alexandriacardinals

May 25

Cards – 10, Little Falls – 0

[Game day was gray, gloomy, and windy – so what else is new?  Captains, coaches, and umpires met at home plate in spite of it all.  The section’s No. 2-seeded Cardinals were hosting the 7th-seeded Little Falls Flyers (Flyers, because that’s where Charles Lindbergh was from, don’cha know).]

[Sophomore Kendra Hardy (13) took the mound (well, flat) for the Cards.]

[Junior Calley Richardson (15) patrols centerfield with aplomb.]

[Leading off for the Cards, senior shortstop Emma Ziegler (4) . . . ]

[Zig attempted to bunt for a hit but they got her by a whisker (or its equivalent).]

[At No. 2, junior 2nd baseman Allison O’Kane (9) . . . ]

[Who promptly . . . ]

[Lined a single to right – yeah, I know, the chain link won the focus battle here.]

[Batting 3rd, senior 1st baseman Ellie Ronning (12) . . . ]

[Who also singled.  We always say she will keep her batting average hovering around .600 as long as she doesn’t go into any 2-for-4 slumps.]

[Batting cleanup, the aforementioned Calley who just got under one a bit.]

[And then Kendra looking to help her own cause.]

[Nope, don’t care for that one.]

[Or that one either!]

[Whoa, what was that remark about whiskers?]

. .

[We didn’t score in the first, but in the 2nd junior Taylor Breitkreutz, who I have reason to suspect was playing righfield . . . ]

[Scorched, as all good hockey defenseman do, as single to left.]

[Junior catcher Jamie Lanoue (18) butted Taylor to 2nd (I think?) and was safe herself.]

[Sophomore leftfielder Sydney Christenson (2) kept the ball rolling (so to speak).]

[And Taylor scored the 1st run . . . ]

[Followed in by Jamie . . . ]

[Hey, I got a sequence . . . ]

[That stayed in focus!]

[Woo-woo!]

[I must have missed some at bats here, because here’s Calley again?  Those quick naps are refreshing.]

[And senior 3rd baseman McKenzie Revering (14), who I some how missed the first time through the lineup . . . ]

[Rev had two hits for the day.]

[Back to Kendra . . . ]

[Power to the opposite field.]

[This must be Taylor again, who also had two hits on the day . . . ]

[And then she (I’m just going by the white helmet) scored again, as the hits kept coming.]

[As Zig steps to the plate.]

[There’s contact . . . ]

[I’m no longer sure where we are now in the grand scheme of things, but the Cards scored 5 runs in the 2nd and 3 runs in the 3rd making the outcome only dependent on the final score.]

[Allison ducks under one but she, like her fellow hockey defensemen Rev and Taylor, also had two hits on the day.]

[And this may be hit No. 2. as she drives it toward right . . . ]

[Follow through running.]

[Ms. Ronning ended the day 3 – 4, as the shortstop snared her liner in her final at bat. This one looks like her double to right center.]

[And thar she goes!]

[Another run, though lost in the aura of the chain link.]

[That’s better – is it Allison?]

[It is here, I believe scoring on Ellie’s double.]

[Then Calley . . . ]

[Must have fouled one . . . ]

[Then this looks like . . . ]

[Her double . . . ]

[To left.]

[And Taylor . . . ]

[Rev’s on 2nd . . . ]

[Knock me in!]

[Jamie?  Is that you?]

[A lot of fans watching the game on the JV field . . . in their winter finery!  Osakis v. Bertha-Hewitt went extra innings at 3 – 3 – then B-W scored 2 in the top of the inning . . . ]

[But Osakis came back to win with 3 in the bottom of the inning.]

[Getting down to the nitty-gritty.  The Cards have an 8-run lead, two more runs from the 5th inning on will end the game by the 10-run rule.  Here’s Sydney, who had a nice game with two hits including a triple, 2 RBI’s, and 2 runs scored.]

[Zig going for the bunt single again.]

[This is Ellie’s line out . . . ]

[To short.]

[I guess 3 for 4 is still a pretty decent day.]

[Gotta have strength up the middle – so here’s Zig at shortstop where her defense is a real asset.]

[Calley hits one to left . . . ]

[Maybe this one was the double?]

[Is that you Rev?]

[A prelude to . . . ]

[Kendra’s up in the bottom of the 6th with a runner on . . . ]

[I said to Brad sitting next to me, “Two-run homer, Cards win 10-0.”]

[And she did it!!  I knew she had power, but I didn’t realize until later that was her first homer of the year.  Cards win and move on.]

If you’re dating a softball player, raise your hand.  If you’re not, raise your standards. ~ Unknown

Up Next:  Memorial Day weekend

May 6

Montreal Sail Away

[Well, the trip was for a cruise, after all.  But first we had to awake from our Airbnb loft.  I awoke first, as always, and shortly thereafter I found my spot usurped by Reetz as the sisters enjoyed some final shut eye together.  Aren’t they cute?]

[Reetz’s abandoned bed.]

[We schlepped our luggage down the 57 steps, and walked the 3 – 4 blocks to dock Alexandra where we were to pick up a shuttle ride to where we would actually be boarding the ship.  As fate would have it, no sooner did we begin our hike than the heavens opened up again.  Fortunately when we arrived at Alexandra a shuttle was waiting.  We arrived at the ship waaaaay too early – it was still belatedly unloading passengers from the inbound cruise.  We joined other waiting-to-board passengers in a large tent waiting area and tried to recover from our latest drenching.  We chatted with native Canadians who had to marvel how we Americans endure our bizarre health care system.  You just have to consider it all part of the grand adventure.]

[Hey, we made it!   We’re now on the good ship Veendam.]

[From our room . . . ]

[And our room!  Our travel agent, the HQ, had advised us shortly before the trip began that we could do an upgrade.  Because we were three again, the offer was reasonable and readily accepted.  But now we will be forever spoiled!  The room had two phones, for Pete’s sake.]

[The girls even had a makeup room . . .]

[And a bar and fridge and fruit and goodies and champagne . . . ]

[And mirrored walls made the place seem even bigger . . . ]

[Let’s see how the trip is doing . . . ]

[This was our private balcony . . . ]

[Not too shabby . . . ]

[And a passing view from the balcony . . . ]

[Back in the comfort of our suite, a word that really didn’t do the place justice!]

[The loo . . . ]

[You could see yourself from every angle in the makeup room – uffda!]

[And these last two in-room photos are by the server . . . ]

[If you go back to the ship schematics above, we were in room 022 on Deck 10, the Navigation Deck.  Maybe it was all this that inspired us to post the previous posting to this one?]

[Good-bye Olympic Park . . . ]

[The ship chaperones . . . ]

[Our neighbors are leaning out enjoying their champagne.  Then we never saw them again?]

[Good-bye, tugs!]

[Good-bye, Mount Royal.]

[Big port!]

[Bigger port!]

[Good-bye, Montreal!]

[Hello, Neptune Lounge!  Again, revisting the ship’s schematics, you will note that this lounge was across the hall from our suite . . . and available only to passengers in such suites (something about “unwashed masses” – just kidding!).]

[Food, beverage, library, TV, and spirits on the honor system.]

[The ominous skies continue – and remained with us the whole trip.]

[Our lovely patio – this was the only time the entire trip the weather permitted us such use.]

[Finally, moving away from urbanity . . . ]

[Heading to Quebec . . . ]

[When we noticed this almost alive sandbar . . . ]

[Smothered in water fowl . . . ]

[I don’t recall why, but no fine dining photos to end the day?]

In Montreal spring is like an autopsy.  Everyone wants to see the inside of the frozen mammoth.  Girls rip off their sleeves and the flesh is sweet and white, like wood under green bark.  From the streets a sexual manifesto rises like an inflating tire, “the winter has not killed us again!”  ~  Leonard Cohen

Up Next:  Softball sections.

May 26

The Super and I have reached that point in life when it’s time to downsize . . . like to a pup tent.  All too often now when we store something, we can never find it again (like the inhouse cordless phone?) – there are just to many places to hide stuff in a house this size. So, yes, this is an attempt at marketing the ole homestead.  Somehow seems fitting that it’s the 900th blog post, a nice round number?

Exterior

Road side, facing west

Looking west

Northwest corner

Lake side, facing east over Lake Darling

Lake side overlooking Lake Darling

“Covered” stairway to the lake

Stained and molded concrete patio 

Great room deck

View from great room deck

From ‘sunroom’ deck

Interior – Upper Level

Great room

Kitchen and dining

Great room overlooking the lake

Great room looking west over a 6-acre horse pasture

Great room

Full bath

Bedroom

‘Sunroom’ from the great room

Great room from the ‘sunroom’

Master bedroom

Master bath

Dining

Kitchen

Interior – Lower Level

Great room

Front door exiting west to road side

Walk-in closet

View to lake

Full bath

Bedroom

[The crafting/laundry and utility rooms are currently being used as ‘storage areas.’]

Aerial Views

These were taken on October 3, 2012.  The roofline is green metal in the shape of a plus (+) sign, generally located in the center of the photos.

Blasts From The Past

Now that you’ve seen the house, built 16 years ago, you can see it still looks brand new . . . except older.

And the views . . . oy, the views!

It’s a funny thing coming home.  Nothing changes.  Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same.  You realize what’s changed is you.  ~  F. Scott Fitzgerald

May 5

Montreal

[So, I hear you say, what’s the deal with the brochure?  The story begins.  When we first arrived in Canada, we had no idea that eastern Ontario and all of Quebec Province had been experiencing flooding like no one up there could ever recall.  The area was, and had been, stuck in a constant rain weather pattern.  Of course, we in the States have been preoccupied with other matters.  We had prearranged a Gray Line tour our first full day in the city – always the best way to get an overview if you’re just going to be in a place for a day or two.  Gray Line would pick up customers at their hotels . . . but we were at an Airbnb, would they pick us up?  The Biddies’ phones did not work in Canada (who knew?), so we tried to get the info by e-mail – but time was of the essence.  We knew there was a Sheraton a few blocks away – we had gone there the night before to use their ATM (apparently if you are in  foreign country they prefer that you use their currency). We walked to the Sheraton in the morning, in the rain, hoping to find out if the Gray Line picked up there.  As luck would have it, a Gray Line shuttle arrived just as we did.  We hopped aboard for the trip from oldtown to downtown to their main tour terminal.  And now the brochure.  We had an hour to kill, so folks suggested we cross the street to Nickels for breakfast.  We did not know at the time, but Nickels is famous for the original Montreal smoked meat sandwich.  A loyal blog follower advised us before the trip that we had to get a smoked meat sandwich in Montreal.  We would, later.  But for now, it was time to board the bus and give my Antioch College hat a place of honor.]

[The bus turned the corner . . . and there through the rain soaked windows was Dunns. We had been advised that Dunns was also a great place for a smoked meat sandwich.   And after “developing” the photo, discovered that it was also convenient to an XXX Massage, apparently recommended after a smoked meat sandwich?]

[Dorchester Square, the heart of downtown.]

[Still along the Square (I believe) with glances up the street to Mount Royal in the distance.]

[A city street (as opposed to a rural meadow?).]

[Notre-Dame Basilica]

[The bus dropped us at the foot of the hill, about a two block walk to the Basilica. Fortunately the rain kept us cool, if wet.]

[The Biddies pause out front for a photo op.  I struggled to keep the camera dry as best as I could.]

[It took twice as long to finish the interior construction as it did for the outside.  Our guide advised us the interior was quite spectacular.  He was right.  If you have followed this blog you know we have featured about every cathedral in Europe to the point where the Super cried out, “No more churches!”  But this one has a real WOW factor.  Amazing.]

[Let’s listen in about the place.]

[Back outside, from the front stairs, our bus will be waiting at the bottom of the street on right . . . ]

[But first we hied to our left to check out a couple of unique looking statues . . . ]

[Why yes, I was getting rather drenched doing this . . . ]

[The Old Brewery Mission is the largest resource for homeless men in Quebec and for homeless women in Canada (Wikipedia).]

[Now back on the bus, Chateau Ramezay Museum and Historic Site in Old Montreal.]

[Nelson’s Column erected in 1809 in Place Jacques-Cartier, dedicated to the memory of Admiral Horatio Nelson, following his death at the Battle of Trafalgar.  Montreal’s pillar stands as the second-oldest “Nelson’s Column” in the world, after the Nelson Monument in Glasgow.  It is also the city’s oldest monument and is the oldest war monument in Canada. (Wikipedia)]

[Didn’t know this . . . Montreal is 375 years old this year.  And Canada is 150 years old this year.  Lots of celebrating going on!]

[A really old colonial era building.  So old, in fact, even Mr. Google couldn’t find it?  But I know our guide told us something about it?]

[Love these cobblestone pedestrian-friendly streets.]

[Another old building . . . ]

[Maybe we could look it up from the street sign?  Hey, we were on St. Paul.]

[Cirque du Soleil, on the river]

[The original dock from which we would have boarded our ship . . . high water prevented such.]

[There’s Mount Royal again . . . ]

[And a reminder, rivers can flood . . . ]

[This one just a mere 131 years ago.]

[Back in our neighborhood.  Our place was just around the corner from the last red awning on the right.]

[Place Jacque-Cartier, our perpendicular crossing boulevard with Nelson’s Column at the top of the hill.]

[Buildings along our street, Rue St. Paul . . . ]

[Victoria Bridge, I suspect . . . ]

[As we head toward . . . ]

[Olympic Village, from 1976.  The Olympic Stadium is getting an upgrade.]

[In the village . . . ]

[A statue of Jackie Robinson.  I’m sure you’ll remember when the Dodgers called him up to the majors, he was playing in Montreal . . . ]

[A better clear day photo on loan from the internet.]

[Remember, we’re shooting all these Olympic photos through the bus windows as merrily we rolled along.]

[The movie theater, Star Cite.]

[Maurice Richard Arena, for hockey during the Olympics.]

[And there’s Maurice, a/k/a, The Rocket, now.]

[Do you recognize this place yet?]

[Saputo Stadium, for soccer]

[Olympic Village, now senior housing]

[Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral.]

[What the sign says, and in its neighborhood is . . . ]

[The first view of St. Joseph’s Oratory, the largest church in Canada . . . ]

[This was from outside the bus – we pulled into the parking lot just for this photo op.]

[And now we’re on the way to . . . ]

[Mount Royal, the city’s overlook]

[Our view of the city is unfortunately . . . soggy!]

[Nonetheless, we were all happy to be here!]

[A rather famous university, respected worldwide.  It was hard to get a feel for the campus driving through what essentially seemed like a residential neighborhood and looking through rain-soaked bus windows.]

[Back downtown at the end of our bus tour, Underground Montreal (RESO) – I had no idea! This place is huge – 20 miles of corridors with shops, restaurants, hotels, banks, etc., all designed to keep the 500,000 people a day who visit the place out of the Montreal weather.]

[And here’s three Underground photos by the Super . . . ]

[And whom amongst us doesn’t enjoy a good cookie?  Certainly not The Biddies!]

[Back out on the street . . . eh, voila!  Reuben’s was also a place we were told had great smoked meat sandwiches.]

[So down we went into Reuben’s.  And here’s what happens when an older person attempts a selfie.]

[When in Canada – Reetz and I split this.  Quite tasty.]

[And here it is, a Montreal smoked meat sandwch!]

[The very same sandwich from the Super’s vantage . . . ]

[Having seen the photos, we were sure one sandwich be enough to feed the three of us.]

[Dig in, girls!]

[We very much enjoyed the sandwich, and it was enough for all of us . . . and left room for dessert!]

[I think Reetz is having one of those special moments!]

[The Super’s portion was abetted with a bit of the grape.]

[Reuben’s gets a thumbs-up from another satisfied customer.]

[I believe she may have been some sort of queen or something.  We had hoped to walk all the way “home” from downtown to oldtown, or as far as we could, in the Underground. But the best laid plans . . . we thought we had hit a dead end and came out to a still rainy day and walked the rest of the way (well over a mile) with an intermittent stop at a McDonald’s to get out of the rain and have a coffee (my first experience at touch pad ordering – uffda!)]

[After drying out “home,” it was then time to go out and get wet again looking for fine dining.  This time along the river on Rue de la Commune and past the crowds heading for Cirque du Soleil.]

[Somewhere along events of the day, Reetz ran into folks who were going to be on our cruise and they recommended a restaurant along here with great fish and chips.  We think we found it.  It was a real hot spot.  The hostess said we could have this table if we were out by 9:00 as it was reserved.  We promised.]

[We ordered two as we figured that would be enough for the three of us.  Our server concurred.  It was very good – still we couldn’t finish off both of them.]

[Then excitement at the bar caught my eye.  The bartender was stacking glasses . . . ]

[Then poured some spirits over it . . . ]

[Then set it on fire!!  I had to find out about it.  They said it’s called a Russian Roulette.]

[Gaspar Taverne . . . another three thumbs up!  Then home to bed.  We would be boarding the ship on the morrow.]

You know what’s nice about Montreal? Not only is it a beautiful city, but you have Cuban cigars.  ~ Jamie Farr

Up Next:  Softball?  Canada?