Take me out to the ballgame

Friday, June 3, 2009. Terry, Luke and I drove four hours to Cincinnati to watch the Cardinals-Reds game. We met friends, Reds fans, for dinner before the game and walked across the Ohio river bridge to the stadium. Our seats were four rows from the top of the stadium but we didn't care. Their four kids, ages 4 to 13, and our 21-year-old settled in for the game. It was an uncharacteristically cool and pleasant July evening. Great American Ballpark sits on the Ohio River and we watched the pleasure boats gather for the postgame fireworks show.

The Reds dominated the early game and the Cards made only two hits in the first seven innings. Colby Rasmus pinch hit for the Cardinal starting pitcher in the top of the 8th inning with the score 3-0, Reds. Rasmus' leadoff single encouraged us only slightly as the Cards have struggled with hitting runners home. Brendan Ryan hit a fly ball for the first out. Scott Schumaker walked to put two men on with one out. The Reds manager replaced the starting pitcher and the fans gave the young starter a standing ovation for his three hit shutout effort. The relief pitcher walked the next batter, a rookie in his first major league at bat, on four pitches to load the bases. Now we were excited. Albert Pujols, the best hitter in the major league this season, was at bat with the bases loaded and only one out. He could score one run many different ways. He hit a grand slam two weeks ago in Kansas City and we only dared to hope he could hit another.

The Reds' manager replaced the reliever again and Albert settled in at the plate. Each pitch was excruciating. Reds fans in front of us started "the wave" and stood to block our view of Albert. I groaned and said a few things loudly enough that Luke shushed me. "We're in THEIR park, Mom." With the count 2-2, Albert hit a foul pop fly and their catcher chased it until it went barely into the Reds' dugout. We let our breath once again. On the next pitch, Albert smashed a line drive to the left-center field bleachers. We jumped and shouted, high-fived and hugged. I.saw.Albert.Pujols.hit.a.grand.slam.home.run!!!!! There were quite a few Cards fans in the stands near us and we all enjoyed the sweet moment in time. Our Reds-fan friends said they thought I was gonna cry. The score was now 4-3, Cards. The Reds tied the game in the bottom of the 8th but then the Cards scored three more runs in the top of the 9th (including another Albert RBI) and held on to win the game.

When Luke and I went to the Cards-Reds game in St. Louis on June 3rd, I told him I had one wish for the season: to see Albert hit a home run. Albert Pujols is in his ninth season and I'm just beginning to realize how incredibly amazing he is. I'm not the only one, as he was the top vote-getter for the National League All-Star team this year and set a record for the most votes ever for a National League player. The grand slam on Friday night was the 10th of Albert's career and broke Stan Musial's record of 9 career grand slams. One of the RBIs put him at 350 for his career, also breaking Stan Musial's record. Albert is a future Hall-of-Famer and will almost certainly take his place in baseball history as one of the best.players.ever. He's only 29 so if he stays healthy he should have another ten years of baseball record-setting. After Friday night's game, the Reds manager Dusty Baker called Albert a "one-man wrecking crew." Cards manager Tony LaRussa has admittedly run out of superlatives to describe Pujols. St. Louis sportswriters get a workout trying to describe his heroics. Albert himself is humble and quick to deflect all the praise and attention. Asked about Friday's grand slam, he said, "I don't want to talk about it. Let's talk about three important plays in the game," and mentioned three plays by other Cardinal players that he thought won the game. Amazing, incredible, CLEAN (no illegal drug use by Albert!), Christian, humble, heroic, All-Star, El Hombre (Stan Musial was "the man"), Machine. Albert Pujols hit a grand slam Friday night and I was there.

I've seen Bob Gibson pitch, Lou Brock steal bases, Ozzie Smith make incredible diving plays at shortstop, Willie McGee hit an inside the park home run, and Albert Pujols hit a grand slam. Baseball heaven for this lifelong fan, indeed!

Home

Blogging will be sparse around here for awhile: our internet speed has been severely limited because we've "exceeded our fair use threshold". Ugh. We pay top dollar for sub-top satellite speed and access. With two college students and a husband who all enjoy downloading music, videos and even full-length movies, we went over the limit and now they have us on less-than-dialup speed. I can barely load email and Blogger takes more time than my patience allows. Hopefully, we'll be back to normal soon, but certainly when the fall semester begins. Smile.

Faith

Reading "The Shack" by Wm. Paul Young. Cassie's boss loaned her the book and I was completely unsure what to expect. Turns out the book is all about God--specifically God's relationship within the Trinity and with us. Wow. The story is compelling and it's easy to relate to Papa God, Jesus, and Sarayu the Holy Spirit as described. My skeptic self keeps looking for obvious heresies and finds none yet.

Family

It's a time of transition here. Terry will be semi-retiring in a few weeks. Due to the economy and many other personal factors, he is ready to step away from the full-time grind. He hopes to garden, read, pray and regain a sense of control over his life. God is so gracious and I am fully supportive of the move. The summer hasn't proceeded at all as planned and that's OK too. It's been wonderful having Luke and Cassie home and with Terry's lighter schedule we are all enjoying lots of time together in the pool and around the house. With our trip to the Memphis wedding, my visit with Dad, and our trip to Tahoe, I was gone 22 days in June. I'm so glad to be home.

Baseball

Luke has become a rabid Cardinals fan!! At last!! When I'm away, we text message throughout the game. When I'm home, we sit down to watch the games together (half an hour after the starting time so we can fast forward through the commercials on our DVR). This weekend, Terry, Luke and I will be going to Cincinnati with Reds-fan-friends to watch the Cards-Reds on Friday night. We have tickets to a Cards-Dodgers game in late July, and in early August Terry and I will be going with the same friends to another Cards-Reds game in St. Louis. The Cards have been either tied for first place or a game or so ahead or behind of the Milwaukee Brewers for all of June. This week, the Cardinals obtained former Chicago Cubs player Mark deRosa and we hope the offense will wake up soon. The joys of following the whole season are many and doubled when following with my son!

Hoping and praying you all are enjoying wonderful summers (and faster internet speeds!),

Sandy

Lake Tahoe

Oh my. What can I say about this amazingly beautiful place? I've seen a lot of pretty places in my life. I was not prepared for the breathtaking gorgeousness of Lake Tahoe to knock me out of my jaded, "could the view of this place really be worth the trouble to get here?" attitude. Wow! The lake, the mountains, the huge pine trees, the weather, the color of the sky and lake and flowers. No bugs, no humidity, no crowds, no fast food billboards or other familiar signs of suburbia. Lake Tahoe is a step back in time, about fifty years back. It is definitely, absolutely, superlatively worth the trouble to get here!

We went to mass yesterday morning and again, I was unprepared for how much it moved me. First, take a look at these pictures. Please. I will wait. You will be so glad you did. Especially look at the second picture, taken from inside the church. See the view beyond the altar? The picture doesn't do justice to it, but it will give you a hint of what I'm talking about.

Kneeling before the crucifix to pray, looking past my Jesus at the beauty He created, listening to the musicians practice a contemporary song I knew well from my Protestant days, combined to move me to tears. The fact that it was Father's Day and I prayed for Terry, my dad, Terry's recently-deceased Dad, and our 45-year-old friend who was a wonderful dad who died in March, added to my experience of God's grace anew. Why does it surprise me that God continues to find ways to remind me I have only seen a glimmer of His glory??

The gospel reading yesterday was from Mark 4, where Jesus calmed the sea. How appropriate! The priest compared the Sea of Galilee to Lake Tahoe (Galilee is about 2/3 the size) and spoke to the many boaters in the church. He gave us the assignment of taking our Bibles to the beach to read the Gospel again and to reflect on how Jesus calms the storms in our lives. Ahhh. What peace. My soul is rested, my heart is glad and my God is in control!

Oh, by the way, the road to Lake Tahoe was not nearly as scary as those in Colorado. We took a drive all around the lake on Saturday and only one little bit was nerve-wracking. Thanks for the prayers!

Blessings from beautiful Lake Tahoe,

Sandy

Donner Pass??

Oh, man. When I agreed to go on this trip to Lake Tahoe, I forgot all about the mountains. Duh! Last night, I was reading a little about Lake Tahoe and saw that a town near the resort where we'll be staying is called "Donner Pass", as in the "Donner Party." Pass as in mountain pass. Well, now I have something new to pray about.

I've written here about our trips to Colorado and Montana. I loved them. The mountains are beautiful, majestic, awe-inspiring. They also frighten me. A lot. When we drove on mountain roads, my palms sweat, my heart beats faster and my stomach knots. I promised myself I wouldn't go to the mountains again without a prescription for a mild tranquilizer. I couldn't bring myself to call the doctor today, though, and explain that I am afraid of mountains and could I please have a pill to make me forget my fear? So, we are leaving Thursday morning. Just when I pretty much conquer my fear of flying.....my fear of mountains comes into full swing.

Would you all be so kind as to say a little prayer for me and my mountain adventure? Thank you!

Blessings,

Sandy

Two Masses

The last two Sundays I was in St. Louis and took the opportunity to attend mass at two different churches. A week ago, I went by myself to All Souls, the parish of my childhood neighborhood. Yesterday, Luke and I went to the Basilica of St. Louis, King, familiarly known as the Old Cathedral. The two masses were both wonderful and the churches were quite different in design but both very beautiful.

All Souls was built in 1950 but seems much older. It is light and bright inside, with beautiful stained glass windows, arches, columns and a simple altar. I felt quite at ease with the sparse crowd at the 10:30 mass. The music, led by a single cantor accompanied by an organ, was very nice. Simple, classical, beautiful. The two priests who presided over mass were older yet lively and serious. Mass seemed a bit more traditional than where we normally attend. The highlight of the mass, for me, was at the very end of the communion service. A sixty-something woman came hurrying down the center aisle a few seconds after the last person in live received the Eucharist. She tried to get the priests' attention but they didn't see her and turned to walk back up toward the altar. Not to be deterred, she broke into a full run and reached the first step before they got to the altar. They both turned and returned to serve the Eucharist to her. At first, I simple admired her gumption for not giving up as I am afraid I would have rather than make a spectacle of myself. Then, I was deeply moved as I realized how important it was to her to receive Him. She gave up her dignity as she ran down the aisle after the priests. Oh, that I so desperately wanted to be close to Christ that I literally ran after Him!

Old Cathedral is the oldest cathedral west of the Mississippi. Founded in 1764, the current church building was constructed in 1834. The church is stone, with huge arched windows (not stained glass) and beautiful huge columns. There are Corinthian columns on either side of the altar, topped with silver leaves. Silver chandeliers and other fixtures complete the simple yet elegant church. Above the altar hangs a large copy of Valasquez' famed "The Crucifixion". It was incredible.

Music for the mass was performed by a small choir and accompanied by the huge pipe organ. The accoustics were incredible and the music divine. The church was nearly full. It tends to draw tourists and a few local parishioners. The church sits only a few hundred feet from the Gateway Arch.

I cannot begin to describe the depth of feeling as I knelt in this historic place, listened to the ancient liturgy, and felt the peace of the living Christ deep in my soul.

I can't believe I grew up in a city so rich in this Catholic tradition and never even knew what I was missing.

Blessings,

7 Quick Takes

1. Unashamedly copying from Jen's wine recommendations. We didn't drink wine or any alcohol until a couple of years ago and now Terry and I have become quite the wine enthusiasts. Our #1 goal in choosing wine is to find a great one for $10 or less. Terry likes dry reds. I like slightly-less-dry reds and whites. My current favorite red is Gnarly Head Old Vine Zinfandel. This complex, not-too-dry and certainly not sweet, hearty red wine goes well with spicy foods like Italian, Mexican, or is delicious to sip on the patio at the end of a summer day. I've found a couple of other Old Vine Zins, but Gnarly Head consistently delivers for under $10, and I can find it at our local Wal-Mart!



My favorite white, alas, is much harder to find. I happened on this one at a wine superstore in Lousville last summer and bought two bottles. The next time I saw it, I bought four more. It is a French wine and I can never remember the name so I look like a fool trying to ask for it at small wine stores in the midwest. (Pause while I google to find the name of the wine.) See? I told you I cannot remember it! OK, it is Picpoul de Pinet and my favorite vintner is Hugues Beaulieu. This wine is the perfect balance of crisp and light without having the acid bite that some dryer white wines have. Well-chilled, it is as refreshing as lemonade or the perfect sweet tea. If you can find it, it will sell for $10.





2. The death of an estranged in-law, J., who was the mother of some loved ones brings fresh heartache this week. Her life and death were tragic and only by the grace of God are her children fine, upstanding, delightful young adults ranging in age from 28 to 43. I'm trying hard to paint the picture while not speaking ill of the dead and I'm coming up blank. J.'s physical beauty opened many doors in her life. Unfortunately, she burned everything and everyone she ever touched. I'm praying for her children today and I'm praying for the grace I need to pray for her soul. Then the Holy Spirit whispers and reminds me I am no less wretched without God's grace. Lord have mercy.

3. I went thrift store shopping in St. Louis yesterday and found a wonderful Coldwater Creek jacket for $3. (I'm pretty sure it was in last year's catalog for over $50) Today, I found a pair of good-as-new Steve Madden shoes, a baby-blue Talbot's sweater set and an off-white evening clutch. We've got a fancy dinner to attend in Lake Tahoe next week and I will be wearing "new" shoes and carrying a classy clutch. No one will ever know where I got them or what I paid for them!

4. Dad and I continue to have a very nice visit. This morning's breakfast conversation: the Civil War. Dad has an encyclopedic memory of anything he ever read and it's amazing to listen to him provide details, names and dates of the Battle of Gettysburg.

5. It seems I am missed at home. While I've been gone our internet modem quit working and had to be replaced and Terry mowed over a hose, breaking the outdoor spigot and flooding part of the basement. Luke says, "you leave for a week and all essential services cease." Actually, they have been eating extremely well as Terry has taken the week off and cooking is his favorite means of relaxation.

6. Luke is becoming a die-hard Cardinals fan this summer. We text each other throughout the games while I'm away. It's so much fun. Yesterday's game was a close one (6-5) and we shared the nail-biting via text-messaging. Ah, the joys of the historic sport combined with technology!

7. Luke and I are going to mass at the Basilica of St. Louis, King, aka the Old Cathedral in St. Louis on Sunday. This cathedral is the oldest west of the Mississippi and sits in the shadow of the Gateway Arch. After mass, we will walk a few blocks to get an Imo's Pizza which we will eat on the grounds of the Arch and then we will begin our journey home. I am very anxious to see my family and my home for a few days before our trip to California.

Happy June weekend!

Sandy

Gnarly Head photo by kittygutz

Another baseball memory from Dad

There is a story in our family lexicon about an autographed baseball belonging to my brother Gary. There's another story about a baseball that Dad once caught at a Cincinnati Reds game and the two stories were mixed up in my memory.

The ball Gary had was autographed by the entire St. Louis Cardinals 1964 World Championship team. Gary pitched in Little League and that summer, at age ten, he pitched a no-hitter. His coach's wife worked at a restaurant downtown where many of the Cardinal players were regular patrons. She obtained the autographed baseball and presented it to Gary as a trophy for his no-hit game.

A year later, Dad caught a fly ball during batting practice before a game in Cincinnati. Dad worked for the Post Office sorting mail on a train between St. Louis and Cincinnati and during his layover in Cincinnati, he often bought a bleacher ticket for a quarter. The day Dad caught the fly ball, hit by Hank Aaron no less, there were several young kids around clamoring for the ball but Dad brought it home for his own son.

Alas, neither baseball remains in the family. Gary sold the baseballs and his baseball card collection for much-needed cash in his college years.

Just wanted to get the stories straight.

Four years in the life

Two hours reading old posts yesterday and I only got through 2006. Whew!

Highlights in the life of Maple Grove, the blog:





Two high-school, home school, graduations

Two college searches

Three years of homeschooling, with lots of posts about the preceding years and educational philosophy, rants, etc.

Lots of my kids high-school activities: co-op, youth choir, church camp, youth conventions, leading worship at church, getting driver's licenses, leaving for college.




Family vacations to Montana, California and Colorado.



Four trips to New York City

Business trips to Nashville, Michigan, Pittsburgh, Orlando, New Orleans and Indianapolis

Hurricane Katrina, Tornadoes near home, ice and snow storms

Baseball!

Spiritual life including working on forgiveness, contentment, studying Catholicism

Coupon shopping






Losing Tar, "the best dog ever", puppy Zeno, several cats to horrible car engine demises

Diets

Movies

Books

Work--bookkeeping, tax returns, substitute teaching

Life at Maple Grove, the homestead: gardens,
hornet's nest, mowing, walking with Tar, couponing, saving money,



learning to knit (thank you, Donna!)

Political, economic and religious ramblings

Attempts to keep up with other blog themes:



Fine Art Friday



and 7 Quick Takes



There have been times I've thought of quitting the blog. Life gets busy, I get lazy, why bother? Thankfully, I've continued to post sporadically at times, prolifically at others. The friends I've made through blogging are precious. I'm grateful for the record of my life.

"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."

John Lennon

"You must keep your eyes on the risen Christ at all times, or life will seem to be just a bitter joke."

Fr. Benedict Groeschel (I was trying to remember this one Julie D.@ Happy Catholic posted it today!)

What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

James 4:14b


Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot. Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.

Ecclesiastes 5: 18-20

Q. What is the chief end (purpose) of man?

A. Man’s chief end (purpose) is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

Westminster Shorter Catechism

From Maple Grove, the blog, and Maple Grove, the homestead, I wish you peace, gladness of heart and that you might glorify God and enjoy Him forever! Keep your eyes on the risen Christ!

Blessings upon blessings,

Sandy