8 games in 18 hours

... and still can feel my feet (no small feat - nor small feet).

Saturday night - Susie was gone overnight for the Fryeburg Fair so I took three evening games starting at 6:40pm (not leaving me alone with those kids! they may kill each other, but they're not taking me with them!). Being a Peewee and two Bantam games, they were fairly fast and as all "C" level checking games are, rather entertaining. I was really "on my game" for this set (sometimes you just see the game with more clarity and decisiveness) and I even got to toss a coach - which I haven't actually done for a few years - who was loudly irate over a "NON-Icing" call and wouldn't shut up or calm down. (Icing you say? Nobody gets irate over an icing call - or non-call. But you'd be wrong!) By the time I finished the necessary paperwork (all game misconducts require a report) and got home and to bed it was 11:30. Then up at 5:30am to be on the ice in Falmouth at 7:00am for five more games (1 squirt and 2 peewees, then 2 girls games). When the kids lined up for the first faceoff, I was impressed with how geared up they were - squirts seldom look this competent. They started out quite aggressively and I quickly called a penalty for checking. The confused coach asked what the penalty was for, and the game resumed. At the very next whistle, he politely repeated his request for an explanation, which I gave. He then said "but this is a peewee game. They are allowed to check!". "Really? Peewee's? Not Squirts?" said I? The timekeeper confirmed it. (wow - this set ALWAYS starts with Squirts, but that explained why they looked so strong) I offered my apologies to the coach and player and let him out of the penalty box and cancelled the penalty (thankfully, they were not scored on while he was incorrectly being punished). Needless to say I didn't feel "on my game" for the rest of this one, but things went better after that. The one coach's complaint of the day was from Falmouth in the 3rd game, who felt I was being too strict and calling too many penalties of his team. "Come on Ref - we're trying to teach them how to check!" he complained. "But coach, I called a trip - not an illegal check!". I refrained from saying what I wanted to say which would have been "I understand you are trying to teach them how to check, but you need to understand that I'm simply letting you know they haven't learned yet! Keep trying".

Beach weather

stormy weather is a favorite time to go to the beach - to look for whatever the waves might wash ashore. Granted, tomorrow would be a better time to go explore but today is when I had some spare time with the kids.

Cheryl Wheeler at the Narrows

As part of our long-on-going 25th anniversary, Sue arranged to get tickets to see my favorite folk singer - Cheryl Wheeler - at a place in Fall River called "The Narrows Center For Arts". It was a secret (and I'm so wonderful that I never attempted to guess - although when pressed to guess, I got it on my first attempt) that she had managed to keep since earlier in the summer - no small feat considering the amount of people who knew about it. Her primary co-conspirators were Auntie Maria and Maria's best friend Joanne Clemons, who's daughter (older daughter - I used to coach younger daughter Barbie in softball) Debbie's husband Steve is best friends with Kathleen who happens to be Cheryl's partner, whom they are building a house next door to, on the property they bought off of them (got all that?). Joanne (maybe with some help from Maria who is also claiming some credit!!!) got 5 tickets and reserved seating at a table 10 feet from the stage (thankfully NOT on the 200 year old wooden church pews that some people got to sit on) - so Maria, Joanne and Joanne's husband Allan joined us for the show.

The warmup act was respectably good, and Cheryl was in fine form with her unconventional wit, crystal clear voice and beautiful fingerpicking guitar playing. Julie has been babysitting a lot - including this night - and having recently discovered and become a fan of Cheryl's, she requested us to get her some "swag" (J & M didn't know what "swag" was until Sue explained - concert gear/CD's/T-shirts/etc.. - but Allan knew it as a pirate term, and coincidentally Friday was "talk like a pirate day"). We got a CD with JuBee's favorite song "When fall Comes To New England" on it, and after the show, Cheryl stopped by our table to say "Hi" and she signed the CD for Julie.
So all in all, a lovely evening with great company, music, and lots of humor - a bit of a microcosm of our past 25 years! That you, Aunt Maria & Joanne (and Allan too).

ABSOLUTELY check out Cheryl in concert if you get the chance. Her pre-song stories of how the song came to be will have you roaring in laughter, while the songs themselves might continue the laugh-fest or might bring a tear to your eyes with the eloquent beauty of the music and lyrics.

this was Sue's favorite number
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfni_ZMhx5o&feature=related


here is Cheryl's song about how she must have done something terrific in a prior life to deserve a partner like hers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6j5HOuIpeo&feature=related

here is the counter-song that her partner might have written
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6j5HOuIpeo&feature=related

Here is the link for "The Narrows" website
(easy to get to and free parking!)
http://www.ncfta.org/

Advanced Children

People like to brag about how advanced their children are, and we are no different in that regard.

SO - tonight I am sitting at the middle school open house with my 6th grader Joe. The principle is explaining her description of middle-schoolers saying "and 6th grade boys are just silly. They are likely to sit at lunch mixing some concoction of ketchup and jello - and paying someone else to eat it!" As her audience is politely chuckling, Joe quietly says to me "I did that LAST year!"

Youth Hockey season 2008/9 starts early

Every September there is a referee meeting local ref's who intend to officiate either Yankee and/or So.Shore Conference games. Although it is typically the "same old/ same old" information, It's good to attend in case there is that one bit of knowledge one might otherwise miss (like two years ago when I couldn't make it and didn't know that our state was doing an experiment with a new "icing" rule - I figured it out when in the middle of my first game I informed by the coaches and my ref partner that I was calling it wrong). This past tuesday I learned that the two year old experiment had ended and we are reverting back to the original ruling (thank goodness). I also discovered that assignments would be given out via phone on Wednesday night for games this weekend! (Normally first Yankee games would be 2/3 weeks away still). So I've already gotten my first 5 games under my belt - 3 Mite "C"s and 2 Squirt "C"s. The only complaints from anybody was from coaches who hadn't yet had a practice session and had not even met some of their players until 20 minutes before game time. Mite C players tend to have difficulty figuring out where to stand for a faceoff, but generally we can ask the coach what postion "Billy" is supposed to be playing and we can move him there - but these poor coaches didn't even know who "Billy" was! (at certain times, even "Billy" didn't seem to know who "Billy" was, or what town he played for, or which goalie he should be shooting at!)

Makes me look forward to the 1st year Peewee's and trying to teach them the right way to check (tweet "nope, that wasn't legal" - tweet "neither was that" - tweet "no , this isn't football" - tweet "no, this isn't wrestling")

for the sake of simplicity....

lets just say...

I "get it" that it is an expected part of childhood to test boundries and see what you can get away with.

but they "don't get it" that it is an equally required part of parenthood to set boundries and ruin kids lives when they break the rules.

Being "sneaky" is bad enough, but being stupid about being sneaky just drives me nuts! I know it's a short drive, but Jamie & Nikki have the pedal to the metal lately.

Let's all go to Arizona to visit Jason Silverman

Jason is one of my best friends.

(actually, he SUCKS because he never writes, calls, IM's or emails - I hope you "google" yourself and read this Jason! jk lol)

He is smart & zany & eccentric & a very good musician. (I assume he is a good architect although I have never personally seen his work, and he has now quit that occupation to do full-time music - I think just to make me jealous)

We played in a band together off and on for a few years. Then he moved to Worchester, then Arizona near his mother and sister (so I suppose I must forgive him).

FINALLY!!!!! He shows up on MySpace http://www.myspace.com/jasonsbass and facebook and writes a blog about the band "EastonAshe" he's in now. So - everybody - go visit Jason's myspace page, or go read his blog at http://jasonbass.blogspot.com/ even if you don't know him - just to bombard him with site hits. "Friend" him through FaceBook if you like (I know Scotty needs more friends to stay with or ahead of Jen!). Pour out the love!

A Whirl Wind Week

As summer's ending the schedule heats up (including squeezing in the relaxation events). Saturday we visited friends for kayaking on Glen Charlie Pond, supper, and relaxed partying. Sunday Corey & I went and set up the final 4-H tent for the upcoming fair, then we all headed to Hanson for swimming and canoeing. Monday was final shopping for back-to-school, which was Tuesday - getting them out the door in the morning and filling out the emergency/permission forms in the evening. Wednesday was our adventure-filled Anniversary "off" day - kids on the bus, 5 mile bike ride, train to Boston, subway to the Library for research, lunch with Mary, more research, trains back home, kids to 4-H, out to dinner, pick up kids. Thursday more 4-H after work and grocery shopping and send Sue TO work. Friday - straight from work to bring Yon to work to 4-H (fair opens at 5:00pm) to catch up with everyone else. Although the fair runs late on friday, all day & night saturday, and sunday morning - that is actually a sort of relaxing time where other than keeping a loose eye out on the kids, I get to poke around all day and sit/watch and bid on a few pieces of junk/treasure at the auction on both nights, and eat fried dough. Sunday afternoon brings the Edwards Family cookout. With any luck, Monday will be a day without too much labor - as I sit around putting off for another day all of the obvious cleaning/fixing projects that I have been putting off for another day!

The Dividing Line

25 years ago today was the last day we would be single people. I was 28-1/2 years old and Sue was 20-1/2. Needless to say, stepping from that lifestyle into the “Married” life is a big change at any age. I recall that leading up to the proposal was rather nerve-wracking, but the night before the wedding I was nonchalant. She was an amazing and intriguing, wonderful person, who I (along with everyone else in the world) loved. Of course I assumed we would have a long lifetime of grand adventures – that went without saying, so it probably did.

“well I know it’s kind’a strange but every time I’m near you I just run out of things to say. I hope you understand. Every time I tried to tell you, the words just came out wrong, so I’ll have to say I love you in a song” (Jim Croce)

Early on couples are still figuring each other out, learning all of the quirks and foibles – fatal flaws and quaint eccentricities – that the other had managed to successfully suppress during the courtship period. Some of us worry too much about things that aren’t that big an issue, while some of us don’t place enough concern over things we really should attend to more seriously. Are we always this way or is there a point in time where we say to ourselves “I need to fix this”? And which one of us gets to determine who is over-reacting and who is not responding enough?

I am still nonchalant about a lot of marriage stuff, but is it actually that the whole experience has left me peacefully content, or that I am still selfishly oblivious and taking things for granted? I am not yet at the dividing line where I have spent more of my life married than not – I won’t get there for another three years. Once my “married” longevity exceeds the length of my “bachelorhood” will I start to see the error of my ways, finally give in to reality and “get it right”? Does it take that long for the wife to finally break the hubby’s old "bachelor habits"? Does it take that long for me to finally firmly grip that it really IS all my fault? Unfortunately for her, she crossed the dividing line five years ago. Is she doomed to suffer another three years waiting for me to join her in the same stage of life? I just hope and pray that she will put up with me long enough for me to find out the answer. It goes without saying that it has been 25 amazing years of grand adventures and wedded bliss (maybe not so much so for her! – sorry, I’m stealing HER line here) but my biggest baddest fatal flaw is still allowing it to go unsaid.

“every time the time is right all the words just come out wrong, so I’ll have to say I love you in a song”

Happy 25th Anniversary Eve, baby – I Love You.

We've been together since way back when

Sometimes I never want to see you again

But I want you to know After all these years

You're still the one I want whisperin' in my ear

You're still the one I want to talk to in bed

Still the one That turns my head

We're still having fun And you're still the one

Changing, our love is going gold

Even though we grow old, it grows new

You're still the one That I love to touch

Still the one And I can't get enough

We're still having fun And you're still the one

(Orleans)

Fruits of our labor - 2008

Still trying - at least THIS time I passed

So I answered the Craigslist ad - Classic Rock singer/guitarist needed for South Shore band. I went to jam/audition with three guys trying to put a band together. They were "guitar (lead/rhythm), bass and drums with strong backup vocals who just need to find someone who can sing & play lots of 60's-70's rock". I do get to say I passed their audition with flying colors. Sadly, they didn't pass my audition. Nice guys, for sure - with a nice well equiped practice set-up.
Strong backing vocals? Not even close.
Instrumentally polished? My kitchen floor is more polished than their musical presentation (and you've seen my kichen floor!).
The guitar player was the closest to competent, vocally and instrumentally - someone who under the right circumastances I could possibly work with.
The drummer was uninspired and not exactly a human metronome, and didn't sing at all (maybe he was simply the smartest of the three) - you could envision getting by with him with plenty of practice and a strong surrounding band.
The bass player was rough (to put it nicely) on his instrument, and although he was obliviously bad as a lead singer he was clueless at harmonies - he was an enthusiastic singer though.
They loved the songs that I played, while their proposed playlist was boring and lame - but certainly plenty of standards that everyone would recognize and would take me no time to learn. The final nail in the coffin was when they asked if I could sing "House of the rising sun" (but give me credit - I sang as much as I could remember). If I was going to find a group to be virtually my backup band, I would actually want them to be a bit better than me. I am not great by any measure, so if I were to be head-and-shoulders the best in the band, that band is doomed.

Did I mention they were real nice guys? If we randomly met at a house party and just decided to jam for the heck of it with no expectations, it would have been a lot of fun (and this post would sound much more positive and enthusiastic).

It is extremely difficult to put a band together (or fit into an existing one) at this age and time.
When we were teenagers we hung out with friends who together learned to play music. Because we were friends (a group) first (without music) with common backgrounds, tastes, experiences, we were eager to push each other to become better, because there was comraderie and mutual benefit to this joint effort. We had all the time in the world to hang out - playing together and letting things simply evolve (or not - if it didn't pan out, we were still going to be friends). Now as adults, there is no pre-established bond, there are tight time constrictions, and everybody assembled expects the others to be of comparable skill. We don't count on being close friends outside of the band, time is of the essence, and it's a business. It's got to happen fast and be good, and if not we cut our losses and move on. We are much more judgemental towards each other.

I think I still want to play in a band. Playing music with other musicians is still enticing. The logistics of putting a band together and getting it onto a stage in a paying gig are daunting. When I'm not pursuing it, I wish I was. When I am, I question my sanity (and I'm probably not the only one).

stinging criticism

Apparently a hive of yellow jackets didn't like the way I was weeding and trimming around the apple trees. They let me know in no uncertain terms. The first one made his "point" loud and clear inside my right ear lobe. While I was trying to rebuke him, I realized that my arms, shoulder and neck were receiving the same message. I started to utter a few profanities as I swatted and backpeddled, and then decided opening my mouth might not be the best idea. Running and yanking off my shirt seemed like a smarter choice (as the dead bee inside my "Bee"tles t-shirt proved). Julie heard the commotion from inside the house and asked the obvious question -"Bee's?" So thinking of Jamies need for the epi-pen, I grabbed some Benadryl and water and waited to see if my breathing or swallowing was going to get difficult. I assumed I would be able to at least whisper to julie "911" if necessary - which it wasn't. About an hour later I decided it was safe to call Sue (at the Marshfield fair Rabbit Show") and let her know of my mis-adventure.

Uncle Corey says Happy Birthday to Mary

me: my baby Mary turns 24 today

MEIGGSCRM: happy birthday to her....damn it wasn't that long ago i was holding her..when she was a baby..well that was my snap shot of her the last time i was up there

Mary's Anniversary Gift to us

Mary planned and organized a days worth of activity in honor of Sue's and mine approaching 25th Anniversay. The kids all managed to keep the plan a secret. We only knew that there WAS a plan and that it started with us all leaving the house at 9:30am and we were to be dressed nicely and in shades of blue. Sue quickly concluded that this meant a professional family photo (she was right). We assumed that part of the plan would include a lunch somewhere. We were also instructed to bring play clothes to change into (assuming some sort of outdoor adventure). Mary is totally proving to be her mothers own child. So we left the house right on time - to arrive at (stop #1) C & J's photo studio about 10 minutes early. Sue is ALWAYS early - never "fashionably" late (or any other excuse for late). Carol at the studio (the same studio that my parents brought us to 50 years ago for our family photos) was very impressed - first at the size of the family, and then at the efficiency that everybody fell into line and positioned and repositioned to get the optimal shots. We finished so quickly that we had close to an hour before our (stop #2) 11:30 lunch reservation at The Hitching Post. So where do we go when we have time to kill??? Of course - a cemetary. Fern Hill is the final resting place of many McClellan, Annis, and Everson ancestors - and it was a beautiful morning for head(stone) hunting. After burying ourselves in this pursuit, we headed for lunch - except we discovered that the Hitching Post serves only breakfast until 1:30 on Sundays, so we ate a hearty late breakfast. Mary then presented everybody with team T-Shirts that said BLAUSS 25 on the back, and off we went to (stop #3) my old Softball Team stomping grounds for a game of whiffleball. We broke into two teams and played 4 inning. Naturally the Blauss Team won, so according to an old tradition we went to (stop #4) DQ for a victory ice cream.

Nicely done, Mary!

http://picasaweb.google.com/don.sueblauss/25th

(I think I can say "nicely done, Sue & Donnie!" Our kids made us proud today!)

((PS: technically, the "25th" is on the 27th))

Green Harbor scientific research

Laurie is leading an effort to restore tidal flow into the Green Harbor River (site of our family island where we spend much of our childhoos summer vacations).
http://30phillipsst.blogspot.com/2007/02/island-games-by-eric-wes.html

http://web.whrsd.org/faculty/bianchi_laurie/River%20Project/ixRiver.htm

Much of the study has to do with catching fish on each side of the dyke and see how it changes when a limited amount of tide is allowed back into the river. Julie is using it as an opportunity to accumulate the required hours of community service she needs for school. Lots of other family members have also been pitching in. Today I got to help out for the first time.

Green Harbor Fish Pier

After leaving the Beach we circled around by the pier at Green Harbor - a true working pier. Jamie and Joe explored up and down the docks and checked out the boats and then a fisherman mentioned a boat was coming in with an 800 pound tuna. Despite Tim's impatience, we decided to stick around to see how big an 800lb tuna
really was. As we waited, word must have been spreading because more and more people started arriving to see the fish that had not yet arrived. After 45 minutes the boat tied up to the dock, with one very large fish laying on it's deck. With about 50 spectators leaning over railing for a better look, the 5ft long fish was winched up (officially weighed in at only 650lb) and into the waiting refrigerated fish market truck.

Brant Rock at low tide

For Corey Meiggs - if you can't get back to visit Brant Rock, I'll just have to send Brant Rock to you!

PS: Suzie says "Hi".

Julie's back from her big adventure

Julie spent the week with her favorite ex-teacher at Martha's Vineyard teaching art to 4-9 year olds. The perfect dream job (except for the no pay part) for her.

Manny being Manny (as of 7/31/08 4:00pm many miles from Boston)

(sung to the tune of Dock Of The Bay)

Hittin’ is what Manny’s done
He’ll be hittin’ though he won't even run
the rest of his stunts I won’t miss
In the Dodgers wall there’s no place to piss, yeah yeah
I'm waiting now to see Jason Bay
Hoping the tide will turn our way
Ooo, I just hope that gettin’ Jason Bay
is not Wastin' time
I lost my love of Manny
Let him and go and play in LA
'Cause I've a new guy to root for
look like Jason's gonna come save the day
So I'm just gonna root for my team at Fenway
a bit sad that Brandon and Craig went away
Ooo, I just hope that gettin’ Jason Bay
will ease all our minds

nothing was ever gonna change
Manny would still be sitting out games
He wouldn't do what $20 million tells him to do
So I guess he'll remain the same, yes

Jason’s here to hit our guys home
And I bet he’ll leave McCormack alone
From Pittsburgh and last place he’s roamed
Just to make the Green Monster his own
Now, I'm gonna sit and root for Jason Bay
Watching for homers flying away
Oooo-wee, thankful we got Jason Bay
just in time, yeah yeah

I'm Proud of my wife!