Sunday, January 6th, 2013
Just a quick pop in to say hi and share two photos. I didn’t know we were going to be getting any weather in, and look what a beautiful sight I woke up to this morning:
![A lovely surprise this morning](https://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/2013.01.Blog_.January6th001.jpg)
A lovely surprise this morning
And here is where we’ve been the past two days: the Sanford Invitational wrestling tournament. It is in southern Maine, an invitational of top teams from New England from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. The competition is probably at the highest level you will see in Maine. One of our state champions from last year who IS a really good wrestler didn’t even place! The meet last weekend at Noble and this weekend at Sanford are so competitive, that they award medals to the top six, not the usual top 4.
Usually, Camden Hills is among the top 3 or 4 teams at Sanford, but we lost 7 of 13 starters to graduation last year, and two of the remaining varsity wrestlers were unable to compete due illness/injury. That meant we had a whopping 4 kids of 13 who had competed there before. Still, FIVE managed to place: four came in 5th: James Archer, Chris Weiss, Connor Winchenbach and Jared Gilbert, (Connor is a Junior, the others are sophomores), and ELI came in 6th! Yes, as a Freshman he PLACED at Sanford! So we are popping proud of our boy, of all the kids who wrestled, and the entire team who came along (even the one with a bad stomach flu came down with his mom to cheer on the team as best he could) to support the wrestlers. Way to go CHills! (short for Camden Hills Regional High School).
![The critical win: the other boy was in the lead by 8+ points, a "major decision," when Eli realized well into the final period that is was do-it-or-die. He DID it! And here is the result... Eli has the kid in a pin, and the ref is down looking to see if both shoulder blades are on the mat for one second. DONE! It is remarkable for any Freshman to medal at Sanford, and especially not in one of the major competitive weight classes (it is still difficult, but not as bad, in the extreme upper and lower weight classes as there are fewer wrestlers in the 220+ weights or the 106 and 113 pound classes).](https://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/2013.01.Blog_.January6th002.jpg)
The critical win: the other boy was in the lead by 8+ points, a “major decision,” when Eli realized well into the final period that is was do-it-or-die. He DID it! And here is the result… Eli has the kid in a pin, and the ref is down looking to see if both shoulder blades are on the mat for one second. DONE! It is remarkable for any Freshman to medal at Sanford, and especially not in one of the major competitive weight classes (it is still difficult, but not as bad, in the extreme upper and lower weight classes as there are fewer wrestlers in the 220+ weights or the 106 and 113 pound classes). That’s the sound of mama’s buttons popping with pride!
And if there are any other wrestling moms out there, here is an article in the PenBay Pilot, a local online newspaper.
And a PS: thank you Dorothy for asking what a Freshman is! We have kindergarten (usually age 5), then eight “primary and middle school” grades starting at age 6. High school is grades 9-12, and Freshman is the 9th grade, followed by Sophomore, Junior and Senior. I’ll add that to the blog!
Posted in Home, Hope, Maine, Winter, Wrestling | 4 Comments »
Sunday, December 30th, 2012
Well, it is clearly winter in Maine! Now that Eli is in high school, wrestling begins around Thanksgiving and winds up in early February (in high school it began late January and ended the very end of March), just in time for the coldest and snowiest weather outside. Currently we have warmed up to 21 F, with a wind chill of 7. Hmmm. Good day to stay indoors!
![About 11 a.m. this morning. Notice the plow pile that is taller than the car and about 35 feet wide?](https://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2012.12.Blog_.NobleSnow004.jpg)
About 11 a.m. this morning. Notice the plow pile that is taller than the car and about 35 feet wide? The snow on the walk is more than knee-deep! When Eli shoveled them later, he measured: 24 inches deep in spots! We didn’t get that much in snowfall, but it blows like crazy on our hill.
This is the view out the door this morning….that is hubby’s car and the snow plow pile. We have received all that snow since the 26th! Sheesh! Snow is still coming down. Well…coming down sideways with the wind! Our drive wasn’t plowed when I got home last night and I slid sideways into the plow mess on the side, so will call AAA later this morning to pull me out! Our wonderful neighbor and plow guy came when I called about 7:30 to plow and put down sand for me, but no luck getting out on my own. So he drove me up to the house (a quarter mile from where I was stuck) and then finished plowing. Then Paul got home several hours and inches of snow later, and he got stuck, too! He got his car up this morning though, so only I need AAA!
So why were we out in this mess? Well, this weekend was the Noble Tournament, the biggest, most competitive high school wrestling tournament in Maine. There were 41 schools and over 400 wrestlers! That’s a lot of sweating, mostly male, bodies <grin>! Eli did well for a Freshman, and came up against some serious competition.
![The Meet is large: four mats going at once to get through the 300+ wrestlers on Day One.](https://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2012.12.Blog_.NobleSnow002.jpg)
The Meet is large: four mats going at once to get through the 400+ wrestlers on Day One. PS: Eli learned that Noble (the high school) is an acronym for North Berwick and Lebanon, the two towns! Cool!
Eli’s first match again a kid from LaSalle in Rhode Island he lost by just two points. He was seriously irked with himself, as he felt he could have wrestled better, but he worked hard and never gave up! It was hard for Eli because in all of 7th and 8th grade, he lost a grand total of ONE match! Welcome to high school and the big leagues and being the youngest again.
![Eli is in red. The LaSalle boy has his arms in control, so Eli is arching up to keep from getting pinned. He managed that, losing only 5-7.](https://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2012.12.Blog_.NobleSnow009.jpg)
Eli is in red. The LaSalle boy has his arms in control, so Eli is arching up to keep from getting pinned. He managed that, losing only 5-7.
Alas, it ended this way, but still Eli didn’t let the kid pin him, despite being there:
![Eli got out of this scrape...you can see the ref's hand on the left where he is down on the mat looking to see if Eli's shoulders are on the mat. Fortunately not!](https://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2012.12.Blog_.NobleSnow003.jpg)
Eli got out of this scrape…you can see the ref’s hand on the left where he is down on the mat looking to see if Eli’s shoulders are on the mat. Fortunately not!
On the way down to the meet earlier in the day, I pulled over in Appleton, about 3 miles from home, to snap this picture of the valley looking east–this is for Debby H. and all of you who prefer your snow vicariously:
![The view from Route 131 over the valley; Sennebec Lake is down below the crest of the near hill.](https://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2012.12.Blog_.NobleSnow001.jpg)
The view from Route 131 over the valley; Sennebec Lake is down below the crest of the near hill.
Back to the meet: Eli won his second match (also on day 1) handily:
![Eli dominated in this match.](https://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2012.12.Blog_.NobleSnow008.jpg)
Eli dominated in this match. Here he has his right are wrapped around and under the opponent’s right arm, with one hand on his neck to then lever and turn him over on his back.
![And another move: grind your opponent into the mat so he can't move. Erk!](https://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2012.12.Blog_.NobleSnow007.jpg)
And another move: grind your opponent into the mat so he can’t move. Erk! Here Eli is doing that under-over-twist thing again.
For his third match on day 2, Eli lost 11-0, his first shut-out in about three or four years! They had removed one mat and opened up more bleachers, which made seating more spacious.
![Despite the fact that the Massabesic kid (who was in the State finals last year, meaning one of the top two), Eli was able to be in control for a bit of the match, and there were several times where the ref called a "stalemate" and had them get up and return to starting position.](https://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2012.12.Blog_.NobleSnow005.jpg)
Despite the fact that the Massabesic kid (who was in the State finals last year, meaning one of the top two), Eli was able to be in control for a bit of the match, and there were several times where the ref called a “stalemate” and had them get up and return to starting position. On the lower left you can see Asst. Coach True Bragg in the black shirt.
![Most of the match, though, the boy in green dominated.](https://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2012.12.Blog_.NobleSnow006.jpg)
Most of the match, though, the boy in green dominated. He looks like a Junior or Senior. My personal theory is that boys grow like dog years. For every calendar year, they get 7 years of growth/strength. If you take two boys of equal skill and weight, but one is two years older, the older boy will absolutely be stronger. So Eli did a great job NOT getting pinned and taking him to stalemates.
About 2:20 pm after Eli was out of the matches, Paul came and suggested that, since Eli was out, I might want to head home as the storm was coming. I decided that I could wait until it was all over at 8:30 and drive home tired, in the dark, in the driving snow, or I could be sensible. For the first hour on the way home I regretted leaving, but the more I drove and the more it snowed, the happier I was that I was that much closer to home. A two and a half hour drive turned into four hours. The interstate speed limit is 65. They had a storm speed limit up of 45. Everyone was driving about 30 MPH! At least here in Maine, folks are sensible and go only as fast as conditions allow even if the limit is higher. I got to the bottom of the drive at 7. Finally got to the house (3/10 a mile uphill) about 40 minutes later. Thanks again to Alex! Paul, Eli and the schoolbus got back to the high school after midnight and to the bottom of the drive at about 1 a.m. I finally got back up and watched a Project Runway episode while I waited and worried. It took them over half an hour to try to get up the driveway, then walk!
So that’s it for now! I hope to finish a book about some people called the Red Paint People who lived in Maine 4000 (yes, four THOUSAND) years ago today and tomorrow, then start a quilt for a juried invitational exhibit. It’ll be good to get back to fabric and thread!
Posted in Family, Home, Maine, Winter, Wrestling | 3 Comments »
Sunday, December 9th, 2012
Sheesh…. crazy busy here! I had surgery on my left foot on Friday, the same as what I had in August on my right foot, for arthritis removal. Things are going quite well and pain-free, but I have been insanely busy getting stuff done in anticipation of bobbing around on one foot for a week! Last Saturday was the start of Eli’s high school wrestling career, with a pre-season meet that included Class A, B and C schools (Camden Hills is Class B). Eli had three matches: his first was against a senior and the defending Class C State Champion (!!!!). Astonishingly, Eli managed to get a couple of escape points and NOT get pinned, which under the circumstances was amazing (since boys’ strength increases exponentially each year…kinda like dog years!). Then he won his next two matches convincingly.
![2012.12.Blog.WrestlingFoot010](https://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2012.12.Blog_.WrestlingFoot010.jpg)
Illuminated script lettering from Val Webb’s Watercolor Lettering class.
I’ve also been taking the most WONDERFUL online “Watercolor Lettering” class with Val Webb. The class is hosted privately, not via an online store or school. She creates a private group on Facebook where we can share, you download instructions from a password-protected blog (that is open for about 4 months which you have to work on the 10-week class), and there are video tutorials (some 30 minutes long!) there. I have learned SO MUCH! The example above is one I completed today, and it is probably the best thing I’ve ever done in watercolors. Val’s critiques are offered privately or, if you ask, on the group. Since I learn so much from reading the critiques, I have gladly offered mine up for sharing on the group, as have others. Val is generous yet points out in the nicest way what you can work on…helping you see where there are inconsistencies that might be done differently the next time. Just wonderful!
![2012.12.Blog.WrestlingFoot004](https://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2012.12.Blog_.WrestlingFoot004.jpg)
Me at home last night, showing a friend what the knee scooter looks like.
On Friday, after slamming all week to get stuff done in my studio, mow about 8 acres (literally) of meadow before winter and get the riding mower tucked away for winter, and do chores more easily done from two feet, I had my second surgery. Basically, the doc puts you under with something similar to the anasthesia they use for a colonoscopy (you have blissful amnesia after the fact), then takes a drill to remove the arthritic growth from one’s big toe. The only hard part for me, last time, was that I had to use a walker (crutches would ahve been as bad); because of the arthritis in my thumbs, putting weight on my hands to get to places (like the bathroom) was SO painful–far worse than the foot! So the ER recovery nurse suggested we rent a “knee scooter.” A what? She pulled it up on a laptop, showed me, we called the Medical supply place in Portland (on our way home) to reserve one, and I am SO HAPPY! I can get around the house easily!
![2012.12.Blog.WrestlingFoot006](https://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2012.12.Blog_.WrestlingFoot006.jpg)
Eli’s first match yesterday, in the official season-opener meet, was against the MDI (Mount Desert Island) kid who placed third in Eastern Regionals last year. As you can see, the boy (in green) is seriously ripped–that’s Eli in red grabbing his leg.
So easily, in fact, that since this surgery is on my left foot, I was told I could drive whenever I felt up to it. Well, yesterday was Eli’s first “official” high school wrestling meet and I had been SO bummed I wouldn’t be able to go due to the walker. Not any more! I felt up to it, and I MADE IT to the meet! It helps that the meet was in a town only 30 minutes drive, too. So I got myself and scooter into my car and went! And Eli had a fabulous start (of course he did, he rocks!). As a matter of fact, the team had a fabulous start. They lost 7 out of 13 Varsity team members to graduation last year, including 3 state champions. Yet, the team WON the 6-team Class B meet! Ellsworth obliterated four of the other teams, and Camden Hills obliterated Ellsworth. Can we all say “WAY COOL!”
![2012.12.Blog.WrestlingFoot007](https://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2012.12.Blog_.WrestlingFoot007.jpg)
Well…here’s just before the end of the third period, where Eli is getting the MDI boy on his back, again. Eli won, 10-3! That’s against the boy who was 3rd at Eastern Regionals last year. Papa Smith was VERY pleased!
![2012.12.Blog.WrestlingFoot005](https://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2012.12.Blog_.WrestlingFoot005.jpg)
And another move, where Eli is cranking on the boy in green, trying to get his shoulders to the mat and pin him, thereby ending the match immediately. He almost managed a couple of times, but this was definitely his toughest match of the day. The boy in green, by the way, is swiveling his hips to face down to prevent Eli from getting the pin, and the referee is down on the mat so he can peer underneath when it is close to see if it is a pin or not-quite.
![2012.12.Blog.WrestlingFoot008](https://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2012.12.Blog_.WrestlingFoot008.jpg)
Eli’s second match was against another seriously-strong young man from Ellsworth, here. Although this photo is blurry, I love how it shows the motion and intensity of the matches. That’s Eli on the left driving in to his opponent.
![2012.12.Blog.WrestlingFoot001](https://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2012.12.Blog_.WrestlingFoot0011.jpg)
Honestly, I’m not sure why the wrestlers (boys and girls) love this so much. Personally, I would not love having someone’s knee in my back and my face held into the mat! Eli is (duh) in good control position here.
![2012.12.Blog.WrestlingFoot002](https://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2012.12.Blog_.WrestlingFoot002.jpg)
And a win “by fall” (which means Eli pinned his opponent, the kind of win that gets the team the most points). Eli also won his third match, which was against the JV member of the Belfast team. The varsity 152-pounder wasn’t there, but is apparently exceedingly good, was 3rd at States last year.
So, Eli’s official start to his high school wrestling (supplemented by two win-by-forfeits, where the opposing team didn’t have a kid to compete in his weight class) is a 5-0 record. WELL DONE! The rest of the team did extremely well… so proud of all of them including the coaches, kids, JV, and manager. This year the coaches are: PK, the high school science teacher, former coach and former Camden Hills wrestler and State Champion is coach, True Bragg is Asst Coach (had been Middle School coach, and he too went to Camden and was State Champion), Coach Goodspeed (been around since 1982 as head coach, part of the room and asst coach) and Paul as Asst Coach also. Thanks to the men, ranging in age from mid 20s to 70 ish, for helping. WOOT!
So that’s what I’ve been doing. Since I am allowed to put NO WEIGHT on my left foot all week, I hope to get caught up on some computer work: accounting for my teaching trips this year, learning InDesign (or at least starting), learning my new iPhone (I LOVE IT!), caught up on watercolor lessons, make some small Christmas gifties, write the Christmas newsletter, order the Christmas cards, do some fun reading, watch a couple DVDs I ordered like a year ago… hmmm…sounds like I need several weeks! I promise to try to be better about blogging! Meanwhile, enjoy the holiday season. Happy Hannukah to those who celebrate–personally, I believe in joining in all celebrations of light and goodness and joy!