09.24.2023 Brady

 Well, said Tom Brady, If you can write a blog about Bruce, why didn't you write a blog about me? So, he might have said that if 1) he knew me and 2) he saw my blog about Bruce Springsteen.  BTW I did meet him and had a picture taken with him - he had his arm around my shoulder! 

It is no secret that I am a fan of TB 12 and so are my boys, and we are in the camp that feels he is the greatest football player ever. Tough accolades to achieve I know. There was a brief tribute to him at halftime during the New England Patriots home opener game. It was a fitting tribute to a player that led the NE Patriots to six Super Bowl championships. He is the first to say that football is a team sport, team effort, all about the team. But he was the team leader for almost 20 years. And he even won one Super Bowl - his 7th - after he joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before retiring this year. He deserves the positive accolades. All of them.

He will be inducted into the New England Patriots Hall of Fame (without having to wait for a vote - the owner decided) on 06/12/2024. Worth keeping the season tickets for one more year to attend that event! He will be eligible for the NFL Hall of Fame 5 years after retirement. 

He had one more run on the field. And he let out his signature hearty "Let's GO" at the end zone. 

He was joined onstage with his family - the three children (and yes I miss that his ex-wife Giselle was not there).  Mr. Robert Kraft gave a very nice speech and Tom said that he is a "Patriot for Life". He did mention the cold weather up here, probably in response to the previous criticism he received from many fans who took offense when he in the past said was too cold to be here. But he is right - it is cold here in the winter!

The ceremony also included the presence of many of his old teammates and it was nice to see the brief reunion of some very great players that were instrumental in the Patriot success of past years.

This sign says it all. Thank you, Tom, for making the New England Patriots the champions they were, for making them the most talked about football team during your era and for making it very exciting for us fans. You did not fall off the cliff as predicted by one envious sports personality. 

No matter the score or the situation, we always believed that Tom would pull out a victory - and he usually did. Who will ever forget Super Bowl 51? We were down 28-3 at halftime to the Atlanta Falcons and won in overtime 34-28. And we did believe he could do it and he did! Steady as you go. A good example for all of us no matter what we do. Steady as you go.

Yes, thank you Tom for all of the exciting games, all of the victories, and all of the wonderful football memories. Thank you.

01.21.19 Patriots are Super Bowl bound - AGAIN!!!! and bitter cold weather!

Yes, what an exciting day yesterday proved to be. First with the snow and freezing rain and bitter cold temperatures. And as it turned out, I had to go back outside and shovel the driveway again - we had over 8 inches here and just a little help from the plow truck. While I was shoveling Gunnarr stayed close by me, scooting over with each row across the driveway. Shorty was happy entertaining himself by rolling around on the packed snow while Fionnegan watched from the porch. Believe it or not, no pictures as I was quite involved in clearing the driveway and walkways.

Then it was the AFC championship. the fourth quarter was a real exciting 15 minutes. The lead changed four times until the game went into overtime. What can I say - TB12 did his magic one more time and we won 37-31. Great game. Next stop is Atlanta for Super Bowl 53. This is the Patriot's third straight appearance in the SB, with luck we will win this one, too. I like that we are playing the Los Angeles Rams - a good competitive team. East Coast versus West Coast. That also makes it exciting. The boys watched the game with me and only Shorty still thinks when I yell GO that he should get up and go to the door. But I explained to him GO is for the football team, he glances at the TV, curls up again and puts his head back down. More TB12 he says, less yelling GO!

These pictures are downloaded from the internet. Our great quarterback, Tom Brady TB12. The best. Watching the excitement on the field was almost as exciting as watching the game.

Little football fans. If they do not enjoy watching it on TV, they at least are very tolerant of letting me watch it undisturbed. I think they like to watch it because of the player movement back and forth. Or maybe they just watch and wait for the commercials!

Actually during overtime, there was a large crash that sounded as if it were in the house or perhaps very close to the house. What to do - the Pats are marching down the field. The clock is ticking. We have the ball. We need to score. The Super Bowl is at stake!

A very quick check and run down to the basement to make sure the pipes did not burst was enough for the moment. In between plays I checked out the driveway and the car was fine. Anything else could wait until the end of the game! No draft in any room indicated no tree limb broke through a window. The Pats have the ball and scored and we won. That was the time to check on the rest of the house.

Near midnight there was a lunar eclipse. Yes, I did go out into the bitter cold to watch it. Fascinating. The whole yard was lit by the full moon, then darkness. Such an incredible phenomena.



When we went outside this morning it was -5 degrees F. Yes, 5 degrees below 0! Bitter cold. I made the dogs wait to get a sweater and puffer best on before letting them out. Shorty broke through the ice crusted snow and was struggling a bit to get up on the harder crust but he did it all by himself. All of them were having fun sliding sideways on the packed surface, putting their noses in any soft spot they could find, and seem oblivious to the cold. I put on a pair of snowshoes and made some tracks for them so they could manage the areas that were not as solid.

They all seemed to have fun, I enjoyed the exercise of walking around the fence with snowshoes and watching them enjoy themselves. Then I saw three robins! Poor little birds must have been freezing so I filled the feeders and hope they find a warm place to roost. I should leave them a warm bowl of water but the water bath cracked and broke during the last storm so I am needing a new water bath for them. The birds probably stay close to the house as the heat leaks through the walls in the basement, warming the edges of the ground and melting the snow. Old houses, only so much one can do. One year I found them tucked under the bushes in the front of the atrium. When it is really cold, all of the birds seem oblivious of the dogs and go to the feeders undisturbed.

Well this was our exciting day or two. I took the car in for repairs - lucky to have a service center open as today is a holiday. It is MLK day and we observe the messages that he had for us and hope we all learn to be tolerant of others.

Stay warm if you are in the cold, enjoy the warm weather if you are elsewhere. And until next time ….. stay well.

01.14.19 It warms my heart....

Outside of work, there are few things that occupy my time right now as much as football and my four legged boys. The Patriots won the division championship game and we are off for the conference championship game, and if successful, the Super Bowl. So far, so good. And then football will be on the back burner as playoff hockey will be approaching.  While we all love our sports, my dogs are a constant love and challenge!

When I was thinking about bringing Shorty here many thought this was not my best idea because of the added work (yes, three dogs are a lot of work), Fionnegan and Gunnarr mighty not get along with him, (the first day was a challenge), and Shorty will not adapt because he may not want to stay inside the house, walk with a lease, follow commands, get along with Fionnegan and Gunnarr, and tolerate the cold winters and snow. Well, so far, so good here too. We have conquered all of those possible obstacles to a happy home.

Over the last  month there has also been another evolution in their relationship. They do get along well, they wrestle and play like dogs should, and they are  never out of site of one another, unless it is bath time, then Shorty slips away to his bed in the atrium. When one dog goes outside, they all run out the door. If, however, no one follows Shorty, he just turns around and comes back inside. He likes the company of Fionnegan and Gunnarr. And they have gotten used to him. They are a  pack.

Fionn and Gunnarr are my twins. They are litter mates and do have that special bond. They sleep on top of each other and snuggle into the same dog bed in the kitchen and my study. Gunnarr also grooms Fionnegan, hence Fionn has no cougar lines from his eyes but Gunnarr does. Then one day I noticed a sign of affection between Shorty and Fionnegan. Shorty actually gave him one big kiss right on the nose, much to Fionn's surprise! And he did it again when I asked if he gave Fionn a kiss!

I have also noticed that Fionn runs with Shorty when outside much more often this winter. Gunnarr tends to stay close to me while the other two run, not chasing each other, just running around looking for squirrels. Then Shorty started sitting closer to Gunnarr on the couch and would take over his spot when Gunnarr jumped up to bark at the television dogs. He would cuddle  up to me and not budge when Gunnarr came back. So Gunnarr would have to jump up on the other side and scoot in place.

Last night, while we were all in our regular position - Fionn on my lap, Gunnarr next to me, Shorty came over and laid down right next to Gunnarr. They were actually touching and both fell asleep cuddled next to each other. That was so sweet. Perhaps the relationship between animals is as complex as relationships are between people. But given enough time, we can overcome any challenges and get along. Some may even cuddle!

Here are a few cute pictures of my boys.

Shorty and Gunnarr sleeping side by side.






Fionnegan and Gunnarr watch football with me. We are having a discussion about the Patriots and TB12 and Gunnarr is hanging on my every word. I love when he turns his head to the side as he listens. Fionn is also very attentive to the conversation. After all , this is football talk!  They just had a bath and are nice and fluffy and smell good, too! Their Auntie Diane sent us Patriot pillows to match our Patriot blanket.



Shorty sits on the floor and just listens.

Gunnarr grooming Fionnegan.




I hope you are warm and doing well. We have just had bitter cold weather and are doing are best to stay warm. O, the tropics look so appealing this time of year!

On the road to the Super Bowl 2018

Two down and one more to go. The New England Patriots are the AFC champions for the third time in four years. We are going to the Super Bowl LII!

It was a great game - close and down to the wire. How else would the Pats play it? We beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-20. A lot of good plays on both sides of the ball, I feel we were most fortunate to come out on top. Tom Brady had an injured right hand, but it was hard to tell as he made some very good passes. And for us fans, the weather was mild and we were not freezing like we were last week when we beat the Titans to advance to the AFC championship game.

Here are a few photos.

This is Willie McGinest, a fan favorite. He was a linebacker for the Patriots from 1994 until 2006. He makes many return appearances to Gillette Stadium and the crowd loves him.

Maurice ( I did not catch his last name) was a former running back with Jacksonville and also well loved by his team and fans. Willie and Maurice gave a brief interview together outside of the stadium before the game started. He was nice and posed for pictures with many Jacksonville fans.

The flag of the USA during the singing of the National Anthem.

A break in the action.

New England Patriots win 24 - 20 over the Jacksonville Jaguars.




Danny Amendola scored two touchdowns. He is on stage with TB12.

Mr. Robert Kraft, the owner of the Patriots receives the trophy. He bought the team 24 years ago (1994) and has been to the Super Bowl as team owner 8 times, this year will be the 9th. In total the Patriots will have been to the Super Bowl 10 times, eight trips for the Belichick/Brady team. They are working on their 6th victory. Blitz for six. NOT DONE is the mantra this post-season. Do Your Job is every season.

Our quarterback, Tom Brady, number 12.

TB12 on stage.

And we are off to Minnesota for Super Bowl LII. Sorry I am not in the "we", but will watch from the comfort of my couch in my living room!

12.04.16 Congratulations to TB12 on win 201.

Was at the game on Sunday to witness Tom Brady become the quarterback with the most wins - 201! They beat the Los Angeles Rams easily and it was a good game. TB12 had a touchdown pass and no interceptions so it was a clean game.  It was cold there at the game, but I was bundled up with winter boats and many, many layers. Ever since I cam e back from Yap I find it to be really cold. I also found Yap to be really really hot! Go figure. At half time they also had the entire 2001 Super Bowl championship team there - all except the quarterback - who was in the locker room preparing for the second half. It is exciting nad hard to imagine that the quarterback that led the team in 2001 is still playing and playing at a top level.

Here are a couple of pictures of the game taken from the stands.  You can find TB12!

The team enters to field. TB12 is wearing a Patriots wool hat.

Scoring drive in the second quarter. TD pass to Chris Hogan.













The 2001 Super Bowl New England Patriot championship team on mid-field at halftime.




End of game. Pats win and this is TB12's career 201 victory, breaking the NFL records for quarterback wins.



Press conference on the field. TB12 is there.

May there be many more! Congratulations to the best quarterback in the NFL. Past and present.

10.16.16 NOW its football season

Our favorite quarterback, TB12 Tom Brady, returned to Gillette stadium on Sunday, where are New England Patriots beat the Cincinnati Bengals 35-17. (Brady's first game back was last week in Cleveland, where we won as well). It was exciting to be at the game and the fans were very enthusiastic to have him return.

Here are a couple of pictures from the game, including pregame warm-ups, celebration of Breast Cancer Month (October), and a couple of TB12 during the game.

Here is Tom Brady (12) running with Jimmy Garopollo (10), the back-up quarterback.

 

 

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

 

We held these cardboard signs and made the image as shown in the previous photographs. Many breast cancer survivors were invited to participate in the pregame activities on the field.

 

 

 

 

 

This was a great game and the weather was beautiful. But Fall is also a time to wind down on the summer activities and I had to dry dock my girl Mimì, but not before we had a wonderful solo sail in Boston Harbor. It was perfect wind, clear blue skies, sails perfectly trimmed, and a great afternoon. And yes, I was able to pick up the mooring on my way back!