Edition #43Thirteen Things about THE BUMBLES - and, in honor of his birthday this week, why Andy is so awesome...
1. He enjoys doing dishes
2. His best friend from Kindergarten was his best man at our wedding
3. He is loyal (to a fault) - to his family, his friends, his employer, his pets and his teams (even though he is fair weather with the Sox sometimes)
4. His laugh is contagious and irresistible - especially when watching Seinfeld re-runs
5. He is extremely caring - he gets sad when his fish die
6. He is great with directions - my personal GPS
7. Concert Boy is not just a nickname - he loves seeing music live, listening to tunes on old records, reading about music history and singing the wrong lyrics to jingles
8. He created a play list for his proposal to me
9. He is extremely patient - said proposal took 7 years
10. Kids love him - he becomes a human jungle gym when little ones are around because he would rather play than hang with the boring grown-ups
11. Only a select few have ever seen him angry - he is very good at letting things go, wifely nagging included
12. Laughing at himself is a favorite hobby - finding humor in being a goober is extremely entertaining for everyone else
13. He makes Boston accents wicked pissah The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. What do you do? Write Thirteen things about yourself, summarize your week in one entry, make it easy for other bloggers to get to know you on a weekly basis. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is not only encouraged, it is part of being a Thursday Thirteener! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Join The Fun And View More Thursday Thirteen Participants At The Host Site
 Click HERE to read more about our visit to The Shrine where we could reach out and touch The Babe.
We don't want to get too wordy here, but it is for a good cause. Here is a bonus photo from Cooperstown of Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester's cleats from his No-Hitter in 2008. It is pretty hard to pitch a complete game without allowing the other team to get a hit. But it touched the hearts of every fan watching because the most impressive part of the evening was that Lester had come back after missing the entire previous season battling cancer. Lester was 22 years old and at the beginning of a bright career in the fall of 2006 when a routine exam after a fender bender revealed that he had a rare form of non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Lester was treated by the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and made a full recovery.
Dana Farber is ranked 5th in the country for Cancer Hospitals. They have a clinic called The Jimmy Fund which specializes in pediatric cancer. That is a brave thing to specialize in because it is hard to look at bald kids with terminal illnesses. The Red Sox have been partners with The Jimmy Fund for over 50 years as their official charity. The Jimmy Fund's annual telethon/radiothon takes place this Thursday and Friday in conjunction with the Red Sox, TV partner NESN, and radio partner WEEI. We have 3 people dear to us fighting cancer and 2 more that we have just gotten to know through the blogging community. We will be donating with them in mind. Please click on this link to make a donation to help The Jimmy Fund reach their goal of $5 million in the span of 2 days. It is our best chance for finding a cure for cancer of all ages so that young kids can follow in Jon Lester's shoes and make their own dreams come true.
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We have told you about our summer vacation - how we got there, what we listened to, and shared tips, photos, lessons, and links to the attractions along the way. But we haven't really talked about HOW we stayed along the way. Like everything else on this trip, our lodging choices reflect the variety we prefer to mix things up a bit - just like here on our blog home.CAMPING: There are a lot of ways to camp. You can really rough it by backpacking and setting up camp in the wilderness, you can pitch a tent at a campsite, or tow a camper or drive an RV. We go the middle route by car camping with tents at campgrounds. It is affordable, fun and cozy. You are also at the mercy of bugs, mother nature and public showers (if you are so lucky). But the lack of TV, internet and other lazy amusements means you have more time to bond in the evenings by playing card games, listening to music, cooking dinner and picking out constellations. Sure, we could do those things from the comfort of our home, but there is something to be said for the satisfaction that comes from setting up camp. And it is truly a super cheap way to travel. LUXURY: Let me tell you. As much as I enjoy the camping experience, this luxurious bathroom is a camper's best friend after 3 days of push button showers and hair that smells like a campfire. We told you how we scored this sweet room. And when we told our camping neighbors they were really jealous. We don't get to travel this way very often because it is uber expensive and it is really hard to accept anything less once you have been spoiled. A rose on the bed, soothing music on the radio, a fireplace for the cold nights, a large flat screen TV, lounging area, a bed twice the size of our tiny tent, and that bathroom. Steamy shower or soaking jacuzzi bath? I couldn't decide so I opted for both. It takes a lot to wash campfire smoke out of your hair after all. And I wouldn't want to let that basket of spa lotions and shampoo treatments go to waste. Ahhhhh. STANDARD CHAINS: Lets face it. This is the way most of us stay. Right? And if you usually stay in the lap of luxury, can we be your friends? Going from high class to low rent can be a let down to your style even though your wallet is pleased. But when you are tired after a long day of conferences, driving or being a tourist, these cookie cutter rooms can feel like the best thing since sliced bread. In fact, the bed at this hotel was super comfy and it had an amenity neither of the above had to offer - free wi-fi. So you never know. A warm shower, fluffy towels, and free internet while propped up with the soft pillows watching HBO - what more could a pair of bloggers want? Do you have a favorite way or place to stay? Or a nightmare experience? Let us know!
 Feature Presentation... MONDAY MOVIE MEME
Molly looked around for a weekly meme about movies and did not have any luck. So therefore she decided to start her own! Andy will play along as well - hopefully you will too. Go to your blog and create your own post on the topic, linking back to us in your post, then come back and leave a link to your post here in our Comments section. If you don’t have a blog, just share your response in the Comments section.
This week's movie topic is all about Villains... The Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees provide one of sports' most intense rivalries. They bashed their way through yet another baseball series this weekend and have inspired this week's topic. Here in Boston, Red Sox management has often referred to the Yankees as "The Evil Empire." The Yankees are certainly dastardly villains to Red Sox Nation. Here are a few movie versions that we came up with. Share on your blog iconic villains in the movies and then link back here at The Bumbles. And don't forget to visit your fellow participants!
OVAH THE MONSTAH  The Shake-Up: where previously Molly watched a fight and a baseball game broke out... Do you remember the uproar on Cheers when Diane left the show and a new leading lady named Rebecca Howe took her place? Viewers were all up in arms over the change. There were those strictly in the Diane camp and those who felt her arc had come and gone. I was wary of how the show might survive without the Sam & Diane shenanigans, even though that plot line truly had jumped the shark. I honestly didn't think the show would be any good anymore. I thought it had run its course. Boy was I wrong. Kirstie Alley came in and shook things up. It was a different style of Cheers. They found a way to keep it going by taking a bold step that was not very popular, but one which they truly believed would make the show even better than before by adding in some quality players.
Well, on July 31st, 2004, that is the same exact thing that Sox GM Theo Epstein did. Who knows, maybe he had been up late watching Cheers re-runs and found his inspiration there. But what he did was a make or break move. Already mocked by the media and old school baseball world for being so young, he decided to stick his neck out and give everyone a real reason to complain by trading away the face of the franchise. Nomar Garciaparra (aka No-mah in Bostonian speak) was the All-Star Shortstop that the fans adored. He was drafted by the Sox, came up quickly through their system and planted himself firmly in the big leagues by winning Rookie of the Year and later, back to back Batting Titles.
He had his quirky toe tapping, glove tugging routine before every pitch and did all he could for local charities and acknowledgement of the fan base. He appreciated the atmosphere, was annointed the next coming of Ted Williams - by no other than Ted Williams himself, and made thrilling plays with his glove to awe the crowd. But he hated the spotlight. He didn't want a leadership role on the team. He didn't like to talk to the media. He got grumpy sometimes and then he got hurt. His timing couldn't have been worse. He hurt his achille's in Spring Training entering the final year of his contract. He had less than cordial contract negotiations with the new ownership group and was playing without a deal in place for the future. He would be free for anyone to sign at the end of the season and could walk away without the Sox getting anything in return. This meant he was a prime candidate to be traded at the deadline of July 31st so that the Sox could cash him in for some better chips.
The Sox traded Nomie to the Cubs in a deal with 3 other teams, getting First Basemen Doug Mientkiewicz from the Twins and Shortstop Orlando Cabrera from the Expos. I was heartbroken. I had a Nomar jersey. I wore that #5 shirt all the time. I had never been left holding a useless shirt before. I was angry. I wanted blood. I practically cried when the news was reported at the last minute. Theo traded away the team's most popular player for two defensive specialists, neither of whom would stay with the team after the end of the season. He also made a separate trade of a minor leaguer for speedy base stealing Outfielder, Dave Roberts. I was not impressed. All I could see was my heart.
This is why I sit and write a little blog about my Sox memories instead of getting paid the big bucks to pull the trigger like Theo. Theo saw the facts. He devised a strategy. He got creative. And he didn't get emotional. He got rid of a player disgruntled with ownership, who was recovering from a serious injury, and shored up the team's defense to try and improve some sketchy pitching when there weren't better pitchers to be found. And he scooped up some speed for the bench - a concept the Sox hadn't employed in decades. In essence, he called Diane's bluff and let her go make movies even though everyone thought that was a crazy idea. And after a while, people started to see how his new Rebecca crew actually improved the situation and made the team better than the Diane days. I was wrong about Diane and I was wrong about Nomar. There. I said it. Doesn't mean it didn't break my heart. next week, SEPTEMBER CALL-UPS, in which Molly proves that you can get to the church - and the game - on time...
 06-03-2008 - Fenway Park - Boston, MAWhile trying for a shot of field level Fenway behind the plate, a young fan stuck their foam finger right in front of my lens. Not what I had intended, but it resulted in a perfectly framed image of Red Sox Nation. (click photo to enlarge) Visit
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Edition #42Thirteen Things about THE BUMBLES - and a sampling of our favorite photos from our recent vacation to Cooperstown, NY, the Finger Lakes, Niagara Falls, Niagara on the Lake, Ontario and Toronto, Ontario...
 
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. What do you do? Write Thirteen things about yourself, summarize your week in one entry, make it easy for other bloggers to get to know you on a weekly basis. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is not only encouraged, it is part of being a Thursday Thirteener! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun!Join The Fun And View More Thursday Thirteen Participants At The Host Site
 City strikes while vacationing are not pleasant. But this city made an effort to keep the touristy section's garbage fairly organized and minimal. Click HERE to find out where we were and what we saw beyond the garbage.
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 Our little Bumble mascot enjoyed tagging along on vacation with us as you can see from the above shot. It is rather challenging holding him up while he's all slippery from being doused by Niagara Falls, not to mention I couldn't see anything myself for all the mist. So we were quite pleased to see the little guy so photogenic with a rainbow and everything!
Sweet Sandy @ You've GOTTA Read This! just handed out this award below which fits my creative photo theme I've got going here so we thought it was as good a time as any to accept, display and forward. We're supposed to list 7 things we like and then link to 7 blogs - I assume because they are Creative - either that or they don't use Spell Check like the "creative" spelling in the award badge.
But instead we are changing the rules to suit our post here. We shall list 7 things that we liked about Niagara Falls: - That you can hear a soft roar of the water from far away
- The mist is terrific for cooling off on a hot summer day
- Nature really puts you in your place - which is very small
- Adventure is easy here
- The edge - it looks so calm right before the terrifying drop
- So big it spans 2 countries
- The rainbows
Speaking of rainbows, if you would like to see Andy chasing them click here. Without Stacy @ Stacy's Bookblog we never would have known where to catch them. So thanks for the suggestion Stacy!!! And therefore we bestow this award upon you. And judging by that uber challenging quiz you've got posted today, I'd say the creative tag fits you to a tee.
Feature Presentation... MONDAY MOVIE MEME
Molly looked around for a weekly meme about movies and did not have any luck. So therefore she decided to start her own! Andy will play along as well - hopefully you will too. Go to your blog and create your own post on the topic, linking back to us in your post, then come back and leave a link to your post here in our Comments section. If you don’t have a blog, just share your response in the Comments section.
This week's movie topic is all about Fear... When we did a post on traumatic movies an overwhelming amount of responses fell under the horror category. I loooove scary movies - the gorier the better. Andy gets a bit squemish with the more graphic ones. I get sentimental towards the now outdated and cheesy classics of my youth because they are what hooked me as a little girl. And now, I could fill our entire Netflix queue with nothing but scary movies, psychological thrillers, slasher flicks and pure horror. I've got Hostel and Old Boy on there just begging to be seen - so don't spoil those for us. Share on your blog movies that caused you to hide under the covers and then link back here at The Bumbles. And don't forget to visit your fellow participants! Seven - Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey - the visions your mind creates are way worse than the flickers on the screen - and a sucker punch ending to bootSaw - psychopath thinks he's doing people favors by setting death traps via moral choices, very original and gory but the rest of the series was lameThe Shining - hedge mazes will never be peaceful and fun again when Jack Nicholson is done with youA Nightmare on Elm Street - metal claws, furnaces and nightmares that can kill you were enough to keep me from falling asleep for daysThe Texas Chainsaw Massacre - the suspense of horrors to come was awful, but not enough to keep Andy away from power tools forever Jaws - I can't even go snorkeling without being startled by a guppy - they all look like killer sharks to meFriday the 13th - cheh, cheh, cheh, ah, ah ,ah - shivers up my spine every timePsycho - not a big fan of momma's boys or staying alone in roadside motels - thanks HitchPacific Heights - why I will never be a landlord - especially to Michael KeatonAlien - master of the heart racing sneak attack - Sigourney Weaver was never fooled thoughPet Sematary - bringing your pet, or your child for that matter, back to life is not always a good thing - especially when Stephen King is in chargeDo you have a topic to suggest to the Monday Movie Meme? Leave it in the Comments section or send us an e-mail.
OVAH THE MONSTAH The Template: where previously A-Rod became the enemy and the Sox re-loaded to avenge their 2003 post-season failures at the hands of the Yankees... Over 4th of July weekend in 2004, we packed up our stuffed apartment and moved it across town into our new house. It was built sometime before 1900, but it was new to us all the same. We didn't have the cable connected that first weekend so we were left to listen to the Sox/Yankees series on the radio as we unpacked. Things didn't go so well for the Sox in that series in the Bronx, and their fast start to the season had slid into mediocrity. As the month went on, they seemed to be sleep walking and the upcoming trading deadline on July 31st weighed heavy on the minds of fans and players alike. As if the Sox needed any further pressure, the Yankees came back into town on July 23rd for another weekend series and promptly beat high profile off-season acquisition Curt Schilling in the first game. What happened on Saturday, July 24th, has since become known as the turning point for the Sox' 2004 season. In reality, they continued on in mediocrity through much of the next few weeks before righting the ship and finding a way into the playoffs once again. But what happened in that game in July created a template that they would turn to again when much more was on the line.
We got a call late that Saturday morning from a friend who was on his way in to the game and had 1 extra ticket. Andy was under the weather and promptly declined the offer, passing it along to me. Being unshowered and unprepared to scoot into town, I took a pass as well figuring there was no way I would make it by first pitch. Not long after we hung up the phone the skies opened and the rain came. After an hour rain delay the game got underway, meaning I would have had plenty of time to get there after all. Never turn down an offer to a Sox/Yankees game. Never.
With the Sox losing early on, young Sox starter Bronson Arroyo faced superstar, and recently dubbed Sox enemy, Alex Rodriguez with runners on base. Bronson was a laid back kind of dude who wore his hair long and stringy and liked to strum the guitar and pretend he was Eddie Vedder off the field. He was also skinny as a bean pole, but unafraid of the big league pressure or the stars he faced. And so it came to be that he hit A-Rod with a pitch and Alex took offense. He started barking at Bronson without making much of an effort to take his free base. Now, I'm not a lip reader, but I'm pretty sure that when Sox catcher Jason Varitek got between A-Rod and the mound and began to escort him to first base, A-Rod told Bronson F-U. And I'm pretty sure Tek told him the same thing right back. A-Rod then invited a reaction with "C'Mon" and Tek promptly obliged by blindsiding Alex with a gloved stiff arm right in the kisser and an attempted wrestling throw down before he could continue the conversation.
That little melee between these same teams in the prior year's playoffs had nothing on this scene. Benches cleared instantly and a fracus ensued before the Umps could get a handle on things. The Yankee's starting pitcher, Tanyon Sturtze, reached in to drag Sox player Gabe Kapler out from the fringe of the pile and found himself in a headlock by Big Papi, David Ortiz. Kapler has one of the most drool-worthy bodies you will ever see and used it to bloody Sturtze's uniform.
After all was said and done, Tek and A-Rod, and I think Kapler too, were tossed from the game and order was restored. Both starting pitchers stayed in the game. The crowd was electrified from the fight because they watched their Catcher do to A-Rod what they themselves had been wanting to do to him figuratively ever since he landed with the Yankees instead.
Game On. The Sox battled back and took the lead and knocked Sturtze out of the game by the 4th innning. Seems he had a bruise on his pinky that caused more trouble for him than that gash over his ear. Poor Sturtze. He hailed from MA and grew up with this rivalry. Guess he couldn't help himself getting all riled up like that. Sox Manager Terry Francona got too riled up on a close call in the 5th and got himself tossed out of the game. These guys were dropping like flies.
It wasn't long though before Bronson's luck turned and he let the Yankees back into the game in the 6th. The bullpen was called on much too late to do anything about it and before we knew it the Sox were losing by 5 in the blink of an eye. Well, actually, it wasn't a blink of an eye because it had taken 2 1/2 hours to play only 2/3 of the game. And don't forget that rain delay to start things off. Our friend at the game was certainly getting his money's worth.
Another hour later and they had finally finished playing the bottom half of the 6th, during which time the Sox offense ignored the futility of their pitching staff and got back 4 of the 5 runs they needed. Seems that the Sox weren't the only ones with an ineffective bullpen. The Yankees were running out players I'd never heard of at this point. And there were still 3 more innings to go. But things didn't seem as gloomy as the overcast skies anymore.
The battle of the bullpens continued and the Yankees kept the upper hand, getting a little breathing room with another run so that by the 8th inning they were winning 10-8. With 2 outs, big basher Manny Ramirez came to the plate with visions of homers in his eyes ready to feast on the Yankee pitcher of the moment. But Manager Joe Torre would have none of that. He called on possibly the greatest closer that has ever lived, Mariano Rivera.
When Rivera comes out of the bullpen at home in Yankee Stadium, Metallica's "Enter Sandman" blares menacingly from the loudspeakers. When he comes out of the bullpen on the road, there is the silence of dread all around, for he looms like a dark thunder cloud just waiting to slam the door on your hopes. And that's just what he did to Manny. Fly out. Lead intact. Headed to the 9th.
Miraculously, the Sox bullpen set down the Yankees in order for the only quick and easy part of this never-ending game. So the Sox were down to their last 3 outs against You Know Who back up on the mound. But Nomar doubled, advanced on a sacrifice fly and scored on a single by Kevin Millar. Down by 1 run with 2 outs left in the game and a runner on 1st. Bill Mueller (pronounced Miller) at the plate. Bill had been stranding runners left and right all day long. Not exactly the optimism you might have with Manny or Big Papi at bat.
But you know I wouldn't go to all this trouble to tell yet another sad tale of woe for the Sox and success for the Yankees. Billy Mueller whacked Rivera's pitch over the fence and into the bullpen for the game winning home run to beat the Yankees 11-10! It took 4 hours plus an hour rain delay, a brawl, 3 player ejections, 1 manager ejection, poor pitching, luck - good and bad, and clutch hitting for this game to be decided. It was Rivera's first blown save and loss of the season. He appeared to be in shock. No one was more shocked than us. But not Bill Mueller. He proved that it could be done. It might have been a fluke, but it was possible.  T-Shirt showing box score of The Game states "HBP NY #13 (A-Rod), BY #61 (Arroyo) WITH ASSIST BY #33 (Varitek)"
next week, THE SHAKE-UP, in which Molly says goodbye to #5...
 03-15-2009 - Vibrant Orange served up with some Soul @ a Rock & Roll Photography Exhibit - Portland, Maine (click photo to enlarge) Visit
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 I was going to skip posting today. Purely because I am a procrastinator and spent too much time visiting commenters and sites in our reader and checking e-mail. By the time I decided I should probably write something I realized bed time was fast approaching. How does that happen? I never know which to do first, create the next day's post or visit all of the kind people who took the time to visit the current day's post. Which is more important, content or commenters? Such a balance we strike in the blogosphere. I only have about 3 hours a day to jump into this world. That's why I brainstorm and outline a month's worth of posts. A loose schedule of ideas keeps me organized and reminds me what I am supposed to be working on. Not work exactly. For this is not work. It is fun and I wish I had more time for it. I wish I had more time for all of you too. I try to stop by while I'm eating lunch at work at my desk - so forgive me for commenting with my mouth full. But then I get caught up in all the interesting people I come across and find myself in danger of abandoning my job in the real world. So I set the blog aside and get back to work. Our little spot here is still new so I think it is important to keep those posts coming so that people keep stopping by. If we receive a comment from someone new once a day and attract one new follower or subscriber a week, we're happy Bumbles. But that isn't going to happen if there isn't anything new for people to read. So the posts come first, and then if there's any time left, I go visiting. So if you don't see me during the week, don't be offended. I'm just saving you for the weekend.
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Edition #41Thirteen Things about THE BUMBLES - and some of the things we've learned you shouldn't camp without...
1. Jumper Cables - When Andy used to travel a lot for work I drove up to see him one weekend up in northern Vermont to go camping. We listened to the Red Sox on the car radio all night because we forgot a radio. The battery died and we were thankful a campground employee came upon us in the morning with some jumper cables, which we had also forgotten. 2. Extra Batteries - We remembered to bring a radio with us on our recent trip but didn't buy the right amount of extra batteries. Andy was able to go find some since we weren't too far away from civilization. But you should always make sure you have the right size and amount for everything from the radio to flashlights to the camera. 3. A Deck of Cards - We've played lots of games with friends on camping trips over the years. There was a memorable game of Pictionary on one trip. But a deck of cards is small and easy to pack. It is also easy to forget. We must have 6 different decks at home and we left them all behind the last trip. 4. A Washtub for Dishes - Another thing we spaced on recently. This makes cleanup a heck of a lot easier, and a lot less wasteful of water. It is also a great container for packing things like cooking utensils, paper plates, paper towels, and trash bags. 5. An Air Mattress - Andy took me camping for the first time since I was a little girl and I wanted to prove how capable I was of having a good time roughing it. Boy was I annoyed when I realized everyone else had air mattresses and didn't think any less of their camping prowess because of them. Needless to say I bought Andy an air mattress for his birthday not long thereafter. We don't ever forget to bring it along! 6. A Shade Tent - This is a recent purchase for us, which we made to use during a BBQ to protect our guests from excessive heat or unexpected drizzles. While loading up the Jeep for vacation Andy questioned whether or not we should bring it along for camping. We decided to shove it in there and were soooo happy we did. We had a few evenings of downpours while hanging near the fire, listening to tunes and relaxing after a delicious dinner. Without the shade tent to keep us dry we would have been sitting on our air mattress in a cramped tent arguing over who forgot to pack the deck of cards. 7. Duct Tape - This is not something we could ever forget because Andy always has a roll handy. It's a good thing, because when we went to pitch our tent we realized one of the poles was busted and without that duct tape to repair the problem, we would have been sleeping under the stars. 8. Bug Spray - If we had needed to sleep under the stars, at least the bugs would have stayed away. I am a magnet for mosquitos and therefore stock Deep Woods Off the way most women treasure their perfume. We brought 3 cans of it on vacation and used it every evening. Otherwise, I truly wouldn't have been a very happy camper. 9. Toilet Paper - You never know. Sometimes you just have to pee in the woods. In such situations, having some TP makes it easier to handle. Don't ever assume the campground will have well stocked facilities, or that they will be nearby when you wake up in the middle of the night with a full bladder. TP is also good for blowing noses, cleaning smudged eyeglasses/sunglasses, and tending to minor flesh wounds. 10. Flashlights - Surprisingly, people forget about flashlights because they usually have a fire going or a lantern lit in the evening. But for those middle of the night pee breaks, you don't want to go bumbling through the woods looking for the right tree or bathroom. That's how you end up with those minor flesh wounds. So throw a flashlight next to the TP in your tent. 11. Extension Cord - Since the dead car battery fiasco, we are always on the lookout for campsites with outlets. Generally, RV's use them to plug in. But we reserved one for us and our little tent so we could have something to plug the radio into in the evenings while enjoying the fire. Then when we got there we realized the outlet was nowhere near the fire pit and we had forgotten an extension cord. We couldn't just crank up the tunes due to quiet hours. Thus the need for the above mentioned battery run. 12. Pot Holders - Open flames get wicked hot. Just propping your wet shoes against the pit is enough to melt them (Andy says from experience). So it is no fun anticipating that yummy meal and burning your hand trying to grab the pot of grub off of the cooking grill. Pot holders take up almost as little space as a deck of cards. And you can use them to cushion some of those more fragile items. I'm sure glad Chef Andy remembered to pack them! 13. Matches - We have never forgotten matches. Ever. It seems so common sense to bring a form of flame camping. But stranger things have happened. You surely could borrow some from a campsite neighbor, but you would feel really stupid begging for matches at a campsite. So just to be safe we thought we'd state the obvious here to save you the embarrassment later. The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. What do you do? Write Thirteen things about yourself, summarize your week in one entry, make it easy for other bloggers to get to know you on a weekly basis. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is not only encouraged, it is part of being a Thursday Thirteener! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Join The Fun And View More Thursday Thirteen Participants At The Host Site
 While we were off on our vacation, Judi @ Where The Road Takes Us put us on her short list for this award. That is some pretty high praise, people. When a blog as welcoming as Judi's thinks enough of you to pass this along it is special. She gives you thoughts on good reads, shares photos of her awesome garden and has the sweetest family. Makes you want to head on over and pull up a chair for some of that Great American Potato Salad she's been dishing up all summer. She may have only felt we were one of the best when she created her list of honorees, but once she hit that publish button and we got our grubby Bumble paws on it she couldn't take it back! So here are the rules which we traditionally break:
1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and their blog link.
2) Pass the award to ten other blogs that you’ve discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award. Here is someone who we like to stop by and check in on every day: She does not disappoint. Her posts are generally short and to the point - as opposed to our rambling messes. She works in advertising, loves the Cubs and says she is representing the underrepresented single ladies in their 50's. We say she is just a cool person to visit and read what she has to say. We don't always leave a comment when we stop by, but we always stick around to see what tidbits she's sharing. Go visit her today - for hers is truly one of the best!
 photo credited to J. Stephen Conn @ Flickr When we were in Rhode Island for a long weekend a few months ago we got a good laugh at my brother's friend who had the hardest time finding the house rental. He drove up from NYC and when he hit the smaller backroads in RI his GPS (aka Goof Proof Steering) lost all signal. He must have called my brother about 5 or 6 times to get directions in the span of 20 minutes since he did not have a map or printed directions. The idea of driving to a place unknown without directions or a map is a foreign concept to me. My brother's friend's reliance on technology to get him where he needed to go showed that maps were something from the stone age to him. Whereas before I had been envious of the GPS world, I decided that living my life without a GPS wasn't a bad way to go. After all, we'd found our way to the house rental without incident using old fashioned written directions (printed from Map Quest, but still, we had a road map in the car too). So when we headed out on our recent road trip vacation, we brought along our trusty National Geographic American Road Atlas and all sorts of printed directions from one stop to the next. It is no secret on this blog that I am geographically challenged, so using me as the navigator is always a high risk move. But usually, as long as I am not having to reverse written directions I do just fine relaying the information. So I just want you to know that I was not to blame for the miles and miles of scenic detours we took in the State of New York. Our directions became completely ficticious when we left the highway and tried to find our campground. Thankfully someone had very kindly posted campground symbols along the way which we followed like the yellow brick road. The next day we hit the road headed for the baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Our backroad directions stated that we were only a half hour away when the atlas showed following the major roadways would take 45 minutes or more. We knew we were in trouble when the mileage on our directions was off substantially. Then we blew right past the road we were to follow because...it did not look like a road, whereas the one we were on actually remained paved. We had a nice scenic drive through the country and saw lots of dilapidated buildings scattered here and there. The regional brochures we had with us didn't have any of the side roads on them that our directions mentioned because, again, they weren't really roads. Fearful that we would miss Jim Rice's acceptance speech that we had planned our entire vacation around, we turned back and decided to take the unmarked dirt path after all and see if it put us any closer to where we wanted to be. Lo and behold, it actually turned out to be the road we had wanted and, although the mileage was still screwy, the streets we anticipated from our directions actually materialized. We made it to the ceremony with time to spare and had a delightful day. We returned to Cooperstown the next day and found our way there and back via a completely different set of roads. This was not intentional, despite the fact that Andy does like to take random roads just to find out where they end up. We were hungry and trying to get back to camp before dark so we could cook up some dinner over the fire. Unlabled streets were really starting to get on our nerves. It felt like the State of NY was messing with us just because we were Red Sox fans or something. When we took off for the Finger Lakes on our way to Niagara Falls, we got lost again trying to find the prettiest waterfall along the way not named Niagara, pictures of which will be forthcoming in a later post. Directions didn't mesh with the options in front of us. Signs weren't clear as to where one might turn to see certain sites. It started to become a bit amusing when we drove down this long road to nowhere in search of a waterfall. We were becoming anxious travelers taking turns too soon rather than risking the excessive over shoot. When we found our way to the waterfall and had a nice picnic we were dismayed to see the road warrior above had cursed us with a flat. Undeterred (and because we had no other choice) we unloaded the Jeep, took out the spare, and I took photos while Andy lost about 10 pounds in the sweltering heat getting that tire replaced. Fingers crossed we got back on the road hoping for clear sailing, marked roadways and strong tires. We had no problems finding our way around when we crossed into Canada. But that is probably because the traffic was so horrendous that you had hours to sit and read signs and maps before approaching your next turn. All in all, we found our way. I am not sure how many of the 1,300 miles we traveled were intentional and how many were to blame on NY's idea to not waste money in this economy on road signs. But I'm pretty sure that even if we had a GPS, we wouldn't have been able to get a signal anyway.
Feature Presentation... MONDAY MOVIE MEME
Molly looked around for a weekly meme about movies and did not have any luck. So therefore she decided to start her own! Andy will play along as well - hopefully you will too. Go to your blog and create your own post on the topic, linking back to us in your post, then come back and leave a link to your post here in our Comments section. If you don’t have a blog, just share your response in the Comments section.
This week's movie topic is all about Weddings... This weekend we attended a wedding for two great friends of ours who make a perfect match and we were honored to be included in their special day. We love weddings, and not just for the open bar. They all have the same premise in mind but each provides its own traditions, theme and style. There are so many movies about weddings, so we thought we'd focus on our favorite one rather than our usual list. But that's mainly because we're being lazy Bumbles recovering from all that wedding fun. Share on your blog, in whatever format you choose, wedding themed movies then link back here at The Bumbles. And don't forget to visit your fellow participants! Also, while you're at it, visit Molly's recent Guest Post (which has nothing to do with weddings) if you missed the link on Friday. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)We have yet to find someone who did not enjoy this movie. We are partial to it personally because it came out when we were in the process of planning our own wedding. The laughs that this movie provided were excellent comic relief and the overall theme of family, love and acceptance were good morsals to tuck away and think about whenever the planning process got difficult. We stop and watch it whenever we come across it on TV and reference it often - such as whenever we use Windex or come across a bundt cake. And someday we think it would be really fun to go to a Greek wedding - big, fat or otherwise. Do you have a topic to suggest to the Monday Movie Meme? Leave it in the Comments section or send us an e-mail.
OVAH THE MONSTAH
Hot Stove:
where previously the Yankees devastated Molly's dreams of the end of a curse... Winter in New England is long, cold, and many times rough. It essentially follows the baseball off-season - November through March. It was fixing to be an especially tough winter in November of 2003 with plenty of time to hibernate inside wondering what could have been and why the Sox had once again fallen short in heartbreaking fashion in the post season. Truth be told, I was angry and disgusted.
Apparently, so were several members of the Sox organization – Theo (Epstein who was chosen as GM – all 28 years of him) & The Trio (the Ownership group of John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino) who had powers over retaining staff. Manager Grady Little was not retained. Technically, he was not fired. The Sox simply did not pick up the option for another year as skipper on his contract. He guided the 2003 Sox to 95 wins, the AL Wild Card berth, and 5 outs away from the World Series. That would be the resumé of a keeper in logical land, but in Sox Nation, 5 OUTS AWAY is a tough pill to swallow. And that’s what got him “fired.”
So – the search was on. And God help the next Manager. Lots of names were bandied about and interviews began. But there was another piece of business in the works. The Sox decided to place gazillion dollar Left Fielder, Manny Ramirez, on Irrevocable Waivers. i.e. anybody that wants him and his exorbitant salary could have him! The Sox had their fill of Manny and the contract former free-spending GM Dan Duquette had doled out after the 2000 season when he was a free agent with Cleveland. The contract didn’t fit the new ownership’s business plan. They also didn’t like Manny’s disregard for the media and convenient excuses to beg out of the All Star game each year. But he pushed the envelope the prior season by being ill enough to keep him off the playing field and miss a team doctor appointment, but well enough to dine with a Yankee opponent the night before. But no one took the Waiver bait. So the Sox had no Manager and a public attempt at abandoning a consistent and solid slugger who was overpaid by prior management. Things were not looking good.
However, during Thanksgiving weekend of 2003, the Sox gave themselves a huge shot in the arm by courting, and getting, power pitcher Curt Schilling. The youngest GM in MLB history, Theo Epstein, even went to the Schilling home in Arizona himself and sacrificed his own Turkey Day with family to spend it with the Schillings instead. They worked out a deal there and then and Curt became a Sox – again – rejoining the team he had begun his minor league career with. He said in his press conference that he “guessed he hated the Yankees now” which endeared him to Sox fans instantly. Although, since he and Randy Johnson had defeated the Yankees in the 2001 World Series as teammates and co-MVP’s on the Arizona Diamondbacks, I figured he hadn’t cared much for the Yankees to begin with.
This was huge! The Sox were bolstering their starting pitching. Two Aces in one rotation meant everything! Pedro and Curt would be like Randy and Curt on the Diamondbacks, and hope sprung up amongst the early snow.
Schilling’s Manager during an earlier part of his career with the Phillies was Terry Francona. Francona’s record was miserable. He had not managed in the Majors since, but most recently had been the Bench Coach of the Oakland A’s. When Sox management decided to hire Francona as their next Manager not long after signing Schilling, most people felt that Schilling had something to do with it. Curt had nothing but glowing things to say about “Tito.” So there were lots of assumptions that the dealmaker between Schilling and the Sox was that they hire Francona to be their next Manager. This was flatly denied by all parties.
One thing there was no denying was that the Sox were still trying to move Manny’s salary off of their payroll. Not having been successful in tempting anyone via the Waiver strategy, they next attempted a trade. Somebody somewhere was happy to leak all kinds of details about trade talks between the Sox and the Texas Rangers. When you are trying to get rid of the 2nd highest player in baseball, probably the only people who can afford him are the ones paying the highest paid player in baseball. This player, of course, was Alex Rodriguez.
The trade involved sending Manny to Texas for A-Rod. However, since Alex was commonly known as one of the best Shortstops to ever play the position, it was unlikely that he would suddenly switch to Left Field to fill Manny’s defensive spot. This potential trade horrified me because it would have a direct impact on my beloved Shortstop Nomar Garciaparra’s fate with the Sox. I also didn’t understand how taking on a salary larger than Manny’s would improve the payroll. Plus, A-Rod’s contract was a few years longer than Manny’s.
The next leak out to the press was that the Sox were also talking to the Chicago White Sox about (gasp!) trading Nomar for outfielder Magglio Ordoňez. This at least explained the Sox vision to replace Manny’s outfield position. And Magglio was a good hitter. But I still didn’t see how A-Rod and Magglio were going to replace Manny and Nomar’s offensive production. It might be close, but the money figures still didn’t seem to make all of this re-mixing a vast payroll improvement.
Lots of news reports were coming out about the offer the Sox had made to Nomar before the previous season that he and his agent had turned down. Nomar’s contract was up at the end of the next season and if he couldn’t be signed, the Sox weren’t going to let him just walk when they could get something in return for him via a trade before then. During all of this flurry of news reports, speculation and rumor, Nomar was stewing out in Hawaii on his honeymoon with Soccer Star Mia Hamm. So much so, that he called in the Boston Sports Talk Radio station, WEEI, to talk about everything.
Nomie said he wanted to stay. He disputed all reports to the contrary. He loved Boston so much that he and his new wife had just bought themselves a home in the area. The only team he had ever played for was the Sox. It was all he had ever known in his professional MLB career. He loved the fans more than anything. He pored his heart into giving back to the community that pored its heart out to him when he was on the field. He didn’t understand why he was learning about all of this via the news just like the rest of us instead of hearing something directly from the Sox. He said his agent, on his behalf, had countered the Sox offer the prior spring and the Sox had not responded since. There had been no presence of a typical contract negotiation from them whatsoever. He was asked if he was willing to switch positions in order to stay if A-Rod did in fact get traded to the Sox. Nomie didn’t give an answer. His response was that if the team asked he would address it with them. He was asked if this was a tough time for him. He said that it was the greatest moment in his life – he was celebrating his recent marriage with the love of his life.
The A-Rod trade was nixed by Bud Selig as Commissioner of MLB. The deal was created with Alex taking a pay cut and even giving back some of his money to the Rangers. He was SO desperate to leave Loserville in Texas. He had left Seattle for THE MONEY. Now that he had THE MONEY, but not any championships, he decided that he didn’t need all that money after all if it meant he could get somewhere else with a team that had a better shot for success. Poor Alex. Should have thought about that before he left Seattle for THE MONEY. Selig’s point was, A-Rod didn’t have the right to deduct his pay – this would jeopardize the Player’s Association agreement or something. What it boiled down to was there was no way MLB was going to let A-Rod take a pay cut to relieve himself of a situation that was not unfair to begin with. The Sox were given the opportunity to make the trade equal financially so that A-Rod was not overall going to end up earning less. The Sox declined. Months were wasted over the deal, the ramifications of which left two players still on the Sox that they had tried to trade away, who were major contributors to the team, needing to come back and be team players again after this very public mess.
Valentine’s Day is supposed to be filled with love and romance. But February 14th of 2004 was nothing but cold revenge. After the Sox spent months trying to get the A-Rod deal done, only to have it squashed, the Yankees completed a deal with the same Texas Rangers in a matter of days that brought A-Rod to the Yankees in exchange for some cash and young talented 2nd Baseman Alfonso Soriano. WHAT?!! The Rangers had just named A-Rod their “Captain” a few weeks earlier. And now he was going to the rival Yankees? What about Jeter – the Captain of the Yankees as well as their own prized Shortstop?
Remember Evil Aaron Boone, the Yankees 3rd Baseman, who whacked Wakefield’s pitch for the game winning homer in Game 7 just a few months prior to propel the Yankees to the World Series, and sent the Sox home packing? Well, this same jamoke hurt himself playing pick-up basketball during the winter which suddenly left the Yankees with an opening for an infielder. Enter A-Rod. Still looking to do anything he could do to get out from his contract with a losing team, A-Rod agreed to give up his surely guaranteed place as the greatest Shortstop ever in MLB history to play 3B wearing pinstripes. Derek Jeter was the Yankees Captain. But he was not the better defensive Shortstop. No matter. A-Rod would learn a new position for the 2004 season said the Yankees. This was not a good development for the Sox in any way.
The Sox countered with their last major move of the off-season. They heavily courted free-agent Closer Keith Foulke from the A’s. It certainly helped that the A’s former Bench Coach, Terry Francona, was now the Sox Manager. It also helped that Foulke was a huge fan of hockey. The Bruins must have drawn lots of interest from Foulke, them being one of the original NHL teams. Yet strangely, he was seen at a Boston Celtics NBA game being schmoozed by Theo. It took a while, as Keith and his agent weighed all the various teams and their offers, but eventually he signed with the Sox. I personally think it was because of the Boston hockey tradition.
Spring Training in Ft. Myers, FL provided plenty of material for the press covering the Grapefruit League in 2004:
Johnny Damon showed up with long flowing hair and full out Grizzly Adams beard. He was referred to as both “Jesus” and “Caveman.”Right Fielder Trot Nixon hurt his back driving straight through to FL from his home in NC and wouldn’t be able to start the season (lucky for him he signed a contract extension in the offseason).New Pitcher Curt Schilling showed up from Arizona and filmed an auto commercial claiming he had arrived in town to break an 86 year old curse.Designated Hitter David Ortiz signed a contract extension.New Closer Keith Foulke could barely record an out or keep the ball in the park.Shortstop Nomar Garciaparra hurt his Achille’s and what had originally been reported as a non-issue injury, made his St. Patty’s Day start his last game appearance, starting the season on the Disabled List.Kevin Youkilis made the team hoping for a full Rookie season.Pitchers Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe, along with Shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, and Catcher Jason Varitek were among the gazillion players for the Sox who ended Spring Training without contract extensions beyond the upcoming season. Some claimed disrespect, some surprise, and some kept their mouths shut.Tickets for the Yankees/Sox Spring Training game were being sold on E-Bay for hundreds of dollars. The rivalry was alive and kicking.next week, THE TEMPLATE, in which Molly watches with glee as Jason Varitek sticks it to A-Rod to spark a mediocre season...
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