Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Halloween 2011
As most of you know, Halloween is a special time at our house.
As a kid, I loved dressing up in costume (old school Casper the Friendly Ghost, Tonto, The Lone Ranger, a Pirate) and going to trick-or-treat. As a teen, I liked going to the local Haunted Houses (the ones where you would reach blindly into a bowl of pasta while your guide told you about the victim's guts, or felt peeled grapes in a jar while you heard about the collection of victims' eyeballs).
My first official date with Big Al was to a Haunted Forest Charity Fundraiser (complete with an all too real Leatherface chasing us with what sounded and smelled like a fully functional chainsaw).
Even as an adult, there's a special feeling unique to late October when the cool air hits my wet face as I slosh up from a filled bucket, apple clenched in my teeth, acidic sweetness on my tongue and the smell of a faraway orchard in my nostrils, hoots of laughter and giggles flying away, like happy witches and pleasant ghosts, into the night sky.
And inevitably, I can't help but to think of Snookie, my grandmother, who used to recite James Whitcomb Riley's poem about Little Orphan Annie. It's always been one of my favorite memories of her that seems just right for the Halloween season. After all, it seems truly bizarre to go around telling children a poem about how if they don't behave the "goblins will get you if you don't watch out!" Sorta like how we tend to teach little kids the story of Noah and the Ark without really thinking about how terrifying it might come off for audience members under ten (but that's a blog for another day).
Anyway - enjoy Anne Hills version of Little Orphan Annie and have a Happy Halloween!
As a kid, I loved dressing up in costume (old school Casper the Friendly Ghost, Tonto, The Lone Ranger, a Pirate) and going to trick-or-treat. As a teen, I liked going to the local Haunted Houses (the ones where you would reach blindly into a bowl of pasta while your guide told you about the victim's guts, or felt peeled grapes in a jar while you heard about the collection of victims' eyeballs).
My first official date with Big Al was to a Haunted Forest Charity Fundraiser (complete with an all too real Leatherface chasing us with what sounded and smelled like a fully functional chainsaw).
Even as an adult, there's a special feeling unique to late October when the cool air hits my wet face as I slosh up from a filled bucket, apple clenched in my teeth, acidic sweetness on my tongue and the smell of a faraway orchard in my nostrils, hoots of laughter and giggles flying away, like happy witches and pleasant ghosts, into the night sky.
And inevitably, I can't help but to think of Snookie, my grandmother, who used to recite James Whitcomb Riley's poem about Little Orphan Annie. It's always been one of my favorite memories of her that seems just right for the Halloween season. After all, it seems truly bizarre to go around telling children a poem about how if they don't behave the "goblins will get you if you don't watch out!" Sorta like how we tend to teach little kids the story of Noah and the Ark without really thinking about how terrifying it might come off for audience members under ten (but that's a blog for another day).
Anyway - enjoy Anne Hills version of Little Orphan Annie and have a Happy Halloween!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Soccer 2011
"Love the game. Love the game for the pure joy of accomplishment. Love the game for everything it can teach you about yourself. Love the game for the feeling of belonging to a group endeavoring to do its best. Love the game for being involved in a team whose members can't wait to see you do your best. Love the game for the challenge of working harder than you ever have at something and then harder than that. Love the game because it takes all team members to give it life. Love the game because at its best, the game tradition will include your contributions. Love the game because you belong to a long line of fine athletes who have loved it. It is now your legacy. Love the game so much that you will pass on your love of the game to another athlete who has seen your dedication, your work, your challenges, your triumphs... and then that athlete will, because of you, love the game."
Special K with her buddy from another team.
"When all is said and done, it's not the shots that won the championship that you remember, but the friendships you made along the way."
Special K finished her first season of team sport this past Saturday. In six weekends, her team, the Fluorescent Peaches, played eleven games. In a three on three format, playing two of four periods a game, Special K ended up with a grand total of 24 goals scored. In the final match of the season, she took over the pitch with five goals in about as many minutes. We are proud of our budding athlete.
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