Not Lunacy, But Lunar In The Pink

Monday night, April 2nd, the moon will be full. Here in North America, it is known as the “Pink Moon”.
That’s all.
For obvious reasons I thought it was cool that this full moon was called the “Pink Moon”!
Click on this link or this one to learn a little more about the tradition of naming full moons.

Money, Media & March 31st

Tomorrow night at midnight, a strange confluence of politics and media reportage comes together. March 31, 2007 marks the end of the first quarter of the 2008 United States Presidential campaign fundraising. You may have noticed that I have links on the right hand side of my blog to both John Edwards and Barack Obama. I feel good about both of them and would be happy if either one was elected President. Well, we put a little bit of money where our mouths are and made small contributions to both campaigns. Obviously, only one candidate can win, but both men are emphasizing different issues. We want not to muddy the waters by supporting both Obama and Edwards, but instead to keep them both talking about all those vital issues.

Tomorrow night at midnight, the media will be poring over the reports to learn how much money every candidate has raised and from how many donors. If the numbers (both people and money) are good, then the media will talk about those candidates and the issues they are raising. If the media talks about them, then more people will learn about the candidates and their positions on the issues. It’s a strange, fairly new phenomenon, but it’s true. “Early Money” is always important to a campaign’s momentum. But this election cycle some primaries, including California’s, are being moved up to significantly earlier dates, making “early money” even more critical.

So if this 2008 U.S. Presidential election is important to you, consider making a campaign contribution today to the candidate you most want to lead this nation. Every little bit helps. $5, $10, $25.... any amount puts you on record as saying “Yes, I want to be a part of this process. I believe we can and should do better.”
Here is the link to contribute to John Edwards
Here is the link to contribute to Barack Obama

If you would like to learn more about either man and what he stands for, just click on the the links to the right under “Learn More/Get Involved”. And if I haven’t mentioned the candidate you would most like to “pull the lever for” today, then a quick Google search will help you find their website.



:: Red Sox Notes:

I am outraged! Major League Baseball has notified the Boston Red Sox that our beloved Johnny Pesky, age 87, will no longer be allowed to sit in the Red Sox dugout with the team! Johnny started with the Red Sox Organization back in 1940 as an amateur free agent. He debuted as a player in 1942 and has served as both manager and a coach. Anyone who has ever seen Big Papi come back into the dugout after a trip around the bases and wrap Johnny up in a big bear hug understands my feelings. The guy’s terrific and a legend. I don’t give a fat rat’s ass that this is an MLB rule of long standing - get a freakin’ waiver!!!

Tea Partay

I know this is just an advertisement, but it never fails to make me laugh! Heaven help me, but I swear I dated a few of the late 1970's equivalents of these guys! Live and learn!
Enjoy!

The Path To National Salvation?

Ever since the election last November, when the United States Congress just barely turned from Republican domination to technical Democratic control, I have been waiting for things to change dramatically. Actually, not so much waiting as holding my breath and hoping. There have been improvements. But there seems to be an unrelenting creep of escalation to the problems in the Middle East. People keep dying. Games of verbal chicken continue to be played by untrustworthy fellows who leave me slack-jawed by their arrogance. Slack-jawed and afraid that these guys have their respective fingers on the buttons, or the red phones, or the suitcase called the football, or whatever other cold war era euphemism fits this contemporary brinksmanship.

I sometimes allow myself to focus on January 20, 2009 when we will finally see an end to the Presidency of George W. Bush. But I fear that I do not fully trust my fellow good citizens of this nation to elect the best person to lead this country out of darkness and shame. I sometimes fear that while President Bush’s approval ratings sink, that there are just too many folks who still believe in the ideology and Republican platform that got him elected (or selected) once and then reelected. And doesn’t it only take a single vote in every precinct to install a comparable president with a different face?

In the days following September 11, 2001, the entire world rallied to our side. Good people around the planet spilled out onto streets to show their love and solidarity with a nation under siege. A nation which hadn’t always done everything right, but seemed to generally move in well-intentioned and honorable ways. This administration destroyed that good will and sullied our reputation to the point of shame. This administration has worked tirelessly to assault and undermine the Constitution and all the good that has flowed from it for two centuries. They have even reached back the better part of a millennium to attack habeas corpus.

So today, I ask the question, have we reached the point where the only way to begin to reclaim our Constitution, save our national soul and begin to rehabilitate our image internationally is for the House to impeach George W. Bush and for the Senate to convict him?

Moving The Curve

I recently came across a blog called No Impact Man and I admit, the author, Colin Beavan, has got me thinking. He sums up his year long, life-dismantling and environmentally positive reconstruction experiment in part, as follows: “A guilty liberal finally snaps, swears off plastic, goes organic... while dragging his baby daughter and Prada-wearing, Four Seasons loving wife along for the ride.” Gee, that sounds interesting, I thought and quickly ticked off all the environmentally correct (EC, if you will) things that we do now - recycling, composting, compact fluorescent bulbs, etc. But then I read part of the blog and realized, that even on a clear day, I can’t begin to see where this guy and his family are going.

I’m certain it was the discussion of toilet paper that pushed me down the rabbit hole. You see, the debate wasn’t about which brand of toilet paper was most environmentally friendly. It was what to do instead of using toilet paper. Oh. Oh my! I’m not a complete western know-nothing. I recognize that most people on this tiny, ailing planet don’t have a flush toilet, or even consistently safe and potable water to drink, for that matter. But in truth, I have never, ever thought we shouldn’t be using toilet paper. Instead, my focus has been on gratitude that we are not using the 19th century three-holer outhouse which still stands in our barn. It’s a fabulous three-holer in that it has Mama, Papa and Baby Bear size holes set at varying distances from the edge for maximum comfort. Really. And I am consciously appreciative that we are not sitting out there, in the middle of a cold winter’s night (or a hot, buggy summer’s night), using the pages of a Sears and Roebuck catalogue. But I confess, until I read the No Impact Man blog, my thoughts about toilet paper ended there. No more. Don’t misunderstand. I’m not prepared to abandon toilet paper. But I realized, that while all the positive steps we take are good, they are falling short of what we can do - can do comfortably even.

A particularly important function of any new, radical, extremist who is promoting something excellent, yet way out on the far edge of the bell curve, is, that they gradually, eventually move the curve. So check out his blog, but be forewarned - it’s a bit like having your perceptions shaken up inside a snow globe!

Safe & Sound!

They did it! Gail, Mom and of course, little Chloe have arrived safely in Greater Atlanta to find spring in full, blooming glory. By all reports it sure beats anything Welcome Wagon could deliver! We are all grateful for so much right now. As my Mom sometimes is wont to say: “Our cup runneth over.”

...Just Wait A Minute

If Mom and Gail hadn’t telephoned early this morning I would have slept right through this winter wonderland. We had been expecting a few inches of snow, but it must have fallen gently and steadily in the overnight stillness. I quickly captured what I could with the digital camera. Within minutes, not hours, the snow began to fall from the branches in great lumps with every degree gained and each slight stirring of the wind. There’s a saying here in New England: “If you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute.” Twelve hours later, near sunset, the bottom photo was how it looked from the dooryard.
Thanks for the call you two!

The Wonderful World of IKEA

Friday afternoon, after seeing Mom and Gail off on their way to Georgia, Chuck and I drove to IKEA in Stoughton, Massachusetts. We first went to an IKEA down in Elizabeth, New Jersey more than 15 years ago. It was about 5 hours from where we lived at the time and worth every minute! The next available one we were able to get to was at Islip on Long Island. We took the ferry over from Connecticut and yes, it was worth every minute as well! At long last, the IKEA in Stoughton opened over a year ago and it’s less than two hours away!!!

Anyhoo, we were tired but just rounding the bend and seeing that blue and yellow facade caused us to perk right up. We stocked up on several items from the Marketplace and Chuck was able to get the chalkboard door he wanted for the cabinet in his shop. As we checked out, we were tickled to learn that the store has gone over to charging a nickel for every disposable plastic bag you want to use. To encourage you to buy the giant blue reusable IKEA bags, they dropped the price from 99 cents to 59 cents each.

We then rode the elevator down to the parking garage with a gentleman who had all the bits and pieces of a PAX unit loaded on a flat cart. We tried, somewhat unsuccessfully, not to scare him with our unbridled enthusiasm for PAX. We told him PAX had changed our lives. He said he hadn’t expected an existential transformation, just a place to put his junk. He’ll see...

After stowing our bag in the car, we went back in and had dinner in the large Cafe. Don’t you love those little open-faced shrimp sandwiches with the sliced hard boiled eggs? Refreshed and recharged, we made a quick circuit of the showrooms. That’s when we finally made the decision to buy a Poang chair (beech frame, Sirkon Sand fabric). We have been admiring it for ages and thanks to the generosity of a gift card from C, A, K, & P, we took the plunge! It’s now happily ensconced in our living room, post assembly by Chuck. It was another great trek to IKEA. We’ll be back!

Georgia or Bust!

We’re home after a long and busy day. Gail, Mom and little Chloe are off on their long distance adventure! We wish them a safe, happy and uneventful journey!
The moving van being loaded in Rhode Island

Chloe says: “We’re moving where???”

Counting

The fact that my sister Gail is moving from Rhode Island to Georgia tomorrow is looming large for me. My eldest sister Karen moved across the country to California 19 years ago. She is now living 2647 miles from here in Arizona. In just a few days Gail will be 1058 miles away in Georgia. That also means that Gail and Karen will now be 1940 miles apart from each other.

Lots of numbers tumbling around with lots of feelings and it all seems just too darn far!

So, what else do I know? I know I am enormously grateful for telephones, cell phones, e-mails, digital cameras and this blog. I am enormously grateful that three such unique and different sisters, still have more than enough in common to keep us feeling connected as sisters and family. And I am ever so proud of Gail that she named her dream, worked so hard to achieve it and is now just “a few” miles away from living it! Go Gail!!!

Mary Elizabeth Anania Edwards

My heart goes out to Elizabeth Edwards, her husband John and their entire family. Elizabeth and John announced today that cancer has once again been found in Elizabeth’s body. It is considered treatable, but not curable. If you would like to send a message of support and encouragement to her, you can click on this link. It will take you directly to page where you can learn more and send a note.

Officially Spring

This was a slice of the Boston skyline from outside the Bayside Expo Center. It was cold, windy and despite the bright sunshine, felt very much like winter yesterday afternoon. But inside the exhibition hall, it was all spring and summer. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s New England Spring Flower Show has been taking place for over a century. We haven’t been attending for quite that long! This year had some wonderful displays, but seemed to have fewer exhibitors overall. There also appeared to be a fair amount of empty space in the main hall. The Gardener’s Marketplace however, was chock-a-block full of all kinds of vendors, as usual.

I hope these photos help you think warm thoughts of spring and summer. Enjoy!

“I’ll Have What She’s Having”

I first tasted Ethiopian food almost twenty years ago, when Chuck took me to a Boston restaurant. I was enchanted, transported and hooked. We’ve eaten at three different Ethiopian places in and around Boston. But once we discovered the award winning Asmara, near Central Square in Cambridge, we became loyal patrons.

Tonight we went to Asmara after attending the New England Flower Show. (I’ll post some photos from there tomorrow.) As always, the long, narrow, unassuming little restaurant managed to delight us with the traditional Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine, which, in my opinion, approaches ambrosia! The woman with the dazzling smile, who magically seems to do everything in the restaurant with grace, greeted us warmly. She seated us at a western style table, which is our preference. This evening, we put ourselves in her hands and ordered her recommendation of a combination platter for two. When I expressed a preference for a particular vegetarian dish, she said no problem.

Within just a few minutes she brought us a large round platter of food to share. Each of the dishes - lamb, chicken, beef, veggies and a tossed salad - are placed on large rounds of Injera. Injera is made from the grain teff and is rather like a large pancake or crepe, but on the sour side. It has a moist, spongy texture and appearance which soaks up all the yummy sauces. You tear off a bit of the Injera and use it to gather up the food with your fingers. This particular assortment ranged from spicy to mild, with the cold salad with feta cheese providing a nice contrast. The last bites of an Ethiopian meal are of the deliciously saturated Injera. I swear this food brings out the same hand slapping the table feelings of Meg Ryan’s deli scene in “When Harry Met Sally”! “Yes, yes, yes!”

The Party’s Over...

...and a fine time was had by all! We gathered down at my Mom’s condominium in Rhode Island Sunday for my sister Gail’s going away party. Gail’s daughters, Carrie and Kate, had asked her what she would like us to serve at the party and she half-jokingly replied New York System Wieners! Ask and it shall be given! New York System is unique to Rhode Island and has no connection to New York. There are several locations in Little Rhody where one can get the real thing. But most of them are closed on Sunday days. So Carrie and Kate managed to whip up an excellent homemade version using the genuine Olneyville Secret Spice Mix!

Basically, NY System are hot dogs served in a steamed bun with a meat sauce on top. For “all the way” you first put yellow mustard on the roll, then add the dog, then the meat sauce, then top with chopped raw onions and a quick sprinkle of celery salt over all. The meat sauce is made with onions, ground beef and some scary fat. The seasoning is a blend of allspice, garlic powder and chili powder. The keys to making it involve patience, making sure the beef is very finely broken up, and excellent ventilation!

Here’s the meat sauce and the wieners, just before “service”.

I’m sorry to say we were so busy devouring the wieners, I never snapped a picture of one “all the way” - or any other way for that matter! We also had tossed salad, shrimp cocktail and my Mom’s chicken salad rolls. The chicken salad recipe goes back to Mom’s mother, our Gagee, and is a family tradition. About the only uniquely Rhode Island items we left out were clam cakes, coffee milk and cabinets! (I’ll explain in a future post!)

Here’s the table before we fell upon it!
Mom baked an angel food cake for Chuck’s birthday, so we doubled the celebration. And our sister Karen called from Arizona to join in the fun. We (Mom, Gail, Carrie and her sweetie Al, Kate and her husband Phil, Carrie’s dear friend Sheri and her new sweetie Jay, Chuck and me) talked and laughed so much and for so long that we’re still a little hoarse today! We had a wonderful time sending Gail off with some food faves and lots of love, laughter and future memories.

Silly, Snow & Slainte!

This is a photo of our more photogenic (and extremely patient) cat, Cassie, with a couple of her “friends”! Thanks to Poet Mom, I found a cool website where you can insert your own photos into a variety of billboard styles. Have fun creating your own billboard here! One of these days I hope to get a picture of our other cat, Abby, where she’s not a blurry streak running from the camera!
As you can see, we got just under eleven inches in this snowstorm. The top two inches were dense and heavy from the sleet. But we were lucky that we never got the freezing rain. We’re all shoveled out now - tired and happy to be done!

:: Happy St. Patrick’s Day to one and all! Slainte!

Happy Birthday Chuck!

”Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Chuck
Happy Birthday to you -
and many more!
Wheeeeeee!!!”

Today is my husband Chuck’s birthday! If you’ve spent any time at all on this blog, you know that I am head over heels in love with this guy. He really is the bee’s knees - kind, thoughtful, generous, handsome, sexy, honorable, intelligent and funny to boot! And he kinda likes me too!
How cool is that?

This photo is of Chuck, when he was still known as CeeGee, along with his Mom and Dad. Weren’t they a smashing couple? Now you know where Chuck got his good looks! Happy Birthday Kiddo!

Here We Go Again?

Well, it was 70 degrees around here the other day, so naturally we were hoodwinked into thinking thoughts of spring and, perhaps, if we were really gullible, summer. So equally naturally, here in Southern New England, we are now preparing for another nor’easter. To refresh your memories on what that means for us, please refer to my February 13th post. But that storm, which was supposed to upend 18 inches of snow onto us, took the scenic coastal route and left us with little more than a postcardesque photo-op! With this storm, the weather prophets are talking a dozen inches of snow, followed by a couple of inches of rain, with a lovely ice course in between as a palate cleanser!

I can’t quite believe that the paltry snowfall this winter is causing me to think fondly of recent years, when the snow we piled up in the dooryard was taller than all six feet one inch of Chuck. Or to somehow forget the back-aching labor required to dig out the dryer vent, the paths to the oil fill pipe and the compost pile. And then there’s the Keystone Cop moments when I tried to wield the mind-of-its-own roof rake to clear the kitchen roof of its snow load. And when the snow was too deep to walk through, that instead of strapping on my snowshoes to get to the other side of the house, I dragged all 18 feet of that roof rake through the kitchen and climbed out the far window! Hand to God - it seemed like such a good idea at the time!

No matter what the heavens loose upon us in the next 24 hours, tomorrow we will celebrate Chuck’s birthday and Sunday we will have a wingding to send my sister Gail off to Georgia! Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom...

File Taxes Electronically For Free!

If you still need to file a 2006 U.S. Federal Tax Return you might qualify to file it electronically for free! As of January 2007, the IRS set up arrangements with a variety of online tax software companies so that taxpayers who meet certain age and income requirements (generally an Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $52,000 or less) can file online for free. Some of the companies will allow you to file your state tax return for free as well. Go to this IRS link to learn more.

This afternoon we happened upon this information when we were trying to help a dear friend of ours with her taxes. She wanted to receive her Federal refund via direct deposit which was no problem. But her State return wouldn’t allow her to get direct deposit unless she filed electronically! That’s how we learned about this free service. We were able to get her set up on the “Turbo Tax Freedom Edition” by using this IRS “FreeFile” program. We chose Turbo Tax because we have used their software successfully for many years and our friend’s state was included in their options.

You have to read the IRS “FreeFile” information and options very carefully, but it’s definitely worth checking out. Our friend’s (relatively simple) Federal and State tax returns were both filled out online and submitted electronically this afternoon - all at no charge to her! It took us just about an hour and a half from start to finish.
:: Good Luck!

Not Quite “Sprung”

Around here, we still have several inches of snow on the ground. But it did feel like spring today. The bare patches of ground underneath our feet were a little squishy and muddy and there was just a hint of loaminess in the air. Chuck took advantage of the sunny, mild afternoon to level out the rutted track in front of our mailbox left by the letter carrier’s and our vehicles. We’re fortunate that, unlike northern New England, we don’t get an entirely separate “mud season” down here. I lived in northern Vermont for many years and I don’t miss that particular season one bit!

:: Red Sox Notes:

The Red Sox beat the Yankees tonight! It was very satisfying to see the two arch rivals face off against one another, even though a lot of the big name players were not in evidence. We got to see the Spring Training Invitees and many of our favorite players all mixing it up with the Yankees. I confess I really wanted the win, but it’s possible that even a close loss would have been O.K. Hey, I only said it was “possible”! I haven’t sold out to the Evil Empire!

I also have to make note of how strong Mirabelli looked at bat tonight. I hope that portends good numbers for Doug. Although not much could match the excitement of his State Trooper escorted return last season!

Family Matters

Yesterday, I stopped by a blog I visit from time to time. One of the author’s posts pushed a whole bunch of my emotional buttons: family, aging, mortality - just to name a few. You see Melissa over at All Buttoned Up was recently faced with a challenge. It was both an emotional challenge and a sewing challenge. She needed to make something for her grandparents to wear at meals. She came up with something which is more than a napkin, less than an apron and a more gracious plenty than a lobster bib. I think she did a pretty darn good job on both fronts.


:: Red Sox Notes:

1. We learned today that Daisuke Matsuzaka is a human being in good standing. It’s kind of a relief. And how cute is that kid when he grins!
2. The Red Sox face off against the Yankees tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. Now we’re talking baseball!
3. Julian Tavarez is a pitcher who likes to coach the actions of his teammates on the field whenever a batter makes contact with a ball he’s thrown. As a result, Chuck has a new name for him: Julian “But I Always Wanted To Direct” Tavarez! I figure that once he retires from baseball, Julian could give “Tony The Dancing Cop” in Providence, Rhode Island a run for his money!

Tick, Tock, Stop

The U.S. has begun Daylight Saving Time (DST) weeks earlier this year. The stated rationale is an attempt to save more energy. I don’t buy it. I also don’t like it. Considering how long humans have been keeping time, DST, having been implemented for less than a century, is still a relatively new practice.

Unfortunately, once it caught on in Europe it spread pretty quickly. I realize I’m tilting at windmills, but I wish they would just let nature take its course. Over the last couple of months, since the winter solstice, we have been appreciating the gradual, gentle, generosity of the lengthening of the days. We all notice it. We all appreciate it. Come June, and the summer solstice, we will watch the days wind down equally gently, causing us to cherish twilight, fireflies and that startling first chill in a summer night’s air.

I’m no anarchist. I believe in good government, fair taxes and sensible laws. But I really wish the U.S. government would put more attention and resources into alternative, renewable energy sources and leave my clocks, my days alone.

Ear Worm With Classy Roots

Did you know that the tune for Allan Sherman’s “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh, Here I am at Camp Granada” is a piece of classical music by Ponchielli? It’s from the Dance of the Hours from La Gioconda. Who knew? Obviously not me. I had the cable music channel on and suddenly found myself singing: “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh...” when I looked up to see what was really playing!
:: Just an odd little factoid I wanted to share.

International Women’s Day

Today, is (or was, depending on where you are in the world) International Women’s Day. First observed back in 1909, it’s now described as a day of celebrating all that women have achieved and inspiring women to achieve their full potential.

Both of my grandmothers were born long before women had the vote. While neither Gagee nor Grandma were suffragettes, they were part of the collective “Women of America” who had been toiling in their traditional roles without a legal voice and limited social options. They each benefited from the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, but it would be the coming generations who would take it to the next level, and beyond.

Now, in 2007, so much has been achieved by so many women. Unfortunately there is much more to be done around the world. One example of this is illustrated by this year’s IWD theme: “Ending Impunity for Violence Against Women and Girls”.

Flotsam, Jetsam and 100

This past week or so has been filled with so many things bubbling up in our little world. Some of them I’ve posted about here. Some have been emotionally complicated. Some have been mathematically and financially complicated. (Holy crap on a crutch! I only thought I had written the last check for the accident!) Good news, frustrating news, bad news - all flowing in as part of the flotsam and jetsam of living a life.

We can’t always control what flows in. We can make choices about how we react or respond. We can make choices about who we hold close to us in our circle of friends and family. We can do all we can to keep a sense of groundedness and balance in our lives, so that when a particularly big wave of unexpected “stuff” requiring our attention pours in, we have a solid place to stand and brace ourselves. Sometimes, especially with big, celebratory news, we have to just go with the wave, ride it, surf it, let ourselves be carried off by the joy of it - laundry and dishes be damned! And other times, when we are awash with bad news, we go quiet, listen, learn what we can and navigate a way through.

Right now, I’m taking a deep breath. I’m remembering that flotsam and jetsam used to refer only to things of value. I’m looking over what’s flowed in, and, for the moment, focusing only on the treasure. One of those treasures is that this is my 100th post. I have "met" some really neat people through this blog and had some wonderful experiences as a result of it. Thank you...

Better Luck Next Time!

We checked our tickets:
16-22-29-39-42 Megaball 20.
We are not the winners. Sigh. I know that the odds were infinitesimal that we would win the Mega Millions Jackpot. I even know the awful stories of the downward spiral lottery winners lives often take after a big win. Ahh, but surely if we had beaten the odds enough to win, we would have also been able to navigate the potential pitfalls of sudden, staggering wealth with ease. Unfortunately we don’t get to take that theory for a test drive.
Nor do we get to test drive anything else with four wheels!

Happy Dance!

I can’t wait any longer! In a previous post (February 23rd: “Write It Down”) I mentioned that my sister Gail has been keeping her eyes on the prize of her own big dream. Well, it’s all coming together now. Gail is selling her home in Rhode Island and moving to Georgia! It’s both a job related move and a big, personally triumphant move as well. The collective “we” of the family are delighted her dream is coming true after a very long process and yet we hate to see her go! But Gail has found a wonderful new home to move into down there and already has established relationships with her new colleagues, so it’s not as if she’s going to the Moon! Well, it’s kind of lunar. I mean Rhode Islanders sometimes feel compelled to pack a lunch if they’re venturing from West Bay to East Bay! So that just makes Gail’s move all the more impressive!

Congratulations Gail. I’m so happy for you and proud of you too!

:: P.S. This photo was taken at our Mom and Dad’s wedding reception in 1946!

Soon...

I love this fence. It stands, a little swaybacked but still sturdy, along the Shore Path in Bar Harbor, Maine. On one side, a lovely home, on the other is the even lovelier Frenchman’s Bay. This fence has earned its weather beaten beauty through storms sending salt spray up against its slats in all four seasons. We’ve never been there in winter.

Today, I wish we were up there, rather than home here.

I hope you are exactly where you want to be.

In Like a Lion...

We are feeling lucky once again this winter. Overnight we got a few inches of snow followed by sleet and then heavy rain. The low temperatures caused a thick layer of ice to build up on everything. Just down the road, a power line was stretched to near its limit by the weight of a fallen tree. We lost our power for a brief period of time while the electric company made the final repair. But by mid-afternoon the temps climbed to the mid thirties and the ice quickly disappeared. Then, just past seven tonight, we started to hear some engine noise in front of the house. It turned out to be a young man in a pick up truck which had slid off the road and was stuck in the heavy, icy slush. Chuck and I headed out to see how we could help. Another couple, in a huge 4 wheel drive pick up, stopped to see how they could be of assistance. We contributed a flashlight, a rope, some heavy chain and a modicum of traffic control. They provided horsepower. It wasn’t long before the young man was back on his way. No “film at eleven”, just life in the country!

:: Red Sox Note:

I know NESN needed to cover hockey tonight, but giving us only one hour of the Red Sox vs. Boston College game was frustrating. O.K. they wanted to show us Daisuke Matsuzaka’s first two trips to the mound in a Red Sox uniform. But Geez Louise, it left us wanting more. As for Daisuke, I was impressed with the centered, solid, graceful and controlled way he pitches. I’m afraid the enormous hype led me to expect a golden halo-like glow around the superhuman 26 year old and flames trailing out behind every ball he released. But the flesh and blood human being looked good and left us wanting more...

So Good!

PLEASE NOTE: The author of this blog has not gone 'round the bend.
She will post again on topics other than the Red Sox.

But not quite yet...


:: I so don’t care that the game ended in a unique-to-Spring-Training TIE! The Red Sox PLAYED! That was what mattered. We got to listen to Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy chat and chuckle throughout the game. We heard the first bass tones of “The Foghorn” warning us all of the dangerous confusion of not knowing who the heck is playing at any given moment! It was great. It was a breath of Springtime.
- Love the new beard Youkilis is sporting.
- Ortiz looks better than ever.
- Pedroia no longer looks like he escaped from little league.
- Oh Captain, our Captain Varitek - it’s so good to see him back in top form.
- And thank heavens the owners didn’t let Lowell get away.
At one point, as Chuck and I sat watching the game, we turned to one another in amazement at how much we had really missed Red Sox baseball! As Neil Diamond sang in “Sweet Caroline” (one of the unofficial Red Sox Nation anthems): So good! So good! So good!