#6195. Go Curling

Every quarter at work, team leaders nominate agents that have exceeded expectations to become that quarter’s best of the best. I was nominated last quarter. Along with the kudos, is an off-site activity like a movie or lunch. This time it was an afternoon of curling at the Appleton Curling Club. I was excited that I actually could try curling and get paid to do it.

Let me tell you, curling is a lot harder than it looks. It takes coordination and finesse which I seem to be lacking…and a good sense of balance. In case you never watched curling during the Olympics, it is kind of like shuffleboard on ice. The thrower (not the technical term) releases a 44 lb. stone down a sheet of ice while sweepers try to help it along. The captain directs the thrower where to aim so they can try to knock the opponent’s rocks out of the circle or bump their own in.

Getting a lesson in throwing rocks

Attempting to push off

A perfectly thrown stone only spins about 4 times down the ice. The thrower wears a sliding shoe to help in releasing the stone. The captain tells the thrower to start at 10 o’clock or 2 o’clock. You always end up back at Noon. The direction is the direction of the spin -- clockwise or counterclockwise

 At least I stayed on my feet

The first couple of times, I practiced throwing the stones, I ended up on my backside. I learned that if I didn’t get all the way down on 1 knee, I had a better chance of staying upright. I was able to kind of get the hang of rotating the stones but I definitely got more than 4 spins.

One would think that sweeping would be easier. In way it is since you are not sliding on the ice but I still struggled with it. I think part of it is you need to know when to sweep and when to let it go. Sweeping helps the rock from stopping sooner. You only need to make short little sweeps in FRONT of the stone. The first time I was sweep, I tried to sweep from the back.  Apparently I missed the directions of in front of the stone. Even with sweeping, I couldn’t stay upright and ended up face planting because I tripped over another rock which I didn't see. Of course, I was the only one to draw blood... a cut lip, bloody nose but I didn't lose any teeth. After that I stuck with being captain. That seemed the safest.

Attempting to sweep

Although I am not ever going to be a curling expert nor do I plan on getting out there anytime soon, it was a lot of fun. Some of the guys were really good. The team that my team was playing actually ended up in the white little circle in the center. We were lucky to even to get it on the red outer ring. Even when we tried to knock their stones out, we couldn't manage to get the stone anywhere near them.

The guys were pretty good

Yeah, Points for us

I know the hubby was jealous that I got to try curling before he did. He probably would be one of those natural people that would be able to perfect the art of throwing a curling rock within a few hours. 

I am glad that I got to try curling and discover it is not a sport for me. I have several large nasty looking bruises from falling on the ice not to mention my face plant. Maybe I just need to wear one of those bubble wrap suits next time... 

I will be happy to watch it during the Olympics from now on.

Happy Paczki Day

Happy Paczki Day. I am channeling my inner Polish heritage, or lack thereof today. Paczki Day is how the Polish celebrate Fat Tuesday, namely by eating Paczki or jelly filled doughnuts.  It turns out this is not just something Pulaski coined. It is really a Polish holiday and I’ll be happy to help celebrate by eating my share of Paczki.

Because Paczki Day is a big deal in Pulaski, everyone talks about going to Smurawa Country Bakery to get their Paczki. Last year, the hubby picked us up some Paczki from Manderfield’s but there weren’t jelly filled. The news stations said Smurawa’s was the place to get Paczki. We decided that we would make the trip to Pulaski this year to get ourselves some real, authentic Paczki.

Initially, I was going to send the hubby to pick some up until I heard that there was polka music and you could play the accordion. It sounded like a real party. The hubby said he was going to play the accordion and sing in Polish…mind you he doesn’t know how to do either. I didn't want miss his Polish Music Debut. I re-arranged my work schedule to go in later and stay later. I said I would bring in Paczki. 

We decided to order our Paczki ahead of time. That turned out to be a really good idea. When we got there about 8:50 for a 9:00 pick up, there was probably at least 30 people ahead of us. Not knowing there was a pre-order line, we got in line and started inching our way to the front. After about 10 minutes, the hubby heard someone mention a pre-order line and I went to investigate. There was indeed a pre-order line and there were only 2 people in. it. Score.  The only disappointment was that the accordion players weren’t playing yet and it was too busy to attempt to play the antique accordion. 

Traditional Paczki flavors include prune, apple, and raspberry. Smurawa offers 19 different flavors including red velvet, key lime, poppy seed, Custard, Caramel Custard, pineapple, orange dream, chocolate, and peanut butter. We decided on custard, apple, raspberry, cherry, chocolate, and red velvet.

Believe it or not, we took our boxes of Paczki and drove home without even trying one. I grabbed my box for work. It wasn’t until I shared with my teammates, that I could finally sit down and enjoy one. Because, they put the filling side down in the box, you didn’t know what flavor you were getting at work. Luckily, I was nice and ordered “normal” flavors. I ended up with raspberry. Everyone had rave reviews.

O.M.G.THESE. THINGS.ARE.EVIL.

I can’t explain them.  It is so much more than just an ordinary jelly doughnut. It is soft, yet crispy covered in sugar and filled with amazing jellies and creams. Although I never had one that you can buy in the grocery store, my manager did say these are so much better. He compared it to getting Sourdough Bread from San Francisco. It is just that much better.

Next year, I will just send the hubby since the hoopla really wasn’t all that spectacular. In the meantime, I will continue to eat the dozen or Paczki we have left. I think I hear a custard one calling my name….

Dining With Craxi: Bangers and Smash

Since the hubby had an afternoon game in Waupaca, it was decided that we would just have an early dinner in Waupaca. I knew he a place in mind and I knew it was a bar type place. I figured I'd have a good bar burger and some homemade chips.

It turns out I was not entirely on the right page. We ended up at T-Dubs Public House which is located in the basement of a 4 story building along the river. I was still thinking bar burger until I walked inside. It was your typical dark Irish Pub. I was beginning to think a bar burger wasn't happening. That thought went out the window when the hostess sets down a thick menu and a special sheet.

The specials included Bangers and Smash, Shepard's Pie, and Mac and Cheese. Anytime I see Mac and Cheese on the menu, I am tempted to get it. The Bangers and Smash sounded intriguing too. The hubby was torn between Cheese Tortellini or the Bangers and Smash. Our waitress said anytime you are debating between the menu item and the special, go with the special. We both got the Bangers and Smash.

Bangers and Smash is really homemade sausages served over garlic mashed potatoes. To be honest, when the dish came, it was not what I expected. I thought I'd get pieces of cut up sausages not actual sausage. I actually had to choke down the first bite because the seasoning was overwhelming. I was not impressed but I ate another piece dipped in the gravy and it was better. The waitress came to check on us and I told her I was still deciding about them. There were not as bad as the first bite and were quite tasty. Bangers are a dense, dry sausage in my opinion and nothing like brats or the other juicy sausages I have had in Germany. It was a strange combination (dry and dense) to get used to. The hubby did enjoy them immediately. 

I would not hesitate to go back. Since the daily specials always change, I'm sure there would be something new to try every time. Sure I could have stuck with the burger but I can get a burger anytime. When given the opportunity to try something new within my very limited palate, I will usually try something new.

Last Minute Winter Fun

Laying in bed this morning, I thought maybe I could kill two birds with one stone this weekend. I needed to go to the Gap and Penny's and I thought the Green Bay Botanical Gardens had something going on this weekend. After a bit of research, I realized the Winter Family Festival at the Botanical Gardens was only today from 10-2 and it was free. However since I had to be home by 12:30 for basketball there was no time to hit the Bay Park Square Mall. I texted Danielle to see if she wanted to come and after a little bit of prodding she decided she could go. My brother said he was thinking about taking the kids and I told him to meet us there.

When we got to the gardens, our first stop was to pick up a map and a snowman for the snowman scavenger hunt. The volunteer didn't care if we were kids or adults, if we wanted to do the scavenger hunt, we could. Snowmen seemed to be the overall theme. You could take snowman pictures, play snowman toss, bowling, or slam, and build a mini snowman. It was definitely geared to younger kids but the volunteers let the "big kids" play too.

The snowman scavenger hunt let you explore the upper grounds while dressing your snowman along the way. There were 5 stations "hidden" around the grounds. 1 station each for the buttons/face, carrot nose, hat, scarf, and arms. They thought ahead and cut the noses and hats and already had sticky stuff on the back. The yarn was precut. The sticks already had the brads in them. My only complaint was that the sticky stuff was in the wrong spot on the hat so it covered his eyes. I now have a snowman hanging on my fridge.

You could explore the grounds either on foot or on snowshoe. If I had more time I definitely would have liked to explore more. There were plenty of snowshoes available for a good tromp through the gardens. There were a few snow sculptures as well as an ice fishing demonstration inside.  

It was a nice family event. I enjoyed it and probably would go back next year. I definitely need to go back in spring or summer when the plants are actually in bloom. There are other events I may check out throughout the year. It is a little far to go all the time but once in a while I don't mind the half hour drive (I know... I know.. that's nothing but it seems so far).