Tournament Time

Summer is on the wane, evenings are getting noticeably shorter, it's the middle of August already and that means softball season has come to an end for my grandchildren. That's too bad because the young players have just started to come together and work as a team. Another couple of weeks would have been perfect timing. They are finally thinking ahead and planning baseball strategy.... and as you know, baseball is full of strategy.

But it's not quite over. Just one last blast on the town's baseball diamonds.... the highly anticipated annual Baseball Tournament!

Our family has been ably represented since June by numbers 3 and 4 on the "5 and under' Yellow team and number 5 on the "8 and under" Red team. And now it's time to challenge for the championship!

 "5 and under" Yellows played against "5 and under" Reds at a well attended 10am game on Saturday morning. Lots of enthusiastic mums and dads, and aunts and uncles cheering them on. And at least one Nana.... me.

I have no idea if the Yellows beat the Reds or vice versa, I don't think anyone was keeping accurate score, but after the game each player got a drink, a slice of yummy pizza, and was presented with a "solid gold" trophy by the coach with a handshake and some words of praise. And you have to hand it to the coaches.... they are teaching basic baseball skills to five year old children who really don't have a clue what it's all about, and the coaches do it with kindness, loads of patience, smiles and a huge sense of fun.

"8 and under" Reds took on the Black team in an early 8:30am game, then challenged the Blues for the final at 11:15am. Skies were mostly blue with some grey clouds, so we all had fingers crossed that the rain would stay away.

It was a hard fought game. Reds led from the start with some snappy fielding and a couple of spectacular home runs, but Blues came from behind in the final innings to take the game 13-12.

 After the game, a drink, a slice of pizza and another "solid gold" trophy for each player. As the coach gave out the trophies, he gave each player an individual pep talk noting their considerable baseball achievements during the summer such as memorable home runs, double plays, spectacular base running, and how each person had improved, what they need to work on for next season, and his hopes for them in the future. Hooray for the coaches of these teams, they deserve "solid gold" medals!

 And the happy recipient of a trophy. He's going to join the rep team during the winter to hone his baseball skills ready for next season. He really really REALLY loves baseball.

Note: I was surprised to find that this is blog post number 899, just one more to go for 900! Perhaps I should have saved this comment for the next post. Thank you to all the bloggers around the world who have read my ramblings since I started this blog in November 2006 and have left me comments.... Happy Blogging to you all!

Sunset on Steroids

The sunset reflected beautifully on the cumulous clouds on the horizon so I grabbed the camera and went to the nearby church parking area.
This is how I saw the clouds....

....but with the function selection turned to colour enhancement, this is how the camera saw the clouds.

Which one do you like best?

Juried Art Again

A few more of the paintings that were chosen to be shown at the Juried Art Exhibition in the spring. I regret not taking note of the artist's names and the titles of the works. Sorry artists, if you happen to see this post.

This was a small acrylic painting, approximately 9"x12" I think.... brightly painted ice fishing huts on a frozen lake. A lovely feeling of isolation and yet community..... and cold!

I loved the colours of the dramatic skies in these two matched landscapes. And they looked perfect displayed on the red wall. Often the colours surrounding a painting can make such a difference to the appearance and effect of the finished product.

What's going to happen when that bird in the top right corner finally makes a landing?
I'm holding my breath.....

This was my favourite painting in the show, it was large, about 36" x 48".
Memories of the artist's dad's workshop.  I stood and looked at this painting for a long time, visualizing the man who worked here, building things and repairing things. Just like many dads.
I can't remember the artist's name but I remember the title: Portrait of a Good Man. 

Jammin' Again

Big juicy blueberries were on sale at the grocery store yesterday so I just had to buy some, and jam fever took over. Add some sugar, juice of a lemon and some pectin and I was jammin'. Yes, I admit it.... I am a serial jammer, I just can't help myself.

First clean the blueberries of stalks and leaves, and smoosh them to a pulp. I suppose you could put them in a blender for some super-smooshing like the commercial jam factories do, but I've never done that as I prefer some whole fruit in the jam. Lets be real!

Squeeze the lemon juice in (a real lemon is best, not that stuff in a bottle!) and add the pectin and bring to the boil, making sure you squish any large fruit against the side of the cooking pot. And then gently mix in the sugar..... a cup of sugar for every cup of fruit, and stir constantly for at least a couple of minutes with a wooden spoon when it comes to a hard boil that you can't stir down.

Take the pan off the heat, stir for 5 or 6 minutes to cool the jam (listen to music and stir in time to the beat to pass the time) and make sure the fruit doesn't all float to the top, then pour into hot jars and seal. The seals will POP as the jam cools. These 7 jars cost me approximately $18 for ingredients, not counting the cost of the electricity, so about $2.57 each, half the price of store jam, and 10 times better!

My runner beans have started to produce, and I picked the first beans yesterday. So exciting! I've never grown runners before. Lots of little baby beans are ready to grow so I'll have to water the plants faithfully every evening during this sunny weather, just to make sure!

Come on bees.... come buzzing by and make me some more beans. I love these beans, they remind me of Sunday dinners as a child in England. And the humming birds love the red flowers too.

This is my magical bean slicer... the Krisk Bean Slicer - Made in Australia! It top'n'tails the beans with a sharp blade, then will slice the bean and take off the strings all in one easy action. Fabulous! Every kitchen needs one.

Interloper

....... intruder, trespasser, incomer, squatter, gate-crasher, uninvited guest, unwanted visitor, an invasive species has reared its head in my hanging flower basket.

But you have to give those dandelions points for perseverance!

Juried Art Show 2017

The local Art Gallery holds a Juried Art Show each year in the spring, and artists all over Ontario are invited to submit their work. A panel of experts..... well, people who know about such things, I don't really know how they qualify as experts...... decide which works will be on display. It's only a small gallery so not everything will end up on the walls.
Here are just a few of the works that I really liked. But sadly I didn't note all of the titles or the names of the artists.

This was a depiction of Bingham Canyon Mine, Utah, the largest open pit copper mine in the world.

Life of the Ocean by Vicky Talwar. Acrylic and mixed media 36"x48"

Collage.... many printed images combined to make one large image.  I wish I had made a note of the artist.

Some more images to come.....

Dirt Bike

What could be more fun for a nine year old boy than your very own dirt bike? And he lives on two acres of grass and trees, so there's plenty of room to ride it off-road without getting into too much trouble. But first, it's necessary to learn the rules of the trails and how to handle the bike safely, so off he went to Honda Junior Red Riders dirt bike school for some training and hands on experience.

 Junior Red Riders is a learning experience for ages 6 to 12. A day at dirt bike school teaches the fundamentals and the importance of safety gear, how to ride safely off-road and why it is important to respect the riding environment and conditions.

Safety gear is essential. The kids learn basic riding skills, acceleration, braking, balance, starting, stopping, some maintenance and some trouble shooting. He's hot and sweaty after a morning of instruction. And it looks like he had lots of fun.