Unity Can Be Achieved - The Olympics Lesson

The Olympics are winding down. Today (Saturday) is the last full day of competition, and tomorrow (Sunday) will be the final competitions and the closing ceremonies. I have to declare the Paris Olympics as a rousing success. It was beautifully planned and executed, and the volunteers (in the 1000's) did an extraordinary job of their tasks - whatever those tasks were. 

It's been an outstanding Olympics in Paris. The venues are 
packed with spectators (a nice change from Tokyo's COVID 
Olympics), and the athletes are totally stoked for their 
events. It's been a lot of fun! 

The Parisian community welcomed the visitors from across the globe with open arms, sharing their venues and their history/culture with all. It was an absolute joy to see horses being ridden in the gardens of Versailles, and medal ceremonies in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. Thank you, Paris. You did an outstanding job hosting these Olympics and I can hardly wait for the Parolympics in a few short weeks (August 28 - September 8). I won't be able to see all of these events (Sharon and I will be at the State Fair for parts of it), but I'll watch what I can. 

I'm going a bit larger with this graphic. I've really enjoyed 
the pictographs of each event - carefully thought out, 
beautifully balanced, and sensible. I thought you might 
enjoy looking at the grouping of them. 

So why do we get so caught up in the Olympics as opposed to local, regional or national sporting events? I don't think it's just because our national pride is on the line. I think it's because the competition is just that - a competition that's world-wide, gathered into a single location, and coming down to a single, penultimate event. (Whoot! I don't often have reason to use the work penultimate - go me - LOL!) It's not the best in the region or the best in the nation, it's the best in the world. So when we cheer for our nation, we're putting aside our moral, political and religious differences and joining as a single unit to support athletes in an event. If they win, we cheer. If they lose, we feel sad (it's not quite requiring true mourning, after all). And through it all, we can feel pride for our nation - bandages, attitudes, and all. We cover our suppurating sores of internal strife with patriotic bandages, and cheer on the children of our hope. 

I'm also looking forward to the Paris Paralympics starting 
later this month. It will intersect with Sharon's visit, so I 
won't be glued to the TV, but I'm sure I'll catch whatever 
I can on my computer, the TV, or my phone. It's always 
amazingly good competition and exciting to watch. 

I do hope you've had an opportunity to catch some of the Olympics. DH and I adore sports, so it was a natural thing for us to have the TV turned to them from early morning through late night. I'm not even sure if DH took any time away to turn into the financial channels (his normal daytime viewing schedule). I know I tossed my usual nighttime viewing schedule out the window. It was replaced by Olympics all the way. So on Monday we return to normal - the stock market, the progress, or lack thereof at the shop, the arguments, the hurt feelings. But right now, we have another 48 hours in which to join together, cheer, and celebrate our Olympic team. Unity - it's fleeting, but it actually CAN be achieved. Let's keep that goal in mind. Have an excellent weekend and I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini. 

Etsy, Crystals, the Paralympics and a Fabulous Babushka

I worked on Etsy for most of the day, yesterday, watching the Paralympics when I could and the war when I couldn't. I'm still not 100% happy with the store logo on the splash page and invoice, but I can live with my own photo in the Owner's Photograph slot. I've double and triple checked everything, changed a few descriptions to be more accurate, and after one more read-through today, I'll go live with the trade beads late Sunday or early Monday. Helen, the strand you were looking at is designated as Strand "A". I promised I would give you a heads-up, and everything should be live within 24-48 hours. I could have gone live yesterday afternoon, but decided to sleep on it one more night and triple-check things today or tomorrow morning. 

Of course I can't ignore the war, nor do I want to. I can't forget, 
or allow myself to forget, what's happening in Ukraine. But 
take a look at this. My Hubby's in love with this Babushka who 
was protesting Putin and the war in Red Square. The police, 
who are normally very gruff and pushy, marched her off 
respectfully. She's all of four feet tall, they tower over 
her, but they were very gentle with her. She's got guts! 
That's the Russian people I love and admire, not the 
politicians and others with their hands in the money pot. 

I wish the Paralympics would get the same extensive coverage as the standard Olympics. The athletes are amazing and they should be celebrated. But the coverage is much less in-depth and less air time is devoted to it. I did catch the biathlon last night, which was wonderful. DH was upstairs flipping from the Paralympics to the ice hockey game to the war coverage and back again. I get exhausted when he channel flips like that - I tend to turn something on and keep it there. 

The Paralympics isn't getting as extensive 
television coverage as the standard Olympics, 
and I consider that quite sad. These 
athletes and athletic events are every bit 
as magnificent as those shown earlier this 
year. They deserve their moment of fame 
and achievement. 

Now that I've got the Trade Bead section of Etsy done and dusted, it's time to chop out a period of time for the Austrian crystals. (Swarovski - although we're not permitted to designate them with the company name anymore - *sigh* ... don't ask - they're total dickheads over there). The problem isn't with the photos or what I need to call each one. The problem is figuring out what I want to charge, and getting the page loaded with the correct descriptions and prices. 

Normally the police aren't as polite as they were with the 
Babushka. This is a bit more like what I normally see 
when the Russian Police are arresting protesters. It 
was really amusing to see them defer to the Babushka, 
pacing their steps to meet hers and holding her arms 
with respect, not an iron grip. 

Each one of the 90 or so crystals has to be listed on the sales form with the appropriate name, designation and price. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but for Etsy, it's all got to be done at one time - I can't save the sales page half-way through and then return to it later.  I'll try a couple of things on the laptop on Sunday that may offer a work-around. I'll see what I can do to make things a bit easier on myself. Today I'll have to spend all my time doing price tags at the store. We got two huge shipments in yesterday, and my time is going to be spent getting them ready to put onto the sales floor. 

I have a total of 77 colors of 8mm Swarovski cubes to 
list, in three different groups. I only need to do one 
group at a time, but doing that is important and it takes 
time to get everything listed correctly. I'm looking 
forward to getting them going, though, because I'd 
like to start on different sizes of cubes, and then 
move into the other shapes. 

I did spend some time yesterday polishing up the front page of my Etsy store (I'll still replace things down the line, but this will get me going), and reading up on how to drive sales, increase visits, and keep customers. Many of the suggestions won't apply to my situation, but some will. Tomorrow I'll double-check coding and key words as well as work on my possible work-around for the crystals. Have an excellent weekend and I'll be back on Monday morning. Peace! 

The Paralympics Begin Today - War Continues and Etsy Is Almost Live

For those of you tired of the war, I remind you that the Paralympics begin today. We've got eight days of wonderful athletic competition outside Beijing and the athletes are no less impressive than those we marveled over a few short weeks ago. We've got cross country and downhill skiing, we've got ice hockey and curling. Basically, we have all of the wonderful sports that we loved last month. Although my heart still bleeds for Ukraine and the war that's impacting so many innocent people, I need uplifting things too, else I'll drown in a mire of misery. For me, the Paralympics comes at just the right time. 

Canada, as expected, has a large contingent 
of athletes, and I expect the USA also does, 
but there are a lot of nations who have sent 
anywhere from 1-10 athletes total, and there 
are fewer nations participating in the Paralympics 
than the Olympics held a few weeks ago. But 
it can be just as competitive. I'm really looking 
forward to sled hockey and curling. Those 
teams go all out to win their games. 

Today is my "day off" and I'll be working on the fine tuning of my listings for Etsy. I need a header and an invoice header, an "owner's" photograph or icon, and a few other minor details to nail today. If I can get those completed and like what I'm seeing, I'll be going live before the end of the weekend. I did a final read-through of the trade bead section yesterday and I'm pretty happy with what I've got going on it. I also worked on determining my pricing for the Swarovski crystal cubes that I'm listing. The new photographs that I took on Wednesday worked out really well. I need a couple of tweaks for them, and the final pricing to decide on, and then those pages will be ready to go live as well. 

Of course, we all remember the Panda from the standard 
Olympic games. Now, we're meeting the Chinese 
Lantern - a symbol of rebirth, and the mascot for the 
Paralympics. It's really a rather fun mascot, and it's 
everywhere as the nations enter the stadium for the 
Opening Ceremonies. 

It's Lent now, and DH prefers fish on Fridays during Lent. I could care less - it's not my religion or my religious heritage, but I adore fish, so no problem from me. I bought a small salmon fillet for myself on Wednesday, and he said he wanted McDonald's fish fillets, so I'll head out tonight and get his "fishies" and a fry and return home to my salmon. Last year during Lent (which was earlier on the calendar) I had two weeks of Lent during my first two weeks of WildFit. I had my usual two fish fillet sandwiches and a fry each of those two Fridays, and that was the last time I went to McDonald's. I can honestly say that I don't miss them, although a single french fry would be lovely. Still, I'm far from deprived. 

McDonald's Fish Filet sandwich is one of my 
favorite foods from McDonald's, but I 
haven't had one for more than a year. I'm 
fine with that, though. I'm Living WildFit 
now and regretting none of my food choices. 

So, as you can tell, I've got a lot going on today. I'll watch Paralympics whenever I can, keep up with what's happening in Ukraine, and OH ... I did post my latest effort for LJ Idol yesterday afternoon (after a LOT of editing). I'll put a link when voting is open and I'll blatantly ask for your votes (because I'm not shy - LOL). I'm watching the Opening Ceremonies for the Paralympics, and there's actually an audience! (Only 15,000 spectators, but an audience! That's tremendously uplifting.) If they are allowing spectators into the events for these eight days, that will be marvelous for the athletes, so I hope that's going to be the case. Oh, the Ukrainian delegation just entered and the audience applauded them as they walked and wheeled in. It was wonderful to see the yellow and blue flag flying free in the Birds Nest stadium. 

In news this morning, the IPC (International Paralympics 
Committee) has banned the participation of athletes from 
Russia and Belarus because of a boycott movement that 
moved through the Olympic village. Apparently many other 
nations refused to compete if Russia and Belarus were 
allowed to participate. They are now banned from 
the games. Want more information? Here's the newsfeed 
that I found it on. Read for yourself. 

https://www.breakinglatest.news/world/ukraine-paralympics-the-ioc-says-no-to-russian-and-belarusian-athletes/

On that note, I'm out of here. We live in a chaotic world, and that can be exhausting and emotionally draining, but I'll have the Paralympics (without the negative influences from Russia and Belarus) to pull me through the next eight days. Have a great Friday and I'll be back tomorrow. 

The Olympics and a Look Ahead at the Paralympics Next Month

The Olympics are over and what fun they were. I'm already experiencing Olympics withdrawal. I'm grateful that the Paralympics begins on Friday, March 4th (through Sunday, March 13) so that I can get one more shot at watching spectacular sports competition. There are less sports represented in the Paralympics, but it should be great fun nonetheless. 

Sled Hockey is always fast and furious. I love the fact 
that the players have two hockey sticks to use. It 
makes for some great hockey shots. These guys don't 
hold back - it's fast and it's furious. 

I'm really looking forward to all of them, but especially the Wheelchair Curling and the Sled Hockey. In addition, there is Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Cross-Country Skiing and Snowboarding. The athletes are every bit as competitive as those participating in the standard Olympics - sometimes even a bit more so. It's always fun to watch. But then, after they shut down, I'll be without any Olympics for two long years. 

Here is the 2022 Winter Paralympic Wheelchair 
Curling team for the USA. When you watch them 
play, and send the stone down the ice sheet, you'll 
see two wheelchairs, one right behind the other. 
That allows the first person to put all of their strength 
into the push, while their chair is held firmly by the 
person behind them. Remember your physics - for 
every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. 

Wait a minute, you might think. The Olympics are held every four years, not every two years. And you're correct. But the Pandemic affected everyone and everything. The 2020 Olympics were postponed until 2021, but the Winter Olympics were always scheduled for 2022. The Paris Summer Olympics will be held in 2024. They will be followed by Los Angeles in 2028. The next Winter Olympics will be Milan-Cortina in 2026. It seems we will be settling back into an Olympics every two years, alternating between summer and winter games, a schedule which began with Lillehammer in 1994. 

I really loved the Lillehammer, Norway games in 1994. The 
location was small and unpretentious. The people were so 
friendly, and the scenery was beautiful. It reminded me of 
the Aspen, Colorado of my youth. I'm afraid those days are 
far behind us now, though. Today's Olympics require much 
more space and a much deeper budget than those of my youth. 

DH and I were texting back and forth last night about the Olympics while he was watching hockey (we won) and I was watching the Closing Ceremonies (quite fun). The computer room where I was, is directly beneath the bedroom where he was, but texting is the easiest way to communicate. We determined that the Peking Winter Olympics were my 16th Winter Olympics (my parents didn't own a television until 1963, so I'm sure I saw some of the Innsbruck games, but the first one I truly remember well are the 1968 games from Grenoble). DH recalled his father yelling at the television for the 1960 Squaw Valley games, so claims to have seen 18 of them. I'm totally in favor of watching at least another four or five Winter Games, that will give me another 16-20 years of delightful competition and beautiful scenery. 

I remember watching Jean Claude Killy wend 
his way down the mountains in the 1968 
Grenoble Winter Olympics. DH was giving me 
a hard time about "falling in love" with him. 
I said "Yes, of course. He was very good 
looking and I was 13 years old. Duh!" LOL 

Tomorrow (actually starting late tonight), we're supposed to get hit by a snowstorm that will give us 4"-10" of snow by Wednesday night. I'm expecting I'll have to shovel at least four inches from the driveway tomorrow morning to get to the gym on time, so tomorrow's post will probably be short and sweet. I don't want to miss a day in the pool because of weather, so I'll have to be outside by 4:00 am to get shoveled (unless DH decides to be chivalrous and help me shovel or snowblow). Today, however, is wonderfully clear, so have an excellent day and I'll be back in one way or another, tomorrow. 

A New Toilet and the Paralympics

After having left a phone message for Jack, our plumber, on Sunday night/early Monday morning, I phones him again on Monday morning shortly before 8:00 am to give him an update and tell him we had to replace the toilet too. To my surprise, he answered the phone, and I had a chance to give him the update personally. The minute he heard a toilet was involved, he assured me he would push us into his schedule for Monday and get us fixed up. I, in turn, assured him that even though we were both at work, if he phoned 15-20 minutes before he would arrive at the house, DH would go home and meet him there. 

The new toilet is slightly smaller than 
our previous one, which is great. The 
bathroom is still original 1960's decor - 
floral wallpaper with matching drapes, 
and yellow ceramic tiling. I can 
live with the tile, but wouldn't mind 
re-doing the wallpaper and window 
treatment. We'll replace the vanity 
within a year and Jack will replace the 
sink at that time. 

To our surprise, Jack phoned shortly after 10:30 am and off DH went, to deal with plumbers and toilets. DH got back to the shop in mid-afternoon. The toilet was replaced, the drains were cleared, and all was well. Total for the job was approx $725, so DH rounded up and made it an even $800 to thank Jack for managing to push us into his already-full Monday schedule. What a great guy and also a good plumber. We've had similar work done by other plumbers that ran as much as $1200. Jack works quickly and charges fairly. He was a great find, years ago, and I've recommended him to other friends. 

We've always gotten First Class service 
from Jack. He first entered out lives when 
I needed an emergency water heater, and 
he's been my go-to guy for plumbing 
ever since. 

So one more crisis resolved. We're still running a fan on the soaked carpeting. I think we'll be able to remove the fan after today, certainly after tonight. There's nothing worse than mold in wall-to-wall carpeting, though, so we'll keep the fan running as long as necessary. 

I'm almost dancing for joy. After today, I won't be 
back at work for a week! It's a shock, but it's a 
good shock - LOL. 

Today is the last day I'll be at work for a WEEK! I'll be off from tomorrow until next week, Tuesday. I haven't had this many days off from work since Covid shut-down, and before that, since Sharon's last visit in 2019. I'm already reveling in it, even though I have a ton of work still to do in the house to make it "presentable". I'm looking forward to getting the rest of the house cleaned, the boxes of books out of my trunk and into the hands of Half-Price Books, and more stuff out of my over-crowded life. Everything I let go makes me happier. 

Have you been watching the Paralympics? There are some 
amazingly talented athletes competing and I love watching 
the various competitions. It's been wonderful to watch. 

Are you watching the Paralympics? They come on in my area at 5:00 am every day, and since I'm already up, I always turn it on. I'm amazed by these athletes and their accomplishments - so many wonderful stories and talented athletes. I hope you're able to catch some of the events. I'm becoming a total Paralympics Fan Girl! 

Have an excellent Tuesday. I'll be back tomorrow to start my "days off" and do some serious housecleaning. Meanwhile, please be kind and stay safe.