; the Pack will be Back.
>Enjoy. You’ve waited a long time for a Division Championship.
You have more in common with us than you might realize. We in Packer Country enjoy our Green and Gold through thick and thin, and we appreciate loyalty in others as well. Those who are jumping on the Bear Bandwagon just this season will not have the deep-seated joy of those who waited faithfully, wearing their blue and orange hearts on their sleeves (and their Christmas trees).
Your last Glory Years were quite a while ago. This generation of Bear Fans might only know of Mike Ditka, Jim McMahon, or Refrigerator Perry the way we Northerners remember Vince Lombardi, Ray Nitschke and Bart Starr. Now you can teach them a whole new set of names and numbers.
I’ll be cheering for the Pack tonight and wondering if this is it for Brett Favre. But no matter how it ends, with a celebratory beer and burger or drowning my sorrows the green and gold way, it’ll be a Whole New Year with a whole new set of playoff teams.
And win or lose, I’ll keep saying, “Hey, Bear fans, you’ve earned this. Enjoy it while it lasts. “
But don’t get used to it. Your South-of-the-border dynasty will only be around until Mike McCarthy rebuilds his team. Woo-hoo! Go Pack Go!
>You might be a Green Bay Packers fan if one of these flies around your Christmas tree.
When we lived next door to Lambeau Field, watching the blimps was a favorite pastime — except when they interfered with our television reception. The blimps no longer circle Lambeau, but I’ll always remember watching them and watching the small planes that used to drag advertising banners through the air.
>You might be a Green Bay Packer Fan if your husband wears a pair of these Packer booty slippers when he’s relaxing on the couch.
As of today, Brett Favre has never lost in Monster Park (by any name). He is seven touchdown passes shy of reaching Dan Marino’s career record. But does he have a cute pair of slippers like this? I doubt it.
>You might be a Green Bay Packer fan if something like this adorns your shelves next to the Lambeau Legends DVD. Amigo calls this little guy Hank. La Petite calls him “hideous”. He sings (loudly) and dances. The song? The “All My Rowdy Friends” song from Monday Night Football, of course! 
>
You might be a Green Bay Packer fan if you can dress like this for work, and not only is it considered completely appropriate, your boss compliments you on your new attire. (The boss, by the way, was dressed in a Brett Favre jersey and khaki pants.)
>I’ve been tagged by Mom-nos for a new set of questions. These originated on the Bravo show “Inside the actors’ studio” with James Lipton. At the end of each in-depth interview, the host always asks these ten questions. Ordinary people like bloggers often have interesting answers, too. Here are mine.
What is your favorite word?
Touchdown! (Okay, can you tell I answered these on a Sunday afternoon?)
What is your least favorite word?
Should. Shoulds are bogus.
What turns you on (creatively, spiritually, emotionally)?
Reading. Gardening. Learning new ideas.
What turns you off (creatively, spiritually, emotionally)?
Narrow minds, closed minds.
What is your favorite curse word?
Drat. I don’t swear (okay, I RARELY swear), so I’ve found alternatives.
What sound or noise do you love?
Simple sounds: silence, the wind blowing through trees, rain falling
What sound or noise do you hate?
Whispers: Even with my hearing aids, I can’t understand whispers.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Writer or Poet
What profession would you not like to do?
Hold political office. I could work for a candidate or office-holder, but my skin is too thin to ever campaign.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you enter the pearly gates?
Whatever She says, I’d just like to be able to hear it without straining or asking her to repeat herself.