Beads and Beijing - I'm Enthralled with the Winter Olympics

We spent a delightful and somewhat productive Sunday watching the Winter Olympics while I worked on beginning to upload the items I want to sell on Etsy. I got the store name I had wanted, and got one item filled in properly, but got stalled on the payment information section because I didn't have the checking account numbers for the account we want monies deposited into. I'll get that information today and should be able to proceed with the task. I have 15 items I want to list initially, and we'll see how things go. 

Another strand I'll be putting up for sale on Etsy is this 
one. This features perfectly matched squared antique 
glass beads called Millefiori. The glass techniques in 
these beads fuse smaller beads into larger ones. The fact 
that the strand is perfectly matched and shaped makes 
it unique. Fine strands like this are not inexpensive, but 
quality like this is rare. I'm be pricing this strand at $195. 

We've been having a wonderful time watching the Winter Olympics. Between curling, hockey, the various amazing snowboard and skiing events, there's always something we're interested in watching. I'll try to set up my laptop at work again, off to the side of my desk, so that I can watch on Peacock. Thank goodness for streaming. I'd miss almost all of the Olympics without that option. 

Women's ice skating has changed a lot since 
the days of Peggy Fleming. In 1968, it was 
less athleticism and more aesthetics. There 
were simple jumps, but not the triples that 
feature in today's sport. The focus was on 
lyricism - smooth and graceful, expressing 
herself on ice. What a change 50 years has
made! 

The first Winter Olympics I recall seeing was Innsbruck in 1964. I remember watching the skiing on a small black and white screen with grainy reception. It was Peggy Fleming's first appearance at an Olympics and she placed 6th. It wasn't until Grenoble in 1968 that she won her Gold Medal, and Jean-Claude Killy got his three Gold Medals, tearing up the mountains with his amazing skill on skiis. I've always enjoyed watching the Winter Olympics more than the summer games since I'm not really a fan of track and field, but love almost all of the winter sports. I might not ski (or skate anymore), but I still enjoy watching them. The newer events like Big Air and snowboarding just make the Winter Games more fun, and I'm totally in love with luge! 

Big Air is one venue that we're really enjoying. The facility 
itself will be permanent - a huge concrete ramp leading 
down to a ramp and a steep descent, allowing for several 
tricks and turns before landing. It's great fun to watch. 
I have no good internal balance, so it wouldn't be a 
sport I would even try. I'd break my neck or 
several bones. 

I'm watching curling as I write this - Canada v Italy. Canada won the Gold Medal in the last Olympics, but if they don't win their match against Italy, they're out of the tournament, and the match is into an extra set. Italy has been playing wonderfully, so Canada may end up losing this. It's a great match so far. 

I'm quite impressed with the Italian Mixed Doubles 
Curling team. Cortina (the lady) is amazing with 
her placement of the stones. They just knocked 
last Olympics' Gold Medalists out of the competition 
with a measurement victory of 4 clicks! So very 
tight. Canada is out and Italy moves on. 

I understand a lot of people don't understand curling or how it can be enthralling, but I learned to love curling a few Olympics ago and it's quite a strong sport here in Minnesota. After all, the skip of the USA team is from Minnesota, and carried the flag in the Parade of Nations for the opening ceremony. He's a bit of a PITA, but he's Minnesotan, so I support him on the international stage. 

USA Mixed Doubles played Canada yesterday and lost to 
them. There's something a bit cathartic in Canada's loss 
today to Italy. The curling, so far, has been really fun 
to watch, at least for me. There are so many nuances and 
slight changes that can be made to get victory in this 
sport. It takes a lot of practice and a bit of luck. 

I hope all of you have a truly wonderful day. If all goes well, I should be able to go live with my Etsy account no later than the end of this week. It takes some time to get items uploaded, and I still have one more photo I'd like to take for each strand, but I'm almost ready here, and it'll be nice to have product up and available. Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow for a quick post before heading off to the swimming pool.