Catching up

I've been remiss in keeping up with what's been going on here a Littlewood Farm. Where to start?

First, the Johnstown Johnnies football season ended with a loss to West Jefferson in the Regional semi-finals. The defense looked pretty good, the offense struggled a bit, but with so many penalties there was no way we were going to beat a #1 seed. Still, this is the farthest the Johnnies football team has ever gone in post-season play.

It rained for 3 solid days, and we are drowning in mud. Suck off your boots mud. Madeline's boyfriend's truck got stuck. Some yahoo mistakenly came down our drive and turned around in the yard - don't know how they didn't get stuck, but they left a bit of a mess.

Perrin bought her first car! Only she hasn't driven it yet :-(

(1) it's a stick and she's still learning on our geriatric Escort, and (2) the speedometer stopped working, so after spending 2 hours in our driveway, it's back to the car lot.

At least it was here long enough for Perrin to give us a cheesecake girl-with-car pose.

Next, our newest car, the '03 Focus turned over 100k miles. I now own no vehicle with < 100,000 miles

Last Thursday, Robin and I went to see the Blue Man Group. I signed up for the BMG's fan club mailing list in order to get dibs on advanced ticked sales, and it paid off - we were second row center section. Tracy Bonham opened the show, the BMG came on to do their shtick. I was mildly disappointed that about 80% of the show was the same as their last tour, which I saw on DVD, but I'd still have gone if I knew. I took some cellphone photos that you can check out by clicking on the photo below.

Blue Man Group - How to be a Megastar Tour 2.0

The JHS cheerleaders went to a gym in Lexington, KY for a private tumbling clinic. After a rough start (Madeline got up late, missed breakfast and didn't pack a lunch, her left contact popped out …) it was worth the trip. Madeline threw a huge roundoff back-tuck without a spot - wowing her friends and pleasing herself. Can't wait until basketball season.

It's a Cincinnati year for Thanksgiving. Stay tuned for turkey photos.

And I almost forgot - Go Bucks!

Every muscle hurts

Last Sunday wrapped up the end of our fall softball season with a single elimination tournament. We played really well our first two games - even winning the second by the mercy rule, then the wheels came off in the semis. After three games in five hours (did I mention it was cold and rainy?) we went home. That might be the end of the story, but then I got up Monday morning. Who knew so many muscles were involved in playing slow pitch softball? I don't know about the 20-somethings on our team, but I could hardly move for days. Can't wait until next year.

Blessed

I'm blessed. This is what I wake to everymoring.

JHS Football Friday Nights

Another year, and another start to the High School football season. Crisp fall air (not yet, but soon enough), drums and trumpets, popping of pads. After a summer of barbecues, lawn mowing and vegetable gardening, football season brings the whole town out of their back yards and back together. An what a night it was. The Johnnies trounced the visiting Blue Aces, the school's single game rushing record was squashed like a bug, and the Big Red Band cranked it up.

Madeline's a Varsity Cheerleader this year, and she loves getting up in front of a crowd. (For all the support this town gives to its kids - Johnnies fans show up en masse to see the sports team and band - it's too bad Johnstown fans don't get into the cheering and screaming like I've seen at some other schools (can you say Dover?)). Her wrist still hurts, but it didn't show at all last night. The entire squad chanted, tumbled and stunted their way to victory.

This is also the first year Mr. Zirille (proud father of a new baby girl!) put together an alumni band. Seeing Perrin and her friends back on the field performing with some other recent and not-so-recent JHS grads was a hoot.

I'm experimenting with Picassa Web Albums, so you can look at more photos in my 2006 Johnnies Football Opening Night photo album.

Madeline turns 17

It's hard to believe my baby is 17.

It's been a musical birthday year. All Madeline really wanted for her birthday was an electric guitar, a Gibson Les Paul no less. That was certainly out of the question, but Epiphone (owned by Gibson) makes a Les Paul. It's got the same look, same set neck, a couple humbuckers, all in all a well made yet affordable version of this classic guitar. Some time on eBay and a little luck, and you just might find yourself a nicer guitar than you thought you could afford. Add in a nice little Crate practice amp at the local second-hand music shop and the girl is ready to rock.

It didn't take long before the girls had cranked it up, and started kickin' out the jams. This makes it all worthwhile.

Ouch

Last Saturday I was a little late getting up, the horse flies were swarmng, and the horses were going nuts. Somewhere in all the frenzy, Lilly must have hurt herself, because she came in limping. Over the next couple days it got progressively worse. At first we thought it might be a bruise, but it's seeming more and more like it might be an abscess. So, we're on a twice a day regimen of soaking in Epsom salts, putting a poultice on the foot, and wrapping her front legs. (As you've probably learned, if you've been following the Barbaro story, when one leg is hurt, the extra weight on the other leg is bad news for a horse).

While I was taking the leg photo, I looked up and got a view of Lilly one doesn't see very often. Not her most attractive side.

In case you were wondering, the ducks are doing just fine.

She's a keeper

At least for another year. Perrin has decided to take a year off from college to figure out what it is she wants to do with here life. Spending copious tuition $$ to work kind of hard on two things at once wasn't working for her. I mean, how do you prepare for being either a classical musician or an equine vet? As you can imagine, it's pretty hard to work all that into a single curriculum, and neither gets the attention it deserves. For the next year she gets to think. Take some flute lessons. Think some more. Hang out with our vet. And think. She'll also be going to bartender school, recording music with/for a friend, maybe gig some. Whatever she decides, maybe it'll be nanotechnology, Perrin will go back to school a much more eager and dedicated student, and that's a win-win for everyone involved. Now, know anyone who wants to buy some UT football tickets?

Can you believe she's 20?

Happy Birthday Perrin!

I find it very hard to believe I'm the father of a 20 year old. Man how time fiies. In the griot tradition, I'm tempted to retell her birth story here, but that probably wouldn't do much for the father-daughter relationship.

The only thing she really wanted for her birthday was a bass. I guess that after hours of playing the flute, giving the upper register of her ears a rest is what the body needs.

She's Back!

Madeline's back from her trip to Japan. Still jet-lagged, we haven't gotten the whole travel log yet, but at first blush, the trip was a a lot of fun. She's got a few Japanese phrases in her vocabulary, can write in katakana, and doesn't want to eat rice again for a very long time. It will take a few days to sift through the photographs she took, so watch this space to see when we get a photo album posted on the net somewhere. Welcome home Madeline. It's good to have you back.

Great seats, sad ending

Jerry Kelly, friend, colleague, fellow aging Tues. evening softball team member and principal of XOXOX Press was given a pair of tickets to the Reds-Indians game last night, and chose to share them with me. Thanks Jerry! We got to the park in time to watch batting practice, take a self-guided tour of the Great American Ballpark, and grab a Brat smothered in kraut and grilled veggies before settling down for the ballgame on a hot and clear Saturday night. Got to see some damn fine fielding and 19 total runs scored, and all from nearly close enough to be splattered with sweat. Who could ask for more! OK, maybe next time the Reds will finish on top. The photo is Ken Griffey at bat, about to fly out (too bad the shot just before his homer in the 5th didn't come out)

Tokyo or Bust

Madeline has the wonderful opportunity to tour Japan for two weeks as a People to People Student Ambassador. Along with the 29 other kids and 3 teachers in this picture taken at the Columbus Airport yesterday morning, she gets to see Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Kyoto, and Hiroshima. She'll see Buddhist, Shinto and Zen temples. She'll stay with a Japanese family for 3 days. She'll experience Japanese culture and food. I want it to last for her, but I can't wait until gets back so I can hear all about it. (Oh yea, that's Madeline, 5th from the right, front row)

New Arrivals

It's been a couple busy weeks here, and our home has been welcoming in a gaggle of new arrivals. Perrin's home for the summer, and practicing the flute as much as possible. I love it. Then on Friday, we got our new bathtub. What a beauty! Last weekend we acquired this sweetie here on our left - the new (to us) garden tractor, a 1995 Cub Cadet 1864 complete with 18hp commercial grade Kohler air-cooled engine, power-steering, a 54" mower deck and a whopping 42" 2-stage snowblower. This baby's a sports model compared to our trusty old Cub Lo-Boy. I mowed the entire property in just under 3 hours yesterday. I'm planning on getting the Lo-Boy running smoothly again (we've got some remnants of the paper gas-cap gasket in the gas tank choking the flow) and selling it. I think I can cover the cost of the new tractor. (If you know someone interested, leave a comment.) Our friend Denise mail ordered a Box o' Ducks, (yes, you can order ducks over the internet) and we got three. These are American Runner Ducks - did you see the movie Babe? The goofy duck in that movie was a runner duck. The last time we had runner ducks, they would run down the driveway along side the car when we came home, just quacking up a storm. Just like a dog, but funnier. What a hoot. And the eggs are awfully good too.

No Guts, No Glory

I coach the mounted games teams for the Hunter's Run Pony Club. Our regional rally (pony club speak for competition) was Saturday, and the kids did great! It's so much fun seeing young people develop a skill, then go out there and perform when it counts. You can check out some photos if you like.

The last hack

Between fall harvest and spring planting, we have permission to ride in the crop fields surrounding our home. Sensing time was short, Madeline, exhibiting a case of latent equestrianism*, took Casey out for a hack across the fields on Sunday. The tractors arrived on Monday. No more easy access to field-as-manure-spreading site, and no more hacks. On the plus side, in about 8 weeks the corn will be tall enough that we won't be able to see all the houses that have been built over the past year. *After showing little interest in the horses for years now, Madeline has been asking to ride recently. Maybe she and her sis' will venture out together this summer.

Odd but enjoyable Seder

We had an odd, but enjoyable Seder tonight. Just the three of us, Robin, Madeline and myself. With Robin getting up at the crack of dawn to drive her school bus, driving to Cincinnati was just a bit too much for a school night. Passover is one of my favorite holidays. I feel like a part of something - people all over the world are participating something that's been going on for thousands of years. Anyway, Robin whipped up a fantastic trip down memory lane for dinner. First up, matzah ball soup (we learned something new - the matzah balls grow when you cook 'em. The directions say to make a dozen 1" diameter balls, and we're thinking, that's not a matzah ball, that's a matzah marble. There's only 3 of us, let's just make 3 matzah balls. Well, they came out the size of softballs. Almost ruined dinner, I filled up so much on soup). Then gefilte fish (from a jar, though driving to Nancy and Howard's for home made might have been worth the trip), but the horseradish I found at the Johnstown Kroger was wimpy! Finally, beef brisket. Man, that brings back memories; Grandma, Seder at Aunt Yetta's apartment. Let's not forget the Mogen David sweet as syrup wine. Mmmmmm. Seder ended, dishes done, and I'm beached on the sofa. Not a bad night. We missed having Perrin at the table, but last we heard, the UT flute studio was having a Seder. Pretty cool. I'll have to check in with her and see how it went. Tomorrow, the tradition continues: peanut butter and jelly on matzah.

Varsity

Hours of hard work toward accomplishing the elusive back-handspring (and the bruises to show for it). A steadily rise in the houshold angst quotient. Speculation and prognostication, all leading toward today - Johnstown High School cheerleading tryouts. Might as well cut to the chase. Madeline made the varsity squad for football and basketball! (And we'll have a smiling teenage girl around the house, for at least a few hours) We're really proud of her. (No more cold Satufday morning JV football games!) Gimme a J!

Catching up on sleep

Perrin's home for spring break, and it's nice to have a full house again. We finally got the futon frame so she had an actual bed to sleep in this time. I feel bad that I didn't get to the grocery store last weekend, so we've been subsisting on what we can forage from the fridge and pantry. Sometimes I wonder if the girl ever sleeps while she's at school, because when she's home, an awful lot of time is spent snoozing. No complaints, just an observation. She played the first page of the solo she's preparing for me. A beautiful piece, very Japanese. Mom and dad are going to go to Knoxville in April for the flute studio concert, and I'm mulling over in my mind if I can join them. I'd love to hear everyone play, and I always enjoy listening to Perrin. Tomorrow she heads back down (thank you Kegan and Jo) for the final stretch of her Freshman year. Won't be long now, and she'll have year-1 under her belt. One more thing, seems Perrin just may be a UT sports jinx. She joins the marching band and the football team goes down the toilet. She went to 2 men's basketball games - lost them both. What's a girl to do?

Gimme a J!

Last night Robin and I traveled to the Johnnies' D3 regional championship game on one of the school-sponsored charter buses. This bus, mostly full of ex-Johnnies, circa maybe mid-50s, was much louder than the bus half full of students on Wednesday. I never would have thought these old-timers would spend the 2+ hour drive with choruses of Gimme a J! Gimme an o! - you know the rest (though Johnnies did get misspelled once - don't laugh, it's harder than you think). Unfortunately, all our enthusiasm wasn't quite enough to push the Johnnies over the top. Second half foul shooting woes put the Archbold Blue Streaks in a position to win it with 3-point shot at the buzzer. Bummer. The loss is hard to take, but it's easy to be proud of a 25-1 record. The kids played the season with all their heart and soul. Can't wait until next year. It's time for Johnstown to settle back into its normal routine.

Johnnies' Big Barn Bash

The Johnnies did it! After all the hand-wringing, analysis and prognosticating in the papers and high school sports forums, we have the answer.

Yes, the Johnnies are real; their 11 point victory over the Africentric Nubians should leave little doubt of that fact in anyone's mind. No, the soft schedule didn't hamper their ability to play a tough game. Yes, the Johnnies have a deep bench. Yes, the Johnnies can dig deep and play with heart. The Johnnies started the second half up by a solitary point, ran up a double-digit lead, and then blew it. Gut check time! With just over 2 minutes to play, the Johnnies were hanging onto a 4 point lead when DiBlasio hit a 3 pointer that broke it open and Johnstown never looked back. This was an exciting game, and I had a thoroughly good time. The red-to-purple ratio in the coliseum last night was easily 4:1. The band showed up to play a pep rally outside before the game. The whole home-side stands, 1950s Johnstown graduate geezers and all, did the wave. The student section was loud. The adults were louder. The cheerleaders keep the place howling. I love this town. So, it's off to Bowling Green for the Regionals. Maybe someone will charter a bus...

Stupidity

Yesterday Madeline comes home from lacrosse practice with a screaming headache and big red bump on her forehead. Turns out some boy decided fling a lacrosse ball at a group of girls, and Madeline was the unfortunate soul that got beaned. What posseses people to act like that? Now, I'll be the first to admit that as a high school boy I did some pretty stupid, and yes, some hurtful things, but to throw a hard ball into a crowd? I don't care how much testosterone you've got courseing through your veins, that's just too stupid for words. The only think I may be more upset about is that the coach didn't send the boy home on the spot.

Academic Exploits Continue

Perrin's academic exploits continue at the university level. We got the notice in the mail yesterday, and she's been offered membership in Phi Eta Sigma, a national honor society for college freshman. Way to go girl!

The UT Orchestra Rocks

I've been to some loud rock and roll concerts in my life, but nothing beats a symphony orchestra at full bore. Sure, three guys can plug themselves into a wall of Marshall amps and crank it up until blood runs out your ears, but frankly, I think that's cheating. Give me a hundred musicians playing acoustic instruments pumping out 80db any day. Robin and I drove to Knoxville (and back) on Sunday to hear Perrin play with the University of Tennessee Symphony Orchestra. Thirteen hours in the car for an hour-and-a-half concert may sound extreme, (man my butt's sore) but it was worth it. The orchestra is very good, with a smooth, rich sound. The program was a nice mix of rousing brass-infused energy and tug-on-your-heart strings. Playing with an orchestra is something Perrin's been looking forward to for some time, and it was wonderful getting to share her first orchestra concert with her. The feature piece was Respighi's Pines of Rome. What a great piece of music. Very rich. The clarinet solo is beautiful (and the flute parts are exquisite, of course). I'm looking forward to more of these. Shame on me for saying it, but this just might be better than watching the marching band.

Cheerleading season comes to an end

The final game of the Johnnies 05-06 regular season was Friday. The gym was sweltering, the crown was loud. The cheerleaders stunted with the boys, which was fun, since they could really fling those girls into the air.

It's time for the Johnnies to take their 20-0 record into post-season play. I was getting worried the last few weeks - even though they were winning by 20 or 30 points, they looked a sloppy. Like playground ball. The last couple games though the crispness of their play was back (at least to this untrained eye).

Alas, the cheerleading season is over for Madeline, since only the varsity squad can cheer in tournament play. I think she had a gas. Oh, I almost forgot, the JV squad had an undefeated season too! So maybe things won't be so bad next year after all after the 7 varsity seniors move on.

Mud

What's up with the weather? Here it is, the middle of January, the ground should be frozen, and the horses blanketed, but no. It was in the 50s and rainy all day. The ground is saturated, Casey's stall is flooded, and we are in the midst of suck-off-your-boots mud season 2 months early. Not that I'm relishing tomorrow's mid-20s and with 20 mph winds.