TATAR

We won … my Beloved Detroit Red Wings won 3-0 against the St. Louis Blues.  The Wings came into town today and played an early game at 1130.  It was the St. Louis Blues’ last home game and Fans Appreciation Day.  In the past, there would be drawings for round-trip airfares, next season tickets, party suites and many more prizes.  We were so disappointed.  At today’s game, all we got was a tiny inexpensive towel and a $10 coupon for purchase over $50 at a shoe store.  We bought raffle tickets but did not win.  The pot was over $22K and some lucky fan went home with half of that.

The Playoffs Match-Up was already set, so the game was not important.  But it was always nice when the team you are cheering for win.  The important thing was that we had a great time.

Da Wings will play the Boston Bruins in Round 1 – a perfect Original Six match-up.  The Blues will meet Chicago Blackhawks and that should be interesting too.

Let’s hope it won’t be “ta ta” (farewell) and more of Tatar :>)

BENJAMIN IN PARADISE

Benjamin at Lynn's Paradise Cafe that is!  You could see that Benjamin was still full of spirits from tasting all the bourbon at Wild Turkey as he did a "look Ma no hands" hanging on a golf lamp on the counter at Lynn's Paradise Cafe.  There are other funky looking lamps around the gift shops but I did not take any photos because it would not be appropriate to show these "adult content" lamps being that this is a family-oriented blog!

Congratulations to the St. Louis Cardinals on advancing to the National League Championship Series.  (Alisa, I was too quick with my prediction when I posted the comment on your blog.  The Cardinals was down 3-6 bottom of the 5th so I thought they would be eliminated.  They came back and beat the Nationals 9-7.)  I also spoke too early when I said to my husband that my NY Yankees will kick his Detroit Tigers' butt in the American League Championship Series.  Well, the Yankess loss the first two games in NY and with Derek Jeter out for season (ankle), I am not sure if there is any hope for the Yankees!

Regular readers probably noticed that I have not mentioned about the NHL lockout (again), all the games cancelled thru October 24th.  I am fine at this point but I am not sure what I would do when football season is over.  I think about it tomorrow!  Talk about football, my beloved Patriots loss to the Seahawks 23-24 in a very upsetting game yesterday, especially Patriots had 13-point lead with eight minutes left in the 4th.  Brady threw two interceptions, a few missed throws and safeties too deep in the play allowing Seahawks to throw and run the ball. 

Last week was the Knights of Columbus 2012 Annual Tootsie Roll Drive.  I helped on Thursday and Friday and both of us helped on Saturday and Sunday as well as after 10:15 Mass.  On Sunday, it was windy in the morning but we had clear blue sky and sunny in the afternoon.  Halloween decoration already is in full swing as I saw a few houses in our neighborhood got "t-ping" (toilet paper on the trees).  I wonder how this sort of prankster got started.  It is a waste of useful resource.  If only I could tell these kids what we had to do without toilet paper in the refugee camp.  We had to walk miles and miles to get to a spot in the wood, do our business and then .............

HERE WE GO! (IT IS THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!)

According to my book, this is the most wonderful time of the year - the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs started on Wednesday, April 11th. There are many great match-ups such as the Blues v. Sharks or the Caps v. Bruins. No home ice advantage for my beloved Red Wings being #5 seed, currently tied the series at 1-1 against the Predators #4. (It still does not sound right for Nashville to have a strong hockey team. Isn't the town supposed to be only about country music?) Already there are surprises with the Kings #8 leading the series 2-0 against the Canucks being #1 while the Flyers #5 won the first two games against the Pens #4 - that just goes to show that sometimes home ice does not guarantee winning.

These photos were taken at the April 4th game. Traffic was not too bad so we got to the arena early enough for me to take a few photos during warm-up. The last time the Wings were in town was at the November 2011 game. It was good seeing the "boys" again. Everyone is healthy, ready for the playoffs. The Wings played at the level expected but they still weak on power plays. No scoring the first 2 periods. In the third period, the Wings got a 2-man advantage but were sloppy and allowed a short-handed goal. I love short-handed goals but not when against my beloved Red Wings. When the Blues scored the 2nd goal three minutes later, I was furious and we walked out of the arena.

Well, three minutes after we left, Franzen scored, then tied the game with his 2nd goal of the night. Bertuzzi scored the winning goal at shootout. (My sincere apology to the "boys" for walking out on them and for not having faith that they would come back and win the game. My husband kept saying to me, "Oh ye lil faith!". We thought the Blues would win the President's Trophy for having the most points in the league. I even tried to get tickets for the last home game since it is Fans Appreciation Day and there would be many giveaways that included round trip airline tickets and iPad. We did not get the tickets because the game was scheduled on April 6th - Good Friday. When it comes to faith v. hockey, I know my priority!

DA WINGS IN ST. LOUIS

We went to the first match-up game of the 2011-2012 season between St. Louis Blues v. my beloved Detroit Red Wings. It was Tuesday (November 15th) evening so we did not get to the arena until after work. The City Hall parking lot (across from the arena) was full when we got there. We had to wait for the attendant to remove the barricade to open up more parking space. We missed the warming up, not that I did not already take enough photos of "the guys" from previous games.

I knew it was early in the season and there are many changes in the line-up with "old guys" being replaced by the "new kids", but the Wings' power plays were terrible. In the first period, the Wings could not score even when the Blues got a 5-minute penalty for personal misconduct (late hit from behind). Second period was not any better, the Wings passing was lousy and so many turnovers in the neutral zone. Even when #5, 13, 40, and 93 were on the ice, there was no scoring! The Blues had more shot-on-goal than the Wings in the third period. The Blues won 2-1 .

Watching the Wings skating around the rink (they sure did not play hockey the way I expected - blaah), the players looked like they already ate too much Thanksgiving turkey and stuffing. I am glad we did not spend our hard-earned money on the tickets. Last year we purchased club seats that included food/drink and a hockey stick to be autographed by the Blues players after the game. This year we just bought "cheap" tickets. Actually the seats are center-ice and just right below the suites level. Or I finally reached a point in my life with an attitude, "been there done that" - how much food could I eat or how many more autograph sticks do I really need?

Next game is again on Tuesday, December 6th. I just hope the guys don't play like as if they were stuffed with cookies and milk!

OH CANADA (THERE IS ONLY ONE STILL STANDING ON GUARD)

It rained all day on Monday following Easter. The rain continued on and off the next few days. Floodwater from the Meramec River has crept onto the roads. Major flooding is expected as forecast of more heavy raining. We don't live in the flood plain but my husband might have to take a different (longer and more traffic) route to get to work.
The 1st round of the Stanley Cup playoffs was completed with two nail-biting Game 7s between Vancouver Canucks v. Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers v. Buffalo Sabres. I was relieved and happy that the Canucks advanced to semifinals. I was disappointed that the Sabres were eliminated because I don't care for the Flyers!

These photos were taken in 2009, the last time the St. Louis Blues got into the playoffs. The Blues were swept by the Canucks.

Since Boston Bruins eliminated Montreal Canadiens, the Canucks are the only Canada team still fighting for a chance to bring Lord Stanley back to Canada.

Here are my after-thoughts about Round 1 - Of course, I am happy that my Red Wings had an easy series (but too much resting could be a bad thing). I am also pleased that Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators advanced to the next round.
I don't care for either San Jose Sharks nor Los Angeles Kings, but I would have prefered that the Red Wings play against the Kings. I was deeply disappointed that my American hometown team New York Rangers were eliminated by the Washington Capitals. I was surprised watching Tampa Bay Lightning won 1-0 in game 7 sending Pittsburgh Penguins packing with the only goal scored of the game.

Round 2 will begin on Thursday, April 28th. I won't be making any predictions but regular readers (or read my comments above) know which teams I will be cheering for.

LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL - NHL 2011 PLAYOFFS

The 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs began on Wednesday, April 13th. Those who are regular readers and of course, my faithful followers, know that I might be "awol" for awhile. How long will I be absent from blogging will depend on how far my beloved Detroit Red Wings advance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I will try to post regularly but probably with lot of cheesy photos and very few worthy notes! I won't make any predictions because I don't want anyone to blame me for jinxing their teams. However, I will share my thoughts after the series ended. Let the good times roll! I plan to enjoy every second of the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Life is good :)

NOT JUST ANOTHER SUNDAY (HOCKEY AND MORE HOCKEY)

Congratulations to Todd Bertuzzi on his 1000th career game. Bertuzzi celebrated the milestone with a shootout winner (2-1) over the Minnesota Wild.Sunday, February 20th was Hockey Day in America, part of Hockey Weekend Across America in 2011. The day-long event, for nine hours (hockey fans were in high heaven) celebrated hockey with NHL games that included Philadelphia Flyers 4 over my American hometown New York Rangers 2, Washington Capitals 2 v. Buffalo Sabres 1, Pittsburgh Penguins loss to Chicago Blackhawks in shootout 2-3 and of course, my beloved Red Wings victory 2-1 over the Minnesota Wild.

It was not a good day for Habs fans as the Calgary Flames beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-0 in the 2011 Heritage Classic outdoors game in Calgary, Alberta.

Just to prove that my life was not revolved around hockey schedule, in between the games, we visited Ted and Karen at their new apartment. Ted and his son were my husband's golf partners. Last September, Ted and Karen were in a serious car accident. They were in rehab and later moved to a skilled care center. T&K, both in their late 70s, no longer are able to live in their home and had to move into the apartment building next to the center. We spent about an hour there, helping Karen moved her patio furniture and getting things organized so they could move around easier with the walkers. We promise to visit them regularly.

I GOT GRAVITY!

A few weeks ago, we got a new phone, Gravity T (right). We decided to stay with T-Mobile instead of getting the iPhone. With the old phone (left), we used the service to make and receive phone calls, nothing more. Now we are able to get email, surf the internet and send text messages. (I don’t care much for texting, so don’t expect much activity there.) I enjoy the new phone tremendously now that I am able to check NHL, NFL scores and complete schedule to make sure I don’t miss any games. I have to learn how to make the text bigger so I could read without reading glasses. (I do miss Steve Yzerman on the screen of my old phone.)

I still have to learn the touch screen navigation, how to slide the finger at the right pace so the lists of menu items or the phone lists don’t fly around too fast for me to see. My husband wanted to set up Bluetooth in his Mustang but like all men, he hates to read instructions!

As with all smart phones, mine has a camera. I learned how to take photos with the phone but I still prefer the regular camera. My husband prefers to use his iPod for music. We don’t understand games or all the fancy apps, so for now, this is all the gravity we need to keep our feet on the ground!

TUESDAY TWO - BACKUP GOALIES

If there was a category for "the most friendly goalie in the NHL", Ty Conklin (former Red Wings, current Blues) would win the award. I captured the above photo of Hannu Toivonen and Conklin during the warm up before the game (September 30th) when the Hawks came to St. Louis. Toivonen played 23 games as a Blues during 2007-2008 season.

I remembered seeing Conklin chatting with other goalies during warm up when we were at another game. Looks like Toivonen and Conklin were just saying hello and asking, "how are you doing, how is the family". Or could be just trash talk like, "Do you feel lucky, punk?", or "Don't let that puck get thru your 5th hole."

We got tickets to see the Penguins when they come into town on Saturday, October 23rd. We hope to say hello to Dan Bylsma and get his autograph. I hope Brent Johnson has forgiven me for being a "jinx" after I got his autograph when he was with the Blues in 2004, he was injured and traded to the Coyotes. I will be sure to take a photo of Conklin having a friendly chat with Johnson.

HAPPY (NFL) DAYS ARE ALMOST (NHL) HERE!

(Don't these sea lions from St. Louis Zoo look refreshing?)

We had a big storm on Friday evening. From my home office, I could hear the strong wind and the heavy rain pounding on the windows. This week we had kind of nice weather, starting with Monday in the mid 80s and gentle breeze as a bonus. The temperature went up above 90 but not as humid and unbearable.

Then I heard the siren for tornado warning. I quickly shut off the computer, ran as quick as I could to the basement. The warning lasted about 20 minutes. We listened to the radio and went back upstairs after the broadcaster announced that the tornado warning in our area had been cancelled. The rain continued to come down. It looked like a stream with the water rushing across the driveway.

Happy Days are almost here - NHL pre-season will start late September. My beloved Detroit Red Wings will be on the road playing against the Pittsburgh Penguins on September 22nd. Home opening games will be against the Chicago Blackhawks on September 24th. I am looking forward to see my “guys” when the Wings come into town on December 23rd, January 20th and March 12th. I am working on seeing all the Original Six home games by the end of 2011.
Happy Days are here and I am so happy. The NFL season started last week and my New England Patriots won both games against the New Orleans Saints (27-24) and the Atlanta Falcons (28-10). Mind you, these are pre-season games but winning is always better than losing. The Patriots will start the regular season on Sunday, September 12th against the Cincinnati Bengals. (Photo below is from the Superbowl XL in 2006).

I hope the current salmonella outbreak did not cause too much problems for your family. As mentioned in previous post that I have been getting eggs from a local nursery. The cost for a dozen eggs is almost twice compared to the price at the store. But it is worth it and it was nice that this week when I walked thru the door, "the farmer’s daughter" greeted me with a smile and said that she had a dozen fresh eggs ready for me.

FRIDAY SKY - TORONTO, CANADA

I don't know what is more beautiful, the stained glass dome at the Hockey Hall of Fame (or the Stanley Cup and all the trophies) or the CN Tower soaring high to the blue sky above.

The decoration (photo below) was part of the upcoming Annual Chinese Lantern Festival. The annual Festival is a showcase of over forty life-size illuminated lanterns, with nightly entertainment of dance, music and acrobats from China, food and crafts market and other Chinese traditional ceremonies such as Tea Ceremony and martial arts demonstrations. For more information, please visit http://www.chineselanternfestival.ca/ or call 1-866-666-8996.

TUESDAY TWO - TWENTY TWOs

After we came back from Chicago last weekend, my husband made me promise not to talk about hockey or football until September. I am sure my faithful readers would make the same request. However, I just realized that June is the only month that the 22nd happens to be on Tuesday and I thought photos of hockey players that wear #22 would be most appropriate for this week post of Tuesday Two theme. Above is #22 Daniel Sedin, left winger, (his twin brother is #33 Henrik plays center), both play for the Vancouver Canucks.

Above is #22 Cal Clutterbuck (what a name for a hockey player), a right winger for the Minnesota Wild. Below is Shawn Thorton #22, left winger of the Boston Bruins, not to be confused with Joe Thorton #19 playing center for the San Jose Sharks. Perhaps I should continue to post photos of hockey rinks to keep my readers feeling cool during the summer heat! What topics would you like to see more in this boring TOTA blog?

2010 STANLEY CUP CHAMPION - THE CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

Congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks as the 2010 Stanley Cup Champion. (I don't have any good photos of the Hawks so this Original Six puck will have to do.) It was a very good playoffs match-up this year, many great series and the Hawks put up a strong defense against the physical players of the Philadephia Flyers. I was a little concern when the Flyers came back and tied the game at 3-3 with less than a few minutes left in the third period. I am glad the Hawks won the Stanley Cup, otherwise Marian Hossa might sign with the Flyers for a 4th chance of getting his name engraved on the Holly Grail!

TUESDAY TWO - STANLEY CUP FINALS

Here we go - the most exciting time of the year, Stanley Cup Finals started on Saturday, May 29th. "But TOTA, what does it got to do with Tuesday Two theme?" my faithful readers probably wonder. Well, there are only two teams left standing, the Chicago Blackhawks v. the Philadelphia Flyers. The Hawks are leading the series, winning 6-5 Game 1 on Saturday and played a strong Game 2 Monday night again winning 2-1. I really look forward to game 3 & 4 since the Flyers must play more physical and win at least one game in front of their fans on home ice.

The top photo of the Red Wings v. the Blackhawks was taken in April 2008, when we attended the Wings' last home game, a surprised birthday present from my husband. CP planned the whole trip without giving away any details until the day before. We flew to Detroit on Saturday morning, picked up the rental car, saw a great Original Six match-up game, went to lunch at Chellio's restaurant and flew back to St. Louis later that evening.

I chose the above photo because it shows the Flyers player, Knuble wearing #22 next to a Blues player, Steen #20. There you have it, I am keeping up with the Tuesday Two theme. So my adoring fans, it is not always about hockey in this silly blog :)

AND THEN IT WAS OVER!

And then it was over! It was more than 2 weeks and I am finally able to talk about the pains in my heart that my beloved Red Wings were eliminated in 5 games in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I went to bed after the 2nd period because I could not stand to watch the desperation in the last minutes of the game. I always like watching the handshakes at the end of the series. It is so sportmanship when the players form a line at the end of the game, shaking hand with the opponents to show the love for the sport and respect to each other. I read that the Red Wings players had mixed feelings that they were eliminated so early but grateful for the time they now have and are able to spend with their families. Let's not make this a yearly habit, eh?

In other series, I cheered for the Vancouver Canucks because I wanted a Canadian team to advance. I am sure every Canadians wanted this to be the year that they would take back their national pride after winning the Gold medal at the Olympics and the hope that a Canadian hockey team finally brings home the Stanley Cup. Sadly, the Chicago Blackhawks sent the Canucks packing in 6 games. The most shocking "how could it happen" was the Canadiens v. the Pens series. No one would have predicted that the #8 seed Habs would give the #1 seed Washington Capitals a hard time. Instead, the Habs eliminated the Caps and then rolled over the Pens to advance to Round 3 taking on the Philadelphia Flyers. Sorry, Gomer (Dan Bylsma), let's hope it will not be a repeat next year. I was hoping for an Original Six match-up between the Boston Bruins v. the Montreal Canadiens, but the Bruins squandered their leads, not only in the series wining the first 3 games but in Game 7 after leading 3-0 then ran out of steam, allowing a major upset losing to the Flyers 3-4. I guess it is true that when it comes to playoffs, the winners are those that play disciplined games and wanted to win more than the other teams. I am not going to make any predictions or putting my wishes in writing because I might jinx the outcome. I will just sit back and enjoy the coolest sport on earth!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DA CAPTAIN - GO WINGS!

I am so proud of my beloved Red Wings for a text-book hockey victory 6-1 over the Phoenix Coyotes. Keep up the good work guys! Here we go onto Round 2 - Let's take a big bite out of the Sharks :0 *** Happy 40th Birthday to Da Captain #5 Nicklas Lidstrom - Enjoy Your Special Day :)

TOTA, WE ARE STILL IN ST. LOUIS

I am sure my adoring fans were concerned for my well-being upon hearing of the bad weather passing thru St. Louis area last weekend. A large funnel cloud was spotted directly over West County Mall (I-270 and Manchester Road). We live about 12 miles west of the mall. These photos were the dark sky before the storm and clear blue sky after it passed thru. The sun came out but the ground was soaking wet. Des Peres Road was down to one lane due to large tree branches and electrical lines down. Luckily, we did not lose power nor had any major damage in our neighborhood.

On Saturday, at around 4:00 p.m. as I was in the main bedroom getting out summer clothes and putting away winter stuff when the siren of possible tornado warning went off. I went looking for my husband and found him in the backyard working away at re-building the new patio. I said to CP that we should go down the basement. Of course, CP and his typical response, "Not to worry. The siren is only a warning. I would have come and get you if it looked like a tornado was coming." I said, "Then it would be too late. You could stay up here but I am going down the basement. Just like last time when you slept thru all the ambulance blasting, fire trucks and police cars in front of the house!". Good thing I did not depend on my husband for emergency situations! After the storm passed thru, CP proudly announced that he was right about there was no tornado and we are still safe in St. Louis.

This past week went by quickly (Has time ever slow down or we will forever try catching up?) and I could not recall what I did except going to work and watching NHL playoffs in the evenings. We are still on the "salad for dinner" plan that was started earlier this year. We fell off the wagon a few times when instead of the salad we thought we deserved a big filet mignon (just kidding) after a hard day at work. Last night, CP made chicken curry and I cooked the rice using the rice-cooker my brother TL gave us in 1989 for my bridal shower. It still works beautifully, mind you, it was not because I don't use it often - haa haa.