An Evening Drive…

Saturday was hot. Hot. Hot. Hot.  We needed milk so I thought it would be a great idea to head out to the store at 11:30 pm. We hit the little store just down from our house.  My husband didn’t realize I was slightly disappointed.  I was, after all, looking for a wee longer drive.

We dropped the milk off at the house then headed back down the road. We drove past the local shopping center which is about five miles from our house. It had been ages since either one of us had been there; curious to see what shops were still there, we pulled into the shopping center.

My only regret was in not grabbing my eyeballs (glasses). I couldn’t see very well but what I could see was interesting and fun to watch.

Living where I do, I am not often surprised by what I see people doing. I was not prepared for what my husband and I came upon.

There were about 20+ young men in the parking lot.  I later found out by talking to the right outfielder that they were mostly Pakistani and Indian.

They meet there on the weekends.  They prefer the empty parking lot to a club or field since most of them work long hours. They needed an area that had some decent lighting.

They had a rousing game of Cricket going on. The team at bat was winning so far. The outfielder was very kind and explained the ins and outs of the game. Some of which I was all ready familiar with. Since they were playing in the parking lot they were using cardboard boxes for the wickets and a tennis ball wrapped in white tape. He explained why the bowler had to run up the line and throw the ball overhanded.  It has to bounce at least once in front of the batter.

It really was fun to watch and dare I say (hiding and ducking as I say this) a lot more interesting to watch then the ummmm…American past time of baseball.

If you happen to be out driving around empty shopping mall parking lots and see a large group of people with two cardboard boxes running back and forth…stop and watch. It is pretty interesting and surely not one of the things one would expect to see at midnight, on a Saturday. At least not in my neck of the woods.

If you would like to know more about Cricket, check out this blog.  Here is a brief tutorial on the game.

I knew Cricket used to be played in the United States but didn’t realize we actually had a top notch team at one point. Cricket was a popular game in the United States in her early days. George Washington even played “wicket” with his troops after they had just spent a hard winter in Valley Forge to boost moral. It declined somewhat during the war of 1812.Hmmm…wonder why?  It had a revival of sorts during the latter part of the 18th century.

The United States may claim the title of holding the first official international match in the world. The United States played against Canada in 1844. Canada won by 23 runs.

Staten Island, New York is home to the oldest Cricket club in America. It has continued to operate since 1872. There is still hope that America my again break into the International Cricket  League. We actually qualified to play against the “professionals” in 2004.  A Short History of Cricket in the US (link provided below) is where the above information was pulled.

Here are some other links of interest…

An Explanation of Criket

Cricket Rules and Basic Set Up (very interesting names)

A Short History of Cricket in the United States

Pretty nifty if you ask me…next time I will take my glasses so I can see and my camera to snap some pictures.

Mother’s Day Match…

My husband thinks it would be a great idea for me to try shooting an IPSC match.  In case you are wondering what that is I found an excellent video demonstrating an IPSC match.

In order to do this, I need a holster and extra magazines.  We are heading out to the Nation’s Gun Show to hopefully get me fitted for a holster.

We went to the range last weekend. My husband has had me shooting target loads with my Taurus PT1911.   Target loads are lighter loads to shoot. Last weekend he loaded me up with full loads. The difference was big considering I wasn’t expecting the recoil. Everything stays the same (according to my husband) accept the recoil. (He wasn’t kidding!) I think I closed my eyes once. I got the hang of it.

Remember those pearl handled grips? My husband has been shooting for over twenty years. He did competition shooting while in college.  He knows his guns. He has never over tightened a grip. We noticed when shooting my gun, that I have actually worked the grip loose. No big deal, we just tighten it back down after cleaning the gun.  The grips come off when we clean the pistol.

When I switched to the full load rounds I noticed the grips loosening up on me. At first I didn’t think much of it, I just gripped it harder. I had a death grip on my pistol, simply because the recoil was a wee bit  more than I was used to. Some how I gripped it  so hard that during the process of shooting, I broke the grip. It cracked along the line of where the screws hold the grip in place. I know I am strong but I don’t think I am that strong.

Anyhoo, when we got home we replaced the grips with the extra set that came with my Taurus. I am hoping that Taurus will be kind enough to replace them since it was my Valentine’s gift. My daughter likes the black grips better.  She says black is classy with gold…

My husband thinks shooting the IPSC will be lots of fun for me.  I just don’t want to embarrass him. He is pretty confident in my skill after having seen me at the range. I think he is a little proud of his coaching skills. He is pretty good at what he does.

We shall see…

Since it is Mother’s Day and they are trying to get more women involved in shooting…No registration fee for me!!

I must admit…that wasn’t exactly what I had in mind for Mother’s Day. I will be the pistol packin’ momma. I did find a couple of new skirts that I can wear with a holster. Yes…I shoot in skirts. I will have to post a picture for other gun toting Momma friends of mine. I am sure they will get a kick out of this adventure.

One other thing I forgot to mention that my husband thought would be interesting.

I have since discovered that the style of foundational garment I wear (ie bra!) makes a difference in how I shoot. If I wear the perky, stand at attention garment the “girls” are some what in the way. Just like I can’t swing a golf club because the arms just won’t position correctly. I am blessed. If I wear the flatten me to the chest, smoosh them down garment…I have no problem bringing the pistol up and sighting it. I don’t have to reposition my arms.

I may be the only women who finds this to be the case but my husband thought it was worth mentioning. I do know I am not the only blessed women out there shooting.  I wonder if Cornered Cat ever heard of this problem. I might have to drop her a line and ask…

“Faith like Potatoes”… a movie review.

The other day my husband and I were walking through Stuff-Mart and as I always do, I glance over to see what new movies are out. You see, we don ‘t have cable or any other service that would allow us to be glued to the idiot box. Due to our location, even a good set of rabbit ears won’t work. Our idiot box is used as an output device for the dvd player.  Whether it be educational or just for fun that is all it is used for.

I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t tell you that I do on occasion watch a tv show online though.

I partially credit our elimination of the various cable services to the love my children have for reading and using their imagination. I will also admit that I am weak when it comes to television programs. I would be glued to the Home and Garden shows along with every food show there is to offer if we had cable service. I know me.

We make do and do quite well. We are picky parents. I am truly heartened to see the rise of faith based movies that are clean and yet still present life. It is possible to do so with “Facing the Giants” and “Fireproof” as two examples.

Back to Stuff-Mart…

I saw this movie and made a face. “Faith like Potatoes”? Hmmm…I wasn’t too sure about that. It just sounded…goofy sort of. I did read that it was based on a true story. I thought I would go home and check it out before blowing the $19.

I forgot about the movie until a couple days ago while reading my email. Tangle (formerly God Tube) had the trailers of this movie. Along with the trailer was a brief interview of Angus Buchan, the writer and main character of the story. It is based on the lives of Angus Buchan and his family. That sparked an interest so the next time at Stuff-Mart I bought the movie.

I suppose the first question would be whether or not I wasted $19?

Jump Rope

I have always enjoyed jumping rope.  I could do just about anything when it came to jumping rope including double dutch.

The last time some friends and I jumped rope was while sitting in the Walmart parking lot on Black Friday waiting for the store to open. My friends and I pulled my husbands straps out and used it for a jump rope. The straps are the 2″ wide straps used to tie things down on the back of his truck.

We had a blast!!! All that being said…

I have never seen a jumping rope exhibition like the one put on by the Kings Firecrakers. Oh to be young again.  I am not so sure I could do this kind of jumping rope at my age. I am however, foolish enough to try…wink, wink!

Here is another link to the Fire Crackers videos. I think the resolution may be better…that or my eyes are just blurry…

I feel like I just worked out watching this group.

Competitive Nature…

I cannot say if my husband truly believes this but my children apparently do. They think I am competitive.

I play for fun. I play cards with a neighbor friend and it is usually a very friendly game. I enjoy winning like the next person but for me, allowing your opponent to move her card is more fun than just sitting there beating the pants off of someone. We play Skip-Bo.

I enjoy playing, but winning is not always my “be all, end all” attitude. I just want to laugh and have fun. I need laughter in my life, especially right now.

My husband has been taking me to the range to practice my shooting. I do so enjoy going to the range and shooting. My husband is more concerned with me becoming proficient so that I am comfortable with carrying my “friend.”

Me?

I like to beat the pants off the men who come to practice and cannot seem to hit the side of a barn painted with a big red bullseye let alone a target/silhouette at 15-20ft down range. I know my Maker is going to humble me for the excessive amount of pride I am carrying at the moment.

Folks…I simply cannot help it!!

I should preface this by saying that I have picked up on a basic attitude toward the .45. I happen to own a Taurus 1911 .45.  Boy is it a beaut!

The attitude is that the .45 is a lot of gun to handle. I have heard of men my husband’s size who won’t shoot a .45.  My husband is not a small man. He is a foot and 2+ inches taller than I am with the broadest shoulders. I look at him strangely when I hear someone say that the .45 is a lot of gun to shoot.

Two young Marines ( I love the Marine Corps!) made a smart quip about the wimpy women firing the .22. I didn’t take kindly to that remark. I decided to show them and got out my .45. I won…