162

Yesterday was the Mets last game of the regular season and unfortunately the entire season. The game was a microcosm of the whole season's highs and lows.

The Braves scored first. The Mets pulled ahead in the bottom of the first 3-1. The Braves tied it up in the fourth. Joe Panik homered for the Mets in the eighth. Adeiny Hechavarria responded in the top of the ninth; he hit his second homer in the top of the 11th. I'm sure he was happy to get some kind of revenge against the Mets who released him earlier this season. This was immediately followed by another homer by Adam Duvall. The score was 6-4 in the middle of the 11th.

I was wondering why I had invested so much time in this game. How could Noah Syndergaard be so good and so bad simultaneously? How bad could the Mets bullpen be? I didn't want to end the season on a bad note. Even with a loss, the Mets would still win the series. But it was too little, too late: meaningless.

On to the bottom of the 11th a single, an out, a single, an out. Dominic Smith came to the plate for his first at bat in two months. On the second pitch, he hit a three-run walk-off homer.

My time watching the game paid off. I could be happy with the end of the game: a walk off homer, a series sweep, a record 10 games over .500.

Wait until next year.

Book 17: Lincoln in the Bardo

I took me a while to finish this book. I read less over the past month than I did in previous months. I usually like multiple points of view, but I didn't get the narrative structure at first. I didn't understand who the narrators were. I didn't understand the concept of "bardo."

Overall I enjoyed the book, though it was weird.

Requiem for the Mets

The Mets season officially continues until Sunday, but it basically ended last night. Even though the Mets won, so did Milwaukee and that eliminated the Mets from a post-season opportunity.

What can I say? It's been a rough year: many ups and downs, many times to believe and many times to curse a broken heart.

The Mets had been declared dead several times during the season.

They kept coming back. I have to give them credit for that.  But they ran out of gas.

Jacob deGrom had a second incredible year and should win his second consecutive Cy Young award.

Pete Alonso hit 51 home runs (so far) surpassing the Mets single season record.

Jeff McNeill had a wonderful year with a .318 batting average, 23 home runs, and 75 RBI's. Unfortunately, that season ended when he was hit with a pitch last night and suffered a fractured wrist.

Amed Rosario improved both offensively and defensively to become a legit major league shortstop.

J.D. Davis was an excellent addition to the club, and Michael Conforto hit 33 home runs. In fact, this year was the first in Mets history in which five players hit 20 or more home runs (Alonso, Comforto, McNeil, Frazier, and Davis.)

Back to what can I say? With all these positives, the Mets aren't going to the post-season. They've had two years with arguably the best pitcher in baseball, and the Mets have a losing record when deGrom starts.

It's inexplicable.

All I can do is wait till next year. I hope it's not too late.

Wedding Getaway: The Wedding

Last weekend we went to West Coxsackie, New York for our niece's wedding. Lindsay wanted a barn wedding; I didn't know that was a thing. Of course, I'm not up on wedding trends. I was happy this destination wedding was somewhere we could drive to, and that we could take Lola with us.

The wedding was held at Owls Hoot Barn (a translation of the town's name.) We stayed on site in a house--very convenient.

Owls Hoot offers three outdoor wedding sites. Lindsay and Chris chose a spot on a bridge. It was sunny and warm (around 80) so we were given fans. They wrote their own vows and used a lock as part of their ceremony. I didn't expect to cry, but I did: a beautiful ceremony.

The cocktail hour offered his and her tacos and his and her drinks (Tequila Sunrise and Rose Moscow Mule respectively) among other selections.

The reception was held in the barn which was beautifully decorated with flowers and lights. The food was delicious, and the disk jockey had everyone dancing.

I didn't take any pictures. I'm sure there will be several--this is a couple who had proposal and engagement shoots.

Here's one shot I took on the grounds:

Happy Birthday Jeff!

Jeff and I both had frustrating days--worse for him because it's his birthday and he had to work all day. My frustrations were minor, but they were the kind that could easily derail my day if I let them. I didn't.

We had Jeff's birthday dinner at Peaches. We had only been there once as part of the Norwalk's Lit Crawl, but we didn't eat.

Tonight we shared catfish tacos. Jeff had chicken wings and fried green tomatoes; I had a chicken pesto bowl. We came home for dessert. I had purchased two small desserts: chocolate mousse cake for Jeff and carrot cake for me.

Happy Birthday Jeff. I love you.

A Summery Start to Autumn

It's the first day of fall, and temperatures in Norwalk hit 90 degrees. This is especially weird because we had a few fall-like days over the past few weeks: I woke up to 45 degrees on Thursday.

Jeff, Lola, and I returned from our wedding getaway--mini-vacation last night around 6:30. We were away for five days. It may be our only getaway for the year. (We've talked about going away for Thanksgiving, but I'm not sure that will work.)

I want to write about many things we saw/did this weekend: a wedding, wineries, hiking. I'll probably spread these topics out over a few posts.

Today I took a writing class (want to write about that too) and had a tutoring appointment. Tomorrow is a trip to the dentist (not like Veronica's) and another tutoring appointment. Jeff's birthday is Wednesday. Thursday I'm meeting the buyer/mover of furniture for Jeff's mother's apartment and officially surrendering the unit. I need to firm up other tutoring appointments and revise my ACT manual. I have to get the bathtub drain unplugged and get my PC's internal mouse fixed. Then there's the usual: laundry, chores, and food shopping.

I'd like another getaway next week, please.

A Dress Success

We celebrated our anniversary yesterday and left today for a getaway. We are at Interlaken Inn for tonight, courtesy of two gift certificates we received for Christmas. We took a kind of shortcut in New Milford. It was a longer distance, but probably a shorter time. Lola seemed antsy after about an hour in the car, so we made a quick stop at Lovers Leap State Park. This was our first visit, and luckily Lovers Leap is dog-friendly.

Next we stopped in Kent. I had told Jeff I was hoping to miraculously find a dress for the wedding. (I wasn't happy with the dress I bought online.) Our first stop was Foreign Cargo. I've enjoyed Foreign Cargo in the past, but I hadn't had much luck there recently.

Things worked out for me today.  I saw a dress on the porch that could work. Naturally it was a small. (I wonder if I ever fit into a small.) Inside the store, I found the dress in my size. I love the dress, even if I'm not so crazy about the body in it. Sigh.

I had packed jewelry to go with my original dress and wish I had a few more things. At least, I have two sets of earrings that will work. The new dress is dressier than the first and kind of sparkly, so I don't need a necklace at all.

After all my frustrated shopping attempts, it's nice to claim a success.

31

Today is not a milestone anniversary, but every one is worth celebrating. I spent about half the day packing for our getaway/wedding trip. Our niece is getting married in upstate New York on Saturday.

When Jeff got home from work, we took Lola for a walk before heading out to Tengda in Darien for dinner. It was delicious, but I ate too much. I only ordered appetizers, and they were generous. I brought some leftovers home,

Tomorrow we head up to Interlaken Inn for a night.

New Writing Class

I signed up for a writing class this summer but didn't make it to even one session. I'm happy that I started another class yesterday. This is my fourth class with Kim; she's encouraging and supportive. The work of her students is inspiring.

The focus for this class is on the Norwalk WPA murals. Of course, that's right up my alley. Today we got background information for Ralph Bloom, Norwalk historian. Later we had a writing exercise using one of the Gruelle paintings illustrating A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. It was fun to hear the different takes on the paintings.

The homework assignment is to take inspiration from Rummler's farm murals. Let's see how that goes.

Mets Beat the Dodgers Tonight

It's been a lot of ups and downs for the Mets this week. After losing the series to the Phillies in a Sunday night game, the Mets swept the the Diamondbacks in a four game series.

I was upset at last night's loss to the Dodgers 9-2. I couldn't watch anymore so I did the dinner dishes. (Note to self--watch bad Mets games to get inspired to clean.)

Tonight the Mets won 3-0; a pitchers' dual until the bottom of the eighth when Rajai Davis hit a three run double to score all the runs the Mets needed.

As usual, deGrom was awesome; as usual the Mets didn't score for him. But we got the win. We're still alive. Can this be the beginning of a new winning streak?

LGM.

The State of the Estate

Yesterday I signed accounting paperwork for my mother's estate. I thought I was at the end of the road. It's more accurate to say it's the beginning of the end. The paperwork will be sent to the probate court. The court will send the information to the will's beneficiaries who have a few weeks in which they can request a hearing. 

In our lawyer's experience, no one has requested a hearing. I have a selfish, litigious nephew, so I don't know. A hearing will delay the distribution of the proceeds, so there's that. In addition, I contributed money to the estate that I could have claimed as mine, because the bank accounts were in my mother's and my name. My mother intended the monies would be shared. I doubt my nephew would have honored my mother's wishes if it had been up to him. 

I'll be glad when this is all over. 

Class Dismissed--ACT Version

Today was the last session of my ACT class--just over a month since it started. We met Saturday and Sunday afternoons with a break for Labor Day weekend.

I'm glad the class is over--nothing against this class or its students--it's just been a busy summer. I just have a few tutoring students to schedule in the next month.

I've made a decent amount of money the past month. Plus I admit that my mother's death has put me in a good place financially. I don't have to worry about money right now.

I have to do some work related to the accounting for my mother's estate this weekend. Next weekend I have a tutoring appointment and I'm proctoring a test.  In between, I can work on the new ACT manual.

I also need to do some shopping to find a dress for my niece's wedding in two weeks. I bought two dresses online: I'll return one. I think the other is too casual for the wedding. It's frustrating. I'll have to figure out something--soon.

Crazy for Cabs (and Pop Art)

Last night Jeff and I went to a Cabernet Sauvignon wine class at Total Wine in Norwalk. We learned about different regions that produce Cab Sauv and tasted nine wines from Washington State, California (two) Argentina, Chile, Australia, Bordeaux, South Africa, and Sicily. We liked the $50 wine from Napa the best, but we bought our second favorite from South Africa for $23.

After the wine class, we headed to a Pop Art reception at Rene Soto Gallery. We got there around 8:45. The place was packed, with guests spilling out onto the street. I talked with a young woman in front of one of the Jim Morrison portraits; it's nice to connect to a young person over music. One of my tutoring students last summer was into the Beatles' White Album. This was a far cry from an ACT class a few years ago: these students had never even heard of Motown.

The exhibit art is the kind of art that I would like to do: a lot of collage with a little painting. Subjects included Jim Morrison, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, John Lennon, Audrey Hepburn, and Humphrey Bogart. After seeing Bogie, I was hoping for a Bette Davis painting, but no such luck.

A final stop before we went home was Troupe 429, next to Rene Soto. We'd never been to this bar before, so it was time. We didn't stay long because we wanted to get back home to Lola, so we had a margarita shot. Drag shows are Thursday nights: we'll have to check one out.

Found on the NRVT

On my last two visits on the Norwalk River Valley Trail (NRVT) I saw these stones:

I guess someone's into the Wilton wellness programs.

September

It's hard for me to believe that it's September. Technically we have three more weeks of summer, but Labor Day always feels like the end.

I haven't done many of the things I wanted to do this summer such as concerts and art festivals. Sometimes I was too busy with classwork, and other times the weather was just too hot.

I can't get too concerned about dates. I did many fun things before summer officially started. Jeff and I will be getting away for a few days in September before our niece's wedding.

There's still time for summer fun.