TRIBUTE TO THE GIANTS

“Orange is the happiest color.”
~Frank Sinatra

I've been planning this ORANGE series for quite a while now, and the Giants were not in my agenda.  But with the increasing excitement surrounding these torturous events, I can't help but be gravitated to it myself.  So for all ye faithful Giants fans (esp. my hubby), this one's for YOU!  Enjoy.

"It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring, who reaps a harvest in the Autumn." ~B.C. Forbes (Trader Joe's, Fall 2009)

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." ~Albert Camus (early morning in front of my son's school, Fall 2008)

"Seventy-five percent of our planet is water - can you swim?" ~Author Unknown (San Jose Swim Meet, March 2010)

“When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain.” ~Mark Twain (Local Fair, Summer 2010)

"If junk food is the devil, then a sweet orange is as scripture." ~Audrey Foris (Clement Street, 2010)

"The fireworks begin today. Each diploma is a lighted match. Each one of you is a fuse." ~Edward Koch (taken by hubby, Washington, DC, July 4th, 2010)

"It was great to have the time off. It was kind of a lifesaver." ~Jake Kuresa (Kids Camp, Emigrant Gap, 2009)

“A woman is like a tea bag, you can not tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.” ~Nancy Reagan (A neighbor's front yard, Fall 2009)

"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie." ~Jim Davis (Clement Street, 2005)

"God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems..." ~Genesis 1:21 (Monterey Bay, 2003)

"Trip over love, you can get up.  Fall in love and you fall forever."  ~Author Unknown (My cousin's vibrant wedding)

"Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years.  We grow old by deserting our ideals.  Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul."  ~Samuel Ullman (I just love seeing these lovely docents @ Academy of Sciences, Fall 2009)

"Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you." ~Nathaniel Hawthorne (taken by one of my kids, Conservatory of Flowers, Summer 2008 • It thought I was a flower =.)

“One who sits between two chairs may easily fall down.” ~Proverb (Academy of Sciences, Fall 2009)

"If I can put one touch of rosy sunset into the life of any man or woman, I shall feel that I have worked with God." ~G.K. Chesterton (Kids Camp, Emigrant Gap, Summer 2008)

Ben, the Surfer Dude, #capturingstrangers, Ocean Beach, Spring 2010

 Coming home, 10.2010

"Baseball is a man maker.” ~Al Spalding (Serious fans here, Spring 2010)

“Awards mean a lot, but they don't say it all. The people in baseball mean more to me than statistics.” ~Ernie Banks

In My Giant Experience, you can read how we acquired this coveted Lincecum bobblehead.  My husband is an earnest Giants fan and has been collecting bobbleheads since the turn of the century. Doesn't that make him sound so old?  Well, he's not. *My daughter just commented it was also the turn of the millennium.  Now, that's ancient =.)

This past spring his workplace held a fundraising relief effort to help the Haiti victims where he donated most of his prized collections of Giants bobbleheads. These (photographed here) are the only ones he kept. I, being a non-baseball fan, don't even know most of them except for Barry Bonds. Sad, huh?  Now, I know who's Le Freak!  He also re-created a vintage subway bus scroll for the fundraising event.  You can go to my Craft Blog to see his beautiful handiwork.

To continue my previous post: The lesson we wanted to impart with our kids was not to set our minds on material things.  Rather, seek first what is MOST important.  And almost immediately, (we) he was blessed in return.  It was totally unexpected but absolutely welcomed.

Now, did that make a Giants fan out of me?  Perhaps. I even crafted these orange rosettes (out of fabric scraps) which I've been wearing, along with composing this blog post, to give tribute to a great baseball team.

What do you think? So easy to make. Check out this tutorial and make fun projects for the holidaze.  In the meantime, here's...

Wishing the GIANTS the best in the World Series! ¡VAMANOS GIGANTES!

Oh, by the way, they won the third game in Atlanta for our 18th anniversary on 10.10.10!  
Isn't that fabulous?

My GIANT Experience

The other sports are just sports.  Baseball is a love. ~Bryant Gumbel, 1981

Would you look at these lines?  And there were more going the other way.

These crazy fans were there more than two hours prior to the game.  Initially, my husband was willing to get in line that early, too.  But the lines were outrageously long.

"It's just a bobblehead," ~my son exclaimed in the back of the van. 
"But it's a Lincecum bobblehead!" ~my husband sadly had to forego this one for his collection.

So we went back home until it was time for the real game time. 

You see, as much as my husband is an avid Giants fan from his youth (his mom's been a fan since her teenage years), I'm the complete opposite.

I'm merely going to the game on a date because I haven't seen my man for more than two weeks (he was out of town).

But my attention was not on the game but rather on the people, the vendors, the kid licking the cotton candy off his fingers, the relationships between the fans, the food people brought with them, the billboard, the signage, the trash!

Baseball does not interest me (no offense, baseball fans).  I just can't get into it.  David says I just need to try a little harder.  He stopped telling me that.  I'm a hopeless case.  But when he starts talking about the personal stories of each player, I tend to be more attentive.  

But I was there...wishing I had my other camera rather than my little Canon point & shoot.  I even brought my knitting kit which David dared me not to take out!  Okay, I didn't.

Evening fell, and the Giants won against the Mets. The fans were happy! And I enjoyed our time alone in a crowded stadium.

Lincecum bobblehead owners flaunt their goods.  And when we were crossing the street, I commented to someone, "Hold on tight to your bobblehead.  It might fall off."  The top was opening up and the box was upside down.

David asked him if it was worth the wait.  He smiled and said, "No."  He then asked if we got one.  We said, "No, the lines were too long."  And just before we parted ways, he handed us his Lincecum bobblehead.  Just like that!  "Here, take it. We have an extra one."

We were beside ourselves!  I had to take a photo of him but he was too shy to be recognized.  But I caught a glimpse of this man whoever he is.  "God bless you! Thank you!" were my parting words.

Wait!  I have more to tell. There's a life lesson here especially for our kids.  Go to my recent post,  My Tribute to the Giants.