Notes From A Reunion

I have been AWOL for a couple of days because I have been preparing for, attending, and recovering from The Father's family reunion. Seeing as this event was just yesterday, I'm far from recovered.

Way back in March, we got an invite from my cousin B to attend the reunion. I mentioned it to K and told him he could make the decision--I told him I would attend and enjoy myself, but if we didn't go, I wouldn't cry about it. He wanted to go, so that was that. (As he has told numerous people, HE gets along better with my family than I do.) I did get a bit excited about things, as I was told that people from a branch of the family that I never knew existed, would be there. I looked at it as an opportunity to make a REAL and GOOD impression on family members. ;)

So, my impressions of the day:

--The long-lost branch of the family turned out to be about 5 people. And they REALLY didn't seem like they wanted to be there. I'm not sure where the problem was--if it was them or the rest of the bunch--but they sat off to themselves and didn't even try to mingle. One of them was a girl of about 12--at least I THOUGHT she was twelve until I saw her smoking (which I was going to slap out of her hand because I THOUGHT she was twelve). She sat looking like someone had stuck a poker up her ass and she couldn't remove it. Also, she had a little girl who was SUCH a brat that even the strongest advocate for no corporal punishment of kids would have wanted to slap her silly. So, that branch of the family turned out to be a bust.

--About half of the people there were my cousin B's kids, her siblings and their kids, and their grandchildren. So, it was really mostly HER family reunion--and the rest of us were invited. (They all live near each other, so it isn't as if they need a reunion--they get together VERY often.)

--I found myself looking at several people--some that I went to school with--and thinking how old they were looking. Then it occurred to me, "I must look horribly old, too, as we ARE around the same age!" Kind of frightening! :)

--I got to talk a bit of hockey with several people. One of my shirt-tail relatives--didn't even know we were related when we were in high school--has a nephew-in-law that plays for Colorado. As soon as he mentioned that, I KNEW who he was talking about--THAT scared me and HIM, too. :) I know WAY too much about the NHL. (I didn't mention to him how much I DON'T like his nephew-in-law's aggressiveness on the ice. I thought it best to keep that to myself.)

--Mostly, there were the same-old, same-old faces that I was expecting to see. I got to talk a little to two of my cousins that I have very little contact with, but that was all. The rest I really don't care enough about to make the effort. The Father's youngest brother and all of his family didn't show up, so that kept the crowd quite a bit smaller than it could have been. THEY would have been interesting to see.

--At one point, one of my girls asked The Mother where The Brother was. (He didn't attend--his wife did, but she pretended I didn't exist, as usual.) The Mother answered, very quietly. I asked her to repeat what she said, and she got a little nervous and said, "Oh, R isn't here today." I guess he must have been acting like his usual jack-assy self--as usual. At least I didn't have to try to avoid him all afternoon.

For the most part, the day was fine. It isn't something I really want to repeat any time soon, but it didn't suck eggs as much as it could have. But, I will end this with one more story--one that will illustrate the kind of people who are my family. AND will show why I don't have much to do with them.

I have gained quite a bit of weight over the years. I don't pretend that I haven't, so I usually try to make some sort of joke whenever I see someone after a few years. That way, they don't have to talk about me later--which they WILL do--and say something like, "Doesn't she KNOW what she looks like?" Anyway, here is the story:

I was walking down the driveway to our vehicle, when The Father's sister was coming toward me. I smiled and said, "Hi. Aunt H." She looked at me--with the permanent scowl that she has on her face, getting deeper--and said, "WHO are you?" (It hasn't been THAT long since she saw me.) "I'm C--your niece! I guess you didn't recognize me as I have gotten so fat and sassy!" (All of this said with a big smile on my face.) She then looked me up and down and said, "YOU said it, I didn't." And then she walked away. Nice and rude--just the way I think about my family. And people wonder why I don't have anything to do with these people.

My Day

My day was worse than yours. Period. Unless you had a horrid tragedy, I guarantee my day was much, much shittier than yours was.

This morning I was sitting on the toilet taking care of business. All of a sudden I felt something along the lines of this:

Yep, the toilet was erupting like a volcano. Of course, I got off, started screaming for K, closed the lid--little good it did other than keep stuff from hitting the ceiling--and stood looking at the mess as more spewed from between the seat and toilet. I almost started to cry. K came into the room and flushed the toilet. This slowed things down a little and finally the erupting ended. And I stood there, frozen. I don't even remember if I have ever had to clean up an overflowing toilet, but THIS!! Nothing I have ever seen before.

Finally I got moving and grabbed towels from the linen closet to soak up some of the water. I got the bucket ready and got on my hands and knees to begin the clean-up. I almost was done getting the first layer of crud off of everything and I went to wipe the water line leading into the toilet. It broke off in my hand. And water began to spray. Everywhere. And continued until I screamed for K to turn the freaking water off! This time I DID start crying. I was soaked head to toe and the bathroom was worse. Back to the linen closet for more towels. And I cleaned the bathroom once more.

All of this began--well, NOT the water line breaking--because the city had an outside agency video-surveying the sewer lines in our section of town. I guess there have been problems. K talked to the guys--who WERE outside of our house when this all happened--and they said they were probably the cause of our eruption. They offered to come and clean up the mess--but I was all done by this time. The only thing left was for me to shower--again. And do laundry--lots and lots of laundry. But first (after showering), I went to bed--I wanted to forget what happened for a while.

The Baby Borrowers

I don't watch reality TV, but I watched The Baby Borrowers tonight. OMG!! It is quite something.

The concept of the show is to put five teenage couples through what adulthood is like--in six episodes. Tonight they went through 'pregnancy' and the first day with an infant. Needless to say, some of them failed in big ways. There were some--okay, one--of the snot-nosed brats that I wanted to slap silly. And I'm NOT talking about the infants, of course. One of the girls REFUSED to participate in the pretend pregnancy--the wearing of an empathy belly (pregnancy suit). Um. EXCUSE ME, but didn't YOU sign up for this mess? Yeah, she acted like a petulant five-year-old and stayed in bed whining and pouting. Her boyfriend then said HE would wear the suit because she wouldn't. PLEASE don't let this girl reproduce any time soon!!! Disgusting.

Talking about disgusting...I do happen to lean toward the old-fashioned in many ways, so the following comes from that. I REALLY was not too pleased to see that, not only were the teenage couples living in the same house, they were sleeping in the same bed. Um, WHY? It is one thing for us to be bombarded all of the time with unmarried couples in bed together on fictional shows, but now we have to see teenage couples sleeping together on reality TV. Before anyone says anything--I KNOW it is going on ALL of the time, but still...MUST this be put on the air? This show is being promoted as something for teens to watch to see what 'real life' is like. Good morals and role models to pass on--NOT happening here.

Back to the people on the show. I am quite disgusted with the parents of the infants that were 'given' to the teens for three days. First, despite what the people on the message boards say, I don't believe the infants will suffer irreparable harm because they were away from their parents for three days. Give me a break. But that being said, what the hell was wrong with some of those parents? They handed their kids over to untrained kids and then got all upset over the way they were being treated! No, the teens were NOT abusing the babies--and the parents were constantly monitoring the situation, as was a professional nanny. But these parents got all bent out of shape because their babies cried! I'm sorry, but if a baby cries, it won't rip its belly-button! And a baby will NOT starve if it isn't fed solids for one evening--especially considering it was getting formula! And NOT putting a child into pajamas is NOT a reason to march over and give these teens a lecture on how the child should be treated. I wanted to bitch-slap that mother something awful. MANY would disagree with me, I know...

Anyway, these teens are supposed to have toddlers next, then pre-teens, teens, and finally senior citizens. Is this a good lesson or just exploitative TV? I'm not sure--and I'm not sure whether I will watch till the end. However, it IS something to watch during the wait for GOOD summer TV--such as Burn Notice and Eureka. ;)

Sisu Award

'Sisu' is a Finnish word that cannot be translated easily. To have 'sisu,' one has guts, stubbornness, stick-to-it-iveness all rolled into one--but in a positive way. It is perseverance and determination. I once, tongue-in-cheek, described 'sisu' as "giving birth to 11 girls and getting pregnant for the 12th time because THIS one HAS to be a boy." 'Sisu' is what we Finns have in order to live here in the north country--a place where we can have -20 degree temps in the winter (NOT counting wind chills) and 90+ degree temps in the summer (NOT counting the heat index/humidity factor.) (To read the 'official' definition, go to Wikipedia.)

I decided to make my own award after recieving such nice ones from so many people. (See the sidebar under 'My ME, ME, ME Gallery'.) Today I will give the first 'Sisu Award.' The one I will give this to is a very good friend of mine--even though we have never met. I began reading her blog about a year ago and she completely amazes me. She has done a lot in her young life and has gone through a lot. Her health problems are something I don't know if I could live with--and she always tries to keep her sense of humor throughout her relapses/flares. She has completely changed her life and is raising a son as a single mother. Because she has shown true 'sisu,' I am pleased to give the 'Sisu Award' for the first time to meleah! You deserve it, my dear!

OMG!!!!!

I read the obituaries in the local newspaper from where I grew up. Today they have the obit of a 25 year old man. Very, very sad--there was no cause of death mentioned. What has me going, though, is he has 21 brothers and sisters surviving him. Did you read that? TWENTY-ONE BROTHERS AND SISTERS!!!! The mother's uterus must be dragging the ground! I can't wrap my mind around this one.

Back To Normal

It's now almost five weeks since my LASIK and I'm getting back to 'normal'--or what ever that means in my life. :) The eyes are still fluctuating a bit, but not as much as at first. I think when everything finally settles for good, I will be completely satisfied--after all, I'm almost there already. I've been trying out things to make sure I won't have problems doing what I'm used to and things are going fine. I did some sewing last week and it went well. I also got back to making some bracelets and I had no trouble. All this paragraph does is lead to my newest jewelry endeavors, so here goes.

My first bracelet after my surgery took two months to design. It is my Stanley Cup playoff bracelet and it came out quite pretty.


Each red bead represents a win and each white one is a loss. The silver spacers/beads are either the ends of rounds or trophies won: President's, Western Conference, Stanley Cup. While a sporting playoff seems to work very well for a bracelet pattern, I think this same method could be used for other things, such as weight loss or working toward any other goal.

After using Swarovski crystals for so many of my bracelets, I decided to look elsewhere for beads. This brought me to gemstones. I decided to use gemstones according to their healing properties--and this means I am using natural stones that aren't anywhere as processed and polished as other beads may be. Some of the stones I am using are a little 'dull,' but they are working quite well.

I made a bracelet for The Mother that has stones that help arthritis, the knees, and helps alleviate pain. The stones I used to make it are carnelian, mother of pearl, and rock crystal. It came out nice.


I made a bracelet for the youngest daughter to help with her infertility. Now, if it works, I sure hope it doesn't work TOO well! :) Carnelian is in this one, also, and rose quartz. The third stone is rock crystal--which is used to enhance the properties of the other stones.


I made myself a new 'serenity' bracelet. It is to 'balance the mind, heart, and soul.' The amethyst is for calmness and serenity, the rose quartz is for healing emotional wounds, and the rock crystal enhances all.


And I finally made one with all kinds of stones to help all of my physical and emotional needs. I put mother of pearl, topaz, lapis lazuli, carnelian, citrine, rock crystal, garnet, black onyx, and rhodonite. Surprisingly, all of the stones and colors managed to fit together well.


While some of the stones are quite expensive--the topaz cost me almost $3 per stone and you can barely SEE the stones--most are reasonably priced. This has been fun and adds another dimension to what I've been doing.

--To get the pictures of these bracelets, I used the scanner. It worked GREAT! Thanks, janet, for the suggestion!--

RIP

George Carlin has died at the age of 71. He died of heart failure. Go here to see a classic bit: Al Sleet the hippy, dippy weatherman. Carlin definitely had his moments. (Al Sleet is one of his first characters--back when I really thought he was funny.)

And When I Die...

So, you're sitting around with friends and the conversation seems to get away from you--as in, you start talking about dying. This is what happened over the weekend to me.

We went on one of our road trips--YAY!!!--and after dinner my friend and I began talking about death. Why? Who knows. We both agreed that we will have closed caskets--no people standing, looking at us, and saying things like, "She looks so good!" or "She looks just like she's sleeping!" (We did decide, should either of us have an open casket and if someone SHOULD make one of the remarks, whichever one of us is around would reply, "What do you mean? She's DEAD for crying out loud!!!") My friend wants to have socks on her feet in the casket--they are always cold--even though she will be cremated. She then wants to have her ashes sprinkled on a Lake Superior beach. (SHHHHHHHH!!! That is against the law--please don't tell.) I suggested she should have some of her ashes sent away to make diamonds for each of her kids or have some put into memorial pendants for them--this way she could be close to them forever. Needless to say, she didn't embrace the idea :) Of course, this started us down the road of ridiculous suggestions. We finally agreed HOW we were going to be presented to the world for the last time. First, we will be very, very old--extremely wrinkled bodies with lots of saggy skin. We will be in our caskets totally buck naked--and the caskets WILL be open. After death, we will have our nipples pierced and nipple rings inserted. I will have a winged wheel tattooed over my heart--after death. (I will wait while you get a mental image.) And then our souls will hover over the caskets and smile while we listen to the shocked comments people will make. What fun! :D

Not Enough Fans?

Hmmmm. The Associated Press said that tens of thousands of fans greeted the Boston Celtics during their victory parade. And their last championship was 22 years ago. The Red Wings won the Stanley Cup after only SIX years and 1.4 million fans showed up for the parade. So, WHY are 'they' always saying that hockey has no fan base here in the States?

No One Is More Guilty Than Me

K watches the financial channel. I don't know why--we don't have enough money to even THINK of following any advice there. I guess he must watch just to try and figure out what he will do with that big lottery pot he's going to win. In his dreams. Anyway, I don't watch the channel, but I catch certain things as I'm walking through the living room--exactly what happened the other day.

A headline for an up-coming show caught my attention as I was passing the television. This had to do with the upcoming election and the views/policies of presidential candidates. While I don't remember WHAT was said--yeah, what's the point to this post then, right?--I do remember thinking, "WHY isn't this being broadcast on the network news, written up in all the newspapers, and splashed all over the net?" The statement that was made would cause a semi-intelligent person to question his/her endorsement of their favorite candidate. And the story was on a very obscure channel that very few people watch. Outrageous.

It is really sad to think of the majority of people who will vote in November without doing one bit of research into the candidate they will vote for. They will base their decision on a celebrity endorsement or because he is the choice of a certain party. Then the majority of the rest will do a minimal amount of research before making their choice, but won't dig deep enough to find out what the candidate is REALLY all about. A very small amount of people will put in the time needed to make a totally informed choice. I have to admit, I have NOT been one of the few--although I have not been one of the vast majority, either. But, I AM guilty of making choices that aren't as informed as they should be. And I vow to change that. We ALL should spend a few minutes every day--come on, we're on the computer anyway--and read an article or two about each candidate. Once we really understand their views, feelings, voting records, etc, we should be able to make truly informed decisions. This year it is more important than ever to do so.

The Professor

Former Red Wing, Igor Larionov (nicknamed 'The Professor") has been included in this year's inductees to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Larionov was a top player in Russia before he came to the US. As a Red Wing, he helped the team to three Stanley Cup championships--in 1997, 1998, and 2002.



-- Red Wing Igor Larionov (8) in action against the Florida Panthers, Friday, Feb. 26, 1999, at Joe Louis Arena. (KIRTHMON F. DOZIER/DFP)--

Waterfront Property

Waterfront property is sold for a premium price in many areas of the US. And my area is no exception. Living on a peninsula as I do, it would seem that waterfront property is plentiful and possibly sells for a reasonable amount, but that is not true. Property on the Lake Superior shoreline--OR on an inland lake--goes for tens of thousands of dollars per lot. WAY more than I could ever afford. Thankfully, living on the water has never been a big priority for me.

Much of the property on Lake Superior is not for sale. A lot of it is state or federally owned, so no one can build on it. As long as my grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and on down the line, can have access to the lake, I'm fine with the way things are. IF, however, the only owners of waterfront property are rich out-of-towners, then I have a BIG problem. There are a lot of people who buy property here--the premium property--and only live here for a few months out of the year. Then they go back to their 'sophisticated' lifestyles and leave those of us who are permanent residents looking at their unoccupied residences. This isn't right, but there is not much that can be done about it.

All of this brings me to the last waterfront property I saw that was for sale. Our house is at least a mile from the shoreline--definitely NOT waterfront property. There is a house about a mile from me--FURTHER away from the lake--that was advertised as waterfront property. Why? Because a very small stream--I think more water goes down my drain when I shower, frankly--runs through the lot. Excuse me???? NOT the way to try and sell a house, as far as I'm concerned. Oh, well, it isn't my place.

Milk

I don't really care for milk and don't drink it very often. K drinks it enough that I still have to buy it by the gallon, but the amount I drink is negligible. As a child, I was required to drink milk--and I probably even liked it. These days, I put milk on my cereal and I cook with it and that is about it.

All this thinking about milk began when I drove past our local dairy today. Their brand of milk is the ONLY brand I buy. I have tried other brands, but they taste 'funny' to me. Can't explain it, but the one time I bought a 'regional' brand, K had to drink it all himself--neither A or I could choke it down. This is only the second brand of milk I have had in my life--other than whatever I had to get while I lived in South Carolina for a short time.

The area where I grew up had dairy farms. Of course, they weren't nearly as big as what most people would think of, but they provided a way of life for quite a few families--among them, relatives of mine. These relatives sold their milk to the local dairy, so that is the brand The Mother bought. I NEVER drank any other brand--we had to support the relatives. Amazingly, I didn't have to switch to my present brand till the first dairy closed in the 1980s.

When I was young, we drank whole milk. Once in a while, we even drank raw milk--we would get it from my uncle's farm. The thought of drinking either makes my skin crawl today. Quite a few years ago, we moved from 2% milk to skim--which is all we have in the house now. I remember my great-grandmother had her milk delivered--in glass bottles--and the first thing she did was poured out the cream from the top of the bottle. This was what they used for coffee. So, in essence, was the milk that was left skim milk? Interesting.

This and That

I was in the grocery store the other day and looked to see what the couple in front of me were buying. They had two items: refrigerated pie crusts and spiced rum. Hmmm.

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On the news last night, a young man was interviewed. I wasn't paying much attention to the story, but I DID hear one of the comments the young man made: "As soon as it's done, it's over with." Huh?

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The Stanley Cup isn't coming here. Damn. There was some speculation that Dallas Drake would bring it here because his college career was in this town, but it is not to be. He is bringing the Cup to his hometown--where his parents live--in British Colombia and to Traverse City where he lives with his wife and children. I understand, but still...

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I think we all know that Kleenex, Q-Tip, Band-Aid, etc, were all trademarked names before they became household words. Mental_floss did an article on 10 words that used to be trademarked. The story is here--quite interesting.

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My youngest called last night asking if I could find out what kind of weather warnings they were having. (They live in St Paul--7 hours or so from us.) They didn't have any power and were a bit concerned over the severity of what they were experiencing. I looked online and sent her a text message letting her know what was happening. We kept in touch by text message until the storms had passed--which eased their minds. What in the world did we do before the internet and computers and text messaging on phones came into being?

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As for the power outage, A said they lost power around 10:00 PM Saturday and they didn't get it back till 4:00 PM Sunday! Wow! Thankfully, my son-in-law has grandparents close by so they were able to bring their refrigerator/freezer food to be stored AND do the laundry so they would have clothes for work tomorrow. Good grief.

Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!!!!

Celebrate

Celebrations for this week:

15 June
Power of a Smile Day
Fly A Kite Day

16 June
Fudge Day

17 June
Stewart's Root Beer Day
Iceland Independence Day

18 June
International Picnic Day

19 June
Garfield the Cat Day
Recess At Work Day
World Sauntering Day

20 June
Take Your Dog to Work Day
Toad Hollow Day of Thank You

21 June
Baby Boomer's Recognition Day
Go Skateboarding Day
Vinegar Day

A New Blow Dryer

Having grown my hair long, I don't need a blow dryer all that often. However, if I have to leave the house shortly after getting up, I need one to help rid myself of bedhead. Thus, the reason for my owning a blow dryer.

The other day I was using my dryer and it began making noises. Not being overly familiar with the sound of an electrical appliance shorting out, I convinced myself that the spitting and sputtering I was hearing WAS the dryer doing so. I needed a new dryer--time to shop. Considering that I wear my hair straight, I REALLY don't need much more than a big wind--something powerful enough to dry my hair in under five minutes. I DON'T need a lot of attachments and gadgets and I most definitely don't need to spend a whole lot of money. Good luck.

The first thing I noticed was that dryers don't take up nearly as much shelf space as before. Hmmmm. You would think the lack of too many models would make the choice easier, but it wasn't to be. If one model was powerful enough, it had too many attachments and cost WAY more than I wanted to spend. If I found something within my price range, the 'power' it had would have been the equivalent of standing in front of an open window on a 90 degree, 80% humidity day. One was the power I wanted--with NO attachments--but it had only one heat setting: SCALDING! Then 'they' threw the word 'ion' into the mix and I got ALL confused. This was not an activity that took only a couple of minutes. I finally decided on a dryer with the power I wanted and with the heat settings I wanted--unfortunately, it also was 'ionic' and had a bunch of accessories. BUT, it was within my price range--always a good thing. And it had a retractable cord--hooray!

I hate the safety plugs they have put on most appliances these days. And the plug will only go in ONE way. I live in a VERY old house, which hasn't had an electrical system overhaul done on it, so using these things is not an easy thing to do. With the air conditioner installed in the bedroom, the power outlets I can use are limited. Summertime finds me using the outlet the furthest from the dresser mirror, because the outlet closest is where the AC is plugged in to. It has never been too much of a problem, as I can use the full-length mirror--that is until I brought home my new dryer. The cord is at least a foot shorter--maybe more--than my old one! I found myself drying my hair, then moving over to look in the mirror, drying my hair, moving over to look in the mirror...--not too much fun. So is this--along with the HUGE plugs--another safety feature? Or is the cord shorter because it is retractable? Whatever the reason, it makes me a very unhappy camper, indeed.

Oh, well, despite the 'ionic' and the short cord, the dryer works about as well as I could want. It did dry my hair in less than five minutes and that is all I need. I just hope it doesn't die any time soon--I don't want to go shopping again for a while.

(Whoa--and I never thought I could get a post out of buying a blow dryer. Not a GREAT post, but something! :))

Wings Win More

The NHL awards were given tonight and members of the Wings came up big, again. And I think what is even greater is the fact the winners were decided even before the playoffs began--so these are all about the season's play and not who won the Cup. And the winners are:



--TORONTO, ON - JUNE 12: Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings poses with the James Norris Memorial Trophy during the 2008 NHL Awards at the at the Elgin Theatre on June 12, 2008 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)--

Lidstrom won the Norris for the sixth time. NOT a surprise, in the least.



--TORONTO, ON - JUNE 12: Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings poses with Frank J. Selke Trophy and the Lady Bing Memorial Trophy during the 2008 NHL Awards at the at the Elgin Theatre on June 12, 2008 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)--

Datsyuk won the Selke for the first time--and beat out Zetterberg. It really was a toss-up as to which one would win. He also won the Lady Byng--for the third time in a row. Again, not surprising.

Along with Z being up for the Selke, Chelios was nominated for the Masterson and Babcock for the Adams. Of course, they didn't win. But, there's always next year.

I loved seeing the players in their tuxes during the show--they DO clean up rather nicely.

Mother Goose and Grimm

This week in Mother Goose and Grimm land, the cartoonist is doing a series featuring Dr Phil. Here is today's cartoon:

AWWWWWWW!!

Typical

We have a saying here: If you don't like the weather, stick around for five minutes--it will change. While it has taken a LITTLE longer than five minutes to change, it is nothing like it was this weekend. On Sunday the temp in our backyard was in the 90s--today, the 40s. Yes, people, we have had a temperature drop of about 50 degrees over two days. Tonight the temp is supposed to go down into the 30s! And this is nothing new. Welcome to weather near Lake Superior!

And It Ends

The Red Wings have announced a press conference for 11:00 AM Monday. Unnamed sources say Dominik Hasek will be announcing his retirement. After 16 years and one short retirement already, the 43-year-old Dominator will hang up his skates. It is time to rest, Dom. While causing my heart to stop numerous times during every game he was between the pipes, he also amazed me with the saves made. Thanks for the memories. Next stop, the Hall of Fame!

--The Red Wings' Dominik Hasek makes a second period save during their 4-1 win over the Blackhawks, Sunday, Apr. 6, 2008. (JULIAN H. GONZALEZ/DFP)--

Bits

I'm REALLY feeling bitchy today--and I don't know why. I hope it isn't because I know I'm not going to get another hockey fix for three months--that would just be TOO sad! :) Anyway, I had to stop myself from starting a fight with K earlier. He asked what I was going to do today and I swallowed my answer: "NOTHING--just like YOU!!!" Yup, THAT would have started a good one--MANY days of silence. :D

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Ending up on hockey notes:

--Lidstrom and Osgood will be on The Tonight Show on Tuesday! I wish more players would be there, but I'm sure most of them are going home--to Europe. They will, of course, be bringing the Cup for its appearance.

--It finally was revealed what was wrong with Franzen in the playoffs: he had a subdural hematoma. Scary stuff! And it makes it even THAT much more horrifying that the Penguin player gave him a shot in the head. It was bad enough to be hitting someone in the head who everyone thought had had a concussion, but THIS is much more frightening stuff. If Franzen would have walked away after that, I certainly wouldn't have blamed him--I probably would have.

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I just finished reading 'Requiem For A Dream' by Hubert Selby, Jr. While it was an interesting read, all I could think was, "I did this in high school--and I am SO OVER heroin addict stories!" And if I read ONE MORE book by an author who thinks it is fun to write without punctuation, I. WILL. PUKE!!!

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Verrrrryyyyyy slowwwwwwllllllyyyyyyy the summer TV series are beginning. Tonight is the second episode of 'In Plain Sight'--and I have high hopes for it. I enjoyed the premiere well enough--I think it just needs to get going a little more. What I'm REALLY waiting for are 'Burn Notice', 'The Closer', and 'Eureka. That will help the summer go faster.

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Has anyone else noticed just how bad some of the things are on QVC? When QVC first started, I thought it was fantastic, but things are definitely changing. First, I wouldn't buy one of the computers they sell. For what I want and need, they are VASTLY underpowered--despite what they try telling people. I guess for someone who doesn't know any better, they are okay, but still. And just WHAT is going on with the Joan River's jewelry collection? Did someone think this was a good idea? I mean, really, a stretch-band on a watch!?!?!?!? Would someone REALLY buy THIS? Enough said.

Celebrate

Celebrations for the week:

8 June
National Jelly-Filled Doughnut Day
Write To Your Father Day

9 June
International Young Eagles Day

10 June
Ball Point Pen Day

11 June
Jacques Cousteau's Birthday

12 June
National Peanut Butter Cookie Day
Magic Day
Crowded Nest Awareness Day

13 June
National Juggling Day
National Lobster Day
Blame Someone Else Day
The ONLY Friday the 13th in 2008

14 June
Pop Goes The Weasel Day
Croquet Day

Police Log

--4:35 PM, in-laws drove by residence making hand jestures

Whoa--family problems!


--5:00 PM, two lawn chairs, not resident's, left in yard during the night

WHY call the cops????


--5:23 AM, drunken man in hot tub refusing to leave

Okay, for THIS I probably would call the cops, too. And what the hell was he doing at 5:23 in the morning, DRUNK???


--9:30 AM, vehicle rummaged through, nothing taken

If nothing was taken, why call the cops?


--3:27 PM, caller reports her ceramic pig is in the river

I have no words.

Blah!

My day certainly didn't start off great: it was the hottest day we have had so far this year. This afternoon the temp in our backyard was 87 degrees. YUCK!!! I know a lot of people like warm temps and I say, fine--I just don't share the feeling. Anything higher than 68 is WAY too warm for me and 87 is absolutely stifling! I kept the windows and blinds closed all day and then opened the windows after the sun went down. It is a little better in here now, but it will be hell to sleep. K said he will install the air conditioners tomorrow--we'll see.

Today the city of Detroit had the victory parade and rally for the Wings. I really felt jealous at not being there, but seeing how hot it was, I was happy to watch on TV. They really did it up right--it was estimated that one+ million people turned out. Compared to other places that had THEIR celebrations in parking lots--(cough) New Jersey and Anaheim (cough)--Detroit did well. The parade moved slowly over the mile-long route, taking 2 1/2 hours to complete. The rally added another 45 minutes to the celebration. And, it seemed, a good time was had by all.

Now that the season and the playoffs are done, the truth about some of the players' injuries is coming out. It is suspected that Holmstrom has a sports hernia and will need surgery. No wonder he had such a hard time the last part of the season. And my Baby Boy was playing with a sprained MCL. FINALLY we know why he has been out of it off and on since the end of March. They still haven't disclosed what exactly was wrong with Franzen, but they said it definitely was NOT a concussion. Holland said it will be up to the Mule whether or not to reveal what really happened.

I am trying to come to grips with the fact that the season is done--and there will not be any hockey for three months. I grasp at straws to try to get through: the NHL awards are on 12 June; 1 July is when the UFA and RFA are available, so it will be nail-biting time to see what will happen with Baby Boy; then there is the draft--not that Detroit gets any high picks, but...; and there always is the anticipation over who will be back next season and who will retire or not be re-signed. Of course, the biggest straw for me to grasp is whether or not the Stanley Cup will make a trip here. I know it is a long shot, at best, but Dallas Drake DID go to school here and he DID win a NCAA title here, so... I can only dream. :)

The Greatest Night

To say I'm happy is the understatement of the century--I am ECSTATIC! Right till the final buzzer, I had doubts that it would end tonight. But end, it did. While I hoped Baby Boy's goal would be the winner, it wasn't to be. Z got the game/series/Cup winning goal. It wasn't pretty--actually the Pittsburgh goalie pushed the puck into their net accidentally--but it got the job done. Thankfully, I have the CBC on my cable system, so I was able to savor every minute of the after-celebration--I got to see every player take his turn skating with the Cup and got to hear the after-game interviews. It doesn't get any better than this. I only wish I could be in Detroit on Friday for the parade, but...

SO many great individual stories from this win. Lidstrom is the first European captain to lead a team to win the Cup. Cleary is the first ever from Newfoundland to win the Cup. Osgood, late in his career, transformed himself and came back to the Wings and became the starting goalie in the playoffs. McCarty came back from addiction and financial ruin, worked hard, and made it back onto the team--and won the Cup once again. Drake won the Cup after being in the NHL for 16 seasons, all while anticipating the end of his career. Lidstrom, Maltby, Holmstrom, Draper, and McCarty all won the Cup for the fourth time--together, as Wings. Amazing.

The Conn Smythe trophy was awarded right after the end of the game. This is for the playoff MVP and Zetterberg got it. The right choice, by far--his performance in the games was phenomenal.

--Conn Smythe winner Henrik Zetterberg. (AP)--


2008 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS

-- Detroit's captain Nicklas Lidstrom holds the Stanley Cup after the 3-2 victory in game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals (MANDI WRIGHT/DFP)--

And in a few months, they can start all over again--and I can't wait! :)

DETROIT 3, Pittsburgh 2

2008 Stanley Cup Champions!!!!!!!!






glitter-graphics.com

Game 6

GAME 6, Stanley Cup Finals

Detroit Red Wings
vs
Pittsburgh Penguins

8:00 PM

4 June 2008

national broadcast: N(obody) B(eats) C(rosby) network

Picture This

First, this story is entirely true. 'Mary' is a friend of one of my nieces. Second, read this a little slowly and picture the whole thing in your mind--it just makes it that much better.


Mary was asked by some friends in Chicago to apartment sit and dog-watch while they were in Europe. Not having any other pressing issues, she agreed.

Not long after Mary moved in--and long before the friends were to return home--the dog died. Mary was quite beside herself and really dreaded having to make the call to her friends, telling of the death. When hearing the news, the friends were grieved, but not overly so--they had been expecting it, as the dog was quite old. They were so sure 'Fido's' days were numbered, that they had discussed the possibility with their vet and made arrangements for him to 'take care' of things after Fido's death. Relieved over the acceptance of the news, Mary hung up without realizing she didn't know how to get the dog to the vet's--she had no car.

Mary is a college graduate, so she put her superior mind to work and decided she would take Fido on the 'El' to the vet's office. She then realized that you can't just bring a dead dog on the 'El,' so she was faced with another problem. Again, she put her superior mind to work and decided Fido would ride the 'El' in a suitcase. Problems solved.

So, Mary found herself riding the 'El' in Chicago, carrying a suitcase with a dead dog inside of it. During the ride, she had a conversation with another passenger. He asked if she was going on a trip. Mary answered in the negative. The passenger asked what was in the suitcase. Without thinking, Mary answered, "Computer parts." The ride continued. As they pulled into the next station, the guy suddenly grabbed the suitcase, left the 'El,' and was long gone before Mary could react. Mary was left sitting on the 'El' without a dead dog or a suitcase. She also was left with the task of letting her friends know that she not only lost their beloved, dead pet, but one of their suitcases, as well.

The only consolation: The thoughts of the look on the guy's face when he opened the suitcase to see the 'computer parts' he had stolen. Even better, if he opened it for the first time in front of the pawn shop guy or 'fence.' Really, HOW do you explain a dead dog in a suitcase?

Always Thought He Was A Jerk

I never was a fan of Tiger Woods--and never have been a fan of golf. I just think it is bad form to take a shot at another sport when you are the 'face' of your pro-sport--and Tiger Woods did it. During a press conference on Monday for a game he will be playing in Michigan in a couple of months, he was asked whether he wanted Detroit or Pittsburgh to win. His response?

Woods started to laugh, then landed a zinger.

"I don't really care. Let's talk about the Dodgers," the California native said. "I don't think anybody really watches hockey anymore."

At least the NHL showed a lot more class than he did. A spokesman for the NHL had this to say about Wood's comment:

"The National Hockey League has enormous respect for Tiger Woods, for all his accomplishments and for his work with the community," NHL spokesman Frank Brown said. "We think he's a great golfer."

Way to show your true, classless colors Tiger!

I'm Doing Better

After getting some sleep, I AM feeling a bit better. I've got a bit of a better perspective on things, so...

Whether the Wings win the Cup or not, they have played an amazing season. The best team doesn't ALWAYS win the big prize, so I am prepared. It is unbelievable that they have been able to get where they are--the team is probably one of the best that has ever played the game. And they HAVE to be at least three times better than any other team in the league--the Red Wings don't only have to beat the team they are playing, but the refs and the league, as well. While this has been going on for many years, this season is worse than usual. It is no secret that the commissioner and league want their poster boy, Sidney Crosby, to get as much glory as possible. And for his team to be up against the best there is, nothing could be better than to have the Pens win. That is the way it is and I have to accept it. By Sunday morning the Cup will have been presented to the winners--whoever it may be. End of season.

Next year will be great. The Wings should have most of their team together still. There will be some potential retirements--and that isn't always a bad thing. It would be too sad that Dom and Drake might retire without winning the Cup--should the Wings lose--but Dom HAS won before. I really would like them to win for Drake--he has never even been to the Finals before this season. What a nice way to end a career, by winning a Stanley Cup.

There has been talk for quite a while about some of the less skilled players not coming back next year--and that, too, isn't necessarily bad. With the phenomenal players the Wings have in the minors, they can lose the deadwood and not even miss a step.

The playoffs have been really good for some of the players. Finally the rest of the hockey world can acknowledge just how good Z is. The man has been playing like his career depends on it--and he WILL be rewarded with a nice big pay raise when he signs his new contract. You just have to know that the Wings will do whatever is necessary to keep him for the long-term.

Franzen really came into his own toward the end of the season. The man is on his way. FINALLY, Kronwall made it through a season without one of his fluky injuries and made a big impact. You gotta LOVE those big open-ice hits he makes! Cleary would have done so much more if he wouldn't have had his jaw broken--but he had a great year, too. How many more of these career-best stories can be written? Basically, every one of the players had the best season of his career--you can't ask for more. And next year should be as good.

Finally, Filppula has been unbelievably, amazingly, phenomenal during the playoffs. Okay, he HASN'T put the numbers on the board, but listening to the announcing, you would think he is the ONLY player on the ice at times. His puck-handling and skating have been incredible. He is a superstar in the making. As he is a restricted free agent as of July 1, he can be assured of a GREAT pay raise--and he deserves it!

My Baby Boy certainly cleans up nice--and this picture is WAY better than his 'official' one. So, I had to post it. :)



Is this post very doom-and-gloom pessimistic? No, not really. I am facing the real possibility that things won't end up the way I want them to--AND saving my stomach from an ulcer at the same time. It doesn't really matter, in the scheme of things, who wins the Cup. I had an enjoyable year watching a game that I love, played by a team that I'm crazy about, and you can't ask for much more than that! :)

:(

The game lasted into the third overtime period before Detroit lost. Even though I called the game early on, it still was very depressing to watch for over five hours and see them NOT win the Cup. They still have two more games in which to win and take it home though. But, at this point I am wondering if ALL pro-sports are equal to pro-wrestling...

I could do my ranting and raving over the way the game was called--all justified if you actually listened to the announcers--but I won't. For some reason or other, the Wings continue to outplay their opponents, completely dominate the game, have more shots on goal, and still manage to lose. It is as if the stars are aligned against them. I only hope that my OTHER prediction tonight--which I will not repeat--doesn't come true. I am very depressed about tonight's outcome and I only hope that some sleep will make it better. I doubt it, though. The only thing that will make me feel better any time soon is if the Cup comes back to Detroit. I'm not holding my breath.

Detroit 3, Pittsburgh 4

Game 5

GAME 5, Stanley Cup Finals

Detroit Red Wings
vs
Pittsburgh Penguins

8:00 PM

2 June 2008

national broadcast: NBC

FINISH IT TONIGHT!!

Police Log

THIS one is frightening!


--7:41 PM, 6-year-old attempted to stab adult with a steak knife

I think this family has 'issues!' YIKES!

So THAT'S What The Problem Was!

At the beginning of the playoffs, the Red Wings' children drew pictures for their dads as good luck charms. These pictures were taped in each player's space in the locker room and traveled with the team when they went on the road. When Kris Draper's daughter finished drawing her picture for him, she asked her dad, "What about the player's who DON'T have kids? Where are THEY going to get pictures?" She decided to draw pictures for the non-dads in the group so that they wouldn't feel left out. So, all of the players had children's art work in their spaces.

Fast forward to Wednesday night. Game 3 of the finals. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Red Wings lost. Afterwards, it was discovered that Zetterberg's picture never made the trip--one that Kris Draper's daughter drew. It was Fed-Exed to Pittsburgh in time for the game on Saturday. The Wings won. And who ever said good luck charms don't work? :D

Detroit 2, Pittsburgh 1