Now That Was Easy

So last night New Jersey got some snow. I guess we got about 17 inches or so. Gusty winds and really, really low temperatures. Lots of drifting too. A good day to stay indoors, right? Well...someone has to clear the snow. Which leads me to my entry title. Since I've met Mags, her son Tom, has been very good to me. He's a great guy and we get along really well and he will do anything to help us out. He has done much for me also. He knows of my ailing back and one day during the summer came to the house with a self-propelled' lawn mower for me. He bought it second-hand and using his mechaincal know-how, refurbished it and gave it to me, telling his mother "Connor should have one of these. He shouldn't be pushing a regular mower." Nice right? Well, last year he found a used snow blower and same deal, reworked it, tuned it up good and brought it to me. However, last year I just couldn't get it started. I have problems with those 'pull start' devices. Same thing this year. Last night, however, he came by again and primed it up for me.
I was hesitant because I had so much trouble in the past. Well this morning I tried again and no luck. Frustrated I came into the house and told Mags, "no deal"
She suggested taking a break and trying again. Which I did. Well, this time the puppy fired up right away.
The difference between shoveling and and using one of these cannot be described. It was soooo much easier. The hardest part was the crap at the end of the driveway deposited by the snow plows.
So easy in fact, I did our neighbor Shirley's driveway. Her husband is having back woes and she is a good neighbor so I dug her out. They were pleased and I then stepped across to help another neighbor do the very end of her driveway.
Then it was across to Keith and Staceys to help them out.
It was almost fun. Okay. It was fun.
All in all I got alot accomplished. It's a good feeling when you can help a neighbor out.

~Good things are happening with the Devils. They picked up Ilya Kovulchuk from the Atlanta Thrashers. The big Russian comes in with 31 goals already and he has more moves than a street hustler. This guy can stick-handle in a phone booth. The Devs played an exciting game last night against the Maple Leafs, Scoring three goals late in the third; including two in the last minute of regulation for a huge win.
I watched the game in between shifts on the snow blower.

~Got to visit with Keith and Stacey our groovy neighbors across the way and their 3 crazy pooches. After that came home for a beef stew I did in the slow-cooker. It was okay but could've been better. Live and learn. Mags made a good suggestion as to how to spice it up and next time I will follow her sage advice.

Well, my body is achey and I think I may be turning in soon. Stay warm everyone.

Home Cookin'....or Spank You Very Much

Home cooking is a sports euphemism used to describe a successful win on your home ice (field, pitch..whatever). Generally, used when a team is red hot and a butt-whooping is applied. On Wednesday, the Devils were all in the kitchen and the stove was cranked up. Way up. The boys in Red who had lost 6 of their last 10 in the regular season looked like the Devils of old. The Devs from late February...they were firing on all cylinders and opened up their playoff run with an impressive 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. The 'Canes are no slouches and have a great team but looked out of place on the ice with the Devs. The boys played mostly seamless hockey. Controlling the puck for most of the game and were at one point peppering the Canes goalie for what seemed like fifteen minutes, but I have been known to exaggerate once in awhile.

The boys looked sharp and are back in action tonight. In just a few minutes actually.

Good luck guys!

Happy St. Patrik's Day or 702 and counting

Last night at 'the Rock' history was made twice. The man you see here was credited with a sweeet assist on Brian Gionta's second period goal making him the New Jersey Devils all-time points scorer, surpassing Mr. John MacLean (no slouch himself on the ice).

He now has 702 points in his career which has spanned 15 years in the NHL all with the Devils.

Patrik is a class act on and off the ice and even though he was presented with opportunity's to go elsewhere he chose his loyalty to the Devs. And are Devils fans glad he did. Patrik continues to be a solid performer and this Devils fan hopes he continues to do so for a long time to come.

Here's a few record Patrik holds...

• Most Overtime Goals in a season, 4.
• Most Overtime Winners, 15 (tied with Mats Sundin and Jaromír Jágr)
• New Jersey Devils record for most points in one season, 96.
• New Jersey Devils record for most points in a playoff season, 23.
• New Jersey Devils all-time leader in playoff goals (39), assists (71), and points (110).
• New Jersey Devils record for hat tricks, 6 (tied with John MacLean).
• New Jersey Devils record for all time assists, 365.
• New Jersey Devils record for all-time scoring in goals (293) and total points (702), ahead of John MacLean
• New Jersey Devils record for game winning goals (60).

Pretty awesome, right?

Thanks Patrik and congratulations!