Valentines, Family and Competition

Today is Valentine's Day. Do you have a sweetie (two legged or four or maybe winged) who will be getting a special kiss or treat from you today? Although I'm not cooking anything out of the ordinary for tonight's dinner, I do have cards and a small gift for DH. 

Have a happy Valentine's Day, spent with those who love you,
human or other. Don't forget your pets - sometimes it's their
unrelenting love that can carry you through those hard times. 

I also received an unusual email in my in-box this morning.  I don't have much of a family; most of them were killed during the Shoah - the formulaic murder of Jews and others by the Nazis during WWII. However, there were a few survivors in my Dad's family, and one of the cousins started gathering family information many years ago. There was a reunion five years ago in Prague, Czechoslovakia, which I heard about after the fact. Now there is another reunion coming up, this time in Germany. The email contained family trees and other information, and suddenly I have family! It's a bit of a shock when all is said and done. I'm so used to going at things solo or with DH and his family. I'll take some time today to look things over with greater care, and I'll also reply to the email. I won't be able to attend - this time - but would love to stay in touch. 

It's rather amazing to realize that I have a whole lot
of relatives living throughout Europe. I'm not used
to thinking that I have much family, but it appears
that I have hundreds of people I've never met. 

DH and I are still glued to the Olympics. Last night was a channel changing clicker marathon flipping between "The Curse of Oak Island" and the Olympics, but since most of Oak Island seemed to be the history of the Knights Templar, and since we're already pretty well acquainted with that, we spent most of our time watching the men's final in the half-pipe competition. Wow, those guys really caught some serious air! Amazing to watch. 

Shaun White pulled some major air in the half-pipe to end up
with the Gold Medal in this hotly contested event. It was
really fun to watch, and the outcome wasn't a given until
the very last run. 

During the day, although I am not watching while at the shop, I do have the Olympics on in the back room and I listen. It was a fun listen when curling came on. There's nothing that sounds like that sport. The yells and instructions are unique, and I could recognize the sport just by the sound of it. I finally had a chance to listen to the final match of mixed doubles. Congratulations to Canada for the first Olympic Gold Medal in Mixed Doubles Curling. It was well played and there was some stiff competition from Switzerland, even if the final score didn't reflect it. 

I like the sigil for Curling used at the Olympics. Apparently
there are "curling stone pillows" being sold in the
souvenir shops as well. LOL

The wind is throwing some serious kinks into the skiing schedule. Tuesday's women's slalom had to be postponed because of wind and events are getting compressed into the late days of the schedule. This is not only bad, but could end up being dangerous because events are starting to stack one on the other without a lot of down time. 

So, I'm ready to start my "day off" which, as usual, will be filled with lots and lots of stuff. We're having a single "warm" day today too, which will be pleasant. Here's hoping you have a terrific Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow ... at least, that's the plan. Have a very happy Valentine's Day.