It'll Be Edmonton vs Florida For the Stanley Cup Finals

So, the final two are finally set to go. After a great game last night, the Edmonton Oilers progress into the Stanley Cup finals against the Florida Panthers. When the playoffs had started, I had written down all of the predictions of the various pundits - by the match up, and eventually for the divisionals and the finals. Not a ONE had predicted these two as the final two teams left standing. I tossed the list out last week - it was absolutely pathetic to read - LOL. 

This is what it's all about - the Stanley Cup. The Cup dates 
from 1893 and obviously has grown with each win, adding 
new rings as necessary. The Walter Cup that I wrote about 
last week has a removable bottom where winners will be 
engraved, but I don't think it will be growing into a second 
Stanley Cup. 

The game was VERY hard fought, some beautiful skating and some amazing shots, with the goalies earning their money. The final score was 2-1, so yeah - very tight game. The schedule of the final games starts on Saturday the 8th. On the 8th and the 10th, they play in Florida, on the 13th and 15th they are in Edmonton. If there is more than four games required, they'll alternate, the 18th in Florida, the 21st in Edmonton and finally the 24th in Florida. It's rare for the final series to go a full seven games. 

The final two teams left standing - the Florida Panthers 
and the Edmonton Oilers. I love that we have a Canadian
 in the Cup final. There are only 7 Canadian teams in the 
league, but they play HARD! 

When I look at the schedule, and think about the standard playing schedule for ice hockey, I'm always amazed. These guys (and now gals) play a massive number of games during the regular season, and it's a very LONG season. Then they hit the playoffs and have more games. There are 32 franchise teams - seven of them Canadian, and every team plays every other team several times in a standard season, so there's a LOT of travel involved. A professional ice hockey player on average, plays five to seven years, the season goes from early Fall through (if they're lucky) early Summer. Through all of that, they're making a living wage, but nothing close to a football player (American football). Yet, when all is said and done, this is what my oldest niece's son wants to do with his life. He fell in love with ice hockey when he was 5 or 6 years old, and is considered a very bright prospect as he enters High School this Fall. He plays goalie and is already being watched and recruited by colleges and coached during the off-season by some very important and prominent coaches. He might go far in the league as a professional, if it's still what he wants to do when he graduates from High School in 2027. 

I loved this map of the various USA ice hockey 
teams and their sphere of geographic influence. 
If you want to look at the full-sized map (which I 
saved, but it's too large to put into my blog), just 
do a search for
NHL Power Rankings: Best Teams for the 2021 Season - Drive4Five

The life of a professional athlete isn't an easy one, and the road to get there isn't easy either. I love watching the guys on the ice. Ice hockey isn't for the faint-at-heart - it's fast and hard and it takes a while to get used to seeing what goes on; but since DH first introduced me to the sport many years ago, I've loved it. Now we're down to the final two teams. I don't have a horse in this race - the Wild didn't even make the playoffs. But I'm going to be watching. It's hockey - what's not to like about seeing guys fighting it out on a sheet of ice while the temps outside are in the 80's and 90's - LOL. Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

It's A Wild Day and Clothes That Fit - What a Concept!

I actually got a lot done yesterday, but didn't get a chance for any of the photography I needed/wanted to do. Still, I did get the new 3x3 grids set up and labelled for both the 8mm and the 6mm cubes and did a lot of errands to and fro and fro and to. As always, it was a busy, busy day. But I can say, it was also a very good one. As a final touch for the day, the Minnesota Wild won their final game of the season and carry home ice advantage into the playoffs for the Stanley Cup. So happy! 

I would dearly love the Stanley Cup to come 
to Minnesota, and we've got a team this year 
which is a strong contender. One step at a 
time. St Louis has been a problem all year, 
so hopefully the Wild will prevail. Obviously, 
given the dates on the puck, we've danced 
this dance before (but without the final 
success). 

Earlier in the week I had received an Amazon package with two new turtleneck and two new button-up shirts. I did an unscheduled laundry load yesterday to get them washed so that I can have some clothes that actually fit me instead of looking like I'm wearing my older, heavier sister's hand-me-downs. I'm slowly replacing or fixing my wardrobe (something that hasn't been done in more than a decade) and it's a lot of fun to actually fit comfortably into a size small. I'm at my High School weight and couldn't be much happier. 

I love this new shirt - the material, the 
cut and the color. I have one in a light 
grey also, and ordered a golden yellow 
and a deep red one yesterday. It fits 
really well and it's so nice to be wearing 
something that's the right size. It's not 
me in the picture, but the shirt fits me 
as well as it fits the model. 

The voting for LJ Idol stories is again open, and if you feel so inclined, I'd certainly appreciate your vote. If it doesn't count, I'm sure it will be thrown out by the moderator. Here's the link on Dreamwidth if you feel that my story about the theme "Pursuit" deserves your vote. As always, I am floored by my fellow writer, Hwango. So extremely talented! It wouldn't surprise me if s/he won the whole thing. If you get a chance to read any of her stories, you won't regret it. 

https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1114047.html

Today's Tarot lesson was one of two that concentrates on the Major Arcana - those 22 cards that stand alone in the deck. The deck I'm using has one additional card that intrigues me, although I'm unsure how to use it. It's called the "Tree of Life" and it isn't part of the Major Arcana or the four suits. It's not numbered and the format is different. I'll have to study it as an aside because I've never found this card in any other Tarot deck. But right now I'm supposed to concentrate on the one or two Major Arcana cards that call out to me. In my case, that's Strength and The Hermit, an interesting combination. (After a bit of research, the Tree of Life is the Kabballah, it also works with the Chakras. This will be fun to spend some time researching.) 

This isn't the deck I use, but Strength usually depicts a person 
and a large cat - lion or tiger. Sometimes it is only the cat, but 
that's less common. Mine is a beautiful, aloof woman with 
a fierce tiger. 

So I'm off to study some cards, wrap up some words, read some posts and generally start my day. It's starting out very well for me and I hope your day will be totally fabulous. Happy Saturday, have an excellent day and I'll return on Monday. Also, safe travels to my friend Cairistona who will be leaving to visit her daughter in Florida for a week. Have a great time! 

It's Time for Stanley Cup Hockey - Yippee!

DH and I had a rather nice Sunday - a lot of excellent ice hockey on TV, and a wonderful dinner of grilled steaks, veggies and pasta. I cooked my veggies and my own pasta (non-grain pasta - actually quite good) separately and put them aside until the steaks were done, then I started on his - a pasta with broccoli and cheese side-dish he had chosen and onions and mushrooms sauteed in butter. My steak was cooked perfectly, and was enough meat that I immediately split it into three portions and put two aside for later days. 

I just love the look of the Round One Stanley Cup 
playoffs lineup poster. The logos against the 
darkened Stanley Cup in the backdrop works 
really well. The games so far have been 
excellent, lots of top-grade hockey. And they 
have limited fans allowed to attend, which also 
makes a huge difference to the players and 
the excitement. 

We're head-deep in the Stanley Cup Playoffs right now, and the games we've watched to this point have been awesome. I've got the schedule downloaded and he'll be glued to the TV whenever a game is playing. I loved the NHL's poster for this round of the playoffs, so downloaded it and am sharing with all of you. The various logos of each team really play well off each other and graphically, it's extremely well done. 

I think the Minnesota Wild have one of the nicest logos 
in hockey. The indeterminate animal with the star 
in it's eyes and our forests and rivers is an excellent 
and very visual logo. One of my favorites, for sure. 

It was hard to wake up this morning, but somehow "I persevered". LOL It was ever harder to push myself to do my daily treadmill, but I did, and I'm happy I forced myself. Getting onto the treadmill for my miles every morning isn't my favorite thing in the world, but it does make a serious difference in my mental happiness and my physical well-being. It's hard to remember that a year ago I was one day away from re-opening my store after shut-down, and I was wearing a walking cast because I had broken four bones in my foot and ankle on the 1st of May. My foot still twinges complaint at me after I've been sitting cross-legged for meditation more than 30 minutes, but it's getting better every day. 

Just as a reminder, this is where I was on May 1st last 
year. I broke the highlighted bone in my ankle and 
three bones in my foot. Fortunately I didn't break 
things badly enough that surgery was required, and 
I heal quickly. I was back up on my feet pretty well 
by June 4th. But my foot is still slightly swollen and 
is still healing, even a year after the break. 

I have to admit I've come a long way in a year. Looking at last year, my weight (from the morning I broke my foot) was 158. Now I'm at 141.9 and still going down. I was in a cast until June 4th, so I didn't step back onto a scale until then, when I posted 156. I'm relieved that I've kicked off all of that Covid weight and am feeling much better every day. What a difference a year can make. 

I have to catch up on lectures and Q&A's with three different 
on-line classes today, so I'm totally out of time. I have 
to get moving and get out of here. Have an excellent day! 

On that note, I'm out of here. I have a lot I still have to accomplish before I leave for work, so I'd better get to it. Have an excellent Monday and please, as always, be kind, stay safe and wear your mask. Yes - even though the CDC says masks aren't necessary any more, we're not at herd immunity and I think they're premature for announcing that. I'm wearing a mask, I'm insisting that people entering my store wear a mask, and I think it's way too soon to put them aside. I'll be back tomorrow.