Revolving doors, the cure..having fun - now 'add ons'

Jon Di Salvatore went up and came down! Maybe I ought to name him "Speedy Jon" ( up and back in what- one and half days?). But come to think on it, 'speedy' does him credit. So he shall be "Speedy Jon" henceforth. Earl came down again, because - per Minnesota - he's still weak after the flu!

Nice of Minnesota (A halo for the Wild)to send him for the 'cure in WARM'Houston, LOL.

Pet names are gelling (and even w/o Dr Scholl).

Let's see what we have so far:

Daoust-The Scrapper,

Noreau-Ironman,

Rau-WOW,

DiSalvatore-Speedy,

Zingoni-Zippy,

Smith-The Streak,

Khudobin- Dimples (thanx to Ms. C),

Dubielewicz -Dubie (Ms. C. too),

Falk-basket of warm puppies (Ms. C), abbrev. to BP

Brandon Buck-Bucky,

Barry B.-Brusty from years past,

Stoner -Stoney,

Earl-The Pearl,

Testwuide =TESTY,

Almond (why did I not think of that-very logical)=ALMOND JOY(the 2 latter thanks to Ms. C.) abbrev. to AJ.,

Gillies- Frisky (like a colt?),

Irmen-Irms from last year,

Could use some help in baptizing: -)

Fraser,

Sifers,

Lannon,

Milroy,

MacMillan,

Kassian,

Hilbert, Handy Andy..as when he slaps in a puck!

Kalus,

Rogers, The Rock, everyone relies on him! (thanx to John Royal for that inspiration)

am I missing someone else?

HELP, anyone, any ideas?

Let's have fun ..

Christmas joy and pity..

San Francisco De Espada Mission - San Antonio

On the way to have the car (fondly" Micro T") checked out, we drove by obviously freezing, barely bundled up 'day laborers' huddling against curbs..usually near construction supply stores, but even more frequently near gas stations waiting for a 'construction Santa' or ?? to offer them a couple hours work at minimum or less wages. If they even get paid those!
And no, these were not your panhandlers and beggars that one is used to seeing at crossroads holding their various signs.
These were real people trying desperately to earn some money to feed themselves, their families and/or their 'coyotes' who may have smuggled them into Houston for "travel expenses".

Not too long ago, I re-read the story about Manolo Benitez, El Cordobes, Matador de Espana who was such a 'fenomenon' during the Beatles era.
BTW, I actually saw him perform (he had guts, but little style as is rather obvious in the video..he is always on the move - 'running' from the bull - and hardly stands still for the pases with the red muleta as should be done) in Barcelona (long time ago) on a cartel with

Paco Camino(the elder-an elegant and suave Matador)

and Diego Puerta

(workman like but mostly in control),
El Cordobes was then the lowest man on the cartel.

The authors are respected writers Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre who co-authored "Is Paris Burning", which I have also read, some time ago.

El Cordobes comes from a farm/daylaborer family in the, then very poor, South of Spain. Whose father, as many in his village, stood daily on the Plaza de Trabajadores waiting for the Encargado (Foreman) of the nearest Finca (ranch) to come and march them off to pick olives, or whatever labor the ranch may have needed... for so little money.. getting paid in peanuts would be getting paid in riches nowadays. If they were not selected the family ate -in luck- once a day bread soaked in olive oil, maybe!

And seeing these men huddled in the morning cold reminded me of reading about those days in Spain before the Spanish Civil war. So what has changed? Seemingly not too much.
Being poor is bad, being poor and having a family to care for must be hell on earth, even more so. And these men try to work. They do not beg, they not claim to be injured... they JUST want to work and get paid, pittance or not. Anything ! And most refuse alms....they are still too proud to take pure charity. One has to respect that. Alas, what a Christmas is ahead for these people?
I don't know exactly why I brought this up just now, but it was such a striking impression I am still reeling from the impact.

What to do, when...

one is inundated with requests to join Twitter, Facebook, My Space etc. when one is not prepared to sit at the computer 24/7/52/1....nor has a superdooper cellphone?

I am still not much in favor of Twitter etc.
What CAN one really discuss in few words or less?
I thought with email, 'telegramming' has gone by the wayside, now this!
The 'new' language for people with very short attention spans.
Good Bye Thank You Notes! Good Bye Letters! Good Bye Essay!
Good Bye Short Story! Good Bye Novel! Good Bye forever?
All's done by the net, visible to all and sundry.... that is progress?]

Anyway...in the spirit of the Season-Cactus, you light up my life

Referee or not, AEROS win 5-3

Yep, they did.. give us an early Christmas Present. Aeros win over Grand Rapids Griffins 5-3. "Dubie in goal for Aeros, with Fan (especially ONE) fave Barry Brust ("Brusty") 'fresh' from the Orange State as BuG;
Larsson for the Griffins.
Just found out Larsson was replaced by McCollum, but when that happened I have no idea, I don't think it was announced, at least I didn't hear it - may have been briefly. Later on was too busy watching game, to look at jersey numbers ;-)

Period One :

at 4:40 Rissmiller with Vigilante and Mursak put Griffins on the scoreboard.

at 13.46 Aeros evened score with a goal by "Ironman"Noreau assisted by Milroy and Irmen- BTW seeing Danny Irmen jump feet into the air to avoid stopping a puck, he'll be "Jumping Dan" from now on (LOL) ending the period with 1 goal and 11 SoG, Griffins 1 Goal and 9 SoG.

This period was also, IMO, rather noticeable by several calls NOT made on Griffins by Referee Chris Brown (Griffins tripped "The Scrapper" Daoust, and a bit later again tripped Daoust AND held him down on the ice for several seconds). But "Blind Brown" made NO call.

Period 2:

at 2:56 Aeros scored goal 2 by Hilbert with assists by "The Scrapper"Daoust and Falk. About 3 minutes later Milroy with Rogers and "Jumping Dan" made it 3 for the Aeros. And Testwuide received a legit penalty for holding, while The Griffins, again, got away with another tripping of Daoust plus a holding of Kassian -seemingly right in front of the referee. Fortunately Griffins could not convert the PP into a goal.

And at 19:06m DiSalvatore got goal # 3 unassisted! The period ended with Aeros 4 (19SoG) , Griffins 1 (16 SoG) and a brawl, for which Falk got a penalty for instigating, thanks to Referee Brown, even though a Griffin started the melee, AFTER the buzzer had already sounded .

Period 3:

Falk sitting in the sin bin, Pyett with Rissmiller and Delmore put Griffins up one goal during the power play, and at 5:32 McGrath with Pare and Lemieux made it Griffin 3 (with 21 SoG).

"Dubie" lost his stick during an onslaught of red/blue jerseys, stopped the puck with his chest, then grabbed Gunderson's stick and held off another shot.

Nylander sat for high sticking (FINALLY a penalty call on the Griffins) at 7:15 - PP for Aeros but no goal.

After a few more 'noncalls' (tippings-tripping, that should be tripping- or other Griffin malfeasances), Larsson was pulled and "Ironman " Noreau with Irmen scored an empty net goal with a few seconds to spare. AEROS 5 (24 SoG) Griffins 3 (27 SoG).

Three stars: 1: Milroy, 2: Di Salvatore and 3. Irmen.

Scratches for Aeros:

Gillies (may have an injury), Kalus and Zingoni.

Griffins had NO scratches.

Aeros had 2 PP (no goals), Griffins 1 PP (scored)

Personal observations: Griffins, despite " road trip lag", skated well, had some great passing and speed.

As I said, a VERY nice early Christmas present.

Maybe having sent 'backstage' to players, AND coaches, 'chocolate kisses ;-)' after the last game (loss to Texas Stars) - courtesy Better Half and I, plus the Boosterclubs' annual goodies bags helped rev up the Team for this Pre-Christmas winner! LOL. see you all December 26. for "Bikini" night.....Bah Humbug!

And in the spirit of the Season,we'll forgive you 'Brown'!

Y'all have a wonderful, serene Christmas in the arms of your loved ones!

Snowbound .. in Houston

Yes, indeed, my buddy is 'snowbound in Houston' .. because NOTHING flies to the NE during this blizzard like storm and here we are with brilliant blue skies, sun shining and even the chill temperatures are welcome, crisp, brisk, wake-up kinda temperatures.

I don't mind the chilly temps, as long as the sun shines and the sky IS blue and cloudless.Just wishing - do you read me Santa, Christkindl - that the Aeros WAKE UP as well and get a winner tomorrow, before they head home (if they can fly!!) for the 'fuzzy warm' feeling of Christmas with the families... because I am afraid, when they come back for the 26. December game, they'll be sooo rested, that...!

In the T3I blog some writers and commentators have made excuses: the team is tired...etc. Reminiscing back on last season's team's horrific travel schedule...this year's schedule is a sinecure! And they are tired? And they are veterans, most of them? Are they too veteran?

Maybe this will inspire them... Hockey hall of Fame in Toronto!Or maybe this..

And so more in the spirit of Christmas.

Do enjoy the view, guys.

Basta. Enuf said. Genug. Enfin. Finito.

The Stars from Hell...

Boohoo, Boohoo

T'was the game from Hell for the Aeros.

A 2 to 5 loss to the Texas Stars who skated without 'former' softspot Beaudoin, reportedly an upper body injury, but with Vishnevskij back from NHL and without Fortunus who got the 'call up'!

1. period ended with 1 Goal (8 sog) for Aeros, 2 goals (7 sog) for Stars.

Aeros goal by DiSalvatore with Gunderson and Rogers.

Stars goals: 1. Gadzic, Tousignant and Shelast. 2. Peters, Lukovich and Climie(the goalie!)

2. period rather uneventful, though very fast.. before I knew it it was over - no goals.

3. period Goal for Aeros by Gunderson with MacMillan and Irmen (power play).

Then the sky fell in, two..YES ..two... empty netters for the Stars, one even a shorthanded (4 on 5) by the Stars. First empty netter: Lukovich and Hutchison; Second empty netter: shorthanded by Gagnon

Penalties:

Aeros: Kassian, Daoust, Kassian, Daoust.

Stars: Gadzic, Tousignant, Wathier, Korostin, Gagnon, Vishnevskij

PP: Aeros: 5 (1 goal), Stars: 2(o)

Total shots on goal: Aeros 29, Stars 22

Overall impressions, Aeros missed too many real good opportunities to score....27 lost shots on gaol after all!
Outstanding tonight, IMO:

Di Salvatore, Gunderson, Hilbert (he was lightening fast), Smith (excellent face offs).
Very good IMO:

Gillies, Rau (but NO wow- ;-), Daoust (despite the 2 penalties!), Noreau, and surprise, surprise, Falk!
Good: Rogers, Almond, MacMillan

SOSO: Milroy, Sifers and Kassian

Rather ineffective tonight: Lannon of the 300 AHL games played (duh - he had 1 good play) & Testwuide (maybe 2 good plays?).

Nothing more to be said.

Hockey Gods do not favor Wild or Aeros these days.

The stars were just too good!!

Although, IMO: The referee overlooked at least 2 occasions when a Star player tripped and held down Daoust, and another tripped or interfered with Gillies- Better Half and I did not get either players number.

Also I, as did the few in attendance, felt that Gunderson - correction NOREAU - was robbed of a goal. It looked to me as if the puck went, in the light went on, the puck looked to have scooted out and Climie simply laid backwards

"MY GOAL KEEP OUT ;-)

(which he did to good avail at least one other time!) and the referee bought it ;-)!!

Constantine pulled goalie (Anton who replaced Dubie after the first 2 goals) at about the time the goal by Noreau was not allowed, did he do it protest or just trying to fire up the team?

Not having second sight or mind reading capability I am just guessing, it would have been such a GOOD cause.

So now the team needs to regroup - and they'll have the time, lots of time, now, since the 'feed the team' was cancelled.

Hockey Gods not well disposed?

Russo reports a Wild equipment truck caught fire while on short drive with doors closed? Burning lots of equipment and trainer rushing back to Minnesota to bring up additional stuff. Meanwhile the weather men report on a major snowstorm with blizzard conditions to hit Eastern seaboard Saturday - Philadelphia is slated for a 10 am start with New York for noon, and on Sunday. Allegedly several flights have already been cancelled.

Will that also include Ottawa? What more can hit the Wild? Injuries, swine flu, now this!!!!

The verdict is in..

what we have are "Raspberry ants"..which LOVE electrical wiring etc.... that's why they are scurring, scuttling all over our computers, human hand in the way.. just crawl over it and that tickles and itches, no bites just itching. Anyway major treatments coming our way next Tuesday inside, outside, inside electrical plates...etc. Hope it works!
And we will not go itching into the New Year!


Stars and Aeros battling tonight. Getting ready for it and in the spirit of the season more

Happy Holiday Wishes to all

Sunshine...

enjoy while you can. Next week should bring....snow again at Christmas, even!
Maybe even more than what fell the other day.

Finally have transfered the photos from the recent San Antonio trip.. here are a few for you!

McNay Museum Front and wing
which houses bronzes

Alexander Liberman (born Russia 1912-1999) ASCENT 1970

a cheery sight on a dreary day for sure!

And below what reminded us of a 'goalie cage' LOL, unfortunately forgot the name of sculptor

Now to my favorite Mission, San Francisco De Espada,built around 1713

and Brother Jerome's famous green thumb-with the profusion of plants, that should be THUMBS :-) This is the cloister which is STILL inhabited by Brother Jerome..

Inside the church with original wooden beamed ceiling and statues.

And 'ye olde cotton gin' now housing the Sistercreek winery

So I shall survive for a few more months...

or so the Doctor tells me. Results are good, even if NOT perfect. But then what IS perfect. I'll do with the good.

And tomorrow Aeros will play Stars in an ongoing battle for supremacy in Texas.

Just replace some words in the above hymn to make it apply to the 'Battle of the Skaters' (not giants yet... only if and when they make the play offs...;-) Right now they are tied, 15 points for each.

As it seems at the moment, Rampage, with 8 points, most likely will stay in 3. place in the Lonestar Face Off.

All is quiet on the 'opera front in Houston'! January will see 'Tosca' and ' The Turn of the Screw' (yes, yes, you are reading right!) at HGO, and 'Ballo en Maschera' at the OH!
And Don Giovanni and the Little Vixen at U of H.

Later more about three exciting opera, one amusing one and one puzzling one.. Britten IS puzzling, to me at least. Friend M. adores his music... I just let her!
Some excerpts will be included for your listening pleasure from all 5 operas if found!
It is GOOD to be different...otherwise life would be sooooo boring!

Now off to pool for the daily' grind'... must keep it up, or 'Uncle Doctor' will get mad at me, LOL.

In the spirit of the season, if the twinkling lights during the battlehymn are not enough for you!

Merry, Merry!

GOAL GOAL....

Am I going to wear out this image?

The way Aeros are going right now, possibly.

And surely this is all thanks to Santa and Christkindl! It was a fast and quick game.

ONLY 1 penalty each-thank you Mr. Referee Smith.. we like that, it keeps the game flow going. Also only 1 power play each, both uneventful.

First period:

uneventful, other than...now I am going to wax poetically...it was so lovely!

It really was a 'Ballet on Ice' with 'waves of white' jerseys flowing smoothly in one direction against 'waves of black' jerseys, then the waves reversed, but - oh, so smoothly. Almost a 'Dance of Sugar Plum Fairies' - almost, I said! Fairies not in evidence unless....the goal fairy was smiling down tonight!

Second period:

Gillies with 'The Streak' Smith (very much in evidence tonite) and Falk (getting better, that boy!) put Aeros one ahead of Rampage at 9:34 with 20 SoG.

Both goalies did outstanding jobs, both seemed to pounce on loose pucks any which way, feet, legs, arms, bodies flat on bellies or backs!

Third Period:

"Dubie", no really, "Dubie", had me thinking..'shut out for Dubie' when it happened .. Boedker with Watkins and Sullivan put Rampage even with Aeros at 10:01, with 22 shots on goal. Lots of broken or lost sticks, 'Rau-WOW' went with the puck as far as his SKATES in lieu allowed, Testwuide fumbling several passes, loosing pucks, and yet, NO goal by Rampage, whose skating speed was obvious, especially by Porter. '

'The Scrapper' Daoust in his NEW number 62 (lucky?) and Hilbert also sporting a NEW number (91).. were fast, made long drives and scrapped against much bigger foes!

Apropos WHY new numbers?? Did they dislike numbers 38 and 39 so much?

Or has that something to do with yin yang or Kabala or whatever ?

Overtime:

4 on 4 for 5 minutes in sudden death. With JUST 36 seconds to go (I mumbled dementedly to myself, oh no, oh no.. shoot out) 'Ironman' Noreau saved my sanity by getting the winning goal with help from 'Rau-WOW' and Hilbert.... maybe changing the numbers cast the right spell ;-) after all, hey?

Almost..but not quite, felt a bit sorry for the Rampage. Having such trying times after a promising start, change of coaches, moving experienced players out, younger eager beavers in.. and yet.. several times I was ready to pour boiling oil (as in the 'good' old days of castles on hills) down onto them to repel their attacts... or rather their desperate tries to incite fights!

Well, the result is GOOD for Aeros, some better passing then previously observed, smooth skating, cohesiveness in defense and offense, furious attacks on goal, furious defense of own goal, if not own goalie..

"Dubie" can, and did, take care of himsef with starfish hands, legs, and whatever he could spread to keep the puck out. At times, IMO, he seemed a bit slow in getting back onto his feet. Has he played catcher in Baseball ;-)? His glove seemed to be a magnet for those puck, and this time none of the rebounds from the net high above rolled INTO the net behind his back.

Three Stars of the GAME:

#3 Rampage Goalie Tordjman stopping a whopping 36 of 38 shots! Great job, alas it'll count against you. Without him the Rampage would have been utterly lost!!

#2 "Dubie" stopping 26 of 27 shots- it was GOALIE night for sure!

#1 'Ironman' Noreau for the winning OT goal!! BRAVO MAXIM!

Waayy to go, guyz, way to go!!! Now, just 4 more at home and 2 away games... Santa and Christkindl will have to work OVERTIME as well to keep this streak going.

Between December 20 and 26, they will be AWAY at HOME with family, I assume, to light trees, unwrap presents, sip eggnog, eat carp or goose or whatever....will 26 Bikini Night be a winner?

I shall do my best to please Santa etal: Even IF it takes to hand over yummy'minions' (Name of a Russian Dessert,per babushka) of chocolate and nuts, as well as the 'Meatballs in Vodka Sauce'( another babushka recipe), scheduled for the Feed the Team - to Santa, his elves, his reindeer and Christkindl!

I shall sacrifice, yes, sacrifice for the good of the team.

Please, pretty please: let the Aeros keep winning ... by one goal , that's all that's necessary.

Like a bit of squirrely homor? Where were the Aeros?

On a certain TV station the sports annoucer had Aeros winning over San Antonio ON THE ROAD!!!!!

Yes, indeed! Just snickering... but hey, he DID mention AEROS....;-) ;-).

Hockey gypsies on the move....

Khudobin and Sifers flying South, Stoner flying North and so it goes.. hockey gypsies are on the move again. And the scheduled Feed the Team for Saturday has been cancelled. NO distractions, however sweet and tasty, are to be 'on the menu' for the guyz - Christmas or no Christmas.

"Work not Play" is to be the motto for this weekend.Afterall, come Monday they'll be flying all over home for Christmas anyway!

And back to Houston by 26..for-the "bikini night' contest.. always a real MEN pleaser ;-)

Female fans might say, like Queen Victoria:

"We are not amused".

Thanks Santa! Danke Christkindl!!

They heard, and granted part of my 3. prayers-Aeros won away..the 2. win this month.

Really must put out more cookies for Santa now....;-)

Aeros win again 5-2 vs Texas Stars in Austin.

"Dubie" in goal stopped 12 out of 14, and Climie managed 14 saves out of 18 for the Stars.

And guess who did it:

2. period:

Milroy (PP!!) (really, he has found his ice legs or arms, as the case may be) with Noreau and Stoner

Rau-'WOW' with "The Scrapper" Daoust and Stoner

3.period:

DiSalvatore "Jonny, Be Good" ,unassisted

"The Scrapper" Daoust with Hilbert on a PP (again!)

Rau-'WOW', unassisted.

Goaling on 2 PowerPlays... 2 unassisted goals...GO AEROS!!

And, really, a second period with sparks!!! Go guyz!!

And 3. period with sparks!!

Keep THAT up tonite, too!

As I can see from the AHL site Beaudoin did not play last night which y have been a good thing, for the AEROS ;-)!

VOTE......GO and VOTE...

for your favorite AEROS...

Ballots at the BOOSTERCLUB Table at section 101 during all coming home games.

Also save the date: TUESDAY FEBRUARY 9 2010 ..AWARDS BANQUET... get over to the table to buy your tickets to attend!

AND VOTE!

Yahoooo.B.U.G.s.... "d... them" bugs...

per Ms.C's elated blog on the return of BB - no, not gun, goalie!

BEWARE THE GOALIE, RAMPAGE!

On the other hand, Anton K. is flying into the snow up North to BUG for Harding who is ailing.... Earl, moving up too; while The Streak, Nathan Smith, is coming back South...super ?!?...

Most shopping is done, except for the 'spirits'..
Off to brunch today with the 'pool pals' to celebrate, not one, not two ..but three December Birthdays, and Christmas, loaded down with little "gifties" as I call them..
Now in German, gift means poison!
And some gifts, can turn poisonous :-D, or so a recent article in the WSJ proclaims while enumerating some 'gifts' that 'poison' a relationship, LOL.

Talking abot 'gift=poison....the 'bugman' was just here... hopefully the 'antsy ants' will eat the bait, take it back to their hill and DIE! or at least not reproduce....and I get my blog time back!
VERRRY interesting, according to the bugman, " THE LAW" forbids him to spray where people live... huh??? I.E. Not in bedrooms, not in livingrooms, not in closets... BUT they may spray in the kitchen where people actually prepare food! As I said, verrryyy interesting! Or so he says!
Now, the previous 'bugman' treated wherever we asked him to, and for years NOT a bug on site or in sight! With the new 'bugman's' service hired by the NEW management company, we've seen lively critters, on a daily basis, frolicking ...in the bedroom, the living room .............;-).

Well , I do exagerate a bit...but at least one critter every third day- ;-), which is one critter too many in my opinion!

Champagne does work wonders for ...

a good night's sleep!

Up with the early birds - chirping outside the windows, and working men/women's cars rumbling past.
So now here I sit, fighting with the tiny ants,

which seem to adore the electric/electronics in the computer room, for time on the blog! Ants blooging? That idea just boggles my mind ...
Blogging IS addictive, so why am I surprised that ants wanna do it, too?
Now, I really, really need to play catch up with shopping (for ingredients of "spirited" dishes (LOL) for the "Feed the team" at x-mas), wrapping and other sundry chores.
Y'all now do enjoy a photo of Christkindl Market somewhere in Germany to get in the spirit of the season.
Happy Shopping Days! Happy Spending Days! Happy..whatever 'makes YOU happy' Days!

Thank you, Santa, Danke schoen Christlkind....

Just back from the Buddies X-Mas Party where good cheer, food and fun was had by all.
Santa and Christkindl must've read my letter and granted my first two wishes: it was a bit warmer, and
the Aeros won this afternoon.
4 (with 28 SoG) to 1 (21 SoG) over the Rockford Icehogs, a team I remember well, and not too fondly, from 2 years ago. These Icehogs were on a par with these Aeros in speed and skating abilities, and almost even in shots on goal, and no goals during power plays.

Brief recap: scratches AEROS: Kalus, Lannon, Zingoni.

Period one:Aeros come out eager for kill: Goal number one at approx 2:30 min. by The Scrapper Daoust with assist of Rau=Wow and young Gunderson, who is turning into quite an asset.

Period two: Rockford scores at about 8:23 to even the numbers: Brophey, Bicknell and Klinkhammer. At 14:27 DiSalvatore, helped by Gunderson and Daoust put Aeros one ahead :2 Aeros vs 1 Rockford, that was a goal during the 4th power play opportunities the Aeros had. Second Period ended with Aeros 2 goals (21 SoG) Rockford 1 goal (14 SoG)

Period Three: Aeros added a goal by "Ironman" Noreau with help of Earl a just little over 2 minutes into the Third. And so it stayed until at 27 seconds to go and after Rockford pulled its Goalie, a veteran Cloutier for a 6th attacker, Irmen scored an unassisted empty net gaol, putting the Aeros ahead to end game with 4 goals in regulation time.

Personal observations:

Rockford and Aeros almost equal in speed and playing capabilities, relative good puck passes by both teams.

Powerplays AEROS: 5, only one resulted in a goal; Rockford had 5 pp opportunities.

Goalies: "Dubie" for Aeros, with 20 saves; Cloutier for Rockford, with 24 saves.
Penalties:

Aeros: Kassian: tripping, Irmen: hooking, Earl: holding, Almond: crosschecking, and Stoner (which seems to have become routine for Stoner to sit in the box) in the 3.:crosschecking.

Rockford: Greentree: hooking, Boyle: hooking, MAcArthur:tripping, Keith: holding and Petiot for interference, all minors. "Dubie" had several good to excellent 'defenders' in front of him helping him keep Icehogs in check.

Some scuffles, but nothing major to result in any penalties for either team.

Gillies, very aggressive skater, once even took on Cloutier behind his own goal, but could not hold onto the puck to smash it into the 'untended' net. Falk had a broken/lost stick. Stickless, he kept up defense using his "not too small" body for some time, effectively.

Gillies, Daoust, Rau seem to be the fastest skaters this afternoon.Rogers and Milroy showed respectable spunk, and Noreau (Ironman), for a defense guy, was rather 'offensive' and scored - LOL.

Rau+Wow 'wowed' with a spectacular save 'en rodillas' (as the saying goes in la corrida) - on his knees, deflecting the puck to his team mates.

Almond seemed more 'there', if I may say so. Gillies, as far as I could see, (and others), had a weird, but effective way of stopping pucks: by throwing themselves on the ice full length!

Is that a new coaching approach?

Well, it seems to work..so whatever works, let them have at it!

Three Stars: All Aeros: 1: Jean Michel Daoust, the Scrapper, 2. Jon DiSalvatore, 3. Ryan Gunderson

Still in my LA KINGS purple, silver and black jersey.I scooted over to the Buddies Christmas party.. pretending to be 'The Queen of Night' with laryngitis ;-). .And, well it was a conversation piece, but hey, IF it brings more watchers to games, not at all a bad thing! Aeros win or lose..it IS good entertainment. The champagne flowed, food vanished as if attacked by locusts, and good fun was had by all.

Fortunately ONLY one ice-breaker kinda game was played.

Singers had to wear a twinkle twinkle Santa Hat, with a piece of paper naming a part in an opera stuck to it(and unseen by them), had to ask other guests questions to find out which character they were representing.

It went quite fast and served well to bring buddies together. Having fun was the goal and THAT, my dears, was achieved easily!

MERRY CHRISTMAS - jovencitos y chiquitas, boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen ;-).

Arias on High...

It was a very good night, the night the HGO Studio artists presented their annual showcase. Fireworks, vocally and on the ivory! I mean it, outstanding performances by the new crop of singers, some of the pianists are second year members.

Now, me, I am biased, I admit it! Pianist Stephen Hopkins, being my "Buddy" has magical fingers, I know only too well from attending his recital last year. To hear of and read more on this gifted musician check out his website stephenmhopkins.com.He accompanied with verve the Handel and Mozart pieces. His wife, Amaia, wasn't present that night, alas. But David Hanlon, who accompanied the excerpts from Turandot, Berg, and Donizetti, did it beautifully, especially, and surprisingly, he made the Wozzek excerpt (Berg) -Hopkins also played a bit role in that - he pounded the piano lid as a not so little drummer boy (in the spirit of armed forces - not Christmas ;-)-, sound quite digestible. Stephanie Rhodes, a 'newby', was accomplished in Verdi and Floyd.

And now to the VOICES:

OMG what voices they were: sumptious rich bass Michael Sumuel, fine and warm baritones Octavio Moreno and Adam Cioffari, two brilliant tenors,

Nathaniel Peake, below and Brendan Touhy, both tall and powerful.

Touhy's rendering of the 'mentally handicapped' LENNY' in Of Mice and Men (Floyd) was astonishing for so young a singer. That scene,where Lenny and his friend and protector GEORGE (acted and sung well by Cioffari) sing about their dream farm, just before George kills Lenny, IS simply one of heart breaking impact.

Catherine Martin's presentation of XERXES (a trouser role-often sung by counter tenors or historically by Castrati)) in the Handel was full of vocal fireworks. She also sang and acted as DORABELLA in "Mozart's Cosi fan Tutte" creditably and humorously.

Rachel Willis-Sorensen, despite some vocal cord swelling, handled the difficulties in the role of MARIE by Berg with power and sensitivity, and did well as Fiordiligi in the Mozart.

The most astonishing voice that night (causing a spontaneous standing ovation) was undoubtedly Soprano Kiri Dyan Deonarine, as a beautiful, haunted LUCIA in the Donizetti. She also had huge comical talent as DESPINA in the Mozart.

After it was over, I truly wished I had come the night before for the first show.. and skipped the less than stellar performance of the 'poor Aeros' at the TC. Hopefully today's game will be better!

Letter to Santa, Brief ans Christkindl!

Dear Santa, Liebes Christkindl!I have only 3 wishes. Ich habe NUR 3 Wuensche.

Much too cold and foggy. Viel zu kalt und nebelig fuer mich.1. Let it be warm. Lass es wieder waermer sein!

2. Let the Aeros win tomorrow afternoon, so that they not loose confidence in themselves. Die Aeros sollen morgen nachmittags mal gewinnen, damit sie nicht an ihren 'Talenten" zweifeln. ;-)

3. Let Aeros win the rest of games this Christmas Holiday time , here and away! Schau, dass die Aeros auch die restlichen Spiele, hier und weg, gewinnen.

Aber ohne solche Resultate. But not with such results...

Max Noreau slow down! Max Noreau-langsamer!

Big Grin.

Sonst bin ich zufrieden, ausser natuerlich Frieden der ganzen Welt, aber dass duerfte vielleicht ein zu harter Wunsch sein! Otherwise am quite satisfied, except, of course, Peace in the World.. but that may be too much to ask!

Restless in Houston..

When asleep I am always brilliantly composing essays which upon waking are gone!
Restless legs are made for walking, and last night I seemed to have sleepwalked into the kitchen to get a bottle of water found this morning on my nighttable half drunk! Scary, you bet!
Also found this morning, tiny ants in the bathroom, scurrying around , to and fro, up and down....an image only too reminiscent of last nights Aeros as seen from on high at the arena, LOL, scurrying around, milling across the ice, skating to and fro!

Blurs of players imprinted on my retina

Now here is a thought: since Edmonton, Canada registered - 35 as its low today.. yes, MINUS 35.. the Edmonton Oilers have a perfect campaign slogan in my opinion: "Family night with the Oilers! Come and warm up before and after the game! Socialize cosily at the rink! Free hot toddies, gluehwein, hot lemonade, and Irish Coffees to warm your cockles."

To return to sanity or what passes for sanity this post game morning: a swim/'aquarobics' session in the pool to give those restless legs a workout. Then get ready for a "Night at the Studio Showcase", an HGO Studio event, highlighting the beautiful voices of a new crop of HGOpera studio artist, followed by a reception to spread pre-Christmas cheer and hugs, lots of hugs.

Tomorrow we are at the game again (hope does spring eternal), followed by the annual Christmas party for said studio members. More hugs, fuzzy feelings of joy, thankfulness for the friendship of those young singers and pianists, spreading human kindness and.....well you all know those feelings engendered by the Season....In Dulci Jubilo.....etc.

Wallflowers... or a lesson how not to..

play hockey at the Toyota Center....if you want to win.

Aeros vs Peoria 1 (24 SoG) - 2 (29 SoG)

The lonely goal (on a Power Play it was) for the Aeros came in the second period by Hilbert with Noreau and Gunderson.

Peoria's goals in 1. period came, just on the second shot on goal by Strachan, Wagner and ....LOVE!!! second goal by Strachan, Sonne (was he a little sunshine or what?) and Junland in the third.

Now, had Ryan Lannon been a puck, Peoria would have made goal Nr. 3...LOL.

And Peoria did show how to control the puck by any and all means: bellies, bottoms and upper thighs while sitting spread eagled on the ice...no, Virginia, sticks are not really necessary ;-)!

Once, "The Scrapper" Daoust got hold of the puck, rushing with it like mad towards the Peoria goal to find himself, like Robinson Crusoe, all alone surrounded by - Rivermen, while his team mates were standing off. (Nautical expressions on purpose!).

He squirmed, he weaseled this way and that, but... the Rivermen had him pent up. No one near to pass the puck, so-like Harry Truman, the 'puck stopped there' and the Rivermen stole it handily!

I'd like to sing with Marlene :"Where have all the flowers gone...?"

Wallflowers

Better shut up and go drown my sorrows...

And tank up courage to go to the Sunday game against the Rockford Icehogs.. another loss on home ice?

Ah, but a couple good things did happen, Almond and Testwuide recovered and back on the ice, a bit rusty perhaps... But the whole team seemed a bit rusty after a longish stretch of NO contests.

WHAT happened???

Wine, women and song.. while waiting for the Wild...

Not wishing for this kind of scenery.Being snug at 'home' at the Ranch, while the temperatures drop into the 20's, its easy to write about the three things that make LIFE happy per Strauss:

wine: lovely red from the oldest winery in Texas, Sister Creek vineyards, est. 1988 and housed in a 1885 built Cotton Gin, right in the middle of Sisterdale, it's a Cabernet Sauvignon-Bordeaux Blend Reserve, smooth, oh so smooth...real "romantic sipping'' before the fireplace kinda wine.

women: Marion Koogler McNay's Museum has added a new exhibit:Theater art showing among others the paintings of Natalia Gontcharova (Russian 1888-1962) - a series showing costumes and designs for the Opera 'The Snow Maiden' and other pieces by women artists. Plus many mock ups of stage settings...very interesting to any stage struck art lover!

song: Christmas songs abound, some commercial as in the stores,some religious as in the mission churches.

And that brings me to the Missions, specifically San Francisco de Espada, the smallest church with a still inhabited cloister. The friars are Franciscans and one of them, Brother Jerome, sure has a wonderful green thumb.. the walkway and colonnade teem with green and flowering plants, such a cheerful sight on the misty, dreary Tuesday, it was, we headed there for some contemplation on the season and prayers (for some Aeros wins in the next weeks to get the guyz reved up for the rest of the hockey season) .

And the most amazing thing is, to us, that the farm attached to this mission and watered by an age old acequia, still is productive. The little church is still used for services, and not only for tourists thrills. Pics to follow when I get my scrubbed and updated BIG computer back and can download some photos from the little camera.

Earlier I made friends with Hassani, Duke and Hodge..
Hassani a nosey, black and white African porcupine who expressed his love by licking my hand, which did not even feed him, ;-) (just wish, it were....;-)
Duke, a 3 foot bull python, all dressed to kill, in his new smooth, soft skin who loved warmth and snuggled up, very closely, but at only 3 ft..hey, he's harmless still.
And Hodge, a cute little she-hedgehog sticking her nose just about 'everywhere'. Funny thing, none of the male guests at the Ranch'gathering wanted to hold these critters. Some female guests had no problem with petting Hassani! A real Christmas treat, what?
Absent the other animals usually found around the crib, but much more exotic....so cute.

Almost time for a Wild win or not, on versus.
Hopefully the addition of The Streak, Nathan Smith, called up on the revolving door policy, will help.
Better Half has settled in with a glass of Wild, make that WINE, ready to cheer or jeer, as the case may be. Gonna shut down and have some lovely red, myself.

Sunny morning at the Ranch..

It is sunny but cold this morning. Where yesterday it was white/gray to day the blue over the treetops dazzles.
The fog has lifted ..my mind's sharp..LOL!
Better Half and I watched a third NHL game last night...well it WAS way to cold and foggy to head out into unknown territory!
Now, we saw The Devils win over the Sabres 3-0(alas Austrian ThomasVanek-Sabre)

then the next night Islanders loose to Flyers 2-6 (another Austrian skater Andreas Nodl-Flyer was not overly visible).

and following that game, the Dallas Stars, even with Vishniesvky(?) ,were not successfull, they lost 3-4 in OT to the Ducks who skated ex Rampage Bielesky and Festering.And tonight we shall tune in on the Wild vs. Avalanche who skate rookie phenom Matt Duchene. Which will be the first time we are watching, being Cable/direct/dish TV (no subscribers) dinosaurs. The Ranch at the Hyatt is well equipped, so we are enjoying the views on TV and scenery! LOL.

Now we are off to sample wines..back later with some stuff on McNay museum and Espada Mission visit.

Im Nebel...

sitze in der Wohnung im dritten Stock in der Nahe von San Antonio und sehe nur weiss bezw. grau wenn ich aufs Balkoenchen trete.
Ja, die Baumkronen gleich nebenan sind zu sehen, aber darueber hinaus nur weiss. Und es nieselt.. momentan nur Regen, aber laut Wettermann soll es bald wieder 'Schnee rieseln' - vielleicht sogar LAUT.. tee hee, nicht nur wie in "leise rieselt der Schnee, still und star liegt der See"
Jedenfalls fuehlt es sich saukalt an, draussen..und es froestelt mich trotz warmer Jacke.. haette ich es geahnt, haette ich ja meine Pelzjacke mitgeschleppt, aber die Voraussage war ca. 63- 70 grad Fahrenheit tagsueber und zwar bewoelkt, aber trocken. pah, haette es wissen sollen, diese Angaben sind nicht immer korrekt.
Warten auf Klaerung des Nebels, dann geht es zu den Missionskirchen in und um San Antonio, die weihnachtlich geschmueckt, stets ein warmes Gefuehl entstehen lassen. Und, ausser dem Hockey am Sonntag abend, DER Grund fuer unsere Fahrt ist.

Apropos Hockey, gestern Abend sassen wir warm im Zimmer und sahen uns das Spiel zwischen den NHL Buffalo Sabers und den New Jersey Devils an..
der Oesterreichische Spieler Thomas Vanek war dabei,
leider koennte er keinen seiner, sonst so scharfen Schuesse, in ein Goal verwandeln, und die Sabers verloren mit 0.

Out of the mists..

Beaudoin Nr. 26 Texas Star.

Among his goals was also 1 hattrick.and back at the ranch, the biggest news in AHL Hockey for the week of December 6-
Mathieu Beaudoin (Texas Stars) named player of the week, bravissimo.

Among other nominees was The Scrapper, the Aeros Jean Michel Daoust.

The Texas Stars shine...

Richard Bachman, goalie fir the Stars in his NCAA jersey

to make it sweet: The Stars won against the Rampage 4 to 1 in regulation.
First period started well, on a powerplay (Ludwig of the Stars sat for hooking) Perrault with help of MacLean put Rampage ahead, netting this goal on the first shot on goal.
But after that goalie Richard Bachman kept out all other 31 shots by Rampage in his first game with the Stars. At 5'11 and just 175 pd is he is another 'David versus the Goliad' of Justin Pogge at 6'3, but he was simply good, quick and agile.
Penalties in the 1.:
Rampage: Zimmerman for interference.
3 Stars:Ludwig for hooking, Gazdic for. slashing and Gagnon for tripping.
Both teams skated well, fluidly, even elegantly, and-surprisingly without fights. Nor did they play a very physical game., as we have come to see with Aeros.
At 8:30 in the second period, Nr.26 Beaudoin - yes, indeed, Beaudoin, put the Stars even with the Rampage, assisted by Morin and Lindgren. Now he has 15 points with 6 goals and 9 assists in 27 games played. Maybe not the whirlwind Locke with his 33, or by now more, points, but....
He and his pals seemed energized after this goal (or maybe they all chugged down some RED BULL in intermissison-LOL). Sceviour (Star) sat for hooking in the 2. No penalties for Rampage. at the end of the 2. it stayed 1 and 1.
AT 2:56 in the third, Shelast, unassisted, got goal Nr. 2, and at 15:43 Peters, with Hutchinson and Lindgreen(again) got goal Nr. 3 and with just 19 seconds to go, Wathier had an unassisted empty net gaol, after Pogge was pulled in favor of an additional Rampage player.
Powerplays:
Rampage 3 in first (one goal),1 each in 2. and 3. periods
Stars: 1 in the first, and 1 in the third period.
No penalties for roughing or fighting or instigating...as I said, a game where skating and scoring took precedence over the physical, by both teams. Although toward the end of the third period, the Rampage became a bit more physically aggressive-in desperation?
The 3. Stars of the Game: 1. Shelast #19 Stars, 2. Bachman #30 Stars and 3. #4 Perrault of Rampage.
It was a good, fast paced, clean game and showed the reason for the Stars success: cohesion, good passing, being in the right spot at the right time and excellent goaltending. Bachman is a name to watch out in the future.
IMO Shelast, Lundgren, Rallo, Fortunus, Vishnevsky seemed especially quick and on target.
For the Rampage: I liked Perrault, MacClean, Erikson and Porter. Pogge was good, just not good enough (22 saves of 23 sog and, of course that empty net gaol can't be blamed on him.

on the 'oad' again...

I hate that little notebook, it seems to leave out some letters like an R, making it 'oad tip'...LOL. And spell check is not too much help there.. the suggestions are funny, sometime, or worse!
Sometimes it looks like a new language, a misch-masch of 'Genglish, Franglish or Spanglish.
If one is so inclined, it IS funny. Certainly makes the bain stain (Brain strain) to decipher what I wanted to write! It must have its own schedule WHEN to leave out the R, no way to expect it.

Now, if I could just decipher WHAT the Aeros are going to do next, NOW that would be like having a crystal ball, but really I am not a witch, which I tuly (heck - TRULY)wish I were at times.
Soon Better Half and I will be at the ATT center watching 'heat (heart) in mouth (is THAT the right expression) last year's Soft Spot (yeah YOU know who, by now) battling the newly revamped and ramped up Rampage. Moe (MORE ..darn this notebook) on that manana.

chilly out there...

nothing curbs the drive to adventure like being chilled, wet and miserable and another loss to the Rampage, this time" in San Antonio in OT. The only 2 goals by Aeros were by 'The Scrapper' Daoust (currently with 8 goals) with assist by Rau=Wow and Hilbert, resp. Noreau. Zingoni went out injured, helped by Jody Green and did not return.

What can I say, that has not been said before many times...Aeros have out shot opponents (this time 35) and yet only managed two INTO the net.

We just listened in at the tail end -so to speak..

The Rampage are storming back with a vengeance after being scoreless in so many games. Their offense IS working well. Aeros seem to lack good offense and at times also defense...Khudobin often seems without really good defensemen too many times. THE END. Posting this via a tiny notebook, so will keep news short, alas NOT sweet.

Wake up..AEROS!

The 'moaning' (pun intended LOL) game vs San Antonio Rampage started out with 0 goals on both sides in the first. After a couple penalties Aeros Gillies/boarding, Rampages Perrault/hooking, Lessard got into Kalus to the point of drawing blood and was ejected.
Kalus managed to skate off with trainers help and did not come back for the rest of game. Long sat for Perrault the rest of the 1.period and into the 2.
WITHIN 2 MINUTES Rau'=WOW' started the stream of 3 goals with an unassisted goal, followed by 'The Scrapper's' Daoust with Hilbert (welcome back Andy) and Smith. And seconds after, DiSalvatore with 'Ironman' Noreau and Hilbert got number 3. And the arena exploded, 1000s of itty bitty and older 'screechies' filling it almost to the rafters, the noise was deafening..'dance cam' took the place of 'kiss cam' and the building shook...earthquake? Ah, no, just 1000s kids jumping up and down and sideways, if they'd been able to, they would have jumped back and forth! The TC rocked, baby! Alas, the Aeros did not. Again, individual players did well, others even outstanding, but.....
Anton looked like another shut out might be on his way, BUT... at 9:18 into the second period, the Rampage caught up and it was 3 vs. 3.
Rampage goals: 1. Hoggan, 2.MacLean, Zimmerman and Sullivan, 3. MacLean, Heshka (pp goal-I believe) with 9 shots on goal .
Aeros had 15 shots on goal and 3 goals at that time.
Several penalties later Aeros: Fraser/holding, Stoner/roughing; Rampage: Meyer/roughing and again later for delay of game, the numbers went: Aeros 21sog/3g, Rampage 11sog/3g
Anton was pulled and Dubie replaced him, after Porter with Sullivan and Zimmerman made it 4 for the Rampage with 12 SOG, while Aeros furious assault on goalie Pogge (Rampage) netted ;-) 22 SOG.
Robert Desimone flaunted a huge shiner (not Shiner Bock) reportedly a bicycle injury-but even that did not scare the Rampage away from skating as well as they did.
3. Period much of the same, Rampage added goals #5 (Kolarik and Porter). That goal I question, it seems to me that 'Dubie' sat on it just on the edge of the blue, so it (to my, admittedly watering eyes) never actually went in properly! But the goal judge said it did, and the referee, who only saw 'Dubie' 'brooding' ;-) on it, could say no other.
And unassisted, shorthanded (Heshka in the box) goal #6 by Hoggan, which seemed to be a rebound from the glass/screen flipping over and under the crossbar into the net..surprising 'Dubie' and all of us.. WHERE the heck did it go? THERE was the puck!!! Now, Dubie could hardly be faulted, after all he DOES not have eyes on the back of his head nor did gaze into a crystal ball to predict the trajectory of that flukey goal.
'Ironman" Noreau had a tussle with MacLean and both sat for roughing (Noreau) and holding (MacLean)who was holding onto Noreau 'for dear life' ;-).
Several excellent and desperate saves by Smith and, yes, Falk, kept the Rampage from piling on even more goals. Gillies is developing into quite a rambunctious ruffian, tall, but lean. Rau"WOW" and Smith have the best face-off winning touches, IMO. Unusual for 'The Scrapper' Daoust , he let a few pucks be stolen from him and/or passed them into 'thin' air..ahem NOT to a white jersey (maybe he is NOT an early bird...LOL)
Aeros managed a huge flurry of Shots ON (32), ALAS only 3 made it INTO the goal.
Rampage, IMO, outskated Aeros in speed and offense ending with only 20 shots ON but 6 shots INTO the goal. The Rampage, having a reputation of rough and ugly, did not engage Aeros as much in fights as one might expect..at least it seemed that cooler heads prevailed most of the time.
3 stars of the game are all Rampage: Porter, MacLean and Hoggan.
Justin Pogge, the newly signed, thin, tall goalminder stopped an incredible 29 shots by Aeros.

It does seem to me, that the 'CHANGE' in coaches. addition of some fresh blood/skates and the transfer out of some veterans, resulted in a newly invigorated Rampage team, which is edging closer to Stars and Aeros.
These two teams (Stars and Rampage) will face each other Sunday at the ATTcenter in San Antonio. Better Half and I will be there to 'supervise' and keep track of 'soft spot' LOL, what else?

Before I forget...

having had several 'senior moments' lately, I better get it of my chest...

Now what was it? Ah, I remember what...at least I think so!

Did I, or not, read that Aeros' Sifers may be back on the 'big bird'' to Minnesota?

At least, Earl may stay here and score some much needed goals for the Aeros.

And another thing: reading among the hockey's world blogs and articles, does it seem only to me, that the game is getting rougher? Players out with more injuries, others being suspended for weird or outright 'nasty' (to say it politely) behavior on or off the ice, coaches exploding, referees calling strange and unusual penalties?

Is that the trickle down effect of the US Olympic team's coach's belief in getting back to the old timey rough and tumble hockey game?

"Stay out of MY crease"! Maybe?

Cloutier fight, he has just been signed to a PTO with the Rokford Icehogs.

Which reminds me of..... ;-) or does it not?

Is it S.A.D. or just ...

the 'blahs'?

Snooping around blogospheres - seems the 'blahs' have taken over.

Volleys of comments used to be lively, concise, amusing, satirical, defensive, accusing or sharp. NOW?

But that may be just the impression of a S.A.D. sufferer, although why, in the South?

Haven't had too many dark and brooding days here, the sun keeps interfering ;-)!

It has to be me!!!

Went on the 'Instigator 'connection recently and found....a measly one or two, whereas the pages just used to hum with comments, wishes, thoughtful, or not so thoughtful, exchanges of ideas, and more.

Where have all those commentators gone?

Afraid of Big Brother watching - make that - reading?

We are not there yet, we hope, where blogging can get you arrested for, well, 'blogging'!

This may not be the perfect song....
If any of you find a better suited one, feel free to post it....
big sister is NOT watching just now :-D.