More yardwork

It's hard to believe how much time and effort can go into a yard when you have one. Granted it has been months since Bob and I have gotten to the backyard to do anything. We did clean up work in the springtime to finally get a few years worth of leaves cleaned up. Then it was the other day that I decided to some maintaining in the front yard. And when I was taking some of the leaves and stuff into the very back of the backyard I noticed that the backyard needed some attention. Over the summer with high winds and some of the storms that did come through there were a good amount of branches and twigs down.

Well, with it being fall and leaves starting to fall. I figured I can see the ground now. It would be beneficial to pick up as much as I can now so it will be easier on us later when we go to rake. We finally received much needed rainfall the other day. And to my surprise not to many leaves came down. But, what did surprise me were all the new branches that I found. It was a light to moderate rain not to much high wind. And also noticed that part of a tree had come down by the property line in the back.

Who knows when the tree came down. Seeing that when I was cleaning up earlier in the week I wasn't in that part of the yard. So, that could have come down sometime over the summer. It's just part of a small tree and it was caught by some growth and another tree. So, the fence that is in the back hasn't been touched by it.

With what we have done so far it is a learning experience with what we have

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Our Trip Home

As many of you know, Bob and I had made a trip up to the Burg a few weeks ago. And I do apologize to those we couldn't get together with. It was just a whirlwind of a weekend as much of them seem to be starting to become lately.

I can't speak for Bob but I know that for myself I was really looking forward to having a few days off. It isn't often that I take time off from work. I was really starting to feel the need for some vacation time. Well, the time that we had at home was much more relaxing for Bob than it was for me.

Our time home started out with me heading to a court hearing with my parents. Granted I didn't need to be there but, I wanted to be there for moral support for my sister-in-law; stressful mind you. I haven't seen my brother in a year and haven't talked to him in the same length of time. So, I wasn't sure how this was going to go with him and then seeing his new girlfriend for the first time. To top the day off, I got a parking ticket while we were there. Fortunately, my Mom was with me and fought it. The ticket went away and we continued on our merry way. We had a family get together that evening which was wonderful. I love how loud the house gets with all the kids being together (one of the things that I do truly miss).

Unfortunately one of the neighbors passed away. Mom and I went to a funeral on Friday. She was a really sweet lady that always made sure that she at least said hello to you. She always had a smile on her face and that's how I'll always remember her.

Bob and I went to the rehearsal dinner for one of our friends weddings. It was great to spend time with the bride and groom before the day of the wedding. Then Bob and I went out afterwards and ran into one of his old friends. So it made it a great ending of a fun evening.

Saturday Bob and I attempted to attend the ceremony but because of different circumstances we missed it. But, we did go to the reception at the zoo which was fun. It wasn't what we were thinking that it would be for the type of environment. Think about it; a wedding reception at the zoo. We were both thinking that we would probably be walking around and being able to see the animals. Quite the contrary, it was a typical reception with no walking around the zoo at all. The area was covered by a huge tent. A dance floor in the middle and buildings close by for restrooms and things like that.

With how the week was for me it was great to have a fun filled evening and being able to relax. When we left we got into a car accident. Which infuriated me. It was my car that Bob was driving and this teenager, by the way it sounded, was going to run the light until he saw us pulling out. He slammed on the brakes with the roads being wet, slid through the intersection and into my front bumper. Thank God that Bob inched out. Anyone that knows Bob, knows that this typically isn't like him at all. If it wasn't for that little thing, we would have been hit driver side tire, if we were lucky. This would have caused us to not be able to drive home. I jumped out of the vehicle and made sure that everyone in the other car was fine. After that I yelled at this kid to just get off the road. My main concern at that point was other people doing the same thing and causing more damage. At this point, I knew that my car was drivable to get home and I wanted to keep it that way.

I now have a new front bumper but, I was not happy that on our first anniversary I had to go driving around and get estimates for it. His parents paid us out of pocket for the damage to my vehicle. Yes, I knew, and still know, that I would have had every right to chew the kid out. But, seeing how he was acting and how his father was treating him, it was clear that he wouldn't hear the end of it for a while. So, why make things worse then they are? By the way it sounds, this kid will be taking the bus everywhere for a long time.

By time Bob and I got back to my parents house he had looked at me and said that I needed a vacation from my vacation. I felt the same way. I told him that the way the week was going for me why not add this accident into the whole mix.

I will admit that I'm really looking forward to our next trip home at the end of this month, knowing that it won't be nearly as stressful as last time.

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Bruins at Torhs - Hockey League - Week #10 - Game 9

Here we go again, playing the best team in the league. However, this week, we managed to get lucky. The Torhs goaltender was MIA. They recruited another tender to stand in, but this really put them at a disadvantage. If you recall, each time we've been pitted against this team, we've put up quite a fight.

The absent goaltender was just the edge that we needed. Contrary to what the SGAAsports.com website indicates, we did beat the Torhs. And it wasn't just by a last minute goal either. We won by 3 points.

Much of this game remains a blur. It was just amazing. We made the first strike, then we extended our lead, and at one point, we had the Torhs sitting at a 3-0 deficit. I don't think this team is used to being on the losing side of the scoreboard. To eventually take this game to a win was not by any means simple. I can recall sitting thru several shifts. This game was just going to well and I was not responding as fast as the other members of the team when players needed relief. Don't get me wrong, I got playing time, but not as much as most of the other members of the team. I can remember at one point when the score was tied that our scoring line stayed on the court for three straight shifts. No one wanted them to come off of the court, including them. Although, you could see that they were getting winded, you could see that they'd been out there too long, but they were not giving up. They were still scoring goals and were able to fend off the Torhs from taking the lead. I cannot recall a single time when they had the upper hand.

There was one point in the game that I do want to mention. Midway thru the third period, I got to take a shift and after a single, short play, I was pulled off of the court. This was not the first time this had happened during this game. After being the third or so time that this had occurred, I was finally frustrated enough to say something about it. I rolled over to Joel and asked him what was going on, why was I pulled? He said that he wanted to win at all costs and that he pulled me when the Torhs most dangerous player reentered the play. Therefore, he wanted a stronger player to take him head on. I wasn't pleased about the call, but with a chance to defeat the only undefeated team in the league, I was able to let it go.

My game play really didn't contain anything worth mentioning. I didn't do anything exceptional, right or wrong. The only thing that I can vaguely recall was a stand-up defensive play in the neutral zone that generated yells from the bench. I recall colliding head on with an offensive player and managed to not only not hit the floor, but managed to acquire the puck and get it to another teammate to reverse the play's momentum.

After this game was over, I had quite a serious pain in my shoulder. I was having issues lifting my right arm parallel with my shoulder and other type movements. The pain wasn't caused explicitly under weight, it would show up empty handed also. Well, I managed to tolerate the pain for just a few days and then it left just as suddenly as it started. I am not certain that this was hockey related because I think there was a morning that I woke up with the same sort of pain, but I can't remember what day it was. For all I can remember, it could have been a figment of my imagination. Anyway, as I'm sure you can infer, I can't recall what caused the injury. I'm just glad that it wasn't so serious that it didn't impede my ability to execute my Army duty that followed on the next three days.

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Redwings at Bruins - Hockey League - Week #9 - Game 8

Ok, well, I've been silent for quite a few weeks. I'm not going to get as in depth as usual because the details are not so fresh. However, I will try to get the details that I can recall to you.

This game was quite exciting for us. The Redwings were in a bad way this week. They had to recruit players from other teams to have a large enough roster to play and didn't appear to be on their game. They were definitely not on the same game as when they beat us in the first week of the season. Therefore, we handily (more or less) put them away, however, the scoreboard didn't quite demonstrate how one sided this game really was.

From the start of this game, we were in control of the court. Our team was clicking in a way that I had yet to see so far this season. However, it may not have been clicking such much as our scoring line was stepping up their game as individuals. There were several guys that just stood out throughout the night. Lane even managed to have another natural hat-trick in just a 2 or so minute period of time. We won this game, however, the score and margin escape me. The important thing to know is that we hit the .500 mark (4/4) with this win.

As for my performance, I can recall that my line kept sending me to the net. There were a minimum of 2 opportunities for me to get the puck in the back of the net and I couldn't pull the trigger for one reason or another. There was one instance, the best of the instances, where the defense man had me in a strong stick check and I couldn't get my stick to move in a forward direction. I had a wrap around attempt that the goalie handily covered and the last opportunity that I can recall was when I tried to take a shot from the top of the right face-off circle. The shot had some zip on it, however, it was just too dead center. I hit the goalie in the center of his chest. I was really hoping to take the shot and allow one of my teammates to get the rebound. That clearly didn't work when the goalie was able to cover it with ease. However, there was one play in which I was able to rack up my second point in the season. I got an assist when I was able to pass across the rink from left wing to the right wing and he was able to score.

As for my weekly update for injuries, I left this game with a pain in my knee. I don't remember what I did to cause the injury, but I did limp around the house for a few days. It wasn't anything serious, otherwise the pain would have been more severe and longer lasting.

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