Changes...

Yes, you are hearing the sound of crickets. This blog has been very neglected for the past several months for the obvious reason...we have moved out of Canada. Work has sent us back to the USA and after what seemed like a very long time, we have settled into a new house back in the Chicago area just days before Christmas. Moving back to the USA has come with a sense of reverse transition like we went through four years ago upon moving to Quebec. So much has changed, yet so much has stayed the same.

We've returned with great memories from our time in Canada. A few not-so-great memories, but most of those include petty details and the usual government obstacles we would face just about anywhere. We learned a lot in Quebec, Danielle earned a kick-ass high school education and Louis is a Special Olympics ski champion. Paul experienced working in a new culture (and got to ski a lot) and I left with many dear girlfriends I know I'll have throughout my lifetime. I also left with a new appreciation of speed limits in the USA as they really are more reasonable than Quebec.

Adding to the irony of so many things is moving into the new house right before Christmas and thankfully with decent Chicago weather. As the movers were unloading the truck and bringing in boxes I would have to check off the box number and take note of the box contents to tell them where to place the box -- or what I said most often -- "in the basement." After dozens of boxes were labeled "ornaments"I was confused because it seemed like I must have more ornaments than the White House. It was then that I realized "ornaments" to the French-speaking packers must mean "knick knacks" or what I have come to call "crap."

For the record, we found THE ornaments a couple of days before Christmas and the stockings the day after Christmas.

We are happy to be settled in our new home and Duke is trying to figure out "his" place in the new surroundings.  For those who have moved in the past, you know the packers pack anything, including garbage. While looking through yet another "ornament" box to find THE ornaments, I was unwrapping and unwrapping thinking I would find something really fragile, like an ornament, only to unwrap this...

Two of Duke's tennis balls. We are finding balls in every other box. Duke is enjoying the unpacking process even though we put these balls in some random drawer or cabinet which will likely be packed up in a future move. Or they might stay for a while, since we're hoping to stay for a while.

As for this blog. I'm not certain. While the transition has been interesting and our family is by no means boring, I'm going to evaluate after the first of the year and it may take on a new look or a new theme.

Until then, or as my Quebec friends know I love to say....à la prochaine.

NHL, MLB, WTF

There's no doubt we're Chicago White Sox fans. Our family is particularly fond of General Manager Ozzie Guillen. His rants and raves are classic. Just You Tube them for yourself.

It seems as though each time Ozzie and the Sox travel to Toronto to play the Blue Jays, Ozzie seems to ruffle feathers, no pun intended. We were particularly amused when Paul's brother Dan emailed us this story from The Onion...


CHICAGO—Following the latest outburst from the much-sanctioned White Sox manager, officials from the National Hockey League fined Ozzie Guillen $25,000 Monday in order to see if he would pay. "We saw that he had taken a few jabs at his critics before the Blue Jays game and we decided, well, what the heck?" said NHL chief disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan, adding that the league knew it was a long shot but decided it couldn’t hurt to try. "We need the money, and if he doesn't pay, we lose nothing. Plus, come on, he totally deserves it." When reached for comment, Guillen said he would pay the fine, as he cannot afford to be suspended by the NHL during the Stanley Cup finals.

Who says hockey and baseball don't mix?

2004 or 2005 ish

Random photo 5.18.11

Yes, for obvious reasons we continue to be known as "The Chicago House" in the neighborhood.

the Daily Duke 2.27

Is it any wonder why we are known as the Chicago sports family in the neighborhood?

Sending Canadian Christmas to Illinois...

We couldn't be with the Pisani's in Chicago this year so we thought we would send come Canadian spirit their way. Merry Christmas!

Les Football

We're with you in spirit, Chicago. Weather and all. We have the delightful opportunity to watch today's Patriots/Bears game in English and French.

White Sox vs. Toronto

A few weeks ago Kish and Louis took the Via Rail train to Toronto to meet Paul who was there on business. Danielle was in Calgary that week and we let Louis have a "sick day" in order to cheer on the White Sox in Toronto. I wish more people could experience train travel -- it was awesome. Fares between Toronto and Montreal are affordable and it's a popular route. In our case it was less than driving since we would be driving back with Paul. The train station is ten minutes from our house (next to the airport) and the train goes right to downtown Travel and a ten minute walk to the Rogers Center. Louis loved the train and even ate a sandwich he wouldn't touch if his mom made it at home, but for whatever reason, on the train it was "really really good."

We were able to get to the stadium in plenty of time to watch the White Sox warm up. And we had a motive of hoping to get autographs since Sox fans sort of stood out in this empty stadium.

We stood there waiting and Mark Kotsay walked up to Louis. He signed his ball, looked at it and said "is this your ball son?" Louis nodded yes and Kotsay said "you need a real Major League Baseball ball" and went out on the field and grabbed one and signed the second ball.

Then Kotsay went down the line signing more autographs when he looked over at Louis and asked if he wanted a picture. Louis, being very shy said "no." Not because he didn't want to but he gets really quiet when he's in a cool situation. So Kotsay was signing collector cards from some of the "professional" autograph seekers when he looked over at Louis again.

So after signing the Mark Kotsay card from the professional he looked at the guy and said "You will be giving this card to Louis." It was then that he handed the card to Louis and the professional just said "uh, okay."

Louis had a smile on his face the entire game and came home with two signed balls and an awesome trading card. He wanted to give one of the balls to his buddy Liam in Chicago.

It happened to be Jackie Robinson day. We had to explain to some Canadians in back of us who Jackie Robinson was when she was confused as to why every player was wearing #42 jerseys.

The Rogers Center is an amazing structure. The roof started out open and after a couple of innings they closed it. It's very similar to the stadium in Milwaukee.

Sadly, the White Sox lost. We have yet to see them win while we've been attending games in Canada. And the crowd? Very dismal, yet, surprisingly very LOUD. It must be all that practice at hockey games. Or perhaps the Blue Jays team is all they have to cheer for for since the Maple Leaves suck were not doing well. Ozzie Guillen had a few choice words to say about the fans. For us, it was no different than any Chicago game.

Proud of the Blackhawks

Thanks to Theresa Caracci (hockey mom and wife) in Naperville for sending this great story. We're proud to hang our Blackhawks flag out front -- despite the flack we get from the neighbors and the mailman! They are good sports, really, just very serious about hockey as this story details. The GM of the Blackhawks is from Quebec....

In the middle of a grueling six game road trip where a very young hockey team is away from home, the third game of the trip ends late on a cold Canadian Saturday night. This is the only break on the trip and the three days between games allow them the only break to get back home in their own beds for a couple of days before going back on the road. A scheduled commercial flight waits for them at Toronto's International Airport for the short flight home; they could be home by midnight. This plane departs on schedule, but without a single member of the hockey team. Back in the locker room a vote is taken after the game was complete, and a unanimous decision is made by this young team to skip this flight and stay one more day. They make arrangements to check back in the hotel and on a frozen Sunday morning charter two buses that have no heat and begin a journey two hours straight north into a sparsely inhabited Canada , but where hockey is its passion. They arrive at their destination to the surprise of the teams general manager who is there attending his fathers wake.

After a few emotional hours, this team boards the buses and heads back for a two-hour trip back to Toronto. On the way they ask the drivers to stop in a tiny Canadian town because they are hungry. To the shock of the patrons and workers at this small hockey town McDonald's, a professional team walks out of two rickety buses and into the restaurant, which just happens to have pictures of two members of this team on its wall. The patrons know every single one of these players by sight being Fanatic fans of hockey in these parts. One can only imagine their amazement of the locals seeing and the entire professional hockey team sit down and have a meal in their tiny little town
in the middle of a hockey season. After a while they board the buses and catch their same flight 24 hours later, giving one day to their general manager.

Have I made this up, is this an excerpt from some fictional book? No.

This a true story of the Blackhawks last Saturday night and they decided to attend Dale Tallon's fathers funeral. It’s amazing that such a good story can be found nowhere on the internet, and not even mentioned in the Chicago papers. Had one of the Blackhawks got into a fight and punched some drunken loser in a Toronto bar it would be plastered all over papers and the television. This being said, its hard to imagine any professional football, basketball or baseball team doing this, but the members of the Blackhawks claim any "hockey" team would have done this. This is one reason I continue to be a big hockey fan, and another reason I am excited about this Chicago team. I thought I would share as this story appears to have gone unnoticed.

GO BLACKHAWKS!!!!

As a side note...I did a Google search and could not find this story anywhere. The Blackhawks play the Canadians in Montreal on March 31!