BoSox Redemption

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Red Sox 2007 So Good! So Good!

I'm sitting with a cup of coffee this morning. The Red Sox are the 2007 World Champs. No more insomnia nights. No more listening to annoying Buck and McCarver glorifying the Yankees when they were supposed to be focusing on the Sox and Rox. No more curses or 1918.

What's sweet is that the win was a team effort. No prima donas (okay, maybe one with the name of Manny - but that is usually something to chuckle over). Just good solid at-bats, pitching, fielding and good coaching from top to bottom, from starters to bench.

Boston is again a sleep-deprived town and we wouldn't want it any other way.

Looking forward to Papelbon's Riverdance.

Human Sacrifice

Lauren has a project to do. She has a choice to do her research on one of the Meso-American Civilizations. She is interested in the Aztec. Some possible topics she can explore are: location & history, buildings, astronomy, calendar, number system, and daily life. Guess what topic she chose? Human sacrifice (yep, that's my girl!)

Last night Lauren and I were surfing the web for a picture of the handle of a ceremonial knife. It is a rather ornate handle and nervous that we are undertaking a rather complex project, I suggested to Lauren than maybe we can do another object. "How about this, Mom? How about a cuauhxicalli?" asked Lauren.

So it is either an ornate ceremonial knife, a tool used to cut open the body in order to take out the still-beating heart of a sacrificed victim, OR a cuauhxicalli, an altar-like stone vessel used to contain the extracted human hearts.

Yeesh! I'm going to have nightmares!

No School + It's Raining = Museum Day

When it is raining and there is no school, the only thing you can do is go to the museum. Luckily, Boston has plenty to choose from and more fortunate is that Colin works by a few of them. So while he's hard at work, the girls and I explored New England Aquarium and The Children's Museum.















And when it is raining and you are holding an umbrella, you must sing "Umbrella" by Rihanna whilst walking in Boston.












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Apples

We went apple picking at Parlee Farms again this year. The weather was, well...a bit soggy. We picked Golden Delicious, Matsu (a less tart Granny Apple), Cortlands, Honey Crisp and Macintosh. Didn't pick raspberries this year. Don't know why we didn't pick raspberries -- just didn't.





















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Red Sox and Dirty Water

Down by the River...
Down by the banks of the River Charles

(Oh, that's what's happenin' baby)

That's where you'll find me
Along with lovers, muggers, and thieves.

(Ahh, but they're cool people)

I love that dirty water
'Oh oh, Boston, you're my home

Colin and I went to the game last night. Perfect weather. The Standells played "Dirty Water" to get the whole place in the mood. Didn't see a single halo fan. Josh Beckett was unbelievable (fastball, curveball) and unhittable. When the top of the ninth came, we were looking at the bullpen and waiting to see who would be coming out. It took me a while to realize that no one was coming out and, lo and behold, Beckett came sprinting out to the mound. Crowd went wild!! 4-0 Boston.

Josh Beckett #19 warming up before the game














The introduction of both teams at the start of the game















The local nine taking the field in the top of the first inning.












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One with the Tomatoes

We vowed to eat more vegetables when we got back from Germany. With Justin's suggestion to make Cream of Tomato from Paul Prudhomme's cookbook and faced with bushels full of the tomatoes on our return, we decided to make a dent on our harvest. We used about 20 tomatoes (Tangerine, Black Zebra, White Snowball, Stiletz and Romas).














After parboiling those suckers to get their skin off and chopping them, I boiled them with onions and celery. I whirled them in the food processor with parsley then gently stirred in heavy cream. Served with warm french baguette and salad (mixed greens with dried cranberries, candied pecans and red onions in balsamic vinaigrette), it was a hit. The soup prompted Lauren to say, "That was good!"















The tomato saga continues...