Let’s start with some beauty: sunrise yesterday en route to the All-State (Maine) New England Qualifier tournament at Nokomis High School in Newport, Maine. LOOK at those colors on the snow, the farm on the crest at the right, the maples silhouetted (and likely soon to sprout sap buckets)…. sigh..swoon…

It’s been an action packed few days:  it is now 9:34 a.m. Friday.  Since this time Wednesday morning…..

I received two memory cards (RAM, not hard drive) for my 2010 MacBook Pro and successfully installed them!   WOW what an improvement now that I’m at the max. for this machine, 8 GB!   Why did I wait so long?

In the upper left you see one of the two old RAM memory cards. The two new ones are installed, in the center of my laptop. The Apple Store no longer does upgrades on machines as “old” as my 2010 model, so I had no choice but to do it myself. Luckily, there were handy videos online and it was easy peasy! And boy does my laptop switch from one thing to the next faster!

Then I got to go downstairs.  As promised, I’m sharing some of the fabric–since I can’t share the in progress pics until the quilt is done and juried (either in or out).

Here are the pre-fused fabrics for my current quilt. There will be plenty leftover, but that is the joy of Mistyfuse–it never goes bad. I can keep and use all the scraps and leftovers. In fact, many of the fabrics on the table that aren’t big rectangles are leftovers from previous projects. Yep–I’m a Mistyfuser! I’m gonna have to blog how I use it, maybe even try doing a video….

Yesterday was Eli’s final meet/tournament of the wrestling season:  a new one, but a worthy addition to Maine’s line-up.  In the past, the three state champions for each of the 14 weight classes (from 106 to 285), one each from Class A, B and C schools went to New England Regional Championships.   This year, in an effort to have the best of the best, they instituted a New Englands Qualifier tournament the week after States.  The top four finishers in each weight class got to compete.

As usual, I had to take “good luck” photos of Eli warming up. Here he has doffed his sweats, put on his headgear and is running into the gym for what became his final match.

As my loyal readers (thank you! I am still astonished at that concept!), you know Eli is a GOOD wrestler, hubby/dad Paul is an Asst. Coach, and I’m a loud fan of Eli and the Camden team.  Last weekend, Eli placed third in States, having lost by just two points to the eventual winner of the 145-lb weight class in an early round, thereby ended up in the Consolation bracket where the top spot was number 3 (which he got!).

Earlier in the day, he and buddy Connor Winchenbach (who placed first at 152-lbs at Class B States) take a break between rounds to have some lunch. In the far mat another of the Camden boys is wrestling (tiny figure in red with white lettering down the spine).

Earlier in the season, the kid from Massabesic tooled all over Eli at a duals (regular season) meet. Eli was in a better frame of mind this day, but Eli told me the Massabesic kid is **really good** on his feet. You don’t often see Eli in this position, about to get dumped! (Eli is in red, Massabesic — a Class A school from the southern part of the state — is in white-green-yellow.

But it wasn’t one-sided:  it was back and forth and tied at 5-5 until halfway through the third period:

After getting brought down, Eli came back and here is in control, trying (but not succeeding) to get the boy onto his shoulders.

PK and Coach G are on the right, watching Connor who is wrestling on the next mat. Eli and Massabesic wrestler are in the back, with Eli on top and in control.  Eli is doing a cross-face, which makes it hard for the kid to maneuver.

But in the end, Eli couldn’t hang on to the very strong senior from Massabesic, who got back on to his feet and managed to score two points at the end of the third period to eke out the win.

That makes Eli one of the top SIX 145-lb. wrestlers in the State—all classes! (there is no wrestle-off for 5/6, but the other one tied at 5/6 is the boy won won Class A States!).  As a SOPHOMORE!   Of the other six, one is a sophomore (he placed third), and four are seniors.  WAY TO GO, ELI! (Yup, bustin’ my buttons proud!)  AND, Eli placed higher than ANY other Class B or C 145-lb wrestler (meaning he did better than the boys who won first and second last Saturday)!  The top three in each weight class from the Qualifier meet will compete in two weeks at New Englands.  And (drum roll) Connor Winchenbach, a senior, qualified to compete, too!  Way to go, Connor!

Then came food!  Connor’s parents and three teammates who traveled with them (the school did not provide a bus!) and the three of us went to Pizza Hut, and boy could you tell only Connor has to make weight.  Those boys ATE!  <beam>

Eating continued this morning with the first waffles in 3 1/2 months. My recipe, from Joy of Cooking, uses 3 eggs, and I generally think of it as feeding 3 people. I had 3 waffles (small). Eli had ALL the rest. <Beam!> I’ve missed feeding Eli!

Hmmm…just noticed my watermark needs the date changed! ….Anyway….

During breakfast guess what it was doing:  yep, snowing.  This is the FIFTH snowstorm/snowfall we’ve had in the past seven DAYS.  I ran out during breakfast to get this photo.  Good thing as the temperatures have just pushed above freezing and it has changed to (yuck) rain.  That means slush and, when the temperature drops tonight, ice.  Yuck.

HUGE snowflakes coming down during breakfast.

So that’s the past 52 hours.   Today:  work more on that quilt, hopefully work on a drawing lesson/class, and hang out with Eli on the last weekday of Winter Break.  Tomorrow:  to Portland with Eli to buy new running shoes for the upcoming Track and Field season, then to a SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) meeting in Portsmouth, NH on Sunday.  WOOT!  And fabric dyeing with Kathy, hopefully on Tuesday!!!  Double WOOT!

Well, I can tell I’ve been really busy when I realize how long it has been since I’ve blogged!   Maine’s Wrestling State tournaments were last weekend, and we are Class B. I am thrilled to say that Eli wrestled the best he has ever wrestled and came in Third!  AND–massively huge and loud DRUM ROLL Please!   The CAMDEN HILLS WRESTLING TEAM, well over half of which is Freshman and Sophomores (though Varsity is mostly Soph-Jr-Sr), WON STATES FOR THE THIRD TIME IN A ROW!   (and you betcha I’m shouting!) For such a young team to do so well is just amazing.  As usual, the rest of the state hates Camden, mostly because we keep winning.  Everyone said we couldn’t win last year, but they squeaked through with a 3-point victory.  This year it was a 24 point margin!   And for Eli to do so well as a Sophomore!   WOOT! More below…

Camden Hills Wrestling gets a THREE-Peat, winning Class B Maine State Wrestling Championship! Well done lady and gentlemen!

There has also been snow, more snow, more snow, and more snow coming.

The view heading out with the dog this morning, looking north.

And on the way back up the driveway. Our house faces north, facing the prevailing winds, so not much left on this side of the roof. It is hard because of drifts to guess how much snow we’ve got, but I’m guessing an average of about 18 inches. At least it is warm–we’re up to 30 degrees!

And I’ve been busy quilting, again, something I’m not at liberty to share until after jurying some time this summer.  Sigh.  It just pains me not to show in progress.  Maybe I’ll take a photo of a heap of pre-fused fabric just to be a wicked tease?  Anyway, here’s my week in pictures.

Eli pins a kid from Fryeburg (lovely town on the western border of the State) to get into the Consolation Finals (meaning he would place 3 or 4).

It seems all of us parents have good-luck things we do. I wear a C. Hills fleece vest to all his sports events, and I take photos of Eli warming up and getting ready for his next match. Most are totally worthy of being deleted–I just need to take the photo to have good juju! But here’s one of the kids and coaches on the sidelines (with the Belfast coach on the left).

Eli wrestled Belfast’s (neighboring town) Michael Mcfadden for 3rd/4th. Eli (and many of the rest of us) are pretty sure that he had Michael pinned, but the ref didn’t call it.

The customary shake before the ref raises Eli’s hand for the win. Still, Eli won by Major Decision (more than 8 points, I think final score was 15-4). Michael is a class act–told Eli he was glad his last high school match was against Eli. I didn’t get a chance to shake his hand at the meet so I Facebook messaged him (he and Eli are FB friends), to say congrats and he said the same thing to me. Let’s all wish Michael the best of life!

And on the podium–Eli doesn’t often smile this big even when he’s done well, so I’m really happy to see him SMILE!

As for the other part of the week: Shadows on snow this morning. I need to do some “Winter” quilts…. I just love the season! So crisp and bright and beautiful!

And the giggle moment, Pigwidgeon in snow after morning walkies. He could still walk it (not too deep, path not shoveled at the time), but definitely belly marks in the snow.

One of the things I love about winter is seeing critter tracks in the snow. Of course, these are likely mouse prints on our deck…which means we probably have at least one or a few additional residents. Hmmm…..

And more tracks on the snow heap in the corner between the kitchen/Eli’s bedroom and the master bedroom. I *think* they may be getting in the vent that is below the water spigot. Will deal with that in warmer weather!

Tomorrow we head off to All-States Wrestling Championship.  This is a first in Maine.  There are three “Classes” of schools (based mostly on size, though the logic of who is which class and how big the schools are and how a school can be Class A in one sport and Class B in another defies comprehension).  Some years, the top two or three in one class could easily beat the champion in another class.   But in the past the State Champion for each class would go to the New England Championships.  This year there will be a “king of the mountain” wrestle-off of the top four finishers in each weight class in all three classes.  Eli is a  long shot to qualify for New Englands, but it should be a good tournament with the best wrestlers in the state.  And on Friday, Eli finally gets WAFFLES for breakfast!  It’s been a long season without our Sunday treat!

And this week, that is definitely the priority order!   Last Saturday was Maine’s Eastern Regional Class B Wrestling Tournament, and this morning (I leave in an hour) is States!  Eli placed second last week, to a kid he beat at Eastern Regionals in 7th Grade (three years ago).  So today he is headed out to States with determination!  Eli was leading 7-3 until the last minute of the third period (three two-minute periods).  The other kid spotted an opening, took it, and won.  Bummers!   Eli handled it well, and we will see what happens today…I am VERY nervous, so send Eli “wrestle your best” thoughts please! He has worked SO HARD, that I would love  him to be able to meet his own and the coaches’ expectations!

Eli in the Finals at Maine’s 2014 Eastern Regional Wrestling Tournament

I’ve begun working on an entry for a juried invitational (where they set a theme, invite some folks to submit entries, and you hope you get in), but if I share, then I can’t enter.  So I can’t share.  And I have another good thing that happened, but can’t share that either!  AAAARGH!   So I’m really busy, happy, but must fight all natural impulses to share.

We had a couple recent snowstorms, were supposed to get one on Tuesday, then another one cropped up for tonight–predicting 10-16 inches!  On the one that ended yesterday it was supposed to be snow, sleet, snow, but it never turned back to snow.  So we ended up with about 6-8 inches of REALLY WET snow.  Luckily, Eli wanted to shovel it as training on the snow day from school (He told use we have used up the last of the school snow days, so if they have to have another, the school year will be extended!).

So that’s the news from Hope….stay tuned for today’s results.  One this is certain:  We will be and are proud of Eli!  Now, I need to eat breakfast, walk the dog, and then get on the road to Bath!

Have been insanely busy for the past two weeks or so with this and that, but I’ll start with the best first:  Eli’s wrestling season has begun!   A week ago the team attended a 6-team pre-season meet and WON despite some early-season wobbles by some team members.  Eli is, for the first time, losing a bit of weight which is commonplace in wrestling.  Fortunately, this is carefully monitored by the governing body and the school:  you weight in a couple weeks before the season, you are limited to losing only a small percentage of your body weight, and you cannot lose it too fast (or you can’t wrestle), and total body fat percentage cannot go to low.  So fear not, folks!  Anyway, Eli is wrestling at 145 pound weight class.

Eli, back to camera, begins getting ready mentally by pacing the sidelines. I get ready mentally by taking a “good juju” photo of him pacing.

The team begins warm-ups.

Eli practicing at warm-ups with Connor (Eli is facing the camera)

Eli’s (in red) first match. Notice the ref smacking the mat to indicate he has pinned his opponent and won.

Second match, against Massabesic. Pinned!

Eli: third match: pin! Are you noticing a trend here?

Then this weekend, while I was doing a fundraiser at the concessions stand at the high school (so the Cross Country and Track and Field teams can buy two EZ-Up tents), was the first official meet of the season.  Eli wrestled both at his own weight class and up one, at 152-lbs.   He had five matches.  He won one by forfeit (no opponent in the weight class on the other team).  Eli won three on points and one by a pin.  The above are all pins.  When you pin someone’s shoulders for a full second (which lasts a lot longer than you’d think, and especially if someone is wiggling their shoulders on and off the mat a lot), the match ends and you win.  Otherwise there are three periods of two minutes each.  You get various points for take downs, escapes, back points, and so on.   If you win on points, you have wrestled all three full periods (with delays for nosebleeds, stalemates, throwing up –when someone puts a REALLY tight waist on, and so on).

Eli’s fifth and final match was against the kid from local rival Belfast, a town about 30 minutes north of Camden Hills.  Said kid placed third at States last year.   At the end of regulation (the third period) it was tied at 5-5.  In DOUBLE OVERTIME ELI WON 9-5!!!!!!   WOW!   So he is still undefeated.  We are looking forward to the season, tho I’ll admit Eli is already looking forward to eating as much as he wants once the season is over in March!  Yes, I am an unabashedly Proud Mama!   (And he’s Honor Roll, too!)

Seven out of 14 of last year’s varsity wrestlers graduated.  The average age of this year’s varsity team is 15—very young for a high school team.  We had two seniors, two juniors (one of whom began wrestling in November), nine sophomores (one new to wrestling) and one Freshman (Eli) on the varsity team.  At the beginning of the season, Camden seemed poised to have a “rebuilding” year and not be the usual powerhouse team in the state. Prognosticators said Camden would likely end the season at 12th, not the usual 1 or 2 spot.   Apparently, no one told the boys and girl of the team.

Camden Hills Wrestling Team 2012-13, State Champions, and new friend and adopted teammate Michael Alvarez (State Champion at 152) of Morse in Bath, Maine–read below to find out why he’s so wonderful.

Twelve of them, including the two boys new to wrestling, qualified for STATES!  The team was undefeated in dual meets at 25-0.  They won the Class B title at the all-schools (class A, B) Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference.  They won Eastern Regionals.  At this point, the sports pundits revised their thinking and said Camden would likely finish third, possibly second but not first.  Once again, no one told the kids.  In a nail-biter finish, Camden beat Fryeburg Academy to win the State Championship 131.5 to 128.5 points…by a mere three points!  As coach Patrick Kelly pointed out to the local newspaper, EACH and EVERY kid who wrestled helped win (or not give away) critical points.  It was truly a team effort, capped with two State Champions, two runners up, two at third, one at fourth and an ELATED group of kids, coaches, parents and wrestling alums.

The coaches and this year’s graduation seniors, from L to R: Paul Smith and Perry Goodspeed (assistant coaches), Calan Bragg (132-lb and newly minted State Champion), Tia Silverio (Team Manager), Coleman Powers (154-lb and newly minted State Champion), Coach Patrick Kelly and Asst. Coach True Bragg (cousin to Calan)

It is now 4-5 days since the kids won, and I think we are all still floating on air.  I’ll share a bit about each of the boys who came home with a medal, a bit about Eli, and tell you about Michael.  I don’t think I’ve EVER heard of a team cheering so wildly for another team’s kid to win!

Eli had an amazing year, not only being ON the varsity team as a Freshman, but in making it to States.  He is the same weight as Coleman, but Coleman as a senior got to choose which weight class he wanted to wrestle (and frankly he could beat Eli easily so was a stronger component of the team in terms of contributing to team points).  That meant Eli had to wrestle up a weight class–and let me tell you wrestling against someone 7+  pounds heavier and older is a challenge.  Nonetheless, Eli did really well.  If they had places below 4th, Eli would have come in 5th or 6th at States–as a Freshman!  WOW!

Eli is in back and in control as he takes his opponent down to the mat to attempt to pin him.

Eli has control of his opponent’s arm, which allows him to turn him over and (in a few moments after this picture) pin him for the win.

And  proud papa Paul (and asst. coach) with Eli holding the team’s trophy for the State Championship:

Paul and Eli enjoying the team’s victory.

The team’s success came with  every single point scored or not given up to second place Freyburg Academy, including wins and scores from the boys who didn’t medal.  Those who did medal, brought extra critical points. Sophomore John Underhill had a couple of matches where he absolutely dominated:

John Underhill is very close to pinning this kid in an earlier match in the day. John came in fourth–well done!

John is getting close to another pin

Sophomore Jared Gilbert came through and won 3rd in the consolation finals:

The ref is checking as Jared presses his opponent into the mat

It is so nice to get the “hand up”! And I’ve finally, after years of trying, figured out when to snap so I actually get the shot in the nano-second the hand is UP! Jared WINS. You can see on the scoreboard that he won by a pin, because the clock has stopped with time in the second (of three) periods. Good job!

Sophomore Chriss Weiss (we’re so glad you’re back in Camden!) took another 3rd for Camden in a talent-laden weight class (126 lb).

Typical Chris: on top, in control, and ready to roll-em over.

Chris is just seconds away from the ref calling the pin and taking third! He needs to get the Mountain Valley boy’s left shoulder down, and it’s done.

James Archer (113 lb) and Connor Winchenbach (138 lb) came in second in the Finals against tough opponents.

The ref slams the mat in the “Pinned!” gesture in an early match. From this shot, you can see that the boy on the bottom has his shoulders flat on the mat…done for!

In the finals match, Connor wrestled one of the best wrestlers in the state, senior Daniel DelGallo from Gardiner. DelGallo is now a three-time state champion, but Connor wasn’t going to make his trip to the top of the stand easy! That’s Connor in front, yanking DelGallo off his feet.

Sophomore James Archer wrestled another State Champion, Fryeburg senior Connor Sheehan, in the finals.  Sheehan won his third state title and James came in second.

James Archer in an earlier match controls his opponent.

James gets the pin (with Eli shouting in the background)

Seniors Calan Bragg and Coleman Powers won their first State titles and absolutely decimated the competition.  Luckily, I got some great shots of them.  Glad I finally figured out how to get the shots before the season was over!

Calan Bragg is working his opponent down, but the Ellsworth boy is arching his back (it’s called bridging) to keep his sholders off the mat. The referee on the left is one of our favorites…a really nice guy who is fair and takes time to instruct the kids in the sport as he refs a match.

Calan flips his opponent over and is bringing him down to the mat.

Calan keeps working, getting him closer. Wrestling is a sport of mental as well as physical toughness. Determination pays off!

Coleman is SO darn fast that I have a hard time getting photos of him–he’s usually a blur! The first photo is from an earlier match in the tournament, the others during his Championship Finals.

Can you say “dramatic move”…. unbelievable! And the wrestler must control the opponent all the way down so that he lands safely (although sometimes hard) on the mat.

Coleman getting ready to crank his opponent over onto his back!

Coleman takes down his Freyburg opponent in the Finals. Coleman pinned him in 53 seconds in the first round.

But even with all that excellence, the win for the team title was NOT in the bag.  We were leading Fryeburg by only a few points.  Fryeburg had two more boys in the finals.  If both won, they would win the State title for their team.  If one came in second, Camden would win by a slender three points. The second boy won.  The first of the two Fryeburg boys was in the 152 pound weight class up against Michael Alvarez of Morse (Bath, Maine).  At the KVAC tournament several weeks ago, Eli pointed him out as they were in the same weight class and told me:  see him, he’s the one that’s gonna win states.  Can I say how ELATED WE ALL ARE that he DID!

The Camden team, parents, and supporters were watching the VERY close match, which changed lead a couple of times, screaming and cheering loudly.  Michael won by a narrow margin on points at the end of the third period, and the Camden crowd went crazy!  I think every kid on the team and half the parents sought him out to congratulate and thank him.  The kids even invited him to join us for a team “victory” photo with the trophy, and he did.  Here he is kneeling down in front to join the team as they all give him a round of applause and Coach Goodspeed shakes his hand.  And it turns out he’s a really nice kid, too!

In blue (kneeling in front on right, shaking hands with G), Michael Alvarez of Morse school in Bath. Congratulations, Michael on your State Championship and the best of luck at New Englands!

So as you might guess by this massive post, we are all SO HAPPY and still floating on air.  The kids were amazing–all of them, including the JV members of the team who helped their teammates during the season.  The coaches did an amazing job bringing out the best in this young squad.  Looking forward to next year–so proud of all of them!

Next, we will return to actual quilting in Hope, Maine!