My AC Died, Summer's Over, and Football's Back: A Perfect Storm of Sunday Shenanigans

It's a relaxing Sunday morning, and a perfect time to catch up on a few things.

Speaking of catching up, our AC decided to take a break on Friday. Not ideal! But we have someone coming to check it out on Monday. Hopefully it's a simple fix like refilling the freon.

Can't believe how fast summer is flying by! It feels like just yesterday school was out and the season began. Now, fall is right around the corner with another semester starting soon.

By the way, you might notice some ads back on the site. My web host fixed a security certificate issue, and that got the ads up and running again. I apologize for any pop-ups, but with over 1,000 weekly visitors, it helps keep the blog going.

Speaking of keeping things going, NFL preseason is underway! I always enjoy fantasy football drafts, and I have my next one coming up on August 26th. Carrie, on the other hand, prefers the live game experience. Luckily, NFL Sunday Ticket lets me catch all the action on YouTube TV.

And for some local excitement, Washburn football kicks off the season on August 29th! The first home game is September 14th against Colorado School of Mines. It'll be fun to be back at the stadium for tailgating and cheering on the team.

That's all for this Sunday morning ramble. Time to catch the Royals game! Have a great week, everyone!

Nothing to Say First Part of February… So Rambling Away I Go…

One of those weeks where I cannot think of anything to write about, so I see this as being a rambling post for this Sunday update. Let’s see where this takes me as I write.

We are already five days into February 2023. Hard to believe that January has come and gone. With Carrie being in the hospital in January (see Not a Fun Start to 2023), that made the month fly by and not in a good way. She finished up her last IV appointment this past weekend, but will be taking antibiotics orally for the next two weeks. She is doing well and I appreciate everything who has asked about her status since I did the update a few weeks ago on her hospital stay. Carrie and I will be happy once she is off of the antibiotics and the infection is completely gone.

Now that we are into the month of February, I find myself starting to wonder about our camping sites for this year. We have not made any plans, but we have begun to think about spots. We have thrown out the idea of visiting a camping site near an away football location for Washburn next Fall, but still discussing to see what would make sense and whether it would work out. I think we want to try some new places for our camping sites, but no decisions made yet. Hoping by March we will have some sites booked and planned out for the summer.

In about a month, we will have March Madness, but still a lot of basketball to play before the madness begins. We continue to enjoy attending home Washburn basketball games. We are 8-2 at home, but 1-8 on the road. We missed a few home games when Carrie was in the hospital, but we have been back to the most recent games. Our next home game is February 11 and only three more home games for the season for Washburn.

Kansas Jayhawks have been frustrating to watch here recently too. We lost three games in a row a week or so ago and we were swept by Iowa State this season. KU is 18-5 on the season but 6-4 in conference play. Frustrating to watch at times, but still a lot of season to play.

Baseball season is right around the corner. Recent news from YouTube TV is that MLB Network is gone from the service. While we have not had Royals broadcasts in a few years, I was able to watch MLB Network or even subscribe to MLB.TV through YouTube TV to watch games, but all of that is gone. Contract disputes between MLB and YouTube TV have the service removed. 

I have read a few thoughts from others that they think it will be renewed as Spring Training begins, but guessing that is not the case and lose it completely. While it makes sense it would be removed around this time as it was added a year ago at this time just before Spring Training was starting. I am surprised that only a one year contract was done between the two entities. Granted, I will be able to watch games that are on ESPN, TBS, etc., but it was nice to have all the games (except my local Royals) to watch.

I would be remiss if I did not share that the Kansas City Chiefs are in the Super Bowl a week from today. I am a bit superstitious, so it will be interesting as we lead up to kickoff next week for the big game. Yes, I realize what I do has no impact on the outcome, but it makes me feel better and connects me to the team. So, get ready for the big game and hoping that two weeks of being off will give time for us to heal and be ready to play.

That is all the rambling I can do for today, so have a great week. 

Rambling Along on a Weekend About Sports, Books, Camping, and Whatever Else Comes to Mind

Carrie and John from 2013

Rambling along on a Sunday is what this post is about. Not one specific thing to discuss or talk about today, but various items that may or may not connect together. That’s what happens sometimes as I go to think about what to write for my Sunday update. In this edition, I will talk sports, books, camping, and anything else that comes to mind that I feel like sharing. I hope you find these as interesting as my other weeks posts about specific events or topics.

Sports

The days are getting shorter and believe it or not, the temperature is starting to drop too. We have had some really nice weather the past week or two, so we can see fall is approaching. Granted, we had at least two days this past week that were in the upper 90s, but the evenings are so nice. The shorter days and lower temperatures mean only one thing… football is starting. 

Washburn Football

Washburn plays our first game of the season at home on Thursday, September 1. I cannot wait! We finally have a parking spot in the tailgate this year, so I am excited to have that although it is a ways from our “spot” it will be nice to have the car close for everything we pack and not having to walk a distance to get it to our “spot”. We will still be by the flag pole in the northeast corner of the field. I am doing Weight Watchers, so planning to eat a little better at this tailgate with Subway for dinner and some Michelob Ultra beers for watching the game. We only have five home games and we will miss at least one which will be the last game of the season. I might find a way to get out for part of the game, but too early to say at this point. 

We had a great season last year and I expect to see another great season this year too. Last year we had some memorable victories at home and even one where our neighbor ran on to the field after we won. Good times! I am looking forward to another fun round of games at home and on the road. I renewed my subscription for streaming Washburn sports as well as our season tickets to football in case we decide to go into the stadium. I think it is going to be a fun season and I cannot wait to get it started on Thursday. Go Bods!

Washburn Volleyball

We love going to volleyball games. I watched the whole season streaming last year and it was a wonderful season. Every year we say we are going to go to a lot of volleyball games and the season flies by with us only going to a few. I am hoping to get to a lot more games this year. I have them on my calendar and I know Carrie is interested in going to more of them this year too, so we will plan to cheer on the volleyball team at home this year in-person. I am watching an away game this morning as I write this update on Saturday morning with Washburn playing Midwestern. We started the season Thursday and we are already off to a good start… season is young, but expect great things from the team again this season. 

If you have not been out to a volleyball game, you should make it a point to get out to a match. It is so fun! Even though I do not know/recall all of the rules for volleyball, we have fun cheering on our team. I love the fact that as the final point is about to be scored the home crowd stands and claps until the point is won. Yes, I realize this is not unique to Washburn volleyball, but it makes it a fun environment and us as fans like we are helping the team along to the win.

Fantasy Football and Baseball

The baseball season is coming to an end. The Royals are in another struggling year, but still having fun watching their games and the new talent. I am in two fantasy baseball leagues and while I am not sure I have ever won a fantasy baseball league, I have fun setting my rosters each day and following the games for each of my players. Fantasy sports is a lot of making the right decision on who to play, who to draft, and when to bench a player, but it is also a lot of luck. At one point during this season, I had the majority of my roster in one league on the IR. With all of the “good” players drafted, it makes it difficult to go out to the waiver wire to pick up quality players, so sometimes it is necessary to use up spots on the roster with injured players. Again, this is what makes it fun to struggle through IR instances or survive the season without a single injured player where when I have had this occur, I am toward the top of the rankings. All part of the game and it is so fun!

Fantasy football is starting up and this week I will be drafting in the two leagues I take part. One league is a free league and the other is one where we put in money for fun. Both are a lot of fun and both I am in with friends, so it is a good time. I love baseball, but I really like fantasy football. Unlike baseball where I have to check my roster daily, make changes, etc., in fantasy football I check a few times a week to make changes. Typically prior to Thursday, when there are games, prior to Sunday, and then again on Monday. A final check to see who I can pick up on waivers to prepare for the next week of play. It is so fun!

Typically at some point during the season, usually for football, the league finds a time to meet up at a local establishment to watch a game and talk some trash. I love it when we are able to connect during the season (baseball or football) to watch a game, have a few drinks, and what some of “our” players in a game. All part of the fun of the season.

Kansas City Chiefs

Speaking of football, who is ready for the Chiefs season to begin? We came up short last year and looking to have a great season this year, I cannot wait for it to start. It all starts on Sunday, September 11 with Kansas City Chiefs playing Arizona Cardinals. Looking forward to seeing us on the field and Mahomes leading us down the field. Football happens to be one of the sports Carrie does not enjoy to watch, but it is one of my favorite things to do on a Sunday. Football all afternoon and even better when my Chiefs are playing. 

Last season I remember we started out slow losing some early season games. I recall social media saying our season was over and then we came to life and started winning. I am hoping not to start off slow this year and have game mode at the start of the season. Do not let teams back into games, but finish them early and keep the heat on throughout the game to the end. We lost the first four of seven games last year and people were saying our season was over, but yet we turned it around. Let’s not start that way this season! Let’s go Chiefs!

Books and Reading

Reading with Kindle

I continue the enjoyment of reading. I started January 2022 with the goal of reading 20 books for the year and so far I have read 14 books. I have read every day since January 1, 2022 which has been a nice change. I typically read every night before going to sleep, so sometimes I read for just a few minutes to thirty or 40 minutes before falling asleep. It is a nice way to wind down, ignore the phone, email, and social media to just relax and enjoy a book. I continue to read on my Kindle which I love and I have anywhere from two to three books downloaded at any one time to the device in airplane mode so I do not lose them when they are due back at the library. Work out nice except sometimes I miss books I have reserved because I cannot come out of airplane mode or I will lose some of my books. 

Currently I am reading “Where the Crawdads Sing” which happens to also be in theaters. I am really enjoying this book and I look forward to seeing the movie. Prior to this book, I had been reading a lot of series. An eight book series by L.T. Ryan, I only have one book left. I had to take a break from the series though, but I plan to finish up that last book in the near future. I have another series Carrie started me on by C.J. Box which as been really good and I am about three books into that series. Again, I took a little break while I read some other books that were on my list.

At the rate I am going, I think I will exceed my 20 book goal for the year. Only a few short months and the year will be changing, but I think I can finish strong and go a ways past my twenty book target. It will be the most books I have read in one year. It has been a fun process and I look forward to continuing the goal for next year.

Camping

We have only been camping once this year. It was early spring that we went. We were hoping to go again, but it was a busy summer and the fall is turning out to be busy too. I have hope we can fit in one more weekend get away to go camping. The difficult part is that there are sports happening that I want to see, blue festival in early October, and other events happening that prevent us from taking a weekend. Still, I hope we can find a weekend to take Oliver and get to be lakeside somewhere to enjoy the outdoors and some good books.

Next year, I hope we can make it to more than four camp sites. We went to three sites last summer with four total as we went to one spot twice, so I am hoping to make it to just as many next summer if not more. Start a little earlier in the spring and go later in the fall, we might be able to beat that camping number.

End of Rambling

The end of August is right around the corner and I wish the days would slow down just a little. Going by way too fast as we watch 2022 speed by. I hope to have some future posts about sports that we attend as well as books I am reading. Of course, I also hope to have a camping trip in the near future, but not sure when that will occur. For now, I am trying to slow down the days and enjoy reading a good book or enjoying a sporting event. 

I hope you have a great rest of the weekend and can enjoy some quiet time before the busy week starts again.