Vexing Hexies

First things first, let's clear up any confusion. I did NOT start a new project before the others were finished. I made a kit. A lacrosse-season-is-starting-Monday-and-I-will-have-a-lot-of-time-on-my-hands kit. And anyway, Posie made me do it.

I've always felt too intimidated for hexagons. There is something about them that feels pretentious to me, like you're trying too hard. Julian is fascinated by them and gravitates to a Flower Garden quilt whenever we see one at shows.

So yeah. I'm a hexie maker now. It is tedious. It is time consuming. It is not pretentious. They are so lovely! The only thing that vexes me now is that I really, really want a snow day to work on them - but a snow day would make lacrosse practice very difficult. But if somehow I could get a snow day but Julian could still pull off a lacrosse practice, I could work on my lacrosse-waiting-only handwork. Yes, that would be nice.

Philly

 

We had a bit of an impromptu vacation to Philly - which is nice because that's the only way vacation is possible these days. It felt very worrying and relieving to just pack up and leave with gifted tickets in hand to five lacrosse games. Julian had visited Philly before but I never had, so much of our exploring was him showing me the neat places he'd seen before. I insisted that we go get a bonafide cheesesteak, and we agreed that with Pat's (the original) and Geno's (the "best") right across the street from one another, we would just go the place with the shortest line. It was Geno's and it was delicious. 

We parked the car at the stadium early in the morning and just explored the city via foot and public transportation. This was a good decision. We got to see so much of the town aside from the touristy hubs. For a few minutes, we followed a horse and carriage tour side-by-side so we could over hear the commentary. That is how I learned about those three houses pictured: one was built in 1779, 1879, and 1979. 

There was Chinatown and the Liberty Bell, which had too long of a line to wait to go in, but I saw it through the window and was satisfied. Then the Reading Terminal Market, from whence many a gift has come from Julian's sister. The game pieces were also a hit from Julian's yesteryear adventures, so he took the opportunity to relive the Domino photo op. 

All in all, we watched 5 lacrosse games (all our teams LOST), saw 4 popular landmarks, 3 city parks, 2 national parks, and spent over 10 hours in the car over three days. Whew! What an adventure.

Champions

Yesterday was certainly a day to remember. Julian has been working as assistant coach/offensive coordinator for the local high school team since February. It all came to a peculiar finish yesterday with the West Virginia State Championship game. The University Hawks have had a good season so far and got a lot of media attention for their "powerhouse offense" putting up double digit scores on teams that only got a few goals themselves.

Local news coverage here.

Everyone was a bit nervous when it came to a head when the Hawks discovered last week that they would be playing their hometown rivals for the state title. It was off to a good start, and then came the rain... and the lightning. There was a total of about 90 minutes delay right before the halftime break thanks to an absolute deluge. Most of the fans left except for parents. I even went home and changed and came back without missing much.

It was a game made exciting by circumstances, but not really by action. That's a nice thing to be able to say - when you win a game 17-3, its only but so entertaining. I was glad to see that several different boys got multiple goals. I have more and better pictures on my camera, these are just the ones off the phone:

We were all glad for the outcome and glad to have this day nearing its end. The game started at 3:30pm and we left at 7:30pm (lacrosse games take and hour and a half, generally).  

Well done, University, and good job, Julian!

Hawks Lacrosse

Yesterday was the first Hawks lacrosse game for which Julian was assistant coach. It was a nerve wracking time; an early and confident lead by our team, second half comeback by Mercersburg Academy, two tied scores late in the game, and finally a 10-9 victory for the Hawks.
'Twas a wee bit chilly with wild winds but we were all very glad that the rain had come and gone earlier in the day. You can tell from the picture how gloomy it was, but the Mon River is pretty as ever. I'll close with a picture from when I picked him up today, under a much brighter sky.