Baseball Highlights

A great moment during Levi’s game last night:

One of the guys, who has a little problem with hand-to-eye co-ordination as most 7 year olds have, hit the ball. In fact, the first time he was up, he hit a three bagger.  It was his best night ever. This time I think the hit was sort of a line drive. The defense chased the ball and tried to put the base runner out when he was going to third. Our batter stumbled and fell about six feet short of first base. He may lack hand-to-eye co-ordination, and he may not be the most agile player on the team, he showed his grit and determination. He crawled to the remaining distance on his hand and knees was was safe at first.

The little guys try so hard, and they never give up. I don’t think they care if they win or lose. The just like to play the game.

I Can Hear You Now

In January I had a terrible cold that lasted quite a long time, but, of course, I recovered with only one lingering symptom. Fluid collected behind my eardrum causing a major hearing loss and weird sensations inside my head. It hasn't been pleasant.

My family doctor referred me to an ENT specialist, and I had my appointment today. I was concerned because I thought it likely that today was only a consultation and the "fix it" part would be several weeks away. Surprisingly, I had a hearing test (which indicated a major problem), a scope shoved up my nose to check my sinus cavities (that was not much fun), and a tube inserted in the drum to drain the fluid. The worst part was the "numbing" of the eardrum and the vacuuming of the fluid. It hurt!

The shrill squeal inside my head remains.

I was given a prescription for ear drops which combines an antibotic and steroids. The cost to me ws $45. I wonder what the actual cost was before the insurance covered its share. My insulin is $178.00+ a month, but my net cost is $45.00. The insulin lasts a month; the ear drops are for one week. Eight drops a day for 7 days equals 56 drops. The cost of each drop is approximately $.80. That's my cost at $45. Wow! And I thought the $70 nose spray was expensive.

But, I CAN HEAR!

Rainbow

A little while ago it started to rain again. We did have some sunshine today. It rained for a 10 or 15 minutes. By that time it was a few minutes after 8 pm. When I went down to eat, I looked about the back door. There in the eastern sky was a vivid rainbow. It didn’t last long as the sun was rapidly setting. My pictures don’t show the bright colors, but you can get a hint of the view.


(Click on photo for detail)

Weather, Baseball, Politics

Buttercups, tulips, hyacinths,  lilacs, and forsythia have come and gone. Azaleas are blooming now but fading fast. March came in like a lion and went out like a lion. April showers brought May flowers, blah, blah, blah.

Mr. Fixit turned off the heat a couple of weeks ago. I turned it back on a week ago. It’s been raining for days it seems. I still have my winter jackets and my rain jacket in the back seat of the car with earmuffs and mittens in the pockets. To say the weather is unusual is an understatement. We have lived in South Carolina for 30 years, and this is the first time we have had to have the heat running in May. Weird!

Cole has finished his high school baseball and will be starting his showcase team practice today. Noah and Owen are on travel teams. Owen had a tournament this past weekend; it poured! The tournament directors made those children play in the cold rain until the field became unplayable.

Mr. Fixit sat in the rain under his umbrella during the second game. I sat in the car. After the game was finally called, he was going to help someone take down a canopy. He fell off a 3 foot high wall and hurt his knee a bit. He’s not feeling very well today because he has a cold. It could be from sitting in the cold and rain for hours. I don’t think I should say “I told you so,” but I did try to get him to watch from the car.

Levi, who plays coaches pitch, was a joy to watch Saturday morning. I had been sitting there bitching complaining about the cold weather when he came out in the catcher’s garb.

At this level, catchers mostly kneel behind the plate and just enjoy wearing the “costume.” One of the dads stands behind the catcher to actually catch the ball.

Levi squatted in a very professional manner with one little hand behind his back as they are taught later on when the catchers are expected to do something. The batter hit the ball, Levi jerked the mask off his head, and tried to catch the ball. No other little guys on any of the teams they play had ever done that. Then he knew to back up the first baseman when he was needed. He played like a professional. I might mention that Cole, his big brother, played catcher for many years. Levi learned his lesson well.

It was worth sitting there with the wind blowing and the temperatures in the low 50’s. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

Today is election day for our past “Luv Guv” who is running for political office. According to the polls he has a good chance of winning. Personally, I don’t care who (or what) he has had carnal relations with. It’s none of my business. However, when he tried to pass the cost of his South American tryst to the tax payers of the state and he told his infamous hiking lie , he proved to me that he is dishonest and totally lacking in judgment. He also proved to me that oaths, such as his marriage vows, have no significance to him. Will the oath of office mean anything to him? He has even violated a court order in his divorce case (he has admitted to going into his ex-wife’s house in violation of a court order), so it looks as if the rule of law means nothing to him either.

But the voters in our state don’t seem to care about honor and integrity. I suspect that his opponent being a woman and a Democrat is enough to insure his victory regardless of the  the issues facing our state and country. The outcome of the election will only surprise me if he loses.

Confession

I did sort of a mean thing the other night.

Every night I fix the cats a little bedtime snack of real chicken. (I started giving them chicken when our black and white one was having trouble eating.) I cook a few thighs at the time and then put the meat in the food processor. They’ve come to expect it every night. Then Mother Cat goes out, no matter the weather, and the white stays inside. He stays outside at night, too, when the weather is warmer.

Since it’s a little cold still, I’ve been keeping him inside. This night though he outfoxed me and sneaked out. I called him several times and he just sat on the deck and ignored me.

I went up to get ready for bed and to read for a while. Thirty minutes later I tried again to get him in. Still, he ignored me. I waited a little while longer before trying again. I was tired; I wanted to go to bed.

When he still ignored me, I almost decided to leave him out. Then a mean (well, a little mean) idea occurred to me. I turned on the food processor and he came running. I closed the door quickly, and he spent the night inside WITHOUT a second serving of chicken. I think I received a dirty look. That’ll teach him to ignore me!

Have I Missed Much?

It’s been 12 days (but who’s counting?) since I turned off my television. I did have it on most of the day during the hunt for the Boston bombing suspects, but I’m not counting that as recreational viewing time.

Do I miss it? Not as much as I thought I would. I turned it on last night to watch “NCIS,” but I only watched a few minutes. I don’t like this ongoing plot line.

Sometimes when I walk into the kitchen, my hand reaches for the on/off switch for the TV that’s in there. It’s sort of like quitting smoking. There are times when most smokers light up—getting into the car, picking up the phone, or after meals. It becomes a ritual almost. Giving up those rituals is  hard even after you have conquered the physical addiction. I’m still haven’t conquered the ritual of the on/off button, but I’m getting there.

Play of the Week

Last night Levi had his second coaches pitch baseball game. He did very well. He made a hit at every turn at bat, and he made some very good defensive plays. All of our grandchildren are outstanding athletes. Grammies get to brag sometimes.

The Play of the Week happened when one of the smallest players on the team came up to bat. He looks about 5 years old, but he could be just small for his age. After several pitches he finally connected. He drove the ball down in the dirt in front of him. It was barely out of the batter’s box, but it was in fair territory. He ran for first base and made it safely. Someone threw the ball and the player who was supposed to catch it missed the ball. This happened several times. Our little guy scored a home run on a ball that went about two feet! Yea for him! I hope they gave him the game ball.

I love watching the little guys play!