Today Is A Sports Wrap-up - Sorry ... Not Sorry - LOL

It was a relaxing Sunday filled with football and hockey. The Minnesota Vikings (football) are of course, long out of the run, but after Saturday and Sunday's games, we're down to four teams for the Conference Finals. Those will be held this weekend, then we'll have two weeks until SuperBowl. So, victorious and moving into the Final Four are the Ravens, the 49er's (in a VERY tight game against Green Bay), the Lions,and Kansas City (in a squeaker over the Buffalo Bills). It was an awesome day of football. 

So, the Conference Finals are next weekend. the AFC 
and the NFC champions will then play each other in 
the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 11th. Right now, 
The Detroit Lions will Play San Francisco for the NFC 
Championship, and Kansas City will play Baltimore 
for the AFC. Kansas won a squeaker last night, and I 
was SO hoping they would lose. But, now it's up to 
the Ravens to stop KC from getting another step closer 
to another Super Bowl win. 

In ice hockey, Minnesota totally crushed the Carolina Hurricanes and Karil Kaprisov had a hat trick (that's three goals in a single game for those of you who don't follow hockey). That was fantastic, so pleased for him. It seems he's finally getting his skates under him once again, and it's about time! In other games, the Senators beat Philadelphia, Detroit pulled out a squeaker over the Lightning, and the Islanders beat the Dallas Stars. Add in the Rangers trouncing the Ducks and the Maple Leafs crushing the Kraken and it was a totally satisfying weekend of ice hockey too. We have one more week of regular season games before settling down for a minor break while All-Star Weekend takes place February 1-3. The week following that will be Super Bowl weekend, and then I'll be relying on hockey only for a while until the great sports desert of the summer months. 

Karill Kaprisov scored his second career "hat trick" for the 
Minnesota Wild yesterday. For those of you not familiar 
with ice hockey terminology, a "hat trick" means scoring 
three goals in a single game. They're rare, and always 
worth celebrating. The Wild went on to win that game. 

Yes, there's something called the Olympics that will be going on in Paris from July 26 - August 11, and I'm quite sure I'll be watching it because I enjoy the Olympics, and because I'll be sports starved by that time. LOL But that's just a bridge until football and hockey seasons pick up again. I'm not a baseball fan (there's just not enough action to interest me), but I'm quite sure DH will be watching whatever baseball he can. He's a fan of the sport. We're both watching whether Joe Mauer will be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame or not. It's looking good for the former Cretin High School alumni. DH also attended Cretin, although Joe was a few years ahead of him - I think he shared his class with DH's older brother, if I remember correctly. Still, it would be a great honor and well deserved - Mauer was an awesome player for many years with the Minnesota Twins organization. 

Joe Mauer was a three-sport athlete when he was in High 
School and was drafted by the Minnesota Twins at the same 
time that he was the #1 quarterback recruit in the country, 
and he was pretty darned good with basketball too. But, 
he signed with the Minnesota Twins in the 2001 draft 
and stayed with them throughout his career. Local Boy 
Makes Good could easily be the headline if he is 
elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. 

So, today's post has turned into a sports recap. Sorry about that, for those of you who don't do sports. I don't populate my blog with sports news that often, but we're getting down to Super Bowl in football, and it's time for All-Star Weekend in ice hockey, and the Hall of Fame for Joe Mauer ... well, they are all things that deserve their place in the sun. So, today was a sports wrap, and I'm not sorry. LOL Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

Boo Hiss - Another Year in the Tank *sigh*

It's hard to be a sports fan in Minnesota. It requires their fans to shoulder disappointment after disappointment. Seasons with great promise end up down the drain with the dirty dishwater, and hopes dashed won't rise again until the next season. I've lived through this throughout the time I've lived here in Minnesota. It's one HUGE reason why I still hold my Denver teams to my heart. 

I do love our logo. It's meant to be an 
undetermined animal - bear, maybe cougar, 
with the river and trees of our state and 
our North Star. It's darned close to the 
perfect logo. 

Last night was yet another of those disappointments. The Wild failed to deliver and have played their final game for the season. The coach shook up the lines to try and get better performance from the players, but they failed to score more than a single goal, and against a good team, that simply didn't cut it. So once again a Minnesota team disappoints. 

I love the Colorado Avalanche logo too, although 
I don't wear it as often and it isn't on my car. 
(I do have a nice MN Wild logo on the back 
of my car, alongside my Denver Broncos 
horse and above my "Broncos Fangirl" license 
plate frame = LOL. 

Fortunately, I'm also a Colorado fan, and the Broncos and the Avalanche have been my saviors in past years. The Avalanche are still in the hunt, their series tied 3-3 with the final tie-breaker to be played on Sunday. Go Avalanche! I'll be hanging my Wild jerseys back in the closet and hoping that we won't have the difficulty in getting Kaprisov back from Russia when our season recommences in the Fall. 

The team that surprises me this playoff is Boston. They 
were ahead of every other team heading into the 
playoffs. Like WAY ahead. But here they are, 
entering a mandatory Game 7 win against the 
Panthers. I'm quite surprised at that. I do like 
their logo, but fail to see where the Bruins come 
into that image. 

I do have two wonderful Avalanche t-shirts, so I'll still be wearing appropriate garb for a few more days. After that, I'll be watching the next stage of the finals because ... hockey! My team (or teams) may be out of the hunt, but that doesn't change the fact that I love the sport. These next two days will determine it all.   

The logo for the New Jersey Devils is 
clever - very well designed. I love the 
stylized figure and that pointed tail. 
Great design. 

Right now, moving on to the next stage of the playoffs, it'll be Dallas, Las Vegas, and Carolina for sure moving on. There's still a lot of hockey to be played over the next two days to determine who else will join these teams in the final eight. 

I would have thought the Seattle Kraken would 
have gone with a multi-tentacled image, but 
they went with the stylized S with the red 
eye. It's evocative, but not as fun as 
tentacles would have been - LOL. 

And, that's all I know today - LOL. I did get quite a lot accomplished yesterday, even cleaned my oven and the outside stainless steel of my refrigerator so my appliances look fabulous again. But now, I need to get into gear and head out to the shop. Have an excellent Saturday and a great weekend. I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini. 

Winter Transportation - A Random Thought Brought an Unexpected Theme

We'e temporarily out of the deep freeze up here in the Frozen Northlands, and I'm breathing a sigh of relief. We might actually push above freezing for an hour or so today, but we won't be in the sub-zero at all until a quick drop on Friday night. We're also possibly snow-free for up to a week, which suits me just fine. I'm sure all of the skiers are grumbling about that, but this is Minnesota - basically a land without much topography. The entire idea of downhill skiing in Minnesota has always seemed to be a big joke to me - a former Aspenite and resident of Colorado with it's Rocky Mountains and multitude of ski areas. 

I learned to ski at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen. It's a 
friendly mountain, but my equipment was really quite 
poor (hand-me downs from my aunt, and really appreciated 
since I didn't have money for rentals or new equipment). 
I enjoyed skiing enough to ski several more ski areas 
in Colorado during my college years, but it was never 
a great love of mine. Give me an ice skating rink and 
a pair of ice skates and I'm MUCH happier. 

The one thing that a lot of people do up here (besides ice skating and ice hockey) is cross-country skiing. I admit there's probably something quite wonderful about getting into the "wilderness" - rural or urban - and the silence of the skis against the snow. However, I've never really been very interested in cross-country skiing, and I think, after having said "Thanks, no thanks," for more than half a century, I'll leave that experience for others. 

The Twin Cities (and other Minnesota cities) have a 
large grouping of groomed trails for cross-country skiers. 
You don't have to go very far to park your car, put on your 
skis, and lose yourself in the swoosh of the skis against 
the packed snow. Golf courses are especially prized for their 
groomed pathways in the winter snow. All of the municipal 
parks also feature cross-country trails. 

I'm also not a snowmobile person. I love motorcycles, and I guess a snowmobile is more similar to a motorcycle than a car - after all, you don't have a metal shell all around you on a snowmobile or a cycle. But although I adore motorcycles, I've never really seen the enjoyment aspect of a snowmobile. I can see the function of a snowmobile, however, especially for those people who live lives in very remote areas. It's how they manage to get around in the winter, and get to areas where they can purchase their groceries, etc. As transportation, I think snowmobiles are wonderful. As recreation, they don't quite do it for me. 

Snowmobiles are big business here in the Frozen Northlands. 
I can see the appeal - I love the entire concept. But I rather 
hate the noise and the pollution. Polaris, one of the larger 
manufacturers, has announced they are developing an 
electric snowmobile. That would be magnificent. 

A lot of die-hard bicyclists ride winterized bikes in this season. The bikes tend to have wider tires, allowing for more traction on icy roads. The riders are all bundled up like the Abominable Snowman riding a bicycle. I think they're a bit crazy (especially when our temperatures fall to sub-zero), but they seem quite competent and seem to actually enjoy it. I have to admire their fortitude, but I'll stay in my nice heated car, thank you very much. 

Winterized bicycles usually have fatter tires, often 
with small blunt spikes on them for additional traction. 
I can't think of anything more miserable than commuting 
to work on a bicycle in sub-zero temperatures, but I've 
known people who were on their bikes every day of the 
year, no matter what. 

So, that's where my thoughts brought me today - LOL. I would never have thought about writing a blog about winter transportation, but here it is. I hope that your transportation choices today bring you to your locations safely and quickly, and that you have a wonderful day. I'll be back tomorrow with another random bit of thought trivia - LOL. 

Playing To Empty Stadiums - COVID-19

Trump closed the US borders to Europe last night, although apparently the UK is excepted. I was hoping that his raising of the castle gate would help a friend's daughter who is caught in a mess with her honeymoon trip plans with little/no hope of refund from the travel agency, so I texted my friend as soon as I heard the news from DH. Unfortunately, I didn't know that the UK was excepted, so I extend my apologies. I still think that a full refund should be available, perhaps minus down payments for hotels (usually assessed for a single night's charge). I think Trump's action gives her daughter another leg to stand on when insisting upon a refund for a trip she cannot take due to no fault of her own. 

Across the world, sporting events are being played at empty stadiums
because of the COVID-19 virus. Here, a match is being played in Spain. 

As virus fears sweep the world and large events are cancelled far and wide, I join many in the "wait and see" game. My annual trip to Milwaukee, which is usually locked in by early January and happens in late May/early June, is up in the air. Some teachers and attendees won't be able to travel, some students won't be able to come either. The sponsoring organization is extending their deadline for anyone to request a full refund of tickets, etc to May 10th. It's unprecedented but I'm grateful. I want to attend, no question about it, but I'll watch carefully. Maybe I'll have to cancel. Meanwhile, I'm staying in my small circle - my store, my neighborhood, and very small groups - just like my normal habits. 

The Golden State Warriors basketball team played their latest game
in an empty stadium, and many college and professional events
and leagues are following this protocol. 

When I was at the grocer yesterday, there was plenty of toilet paper. Of course, I didn't have a need to go to Target - my usual "big box" store, and the supplies might have been hit on those shelves. Still, I have plenty on-hand at home, so I left what was at the store for some other shopper, got my groceries, and returned home. I do carry hand-wipes in my coat pocket, just in case. I guess the old saying of "You can't be too careful" is a good byword for a while. 

It's the playoffs in Ice Hockey, and an empty seat just doesn't happen. But
here, in a game last night between the New York Rangers and the
Colorado Avalanche, large swaths of seats were left empty. 

In the midst of all of this back and forth, warning, doom and gloom, comes Project Runway. Tonight is the finale show of Season 18 and it's been wonderful! Things were left very much in the air at the end of last week's show, and I'm sure we'll be picking up almost right where we left off - with a final decision of who will show at New York Fashion Week. I'll report on the show tomorrow morning if photos are available, Saturday morning if the pics are delayed in any way. 

The NCAA announced that their games will be closed to all spectators as
they move into March Madness and the Final Four. It's a first - there has
never been an all-around ban on spectators at any NCAA league event, and
this is league-wide, not just for a single game. 

Have an excellent day, keep your wits about you, and don't panic. Remember, Mother Nature has the upper hand at all times. We can fight her, but her deck is stacked. So relax a bit, use common sense, and help each other. We'll get through this. I'll be back tomorrow. 

It's Boys High School Hockey Tournament Time

It's early March, the temps and weather are saying we're having an early Spring this year, but I know how that can go. In fashion, it's "One day you're in, the next day you're out." In weather up here in the Frozen Northlands, it's one day it's Spring and the next day it's a massive blizzard that will bring Winter back for another two weeks or more. That's reality, but we're at the tail end of what has (so far) turned into a somewhat mild winter, all things taken into consideration. 

The Xcel Center is packed for the High School Hockey
Tournament. Even the upper decks are full. We've been
pulling in 18,000+ attendance at each game for this year's
tournament. It's a surreal experience for the kids. 

It's also Boy's High School Hockey Tournament time, meaning I've had the store TV turned to the hockey games during the day and we're watching the games at night. It's been a great tournament. They take over the Xcel Center, (where our professional ice hockey team plays), and attendance has been averaging 18,000+ for each game. Yeah, 18,000+ attendance for a High School sporting event. But these boys are good! Really good. A lot of them are already committed to various college hockey programs, and I can guarantee some of them will be on ice as a member of one of the pro teams within a decade, probably sooner. It's exciting, well played hockey with no holds barred. 

The MN State High School League does a great job with the
major tournaments, both hockey and basketball. Tickets
are affordable, and people come from all over the state to
attend the games and cheer on their teams. The games
pull in fans, but also scouts. Playing well in one of the
State Tournaments can be career changing. 

I was too tired to watch the final semi-final match last night, but the final match-ups for today are Mahtomedi v Hermantown in Class 1 at noon, and Hill-Murray v Eden Prairie in Class 2 tonight at 7:00 pm. Those are going to be great games, and I'll have the TV on for the Class 1 game so that I can at least listen while I cheer Hermantown onward - hopefully to victory. I'm not an Eden Prairie fan, so I'll cheer Hill-Murray for the night game, although I think Eden Prairie might take it all. 

Hermantown prevailed in this game (Hermantown is in the black). It
was a well-fought and fast-paced game. The kids aren't as fast as
the pro teams (pro teams are wicked fast!), but they're pretty
darned good to watch on the ice. 

It's already been too warm to allow any more outdoor skating on the many municipal outdoor seasonal rinks, which is too bad for easy practice and wonderful for the gardeners whose thoughts are already in planning stages for this year's gardens. The State High School Boy's Basketball Tournament begins on March 18th, and goes for four days at the Target Center. It's the second major tournament of the year and again has massive attendance numbers. It's also often the final snowstorm of the year. I won't (almost) count on probable snow-free days until after that weekend. 

I really wanted Blake (in the blue) to win against Eden Prairie (in the red)
in last night's game, but Eden Prairie is the larger school and has a much
deeper roster from which to pull. They were able to field four lines
against Blake's three, and that made the difference. 

So enjoy your weekend upcoming. Don't forget that Daylight Savings Time switches and you need to Spring Ahead early Sunday morning - that's tomorrow, y'all. I'm going to head over and get a swim in before starting my day. I have a busy week ahead and really need the pick-me-up that the pool will give to me. Have a great weekend and I'll be back on Monday. 

Miracle On Ice - the 40th Anniversary

Saturday was the 40th anniversary of "Miracle on Ice", the unexpected and amazing defeat of the Soviet Union hockey team by the US at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. It was a VERY big deal at the time, and it still is because it was a fairy-tale come true. Those things don't happen often. 

Here's a copy of the cover of "Sports Illustrated" celebrating
the "Miracle on Ice" from 40 years ago on the 22nd of
February. 

The team of 20 kids, many from my homeland, here in the Frozen Northlands, coached by Herb Brooks, also from my state, pulled together and became a team instead of a disparate group. That's what has to happen in team sports - individual goals and backgrounds have to be buried for the greater good. It can work well, but it can also be a problem. 

The full team from 1980 is in this photo, with coaches and
all the players. There were a lot of these boys who went on
from their college and Olympic careers to become professional
hockey players. 

For these boys, their training and their learned responses of trust in their fellow players and in what the Coach was telling them worked. It worked well. They managed to pull out an amazing win that we're all still celebrating today - 40 years after the fact. That's impressive. Keep in mind that the game against the Soviets wasn't the final game, just one of the hardest. The US had won a very difficult game in the prior level against Sweden, and they still had to win over Finland before achieving the Gold Medal. The Soviets were a powerhouse, though, comprised of mostly professional hockey players with lots of international experience. They were the expected winners and the USA managed a true miracle beating them on the ice that day. 

Brian Suter (l) and his son Ryan (r) were both members
of Olympic hockey teams. Brian has had several interviews
over the past week regarding his time with Herb Brooks
and the Miracle on Ice team. 

Training to rely on the person to your left and your right is done for team sports, and also for the military, in family dynamics (both good and bad) and in some jobs where that reliance on others is necessary for success. It can be beneficial, but also constricting. The best thing about the US Olympic team was that it was a team for less than a full year. That allowed the teamwork to develop, but also allowed the team to break apart at the end, remain friends, and bond over an incredible experience. 

So I'm going to continue enjoying the 40th anniversary of a great hockey game, and I'll hope I'm still around when it comes to the 50th anniversary in another ten years. Won't THAT be the celebration - LOL. Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. 

Life, Sports and Schedules

I'm finally progressing to addressing. I apologize to all of you for how late my cards are this year. Circumstances beyond my control blasted my schedule to smithereens. I'm really happy with the cards, though, and hope that you enjoy them, although some of them may arrive after Christmas. Of course, since I do them as a celebration of Winter and the Solstice, Christmas doesn't really play a part, but it's seasonal and it would be nice to have had them where they needed to go before the New Year. We'll see. I'll let you know when they actually hit the mail so that you can keep your eyes out for your envelopes. 

It's been a crazy year and I've been pulled in a lot of
different directions. I'm very close to getting my cards
mailed, but not quite there yet. Hopefully within the
next three days. That's the goal. 

DH goes to the same physical therapist that I see, and his latest appointment was yesterday. He came by the shop on his way home from the clinic to tell me that he's supposed to start ice skating again. He was going to check if any of the neighborhood outdoor rinks were open and operational yet. It's been an early winter and a cold one so far, so that's actually possible, although they're usually open from January until March. The local chilled outdoor rink that operates most of the year, as well as a couple of indoor rinks that have noon skating are open for sure, so maybe he'll try one of those if he can't find an outdoor one to use. 

We're cold up here in the Frozen Northlands, so there are a variety
of outdoor rinks available in the city parks. They can be used
for regular recreational skating as well as for hockey pick-up games. 

DH used to play hockey every week in a pick-up game that moved around the metro area from arena to arena, depending on open schedules. Most of the neighborhood ice arenas are filled with school and league play from early morning until late at night. I not only live in the Frozen Northlands, I live in the "Land of Hockey", so ice and use of it are a part of every school program and most neighborhoods. Hockey is a rich kid's sport, though. There's a lot of equipment, a lot of protective clothing, and the ice arena rental fees are up there too. You don't find a lot of hockey players from families that are saving every dime to put food on the table. 

Soccer doesn't require a lot of expensive equipment, so it has a
broader appeal. It also doesn't require a sheet of ice, although
sheets of ice aren't really a problem here in the Frozen
Northlands. 

When you think about sports and their popularity, it's no wonder soccer is as popular as it is. It's one sport that has minimal equipment - a ball. It helps to have an actual round ball, but it can be played with pretty much anything that can be kicked, no special clothing required. Basketball is similar to soccer, pretty easy to play with minimal equipment. But for basketball, you add a hoop. Baseball is also pretty inexpensive - anything can be assigned as a base. But while you can play soccer and basketball with two people, you really need more for baseball. 

There are rules and courtesies in sports, even in pick-up games like
this. The light is leaving this game, obviously being played in
a much warmer place. 

What are the popular sports for kids in your area? Are there programs and outlets available to help those who want to play a more expensive sport with equipment and rental fees? Maybe look into helping to sponsor a program in your neighborhood so that more kids can get involved in sports. There's a lot of good in team sports and lack of funding shouldn't be a closed door to dreams. 

Have an excellent weekend. I'll be working because that's what I do at this time of the year. I'll let you know when my cards have hit the mail. In the meanwhile, I plan on being back here on Monday. 

A Sporting Sunday Was Delightful

In Tour de France news, the Team Time Trials were held yesterday. That's not nail biting "drama" for Le Tour de France, but it can be very exciting. What I loved was that the team of the Yellow Jersey really pulled it off. Over the years there has been discussion around the topic of "the magic of the Yellow Jersey", and we saw yet another example of that yesterday when team Jumbo-Visma dominated the field and kept that Yellow Jersey on the back of Mike Teunissen. VERY well done. 

Congratulations to the US Women's Soccer team for their
fourth World Cup. Well done! 

The other major win yesterday were the women of the USA's soccer team, beating the Netherlands team 2-0 to win gold in World Soccer. I don't watch or follow soccer very much, but I had been hoping the USA women would pull it off, and they did in dramatic style with a 2-0 victory over the Netherlands. Yippee! (Sorry, my friends in the Netherlands.)  

For Stage Three we leave Belgium and head into France. It's a
relatively flat stage, so very open for the sprinters. There are
some very minor little hills as the riders approach Epernay.

Now we're on to Day 3 of Le Tour. We leave Belgium and enter France, ending at Epernay, France, 215km down the road. As I look at the overall route map, I think we're totally in France from this point onward this year, although there is one stage at the bottom of France where the riders may leave the country for a small portion of one day. Still, the next three days now are flat, flat and flat with one bump. It's time for the sprinters to shine and that Yellow Jersey might be in jeopardy. 

Here are my lovely pink lilies, happily blooming. I love the
stamen of the Chinese lilies. They shake and turn in the
slightest breeze, reminding me of paper Chinese
lanterns. Maybe that image lent itself to their name? 

If you recall, I had mentioned a while back about our lilies usually not blooming until the 4th of July. Yesterday was the first day for our day lilies to bloom, but the Chinese lilies have been blooming since July 3rd. Pretty close to time. 

Here are the day lilies. Yesterday was the first day for them to
bloom. You can barely see spots of red in the greenery
behind them. Those are the clusters of elderberries. 

There are some clustered red berries on a bush behind the day lilies. We did some research and the berries (and white flowers on the top branches of the bush) are elderberries. I wasn't aware of that, but they're quite lovely, and can also be seriously poisonous. 

I have two different Chinese Lilies blooming now, these are a
salmon variety, the other is more pink. The other two plants
had their buds eaten by deer about three-four
weeks ago, so they won't be blooming this year. 

Our backyard neighbor has built a skating U in his backyard for his kids. It's basically plywood sheets stapled and screwed over a frame that gives them the classic U shape with wide lips at both high points. It's loud. When the kids use it with their skateboards it rumbles. I can already tell this is NOT one of my favorite "toys". Still, the kids were on it for five minutes, then off for several hours, then on again. If they keep to that schedule, it won't be horrid. 

Have a great day, enjoy Le Tour today, and I'll be back for a VERY busy day tomorrow. 

Football - "Hand Egg" Just Doesn't Have The Same Cachet

Tomorrow is Super Bowl and the official end of the 2018-219 football season here in the USA. On Monday we officially turn the term "football" back to the rest of the world and resign ourselves to a world where soccer replaces American football in the minds of millions (probably billions since soccer is the most popular team sport in the world). Sorry, I fail to see the appeal, but I know that mystification is shared by soccer fans who look at American football with raised eyebrows and rolled eyes. 

I have no idea how we got the name "football" for the game
we play, but I don't think the term is going to change anytime
soon. The "National Handegg League" just doesn't have
the same sound. 

DH went to the store and shopped for Super Bowl goodies yesterday. I saw Pizza Rolls in the freezer and I think he got shrimp too, since he was asking about cocktail sauce. I'm not sure what else he might have purchased, but I'm quite sure I won't starve. It might not be the most healthy food to eat, but I'll enjoy it for my one day of watching two teams I really don't care about hopefully playing an interesting game. If the final game is anything like the two division championships of two weeks ago, I'll be happy. Those games were outstanding and right down to the final whistle. 

For those of you who may not know what a "pizza roll" is, it basically
is like a mini-eggroll, but stuffed with pizza stuff (pepperoni, green peppers,
etc) instead of the normal meats for eggrolls. They're not something I
eat often, usually only for Super Bowl each year, but I do enjoy them. 

Although we are above zero now, yesterday started out at -5 F. That was a VAST improvement over the -25+ F we had been experiencing on Wednesday and Thursday, but it was still crisp. As I walked into the store yesterday, it felt colder than usual. Looking at my thermostat, the interior temperature was down to 55 F and still falling. Checking the furnace, it wasn't functioning properly and we had no heat. After doing what I could (resetting the breaker, making sure there wasn't anything I was capable of doing), I contacted my landlord who told me who to call for a repair. His recommended repair guy was at my door by noon and replaced the blower motor which had malfunctioned. 

The entire bottom half here is the blower which
is operated by a motor. The motor on our furnace
had burnt out - not surprising considering how
hard that furnace had been working on our
sub-zero days. 

By the time I left that night, our store temp was up to 66 F - still cool, but at least not totally frozen. I turned the thermostat up a few more degrees for the overnight hours and hopefully we'll be closer to 68 F when I get to the shop today. If not, I'll have to call the repair guy again and have him come by on Monday to double-check things. It's an expense, but we must have heat. We have a lot of winter still to go through. 

On that note, have a wonderful and crazy weekend. Stay warm, stay safe, and be happy. I'll be back on Monday. 

Golf - A Silly Sport So Why Do I Watch It?

A reader commented about the total boredom of watching televised golf when I wrote about the Ryder Cup in yesterday's blog. I fully admit it took me a while to really get into watching golf, and it's a rather odd sport. Imagine - a small ball, a long stick, and a hole WAAAAAY over there that you're supposed to hit that ball into in as few strokes as possible. Ridiculous! Then, it is a Scottish game originally, so some would say ridiculous only makes sense for a game played in Scottish weather and on their rocky ground. 

Golf - it's an outdoor game, so rarely played in the snow and ice. 

I like golf for one reason only - as sports go, it's still rather cut-throat, but it's also civilized. It's not people physically knocking each other around or getting banged up chasing a puck, a ball, or each other. It's people in semi-uniform (really crappy clothes in many cases), outside in a variety of weather, walking around grass and "fescue" (I love that word - fescue) and trying to be more accurate than anyone else. Golf is an author's game - I know ... that sounds strange. 

In the middle of late winter, to see green and colors like these
is heartwarming. It's just beautiful. I drown myself in The
Masters to get my green back after long weeks of snow
and ice. 

Let's think about it. Golf rewards precision. It looks very easy and in fact is really difficult, especially at the championship level. People always tell authors about the books they've attempted to write - those plots that haven't seen the light of day or that linger in hard drives or bottom desk drawers. Novels have to be crafted carefully, every word precisely chosen to have the maximum impact and drive the plot forward toward the final resolution. Golf operates similarly. Golf requires complete control of the body and that long stick, striking a small orb at exactly the proper angle and with the perfect velocity to get that orb precisely placed for the next stroke. In writing, that's called a chapter. 

No other sport in the world would allow the players to wear
such terrible fashion, and not only that, but I'm sure the
clothing costs a ridiculous amount of money! OMG -
Golf "fashion" makes me hurl! 

The one thing I adore about watching golf is a single tournament called The Masters. It's played in early April, when we're reeling from the winter we've been buried in. It takes place in Georgia at Augusta National and I'm glued to the television to watch. Do I watch because the golf is so spellbinding? Hell no! I watch because it's green, green grass, beautiful blooming flowers, trees with leaves, and warm temperatures. I watch because the golf course itself gives me hope that spring will return to the Frozen Northlands. I could probably skip every other golfing event, but this one. 

I guess I must also enjoy watching paint dry - LOL. 

Happy Tuesday to all, and I'll be back tomorrow.