Game Day!

Tamra Nuncio waves from the cheap seats of the Milwaukee Brewers' spring training game against the Texas Rangers.

Put the Miller Light here, Ice Man!

Spring training stadiums represent different aspects of Arizona. Out in Surprise, the stadium looks like a delightful European building toy, approached by avenues of banners and hanging flower baskets, and serving rival varieties of barbecue. Over in Scottsdale, Salt River Fields is more deluxe than some major-league venues, with gourmet vendors and an adjacent golf/casino resort.



Then there's Maryvale Ball Park, which is built mostly from concrete block, is located behind a discount strip mall, considers chicken strips to be fancy-schmancy, and gets the heavily tattooed crowd that yells profane advice at the players, which the players can hear because nobody paid for constant organ music and sound effects to tell us what we ought to feel. You can hear the crack of the bat at Maryvale, over the yelling of the fans and the announcements to put a ticket stub in your child's pocket so she can be returned to you if she wanders off. Also, have some beer.

This early in spring training, the boys of summer are lucky to find the ball. Texas won. In the latter half of the game, balls got hit by bats.

Tamra and I finished the afternoon at the Melrose Street Fair.

Tamra loves muscle cars!

Roughly half the street is given to a classic car show. I know nothing about this other than that the cars are very shiny.

Tamra complains that nobody famous photobombs her.

Upon arriving home, Tamra's being made a bit nervous by how all the non-standard fakie girls are eyeing her boots.

What lovely boots you have, Tamra! Wouldn't you like to let us try them on?

The boots fit Kistiña the Kmart Blue Light Special, though she'd need a more blue-on-blue outfit to make the look work.

Blue, blue, my legs are blue...

(My kitchen counter appears to need wiping again. *sigh*)

The Chic Boutique girls -- currently Dena and Victoria, with another from the Polar Bear Club waiting for clothing and hairstyling -- can't get the boots on at all.

If I tug and I tug... well, no.

Panthea the Lovely Patsy can't get the boots on either. Julianne Hoof can wear the boots, should she need to do a winter-themed dance routine.

Maybe a foxtrot set to "Blue Christmas"?

Unsurprisingly, Ambiguous Brown can wear them, since she has the same body as Tamra.

If I ever get my hands on the blue dress that Maeve grabbed... I have the boots.

Annie Linux of the chopstick legs can get them on, but she can't tuck her skinny jeans into them. Annie's got to stick to Uggs.

Maybe with a skirt... but Annie's not really a skirt person.

While my eyes were on the boots and the possibility of using the top as a pattern, I chose a 99 Cents Only beauty with a face I liked... and I don't really need another $1 fashion doll. But I like the face and I'm not out of space yet.

Tamra got herself a job as Miss Hanzo's massage therapist at the spa. She's thrilled to have beer money (Tamra has beer tastes on a beer budget) but scared to death of just about everything happening around her.

I don't have to know what goes on. I just have to do my job.