Thank You, Tito

I need to get the writing of this post over with and move on....

By now everyone knows that my beloved Red Sox had the worst collapse in the history of the world and failed to make the playoffs.

On the bright side, October will be a whole lot less stressful for me.

I do feel bad that Terry Francona ("Tito") will no longer be the manager of the team.  The announcement was made today.

Francona managed the Red Sox for eight seasons -- from 2004-2011.  The team won the World Series twice during that time -- 2004 and 2007.  Boston fans will be forever grateful!

Best wishes, Tito.  I will miss seeing you chew on your bubblegum as you rock back and forth in the dugout.  I hope that your next team doesn't bring you the angst that the 2011 Red Sox did....

And now all I have to say is, "Go, Patriots!"

Dad 64: Derf from Illinois - Week 1

(My sister Kim was the lucky typist today.  Mainely Tracy is becoming a family effort!  Enjoy Dad's post from afar.  --  Tracy)

Derf Here!

From the Midwest state of Illinois. We’ll be here until October 23rd or until we get thrown out. Spouse (Mary Lou) and I will be tripping home on Oct. 24th & 25th. It seems like a long time! It will go by fast – I promise!

Was able to attend Zack’s and Josh’s football games over the weekend. Josh’s team is improving but is having a tough time getting a win. Zack played up on the 6th grade team for a shut-out win. His 5th grade team had a great game. Leading 14 to 6 with about one minute left the opposition scored for a 14 to 12 score. The age of the kids requires a 2 pt. conversion try for each touchdown, as that age can’t kick the ball for an extra point. Their kickoffs average very few yards. Well, the opposing team thought they would run the ball on Zack’s side of the line. They tried but were met by Zack for no gain. Won 14 to 12!

Spouse and I left Maine about 5:12am on Tuesday, September 26th, for Illinois. Somewhere between Maine and Massachusetts there is one of my hubcaps. Where is it? The trip went well with a couple of exceptions. I tried to run a “Big Truck” off the road as it seems I didn’t clear him after passing. I lost speed going uphill and his horn did the trick. Then I was passing a double UPS truck when he thought he would move over as a car was parked on the side of the road. Well, with a little brake pedal and slowing down, trouble was averted. Neither incident was worth ruffling any feathers. We did lose a couple hours as we came upon a line of back-up traffic. The cause – an accident involving a lifeflight helicopter. We got detoured and eventually returned to the highway. The only problem was it was 2 hours later, 16 miles and only 2 miles up the road. The trip ended well! (Credit due to the navigator!) Kaelen, Kelsey and Cocoa met us on arrival. Kim and Joe got home later and we enjoyed our first day visit with them. In fact, Cocoa slept with us last night, right between us next to my chest. Good Doggie! (Tracy, don’t tell Pepper.) Now I must take the RV for a little tune-up before the trip to Indy for the wedding!

Last night ended on a downer. I didn’t abandon the Sox (Red) and watched them inflict wounds so deep they were fatal. I then watched as the Rays (Tampa Bay) beat the Yankees in extra innings. I will now root for the Detroit Tigers as I know the team’s head trainer (Kevin Rand). He was a student when I was teaching (1970’s) and I taught next door to his dad. Later we did a lot of basketball officiating together. Go Detroit!

I had planned on a future position as a prognosticator (psychic). Due to my record with the Sox, my future doesn’t look promising. I now retract my predictions for the Boston Celtics and the New England Patriots. I still will watch them but not with the intensity as in the past. It is, after all, only a game you know. You do know that, don’t you?

Getting things arranged for the wedding in 2 days soooo – Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

P.S. Now I must get someone to type this and send to Tracy!

Kelsey, Cocoa, and Kaelen



Meowrrrr!

Derf and Spouse left me behind yesterday morning.

I was just told that they are now in Illinois with that dog....

Am I supposed to be happy that they're spending time with Cocoa and not with me?

Huh?  Huh?

Do I LOOK happy?

(Postscript from Tracy:  I'm here for you, Pepper!)

You say Goggle, I say Google

Yesterday Lew and I were talking about something -- I can't remember what -- and he said, "Well, I'll have to Goggle it."

Goggle?

I asked him, "You do know that it's GOO-gle, right?"

L:  "Yes.... It's just more fun to say GOG-gle."

T:  "Even if it irritates your wife?"

L:  "It irritates you?  If it irritates you, then I won't do it anymore!"

T:  "Well, I guess it doesn't irritate me... it just makes you sound ignorant. It's kind of like the 'Boy Who Cried Wolf.'  How am I supposed to know when you are ignorant about something?"

L:  "Ohhhh.... You want to know when I'm really being stupid!"

Exactly.

(Postscript:  LOL!)

Milkin' It

Lew rode his motorcycle to work today.

I had the windows up in the living room.

We went for an early evening walk on the beach... barefoot... in the water!

We followed up our walk with a dinner of Pie & Fry down at Old Orchard Beach.

Was it really September 26th today?  It seemed more like July 26th!

LOVIN' IT!

Sunday Mood Quiz

I did not plan on making this "quiz weekend" on my blog, but I will let it be so!

I feel like I'm catching a cold, but someone at church suggested it may be allergies brought on by the change of seasons.  I usually do feel this way when the seasons change, so I think my friend is onto something!

When I don't feel well, I end up in a bad mood.  Actually, I started the day in a bad mood because I didn't feel well from the get-go!  And I'm still in that bad mood.

Time for the quiz.  It is about my "mood" instead of "food."

Which of the following did not contribute to my remaining in a bad mood for most of today?

1. The Patriots lost a game that they had led 21-0 at one point.
2. The Red Sox lost the first game of a doubleheader against the Yankees.
3. I had to eat leftovers for lunch.
4. The sun was shining brightly today.
5. I was irritated by several things that I can't share on my blog!

And the correct answer is:

Saturday Food Quiz

Although the Dairy Corner is open for a couple more weeks, tonight was our self-imposed final splurge for the season.  Can you match the person with his/her treat?

Who:

• Dad
• Mom
• Lew
• Tracy

Treat:

• Extreme Chocolate
• Score Nor'Easter
• Banana Fruit
• Nothing

And the match-ups are....

Friday Food Quiz

Which of the following did I NOT eat today?  (Only one answer is correct.)

1. Rice Krispie treat
2. Banana
3. Apple
4. Dove chocolate
5. String cheese
6. Activia yogurt
7. Pie & Fry

And the correct answer is....

A Night Off

I have not blogged much about the Red Sox.

Just a couple weeks ago, they were sitting pretty to win the American League wild card spot.

Now, not so pretty.

NOT SO PRETTY AT ALL.

Even though they are still in the driver's seat, there are a couple teams (Rays, Angels) ready to shove them out the door onto the pavement.

My beloved Sox can't seem to win these days.  The past couple nights they blew leads late in the game.

I can't bear to watch.

Mercifully, they do not play tonight....  At least they can't lose.

Dad 63: A Real Hummer of a Time

(Dad handed me only two pages for today's post.  He's learning!  Ha ha!  The next couple weeks I will get his posts via e-mail, which means I will only have to "copy and paste" into Mainely Tracy.  Someone else will get to do the initial typing.  I will like that!  Enjoy Dad's post!  -- Tracy)

Derf Here!  From the northeast corner of the greatest country on this earth.  The weather today is like a summer beach day.  The sun is brilliant.  The temperature is mid-70's.  It is time to think about our upcoming trip and prepare for it.  Illinois and Indiana... Here we come!

We spent Saturday and Sunday watching football.  Tracy, Spouse and I watched Zack on Saturday play up on the sixth grade team for a win.  He threw a couple players on the ground in his fifth grade game, which they lost.  Sunday afternoon Lew, Tracy, Spouse and I watched Josh's team on the high school turf field.  The turf field was not favorable to Josh's team.  They went down to defeat, but played hard and didn't quit.  Keep it up -- we've got one more weekend of football before leaving for the Midwest.  We'll miss the games while gone.

This past week has been kind of blah for me but not for Josh and a few of his friends.  To celebrate his 13th birthday, Deb & Glen put on the "Dog."  They hired a Hummer limousine for three hours Saturday evening.  Tracy, Lew, Spouse and I stood in our driveway to see them pass by.  However, the driver pulled over and stopped for us to see Josh, his parents and buddies in style as they started their evening.  Off to the Schooner golf course for a round of miniature golf.  Then to the batting cage.  A stop in Old Orchard Beach followed this for pizza and Pier Fries.  A later stop by Bob and Wilma's (Glen's parents) topped of the evening.  Following this evening Josh received several comments from his Facebook friends.  They felt special.

In the coming weeks I'll keep you posted on "Derf."  The posting could possibly be a day late next week as we'll be on the road.  Please follow my postings, as we will bring you family doings from a wedding to football cheering to band competitions.

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

Cat (Dis)Obedience

One day last week -- Friday, I think -- Pepper happened to be up in my bedroom while I was reading on my bed.

She was curled up near my feet for a while, but then she decided to explore a bit.

I was watching her out of the corner of my eye.  When I saw that she was about to jump up onto my ironing board, I said "NO" quite loudly.

(There aren't too many places in the house where Pepper is not allowed to go, but my ironing board is one of them.  I'm not sure why that is, especially since the ironing board doesn't see a whole lot of use....)

After my "NO," Pepper wandered around a bit more.  Then she was going to try again.

"NO!"

More wandering.

This happened a couple more times before Pepper finally decided to show a blatant disregard for my wishes.  I got up off the bed and removed her from the ironing board with a resounding, "NO!!"

After she jumped up on the board for the third time, she started to cower a bit as I approached.  I still gave her a big "NO!!!"

I figured she wouldn't try again.

And she didn't.

So... I won!

I presided over our 10-pound kitty-cat.

(Postscript:  No animals were harmed during this experience.)

Still Trying

About a month ago I wrote a letter to a major automobile company regarding our experience with one of their vehicles.  I even attached a copy of my blog post -- $1,692.59 -- so that they could get a feel for our frustration.

Lew received a form letter about a week ago.  My name appeared nowhere on the response, even though I was the person who had written and signed the letter to which they were replying.  Thank you, "major automobile company," for acknowledging my existence....

Of course, the letter was another "stiff arm" on their part.  But is this the end of the matter?

No way.  My response to their response is ready to go out in tomorrow's mail.

My favorite part of my response follows.  I have made a half-hearted attempt to protect the identity of the major automobile company.

Perhaps you don’t know how to proceed. Here’s my suggestion:

1. Ask someone who knows the mechanics of the vehicle why we had to replace the head at less than 58,000 miles.
2. The “someone who knows” will either have a satisfactory answer as to “why” or they will indicate that a Ford product should not have had this problem so soon.
3. If there is a satisfactory answer as to “why” and you insist that the problem we had with the vehicle should have been expected, then PLEASE EXPLAIN IT TO US. We deserve a straightforward answer.
4. If a Ford product should not have had such a significant problem so early, then please provide the requested financial assistance as indicated below.

I hope that they send the requested $1,692.59 soon.

But please don't worry about me.

I am not holding my breath.

More Football

Josh had a football game at 1:00 today.  The weather was beautiful, so Lew and I decided to go watch him play.  Yes, we are "fair weather" fans when it comes to the weather itself.

Josh's team had a rough day.  They ended up losing, 34 to...  well, let's just say the opposing team would have won with only one point.

Josh is #71 and he played pretty much the whole game.  Despite the loss, it was still fun to watch him.  Please don't ask me what position(s) he played.  Other than the quarterback, I really can't tell which position is which.

One thing that I do understand about football is the scoring, so I must share an interesting exchange that I had with my father during the Chargers-Patriots game today....

The Patriots were ahead 20-14 in the 4th quarter and I said that I'd like to see the Pats score another touchdown -- and go for the two-point conversion.  Dad commented that he didn't think they would go for the two points.

When the Patriots scored their next touchdown, I was over on my side of the house watching the game with Lew.  They went for the two-point conversion!  They got it!!  That gave them a 28-14 lead.

My father told my mother, "Tracy is going to be over here soon."  And I was.  Now why did he think that?  Ha ha!

Still gloating....  :)

The Football Field in My Hand

Lew went on a motorcycle ride with some folks from church this morning, so we didn't do our normal Saturday morning breakfast.  I had planned to sleep in, but then I learned that Zack had a football game.

So at 9:30 a.m. I got into the backseat of my parents' car and we were off to Saco.  Zack was playing in the 6th-grade game first.  He's only allowed to be in 12 plays, and I saw him make a great tackle!  His team won this game, 26-14.  (It was actually more exciting than the final score indicates.  Zack's team got a touchdown on a turnover right toward the end of the game.)

Zack changed into his "00" jersey for his 5th-grade game, and he was ready to go.  Unfortunately his team wasn't all that ready.  They ended up losing 22-8.  It was still fun to watch, though, and I'm glad that I went.  Zack played almost the entire game -- both on offense and on defense.  He's good!

A family friend's little girl was at the game.  Her name is Ella.  Her brother is on Zack's team, but she wasn't all that interested in watching him play.  She and I spent several happy minutes playing with clumps of grass.  Ella would place the grass in my hand and I would blow it off.  She found this quite amusing!  (I love seeing small children enjoy the simple things in life.  We old folks can learn a lot from them.)

I eventually taught Ella how to blow the clumps off of her own hand.  She wanted to hold onto the grass with her fingers, which obviously kept her from achieving "blowing" success at first!  But she did get it.

We had a delightful time.

An Unexpected Discovery

Over three months ago I wrote about how I was going to call my side of the bed The Bedruma Triangle.

I have a set of shelves by my bed, and today I decided to reorganize them.  So, of course, I had to take everything off of the shelves first.

After removing all of the items, I figured I should at least dust the shelves.  I think it had only been three years since I did that last....  Oops.  (My throat is still a little irritated.)

But I did have a happy moment while I was breathing in all that dust.  I found the vitamin that I had lost!  It was stuck half-way back on the bottom shelf.  I wondered what it was at first, but I recognized it immediately once I picked it up.

I wondered if I would come across the lost paper clip as well, but I didn't.  That may require vacuuming under the bed.  Oh, Lew....

Brunch

I ate out with my friend Carmen this morning.

We went to a breakfast place that I had never been to before.  The food was scrumptious!

Regular readers of my blog know how much I like eating.

So here's what I had this morning at the breakfast place that I had never been to before:

• Hot chocolate with whipped cream
• 3-egg omelette filled with Provolone cheese, green peppers, tomato, and mushrooms
• Home fries
• Two pieces of toast (six-grain)
• Orange juice

Oh, my goodness.  When can I go back to the breakfast place that I had never been to before?

Maybe I really do need to learn how to cook!

Dad 62: A Howard Johnson Reunion

(My father is becoming quite the socialite!  And I hope that he's right about the Red Sox.  Enjoy his post!  -- Tracy)

Derf Here!  From the neatly manicured estate in the great northeast state of Maine.  Summer weather is hanging on but the weather prophets tell us that it will feel like fall shortly.  Until then, however, Lew still motorcycles to work every day.  Tracy and Lew are taking advantage of the great evenings to stroll on the much less crowded beach.

Just got a call from sister Deb.  Closing up her cottage today as she returns to Florida (via Pittsburgh and Indianapolis).  Big wedding of Heidi in two weeks (sister Jean's granddaughter).  We'll be there!

Zack (5th grade) played in the 6th grade football game Saturday.  He is allowed 12 plays, I think.  They won.  He sacked the quarterback once.  We made it to his 5th grade game.  This team won also, so he had two wins on Saturday.  Good job, Zack!

Josh was not so lucky Sunday afternoon.  They travelled to Eliot (Marshwood).  The bus broke down which made the game late in starting.  I made it for the kickoff.  A few seconds in and Josh's team was behind (a kickoff run back).  The final score was 28-0.  It could be a long year but all seemed to have fun (players, that is, I'm not sure about the other relatives).  I enjoyed it.  Good luck next week, Josh.  We'll be there.

The Patriots did well in their opener and coach Belichick still saw a lot wrong.  You guys have still got a lot of work to do.  Following the football theme, sympathies go out to the Colts fans as Peyton Manning is unavailable.  Sorry he's not playing as he is one of the best ever to watch.  Pray for a miracle.  Hope this isn't the last of Peyton.

I'm not quite as confident on the World Series championship for the Sox (Red).  I'm still sticking with my prediction, even though they have been in a funk (lost nine of last twelve).  However, Tim Wakefield got his 200th major league win last night on his 8th try.  A great win for a very dedicated man.  I hope he can play and win at least seven more games in his career as that would make him the all-time winner as a Sox.  He would surpass the great Cy Young and Roger Clemens, who each have 192 wins as a Sox pitcher.

Last night Spouse, sister Deb and I attended a reunion of Howard Johnson workers who also attended Gordon College.  Sister Jean also fits both categories but was not in attendance.  There were about 20 in attendance, including Mrs. Patricia Hludik (owner of the restaurant with husband Frank).  Frank passed away about 20 years ago.  The Mrs. is now 92.  Frankie and his spouse attended.  Frankie was the oldest of the Hludik children (John, Billy) and has been an engineering instructor at the University of New Hampshire since 1988.  It was neat to see all former co-workers.  I would venture a guess that most of us had not seen each other for 50-plus years.  Spouse and I last worked there in 1961 (Spouse worked for two seasons and I worked there for seven seasons).  A finer couple to work for could not be found.  We ended the evening at Frankie's home in Ogunquit socializing.  Even I socialized!  We all enjoyed the evening.  A little nostalgia (or perhaps a lot).

Preparing for another call from sister Deb as I'll go to the cottage to complete closing up the summer mansion.  Deb will spend the night here until 3:00 a.m.  Then she's off to Pittsburgh!

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!


Mrs. Hludik; sister Deb



Mrs. Hludik; Derf; "Spouse"

Birds on the Beach

The past couple days have been lovely here.  Lew and I took a walk on the beach last night.  We enjoyed it so much, we went again tonight.

The birds that we see on the beach are very entertaining.  I especially like the "piping plovers."  I do not know much about birds, so our identification of them as "piping plovers" is based solely on the chart that is posted at the beach.

Piping plovers are very small and they move very quickly along the ground.  How fast?  If you dangle your hand loosely by your side and move your fingers as fast as you can.... Well, piping plovers are faster than that.  They are funny to watch.

I like to chase them.  Lew wonders if I am breaking some environmental law when I do that.  Please know that I have not harmed any piping plovers.

When one piping plover decides to fly, the whole flock tends to take off.  They look more like a "swarm" than a flock!  They land again pretty quickly, looking for food I guess.

The other birds that we see a lot on the beach are seagulls, of course.  Tonight a seagull landed near us and started making all kinds of noise.  I said, "Sorry that I have no pizza for you to steal!"  But then another smaller, slightly-duller-colored seagull landed near him.  They looked like they got along pretty well.   Ohhhhhh......

We did see another noisy seagull later on our walk.  I told him, "I hope you get the girl!"  And sure enough, another birdie flew in to join him.

And that is all I have to say about the birds on the beach.

Technical Difficulties

Dear Readers of Mainely Tracy:

Due to circumstances beyond her control, Tracy is finding it difficult to get her blog done today.

Plus I am waiting for her to give me my "nite-nite" goodies, so get on with it already.

Nite-nite.

From,
Pepper the Cat

(Postscript:  Meow!)

Ten Years Ago Today

I learned about the first plane while getting out of my car in the parking lot at work.  I had just started my job the week before, and I didn't know the man who shared this news with me.  (I think he worked for the business that was upstairs from us.)

When I walked into our office, I told Pam (our office manager) what I had just heard.  She turned her radio on so that she could get more news.  At that point we thought it was just a tragic accident.

I went to my own desk to get to work.  Shortly after that Pam told me about the second plane.  Not an accident.

Our other three co-workers arrived.

My office neighbor, John, kept us up-to-date after that with the news of the Pentagon, the decision to ground all the planes, and the plane going down in Pennsylvania.  We heard about the towers falling.

All of the news that we got was via radio, as the Internet traffic that day was too clogged up.

Lew called me at one point to make sure that I was aware of what was happening.  My mother wanted to call me, but she didn't have my new work phone number yet.

When I got home that evening, I watched some of the TV coverage with Lew.  Stunned was (and is) an understatement.

Our country lost some amazing people that day.  I pray for their loved ones on this 10th anniversary.

I Scared My Husband

For some reason, I have started to clean my house.

Cleaning house is usually not a priority for me.  I have a very high tolerance for dirt and dust -- especially if it's my dirt and dust!

But I don't like clutter.  And I guess that's the reason I've started to clean.

Not that my house is all that cluttered.  But sometimes a few areas do get out of hand, so it's time to deal with those problem areas.

I started yesterday with the buffet in our dining room.  I did the top only.  It looks really nice now.

I didn't really tackle anything today.  I just thought about it a lot.

I told Lew that I wanted to change some things around in the house.  He was slightly alarmed until I told him that it would not require any involvement on his part.

I asked him if I have complete creative control, and he responded appropriately with a "yes" answer.

I don't expect my house cleaning project to go very quickly.  Creativity does take time, you know.

Mark Schultz at OOB

Just got home from seeing Mark Schultz in concert down at the Seaside Pavilion in Old Orchard Beach.

Lew had received four tickets from a fellow at work.  My father, Aunt Debbie, Lew and I went.  None of us had ever heard of Mark Schultz before.

I recognized two of the songs, but that was it.  Dad recognized one.  I don't think that Lew or my aunt recognized any.

Our ignorance is interesting (well, remotely interesting) because Mark Schultz is well-known in the contemporary Christian music scene.  (In fact, tonight's concert was sold out!)  We are more familiar with southern gospel music.

Lew and I saw quite a few people there that we knew.  I was chatting with one of our good friends from church, and he was surprised I had never heard of Mark Schultz.  I asked him if he had ever heard of Ernie Haase & Signature Sound.  He hadn't.  And I felt a little better!

So, we got ourselves an education tonight. We're glad we went.

(Postscript:  I need to give a shout out to my nephew Joshua.  He became a teenager today.  Happy Birthday, Josh!)

Mom's Old Stomping Ground

Dad just came over to tell us that the residents of two Maryland towns -- Havre de Grace and Port Deposit -- have been told to evacuate.  The Susquehanna River is continuing to rise, and it is threatening to flood over.

We live in Maine, not Maryland, so why is this of interest to us?

Because my mother grew up in Port Deposit!

I just looked up the story on the Fox News Channel website (foxnews.com).  The article says the population of Port Deposit is about 1,000.

Yes, that's one thousand.

My mother is from a very small town indeed.

Let's hope and pray that it's still there after Tropical Storm Lee gets done with it.

Dad 61: Prison, Moody's Diner, & "White Christmas"

(I do not agree with Dad's evaluation of my dessert.  But enjoy his post anyway!  -- Tracy)

Derf Here!  From the northeast corner of the USA.  A soggy day in Scarborough town could be the call of the day.  Traffic is down (after Labor Day) and Lew arrived home last night saying:  "There is no traffic."  That means winter is on its way.  However, we do have a few weeks left for the leaf peepers.  A beautiful season, indeed!

As mentioned in "Mainely Tracy" last Wednesday, Tracy, Lew and I spent some time in prison last week.  It was a great place to visit, but I don't want to live there.  Sister Jean's son, Robert, is in charge of the industrial program at the prison.  They have 150-180 inmates working in the shop and retail store.  Their products are quite nice.  The workers have the tools and machinery needed to perform all tasks from manufacturing to finishing the products (paintings, wood products, upholstery, etc.).  It was an interesting visit which impressed us.

After the shop visit we went to the retail store a few miles away.  The products were amazing and the workmanship was excellent.  Mementos were purchased to be displayed around our homes.

Anyone who has travelled through the Brunswick to Camden area on Route #1 is familiar with Moody's Diner.  Started in the 1930's, it is a "must stop" every now and then to enjoy the cuisine.  We chose this day to drop in the Diner as we were all very hungry.  Lew had a turkey club sandwich.  The turkey was real turkey and Lew kept saying:  "This is a real turkey club."  Tracy had some sort of a roll-up which she said was very good.  I had the usual burger and fries.  I wanted meatloaf but I missed the special by a day.  Of course we had dessert.  Lew had blueberry pie with ice cream.  Tracy had strawberry rhubarb pie (Yuk!).  I had chocolate cream pie with a very large scoop of chocolate ice cream.  I never had a scoop of ice cream on chocolate cream pie before.  Let me tell you the combination was fantastic.  We didn't eat for the remainder of the day.  A great day was had by all!

Football season is upon us and Josh played at Massabesic.  As I entered the gate and threw down my two-dollar payment, the young lady taking money looked at me kind of like "I know you."  Well, she asked, "Are you Mr. Gowen?"  I responded yes.  She was a former student of mine at Massabesic High School.  She mentioned her name and introduced me to her friend as her former principal.  Then she asked, "Have you sung 'White Christmas' lately?"  I told her not since I left school twenty years ago.  You see, I used to sing "White Christmas" at the Christmas assembly with the band just before dismissing the students for their vacation.  As I was driving home I then recalled why she asked me that question.  I realized that she was a trumpet player in the band.  (Daughter Deb wondered who gave me a hug as I entered the game.)

The game didn't go too well as Josh's eighth-grade team was down 34-0 at halftime.  With the blessing of the opposing coach and team, Josh's team scored 14 points to have a respectable-sounding final score of 34-14.

We'll get a chance to see both Zack and Josh play this weekend.  Looking forward to the games!

Getting ready for our trip to Illinois and attending Heidi's wedding in Indy.  It will be here before we know it.  Probably before Peyton is back on the field.  The last sentence is for Kathy.  Hope he's back soon!

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

Me and My Shadow

I broke the news to Lew when we reached the turn-around spot on our beach walk yesterday:  "I have to pee!"

We had a mile and a half walk before we would reach a restroom.  So I made my announcement and picked up the pace.

I soon had a fairly large lead over my husband.

After walking about half-way back, I saw a mother and her little girl playing in the water.  I'm guessing the child was about three years old.  As I neared them, the little girl began running away from the water.  She looked intent on something.  Probably going to get a beach pail or a plastic shovel.

We reached the same point on the beach at about the same time.  And I quickly learned what the little girl was after . . . .

ME!

I was walking pretty quickly, and I think she found it fun to run behind me.  I turned around to make sure her mother was coming to get her.  She was -- although not as quickly as I hoped.  I had to stop.  I told the little girl that it was "fun to run with her" but now it was time to "go back to Mommy."

That sweet little girl smiled at me the whole time.  I pointed toward her mother, and she turned around and headed in that direction.

And I returned to my mission.

Until I heard tiny footsteps behind me.

Yep!  She was back!  Fortunately her mother was running after her this time.  I asked if I looked like someone the little girl knows.  Her mother laughed, but had no idea.  After I told them to enjoy the rest of their time on the beach, we finally parted ways.

I had lost valuable time.

But fortunately, this is a story in which everything comes out okay.  (Ha ha!  Get it?)

(Postscript:  Lew saw the entire episode with the little girl and her mother.  He figured they must have been friends of mine!)

Not the Last "Hurrah"

Lew made pancakes for breakfast, and then we went for a walk on the beach.

I took the following photo.  It's a little dark because of the yellow ball at the top!


Top to Bottom:  the Sun, the Sky, some clouds,
and a very tiny glimpse of the Atlantic Ocean


Lew took this next one.


The Atlantic Ocean.
(But not ALL of it!)


Lew lamented that this could be his last beach walk for the season.  But I say, "No!"  Plenty more....

Sittin' On the Steps of the Church

We had a cookout after church today.

I went through the food line with my friend Trista, and we ended up dining on the front steps of the church building.  Lew joined us after he had gotten his food.  Trista's husband was on kid duty somewhere else in the parking lot.

Lots of cars honked at us as they drove by.  The church is located on U.S. Route 1, after all!

It really was a lovely day for a cookout, and it was nice that so many of our church family stayed for it.

When Lew and I got home, we lost no time in getting down to the beach for a walk.  The tide was coming in, so we didn't have much time to spare.

There were a lot of people at the beach.

A lot of people . . . .

The last "hurrah" of summer, I guess.

And we are now down to only one more day of "vacation mode."  Say it isn't so!

Fine Dining & Entertainment

Vacation mode continues!

Lew and I went to my friend Ellen's house for a delicious dinner of burgers, pasta salad, fruit salad, corn on the cob, and apple crisp.  Also in attendance were Ellen's husband (Paul), their daughter (Laura), my friend Anne-Marie, and Anne-Marie's husband (Peter).

After eating, we played two really fun games -- both of which were new to me:

• Apples to Apples
• Pass the Card

I will have to devote a future blog post on how to play Pass the Card. The rules aren't too extensive.  And it's very easy to play -- the fact that I won proves it!

Vacation: Officially Over

Today was Lew's last vacation day for 2011.  He always has the weekends off and Monday is Labor Day, so he doesn't have to go back to work until Tuesday.  We are still in vacation mode!

The day started with Lew's buddy Steve bringing bagels.  We sat out on the deck and enjoyed the beautiful morning.

After doing a few errands, Lew met his buddy Dick for a nine-hole round of golf.  I did laundry and some reading while he was gone.

Hamburgers for dinner.  Yum!

We were watching the Red Sox game just now, but they are already behind 5-0.  So Lew is watching the latest episode of "American Chopper" while I work on my laptop.  Maybe we'll go back to the Sox.  But maybe not!  We don't consider ourselves "fair weather fans," but it's painful for us to watch them lose.  (The good thing is that the NESN HD channel is working again.  It had been out for a few days after Irene.  NESN is the cable station co-owned by the Red Sox and the Bruins.)

Now that vacation is almost over, I suppose that I will soon have to abandon my summer mindset.  But maybe not!

Dad 60: Missy's Wedding

(Thanks for waiting an extra day for Dad's post.  Your patience is appreciated.  Enjoy!  -- Tracy)

Derf Here!  A day late and a dollar short!  From the IRENE-ravished Northeast!

Fortunately we had almost no problems from the hurricane.  We had only two blips of power outages.  About a fraction of a second each.  Even the tidewaters did not flood our road, which is not uncommon during severe rainstorms.  There were at least two trees down on our road.  One tree damaged a house steeple (formerly a church) and also landed on an automobile.  Upstate at Surgarloaf Ski Area bridges are washed out and to get to the area a makeshift rope (clothesline-like) was hooked up.  Bridges (temporary) will be back Tuesday.  Power is supposed to be on everywhere by tomorrow.  We were, once again, fortunate.  Vermont was destroyed in many, many places.  Mother Nature is a dangerous, vicious, angry lady at times!!

Last Saturday sister Deb and I travelled to Camden (Mt. Battie) for the wedding of nephew Robert and Carrie's daughter, Missy (Melissa).  We couldn't see too far from the mountaintop as the cloud (fog) cover never lifted.  We (Deb and I) didn't recognize many of the guests but met up again with Robert's long-time friend Roman.

Shortly after the wedding ceremony we went to a local hall for a reception.  And then it happened!  Robert and Carrie had arranged for a cook to manage the grill but he was not available.  Robert started grilling and I was quickly reminded of a grilling incident at home about one year ago.  At times Robert vanished from view as the smoke was so thick.  I called 911 to tell them not to respond to any forest fire sightings in the area.  When the smoke cleared the fire shot up almost to the ceiling on the building.  Roman and I stood there watching the "Master Chef" at work.



"Master Chef" Robert



Derf and Roman overseeing Robert's cooking

The real cook did finally show up.  I must admit all burgers and dogs were consumed and I heard no complaints.  It was an enjoyable day and we were especially fascinated watching Carrie making sure everything happened as planned.  A very busy lady!

Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Robert Soiett (Bob and Missy).

To Robert and Carrie, a job well done.  I'm sure Robert appreciated Roman being around to help.  We enjoyed our visit with Robert and Carrie while attending the wedding.  It was good to see Roman again.

Next time I'll catch you up on our visit with Robert to his wood shop.  Tracy mentioned this yesterday.  I'll add a little more next week.  Some will be true -- some stretched a little.

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!