Masters of the Fairway

My brother Brian was in town for business this week, and we got together to play golf yesterday afternoon. We played at Harmon, the nine-hole municipal course in Lebanon. Both of us are almost non-golfers now, we play so seldom (I got in one round last year, and Brian none) but we still have a good time on those rare occasions when we do raise a club together.

The good news is that we played even, so there was no loser. The bad news is that this translated into identical scores of 55. Hey, if you can't handle a little humiliation you have no business getting old.

Kitchen Wall Cabinet

I've been putting together the upper cabinet for the Tower House kitchen and now have it installed with doors on. It still will need some work - I have to strip and refinish the original parts, and repair some edges chewed by animals while the parts were stored loose in a barn. Once that's done I can install an under-the cabinet light for the sink area. So far so good.

Little Garden

Here you can see the sum total of this year's veggie gardening effort - four yellow tomato plants, one cherry tomato, four peppers and a hill of pumpkin vines growing from where we tossed last year's Halloween porch pumpkin.

You might not see it in the photo, but the cherry tomato has tiny green fruits, and one pepper and one yellow tomato plant are in flower.

We have had great weather this spring for gardeners - just enough rain at proper intervals, not too hot, and plenty of sunshine.

And here is a random picture of Annie giving her puppy Danny a cuddle - I'll bet she is holding her breath.

Lacrosse Season Wrap-Up

Annie's lacrosse season ended last night when the Lebanon Lady Warriors lost their second-round tournament game at powerhouse Milford 8-7. Our team had a respectable 9-6 regular-season record and had trounced weak-sister Dayton 18-0 in the first tournament round a week ago.

I was sorry to see Lebanon lose, but it was a great game. Milford beat us in the regular season 15-3, and I went in thinking we would see another blowout. Instead, after spotting the Eagles a 3-0 lead, our girls won the middle going and pulled ahead 7-6 with about six minutes to go. Milford rallied for two goals and then stalled for the last three minutes (the cowards) to win and advance.

But a remarkable thing happened. Annie had played a sparkling game - she gave up the eight goals but stopped maybe 25 other shots, many from point-blank range, to keep us close against a superior team. Also, in typical Annie fashion, she had used her size and strength to swat down a number of passes around the goal and generally intimidate the Milford attackers. When time had expired and the Milford girls were celebrating their victory on the field, their PA announcer (who was a total homer during the game) singled out Annie by name for recognition of her fine play - nobody else, just Annie. Then, as the girls headed off the field, this guy came down out of the press box to enthusiastically shake her hand and tell her she had a great future in the sport. As we walked to the car total strangers were shouting attagirls at her. It was a little weird for her, I think - disappointed that her team had suffered a season-ending loss but reveling in having played the best game of her life.

Tower House Water's On

Since my last report I set the base cabinet, built the countertop and connected our new old sink to water and drain lines. Yesterday I was able to turn the water back on - a milestone! That top is built from leftover 1" white oak tongue and groove boards. I got these boards originally to rebuild the termite-eaten floors at our farm on Rt. 42, and last year used most of what remained to floor the back porch/sunroom at our house in Lebanon. This room is looking more and more kitcheny, in a 1920's way.

Bonus photo - Lee Ann enjoys the spring view of her pond.

Crazy Weekend

A year ago Annie and her friend Meghan, who are into all things Oriental, hit us with a proposition. They wanted us to let them fly to California for the annual Korean Music Festival at the Hollywood Bowl. It was short notice, and they were way too young for an unescorted adventure like that, so we said no. But I told Annie that they could go to the 2009 festival and that Lee Ann and I would come along and keep parental tabs on them.

A year went by, and the girls still wanted to go. So last Saturday we all got on an early flight from Cincinnati to LAX. Once there we got in a rental car and, with a stop on the way to check out Rodeo Drive, drove to Hollywood. Lee Ann and I poked around town while the girls hiked to the Bowl and had the time of their lives at the festival. I don't have their photos to share of the festival itself (and maybe I don't want to see them anyway) but here is Lee Ann in front of Graumann's Chinese Theater taking in the amazing crowd of costumed street performers and gawking tourists. And we got a shot of the square of cement that Sean Connery imprinted - he was one of few who stepped in the wet cement in bare feet, not shoes. And on Sunday, we flew home.