A Happy Weekend and Le Tour (of course)

I had a happy weekend - well...to be more precise, I had a happy Sunday since I work on Saturdays. I woke early, watched Day Two of Le Tour de France and did some beadwork. I went to the fabric store when they opened to get something I needed for my current project and totally scored - two small pieces of fabric (because I couldn't make up my mind about color), a spool of thread, a 40% off coupon and a 10% off everything sales day equaled a sale of less than $5.50. SCORE!

There is something so marvelous about shopping for fabric. I love
going to my local fabric shops. 

After returning home I helped DH with his chainsaw work, went grocery shopping, ate dinner and watched Iron Chef America and the final episode of Inspector Lewis. I'll miss the Inspector and Hathaway - they worked so well together and the writing was marvelous. But I knew it was the final season *sigh*

Inspector Lewis and Hathaway were a wonderful duo solving crimes
in Oxford. I loved the scenery, the plots and the characters. Looking back
at pictures of Season One and comparing them to now, they've certainly grown
older in the roles, but they play them beautifully. I'll miss them.

Today's Le Tour is still on the island of Corsica and it's a twisty-turning mountainous course where no single part has more than 200 meters on the straight. When I think on the miles and miles of straight road that the riders often go through in the middle of France...well this will be quite the change. It's a mid-range length at 145.5 km and, as always, it will be a joy to watch the boys do their thing.

Day Three has lots of twists and turns, hills and mountains (one Cat 4,
one Cat 3 and two Cat 2) and is the final day in Corsica. It's been a
joy to see this lovely island and the gleaming turquoise seas that surround it.

The bus getting stuck underneath the banner at the finish line of Le Tour on Day 1 has got to be one of the funniest things I've seen in many years. The sheer idiocy of the banner being too low and the bus actually being taller than any other team bus led to a comedy of errors. It took almost 15 minutes for the lemmings swarming around the bus to come to a decision, back up the bus out of its captivity, and send it down the side lane. Sure the side lane is meant for the smaller cars, but when necessary...well. All turned out fine after all and it made the front headlines of news services throughout the world. Totally laughable.

The bus getting stuck under the banner was one of the funniest things
to happen at Le Tour in many years. The banner is stiff and actually
damaged the air conditioning unit on the top of the bus. The bus ended
up being backed up and moved down a side road that goes off to the left.

I had hoped to have a piece of o-fic ready to submit for possible publication today but I knew it probably wouldn't happen, and indeed it did not. I only heard about this particular anthology on Thursday - a 3000-8000 word story to fit within their parameters. I did get 1000 words written, but I just don't work that quickly for finished work. I like to read and edit time and time again. But I did turn in my Fixed Length Ficlet to the LOTR Community. When entering the story into my database I realized that I chose the same number of words last year. How totally bizarre! I had no idea. I guess I must love 333 words - LOL. The story will be released closer to the end of July.

I love strawberries. Actually - I love fruit and veggies.

So, it's Monday. I've already cleaned two pounds of strawberries and washed five pounds of grapes, washed my hair and responded to reviews, packed up my beading project, put the TV tray back into its stand, and cleaned up the kitchen. *whew!* I think I need a nap! Have a totally fabulous Monday!