Dream job

I've decided I want to be the next baseball commissioner. I really thought about world domination, but decided I really don't need all that stress. I mean getting Hugo Chavez to play nice is nearly impossible. Just ask Juan Carlos of Spain. I also have a idiot proof Middle East peace plan, but the operative word here is idiot. Just one idiot messing it up for everyone else kills it. And we know how many of them are out there running the world today. I mean pick a country. There's at least one idiot in the inner sanctum. Is that some new warped rule of politics that I missed?
Baseball has less stress.

So that's my back-up plan. Baseball commissioner. Not just baseball commissioner though. The first female grass roots baseball commissioner. It's time the regular fan took over. I decided my new career path after watching the weirdest off season in recent memory, (Santana to the Mets? Congressional hearings, the Mitchell report??)I know that there's no WAY I could screw up baseball anymore than it is. Yes, Bud Selig I am talking to you.

I have some good ideas about drug testing, the play-off format, ownership smackdown, Hall of Fame voting, and salary caps.

I believe that once my ideas are out there, the general baseball fan will rise up in a massive grass roots effort and install me as the first female baseball commissioner in history.

I can't wait.

In the words of Jack Nicholson in Batman, "wait'll they get a load of me."

Garden again

I need a bigger yard. I have come to that realization. I find myself casting envious eyes toward the empty lot behind my house. I think things like, I could plant fruit trees and have a potato patch over there!
Which I can't do in my current yard. Well, not the trees. Maybe the potatos.
I ordered seeds so I can 'do it right' this year with the garden. (All organic, thankyouverymuch)
I already have my herb seeds planted and am waiting for the first sign of sprouts.
In case you are wondering I have rosemary, fennel, basil, 2 kinds of parsley, oregano, and lavender.
For the veggies I ordered tomatos, peppers, and spinach. No eggplant yet.
I really thought about strawberries. And I still want onions and potatos. I just don't know where to put them!!!!!
I need a bigger yard.
I wonder if my neighbors really need that fence.....

Boys of summer

Well, the boys of summer have entered into fall. I always have mixed feelings about October.
On the one hand I love the colors and the fact you don't usually have to turn on the heat or the air conditioning. Going apple picking and making apple sauce. It's also baseball playoff time. Which this year is one of the best. Don't believe me? Look who won the NL wild card. Hey, even the Cubs got into it this year. Although that was sort of a mixed blessing for Chicago.
But the fact that it's October means I'll have to buy veggies from the grocery store again. And rake leaves.

I love watching the baseball playoffs, (just not on Fox.) Actually I usually listen to the radio broadcasts with Joe C.
But soon 2007 baseball will only be a fond memory.

As A. Bartlett Giamatti so aptly said, "It breaks your heart. It was designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summertime, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone...then, just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops....and summer was gone."

But this year fall held off. Some days are summer warm here in New England. Shorter yes, but still warm and bright. My garden is still producing. Peppers, a few green tomatos here and there, and fall eggplants still have the taste and memory of summer. The trees are just starting to turn and not too many leaves are in the backyard yet.
And the boys of summer are still playing in Boston.

My Sox won the AL East for the first time since 1995. They swept the Angels in three games and the Cleveland/Boston games made the ALCS the best show on TV. It stands 3 games to 2 with Cleveland on top. But Boston with Beckett on the mound fought back, thanks to amazing pitching and a few timely hits. They forced Game 6. On their home turf no less.

So Game 6 of the ALCS goes to Fenway for Saturday night baseball. Boston baseball is an E-ticket ride from spring training to October.

So for one more weekend there are fresh garden vegetables, sunshine and baseball in New England.

Life lesson 5

Here's another life lesson.
Never, ever wear a silk suit in the rain without a slicker or an umbrella.
Why I have to learn these things the hard way is beyond me. But to be fair, I didn't think it was going to rain that hard until I got off the subway.
I did know it was going to rain, so I brought my trenchcoat. I mean what's the weather channel for if you don't watch it for the important things like baseball, travel and interview weather?
But, honestly, no one on the weather channel said it was going to rain hard enough to soak through my coat and down to the skin.
There ought to be a special interview weather report. Maybe a special channel. Not only will they tell you the weather, but break it down into hours. And even give advice on what to wear for the weather. Like at 10 it's going to pour so don't wear silk. Or if you have to wear those high heeled boots remember there's ice on the sidewalks. That's helpful stuff.
So you don't look like an idiot during the first hour of your interview wearing a half soaked silk suit.
I wonder if I can hold the weather channel responsible if I don't get this job?

Garden

One of the things I was so excited about with the house was the fact I could have a vegetable garden. Well, now I do.

I planted eggplants, tomatos, and peppers. Now I am reaping what I sowed. If you look carefully you can see the budding eggplants. I am looking forward to when they will be large enough and ripe enough.

Recently, I picked my very first tomato. It was a proud moment. I include photographs. And it tasted it as good as it looks.

New Bedrooms

So you saw what the bedrooms looked like before Al got to work. Old fashioned is probably the most polite way to put it. Ugly as a landfill is another.

Now feast your eyes. I've got a hugely expanded master bedroom with a walk-in closet. And then a study. It can be a guest room too, but I need a bed for that. So now I have a two bedroom house. The back bedroom with the acid green shag and pine panels took one for the team. If you want to know where it went, it's now the bathroom and my closet.

Bedrooms

Well, here are my bedrooms for the house. These are the before photos. Keep in mind I bought a house with three bedrooms. The previous owners had panelling issues. The only rooms without faux panelling were the kitchen, as we have seen, and the bathrooms.

But here are the bedrooms with their panels. These were what the front bedroom. looked like. Floor to ceiling panels painted blue. A little too much blue, even for me. The other one wasn't so bad. I just didn't understand those mirrored closets. A much later addition to the house.

And last, but always memorable, was the back bedroom. Very retro. I think pine panels with that shag carpet went out in the 1970's. Let's just say all the bedrooms were eye-popping.

More house!

I know it's been a while. Damn New blogger. Screwed everything up. Anyway I thought I'd show you what the newly renovated inside of my house looks like. You saw the outside before and after. So here's some inside.

Let's start with the kitchen. I'll leave you to guess which is the renovated version. :D

My place

Well, it's official. I'm an adult now. Although I suppose some might disagree.

I have entered the ranks of the "in debt because of this mortgage" While it's daunting, to say the least, it's cool too.
The first photo is what the house looks like now. The other is what it looked like on the day I signed the papers. And if you think that is a change you should see inside!
And you will. I will post construction photos from the first week to now.
Stay tuned.

Life lesson #4 aka What not to wear

This is another warning. This time it's more like what not to wear. And I swear this happened. I could not make this up.I was checking my e-mail from my newly repaired computer in my new house. And out of the corner of my eye I notice someone across the street.I noticed her because she was walking in high heeled boots and didn't seem too used to them yet. Sort of a wobbly walk.The next thing I noticed were the color of the boots. White. And I am not claiming any great knowledge of fashion, but even I know you don't wear white leather high heeled boots in the winter. And especially not tucked into black jeans. That was the horrifying part. I couldn't believe it. She looked like a go-go dancer or something.So please don't wear white shoes in winter and if you have dress boots wear them under your jeans and not tucked into them. But if you do know that the rest of the world has the right to laugh and point as you walk by.