The perfect gift for the teacher who resides at the O.K. Chorale – it’s solid black until you pour hot liquid into it.
Perfect. Simply perfect.
Mug shot – Fun Teacher Gift
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Throwback Thursday: The Playoff Picture at the O.K. Chorale
Husband and I have a different perspective on the Packers and their post-season. He’s a Packer fan in a way, but he looks at their success from a slightly different angle because he works in television.
Television news in a major NFL market is a whole different, well, ball game from working at a station with no football to cover. For him, an extended post-season is both a blessing and a curse. It means more work, and it means more work. More work means overtime, and more work means overtime. An extended season can also mean travel…unless the Pack manage to earn home field advantage.
Who cares? I hear you wail. To answer that question, I share the transcript of an Actual Conversation at the O.K. Chorale. The script is the type that gets repeated annually. This one is funny because the Super Bowl was in Arizona the year I first blogged the topic, just like the one coming up in early 2015.
Me: It’ll be great if they keep winning and get home field advantage through the playoffs.
Husband: No, no, n-n-n-n-n-no!
Me: What? I thought you’d like it because you wouldn’t have to travel!
Husband: I don’t want to work outside on the sidelines in the freezing cold!
Me: Okay, then you want (insert NFL team in southern U.S.) to win so that you can work a game in (insert warm locale), instead?
Husband: No, No, n-n-n-n-n-n-no!
Me (confused): Huh?
Husband: I have this fear that the news director is going to look at us engineers and say, ‘Erbert, Gerbert, load up the satellite truck and drive it down to (insert southern NFL market). and when they win? Turn right.’ I could be on the road for three weeks! (editor’s note: he said “IF they win.” I changed it.)
Me: Then you should cheer for the Packers to keep winning. They’ll earn home field advantage, and you won’t have to travel.
Husband: (speechless, waving arms in air)
Me: I suppose it’s a lose-lose situation for you.
Husband: Yes! Yes! Yes!
Research – guest post by “Chuck”
It started as research for Eating the Opponent, Atlanta. Then it blossomed. Courtesy of my dear husband and the Internet, I give you: Cheeseheads Breaking All the (Tailgating) Rules.
The following pictures may help illustrate what not to do and may raise relevant questions:
The marked parking spaces are for vehicles only. Fans cannot use parking spaces for tents, grills, chairs or other items. (Would a rock band using the top of a Cheesehead Camper as a stage be okay?)
Tailgating is allowed at the Georgia Dome in the Yellow Lot or Lot A, known as “The Gulch.” Tailgate tents cannot exceed 8-by-10 feet. (If a bar 3 blocks away erects a temporary pole building, would that be ok?)
All vehicles require a valid parking permit. (But what if it’s an away game?)
Tailgating may not interfere with vehicles driving through the lot. (Would it be ok if I set out orange cones?)
Tailgating equipment (grills, coolers and electronics) may not extend beyond the parking space. (We’re trying Mr. Tailgate rule guy. Would you like a brat?)
Loud amplified music or noise is prohibited in any Georgia Dome lots. (It’s not amplified and it’s not noise.)
Tailgating may not extend beyond the parking space.
Take that, Atlanta. Up here in Green Bay Packer country, we know how to handle tailgating.
Throwback Thursday – Everyday Packers Decor
Everyday decor – I looked over this post and realized, as usual, that not much has changed since this piece first hit the Interwebs in 2011. Read on and find out what little did need updating.
Decor? Heck, this is just part of the household. Nothing is fancy. You know I hang green and gold ornaments on my Christmas tree. You know I sip coffee from a Lombardi mug that sits on a cheese coaster. With my Green Bay Packers and their winning streak in mind, let’s take a brief tour.
This title towel keeps my bread machine dust free in between uses.
Nap time means Packer blanket throws and green & gold Happy Feet slippers!
Let’s head upstairs.
In the bathroom, I can wash up with a classic and well-used Green Bay washcloth.
Tiny rabbit Krumpet used to live in Amigo’s room and hang out in a Green Bay Packers bean bag chair. Krumpet and La Petite now have their own apartment, but I still use this picture every September to show my students two important interests in my life: rabbits and the Green Bay Packers.
And last but never least, the guest room sports classic Green Bay Packers sheets.
These are just a few examples of simple evidence that yes, we are true fans in this household. Any questions? There will be a quiz Sunday night. Or Monday – “we” play Atlanta on Monday Night Football. Peach cobbler for Eating the Opponent, anyone?
All This for a Stack of Books?
It’s not just any stack of books. In my family? Books fill and overflow the shelves until we have book piles – and that’s after I swap away quite a few and deposit a few more in neighborhood Little Free Libraries.
But I’m already getting off topic. La Petite called and asked if I could help her transport a bookshelf she would like to buy. I was going to be there anyway, coming to pick up Amigo after a weekend visit. Of course I said “Sure, why not?”
First: the bookshelf she wanted, a display model, flew off the store shelves before we arrived. It was gone. The store had the item in stock at full price, but La Petite wasn’t quite prepared to pay that much that day. That’s my girl: frugal to the end, even with a bookshelf.
But we had the van. And the shelves were unlikely to fit in her Saturn. Unlikely? Impossible .And the shelf unit was perfect, just perfect, for her apartment and the Big Art Books that needed a home. The shelf unit was a little more than she wanted to pay, but the Momvan was temporarily available, and it was Black Friday weekend, after all. She asked for a manager – nicely, of course.
The manager on duty offered her 20% off – close to $100 discount. We bought the shelves.
With a big box of ready-to-assemble bookshelf loaded into the Momvan, we realized we didn’t have a hand truck or dolly to help us maneuver this big, not too heavy but definitely awkward box from the parking lot to her apartment. We found a nearby Menard’s (doesn’t every strip have a nearby Menard’s?), bought a simple hand truck and a toy for the Toys for Tots box, and we were ready.
It wasn’t easy, and it was punctuated by repeated utterances in the category of “Mom, you’re pushing the wrong way,” but we got the Big Awkward Box to her door and then up to her second floor apartment. Luckily (for me, anyway), she didn’t want the shelves up in her loft bedroom.
And so, all was well with the world. Amigo and I hit the road with a few chips and sodas for a snack and the Green Bay Packers battling the New England Patriots on the radio. La Petite watched the game and put together her new set of shelves.
Home, sweet home.
Crazy Busy Long Weekend
Let’s see: Thanksgiving Thursday, all together with family. Good meals, good company, good conversation. Later on, we had good leftovers and good naps.
Friday: No, folks, I didn’t venture into the craziness that is Black Friday. We went out for lunch and had New England Clam Chowder (Eating the opponent: Take that, Tom Brady!). I shopped online a bit. Amigo took off with La Petite for the weekend.
Saturday: Shop Small! We went downtown for Small Business Saturday. It was fun to see some of my favorite shops looking busier than usual. I hope the shoppers come back to these locally owned and operated stores and shop there regularly. I now have a new canvas tote that shouts “Shop Small”, a pin that announces the same, and a new mug that was free with any purchase at one of the shops. Readers, I’ll see if I can get my act together and share pictures.
Sunday: Chuck was working the football game. He spent the entire day and more at Lambeau Field. I drove southward to pick up Amigo and bring him home. La Petite took advantage of my minivan’s cargo space and bought a bookshelf. I realized I’d forgotten to pack my small hand truck, so we took a detour into the nearby Menard’s and bought one for her. She has moved annually for the past four years, so it’s actually a good investment.
Finally, Amigo and I found our way home, fed the bunny, watched the second half of the Packers beating the Patriots, and settled back into our routines. Never fear, readers. We didn’t miss any of the game; we listened to the Green Bay Packers Radio Network on the highway.
I feel tired just reading this! What happened to weekends being restful? I’m glad to go back to school tomorrow and get into my own routine.
Throwback Thursday — Dressing the Part
Win or lose, run or pass, Cheeseheads never lose their class.
Well, teachers who are also Cheeseheads (Packers fans), that is.
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.
Ironic, isn’t it? I posted this several years ago. My boss at the time has been bumped up to an office in the same building in which my virtual school makes its “home”. My current cubicle is in a drafty part of an aging building, so the blanket style jacket is, well, perfect. The more things change, the more they stay the same – in Packers country, anyway.
Just call me Daisy MacGyver
It could have been worse. Much worse, I’ll grant you that. My coworkers shared their own related stories, and all were humorous – well after the fact. While I was in the midst of the situation, I was thinking, “Later, I’ll laugh. Later.”
I got locked in the bathroom this morning. Locked in. Chuck was in Minneapolis, Amigo was sound asleep at the other end of the house, and I had no phone or other means of communication. The doorknob had somehow disconnected from the latch, and no matter how much or how hard I turned, it wouldn’t open.
I solved this in the manner of many female problem-solvers over many years, decades, and even centuries: I broke apart a hair clip and picked the lock. I am woman, hear me roar!
Then I “fixed” it with duct tape and sent Amigo a text message so he would not close the door and get stuck himself.
And then I went to work. Early, as usual. I treated myself to an extra cup of Monday morning coffee, too.
Ah, Multi-tasking Packer Fans
There’s too much on my to-do list to allow a relaxed Sunday afternoon in front of the TV. But when you have green and gold running through your system the way we do at the O.K. Chorale, the game will be on and will be central to our existence for a few hours. We do a little multi-tasking, though, just to keep life from collapsing around us. For example:
- Make ice cream. Mix the ingredients, turn on the ice cream maker, and then watch the game until it’s done. Note to self: watch the real clock, not the football clock, for timing.
- Laundry. Turn on the bedroom TV while folding.
- Bake. I baked angel food cake today – just the thing to go with our Eating the Opponent dish, Norwegian Fruit Soup. Yum.
- Clean a bathroom. Seriously. Apply cleaning solutions (or vinegar-water mix) during one commercial break. Scrub and rinse during the next break. Not recommended during a Super Bowl when the commercials are part of the entertainment.
- Shop online.
- Blog.
Readers, can you add to the list? As the Packers keep winning, I want to watch every minute. But in reality, life intrudes. What other tasks can be multi-tasked during a Packer game?
Daisy goes for a Train Ride
I spent part of last weekend putting the final preparations in place for winter in the backyard. That meant draining the rain barrels and tipping them over and transplanting Chuck’s blueberry plants so the spring garage construction doesn’t kill them. Anything else went on the back burner. There was a big freeze on the way.
Chuck, conveniently, was out of town at a model railroad show. He suggested by text that he might do one final go-round with the mulching mower, to which I responded “In the snow?” We got lucky and didn’t have actual snow – yet – but it was cold, very cold.
I know he didn’t forget me while he was gone. Look what rides on his tracks.
Look! I’m a boxcar!