Duke is done

As most of you know, Duke lost in the Sweet 16 to Villanova...and it wasn't really even close. Villanova was just the better team on that night. Duke had a great season this year and next year looks to be even better. They have some highly touted freshmen coming in and there are only 2 or 3 seniors on this years team. So, the good news is...only about 6 1/2 months until the next college basketball season begins :-) The final four is this weekend and there is the potential for some great games. It will be fun to watch!

Sweet Sixteen!

How sweet it is! Duke won both games this past weekend to earn a trip to the sweet sixteen round of the tournament. They will play this Thursday evening against Villanova. It will be a tough game. GO DUKE!!! So, as far as our brackets go: Jason - 1st; Tyler - 2nd; Kristin - 3rd; and Scott - 4th. It is so frustrating to get beaten by your kids who don't even watch as much basketball as I do :-)! Oh well! I am having a great time watching all the games.

Let the madness begin!!

The best time of the year for sports is here...finally!!! The NCAA men's basketball tournament starts tomorrow...all the food has been purchased, and the brackets are all filled out! All of us have filled out brackets, except for Erin. She doesn't like watching sports on tv so she said "what's the point!" I will be spending a good deal of time the next few days at Jodi's watching the games. I'm not sure how my brackets will do this year...hopefully I'll do really well. But, as long as my favorite team - DUKE BLUEDEVILS - does well I'll be happy. If not, I may be in mourning for a few days:-)!! As we say in our family, March Madness is considered a holiday!!! So, your favorite CBS shows from Thurs. - Sun. will not be seen for the next few weeks. Sit back and enjoy the best sport on the face of the earth (and cheer for Duke)!!

Court of Honor

Jason had a court of honor tonight in which he was awarded three more merit badges: Safety, Emergency Prepardness, and Personal Management. He also earned the Varsity Scout Letter. He is well on his way to getting his Eagle Scout award. He only needs to finish up on two more merit badges and then come up with and execute his project. We are trying to keep him on track for the project, but he is having difficulty figuring out what to do - he must get that from his dad. Congratulations Jason, keep up the hard work and hopefully before your birthday this year you will have your Eagle Scout! Did I mention that there is no driver's license until this milestone is acheived?

Grateful for Thumbs

Yes I am grateful for my thumbs, particularly my right thumb at the moment. The picture doesn't do it justice, but you can clearly see the blood blister on my cuticle. The left side of the fingernail is deep purple. I suppose I will end up losing the nail, but we'll have to see how that plays out. Yesterday while Kristin and I were constructing a small retaining wall in our garden, we needed to split one of the concrete blocks into two pieces. I got out the small sledgehammer and started to chip away at the block. I was making good progress, but was obviously getting tired, so my concentration lapsed for a split second. That was all it took - the butt end of the sledge hit the ground first and then ricocheted into my right hand, which was holding the block steady, and hit my thumb squarely on the nail. All I can say is OUCH!!!! I am proud that the first words that leapt to my mind were not swear words, but I did do a lot hopping up and down with spouts of loud gibberish. I came in and started to get an ice pack on it right away. Kristin was not too sympathetic to my plight, but she did help me with the ice. I think she was on the verge of laughing her head off the whole time.

I am grateful for my thumbs, you come to take for granted the fact that opposable digits are essential for grasping and manipulating things. Even doing small things becomes quite complicated when one is deprived of full use of the thumb. Being a left-hander in a right-handed world has it's benefits, but even leftys are mostly ambidextrous and do quite a few things with their right hand. Take me for example, I still do buttons, zippers and hit the space bar on the keyboard with my right hand leading out. Playing the piano is somewhat of a challenge now because the right hand carries the melody. You would be surprised how many chords you need to use the thumb for - the stretch between fingers 2 and 5 is not all that far and tends to be uncomfortable too. Try tying your shoes when the thumb is tender. Even shaking hands can leave reminders that the thumb is sensitive - some people have better aim than others. All in all, I think I will make a full recovery, I am just glad that it was not my index finger - how would I run the mouse?