Sound Tigers Win!

 

We went to our first AHL hockey game of the season last night (Thursday 12/27/2012). Saw our favorite BPort Sound Tigers beat the CT Whale 3-0.

 

 

We bought tickets at the door (and had to pay $2 more for each for some reason). They were in the upper bowl. Lynn was a bit nervous sitting so high up that she moved down a bit. But Richard and I enjoyed the view.

 

The XL Center has a rather tasty pizza. It is kind of thick and chewy with lots of flavor, a nice balance between cheese and sauce. Not gourmet but better than the cardboard-like slices at some venues. Richard had a slice of pepperoni (and then another) and I had a slice of cheese. We shared an orange soda. Lynn got herself a pretzel.

 

Pretty decent crowd - over 6K but the place still looked empty.

 

This was two in a row for the Tigers against the Whale. They played in BPort on Wednesday but there was icey snow coming down. The STigers won 5-2.

Busy Saturday

Another typical Saturday for us: "go, dog, go!"

Picked up Richard about 8:15 a.m.  and took him to roller hockey. Stopped along the way at our usual place and got a plain bagel for Richard and a small black coffee and french crueler for me.

We played the best team today-they seem to win the championship every session. And they are good. But today, they were not good enough to beat us. Richard scored the first goal of the game.  The game was neck and neck the whole time. Ended in a 2 to 2 tie after the overtime period.  Wish we would've won but a tie against the best team isn't so bad either.

Stopped at the bank on the way home. Merry Christmas to our favorite teller, Claudia.

While Richard showered and got dressed, Lynn and I chit chatted.

Got a quick bite to eat at KFC on our way to New Haven to see the annual creche exhibit at the Knights of Columbus Museum. We've been going there for years (it's FREE and has FREE parking) and the staff recognize us (we visit a couple times a year). The two guys at the desk now always remark how tall Richard is and how they remember when he was just a little tyke.

 



This time, Sr. Pat met us at the museum and saw the exhibit with us. It turned out to be something of a miracle because we got our signals mixed up and for a while we were about a half mile apart trying to connect via the miracle of cell phones. But it all worked out and we enjoyed each others company while going through the galleries.

The museum also included their 12th annual Christmas Tree Exhibit.  There were 24 trees decorated by various area Catholic elementary schools.  Sr. Pat's former school had a tree and Sr. Pat recognized the name of a teacher at another school as a former pupil. My, how time flies.

Not as green when we visited.

On the way home, Richard was hungry so we stopped at a Longhorn Steakhouse. He had a NY strip steak with mashed potatoes and a Caesar salad. I had a sirloin sandwich and fries. Filling. Moderately priced, we saved a few bucks because we had a coupon from Sr. Pat.

Speaking of food....On our way home, donuts popped into my mind. But not just any donuts. On Wednesday, I was doing a life safety survey in New Jersey when I overheard someone talking about donuts to die for. They specifically mentioned this little stand that is located at Cabelas in East Hartford, outside of the main entrance. We've had them before and, it's true, they are the best-probably because they are made fresh right there.

Even though it was slightly out of our way and dark (although it was barely supper time), we took a chance and found they were still there. We bought the last of their sugar donuts and a half dozen of the apple cider ones. They practically melt in your mouth (I'm sure they must be fat-free and low calorie, NOT). Richard and I split one on the spot...yum.

To top off a good day, when I got home, I found two (2) packages in the mail for me. Filled with goodies I'm sure. Thanks Mom. Thanks Lisa.

Ornament

Friday's mail brought a pleasant surprise: a delightful wooden Christmas tree ornament (see above) from my sister Mary and her family.

Although I don't have a tree to hang it on, I hung it above my computer monitor so I could frequently see it.

Being the curious sort, I looked up the the URL on the tag and was so amazed at what I found I have to share it. The ornament was made by P. Graham Dunn in Ohio. Their Story is what amazed me and it is worth reading. I don't want to spoil it for you but God certainly works in mysterious ways. The Factory-and-Store page has a 10 minute video clip that I thought was worth watching because you got to meet the couple and get some more history and a tour of the main factory. This will be on our list to visit next time we are in Ohio.

Thanks Mary.

What I've been watching

As you may know, I don't subscribe to cable TV or have one of the digital TV antennas (which don't really work). I have found that amount of time for TV viewing is more than adequately filled by a pretty good selection of DVDs (for FREE) from the public library supplemented with an occasional purchase. I am particularly found of the inexpensive releases of old movies and TV shows.

Here are few things I've recently been watching:

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I bought this at Target for $5. So far I've watched three of the four movies. These were hard to view because the sound is pretty scratchy and the actors have distinct British accents (and there are no captions or subtitles). I didn't care for Arthur Wonter as Holmes; his Dr. Watson was portrayed by Ian Fleming (but not of Bond fame). The 4th movie has Basil Rathbone as Holmes and I anticipate that I will enjoy that one most of the four.  Each of the 4 DVDs has a corny intro and outro by Christopher Lee, who played Holmes at one point in his career.

To my surprise, the highlight of set has been the 39 episode of a 1954-55 TV series. I really like Ronald Howard (son of Leslie) as Holmes (see picture above). In the series, Holmes is portrayed as a young man who is extraordinarily perceptive but not always smart. Dr. Watson is played as a recent veteran of Britain's imperial adventures in Afghanistan.

So far, I've watched about 2/3 of the episodes and have only encounter one clinker. The rest have been quite enjoyable. Each episode in only 30 minutes long. So you don't waste much time. Did I mention that everything in the set is in B&W?

 

I borrowed this one, "The Dawn Patrol" from the public library. This 1938 movie is also in B&W. I have seen it many times during my life. Most Errol Flynn movies are worth a view. This movie is actually a remake of a 1930 movie and uses much of the dogfight footage from the earlier film. The big difference is Errol Flynn and David Niven and Basil Rathbone in the 1938 version.

Someday I'd like to see the 1930 version. I remember seeing both versions on late night TV when I was in high school.  While the DVD had a bunch of extra shorts, I would've enjoyed a commentary instead.

 

I also borrowed this one, Act of Valor, from the public library. It is a 2012 movie (in color). I watched it because a colleague had given it a thumbs up when he saw it the theater during its original release.

This was a bloody action film. Hard to stop watching because of the story line. Want to see what happens next (even though you could figure it out). All the parts were played by real US Navy Seals. I didn't have any complaints about the acting. Made with the cooperation of the US government and, as you might expect, lots of patriotic overtones. Thank you guys for protecting us from the bad guys.

 

"And now for something completely different...."

 

My friend, Gary, at the office, let me borrow his set of Christian movies. Flywheel was the first one I watched. I was surprised at how much I liked it because you could tell exactly what was going to happen and everything turned out okay once the main character surrendered his life to Jesus. I still cried because I like miracles and happy endings.

The movie did have a neat twist toward the end. I was also impressed at how professional the DVD/movie was for a film shot by amateurs. The commentary was very good and interesting (as long as you don't mind the Christian sales pitch during the technical explanations). However, the story of how the movie was made was almost as enjoyable and interesting as the original movie about the slimy used car salesman.

 

Facing the Giants was the second of the three movies set that I watched. All three are by the same organization and share some of the same actors. This one, as you might guess from the DVD cover, is about football. It is another old fashioned rags to riches story about a high school football team. Pretty much the same story as Flywheel: Loser football coach's life turns completely around when he gives his life to Jesus (aaaahhh, if only life was that simple).

Still, as I mentioned above, I like happy endings and a riveting story (even if you just know what is going to happen). Hooray, the good guys win!!! The director's commentary on this one too was worthwhile and interesting.

The third film in the set is "Fireproof." It's about a fire fighter having marriage problems. As you might guess, the marriage is saved when he gives his life to Jesus. For some reason, I just can't bring myself to watch it. Perhaps it reminds me of my own divorce and the failure of the RC Church to help when I asked. I do believe that God is an essential part of a successful marriage. Too bad the church was not willing to step in and emphasize that. They are now wrestling with the consequences of their ambivalence towards the sacrament of marriage (and the corresponding sale of annulments). Sorry for getting political.



Journey to Bethlehem

Made the annual trek to Bethlehem today with my son, Richard. Been going there for years to mail my Christmas cards. Every year they have a new cachet you can stamp on your cards (in addition to the Bethlehem post mark). This year's is #76, a gingerbread man (it's got to be because it has a bow tie).

The weather was warm (50F) and sunny and didn't really feel like Christmas will soon be here. It took us about an hour to drive there, a combination of highway and back roads. Bethlehem used to be very rural but a few years ago someone planted some strange seeds and lots of big houses have sprouted up in the farm fields. It's still pretty rural though.

It's a small post office (as you can see from the picture above). The small lobby was packed with people, all ages, searching for their favorite stamp/cachet. Several tables are set up with bins full of cachet/stamps and ink pads with green ink. We're still finding splotches of green on our hands even though we thought we wiped it all off.

I was able to get about 50 cards done in time to take to Bethlehem. So check your card when it arrives. We put several cachets on each card.

On our way home, we stopped for lunch at G's Burgers. This has become part of the tradition since Richard joined me a few years ago. They have great hamburgers and foot long hot dogs at a reasonable price. They also sell ice cream. 

Another one "Bites" the dust

And then there was one.

Today I had oral surgery to extract a fractured wisdom tooth. Ever since Thanksgiving I have been plagued by toothaches that have sometimes flared up annoyingly. Initially, the dentist attributed it to "night grinding" and he tried to smooth out the high spots on several teeth. But the pain was not beat.

This past weekend the pain flared with a vengeance. So first thing Monday, I contacted my dentist. As I feared, he could not find anything overtly disastrous and maintained his mantra of "night grinding" (by the teeth).

However, he had the assistant take some x-rays. That was something of a chore because the modern digital x-ray machine couldn't reach the tooth at the back of my mouth (perhaps that is why they are so quick to remove kids' wisdom teeth - the x-ray machine can't read that far back). So they had to use the old-fashioned film method. The dentist said it's been 5 years or so since they did it that way.

Again, the x-rays did not reveal anything drastically wrong. The "clincher" was a bite test. When I bit on that last tooth: "Zoowheee! There she blows...!"

We had known for several years that the tooth was fractured and would someday need to come out. It's time had come.

When I went in this morning for the extraction, I did not know if I was having one or two extractions. My dentist had recommended that the matching wisdom tooth above be also removed. The two on the other side are long gone (funny-I thought I was only missing one. Guess that explains why I'm not as smart as I thought I was).

After discussing all the options with the oral surgeon, I decided we would just stick with one extraction for today. The major factors were that the top one was fine and not bothering me and, very important, there was not quantity discount (i.e., 2 for the price of one). 

I'm not exactly a big fan of injections, especially novocaine. On the other hand, the idea of not having anything was less pleasing. God must really love these kinds of situations because they get people to think a lot more about Him. I was even chanting to myself, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." [Phil 4:13]  That sorta helped. I also brought along a couple old "Power of Positive Thinking" pamphlets from Norman Vincent Peale. Those also were a big helped and calmed me down. In his time, a lot of folks thought NVP's Christianity bordered on heresy. But it makes a lot of sense to me. And it really helped me get through this. Thanks God!

Boy, am I glad I only had the one out. Some may accuse me of low pain tolerance but I can't imagine having to deal with twice as much pain as I have now. I don't think the extra strength Tylenol would be enough; probably would need some real drugs.

So now I just have 1 wisdom tooth left. Guess it will have to last me to retirement.

Let It BEgin

PEACE!

Today is the start of Advent in the world of Christianity. The Wikipedia entry has some interesting notes: "The term is an anglicized version of the Latin word adventus, meaning 'coming.' Latin adventus is the translation of the Greek word parousia, commonly used in reference to the second coming of Christ. For Christians, the season of Advent anticipates the coming of Christ from two different perspectives: the opportunity to share in the ancient longing for the coming of the Messiah, and to be alert for his second coming."

Somehow, last evening, I stumbled across a very interesting heavy metal version of the advent song, "Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel." Hope you enjoy it.

If this is your cup of tea, the band just released an entire album of seasonal favorites done in a similar style. It should help you to "stay awake" during this season of preparation.

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Updated Tuesday 22 December for new link to song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6nSw9YIke4

SAT Saturday

Today my son, Richard, a high school senior, took the SAT. As you may know, this is a test required for college admissions. Although I don't know how well he did score wise, I am very pleased with the mature manner in which he approached the test.  Initially, he resisted the idea of the test, then was ambivalent, and finally took responsibility by researching the test on his own initiative and doing his best to prepare even though he only had a short lead time (i.e., registered 10/28).

I picked him up at 7:30 a.m. and took him to his high school where the test was being administered. The test started ~8:30 a.m. and took approximately 4 hours.

The experience reminded me of a colonoscopy in that it seemed that everyone was hungry after it was over.  We had a delightful lunch at one of our favorite pizza places, Angelina's Pizzeria. We shared/split a "slice" of cheese pizza and a large garden salad containing wonderful greens, black olives, slices of cucumbers, and grape tomatoes and ranch dressing on the side. It was so tasty that we added a "slice" of pepperoni pizza. While we ate, we talked about the test, school, sports and watched a college football game on the big screen TV.  Always an interesting and diverse crowd present too. This may be the first time we didn't see any police or state troopers (but Richard posits there were probably some undercover agents present).

One of the costs of the SAT was that Richard was not able to play in Game 2 of the championship series for his roller hockey team. Unfortunately, they lost without him. The new season (Winter 2013) begins later this month.