Perfect

I had every intention of ending this week with some calming photos taken at Bethel Beach, with its vast expanse of open, blue sky and the swamp abundant marshland wearing its winter colors.

Yes, I had every intention of focusing on that.  

Instead, we interrupt this blog post about Bethel Beach to bring you breaking news.

Chesapeake Bay Daughter

The Mathews High School girls JV basketball team won last night over King William.

What a fabulous group of young ladies...

and some pretty fantastic coaches.

The season is now over.  No other team could beat them.  It was a perfect season.

The score from last night's King William game

And now I am perfectly depressed.

 I so enjoyed watching this team play and very much looked forward to the games.

What will I do with my evenings now?  How will I let out all this pent up energy with no more opportunities for jumping up and down and screaming in the stands at least twice a week?

Anyway, congratulations to a great group of girls and the equally great Coach Tommy and Coach Lawrence.

Thank you for a perfect season.

Fence Posts

Yesterday was wonderfully warm, so I drove to Bethel Beach for a brief visit. On the left side of the road leading to the beach is a fence line I've always admired.  

Although it isn't easy to see in these pictures (at least not on my screen, but then again my eyesight is fading fast, so the screen isn't entirely to blame), there is barbed wire attached to these posts.

In the shots above and below, a pine tree has grown around the wire.

Below it's easier to see.

This isn't far from the barn I talked about in (click here) this post.

Those two in the foreground are posts. (Wire hangs from the one
on the left.) Standing in the middle further back, a dead pine tree
blends in well, looking as weathered and worn as the posts.

If you cannot see the barbed wire, click on the image to enlarge.
I don't think it will enlargen enough for me to see it, but I know it's
there.  Also, enlargen is a word. It was just invented, right here on
this blog.

There is another fence line on the left
headed down towards those pine trees.

You can see it better here.

Are you still awake? Or did my talking about an invisible fence that looks like a bunch of dead trees in the middle of a swamp cause your head to drop backwards and your eyes to slam shut?

I don't blame you. It's just that I'm so easily amused, I could talk about stuff like this forever.

(Even if I'm not quite sure what I'm talking about.)

In other more interesting news, my daughter's last basketball game is tonight at King William.  The long drive will be well worth it to see them (hopefully) beat King William and finish their season with a perfect record.

I can't wait.

Have a great day.

JV Basketball. Again.

Last night in the last home game of the season, the Mathews High School JV girls beat rival Middlesex in one of the higher scoring games of late:  37-14.

I don't know what is wrong with me, but I get so involved in these games that you would think I was out there on the court.  I am physically and emotionally drained.  Completely.

Also?  I get cotton mouth for about the first half.

I'm not talking about the cottonmouth moccasin that frequents our shorelines.  I am talking about the condition that some weird people get due to nervousness,  hormonal imbalance stress, and anxiety.

When I played high school basketball, back when people drank out of garden hoses and this other ancient relic of a contraption known as a water fountain, I chewed Gatorade gum to help with the cotton mouth I'd get before every game.  But I was a player and had every right to be riled up and a little nervous.

A healthy dose of adrenaline helps you play better.

But as a spectator?  Cotton mouth?

It's happened for almost every single game this season.  By the second half it goes away.  (Not coincidentally, the second half is usually when we play our best.)

Last night against Middlesex, however, we came out strong and stayed that way for the most part.  Sure there were sloppy passes, balls that would not drop in the bucket, some missed foul shots. A technical called against us.  A few balls slammed down on the court in anger.  A few "out of the ref's vision" pushes.

But hey. It's a JV team. We can't expect perfection even though one in our midst physically feels pain when they turn over the ball.

This team cannot be beat on defense, though, and luckily we started pressing right out the gate.  Usually Coach Tommy only uses the press in dire situations, such as when I am about to go into cardiac arrest because the game is so close.

This game, however, after we made the first bucket, we started pressing.  And it worked.

Oh, how it worked.

Anyway, the girls have one more game Thursday night at King William.  If they win that game, they will have a perfect, undefeated season.

It doesn't get much more perfect than undefeated.

This edition of Mathews High School JV Sports Synopsis brought to you by one MHS Has Been who puts as much physical energy into spectating as some of the girls do on the court.

Just ask anyone who sits next to me.  (That would be Mr. Junie on my right or my mother and father to my left, all of whom cringe every time I jump up and down hollering. Oh, and the Moughons.  And the Callises. They cringe also.)

The End.

Dusting

My back yard Thursday morning.

The title of this post refers to the light snow we received Thursday morning and not to the household chore I despise.

(For the record, there is not one single household chore I do not despise. I do, however, love all types of snow, even if it's only light.)

It was my day off from work, and the Chesapeake Bay Children had no school. After a blissful morning that included sleeping well past my normal time, I spent the day cooking--homemade turkey vegetable soup; Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes, cookies, etc.

We ate well.

(By the way, in my opinion Salisbury steak is just a fancy word for hamburger with gravy and onions.  However, it does sound better than hamburger with gravy and onions.  Still, to call that steak is a bit of a stretch.  Poor Man's Steak would be a better label.)

The Thursday night basketball game against West Point was cancelled due to schools being closed.  The girls play tonight/Friday at West Point assuming we don't get more snow, which they are calling for Friday afternoon.  If that game is cancelled we play Saturday night. The previously scheduled Saturday game over on the Eastern Shore has been cancelled.

(If you don't understand the above paragraph, don't worry.  I barely do either.)

Personally I am hoping for lots and lots of snow, much more than a dusting.  We shall see.

Happy Friday and have a great weekend.

Canada Geese

Since I've not taken any new photos, I thought I'd look at some that have been queued up in my Drafts folder and found these.

To be honest, I thought I'd already posted these and for all I know I did.  But in the bizarro world I live in, a bad memory has its advantages.

If I don't remember posting these photos, then I didn't post them.  But if by some chance I did post them, I don't care, because I don't remember. I'm using them again.

Circular logic, anyone?

So, to recap:

• I may or may not have posted these before.
• Regardless of the answer to the above, I'm posting them again because I got nuthin' here are pictures of Canada geese near Aarons Beach.
• Chesapeake Bay Woman's memory worsens by the day.
• Part of this is due to the stress of having to endure her daughter's basketball games, all of which have been too close for comfort.  But they are still undefeated.
• Part of it is due to Son beginning to talk about college and wanting to go visit some. DC and NYC were mentioned.  (He's already visited my alma mater UVA several times.)
• When did I become old enough to have a son looking at colleges?
• DC and NYC?
• Serenity now.
• Happy Birthday, Chesapeake Bay Father!
• (He doesn't know how to turn on a computer, or, as he would call it, a flaptop. His name for Twitter is Tweeter and then of course there's the other oldie but goodie, SpaceBook. He calls texting faxing.  I dare not ask what word he uses for faxing. Dare not.)
• Happy Birthday anyway, CBF.
• Have a great day, all.

The Weekend

These are a few weeks old, taken from Aarons Beach.

The sand there has been pushed up into the marsh
during various storms.  The beach is definitely shifting.

The weekend was busy but good.

Daughter's basketball team remains undefeated after barely pulling off another win Saturday night. They won by only one point in a very low scoring game, 21-20. It was absolutely excruciating to watch, and my throat is raw from screaming.

(Poor Mr. Junie Crosby, who sat next to us, probably still has ringing ears from all the commotion. Ann Marie, your father witnessed these antics from the other side of the court.  He can no longer say we don't do enough cheering.)

My mother and I have sufficiently embarrassed the county my father with our hollering and jumping up and down and what not, which includes stomping on the bleachers to (in theory) intimidate the opposition.

We I can't help it.

And they won! So all the embarrassment is well worth it.

Actually my mother and I are superstitious and believe that our antics helped propel the team to victory.  It all started in the Middlesex game when our bleacher thumping marked the point in the game where the tables turned and we gained control of the scoreboard.

Things have gotten progressively uglier/better (depending on whether you're asking my father or me) ever since.

There's another game at 5:30 tomorrow at home and one at 6:00 Thursday at West Point.

(Big Hair Envy, do you want to meet up? We could reminisce about the 1980-ish tournament we played in Back in the Day.)

***

After Saturday's game I went to a friend's birthday party and proceeded to laugh and laugh and laugh at all the stories told by some of my lifelong Mathews friends.

***

Today is a federal holiday, so I am in hog heaven enjoying a rare Monday off.

Life is good.

How was your weekend?

The Chimney

Last week my friend Waterman JP asked me if I wanted to take some pictures of places he discovered wandering around the woods of Mathews during hunting season. Of course I said yes.

The first spot is off of the road I normally jog down, Route 614.

There, trying its best to pretend to be just another pine tree, was a chimney.

I'd never seen this before even though I've jogged past it a million times.

I'm usually peering through the trees on the other side of the road, where a few abandoned houses hide.

After this stop we headed towards Bethel Beach to a swamp another hidden beauty in an area I've been by a million times.  I'll show those pictures next.

*******

In other news, my daughter's basketball team remains undefeated after a very close match against Nandua Saturday night. Nandua is over in Europe on the Eastern Shore, a not so long boat ride but one heckuva commute by car.  We'll be traveling there in a few weeks for the away game. Hopefully the difference in score will be much greater than it was Saturday night.

Otherwise I may need prescription medication.

Completely nerve wracking. But also lots of fun.

There is another home game tonight at 6.

Mathews JV Basketball

Lately I've been doing all my bragging about the Mathews High School girls JV basketball team on Facebook.  It's high time I shared all that boasting here on the blog.


I could talk about this team all day long and not just because #21, my favorite player, is my daughter.

First of all, they are undefeated.  

Second, they are excellent--every single last member of the team.  

There is no weak link. 

Third, they have a great coach.  

Coach Tommy was a freshman at Mathews when I was
a senior and Middle Sis was a sophomore.

Another favorite player is #30, Veronica.
Her Aunt Deidre graduated with me.

Another reason Veronica's a favorite?  I was #30 in high school.
This picture reminds me of a time when
the entire game hinged on my one foul shot.
We won't talk about the outcome. I might need therapy.

These games can get downright ugly.  Brutal.  Scrappy.
The team is very aggressive on defense (as well as offense).
They are tough. Relentless.

Being tough means there will be injuries.
Daughter almost broke her arm.
Our other point guard injured her hand.  The other night she played
with it all bandaged up.  Tough I tell you.

With perhaps one or two exceptions, I grew up with the parents
of everyone on the team.  And of course I went to school with the coaches.

Even though I would love this team for their skills alone,
the fact that I have this deeper connection to them
through their families makes it even nicer.
This is Reason #98 that I love living in Mathews.

We have a great cheering section.
I noticed that Daughter's Holly Ball date
(in the Duke sweatshirt) has been to almost every home game.
She also changed the background photo on her phone
to one from their date. Not to worry.
I went to school with his father and he's from good people.
Another benefit to growing up in Mathews. You can get the 411
on your daughter's boyfriends. 

I went out with #12's uncle once. He had a Corvette.
Yellow. Fun car.
Her Dad was a year ahead of me in school.
Also, she played against us when she attended
Chesapeake Academy and Daughter went to Ware.
I remember her because she was the best one
on the team and I didn't like that - she was big competition.
Now that she's on our team, I LOVE her mad skills.

Anyway, that's the behind-the-scenes, Chesapeake Bay Woman take on the Mathews JV basketball team. They are a very talented, well coached group of young ladies with so much potential.

For the three two few local readers who may be interested, they play Thursday night at 6:00 at Middlesex High.  Please come out and cheer them on.

Christmas Parade, Part Two

Emmaus Baptist Church had my favorite car in the whole parade.
I have a soft spot for VWs. It's genetic.

 Here are a few more shots from Saturday's Christmas parade. 

I was really hoping the Lions Club was giving away cheeseburgers or BBQ instead of candy, but I suppose marching in a parade is not conducive to serving up food. Still, I think this is something they should strive for next year. Isn't it just as easy to toss a cheeseburger as it is a candy cane? Thank you.

As much as it pains me to say this, I really need to graduate to a better camera. I can only do so much with the standard lens on my beloved friend. This shot has too much background, not enough car. Ok, maybe that has less to do with the lens and more to do with my lack of photo editing zooming in, but still, the time has come. I need to try new lenses which means I need a new camera.

Too much glare on the banner. (I seem to be very critical today. I think it's due to lack of free Christmas parade Lions Club cheeseburgers, a condition known to cause crankiness.)

Santa Claus made a brief appearance in his sleigh,which was drawn by--what else? A lawn mower. Dear Santa Claus, did you hear what I said about the cheeseburgers camera? I've been sort of good this year. Well, I did the best I could anyway. Thanks in advance. Love,CBW.

I think we need to add a lawn mower to the official county seal.

Although it is very common for me to change topics in a blog post, sometimes so many times your head will spin, it is very unusual for me to mix photos unless there is some common theme or element.

Today is the exception.

The parade photos are now over.

The next two are from the MHS Girls JV basketball team, which is now 5-0 after beating Rappahannock for the second time last night, 25-11. The team is outstanding and a pleasure to watch.

 

Last week's Lancaster game that CB Daughter sat out due to an injury.

CBD at the foul line at last night's home game. Her arm is still bothering her and she still has an upper respiratory thing going on, but she played a spirited game nevertheless.  

There's another home game against Northumberland this Friday at 6.  For the three two very few locals who read, I encourage you to come out and see this talented team.  Every single player is strong.

OK, that's everything fit to print from my world. What's going on in yours?