Pushing Boundaries and Voting - LJ Idol and Presidential

I had a wonderful run this morning, a good 15-minute mile pace with a 4 elevation. Made me happy, and made my right hip sore by the end of my 45 minutes. *sigh* I'll be walking a bit slower today and I'm quite sure I'll twinge now and again reminding me that I overdid it a little bit. But, to get anywhere, you have to push boundaries. That's true on the treadmill, in the swimming pool, and in life. I'm sure I'll be fine by the time I'm back on the treadmill tomorrow morning. 

After my main 30 minute run, I started a second run, this 
time through the northern mountains of Italy. Lots of 
fun tunnels and narrow roadways. 

It's a "day off" for me today, and I have bills to pay, "Ogre Juice" (alkagizers) to make for the coming week, and a desk full of paperwork that has to be taken care of. Oh joy! LOL We had a quiet Halloween, as I had anticipated. We didn't have any goblins or ghouls come to the door, and were able to settle down and watch "Miss Marple" without interruption. So much fun! 

I need to get a batch of Alkagizers made today, but that's 
all of the kitchen work I need to do. I did find a new soup 
recipe I want to try, but not for another week or so. I'm 
totally stocked because I cooked ahead for Chickie's 
jury duty schedule. 

Because we had anticipated a possible two weeks of jury duty for Chickie, my refrigerator is full of lovely soups and stews, so I don't even need to do any cooking today. It's a day of luxury. So unexpected, and very welcome. 

I'm so sorry, but I think hand-made holiday cards will 
be impossible for me this year. I will take a serious 
hunt to find the nicest fun cards I can for all of you, 
my dear friends, and hope you can forgive me. 

I've come to the conclusion that hand-made holiday cards will be impossible for me this year. That causes me sorrow - I adore making my cards for all of you. But here it is November, and when I'm making cards, I usually start them in the summer months. Time simply hasn't been there this year. So I'm going to start a hunt to find something commercial, but incredible for all of my friends. I can't spend a total fortune, after all, I just bought a treadmill for several thousand dollars. But, I'm sure I can find something I'll be happy to send, and I hope all of you will understand that sometimes (rarely) life simply gets in the way. This will be one of those rare times. 

I'm delighted that I live to write again. I don't think I've 
ever made it this long/far in LJ Idol in the past, and 
I'm totally thrilled. I couldn't have gotten this far without 
all of your votes, and I hope that you will continue 
reading and voting for as long as I can participate. 
New prompt will be released later today. 

So I'm going to wrap this up and get moving again. Thank you to all of you who voted for my Prayer this time around. I'm honored that you thought enough of my thoughts to put in your vote. I didn't win, but I certainly didn't lose either. Instead, Xeena won with a VERY well deserved win for a beautiful composition, and we have a write-off between two others for who gets "kicked off the island" this week. The new prompt will be posted later today. I'll have to make sure to check in and find out what malicious idea our moderator has in his head this time - LOL. 

No matter who you vote for (or have already voted for), 
someone else will have a different opinion and will have 
voted the opposite. It's called democracy, and it actually 
works, despite the stumbles. Someone will be happy, 
someone else will not be. But, we need to keep the 
anger out of it. Be disappointed, but don't be angry. 
It's the way democracy works - someone wins and 
someone loses. 

Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up the week. Please be kind to people - emotions are running a bit high right now with the election only a few days away. No matter who wins, someone will be happy and someone else will be disappointed - even angered. I'm looking ahead to Thanksgiving, by which time I hope all of the pent-up emotions will be laid to rest with the roasting of a very large bird. Enjoy your day - Slava Ukraini. 

Apologies For My Missing Day and Holiday Gifts - I'm Running Out of Time

Sorry to all - I missed posting on Thursday. Life got in the way and I ended up at the shop VERY early to get things done there. Although I have my laptop with me at the shop, it's quite a bit more limited in scope and posting on my blog (and having it repost onto LJ and DW) is much more complicated. I decided to skip a day of posting instead, and simply apologize on Friday. So ... I APOLOGIZE. So ... life goes on. 

I don't miss posting very often. My usual thing is taking 
advantage of my quiet time in the morning and posting 
in my daily blog. It's my way of getting my thoughts 
into order as well as keeping in touch with friends and 
family. Thursday did NOT go according to plan. 

Next week is Christmas, and I have almost nothing to give to DH. I would have knit him a hat, but he doesn't wear hats except when he's clearing the roof, and then he prefers to wear his Dad's old army hat from his service in Alaska during WWII. He doesn't need gloves, he wears the parka I bought him several years ago ... basically he doesn't like new things. He prefers the old and more comfortable things. He's extremely difficult to buy for, and I'm at a total loss and running out of time. 

DH wears a hat quite similar to this one when 
he pulls snow down from the roof or works 
the snow blower. I think it was his Dad's old 
gear from his WWII time in Alaska. 

Chickie suggested some Vanilla Beans - not a bad idea. DH does love to bake, and he's been moaning about the lack of vanilla beans (as well as their cost). I could pick up some at Penzey's ... actually, that's a great idea and they have curbside pickup. So, I placed an order and will pick it up on Wednesday. I'd like to find him a new sweatshirt or workout sweats, but he likes to wear his old stuff until they fall apart, so it's like walking through a mine field to buy him new things. 

Several on-line friends had suggested things
that DH could use in his baking, and I knew he 
had been wanting some vanilla beans, but 
was put off by the cost. Well, that's what presents 
are for, right? So I bought him some of the 
beans, and also the Vanilla Sugar he has been 
looking for. I'll try to arrange to pick it up on 
Wednesday morning. 

Chickie's holiday gift was easy (relatively). I knitted her a hat, but she had also mentioned that she wished she could find the set of fingerless gloves that she used to have. Her workstation is closer to the shop front door, and her hands get cold. So I did a quick search on how to knit them, and whipped up a pair for her on Wednesday before leaving for my eye doctor appointment. I still need to sew the side seam together on them, but they turned out really cute. I'll probably sew things up on Sunday while I'm working my last Sunday at the shop and listening to football. 

Apparently at least one of my eyes has astigmatism, and 
my 2019 prescription already had that factored in. I had 
no idea (or I simply didn't remember). That helps to explain 
why I have focal issues and problems with light. It makes 
some aspects of my art much more difficult. 

The eye doctor went well - I have astigmatism and my cataract is a bit worse, but I'm still able to get correction via prescription lenses instead of surgery. I'm 100% in favor of that idea. Now I need to get my new prescription made. I'll buy one set of inexpensive glasses and send my custom frames out to the East Coast for updated lenses. It'll be a bit of a juggling act for a little while, but I know it can be done - I've done it before. 

On that note, I think that about catches me up. I hope all of you have a wonderful Friday and I plan on being back here tomorrow. Be kind, stay safe and please wear a mask. 

Not Normal - A New Normal

On Saturday I said that life was returning to normal. I probably should have said that it's returning to a new normal, because the "normal" of two weeks ago is not the "normal" of today, nor should it be. It was insensitive of me to not take into account that we need a NEW normal - a normal of patience, a normal of kindness, a normal of true equality. We're a young country, as has been pointed out in a few posts that I've read. We're young, and we're still finding our balance. We'll get there, and these uprisings and new portions of history are part of that new balance. 

We're moving into a New Normal and it's time for some
changes for all of us. Change is part of the human
condition and status societies are dead societies. 

It's never easy to make changes that shake foundations. It wasn't easy when men suddenly met women at the polls after women finally won the right to vote. It wasn't easy when the first black children were escorted to school under the new laws of equality in education. It wasn't easy when an acknowledgement of right to live without persecution finally began to be uttered and legalized after Stonewall. Each of the quintessential moments began with a single person saying "No". Each of the movements those moments evolved into were rocky, difficult, and sometimes violent. 

We're shaking the foundations, but from the rubble,
we'll be building something stronger and more
inclusive. Is this the last shaking we'll need? It's
doubtful. Change takes time and lots of effort. 

As a nation, we can't turn out back on our populace - ALL of our populace. We need to talk, and we need to act, but act in supportive ways as well as the occasional confrontational way. We need to understand the vast variety of our populace, their heritage and history, and their vast contributions to our society and our world. We interact with a variety of people every day, but do we really know them? Do we know their history? Their families? Their accomplishments and occasional failures? 

I don't see the world coming together for a huge sing-a-long
of Kumbaya, and would think I had been slipped some
drug if it ever did happen. Humanity isn't that united or
unanimous, and I'm not sure we should be. But we do need
to all work with each other to allow individual expression
and individual safety for all. 

I'm not saying we all need to gather together into one huge sing-a-long of Kumbaya. I am saying that each person has a right to have their own story and that their story enhances yours. Maybe today is the day to make a new friend, to smile a bit more and to listen to someone's story. Maybe today is the day when someone else's history will intersect with your own. It can happen. We can forge this new normal into a stronger, better and more well rounded society. 

Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. 

Stay at Home Day 19 - A New Keyboard

I apologize for missing yesterday's post completely. Computer issues as described herein. 

Yesterday started out fairly normal, for these less-than-normal days. After I woke up, I checked a couple of things on my computer before heading to the treadmill for my daily fast walk. That was a success, and after a shower, my morning oatmeal, and a nice cup of tea ready, I settled back at my computer to continue my work.  But ... suddenly my keyboard wasn't working. I plugged and unplugged it, but it had given up the ghost. 

I loved my previous Logitech keyboard. It was a fully sealed,
washable keyboard that I could actually wash with the spray
washer on my sink. Keyboards tend to get really scuzzy over
time, so that was a real plus, but it was also almost ten years old. 

The keyboard wasn't a new one, it's as old as the computer itself which is just a few steps away from derelict, but it does what I need and runs the programs I depend on, so I'm not looking to upgrade until the store is closed and I'm not doing any mail order any more. History aside, a dead keyboard wasn't something I could live with, so I grabbed my phone and started looking for a replacement. 

I ended up with this keyboard - backlit keys against a brushed
carbon platform with a lot of specific gaming features, and it
was affordable and in-stock at my local office supply company. 

Office Depot is quite close to my home, and I have a business account there, so I started my search there. I hadn't realized how many keyboards were now wireless, but I needed a wired plug-in keyboard, so that at least narrowed my search. I also wanted another Logitech - I've always had good luck with their keyboards and mice. My third criteria was that it had to be in-stock so that I could prepay and get it on curbside pickup. 

It's a really fun keyboard to come up to in a dark room. I haven't
shut down my computer since I installed this, I'll have to
check, but I'm pretty sure the lighted keyboard turns off when
my computer is off. 

This is what I ended up with - a gaming keyboard that's lit by LED's under each keypad, and they're RED! It's totally awesome. I feel like my keyboard is haunted every time I sit down at it. It's also a very sturdy brushed metal chassis, and it's programmable - I can actually program keys to react in specific ways for gaming purposes. It's actually a bit of overkill, but I'm really liking it. I smile a little bit every time I see those red keys glowing in my under-desk keyboard drawer. LOL I'm channeling fire magic and it's a hoot. 

Apparently there is a second version with a brushed silver background on
the aluminum base, and white back-lit characters. It's apparently only
available at Best Buy, but I didn't even think about checking there for a
keyboard, even though they're only 1/2 mile farther up the road from
the office supply company. I like my drama, though - LOL. 

Have a great Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow. Stay home, stay safe, be well. 

Pop Art in Fashion - Project Runway Week Seven

First, I apologize. My computer was giving me some bad mojo this morning. I ended up doing a system restore late tonight and after chasing and finally recapturing my blog (for a while it insisted I had never had a blog and the 3300+ posts I've made over the years simply didn't exist - argh!). But, after a lot of work and some grey hairs (virtual of course, since I have no hair), I think I've managed to recapture my blog once more. So, here's my delayed post. 

It's a Project Runway night and after last week's "heritage" challenge I think the designers are hoping for something easy this week. Unfortunately, it's a challenge sponsored by Bergdorf Goodman department stores and their current "pet resident" designer, Ashley Longshore - a bold personality artist with a pop culture look ala Andy Warhol (although Warhol did it better, in my opinion). I admit that I'm pleased that Ashley Longshore is the first female artist embraced by Bergdorf's as an artist in residence and that she was the featured artist for New York Fashion Week. Ashley Longshore is anything BUT stodgy. (As usual, the photographs are in alphabetical order of the designer.)  

Brittany Allen is a total fangirl of Ashley
Longshore and put in a lot of touches to make
her garment special and unique for the
artist. It was very appreciated. 

Each designer will be working on a joint collaboration with Ashley Longshore, as she provides an individual print for each designer. The first person to choose a Longshore print was last week's winner, Chelsey, and it went down the ranks, each designer choosing the next one, until the final choice, Sergio. Not difficult to understand that placement - he's managed to alienate almost all of the other designers.

Chelsey Carter's design was OK, but I wasn't
really excited by it. To my eyes it seemed a
standard dress style and I wasn't impressed
by her use of the print. 

After a short design session, they head to Mood with a budget of $175 and 30 minutes to choose additional fabrics and trims for their print challenge. Many designers on Project Runway find it difficult to work with prints, and I suspect this challenge will be no different. It's a two-day challenge, so, let's see what happens.

Dayoung Kim was having health issues again, she
eats like a bird and the stress is getting to her too. I
really loved the dress that she came up with for this
challenge, though. It was clean lines and the
bold side panels really set the print off. 

After Ashley has met individually with each designer, helping them tweak their designs to better meet her aesthetic, she tells the workroom that the bedazzling cart is open and any sparkling things on it are there for the taking. It's a feeding frenzy with glittering do-dads being grabbed and scattered across the floor. After the end of a very full day, the designers move to the workshop patio where they find tacos and alcoholic beverages waiting for them, courtesy of Ashley. Although I might not be fond of her artistic style, she's a generous soul.

Delvin McCray did a nicely wrapped pant suit, but
again it was a bit boring. I would have liked some
more solid panels and a different neckline. 

Dayoung had started the day without energy after having fought a cold throughout the previous challenge. Remember, she was also taken to the hospital for the beginning of Episode 2. She's lacking energy and moving very slowly. She's got most of the workroom worried about her, and several of the other designers ask her if she wants the medic. After a quick meet with medical, she forges on.

It's a good thing Geoffrey Mac decided to belt
the front of his oversized tent dress. Without that
touch his model would have looked like an
Oompah Loomah from Willy Wonka's factory. 

Sergio is trying to make another political statement with his garment. He says that all of his designs must have a political statement at their heart. OK, whatever floats his boat, but I'm not climbing onto the platform at all. He can be a gown designer for 45+ year ole women, or he can be a designer of political statement clothing, but I'm not sure he can be both with success.

Marquise Foster made his white top from cotton, so
no stretch. That didn't serve him well because his
darts didn't line up well and the top was a bit of
a disaster. He didn't do much with the print
either, just let it act like overdone stripes. 

Geoffrey's over-sized coat/dress is burying his model. Christian suggests pulling the front in with belting to make a slimmer silhouette, so he's busy making those changes. (As an aside, I was taken a bit aback by the editing decision to show the nude top of Nancy's model, DD. DD is Trans, but since the show refuses to show the breasts of their female models, why would they think showing the torso of a Trans who was assigned male but responds female would be OK? I think I may have to make a direct comment to the show because this decision was NOT OK. Either show any/all without discrimination, or edit any nude frontal chest shots out entirely.

Nancy had one of my favorite models, DD, and would
have served the fashion better by making the coat more
form fitting, or ditching it completely. The pants were
well done, but the coat was underwhelming. 

Victoria is having serious problems working with the patterned fabric. She prefers single color fabrics so that her style of wrapping can be the star. She's ending up putting Ashley's fabric on the pants of her outfit, and leaving the top plain white. I have a feeling that Ashley won't be happy with the minimal amount of her fabric that's being used in the finished design.

Sergio Guadarrama wanted to have the gown with
its' elaborate back bow appear as if a butterfly
was coming from a cocoon. It didn't work for me,
although he's done gowns I've liked less than this
effort. 

Runway day dawns and Dayoung is feeling better. Two hours before the Runway, the models arrive for final fittings, hair and makeup. The usual panic and potential disasters are ready for viewing by the judges and we're off to the Runway.

Victoria Cocieru seems to be getting into a design
rut. I liked the criss cross the first few times, but
had to agree with whatever judge called it wrapped
bandages for this look. Call me unimpressed. 

Sergio was certain he would win the challenge, but he's merely safe, along with Geoffrey and Chelsey. The other six designers are the top and bottom looks for this challenge. I can hardly wait for the judges comments because right now I'm saying Brittany for the win and Marquise for the loss, but I haven't heard a single comment yet,  so I'm basing this on no empirical data.







SPOILERS BELOW - DON'T SWIM IN THESE WATERS UNLESS YOU DON'T MIND FINDING OUT THE WINNER AND LOSER!





The top three are Dayoung, Delvin and Brittany and any of them could easily win this week. For the bottom looks, Victoria played things too safe with a "cut out bandage-wrapped" top over a sprinkling of the print on the bottom. Marquise failed to show the print to it's best advantage and he failed with technical skills because his blouse darts were badly placed and sewn. The final design on the bottom was Nancy, who actually made DD look lost in her over-sized jacket. Without the jacket DD looked great and if she had just done a top and the pants, Nancy might have been in the top instead of the bottom.

So, who won and who went home? Brittany is the winner of the challenge and she was totally thrilled because she is a total Ashley Longshore fangirl. Marquise is sent home, just barely edging out Nancy who was within an eyelash of being eliminated. Still, poor design decisions won out over poor construction issues yet again, and it makes sense because the garment construction is supposed to be a given for a competition at this level. It's a shame to lose Marquise who was the only self-taught designer in the workroom, but it's a competition and there's someone who will be sent home every week. Did you guess correctly?

Sorry for the day's delay, but I need the Runway photos before I can post. Maybe next week will be more timely, but it's not horrible to wait an extra 24 hours either. Have a wonderful weekend and I'll be back on Monday.

Project Runway Avant-garde - NO SPOILERS

I had DH sharing my room last night and he was watching the Olympics, so I didn't get a chance to watch Project Runway All Stars until the actual judging. That means I know the top and bottom looks and the judges' comments, but missed the full runway walk. Still, it was Project Runway Thursday and the show was ON! 

What is Joshua doing with blue tape and a glue gun? Tomorrow
I'll show the top and bottom looks for this week's avant-garde
challenge, but Joshua's design was certainly "out of this world". 

The challenge was Avant-garde, i.e., wearable art, and the theme of "designs inspired by the cosmos" was introduced at the Hudson River Museum's Planetarium. The designers had a $350 budget and TWO days for the challenge. I suspect they needed every minute. 

Avant-garde is difficult because it requires the designer to showcase their own construction and design foundations while designing clothing that can be worn, but that is anything BUT street smart or "wearable". An avant-garde design would be worn to a very special event where the owner wanted to make a standout statement, but more likely would spend most of its life on a hanger in the back of a closet. It's fashion that's costume without crossing that boundary. 

The usual judges, Georgina Chapman and Isaac Mizrahi, were augmented by two guest judges - actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and one of my favorites, RuPaul Charles. Oh yeah! If anyone can judge avant-garde, it's RuPaul. The prize for the winner is Marchesa shoes for their first professional collection. That doesn't float my boat, but hey, I'm not really a shoe person. 

The looks were varied and ranged from pretty awesome to pretty dammed horrid, like "what the hell was he/she thinking", horrid. The joys of avant-garde. 

The Olympics are winding down. Did you get a chance to see the US women's hockey team win over Canada in a double shootout? It was pretty spectacular. The Gold Medal round for men's curling will be held today, and I can't wait. The US hasn't done well in previous Olympics, but this year we're finally hitting the mark. One more game, guys! Make it happen! 

Enjoy your Friday. I'll show you the winning and losing looks from the avant-garde challenge tomorrow morning. On Sunday the Olympics will shut it all down at the closing ceremonies, and life can return to a semblance of normal on Monday. That's a lot happening in the next few days. 

Today's Post - An Unintentional Experiment

Today's post may be a bit weird. I'm not sure how well it will translate to the various forums in which I post, and my standard routine of writing, posting, grabbing a copy from my personal pages at AOL, and re-posting it to LJ and DW may not work today since AOL is down for some service. If I have any say in the matter, they'll fix whatever has been really effin' up their service lately because it's been super bad since their last major update. 

Today will be an experiment and I hope my
blog will be readable for all of you who read
off my carryover posts on LJ and DW. 

Nonetheless, today's post may look really bad on LJ or DW or both, and if so, I apologize in advance. 

Today is my "day off" and I'm going full steam ahead on my holiday cards. By the end of today, my interiors should be ready for signatures and small notes, and the exterior fronts should be completely finished. I still will have the backs and the envelopes remaining, and need to punch holes in the small attachment that many of you are getting. It's supposed to be able to hang, thus the holes. 

I really pushed the capabilities of my Big Kick Sizzix machine this
year, cutting not only paper, but also copper with it. I'm surprised
it's still working and didn't just pop apart at the joints with the
last few passes of metal. 

I can say that this year's card pushed my equipment to the max! I don't think my Big Kick Sizzix was ever meant to do what I pushed it to do this year. It came through like a trooper, but I totally ruined several pairs of carrying sheets, and I'm sure my arm got a few extra muscles by cranking copper and steel through something that should only be used for lighter-weight metals, no steel, and usually only on paper. 

I wish I had the talent to paint something this pretty, but
styles differ. I love this fox in the snow, though. Although
there is a fox in my cards this year, it's not in
the snow - LOL. 

A lot of this year's cards are hand-painted and embossed, thus the time sink. It's been a tremendous amount of fun seeing things come together. I never really know what will happen when I start off with a wisp of an idea. I start collecting things that I want to use, and embark upon a journey which will leave parts and parcels behind as I move toward the finish line with a final group of stamps, inks, and pens. My Conestoga Wagon has left several dressers and at least one fine marble-topped entryway table behind me on the desert flats while working toward the finish line. The end is in sight. 

Conestoga wagons conquered the West of the USA. Don't kid yourself - it
wasn't the army who actually conquered the Westward expansion, it was
these intrepid families who packed up everything they had in their farm
wagons, attached a shade over all of it, and set out for places they had
never seen to start a new life in the West. 

I ordered stamps yesterday while on-line at the Post Office website for a mail order. They'll arrive at the shop within a week, and by then I hope to have most of my cards ready to put into the mail. My internationals will go first, in hopes of your getting them before Solstice. But I always promise to have things in the mail by Solstice, so I'm still on time - LOL. 

So, here's to experimenting and projects. I hope you have a glorious Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow, hopefully back to my normal interface and order. 

Ants, Meme and a Project Runway Junior Delay

Although Project Runway Junior was on last night, my usual sources haven't put up their individual photos and analysis yet, so I'm pushing my review off a day or two. It was a fun episode, the "design for real people" challenge, and after airing, we're down to the final seven. I'll try for a Runway review in tomorrow's post instead.

I really hate it when I find ants in my house. I expect a few
when DH is working outside, they will ride in on his clothing.
But it's winter, the outside is covered with snow, and I
guarantee we're not bringing them into the house. I need to
find where they are holed up and kill them quickly! 

I killed my THIRD ant this week in the bathroom sink this morning. This is really bothering me A LOT. I'm seriously considering doing a major clean on Sunday to see if I can find where they are coming from and eliminating them. It would be a hell of a lot of work, but it's really grating on my nerves. I like to reserve my home for two-legged and the occasional furry four-legged critters, and leave the multi-legged ones outside where they belong. GRRRRRRR

Since I'm at looser ends than usual this morning, onward with the 365-day Meme.....

I do't apologize very often, at least not about big or major things.
I haven't seriously hurt anyone lately and I haven't broken or
stolen anything. I'm good to go!  

What's the last thing you apologized for?

A true apology, not just an "I'm sorry, I moved the box from A to B and forgot to put it back?" I don't do a lot to apologize for - in fact, I can't remember the last time I apologized for something serious. I think the last thing I flippantly apologized for was forgetting to buy an item at the grocery store earlier this week, but nothing major for an apology for a long time.

I'm swimming every day. I'm so incredibly happy about that. I'm feeling good.
Here's hoping I can keep that for the next 20 years until my body wears
out and betrays me once again. 

On a scale of 1-10, how is your health?

Pretty darned good, actually. Where Chickie comes through at a 5 (she was just taking a health assessment for her new insurance carrier yesterday) and DH is probably a 6-7 (high blood pressure and a couple of other things), I would probably put myself at a 9 or a 10. I'm not perfect, I'm still 10-12 pounds overweight and working on it, but I don't take any regular medications and my only issues are surface, not internal. More than a decade ago it would have been quite different. Then, I almost died from some serious internal BS. But after surgery and now, after more than two years of almost daily exercise, I'm feeling great! Yippee!

So on that note, have a great Friday. Hopefully I'll be able to post a Project Runway Junior wrap-up for the week tomorrow morning because it was a rather cute episode with some really nice outfits and at least a couple of total disasters. The pics will be fun to show all of you. Enjoy your day!

I'll Try to Catch Up - Really I Will

I'm behind. I'm behind thanking people for the lovely Valentines greetings and cards that they sent in cyber and physical manner. I'm behind on wishing Happy Birthday greetings to several of my on-line f-list friends (SO SORRY), and I'm behind on sleep, but that's just me being me. As we enter this final week of the Olympic Games, I'm really grateful that the end is in sight because I need my routine to get back to "normal" once again.

On Sunday night the torch of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games will be snuffed
and the world will come together again in 2016 in Rio de Janero, Brazil for
the Summer Games and in PyeongChang, Korea in 2018 for the next Winter Games.

Of course that won't really happen because Chickie will be on vacation for the last week of February and beginning of March and I'll have to work for her, but stopping by to feed her cat and working a six-day week is suddenly sounding OK, compared to being glued to the TV too late in the evenings, and waking up to watch curling instead of turning on the news. But I do love the Games and I'll be sad to see the closing ceremonies on Sunday night.

For some strange reason, Chickie's cat seems to
want to be fed daily. But Sasha and I have an understanding.
I take care of her food and clean her litter box and she
doesn't hiss at me. If she does, I hiss back. 

My Sunday yesterday was spent with my artwork. I knew we'd have the games on for the day between his hockey and my figure skating, so rather than work on fiction, it was easier to continue working on my artwork for B2MeM. It's coming along well, but I have to make some serious decisions now to allow me to finish it up. I worked on it for several hours while watching the Ice Dancing Short Programs and I'm pretty happy about where it is at now. It goes back to the shop with me today in hopes that I can continue working on it either this morning or tomorrow morning, then home again to work on it on Wednesday. If things go smoothly, I'll be done by deadline and won't have to ask for any extension.

If you're unhappy with your life, type a new masterpiece. 

The US has had its usual luck in curling. The women's team conceded a match to Korea this morning, ending their Olympic games with a 1-9 record in round robin and last place. Way to go, women's curling team! Oy! The thing is, we were horrid four years ago and we're just a horrid now. Two of the four women on the team are retiring from the sport now, so maybe we can hold out hope for 2018. But I won't hold my breath. I still love watching curling, and whoever wins, good for them.

Great Britain has good curling teams. I love the women's skip, Eve Muirhead. She's
a really competent skip, and a very attractive young woman. 

We're going to get a 4"-6" snow this morning, hitting right at the morning commute. Looking at the weather satellite pic on my phone, we will miss a lot of it, but can't manage to miss it entirely. I hope we don't get as much as they are predicting, but who can say? All I know is that many more of these may well kill my poor DH. I join my thoughts with so many others of you - "Winter has gone long enough. Time for some mild weather."