The Final Home Series at Baum... and a Surprise

It's always bittersweet when the Hogs baseball season starts to wind down.  While we normally know whether or not we'll be playing on into June sometimes we are on the bubble to host one of the sixteen NCAA College World Series Regionals.  This year, we had a chance to win the SEC-West or a chance to not even make the conference tournament, comprised of the top 8 teams in the league. One of the highlights of the weekend was that Lona was going to be in town from Little Rock on business and was joining me at Thursday night's opening game of the series with Ole Miss.  Also that afternoon I received the email from the U of A Ticket Office notifying me that if I wanted my seats if the University was awarded a Regional series at Baum I'd better let them know.  I was stunned when I saw the seat numbers on the website.. Sec 110, Row Q, Seats 17-18.  I was going to get side-by-side seats for the Regional!  Oh my gosh! How did that happen?  I'd been trying to get side-by-side seats for years!  You see, when I first ordered my ticket, yes ticket, I asked for only a single because it always seemed difficult to round up an extra person when I want to go years ago when a group of us had season tickets back in the pre-Baum days of George Cole Field.  That first season I didn't manage to make it to a single game - there was always some sort of conflict or I was just plain pooped.  The University sent the email asking if I wanted Regional ticket back in 2004.  Of course, I didn't know any of the players or anything about the team.  Why would I pay $60 or $70 to watch boys that I didn't know play?  It was such an easy decision at the time. What a mistake...

Yes, I was a season ticket holder before Brady made it cool.  The next year I decided I'd get my ticket again and if I didn't use it much then I'd not order again.  Well, I made it for Opening Day and was hooked after that first weekend!  I'd try to share my ticket with others when I couldn't go but found it hard to get rid of a single ticket.  Am I the only person who doesn't mind going to game alone?  After that season I decided that since the ticket prices were modest I'd get a second ticket.  After all, it would be fun to invite folks and much easier to give them away when I couldn't go.  When I asked to add the second ticket the next year (2006 season) I was told to have seats side by side I'd have to move from Section 110 (between home plate and the Hogs' dugout) out to Section 117 (left field line).  I opted to stay where I was and take the seat behind mine.Folks are there to watch the game and not chit chat all night, right?   I have been the chick with seats Q18 & R 19 for the past 5 seasons.  It's never been too big of deal unless it's a huge weekend series or a Regional.  I really have perfect seats:  I'm under the overhang so I don't get hit by foul balls, rained on or sunburned.  I can look straight ahead and see the Hog that's on deck and the scoreboard.  And most importantly I like the people who sit around me and they like me (or at least put on a good act). I tell you all of this so that you can understand my excitement that I might get side-by-side seats next season in the section that I love.  As I prepared to enter the park on Thursday I tucked one ticket in my wallet for Lona and was carrying my ticket and my phone in my hand as I walked across the parking lot.  I was stunned and confused when I glanced down and in what seemed like flashing neon I saw Q17! Q17? Where had that ticket come from? Had I had it all season? Of course, I had... they mail a package. I'd torn all the tickets all season and never even noticed that my R19 seat had been replaced. No wonder it seemed like folks were in my seats all season! We lost the game that night but came back to win a double header on Saturday to win the West and the second seed slot at the SEC Tourney in Hoover. The final game on Saturday was definitely exciting but I'm pretty sure the main memory from the weekend will be spending it with some of my favorite peeps and discovering that I've finally got the seats I've wanted for six years!  OK, six years if you count me wanting them this season, too.  I'm already anxious for Opening Day, 2012!  Woo Pig Sooie!

One of my all-time favorite Hogs!  He has such heart!

Who wouldn't want this seat?

Jo's Little Women

On the second Saturday of each month a group of ladies meet at The Rabbit's Lair, a charming Rogers quilt shop, for Jo's Little Women group gathering.  I joined my first Jo's group years ago at Sisters Quilts in Lowell, Arkansas and have loved the "group" ever since. That was really when I first began quilting.  I'm always at a loss for when exactly that was.  I suppose I should try to figure it out as I'm often asked to share that, as well as information of which I have better recollection (such as my name and where I'm from) when I attend various quilting events or meet fellow quilters for the first time. Once again I am thankful for Google, as I was able to find an out-of-print Fons & Porter magazine that I associate with my first visits to Glenda Triplett's shop.  My quilting adventure began in 2004 when the local cross stitch shop closed. It was there that I'd shared so much time over the previous 15 or so years learning new techniques, teaching others and just relaxing and enjoying the company of women with a similar love of needlework.  Several of us were looking for a new hobby.  It's not like we didn't (and I still do) have enough cross stitch to keep us busy for the next decade.  I think, more than a new hobby, we were looking for a new way to interact with other women who shared a similar interest. My friend Peggy had heard about a new quilt shop in Lowell so while she, Cyndi and I were out one day we stopped  by just as Glenda was about to leave.  She was actually closed but took the time to visit with us and tell us about her shop.  She was the only shop at the time that offered evening classes and even had her shop open on Friday evenings where several of us gathered to just sit and sew.  That experience forever impacted my sewing habits - it made me a complete social sewer.  I can sew alone, but it's always so much more fun with others. 

As I said, it was at Sisters Quilts that I was first introduced to the brand new concept by Jo Morton - her Little Women Group.  The idea was that she provided patterns for 'small quilts' and we were to use only her fabrics in our quilts.  What a great marketing idea for a new fabric designer!  Her quilts aren't true miniatures, but small quilts, ranging anywhere from placemat size to wallhanging size.  Back then we never saw a color photo of her sample as part of the project was to learn about color combinations. We received a new pattern and were enticed to finish our tops each month by a Show & Tell and drawings for door prizes.  It was so fun to choose our fabrics and sit and sew together on our little quilts for an evening and what a great way to learn new techniques without a huge investment in fabric or of your time.  Believe me, once you've made points match on little quilts it's not so daunting to do it on a big quilt! 

I missed my Little Women Group and the fellowship of the women when Sisters Quilts closed.  I was so excited when The Rabbit's Lair started the program about 3 years ago.  It has given me a chance to meet another group of women and join them once a month for sharing our creativity.  I'm not as good about finishing tops as I used to be, but I try to never miss a meeting because I love to see what others have done and learn from our leader.  Chris Clardy lead our Saturday group at the Lair for 3 sessions and Alice McElwain is leading our group this session.  She has introduced me to something new every single month - sometimes not even quilting related!  I'd never heard of the Slave Narratives by the Federal Writers' Project of the WPA during the Great Depression or knew exactly how a woman's dress from the 1860s was put together.  She shared both with us this morning, along with an introduction to Shadow Applique. It seems so quaint to think of the sewing and quilting bees of years gone by, but I think that women gathering together to enjoy fellowship and needlework is something that transcends time.  We find strength and fulfillment in these groups that gets us through our day-to-day lives, whether it's the stress of daily chores and just plain surviving on the prairie or the stress of deadlines and paperwork in the business world. Maybe I'll post some of my Jo's Little Women Quilts one day but for now you'll have to settle for Alice in costume and her Courthouse Steps quilt.  Both are just darling!  It was truly a delightful morning!

To learn more about the great fellowship opportunities check out the website for The Rabbit's Lair at www.therabbitslair.com and follow their blog at http://therabbitslairrogers.blogspot.com/.  Mary Schopp and her mother, Clarice Moore, make The Rabbit's Lair a haven for those of us who love fabric, fiber and fellowship.

Exciting Weekend at Baum

The weekend got off to an early start as the Diamond Hogs' series against the Florida Gators began on Thursday rather than Friday.  ESPNU televised the game from beautiful Baum Stadium on both Thursday and Saturday evenings.  The Gators always bring a strong team and this season is no exception - they're one of the top teams in the country.  It was so exciting to have Baum packed full of fans to showcase college baseball at it's best to the entire country!  My friend Sheree from Chicago was in town on business and stayed over on Friday evening to attend the Hogs game with me.  She loves to attend Naturals (our local AA team) games when she's in town and each time we've been at Arvest Ballpark I've told her that I wish she could see a game at Baum Stadium - that there's just nothing better.  Oh my goodness what a night she chose!  The Hogs had won a close game on Thursday and I was especially anxious to share the wonder of Baum with her that Friday night.  As we pulled into the parking lot she said, "This reminds me of Arvest Ballpark."  I was stunned and said, "It's nothing like Arvest Ballpark.  This one's red brick."  I am particularly fond of red brick ballparks, but that's a whole other story.  I think she was surprised at my reaction, not really knowing my true feelings about Baum Stadium.  Once inside, I mentioned that it was sort of like Arvest with the open concourse.  She stated that she'd only been to 4 ballparks, Arvest Ballpark, Baum Stadium, Cominsky Park and Wrigley Field.  I agreed with her then... it was most like Arvest Ballpark.  It was a beautiful night for baseball and Sheree just kept saying how relaxed she was - just what she needed after a long meeting that day.  I finally told her that it was relaxing because she didn't really have a dog in the hunt... it was a tight game but the Hogs pulled out another win - the only team to have taken a series from Florida at that point in the season.  We lost on Saturday but all was good.  Sheree learned to 'call the Hogs', met Ribby and experienced her first corn dog! Sharing one of my favorite places in NWA with one of my very favorite people made it another Baum weekend to remember! 

I spent today with my folk's in PG to celebrate Mother's Day.  It was just Mom, Dad and me so it was a nice quiet day - the kind we all seem to enjoy the most anymore.  

Sometimes You Just Want to Smile

Little pigs always make me smile but, I'm especially fond of this little guy.  Just too stinkin' cute for words!  

I have to share this for all you puppy lovers out there.  Even though I'm more of a cat person I can't help but feel this puppy's angst... and giggle a little.

A Day to Remember

I played around all day yesterday setting up the blog and learning enough to get around a bit - sort of like using training wheels on a bike, I suppose - or at the very least wearing the pads that the kids do as they learn to ride these days.  All in all it was a pretty lazy day around the house.  OK, I'll call it what it was... a 'Jammie Day'.  It's a good thing too I guess because I had a call from a friend about 2 AM asking if I could meet her at the hospital. She'd recently had surgery, wasn't feeling well and was oozing from her would. When I arrived she was already back in a room in the ER and we waited patiently for tests to be run so that she could be admitted. Once she got to her real room and was settled she was able to rest, as much as one can with hospital staff taking vitals and doing all that they do.  Her hubby and mother arrived soon and around mid-day I left.  I had a class scheduled at the Rabbit's Lair, a Rogers quilt shop, to learn how to make a Salt Cellar Pincushion.  These are the most darling little pincushions and the minute I saw them for sale at the shop I had to have a few... to give as gifts, you know.  Well, at long last the lady who makes them, Candy Hargrove of the Jo Morton Yahoo Group fame, was here to teach me (and everyone else who wanted to learn) how to make these lovelies!  We worked for a couple of hours on our little pincushions and I quickly realized that if I was going to make as many as I wanted I'd have to work on my hand strength, dexterity and patience!  It's one of those times that a third hand would come in quite handy!  I'm so proud of my little pincushion, though.  I'm not sure whether I'll venture to make another but maybe it's like childbirth - once you have a little time to recover you forget just how painful it was... or so I've heard.

After class I went back to the hospital to check on my friend and show off my little gem.  She was medicated and ready for bed so I didn't stay long and went out to brave the afternoon.  I popped into Walgreen's for just a few things and the downpour began just before I started to check out.  I got soaked because, of course, it wasn't going to rain just yet so the umbrella stayed in the car.  Once I got home and dried out I was ready for bed early!  I'd started reading The Help a week or so ago and wanted to curl up and read but that didn't last long.  I was out in a flash!  A friend sent a text message a couple of hours later and asked if I was watching the news.  I was amazed that I woke just after it arrived.  I replied that I wasn't and asked why.  She replied that "They killed Osama."  Of course, I was confused and reminded of the story that my mom has told over the years of my dad's reaction to her waking him to share the news that President Kennedy had been shot.  In his groggy state he wondered why anyone would have shot his nephew, Preston!  Of course, I immediately read it as Obama and not Osama (which is the main reason I prefer the spelling Usama bin Laden - less confusing whether I'm half asleep or not). I called her to get more info and then turned on the TV for President Obama's press conference.  As I heard the timeline of what had transpired earlier in the day I couldn't help but think that as I whined around about my hand hurting as I packed my little pincushion as tight as I could with filler - and then added about that much more for good measure - how our brave Navy SEALS leaped from helicopters in the middle of the Pakistani night to rid our world of the man who'd ordered the death of thousands of fellow American citizens.  Such heroes they are!  I'll always remember how I felt the morning of September 11, 2001 and how I felt (and what I did) on May 1, 2011.  The little pincushion made from scraps that afternoon became a treasure that night.  

Tony Awards 2010 - MEMPHIS

Since I wasn't sure how to embed a You Tube video with a performance I thought I'd just add another post. I can't decide on my favorite song from the show but "Steal Your Rock 'N' Roll" is certainly one of them - here's the cast performance at the Tony Awards last year.

First Post

I've followed various blogs off and on over the past couple of years but haven't been a faithful daily or even weekly reader. Consequently I miss out on lots of fun things that folks are doing. I must do better! I look forward to sharing information that readers may find interesting.

This past Thursday evening I saw the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical "MEMPHIS" on the big screen at the Razorback Malco. I LOVED the show and the music rivals Wicked, Phantom and Beauty & the Beast as my all-time favorite! I knew nothing about the show other than David Bryan, keyboardist for my beloved Bon Jovi, wrote the music and I'd recently told a fellow Bon Jovi fan that I wanted to try to see the stage production but had no idea if it was on a National Tour yet. I was so excited a couple of weeks later when I found it would be playing in theaters 3-4 times. I was fortunate to fit it into my schedule and wish I could fit it in again! I knew before intermission I'd be downloading the soundtrack as soon as I got home and researching the National Tour schedule. I've told everyone I know to see it if they can... wonder if I could get a job in the marketing department? Probably not until I master the concept of blogging and other social media!