It's Monday and We're Back to a More "Normal" Schedule

I found my opal-embellished crystal and gold chain, so I'm breathing a bit easier today. It wasn't too far from where the pendant was found, but for some reason or other, I simply hadn't found it in my first run-through (or 2nd, or 3rd - LOL). Whatever reason, however, it's all back together again. 

What was lost is now found. I'm quite relieved, my 
Lady and the Moon, amethyst crystal and gold 
chain is quite important to me. It's all together once 
again and I'm very happy. 

I worked yesterday - we were photographing items that we couldn't take care of during the business day. But we got them done. DH needs to send them to me, then I'll get them into the format, and our photographs will (mostly) be complete. We got home and decided to have Chinese for dinner - Moo Shu pork - yummy! Of course it put two pounds on me for this morning, but I consider it worth it and those two pounds will quickly be gone. 

I do love my electronic bathroom scale. It's just about as 
accurate as my previous mechanical scale, but it's quick 
and easy and has large numbers so I don't have to wear 
my glasses. LOL - The perils of growing old. 

I stayed up late to watch the closing ceremony for the Olympics. We were still working at the shop when they were originally broadcast, so I caught the redo. Since I stayed up until 10:00 am, I decided to skip my treadmill today and sleep in until 5:00 am. I can't be late to the shop - I have too much that has to be done before I open the doors this morning. 

I adored that the closing ceremonies were held in an 
amphitheatre that is 2000 years old and still used today. 
Think about it, those of you who live in the USA. Two 
thousand years old and still being used! Fabuloso! 

So, I'm cutting this short, hoping that all of you managed to catch some of the Olympics (which were absolutely MARVELOUS to watch), and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

I've Lost Something Dear to Me and the Olympics (of course) - They're Winding Down

I lost something very dear to me last night. Fortunately the part that mattered most managed to me is still with me, but ... I had a very bad night's sleep and I'm going to leave for the shop very early to check the parking lot for the other two items. I have always loved jewelry and enjoy wearing it. Yesterday I was wearing my favorite gold chain with two dangles - my 24Kt and Sterling Silver Lady and the Moon, and an amethyst crystal with an opal inset. Apparently the chain broke at some point, because I found the Lady on the carpet in my computer room. I checked everywhere and still haven't found the chain or the amethyst. But, they can be replaced, if necessary. The Lady and the Moon was custom made for DH by a dear friend of ours who was operating a jewelry store at the time. That isn't replaceable, so I'm relieved that I at least have that. But the gold chain was a heavy chain - it's WAY more than I can afford to replace at the prices of gold these days. 

My Lady Riding the Moon is very similar to this one, 
except my Lady is white gold, and my Moon is 18Kt 
yellow gold. It was a custom order that DH made with a 
dear friend who was running a custom jewelry store at 
the time. I treasure it and wear it often. It was on a solid 
24Kt neck chain, that must have broken. I had been 
wearing it all day, and wear it often. 

But, I'm still a bit heartsick at losing that chain. I'm VERY grateful that I still have my Lady and the Moon pendant, but I'm not very happy. I'm going to grab a very early breakfast and then head over to the shop to check the parking lot. I already checked the garage and the entryway to the house - nothing. If it's lying on the ground on the parking lot, it's a 50/50 chance of finding it. We have a lot of homeless people in the general area, and that could be a real find for them. I just need to find it because with today's gold prices, I can't afford to replace the necklace. 

The price of gold has gone through the roof over the past 
few years. I can't afford to replace the chain, so I'm 
hoping I happen to come across it in the parking lot at work, 
or in the store. I'm extremely grateful that I didn't lost 
the pendant - that is irreplaceable. But the chain is a 
serious problem too. 

So, the Winter Olympics are winding down. Only two more days of competition and they're over and the torches are doused. The next Olympics will be in Los Angeles in 2028 - that will be a summer games version. We'll be in the French Alps for the next Winter games in 2030, and down south in Brisbane, Australia for the next summer games in 2032. 

We had already been awarded the 1976 Winter Olympics, 
but the populace of the state decided it would be death for 
our mountains, so we put it to a vote and voted it down. The 
Olympic Committee had to pull away from the decision and 
they had to find a different venue - Innsbruck, Austria. 

I have the pleasure and distinction of being one of the many who voted AGAINST holding the Winter Olympics in my state while I lived in Colorado. We were one of the finalists for the 1976 Winter Games but we rejected it in a 1972 referendum, forcing Denver to withdraw it's bid after it had been awarded the games. We didn't want to spend the money, and we especially didn't want to deal with all of those extra people on our ski slopes. I am still totally behind that vote - it would have changed my mountains in a way I really didn't want. They've still changed over the years, but it's been a more controlled growth than quickly making things "proper" for a major sporting event like the Olympics. 

So I'm wrapping this up, having a quick breakfast, and then heading over to the shop to check out the parking lot in hopes of finding my gold chain. Have a great Saturday and weekend, I'll be back on Monday morning. Slava Ukraini, and enjoy the final two days of the Olympics. Italy has done itself proud - the games have been glorious. 

Olympics, WildFit and Furniture - I've Got a Lot Going On Right Now

I'm always sorry to see the Olympics come to an end. Summer or Winter, they're an event that I've loved since I was very young. I tried to stay up last night to watch one event, but simply couldn't keep my eyes open and gave up. I'm sure I'll be able to catch some of it on replay if I have any time to web surf today. 

I've always preferred the Winter Olympics to the summer ones, 
although I'm not really a fan of the cold and snow - LOL. 
Still, the events are so much fun to watch, it's not just a 
bunch of field and track events (as you can tell, I'm not really 
much of a track and field fan). 

Today DH is starting the day out by going downtown and getting us our license to liquidate. Yes, we actually have to be licensed to have a "Going Out of Business" sale/event. *sigh* It's been impossible to reach these people via the phone, so he'll drive down there this morning and perch in their offices. It's much harder to ignore a breathing person than a ringing phone. 

Ernest Thompson originally made our display cases 
and shelving for my Mall of America store. At that 
time the setup I got (more than 12 cases and assorted 
other pieces) was $15,500. Their current value? A 
LOT more than that. I need to get some photos off 
to them and if I'm lucky, they can come back to me 
with a current valuation. 

Meanwhile, we got all of our display cases measured and photographed, at least the cash wrap ones. We still need to do the product display cases - the pottery, katchinas, stone fetish animals, etc are all displayed in those cases. The ones we did yesterday are in the jewelry area - jewelry has always been a large part of our inventory offerings. 

The To-Do list isn't a list, it's a booklet - standard 
paper size, more than 50 pages of instructions. 
It's a lot to do, and we're getting it done. 

But we're working our way down the list that Travis provided to us. It's a lot of work, but we never were under the misapprehension that simply thinking it would be easy would make that possible. There are just a LOT of T's to cross and I's to dot. Feel free to send me some ink - LOL. *hugs* I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up the week. 

I still have four alkagizers every week - it's my usual 
lunch at work. I think my body really likes the nutrients 
that I get in them. It's hard to believe it's been five years 
since I first started WildFit, but I don't regret a single day. 

And yesterday was the 5th anniversary of when I started the WildFit program. It was, without doubt, one of the best decisions I've made in my life. I'm at a great weight, and I've been maintaining it for several years now, and I eat nutritiously, so I consider it a total win. Sometimes I can make a good decision - LOL. So, have an excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up the week. Slava Ukraini. 

The Olympics Are Wrapping Up

The Olympics are starting to wrap up. I'm already sad because I truly do love watching them, and the Winter Olympics are my favorite. I find that odd, since I'm really not that fond of snow, but I think the events are more exciting and it's not just a bunch of people running around a circle. Speed skating can be, but I also don't watch a lot of speed skating either - LOL. 

There have been Olympics where they've had two different 
locations in the past, but not necessarily eight hours away 
before. Still, it seems to be working out very well, and 
the venues are stunning. I want to ride in that bobsled run! 

The variety that goes on in the Winter Olympics is what makes it fun. And now they're thinking about adding ice climbing to the mix - maybe just as a trial, but how fun would that be to watch!? I could totally get behind that event. 

Ice Climbing has been projected as a possible Olympics 
event for a few years now. That could be a very 
interesting addition to the mix. 

Today I get to do my own Winter Olympics activity - it snowed yesterday - starting in the late afternoon. We've got a few inches on the ground now, where I was seeing bare grass yesterday morning. I'll have to shovel before heading to the gym, so I'm going to just do a short post today because it's a bit driveway, and my little green shovel will be working hard - LOL. 

Shoveling snow is a necessary evil when you live in 
the Frozen Northlands. So, I'll be wrapping this up 
and taking the time to shovel before heading to the 
gym for my last swim of the week. Have an excellent 
day! 

I did get my cooking done yesterday, though. I did six BBQ porkchops, and then I needed to make new BBQ sauce, which also required my making new Worcestershire sauce. Of course, I also ended the day making chicken for dinner. So it was a VERY busy kitchen day - my favorite kind of day, though. I also dropped the frames off at my framing company for corner inserts, and got sample packs of mats they have available. Very helpful. 

Italy did a terrific job preparing for the Winter Olympics. It's 
been smooth with wonderful venues and even though things 
are separated between the two main areas (and two other 
secondary areas), it seems to be working very well indeed. 
Bravo, Italia! 

So I'm wrapping this up and heading out to shovel. Have an excellent Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

It's Wednesday - A "Day Off" With a Ton of Stuff To Do

I have a stack of bills to be paid on my desk, an empty refrigerator that needs populating, and 10 audio credits that need to be used up before April. I won't listen to the books that quickly, but I can get them purchased and into my cyber-library within the next week or two. I'm on the final audio book of a 30+ book series, and I'm starting another huge series after this one. I just need to see which book of that second series I left off with in my purchasing and get the next 10 bought and processed for the proper audio file type. I also have bills to cyber-pay. It'll be a busy day all around and DH is in a total frump. 

I have a bunch that needs doing on my "day off", not 
even including the three loads of laundry and making 
the beds that's standard for a Wednesday. My "day off" is 
almost busier than a work day. 

It's a bad time of the year for DH, and adding closing the store to his mix and he's at boiling point all the way. But, he still has time to lie back in the evening and watch the Olympics. Not double-tasking the way that I do with the TV on behind me and me on the computer getting things accomplished. No ... he's kicked back in bed, watching the TV like a slug. *sigh* GRRR

I enjoy "watching" TV, although it's rare for me to actually 
pay a lot of attention to the screen. I'd much rather be 
reading a book. He's a TV addict. Maybe that comes from 
being the third child when I was an only child and had to 
self-entertain. He needs outside stimulation to be entertained, 
I'm happy with a book. 

I can work out some of my frustration in the pool in an hour, but really? For example, I got home last night, ate a quick dinner, and then gathered the trash together to take out to the bins. Today is trash and recycling pickup day. Then I grabbed my tea and went down to the computer to catch up on emails and notifications while listening to the Olympics on the TV behind me. I even watched a little bit of them. He went up to bed, settled down and watched the TV, then came down to yell at me about something I had apparently done incorrectly when I picked up our income taxes last week, and then went back upstairs again. Good grief! GRRRRRR

I'm really tired of getting yelled at all of the time. I understand 
his stress levels are high, but so are mine and I don't yell 
at him. GRRRRRR Retirement isn't looking like it will be 
any fun at all. 

Today I have to ride him hard about getting the shelving photos sent to me. I need to get that file populated ASAP and a "day off" is a great day in which to get some serious computer work done (between a quick run to the framers to get a mis-cut frame redone and another one routed out. I may not get the frames back until next week, but maybe they can have it on Friday. I might be able to take a quick run out there, although I really don't get my Fridays off any more. 

This is my YMCA from the air. Obviously in the summer, when 
the outdoor pool is open. The black square is the main building 
which houses the gym, the building connecting the black roof 
to the pool area is the rest of the gym - basketball court, running 
track, weight room, lots of machines, etc., and the indoor pool. 
It's a big complex with a little bit of family for those of us who 
meet at the front doors every day. 

Enough bitching, though. I have a swimming pool waiting for me to work out my frustrations in, so I'm wrapping this up and heading to the YMCA. Have an excellent Wednesday. Be kind, enjoy the Olympics, and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

It's the Year of the Horse - and Olympics, of Course

Happy Year of the Horse. It's Chinese New Year, and we're celebrating (at least in our own ways). I'm a bit off-schedule today. I awakened at 2:00 am instead of when my alarm would go off at 3:00 am. I tossed a bit, but gave up and started catching up on my morning meditation routine. By the time I was finished with that and headed downstairs (since I had extra time, I indulged a bit in some extra "me" time), it was already almost 4:00 am and I leave for the pool at 4:30 am. *sigh*. So now I'm running a little late - LOL. 

This New Year is the Year of the Horse. I was born in 
a year of the Horse, so it's going to be MY year - if I 
can just survive the next few months - LOL. 

I hope you're all enjoying watching the Olympics if it's your thing. We're happily watching as much curling as possible, and a lot of the ski competitions. Basically, we both adore the Olympics, so when they're on, we have it turned on. I don't know, or care about, the medal count, but I'm sure the USA is doing just fine. 

The USA Men's Curling Team is quite young (most of 
them) and they're REALLY good. They're fun as heck 
to watch. Some of the shots they're able to make have 
been nothing less than incredible. Bravo! 

Did you happen to catch the prime time Women's Monobob bobsled run? An absolutely wonderful woman from the USA won that one - and they had done a feature on her earlier in the evening. It was lovely to meet her family - husband and two kids. The kids are both quite young, and they're both completely deaf. So she speaks fluently with her hands to them, while speaking orally to others. Typical woman - juggling multiple tasks at a time - LOL. She finally got the Gold, however, and I'm so very pleased for her. 

Did you know that the Monobob competition is the only 
competition in the Olympics that is restricted to women 
only? I wasn't aware of that either - LOL. Congratulations 
to Elana Meyers Taylor for winning the Gold in this year's 
competition. It's a gorgeous track, I'd love to try it out 
sometime. 

So, I'm wrapping this up, and diving into another day of a million tasks. We have a firm schedule that we need to stick to for closing on time, and there really isn't any wiggle room at all. DH has been working massively hard to get things going - photographing shelving units, cabinets and display cases. Everything has to go. It's a job!! Have an excellent Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Olympics? - Of Course! We're Totally Olympics Addicts

We're entering the final week of Winter Olympics competition. I haven't been able to watch as much as I've wanted to - I've been super busy framing items or generally working in the shop. We're even there on Sundays getting things together, taking photos, and DH working on the inventory in the computer, getting rid of all zero entries (and there's a lot of those). We both love the Winter Olympics, and have had very little actual time to be able to watch them. Still, a week left means lots of fun things to watch whenever I have some time. That's a totally awesome thing.

We were glued to the curling last night - not the doubles from 
earlier - this was the team competition and we totally rocked 
tossing those rocks down the ice sheets. Very well done, USA! 

I've got a stack of bills in front of me. I need to take a quick peek at my checking account balances, and then get onto the computer and get them paid. It's a lot easier and faster to pay things digitally than writing and mailing a check, but I still have to make sure I have enough money in my various accounts for the payments. A minor detail, but an important one - LOL. 

We have a lovely JD Challenger original that 
needed reframing, so I got to work on that 
yesterday afternoon. It's nice to work on a Sunday
 when I don't have to deal with customers and 
can actually spend a few hours on what I 
need to accomplish. 

I started reframing a JD Challenger original watercolor yesterday. It's a BIG piece - very heavy, and he did the original framing himself. That's both good and bad. For some unknown reason, he felt it necessary to triple-mat the painting, and even though he built an extra-deep frame to accommodate it, it's still a VERY snug fit. I'll have some issues with potential cracking in the frame backing when I'm trying to get the nails set for the new minimal backing I purchased yesterday afternoon on a quick run to the art supply store. I had nightmares all night about putting the damned thing back into the frame upside down, so I'd better check that out before fastening everything together - LOL. 

I had four green peppers that needed 
stuffing and baking. They turned out 
great - very tasty. I use non-dairy cheese 
in my salads and cooking, and used the 
last of the cheddar on them. Yummy! 

Oh, and yesterday, Gordon Ramsey would have been proud of me. I had four green peppers in the refrigerator that I needed to get stuffed and into my refrigerator for meals ahead. So I started working on that, and managed to streamline everything together to have it put together and in the oven within 15 minutes. And it's damned tasty! We were going to get Chinese take-out last night, but when I got there to order my Mu Shu Pork, they told me they were working on a HUGE order and it would be 45-60 minutes before my little order could be cooked. I left without food and returned to eat one of the peppers I had made (which is why I can say they're really tasty). 

Italy is doing a fantastic job hosting the Winter Olympics 
this year. The games have been fabulous - exciting, 
entertaining and top-class competition. 

So, I'm wrapping this up and heading to work. Have an excellent Monday, enjoy the Olympics today if you're watching, and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Life and the Olympics Progress - LOL

We're already starting to look into pricing for moving vans (smaller - we're not moving a house). We'll need to move things home, and then leave for the Southwest almost immediately afterward to bring our artwork to the auction house. Shipping costs would be more than the $1000-$1500 the truck will cost us. We'll tow my car behind so that we can drop the truck off in Santa Fe and then, after a few days wandering the Plaza, we'll head back home again. It's not a horrible drive (except in the winter sometimes), but it takes two days if you're going to be relatively comfortable. 

We'll probably rent a truck and tow my car behind. It 
seems that most of the truck rental places have either 
two-wheel or full 4-wheel trailers available for your 
car. I'm 100% in favor of the 4-wheel version so that 
Minnion doesn't get extra wear and tear. I'll check with 
my dealer about their recommendations too, of course. 

I'll check with my dealer, of course, about towing the car that far. We did this with my Subaru when we first moved up here, and there were all sorts of problems because of the car's front wheel drive. I'm not sure about my Mazda, but suspect things have gotten a bit easier since those days. 

Norway won the women's Cross Country Women's Relay race 
over Sweden. It was very hotly contested and beautifully done. 

I decided to blow off the treadmill today and just relax for a bit instead. I was still up at my usual time, but sat and took my time with my morning meditation and phone games before slowly getting up, showering, and turning on the Olympics. Cross country skiing - Women's Long Track. Lovely! It's cloudy over the cross-country track today, which won't help with any topographical changes. 

Malinin fell twice in his final performance last night, and 
ended up in 6th place! Very poor! Mikhail Shaidorov of 
Kazakhstan won the gold medal, so Bravo! Well done! 

I didn't stay up long enough for the Men's Figure Skating. Malinin fell twice, though, so the gold medal was out of reach. In fact, any medal turned out to be out of reach - he fell out of the medals with those two falls. I'm sure he'll be competing in future, but he was off his game when he needed to be point-on. Bad showing! 

Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan won the Men's Individual 
Gold Medal. Japan won both the Silver and the Bronze with 
excellent performances by Yuma Kagiyama (Silver) and 
Shun Sato (Bronze) of Japan. Congratulations to all 
three skaters - well done! 

But, I'm going to have a leisurely breakfast and watch the finals of the Women's Cross Country Skiing event. The skiiers are about to enter the final lap. What a grueling sport!  I was able to watch the finals of the Men's Skeleton yesterday - one of my favorite events which I rarely get to see because we usually don't have a good competitor in the field. Great Britain won this year in a stunning run! Well done! 

Matt Weston of Great Britain pulled out the Gold Medal in 
Men's Skeleton yesterday with an absolutely almost 
flawless run. It was a thing of beauty to see. Bravo!!

So, I'm wrapping this up and calling it complete. I'll be back on Monday morning. Have a great weekend, enjoy the Olympics if you're watching, and Slava Ukraini. 

Slow Progress is Still Progress

I'm not really sure why I'm running a bit late today, but I am. I had a nice fast-walk on the treadmill, and treadmill days are always a bit later than swimming days, but I'm about 25 minutes late on my schedule and actually have to eat my breakfast and head to the shop. I have three different emails to reply to for Travis, and I need to think about how we can get around some security check-in issues so that he can actually send things to my main email list. I may have to suggest that he send it to me and I then send it onward. It might be the best and simplest solution. 

Travis probably doesn't look anything like this 
any more, but who knows? This is the only photo 
I have of him, from his book. I've spoken with him 
numerous times, and exchange daily emails with 
him several times a day, but I've never really met him. 

I'm generally getting 1-4 emails a day from him, though, and that makes me happy. He's reading what I'm responding and he's working on getting us the best advertising coverage possible. That's what we'll need to have a successful sale, so I'm pleased, thus far. We'll see in the long run, but I'm getting responses and hope to get results as well. 

We have a store full of industrial steel shelving units. Both 
upstairs and downstairs, it's the primary furniture. The 
upstairs ones are holding product, the downstairs ones are 
almost all empty now - we've been working on that for more 
than a year. 

DH and I will be spending Sunday in the store's basement. I have banks of steel shelving down there, some of which are using the incorrect shelves for that type. We'll be switching shelves from one style to another, and finalizing a complete listing of everything we have down there for sale. If necessary, we'll escort a customer down there, but I'm hoping that photos, etc will do most of that sale for us. We also have a bunch of shelves on the main floor, which is where we keep our stock. We'll be selling those shelves also, but whoever purchases them will have to wait to get them until after we're completely finished with the actual sale. 

Slow progress is still progress, but we have to 
do something every day or things won't be done 
on time. We're actually on a schedule. 

So, things are progressing. Slowly ... but that's OK. We still have some time, we don't need to be in a massive rush, we just have to do something to keep the momentum going every day. In the meantime, we can watch/listen to the Olympics, which we're enjoying VERY much. Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up the week. Slava Ukraini. 

Olympics and Cooking - It'll Be a Very Busy Day Off

I was up late last night watching the finals in curling at the Olympics. We didn't win Gold, but we did win Silver and that's great. I'm very proud of my Minnesota people. They stepped up to the plate and played brilliantly. 

I am very proud of our Minnesota winners. They played 
brilliantly, and even though they had a couple of rocks 
that simply didn't cooperate, they won Silver. Bravo! 

But, since I was late, I texted my swimming buddy and let her know I was blowing off today's swim. I was still up early, but at 5:00 am instead of the 3:30 am that I use on swimming days. I needed that additional sleep. 

I really don't use Facebook ads to keep in touch 
with my customers, but Travis does, so he needed 
this and that from me. Which I gave him ... but apparently 
it's not working properly on his end. When I want to 
contact my customers via email, I use Constant 
Contact because I want each person I contact to be 
someone who voluntarily signed up with us at the shop. 

I'm trying to figure out what's not working for Travis and our Facebook advertising account. I have the codes that I passed on to him, but for some reason or other, he can't access our Facebook account to be able to post ads to my FB followers. I'll delve deeper into that today on my "day off", but I also have a LOT to do around the house and only one day to get it all done. 

I'm still having my veggie alkagizers at least four days a 
week, usually for my lunches at the shop. It's keeping my 
nutrition at high, and my weight at low. All good! 

I'll start the day out by grocery shopping - I have to make "Ogre Juice", my baked fruit for my breakfasts, and also my meals for the next week or so. I think stuffed peppers seems like a winner for the week. They are easy to make, minimal muss and fuss, and it'll give me the kitchen time I need for my baked fruit, which is a bit more labor intensive. 

I used to make stuffed peppers by hollowing out the pepper 
and keeping it upright. I've switched to half-peppers because 
they cook easier and they store easier in the refrigerator. 

So that's my plan for the day. I'll try to have the Olympics on in the background too - I know I can get it on the downstairs TV, but I'm not sure about the kitchen TV. That reception is quite a bit more limited. Still, one does what one can - LOL. Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Curling - It's a Minnesota and an Olympic Thing

Curling is a strange sport. People pushing smooth rocks across a sheet of ice to push the rocks of their competitors out of the bull's eye. It's not a quick sport, and not an immediately understandable sport, but it's a Minnesota sport and a Scandinavian sport. To do curling you must have ice, and the Duluth area of Minnesota, in the upper part of the state next to Lake Superior, has a LOT of ice. 

Duluth, Minnesota, sits next to the far Western part of 
Lake Superior in the far North of the state. It gets REALLY 
cold and gets a LOT of snow, and having a sport that is 
ice related makes sense. We have curling clubs all over 
the Minnesota area, but the Duluth club is considered one 
of the best. 

So, since we have a lot of ice, we do curling. There are curling clubs and venues throughout the state, but the club in Duluth is considered the best, and they're doing marvelously in the Olympics. We're going to the Gold Medal round now in mixed doubles, and I'm so very pleased! Thus, I'm running a bit late today - I stayed up to watch the match last night and got moving a bit slowly this morning. Still, it's a swimming day, so I have to be in the car in a bit more than 20 minutes. 

I'm giving you an extra large photo today so that you can take a look at 
what curling is all about. Is it a sport? Well, it's not a sweat fest like 
skiing or flash like skating, but it's quiet skills appeal to me as a resident 
of Minnesota. 

The Olympics in general have been absolutely fantastic thus far. I adore the Winter Olympics - even though I despise the cold and I'm not a great fan of snow (especially when I have to shovel it). Still, I live in a land of ice and snow up here in the Frozen Northlands, and even though I don't have the skiing mountains of my youth, there's plenty of ice to keep me occupied. The figure skaters take all the bling and audiences, but there's just something about curling that really appeals to me. And now we're actually going for the gold. Yeah - Minnesota's Duluth Curling Club did well in their choice of team to send to the Olympics. 

The Duluth Curling Club is a large structure with at least 
seven different lanes for curling. That's a lot of real 
estate, a lot of heating bills, and a large membership. 
People interested in the sport who are very good at it, 
come from all over to play here, and the Olympic teams 
are generally chosen from the membership here. 

So, since I'm running late, I'm wrapping this up and heading to the swimming pool. No frozen sheets of ice for me today, liquid water only! LOL Have an excellent Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

I'm Glued to the Olympics

The Winter Olympics are my favorite Olympics, even though I dislike the cold and snow in real life. Nonetheless, the sports are far more interesting for me. I was an ice skater, and a horrible skier - most definitely NOT my sport. I suspect if I had better equipment, I would have enjoyed the experience much more. But, at least I learned how to ski on decent mountains - the mountains around the Aspen/Snowmass area - some of the best slopes in the world. 

Aspen Highlands Mountain actually is the 
Southern border of the town. At the very 
bottom of this image, you can see a speckled 
semi-circle - that's houses. That's Aspen, at 
least the Southern edge.  

I'd rather have a sheet of solid ice, however, and a set of blades strapped to my feet. I've always enjoyed ice skating, and with DH and my larger family all being ice hockey people, it's a good thing I was on skates from the time I was a small child. Most people spending the summer in Aspen, Colorado would be hiking the mountains or kayaking down the rivers. I went to the ice arena on the Western side of the town and learned how to skate for ice dancing while one of the professional ice show tours summered over in the town. 

The Ice Capades summered over in Aspen for 
several years in the late 1960's and early 1970's. 
I took skating lessons in ice dancing from a lovely 
man who had a Great Pyrenees dog named 
Charlie. It's typical of me that I remember the dog 
and forget the teacher's name - LOL. This was in 
the day of school figures too, so I spent a lot of 
hours going around circles on one edge or another. 

But, I'm totally addicted to the Olympics in general, and to the Winter Olympics specifically. I remember watching the broadcast of Jean Claude Killy ski down the slopes at the Grenoble games in 1968. No color broadcasting at that time, and the TV my parents had at the time wasn't the greatest, but I was totally glued to it for those Olympic games. I've been a fan ever since, and the Winter games really appeal to me. I suppose growing up in an area with skiing, skating and other winter sports available every winter didn't hurt, but I wasn't a super athletic person as a kid, so I didn't actually participate in any winter sports. LOL 

Jean Claude Killy was my first crush as a kid. He 
was a very good looking young man, and he won 
three gold medals in the Grenoble games - for 
Downhill, Slalom and Giant Slalom. A wonderful 
skier throughout his life. 

But, I'm getting ready to head off to the shop. We have SO much to do before we close. I spent several hours working on the latest items to pass onward to Travis and got that taken care of while watching speed skating yesterday, so I've done the next step, and I'm onward to the next one now. One step at a time - that's the only way to make it these days. Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Olympics Are Finally Here Again - YIPPEE!

I was up late last night watching as much of the Opening Ceremonies as possible, but I'm running late, so I'm just doing a really quick check-in. Have a great weekend, we'll be glued to the Olympics as much as possible. I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini. 

The Olympics Are Behind Us - Life Is Ahead

I have stated before that I LOVE the Olympics, and it was true this time also. We had the TV on the event from early in the morning until late at night. DH would watch the financial markets first thing in the morning, and then turn on the Games. I had the shop TV (located in our back room) turned to the Event as soon as I arrived in the morning. I also used Peacock to look at several events that I was unable to see otherwise - like surfing (in French Polynesia - how awesome! - GREAT waves), and trampoline. I still want to go onto Peacock and catch Rhythmic Gymnastics and may be a couple of other events. 

Having Peacock makes things a bit easier for me when it 
comes to events like the Olympics. They have all of the 
events available, so it's an easy pick and choose if I missed 
one or another one. 

We watched the closing ceremonies yesterday night, after a long day of events. The winner of the Women's Marathon, from the Netherlands, had come to the games determined to win the 5000, the 10,000 and the marathon. She had been interviewed after her win in the 10,000 when she said that. That's a LOT of running within a short time span, with little down time between the events. But she pulled it out! I'm not sure any man would be able to do this, but she did - and she's just a little slip of a person. "I am woman, hear me roar" indeed! 

Sifan Hassan - what an amazing runner. She won gold in 
the 5000 meter, the 10,000 meter and the marathon at 
these Olympics. That's a LOT of running for one person 
in a two-week span. BRAVO!!!

The arena events for closing ceremony were interesting, but I really got into the closing ceremonies when Tom Cruise brought the flag to LA and Snoop Dog and Dr Dre cut it up on the beach! I adore watching those two perform together. They're even better when they add Eminen to the mix, but just the two of them was still damned good. Dr Dre hasn't lost it at all - he's still got the beat and the sound, and Snoop ... well, he's Snoop. Truly, after his time at the Olympics, I think Snoop would fit in just about anywhere. Pretty good for a gangsta' LOL. 

Snoop Dogg was outstanding at the Olympics - he was here, 
there, and eveerywhere. Then, at closing ceremonies, he 
was at the LA beach, singing with Dr Dre, welcoming the 
Olympics to LA in four years. Snoop and Dr Dre have come 
a long way from their "gangsta" days, the angry young 
men have matured into fantastic musicians and they can 
still lay down a beat bar none. Having Snoop in Paris was 
one of the highlights of the 2024 Olympics. 

I did enjoy the fact that since Paris is so many hours ahead of us, I was actually able to watch the whole closing ceremony. I usually have to peel out at some point to get to sleep - my alarm doesn't care if I didn't get enough sleep, it's still going to go off at 4:00 am on a Monday morning (my swimming days are even earlier). Sleep is an important thing for me - LOL. But I got to see the entire closing ceremony the first time, and again a second time for the rebroadcast (after it had been edited slightly). I'm going to miss the Olympics, as I said in the beginning paragraph. Oh well. *sigh* 

Do you see that small black-circled "island" in 
the lower part of the red area? That's the only 
part unburned from the California fires, and 
it's in that small 2 mile by 1 mile section where 
my friend's house is located (along with a 
few others). That's scary, lucky! She was on an 
Alaskan cruise with her extended family when 
the fires engulfed the area. They had no idea 
what they would find when they returned to 
California. She wrote about the experience as her 
post in Idol this week and she's in the lead for 
her story. Well deserved lead, at that! 

Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. Be kind to others and spoil your pets and your children a little today - just because. If you haven't voted for my current story, I'd appreciate your vote. I'm not at the bottom, but I'm nowhere close to the top (nor will I be. That's looking like it will be my friend Bleodswean, whose house barely escaped the current California wildfires. It's in one very small pocket of untouched land in the middle of a fire-caused wasteland. So frightening. She well deserves the win this week, and any positive thoughts you can send her direction would be appreciated, I'm sure. Slava Ukraini.