World Cup Soccer!!!!!

So the world cup has been amazing. I've realized now that the past three world cups I've found time to watch a substantial number of the games. Korea in 2002 was a little tough because the games started at like 5:30 but it was great because it was right before I went to university and I wasn't working so I had the time. I watched Germany's games religiously as they rolled Saudi Arabia 8-0 even ancient strikers like Bierhoff were getting in on the action in that game. I also remember the memorable game in the quarters against USA where US fans to this day swear that Frings robbed the US of a goal with a handball on the goal line which remains controversial to this day. I also remember the heartbreak when Oliver Kahn the German keeper and Captain who had played AMAZING let in two soft goals against the fat old and extremely annoying (but still surprisingly agile and quick) Ronaldo. After that Germany had another great run in 2006 and another great run this year. As of 2006 I have also begun to follow the mexican side with great interest and hope taht they will do well.

Im not really sure if soccer has made me a better person per se or any thing like that but I know for sure that it is something that has helped me connect with people throughout the world which is something that hockey or other sports has not allowed me to. I hope that one day I will be able to cheer for Canada. Something interesting about the German team this year is that they have 11 players that were either born or have significant roots (raised or parents) from other countries such as Poland but also Brazil, Ghana, Turkey, Argentina Tunisia and others including key players such as Podolski, Klose, Cacoa. I'm hoping that Canada will follow this model and import more players with last names like De Rosario so that one day probably not anytime soon but one day before I die Canada just might make it to the World Cup ....... and not lose every game. In honour of this dream I have posted a current picture of the Canadian national soccer team. Notice the large contingent of "decidedly not white" players as well as the decidely "not originally from Canada" looking players to which I say come come and bring your friends

Ethiopian Food!

There is a whole row of delicious restaurants here in Little Ethiopia, and we tried one of them out tonight! It was fun to eat Ethiopian style, with our hands, and taste a different cuisine. We ordered the big sampler platter. They bring out this yummy spongy, flat bread that's kind of like crepes. You use it to pick up the tasty morsels of food: chicken, lamb, beef... veggies. It's really fun and quite good! I couldn't tell how much I ate though because we were all sharing. After all the jokes of scarcity, I think we were all pretty full when we left!

Behold The Lowly Tomato

As I've probably noted previously, we're growing a garden in our friends' yard. To make a long story short, this kind of sharecropping was necessary in our apartment dwelling life. It has been, mostly, a lovely experience. Both families labor and split the costs of the endeavor and share equally in the spoils.

I've spent a little more time in the garden this week with our friends and the rest of the Puentes all out of town. Our tomato plants are starting to fruit and what a terrific variety of colors and shapes we've got going. I harvested a handful of the first fruits yesterday. I didn't think much of it until I got home, but decided to make a simple Caprese salad (tomatoes, mozarella and basil, lightly dressed with olive oil, salt and pepper). It was indescribably good, better than any salad I've had at fine restaurants. It is just one of the many transcendent experiences I've had in that garden over the last few months.

Not to complain about this modern world of ours, with so many blessings and benefits, but I feel sad that so few have the experience of a garden. Of the miracle of watching things grow and of tasting of the direct fruits of our labor. For me, a garden is a real testimony builder. I thought I'd see if anyone else out there felt the same. A google search for "god" and "tomato" yielded this result:

“Behold, the lowly tomato, token of God’s goodness, sign of his love and favor!” And thus our kids were introduced verbally to this dazzling, created order.

They were introduced much earlier with catechism questions:

Q. Who made you?
A. God made me.

Q. What else did God make?
A. God made all things.

Q. Why did God make you and all things?
A. For his own glory.

But, “Behold, the lowly tomato” was tangible, it was red, and juicy and sweet. And I hope they’ll always remember the tomato, token of God’s love and goodness. http://beholdthelowlytomato.wordpress.com/2008/04/16/why-the-lowly-tomato/

I couldn't have put it better my self.

The New World And The World Cup

John and I went to a sports bar for lunch today to catch the game. It was a blast! We were both rooting for our respective ancestral teams (John for Germany and me for Spain) even though it went counter to our picks (of course, my hopes of catching up to Nana were minimal to begin with). It occurred to me that the Puente boys have family ties with 3 out of 4 of the semi-finalists. The Spanish and German relationships are obvious. Additionally my great-grandfather was half Dutch. I love family history and its been really fun to have a bit more of tie to this years world cup than in years past.

Mom takes sole possession of the lead in world cup pool

The quarterfinals of the world cup are now finished and now taking sole possession of first place is Mom!

The leaderboard after the quarterfinals are:

1. Mom 315 points (2 teams remaining)
2. Beej 305 points (2 teams remaining
3. Ian (tie) 280 points (2 teams remaining)
3. Rico (tie) 280 points (1 team remaining)
5. Woozie 265 points (1 team remaining)

6-10 place finishers (including me arrgh!) only have 0 or 1 team remaining and have picked winners who are already out so will most certainly not win the pool!)

The second game of the semi-finals is today and after that we will have a better idea of who will win. This much I will reveal ... two of the top finishers have picked Germany to win and one has picked Spain to win so a lot of it will come down to who actually picks the correct winner.

Hopefully everyone will be able to watch some of the semi-finals and finals which I'm hoping will be good games.

Canada Day Party

This week it was a blast celebrating two countries' birthdays. Spence, Beej, and a few other friends came over on Canada Day to join Rach and I and our roommates for a Canada day party! We enjoyed some delicious strawberry shortcake which Rach had made to perfection! We watched 'I Am Canadian,' (which is a beer commercial, but still a good poem.) We looked at and played with my canadian coin collection and canadian stamps. We also talked about what we like about Canada. The mountains, clean air, and people!

Happy 4th of July!

I realize that we are a mixed nationality family and that many of you are in Canada today. That said, I wanted to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July. It has always been one of my favorite holidays. For the food, the fireworks and for what we're celebrating. We enjoy unprecedented freedoms in this day and age, in many countries. But much of what is now taken for granted in the western world started here. I'm grateful to those men and women who fought to promote liberty and freedom and to those, through the years, who have continued that fight. May we all, regardless of country, have a lovely Independence Day!

Those who won our independence believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty. ~Louis D. Brandeis

America is much more than a geographical fact. It is a political and moral fact - the first community in which men set out in principle to institutionalize freedom, responsible government, and human equality. ~Adlai Stevenson

You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism. ~Erma Bombeck