Category Archives: water polo

Falcons Win! 16 – 6

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Tuesday evening, Sylvia and I drove into town to watch our granddaughter, Briana, as her team hosted Portage in water polo. Barbara, her mother, gave us photos of Briana in her team gear.


Before the game, the captains gathered for the meet and greet. Briana is #7.


Early in the first half, Bri had the ball in front of Portage’s goal. With the ball at the full extension of her arm she fired a shot at the goal.


The ball rocketed past the goalie, and Briana slapped the water on her follow through.


The ball hit the back of the net. Another score for the Falcons!


In the second half, I caught this sequence of Briana taking a penalty shot. Sylvia’s Panasonic camera has a burst mode, and I used that to catch the following shots about 0.4 seconds apart. It illustrates the technique for effective shooting. It’s great to watch — especially for her fan club.


She lifts the ball.


Extends her arm.


Rifles in the shot.


With the ball in the back of the net, Briana turns and swims to the other end.


Her parents, Barbara and Bryant, are founders and charter members of her fan club.


You’ll probably see her grandparents, Sylvia and Chuck, at the home games. They really do try to not go totally berserk. Count on their enthusiasm to be sky high in any case. It is okay to pretend you don’t know them . . .

17 -3 ~ Go Falcons

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Last night, Sylvia had to attend a Board of Administration meeting at church. I drove 35 minutes to our granddaughter’s high school to watch the gal’s water polo match. It was sure worth the trip. Thanks to you who had such nice things to say about her the other day.

Last night wasn’t about looking good. It was about playing hard and providing leadership as a co-captain should. The Falcons got the ball first and our #7 passed to an open teammate who was in position. The ball went in, we scored. On the home team’s next possession, #7 beat the opposition down the pool and she rifled in the team’s second score. A minute and a quarter of playing time and she had scored an assist and a goal.


I sure missed Sylvia! The pictures are a bit blurry, because grandpa’s hands shake. Especially when I try to hold them still. The action was fast and furious. The Falcons are coming together and their passing and shooting is getting better.

In the photo above, #7 has gotten way in front of the defense and now faces the goalie. Notice how far out of the water she gets her body and with the ball at the full extension of her arm. A split second later the ball rocketed past the poor goalie and into the back of the net. Thwack! What a sweet sound!

She scored 5 goals and 2 assists. She spent most of the second half out of the pool so that some of the less experienced players could get some time in the game. It was a great night! I loved every minute of it.

What is it?

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Once again it’s time to play the guessing game,” What is it?”.

As I’m writing this, I can see only the bottom half of the image. It looks like peanut butter frosting to me. I’m so ready to take a bite . . . But we both know that it’s not going to happen.

I’ll tell you on Friday what the correct answer is. If you are not getting close to the correct answer, I may give you a clue on Thursday. I’m guessing you won’t need it.

Other Happenings

My sister, Clara, is coming to spend the afternoon with Sylvia and me. (Her hubby is away on business.) We’ll be working on some bloggy stuff together and just having fun. This evening, we’ll go watch our granddaughter in the home opener of the water polo season. Go #7!

Last week, I ordered a new digital camera for Sylvia. We were finding it harder to find 35mm film, and processing takes a while. By contrast, digital photos are processed in-store while you wait. I’m hoping the new camera will show up today, but thinking it probably won’t. The memory card and reader arrived USPS yesterday.

She picked up her Honduras photos yesterday. She will share some of them with us at some as yet unspecified time.

My Other Valentine

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Roses are red,
Daffodils yellow,
Would you be my gal,
If I’ll be your fellow?

There is a great advantage to having only one granddaughter. She can be, and she is, grandpa’s favorite. Scholar and athlete. This gal is great. I love her.

Her favorite sport is water polo. She’s loved the water since she was a little gal, and with her determination, strength and energy, she does very well.

The above shots were taken during last year’s district tournament. I’m really looking forward to this years season, which starts next month.


In the fall, she is on the swim team. This last season, she was a co-captain.

Is her grandpa proud of her? You can bet your lunch on that and not go hungry!

Happy Valentine’s Day tomorrow.