Fresh cut grass, dragged dirt, ring of a bat, a diving catch, a blocked ball, sweating, bleeding, diving into home. Not a bad way to spend a day!

So says Veronica. She and her S&S Sanitation Team -- yes, it's coming -- cleaned up this season which is coming to a close.

With Coach Corey King at the helm, the King and his princesses have amassed quite a record. Veronica is now known as "The Fox". Last night, after a tipped hit that landed -- fair --the catcher for the other team picked the ball right up and stood next to home plate. Veronica, undaunted, quietly snuck from third to home plate for the score, a confused catcher waking up only when V's foot was on the bag!

These two movie stars were spotted in Rome during the Beatification Week of Pope John Paul II.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” - Aristotle

Thank me later. This is how Kathleen and I raise our kids. Its who we are. All you others should take notes.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture has a page on the web,
http://www.agr.state.il.us/programs/consumer/egg/eggconsguide.html that guides citizens in Illinois about the usage of eggs. It gives a lot of helpful hints:

"What should I do if I think a store is mishandling eggs?
People who suspect an Illinois grocery store or other egg outlet is not upholding the law should talk to the facility manager. If the problem persists, they should call the Illinois Department of Agriculture at 1.800.582.0468, TDD 217.524.6858, FAX 217.524.7801. "

And:
"Storage Tips:Leave eggs in their original carton to help prevent them from drying out.
Store eggs at 41 degrees with the small end of the shell pointed down in the carton.
Keep eggs away from foods with strong odors, such as onions and garlic, which can affect their flavor. Do not store eggs for an extended period of time."

There are no penalties for going against an individual "mishandling eggs" in Illinois. However, Cindy and Kathleen and Mom were astonished to find that Theresa has turned eccentric at an early age. While unpacking at the hotel, Theresa pulled out of her suitcase eggs, because she wanted to make cookies on her recent visit to Buffalo.

There is no question in my mind that Theresa's storage of eggs did not take place in the original carton, nor at 41 degrees. But more to the point, all found it striking that Theresa has such disdain for eggs from Western New York! Frankly, most of us throughout the country feel that Illinois has a "Bad Egg" problem!

I always thought eggs were eggs. But Theresa swears by Illinois-produced-sold-and-bought eggs, so much so, that she placed some in her suitcase flew them to Chicago and brought with her Illinois-purchased Brown Sugar.

These two beautiful girls have always reminded me of each other, though the older she gets the more she looks like herself. But one thing I do recall without fail is that when Kathleen was younger, I never saw her with a pair of socks that did not have a hole in the toes. Her toenails were razor sharp. Without exageration, some times her toe nail would slice right through the top of her sneakers. It is a family trait:

Kathleen, Veronica and Magdalene all came back refreshed and happy to have seen everyone, but the premise behind the whole extended weekend was for the girls to get together.

God's Sense of Humor

This is what we woke up to this morning. 5:30 a.m. call that school was cancelled. "Yay! Hooray!" But it was up and at 'em this morning as they don't close down the law office. Here is what Luke came upon when he got to the office, having left his car there all weekend.







This is the time of year when one snowfall can mentally push us over the edge. Though the sun is staying up longer, it still is a challenge to smile through a snowstorm like this, unless you are Veronica and Mag who were out this morning enjoying all the fun that big snow brings.




















I also spent some time at the Pre-Cana program. I do a class on finances for engaged couples and this time around, (Kathleen and I with four other couples do about 2 to 3 of these per year), there were about 20 couples including Maureen's friend Jessica.






One of the fellows who was there was a real nice fellow, but I wish he would have dressed a bit differently. After all, this is Pre-Cana, isn't it?





































By the way, if it is lousy out as far as the weather is concerned, find a Veronica and cuddle up with her, because it makes the day go so much nicer:

The Cardinal

Kathleen loves Cardinals. You have to turn the volume way up, but after I dropped the kids off at school, I had my camera and was lucky enough to get a shot of this guy singing. To hear it you have to turn the volume WAY UP.

Mag and I went for a trip to Montreal. We had a wonderful meal, (at Baton Rouge), where our littlest one ate a whole rack of ribs and devoured everything else put in front of her. We then toured the new Place des Arts which was pretty impressive.

The show we were going to see had just been played at Carnegie Hall. So, some explanation is in order. Brad Meldhau is a jazz pianist. Anne Sophie von Otter is a Swede who sings opera but does some cross-over music.

Mag loves going to Montreal and will probably be a big-city chick.

Kathleen and I also headed up to Montreal the next night to see a favorite, Stephen Hough. What we saw was piano at its best by a player who is at the top of his profession. Though it was not recorded that evening, this is the finale as performed by Hough in England's Proms Festival a couple of years ago.

Colyn left quite the impression on the ladies of the household.

Quite the ladies' man.

Curb to curb!

A little souvenir from Montreal.  Can't let that head get cold when you're snow blowing the neighborhood.

“Virtue is not hereditary.” -- John Adams

Well, maybe it is... As Claire would say, we had a whackadoo week, all fun. Just Before the Buffalo Sabres decided to drop three games straight in Buffalo, Veronica and I had a chance to see them kick butt in Montreal at the Bell Center. At left, Veronica takes in the Canadian National Anthem. "O Canada" is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée wrote the music as a setting of a French Canadian patriotic poem composed by poet and judge Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier. The lyrics were originally in French and translated into English in 1906. For some reason even though we were in the heart of French-speaking Canada, they sang the lyrics in English. In case you don't know they are quite interesting. "O Canada! Our home and native land! True patriot love in all thy sons command. With glowing hearts we see thee rise, The True North strong and free! From far and wide, O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. God keep our land glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. "We were treated to a great show! Veronica had never been to a game before, and when I brought her in to the Bell Center it reminded me of the thrill of being at a professional sports event. 20,000 or so people were packed into the Bell Center and we were the only 2 rooting for the Sabres.
Then, we had visitors. Claire brought the most charming people with her to celebrate President's Day!
Colyn and Lauren flew in on the magic carpet provided by Claire. Lauren goes to school with Claire and they are both in the nursing program at D'Youville. Lauren also had the distinction of playing both Jasmine and Pocahantas at Disney in Florida. Her stories about them are great. She instructed us that Pocahantas and Jasmine have trouble with just two classes of people at Disney: 11 year old boys and drunk middle-aged men. Other than that, everyone is fine. Of course, I think everyone has trouble with just those two classes of people.

We went to the festival of Lights in Montreal. We also walked throughout old Montreal and visited Notre Dame Basillica. If you have not yet been, go! Our family has seen several concerts and celebrated Mass there as well, and I cannot think of any other place quite as beautiful. Kathleen and I have a soft spot in our hearts for the place!

It was all about birthdays as we celebrated President's Birthdays and C&C's birthdays. If youdo see Claire, ask her how the juicer works!