Posted tagged ‘Red Sox’
February 21, 2014
Today is the warmest day in weeks, but it’s still damp and dark from the earlier morning rain. The snow is ugly and pocked with holes from the raindrops. Some lawns are visible again as the snow is disappearing. Usually today is a stay under the covers and read sort of day, but I have to go out and pick up a few things. Gracie will be my co-pilot.
The laundry basket is sitting in the hall. I’m thinking it can sit a while longer. Books and CDs are stacked on the carpet in the living room. They came from under the leak or rather from under the former leak. I cleaned all the books and dusted everything else. They’ll stay there in the living room until the ceiling is painted. It’s an old popcorn ceiling so it just needs to be sprayed where the water marks are. My toilet no longer runs so no jiggle of the handle is necessary. My plumber told me where to put the rock he had used to fix the toilet the last time. No plumbing leak and no toilet running-it’s a wonderful world.
In the morning when I wake up I have to figure which day of the week it is. This time of year the days all run together, nothing distinguishing one from the other. I don’t even have a dance card. I seem to be living in a cocoon. I’m back to an upstairs and a downstairs book. The Redbreast is upstairs and Doctor Sleep is down. Neither one is cheery but both of them are good reads.
Despite the weather, the occasional leaks, the dirty laundry, the empty dance card and the dusty books, I am still hopeful. Spring is coming. Red Sox news is back on the sports pages. That makes me glad.
Categories: Musings
Tags: cocooning, dark and rainy, Doctor Sleep, Dusting, dusty books, empty dance card, errands, plumbing problems, Red Sox, spring, The Redbreast, toilet running
Comments: 24 Comments
January 31, 2014
The day isn’t pretty, but it’s warmer than it has been so I’ll take it. Icicles are dripping and falling off the eaves. Gracie barks at the sound of them falling thinking we have an intruder. The snow is melting off the roof to the deck and sounds like rain. Miss Gracie has been in and out all morning, another sign of a warmer day. Her paw prints cover the kitchen’s tile floor. Maddie the cat, on the other hand, sits with her head inside the lamp shade close to the bulb. I’m thinking it is her way of fighting seasonal affective disorder. The light isn’t needed for reading any more but I’m leaving it on for Maddie.
I am bored with winter. I am sick of staying inside and tired of being cold. I want the snow gone. I want spring. This weariness, this languor, isn’t unexpected. It happens the same time every winter, at the beginning of February, two weeks from pitchers and catchers and three weeks from position players reporting for spring training. My mind gets filled with images and sounds. I can see the grassy, plush outfields and hear the crack of the bat hitting the ball. I think about watching the ball arc and sail over the wall followed by shouts and cheers. I can’t wait for baseball to start. I check the sports pages every day for even the smallest tidbit about the Sox. Forget the Celtics, easy to do this year, and the Bruins. Bring on my Red Sox.
My sister gave me a Red Sox sweatshirt for Christmas. I now have three: a blue World Series 2007, a green one with Red Sox across the front and now the new red one with Boston emblazoned on it for all to see. No one will doubt my allegiance.
I’m more than ready to hear Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to Fenway Park.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Baseball, grey sky, icicles, melting snow, paw prints, Red Sox, Red Sox sweatshirts, spring training, tired of cold, tired of winter, warmer
Comments: 14 Comments
October 31, 2013
It happened: my Red Sox won the World Series last night in splendid fashion. They led the whole game. I, however, still had clenched teeth until that last out at the top of the ninth. I was so excited I stayed up until after two and watched all the festivities. How could I not? It was spectacular.
The morning was sunny, lovely and warm but since then the sun has been replaced by clouds, and the day is getting darker. I don’t mind. Halloween should be dark and even a bit scary.
I can remember the Halloween excitement from the moment I woke up and remembered what day it was. Having to sit in school for so long was pure torture. At lunch and recess all we talked about was what we were going as. It was never what we were wearing. It was always what we were going as. We were, for one night, witches or ghosts or pirates. I can remember hounding my mother to let us start trick or treating as soon as it got dark. She always said it was too early. We’d look out the picture window hoping to see a trick or treater, a sign it was finally time. Some years my brother and I would go together. We were adventurous spirits who would roam all over town. I can still see in my mind’s eye the sidewalk covered with yellow leaves and here and there bright circles of light from the street lamps. The houses always had their porch lights on as invitations for us to stop. Those were the days of small trick or treat bags filled with individual candies. The lady, never a man, would come to the door, open it a bit and give us a bag from the pile on the table beside the door. If it was a neighbor, she’d try to guess who we were. It was never really very difficult, but the best neighbors always pretended it was. We’d finish the neighborhood then branch out to streets around where we lived then we’d even go further afield. I remember a house where we once got an apple, never a favorite treat, but it had a nickel pushed into the skin as the real surprise. Sometimes the candy bags had a penny or two, and back then pennies still had great value. As the night wore on, we’d see fewer and fewer trick or treaters and fewer lit houses. We knew then it was time to head home.
The haul was always important, but the best part of Halloween was being out at night when the shadows of bare branches looked like hands reaching out to grab us and when we’d hear footsteps behind us and be a little afraid to look. We sometimes scared each other, and I remember laughing while my heart raced just a bit from the fright.
We always walked home slowly making the night last as long as we could.
Categories: Musings
Tags: costumes, darkening day, getting dark, going as, Halloween, house lights, porch lights, racing hearts, Red Sox, scaring each other, school torture, trick or treat bags, Trick-or-treating, yellow leaves
Comments: 19 Comments
October 29, 2013
The day is sunny then cloudy then back again. A tiny breeze ruffles the dead leaves. Only the drab gold finches are at the bird feeders. I don’t know where my other stalwarts are. It’s a quiet day. I brought my laundry downstairs, the first step in a long process. In the early afternoon, I have to go to the big city, Hyannis, for an appointment. I’ll make a few stops while I’m there including Trader Joe’s. That place is an occasion of sin, a term the nuns used for temptation.
I feel sleep deprived. The Sox games have ended late then I’m too stoked to sleep so I watch some TV and go on-line. Usually it is around 2:30 before I realize the time. The Sox won last night and are headed back to Boston for game 6 tomorrow night. If the Gods of Baseball smile in our favor, the Sox could clinch the series.
I couldn’t do the cryptogram this morning. My brain just isn’t working. I gave up after a couple of minutes. Usually I am far too tenacious to give up at all but my brain seems sluggish. I don’t even have much to say here today. I haven’t been out so no comments are forthcoming on the state of the world here on Cape Cod though I did read in the paper the local school board continues to fight with the town over solar panels, on the ground panels. The school committee and the superintendent got turned down once because the town committee said the panels are dangerous so the school board tried an end run though the state but got stopped just before approval because of a complaint by an abutter. I don’t get it. The panels will save a good deal of money over time, and the town of Yarmouth where the panels would be placed always complains about paying its portion of the school budget so you’d think the money would be an incentive to approve the panels, but no, not in Yarmouth.
What’s with November coming so soon? Last time I looked it was August, and we were complaining about the heat then September must have sneaked by and now October is almost at an end. I’m not going to blink because next thing I know I’ll be wrapping presents and going out and about to find my Christmas tree.
Categories: Musings
Tags: game 6, Gods of Baseball, gold finches, Hyannis, inane town committee, November, Red Sox, sleep deprived, solar panels, speedy fall, sunny then cloudy, Yarmough
Comments: 16 Comments
October 28, 2013
Today is another lovely fall day with lots of sunshine and a pale blue sky. It got cold last night and was 38˚ by the time I went to bed around 2 am. I watched the Red Sox-Cardinals game which didn’t end until late, and when that happens, I am seldom tired enough for bed. The ending of that game was another strange one: a pick-off at first. Who is foolish enough to get picked off at the bottom of the ninth with two outs, your team losing, but Beltrane at bat? Why a rookie, of course, is the answer. The series is now tied 2-2 with a game tonight in St. Louis then a return to Boston. This series is killing me with its late nights, close games and weird calls.
This morning I stood by the window while the coffee was brewing. I watched dead leaves fall off the big oak tree onto the deck. It was sort of sad in a way. Those leaves had hidden my deck from the neighbors all summer. When I was sitting there, I felt as if I were in a tree house surrounded by green leaves and full boughs. Now I can see almost all the way down to the end of the street from my deck. My friend Clare will soon enough be able to see my den window and know when I’m still awake late at night. The light shines brightly.
When I was in the seventh and eighth grade, I played CYO basketball. That was in the days of weird girls’ basketball rules. I was a guard, and I could only stay on one half of the court. I could bounce the basketball three times but then I had to pass it. Only the forwards could score. I had one trick in my arsenal, and that was I could throw the ball full court. One forward would stay by our basket hoping not to be noticed, and when I got the ball, it went to her and she always scored. That was usually good for a few baskets before the other team guarded her and kept her from the basket. Our coach was a former marine, a former female marine, and she was tough. She didn’t have a warm, fuzzy bone in her body. Every instruction sounded like a command, and we obeyed. In practice, she had a mean whistle which she’d blow then she’d point at the offender. My greatest wish was always that she was pointing at someone else. She made us wear high top sneakers which only came in black back then. I remember there was a circle on the outside of each sneaker and inside the circle was the word Converse. We were always the only team with high tops. All the others had white sneakers, girly white sneakers with pointed toes. We didn’t really care when playing basketball, but we never wore those sneakers anywhere else. They were, after all, boys’ sneakers.
Many, many years later colorful high top sneakers with Converse in the circle on the side became a rage. I bought a pair in bright pink and another pair in purple. Those sneakers had stopped being boys’ sneakers. They had become an element of style. When I organized my closet a while back, I found those sneakers, both pairs. I still think they are really cool. I’m partial to the pink.
Categories: Musings
Tags: bare trees, basketball coach, colorful high tops, crazy girls' basketball rules., CYO basketball, falling leaves, female marine, high tops, lovely fall day, pick-off at first base, pink sneakers, purple sneakers, Red Sox, stylish high tops
Comments: 19 Comments
October 25, 2013
My Red Sox lost last night done in by their own errors just as St. Louis had been in the first game. The next game isn’t until tomorrow, in St. Louis. Peavy is pitching for the Sox which makes me a bit nervous. His last outing was horrific.
The house was cold when I woke up this morning so I turned on the heat. Now it is nice and cozy. Last night must have been chilly as Fern and Gracie were huddled beside me on the down comforter. Maddie was asleep in the guest room, her favorite spot. Now all three animals are having their morning naps. Such a life each of them lives!
When I was young, all my every day shoes had laces while my dress-up shoes had buckles. In high school, the school uniform included black loafers, no dimes. I liked loafers, and when I was much older, I had a couple of pairs. One was black and the other cordovan. They were always stiff at first then they’d get really loose the more they were worn. By the time they had fulfilled their usefulness, they were as loose as slippers. My school loafers periodically needed new heels and soles so my dad would bring them to the cobbler in the square. In the meantime, I’d wear old loafers saved for such shoe repair emergencies. My dad would polish them for me. He used Kiwi polish, and the first thing he did was spit in the can to moisten the hard, dry polish. He always used the same rag to polish the shoes, and it was covered in brown and black stains. After the shoes were polished, they were left to dry, in pairs, then my dad would brush them so much they shined almost like new. His shoe polishing supplies were in the drawer to the left of the sink. Sometimes when I’d go to visit, he’d have me get his supplies so he could polish my shoes. I always loved that. It was a wonderful Dad thing. After he was finished, there was a little ritual. He’d hold up my shoes and ask me if they didn’t look like new. I always said they did, and I didn’t lie.
Categories: Musings
Tags: canned shoes polish, chilly night, cobbler, cold morning, cordovan, errors, loafers, naps, Red Sox, shiny shoes, shoe brush, shoe rag, shoes tie shoes
Comments: 8 Comments
October 24, 2013
When someone is given the choice between good news or bad news first, it always boggles my mine they choose the good news first. I wonder why they want to be left with the bad news circling in their heads. As for me, give me the bad news first. Here we go: Grace got turned down yet again. The reason given was she didn’t qualify whatever the heck that means. She has money, land, letters of recommendation and family. I just don’t get it. Grace didn’t ask why so I told her she needed to find out from the embassy so we can correct the problem for the next time. Grace is at the, “It was God’s will,” stage, always a bad sign. She has decided to spend the winter making more money then try again next summer. She hopes I will save enough money to return to Ghana one more time and accompany her to the embassy. I will be a bit more forceful.
The good news is plentiful. The Sox won the first game of the series last night. The Cardinals made some errors which led to the Sox scoring runs. Two things about the game stand out in my memory. The first is a call made by the second base umpire which was overturned. I don’t remember that happening before. The replay showed the ump had blown the call, and overturning it was the right thing to do. Pedroia, the player involved, scored a run a bit later. The second stand-out play was an infield fly ball. It appeared as if the pitcher had called for it so the catcher just stood there. The ball fell between them for a base hit. Even the pitcher had to smile at that one. The second game is tonight. I still have my fingers crossed.
Yesterday I was on the road doing errand after errand. No longer am I a housebound sloth. I got to cross five errands off my list. I was jubilant at my industry. Each week I keep track of my mileage, not for any reason like how many miles to the gallon but rather from curiosity. When I got into the car yesterday I checked mileage and since Sunday I had gone .1 miles.
Yesterday it rained most of the afternoon. Last night was cold, not a frost but still cold. Today is a lovely day. The sun is shining. The morning air has that fall crispness and smells sweet. I have to fill the feeders as all of them are empty. Luckily one of my stops yesterday was to buy suet, sunflower and thistle seeds.
My Halloween treats have all been bought. For the younger kids, to whom I don’t give candy, I have wind-up mummies and bubbles. The tops of the bubble bottles are either a ghost, a witch, Frankenstein or the mummy. When I visited my sister last week, I went by what used to be the red house where two old ladies lived. The house is now a bland beige color and is a real estate office. That red house will forever live in my memory because the two old ladies always gave nickel bars of candy, usually Hershey bars, for Halloween. That memory inspired me, and this year I bought regular size Hershey Bars for the older kids. I haven’t done that in years. I usually give out what are called fun size bars, but they really aren’t all that much fun if you’re a kid. They’re just small candy bars, and no kid is ever taken in by the word fun.
This year my candy is a tribute to those two old ladies in the red house.
Categories: Musings
Tags: American Embassy Ghana, cold night, crisp air, errands and more errands, good news-bad news, Halloween treats, Hershey Bars, lovely day, mileage, no visa, Red Sox, regular size candy bars, Ridiculous State Department rules, sketchy regulations, World Series
Comments: 15 Comments
October 20, 2013
We’re going to the World Series! We’re going to the World Series! Shane Victorino hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 7th which put the Sox ahead 5-2, and that’s all they needed. Shane was amazing running the bases. He was like a little kid on Christmas morning who got the present he really wanted. My friends and I were in touch by phone, and Rod, my brother-in-law, and I were iPad buddies. Now we wait until Wednesday for the first of the Series.
I was awakened early this morning. Okay, at eight, which I know isn’t really all that early, but I went to bed late. The Sox game didn’t end until 11:30 or so, and I was too pumped for bed so I stayed up until close to 2:30. Well, anyway, what woke me up was Fern being sick. She started on the down comforter, which I didn’t hear, then she turned to the floor from the bed. That’s what I heard. The bed is high. She continued in the hall. I dragged myself out of bed and cleaned up the mess. That started laundry day. I folded the clothes which had been sitting in the dryer for a week then washed the down comforter. It’s now in the dryer with a few tennis balls to fluff the down. I can hear the banging noise up here. I had no excuse so I started the rest of the laundry. I already hate today.
There is, however, a redeeming factor about the day. Syfy is showing movies about creatures gone amok. Right now flesh-eating locusts are meeting their doom; however, they did manage to dine al-fresco at a carnival. It was a tough time to be on a ride. Next up is the movie Bats: Human Harvest. I doubt you need any clarification about the plot. Genetically enhanced wasps will be a bit later. That one makes me wonder. I can’t imagine the value of wasps being genetically enhanced.
The day is sunny and bright with a blue sky. It’s still pretty warm, but that will change by Wednesday when the temperatures will drop possibly as low as the 30’s. It will time to turn on the heat.
Categories: Musings
Tags: down comforter, early rising, Fern, flesh-eating locusts and bats, grand slam, Laundry, lovely day, Red Sox, syfy insects, throwing up cat, warm, wasps, World Series
Comments: 25 Comments
October 14, 2013
Today is a click your heels in the air day for local sports. The Patriots won their game in the last few seconds, and the Sox came from a five run deficit to win 6-5 at the bottom of the ninth. It was late, around 11:30, when the winning run crossed the plate, and I wanted to celebrate so I called my friend. He had stopped watching when the Sox were losing 5-0 and had gone bed. I woke him up with my call. I think he was sorry for giving up on the Sox. I then called Colorado, and they celebrated with me. It was David Ortiz who had hit a grand slam in dramatic fashion to tie the game. I jumped up from the couch, clapped my hands and cheered. Fenway went wild and David had to take a curtain call. Saltalamacchia’s single was the walk-off winning hit. I love October baseball when anything can happen.
The Sox left this morning for Detroit. The next game is tomorrow afternoon. Go Sox!!
My sister was born on the real Columbus Day, not the excuse of a long weekend Monday. When she was young, she thought we got the day off from school because it was her birthday. Everybody celebrated Sheila’s birthday!
Gracie has been outside all morning. The day is cool with lots of sun so she’s enjoying the yard. My house was only 61˚ when I woke up so I delayed my shower and turned on the heat. I see no reason to be cold.
I loved the sounds of the radiators in the house where I grew up. One was on the wall opposite the foot of my bed. I could hear the hiss of the steam when the heat was radiating, and I could hear the water moving through the pipes. On a really cold day, I’d get home from school and sit with my back to the radiator for as long as I could stand the heat. Some days I’d put my hands on the top of it so I could feel my fingers again. The radiator served as a dryer. We’d put our mittens on the top, and they’d steam as they dried. My wet shoes went underneath and they usually curled from the heat. It was fun walking in them the first time after the radiator treatment. It was always sort of comforting to fall asleep to the familiar sounds of the radiator.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Columbus Day birthday, comforting hiss, cool sunny day, David Ortoz, grand slam, hissing steam, October baseball, Patriots, radiatiors, Red Sox, walk-off win, wet mittens
Comments: 20 Comments
October 12, 2013
The day is cloudy and fall cool. Later, I am going to put the storm door on the front. I hate to admit it, but the time has come. The days are only in the 60’s at best and the nights are even cooler. I put the comforter on my bed last night because I’ve been leaving the window open. The night air is sweet and still has a few summer sounds so I’ll enjoy it as long as I can.
The ALCS begins tonight. Our heroes play the kitties from Detroit. I get a chuckle out of some of the players on that team. Having an infielder named Fielder seems a bit much, especially a fielder of such girth. I always want to tell him to tuck in his shirt; slovenly is not fashionable even on the baseball field. What amazes me is that these two teams have never faced each other in a playoff but have played almost 2000 games against each other since the beginning of time. Fenway Park, voted the best park in baseball, was opened the same day and year as the Tiger’s park, now torn down. No sense of history in Detroit I suppose. I checked all the predictions and many favor the Kitties in a long series; the Sox are favored for a short series. That’s just the incentive the Sox need. Those bearded wonders love to beat the odds. After all, they came from last to first. Okay, I’ll admit Mr. V is the best pitcher, but the Sox got to him once and maybe are set to do it again. I wouldn’t bet against them. I suggest the Kitties adopt It’s Crying Time Again as their theme song. Go Red Sox!
My sister and I went to an Indian restaurant yesterday in Stoneham, where she still lives and where I grew up. The restaurant is at the site of what was The Children’s Corner. My sister’s memory of that is a bit hazy. She thought the store was in a different part of the square. Our table faced the street so I gave her a run-down of what used to be in the square. She was a bit amazed about the small restaurant, longer than it was wide, and the Spa with its lime rickeys, neither of which exist any more. She remembered Finnegan’s, a men’s store. Members of the same family were also morticians but out of the square, near all the churches. Later she went hunting on-line for a picture of the square and found one with the Children’s Corner and the old police booth. That was my up-town a long, long time ago.
Categories: Musings
Tags: ALCS, Baseball, Children's Corner, cool weather, Detroit, Indian food, Red Sox, Stoneham Square, storm doors
Comments: 48 Comments
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