I'm At a Loss So I'm Rambling

I'm tired. I've been watching the Olympics and more and more, curling, cross-country skiing, downhill, speed skating and more. Yes - curling, one of those very odd Olympic sports that's crazy, fun, strategy rather than head-to-head brute force, and ... well, I love it. A small team, a set of very heavy rocks with handles and a long course of highly-polished ice, brooms, calling - no...screaming - orders to sweepers. What's not to love? Actually, I know a lot of people who just don't get curling. But DH and I would be really happy to sit and watch for hours. Strategy, skill and a bit of luck, it all comes to play in curling.

The US doesn't do curling well, but we love the sport anyway. In 2010 we
were in last place at the end of the games, but we're here again and trying
to improve. So far, though, the women's team is 0-2. *sigh*

But, what else to post about today? Well, I'm head-deep into an illustration project for B2MeM. I wasn't going to take an art project, but had an idea and my schedule seemed to cooperate, so I decided that my story was progressing well enough that I could finish it on time, still keep up with the small things, and allow myself the fun of playing with pencils, inks and pastels. So I'm doing an illustration. I worked on the mock-up on Sunday, did the first penciling yesterday morning, and will be continuing that today to try and get to the inking tomorrow. It's flowing well across the page, so I have hopes for this one. I also have a very fast due date, so I can't waste a lot of time with it.

I started using Pan Pastels almost two years ago as a media and I really
love them. They are so easy to blend, and I can use water or other carriers
to change them on the page. They're very fun. I think I gathered my collection
over a year using Dick Blick Art Supply 40% off coupons. 

Bought an ebook a bit outside my norm this morning without a really strong idea about why, except it seemed interesting and the reviews were FABULOUS! So, I'll be reading "The Fault in our Stars" by John Green within a few weeks (I have to read others I've downloaded before it first, thus the delay). It just seemed like a really interesting book. I read into the first ten reviews or so and they were glowing. There were more than 2000 5-star ratings for it, so I caved. Those of you doing book clubs - this may be a good one for you.

The Fault in our Stars is also going to be a movie, released
in early June this year. The tag line "One Sick Love Story" is a
bit controversial, since the two main characters are
both suffering from cancer. But I'm looking forward to
reading the book. 

Finally, in this very disjointed post, I'm going on the record saying that I'm really tired of winter - REALLY TIRED. It's cold, I'm just seeing a lot of dirty snow and very high piles of shoveled snow - mountains of it in the parking lots, and I really want winter over already. I want the snow I see to be on the television as the skiers compete in Sochi, not in my front yard.

One of the places where the city deposits street snow is behind one of our stadiums.
This pile is from two years ago. We have LOTS more snow this year so
our pile is even higher. They move the snow with backhoes and front-loaders
that move up a path from the right. Notice the person standing in the front. 

It's a crazy post today, but sometimes rambles can be fun. Have a wonderful Tuesday.