IT'S ALL ABOUT HOCKEY

I admit it. I am one of those people who become a roaring, excited, jumping fool when the NHL is blaring from the TV. It is, in fact, about the only time the set is turned on in my house.

Because of my work hours, I usually catch the first period of the weekday games on the car radio. Anyone stuck in traffic beside me on the auto route can probably hear the gleeful “Whoop-whoop-whoop!!!”, windows closed or not, when my team scores; or the heartfelt, loud, obnoxious swearing (in the typical Quebecois male fashion) if my team screws up. Hockey, and the love for it, turns me into a different person. It’s the Jekyll & Hyde syndrome. When the Canadiens win, I float around in pleasant euphoria until the next game. If they lose, I tend to be grumpy until the sting of defeat wears off.

Hockey has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. As a child I would strap on a pair of second-hand, 2-sizes-too-large boy’s skates (over many layers of socks) and join the lads on the bumpy river ice for a pick-up game. If there were not enough real hockey sticks to go around, we would fashion substitutes with broken tree branches, use a suitable piece of ice as a puck, and play until it was too dark to see.

In my teen years, I spent hours and hours shivering beside outdoor rinks or in arenas, cheering on boyfriends (or potential crushes) night after night during the long winter months.

In spite of being teased and/or frowned upon by the male population at the time, the first female hockey league in our area was instigated by myself and a couple of like-minded friends. Most of us were now young, married ladies and, at the beginning, I believe our husbands tolerated our activity only because they were afraid of what they wouldn’t ‘get’ if they didn’t, LOL!

I played in that league for 15 years, and still have close buddies who were first introduced through the various teams. I also have enemies; we did the full play, and fights did happen. Some ladies, unfortunately, couldn’t leave hard feelings on the ice.

I can remember one fight in particular, mostly because of the referee. He was an acquaintance of ours, and well aware of my husband’s renown jealousy. I was playing defense and had frustrated the scoring attempts of our opponents once too many, I guess, because their star winger took a swing at me with her stick. This resulted in the gloves coming off and a tussle. Of course we ignored the shrill, repeated whistles from the officials – it was too far gone for that. I finally managed to get her down and was on top of her, both of us still swinging the best we could. The ref is supposed to separate us once we hit the ice, and he made a couple of useless attempts to grab our arms before realizing that he would have to bodily pick me up to get me off her. He also knew that my husband was standing watching the game and, not wanting to get into trouble, turned and yelled frantically “Where am I supposed to grab her??” Hilarious!! He ended up yanking me off by pulling on my ankles while one of the linesmen held the other player down by her shoulders. That ref is now a business partner of mine, and we still laugh about the event whenever it comes up in conversation.

Canada’s Olympic teams, the men, but especially the women, did us proud this year. And if the girls celebrated a little too wildly for the taste of the stuffed shirts, too bad! The energy and heart that goes into such a fast paced game merits the reward of letting ‘it all hang out’ when you win. If I’d have been there, you can be sure I’d be right in the middle of it – and I doubt very much that I would apologize for it either.

Come to think of it, maybe that’s why the lady is one of those who look the other way whenever we meet, even after all this time. Oops.

My Canadiens won Thursday night, and I’m looking forward to watching them do the same tonight, so if my SMILE got any bigger it would become an outright giggle!! Sending it your way………..

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

WINDING DOWN THE WEEK

Another gorgeous day – the Dunany Demons have taken a leave of absence it seems, much to our delight. I’m not at all sorry that the phone woke me this morning at 5:45 AM, although I was slightly grumpy at the time. It isn’t my turn to be on call this weekend, but there was a transportation problem in our health care division, so my plans to sleep in were rudely interrupted. The problem has been resolved, I’ve had my coffee while reading Kilroy’s blog, and the sun is shining out there….how could anyone stay in bad humour?

This week was a busy period, with all of us putting in long hours, but yesterday’s agenda was the perfect way to wrap it up. First, it was Yoshiko’s birthday and, as we do for each employee, the staff took her out for lunch, then we allocated a few minutes in the afternoon to cut and share her birthday cake. There is an awesome pastry shop just down the street from our office. They make a wicked Black Forest cake, which was Yo’s choice for her celebration; one can actually FEEL the pounds piling onto the hips with each melt-in-the-mouth bite! AH…the perfect sin!

And it didn’t stop there. I was invited to Dawna & Malcolm’s house for supper, and managed to leave the office early enough to show up at a decent hour. A few glasses of red wine with cheese, a helping of delicious chicken cacciatore (I cleaned my plate), followed by creamy cheesecake with fresh strawberries and chocolate glaze…and thank Heaven for stretch jeans! (LOL - I wonder how many readers are heading for their fridge right now?)

Dawna is a long-time friend; we met during our first year of high school and shared the fun experience of those crazy adolescent years. We don’t get together often enough, but when it does happen, it is thoroughly enjoyable, and exactly what I needed to wind down. One can’t put a price on relaxing with friends, easy conversation, a tasty meal…the best description would be that it is the real ‘chicken soup for the soul’. Dawna & Malcolm gave me a healthy, and most welcome, dose of it last night.

Tomorrow Yoshiko and I are to go shopping at IKEA. It’s her long promised birthday present from the mom-in-law. Shopping is on my list of pet aversions, but I actually like this particular store, and it will be nice to spend some time with Yo outside the work area. Once again, it is something I don’t do often enough anymore…and I better not start on THAT list, LOL!

My mountain beckons; the weather is far too nice to sit in here, so off I go, folks. I’m sure many of you feel the same way. If you see a distinguished, elderly gentleman pedaling by on a vélo, it is probably Kilroy who has succumbed to temptation, so give him a huge, warm SMILE for me!

Hasta la proxima vez!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

WANTING TO PLAY HOOKY

What a sight greeted my eyes when I lifted my head off my pillow this morning! There was a wide strip of deep, pinkish-red right across the sky, cushioning the tops of my tall, green fir trees. A wonderful view to start off a new day. I was smiling before my feet hit the floor. It’s also a dangerous thing…it brings thoughts of playing hooky to my mind. How nice it would be to stay around the house today and walk outside with the doggies; maybe take a few scoots down the hill on my toboggan; or polish off a bottle of red wine while the three of us dance around a fire outdoors!! Bud, the oldest pit, is actually a pretty good dancer – he goes round and round and round in one place, like a ballet dancer, and never loses his footing. Grump, the youngest one, is as awkward as his mistress. He bangs into everything, trips over his own feet, has no rhythm at all, but, again like his mistress, he doesn’t mind acting the fool and grins all the way through the ordeal, LOL!

That is not going to happen; at least, not today. Our healthcare part of the agency has opened up rapidly, and requires that everyone pitch in and helps. We spent the weekend contacting and booking nurses and aid workers; driving them back and forth to the job (one of the services we offer); signing contracts, giving out timesheets…all this while keeping one eye on the Canada/USA Olympic hockey game! And what a game it was, eh?? I very abruptly and rudely (sorry!) cut one of the employees off just as Crosby scored his goal. It was for her own good – I’m sure my screams of joy would have pierced her ears right through the telephone!

Anyway, as I was saying, there is no way to take a day off at the moment. I’ll have to settle for a walk outside after lunch, and the doggies will be sitting in the garage waiting patiently until I get home. Bah! Humbug!

I was looking for Kilroy’s blog this morning…not there?? He very kindly did some translation for me last week, but if it’s going to interfere with his writing, I’ll have to rethink asking for his help again, LOL. (A joke, my friend).

Now I’ve run out of time – so off I go to conquer the world. Have a good day, everyone. Get outside if you can – it’s sunny and beautiful and one can nearly hear the robins sing! I’m sure it will make you SMILE!!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.