A brief book review before I head off to Arkansas (at 5:15 tomorrow morning…..blinkbleary-eyes)!  Executive Director of SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) Martha Sielman is published again with this portfolio of works depicting things “nature.”  It is another eye-candy book, and I am enjoying it greatly (and no, not in this one!).  There are 19 profiles of various artists, plus a number of galleries with works by many, MANY more artists.  The galleries include Flowers 1, Birds, Water, Animals, Leaves, Insects, Flowers 2, Trees and Textures.

Usually, I like to thoroughly pore over a book, reading and evaluating it cover to cover.   This spring is sufficiently busy, however, that I didn’t want to wait, especially since Lark Books (the publisher) was kind enough to send me a review copy.  The interviews with the profiled artists are nicely in depth, and I feel the questions responses give me a much better feel for the artist and how this work brings out their individual response to art and the world around them.  The artist profiles are roughly grouped into the same categories as the galleries.  For example, Ginny Eckley’s work–which often features birds–is just before the birds gallery.  Organizing the book in this way helps the viewer really see how the “voice” and hand of the individual artist are revealed despite similar subject matter.

This is a book I know I am going to want to savor over an extended period, and one which I will return to in the future.

I’ll be teaching in Arkansas for the QUEST guild in Little Rock then the Hot Springs Village Quilt Guild this week!  I’m home for just long enough to do laundry, then off to attend a workshop on dyeing silk.  I’ll post when I can!

End of the Championship Match....ELI WINS!

AND you better believe I am shouting as loud as I can!   We are so immensely proud of Eli…. there was a lot of pressure on him to do well this season (mostly from himself but so many others believed he could be a champ, too), and he was strong physically, mentally, and emotionally!  Eli won the Pine Tree Wrestling League State Championships, 138-lb. weight class today with an undefeated season! Eli is the first kid since 2003 (when Eli was in kindergarten) to win a State title from the Camden-Rockport Middle School (Oliver Bradeen in 2003 was the last–he went on to be a three-time runner up to State Champion in high school, too).

Here is a YouTube video of Eli’s Championship match.  Camden-Rockport coaches Paul and True are just to the right of the screen, the Bath team coaches are just to the left of the screen.  Eli is in red, the Bath boy is Justin Johnson, in blue.  (If you want to see it full screen click in the lower right of the embedded video to enlarge; press Escape to return to exit full screen mode).  FYI…at about 5 minutes in, you’ll see a break in the action.  The Bath kid tried a move, but Eli held him tight; when the Bath boy went down, he got squeezed and it hurt, so they took a medical time out.  Fortunately, he was OK.  Then after they resume wrestling you’ll hear me say “come on that was 7 seconds”–the scoring table forgot to re-start the clock!  The refs realized they had been wrestling enough time, so moved the clock forward to 2 seconds left, the match re-started, then  Eli  got the win officially, score 9-1, which is considered a “Major Decision” (i.e. by a big margin).

With forfeits and exhibition matches (4 of those, two with 145-lb kids, two with 131), Eli finishes his season at 34-0!  WOW!   I am totally impressed, and especially at the comments of the other adults.  After his first match, the REFEREE complimented him on his takedown.  During the course of the day and after Eli won, other coaches congratulated Paul (dad and Asst. Coach) and True (coach) on how good a wrestler he is, and how nice a kid he is, too!   Can you tell I am absolutely popping with pride?

This may be my favorite photo I've ever taken of Eli wrestling...it really captures the speed of the action, the strength and determination of the athletes!

MAJOR THANKS to Paul for the incredible amount of time he has given to CRMS over the past seven seasons, first with Joshua and now with Eli, and the time and devotion to honing Eli’s physical abilities and mental outlook, to True Bragg (coach) for what he has given not just to Eli but to the team over the years he  has been coach, and to Eli’s practice partners and the other coaches from the area who have helped Eli.   We are so blessed to live in a wrestling hotbed that, more than anything, is a welcoming (to us folks from away!), warm, caring community that takes care of and celebrates its own.

Here are some photos of the championship match:

The opening whistle sounds!

Eli dominated the match from start to finish, with one brief (scary for mom except it was over so fast) blip in the third period

As Eli said -- it's hard to do anything is someone grabs your ankle, hence using the move!

Look at the stretch on both boys! They need strength, flexibility, speed, mental agility, mental toughness...

End of the Championship Match....ELI WINS!--it's worth repeating again here GRIN!

Two happy and now-relaxed coaches!

Photo is a tad blurry, but I like it anyway...Eli (L), Paul (back), True (R)

Eli adds another bracket sheet to his room... Bath kid is next, and 3rd place with white ribbon. Congrats to all!

Paul looks at Eli's first place medal--the middle spins around

I cajoled the kids who went into a photo when we stopped at McD's on the way home. Far left is Elvis B. who also made it into the States, Coach True, teammate E., Eli, Paul behind Teammate H., and jovial chatterbox teammate T.

Thanks to the teammates who were able to attend today.  We’ll see everyone we hope at the end-of-season potluck on Wednesday at the school.   WOOOHOOOOOHOOOOOO!

CONGRATULATIONS ELI!

OK…so this is the Winter-That-Wasn’t for much of the eastern half of the United States.  We had a blizzard in late October, a “January cold” cold spell before Christmas, and a blizzard in early February.  That’s IT.  Then we had a couple days of summer about 2 weeks ago.  Then yesterday, this:

On the way home from exercise class at the Y in Camden, March 29th....

Approaching Hope Crossing (i.e. downtown Hope, Maine)

The willow hedge on the lower part of the driveway

The willow tree near the "corner" of the driveway. I love how the branches first flush yellow-green in spring, then the buds begin to swell and, here, catch the snow

home, looking uphill from the lower part of the driveway. One of these years we will paint and get rid of the awful dark brown on the house, but it doesn't need painting yet. But how did we get so lucky to live somewhere so beautiful, again?!!!!

At least it truly is beautiful.  And it will melt.  SOON.  We actually have a crocus that bloomed a month early in the garden, and the iris greens are already coming up!  I’m ready for this to be the last of the white stuff until next fall!

Tomorrow/Saturday the 31st:  State Wrestling tournament…send “good wrestling, good referee-ing” thoughts for Eli!

Yes, comment Number 34, from LindaMac, wins a copy of Creative Quilting With Beads and my Pomegranate Notebook pattern!   The hotlink on her comment, to her website, works, so I’ll e-mail LindaMac directly.  But Linda…if you are reading here, please contact me and send me your snail mail address.  If you don’t want to leave it in the comments, just write, I’ll reply “off the web” and we can do it that way!

I also thought those who surf in regularly, and did so before I announced the giveaway on various large lists, should get a special thanks, so I’ve picked another person from those first nineteen (who commented before March 27), and Number 2 (!!!) Bev in NC  will be getting my Pomegranate Notebook pattern (or any of my patterns of her choice).

Thanks for participating!

He’s done it again!  Eli is now 25-0 for the season, and has repeated as Eastern Regional Champion in his weight class!!!!  This year, Camden-Rockport Middle School was the sponsoring school for the event, which was held in the high school gym.  There were 3 mats set up, and it went surprisingly smoothly and quickly.   Here’s how Saturday went for Eli:

In wrestling with 8-person brackets, the rule is that if you want to end up in the championship match (for first and second place), you need to win two before you lose two.  So here’s Eli’s first match:

First match, ended in 30 seconds with a pin. It happened so fast I had barely hit "On" on the camera that I didn't get any video....

I managed to mess up the photography, alas, despite doing test-runs last week.  I brought out the GOOD camera, the DSLR Nikon and I really need to spend more time learning how to make it do what I want!  But I got some good shots.  And I took video…or so I thought…on my everyday digital, but I had taken it off Video and put it on still photo during the week and forgot to switch it back.  So this first match ended so fast I didn’t get a chance to correct my error.

Second match:  this one took a little longer.  Remember there are 3 periods in wrestling; in middle school the first period is 2 minutes, then 2nd and 3rd are one minute long.  In high school, matches are 3 2-minute periods; in college, it is 3-2-2-.

Second match: PIN! At 1 minute 31 seconds in the first period.

At least I got a really good photo…. the point of the match is to win.  A great way to win instantly and end the match is to pin the opponent’s shoulders to the mat.  That is why Eli is “T”‘d off on the kid on the bottom—you get the best leverage being chest-to-chest (Eli is a little far over) and at right angles–like a T–to the kid on the bottom.  The Ref is using the hand with the red band to smack the mat to show Eli (in red…the other kid has on the green ankle band on his rear leg, but it is hard to see because he’s wearing tights under the singlet) wins by fall (pin).

Next:  the championship round against a kid from Hermon, whom he had not wrestled during the season.  This boy was also–up until Saturday–undefeated, but had fewer matches than Eli.

Murphy's Law lives at wrestling meets. No matter WHERE in the gym the parent is, the ref is ALWAYS immediately blocking the parent's line of sight to their kid as here. By the way...we LOVE this ref. He is one of the best in Maine, and happens to head up the Ref's association. He is fair, compassionate, understands kids, and when ref-ing--even when the kids make mistakes--takes the time to instruct ant teach while making calls. He's "the bee's knees!"

Here is a few moments earlier in the match, but a better shot:

Eli nearly gets the Hermon boy in a "cradle" for a pin. Alas, the Hermon boy got Eli in an illegal headlock which the ref did not see, so Eli had a bit of work to get out of it. He did, but the match went into a second period. In the photo above he is just about 2 seconds away from pinning the boy 30 seconds into the second period.

Three matches.  Three wins.  Three pins.  Still undefeated.

The "Win" hands-up went up and down so fast I missed it, so here the refs are checking with the scorekeepers and Eli is running his bout sheet back to the head scoring table after the win.

Eli, as winner, gets to keep the bracket sheet which shows who wrestled in the weight class, with him as Champion:

Eli on the winner's stand! Alas, the camera was having trouble metering with the bright window behind and I missed the shot with the other 3 boys up there....

ALL the kids on the team wrestled their hearts out and did their coaches proud.  One other kid, Elvis B., won his weight class, so he and Eli will continue on to States on March 31.

L to R: Coach True Bragg, Elvis B. 124-lb Champion, Eli at 138-lb Champion, and Asst. Coach Paul Smith (aka dad); photo taken in the high school wrestling room.

The other great news came on Sunday with the results of the Western Regionals.  The winner was the boy from Bath, whom Eli has beaten in each of his three head-to-head matches with him.  So there is a chance for Eli to win states!   Paul reminds the kids that you are one move away from getting pinned by someone you have never heard of, though, so Eli will have to continue to keep his focus and determination.    Stay tuned for results next weekend.  No colds or injuries allowed between now and then!   The Bath kid will have hometown advantage, as the State Finals will be wrestled in Bath, but we know Eli will excel.  As a friend told Eli, TOTAL DOMINATION on the mat!