Early morning

Take me out to the ball game

Last night I went to my first baseball game! The Houston Astros vs the St Louis (don't forget to pronounce the 's') Cardinals, at Minutemaid Park downtown. We got the tickets through work - non-profits sometimes get given tickets to sporting events or plays, as a thank you for the work they do. Dave, Anna and I snaffled three of them and were ready, with hot dogs and beer (or Coke, for some of us) at the 7.05pm first pitch.




As far as baseball goes, we hear we had a quick game - all done in just over two hours! Certainly there was nothing of the leisureliness of cricket about it, but it was fun to be there for all the traditions - the national anthem, the seventh inning stretch, the organ music... and the Minutemaid train (those are supposed to be oranges in the back; Minutemaid is famous for juice) which whistles and drives up and down when home runs are scored.


And the Astros won - which apparently they have not been doing, as a general rule - so maybe we brought them some indirect beginners' luck!

Come into my parlour

I've always wanted a library, but of course that's a bit of a pipe dream in this day and age! This seemed to be the closest we could get - converting what is supposed to be a formal dining room into a library nook. The builders came on New Year's Eve and put in the shelves - but it took me this long to post the pictures because the final touch, the water lilies, was finally just hung last weekend.

For background, the stained glass panel was made years ago by my Great Uncle Jack, and hung in my Grandma's house for many years. Now she's moved into a smaller house, and she gave me the panel, which miraculously survived the trip to America with only one small, barely-visible crack. It's such a link to home, and Grandma, seeing it hanging in the window.

(Click on images to see a larger version).



And because contrast is a good thing, here's how that end of the room used to look, with the couch Dave picked up for free right before moving into the house:


GAHHHH!!



(I'd also like to apologise for my extended absence - we have had a LOT going on here (mainly good!), not least helping to move Dave's parents into a new apartment from a larger house, which took many weekends and evenings! I hope to be back posting more regularly soon. Love to everyone :) )