Why yes, I don't mind if I do . . .
A while back, (maybe March?) I painted and lined this rolling cart. To make the lining, I used some coffee sacks I had stashed away.
Since the coffee sacks were on the dining table and I hate putting stuff away, I begin to think about what I could do with the extra sack fabric that would use it up and I wouldn't have to put it away.
I'm dumb like that.
Hey!
It's almost fall!
After this hot rainless, summer I couldn't be happier about it.
I'm excited about his fall, because I accomplished something last week that I've been meaning to do for years.
I made velvet pumpkins!
So I made some cookies last week.
And I might end up making them every week for the rest of my life.
They are preeee-ty tasty.
Hello!
I'm glad you're here!
You're just in time for September's Fab Furniture Flippin' Contest!
And man oh man did I pick a bugger of a project for this month.
This ugly ol' thing would still be taking up space in my garage had it not been for this months sponsor - D. Lawless Hardware.
Hello fine folks!
I'm glad you're here!
Well the Olympics are over.
I can't help but feel a little empty.
It's been a good two weeks.
My TV said "thank you" when I finally changed the channel from NBC. I mean it has all that variety to offer and I just ran the same channel for two whole weeks.
Here are some thoughts I have about the whole dang thing...
1.Probably the most important thing that happened in the Olympics as a whole was the introduction of the Refugee Olympic Team. A ten person team was chosen from a body of 43 potential refugee athletes. In the words of Thomas Bach, IOC President, "This will be a symbol of hope for all the refugees in our world, and
will make the world better aware of the magnitude of this crisis. It is
also a signal to the international community that refugees are our
fellow human beings and are an enrichment to society. These refugee
athletes will show the world that despite the unimaginable tragedies
that they have faced, anyone can contribute to society through their
talent, skills and strength of the human spirit.”
I encourage you to read more about this and view the stories of the refugee athletes here.
I say "Thank yo" to the Olympic International Committee, from the bottom of my heart.
2. Am I the only one that noticed the different arrangement of the Star Spangled Banner? Am I crazy? I mean, I don't blame anyone if they didn't notice, because it wasn't like it was THAT different. But it was different. I swear.
3. One of the wonderful things that you can observe at the Olympics is the joy of the athletes who come in 2nd and 3rd. You very seldom see this at other sporting events. In a world that often says "coming in 2nd just means you're the first loser," I found this very refreshing.
4. And speaking of refreshing ... did you know they have chick (females, not ducks) wrestling in the Olympics? I did not either. I thought that was a boy thing. Of course they didn't actually SHOW the matches on TV, but they did manage to cover the United States female wrestler (Helen Maroulis) that won a Gold Medal. You may have already seen this on facebook, but if not, you might want to know that there are some really great young people with fantastic perspectives in the world. I am including here a portion of her response when she was asked about a particular Olympian who appeared to 'steal her thunder' by monopolizing all the attention and press on the day she won her gold medal - ... "Not surprisingly, Maroulis is as poised and comfortable off the mat
as she is on it. She was asked whether she was bothered that the
controversy surrounding swimmer Ryan Lochte overshadowed her big day,
and her answer was a reminder of what drives most Olympians to compete
at this level. Hint: It’s not mega-sponsorship checks and primetime
interviews with Billy Bush.
“I didn’t come here to win a gold
medal for the media attention,” she said. “I didn’t come here to win a
gold medal in order to find something within myself or some peace within
myself. I found that self-worth before I stepped on the mat. I think
that’s why I won the gold medal.
“Yesterday was about stepping on
the mat and just wrestling to the best of my ability and really taking
joy in what I do. If they covered Ryan Lochte over my match, well, I
think that’s a poor decision on their part, but I’m not running the
show. My job is to be a wrestler, and I stepped on the mat and did what I
needed to do. I’m happy with the results.” source Rick Maese, The Washington Post
5. Since you brought up Ryan Locthe, I'll say this - In the early days of the Olympics, when the focus was primarily on the swimming and gymnastics teams, a lot of Ryan's publicity focused on his age, 32, and how he was finally growing up and maturing. And I thought, "well it's about time!" Hmmmm, it appears that perhaps he is has not matured quite as much as he would like us to think. And to quote Forest Gump "That's all I've got to say about that."
6. Somewhere on facebook I saw an article entitled "Why Women Beach Volleyball Players Still Wear Bikini's. I didn't read it. But I should have because I had been asking myself that over and over again.
7. Man those female gymnasts are good!!!! Well spoken and gracious as well. Did you know that one of their outfits - the ones they wear while performing - cost over $1200? That's a lot.
8. Did you catch my rant on facebook about the pigs on Fox News who felt it necessary to engage in a discussion about how the females in the Olympics should wear makeup so that they (the men) didn't have to look at the athlete's zits and other imperfections. You can see it all on my facebook. I can't figure out how to link it so if you want to see it you will have to look. sorry.
It still makes my heart race!
9. My favorite little diddys in the TV coverage were the flashes of the flag of whatever country that they were talking about. They had done mosaic reproductions of the flags of many of the participating nations. They were gorgeous. And I kept asking myself, "where on earth did they find all of that red ceramic tile? I've NEVER been able to find red tile for MY projects!"
10. My favorite athlete in these Olympics? Katie Ledecky. The most poised, accomplished 19 year old I've ever seen. DANNNNNNG GIRL!!!! You're GOOD!
11.I'm glad I took the time to really listen and watch this year. The stories are incredible. So many men and women who's lives are filled with challenges that would have wiped out a lot of us.
12. Good story. The guy who won the bronze medal for the U.S in the marathon - Galen Rupp - was running his second marathon. EVER. His first? In the Olympic trials. I mean, he is an Olympic quality runner - in the 10,000 meters. That's nothing compared to 26.2 miles.
13. Volleyball is fun. I don't know when, but they changed the rules from the old-fashioned ones I remembered. Remember how when you play volleyball and the other team is serving and the other team lost service when you won the point? Except you didn't actually get a point, you only got the ball back? Well all that has changed. Now every point is scored whether you are the serving team or not. If you win the point you get serve back as well. That makes the games go a lot faster. And they're more exciting.
14. One morning I wasted like two hours watching single white water kayaking. Wow! That looks so fun! I'm sure it's difficult as hell, but it sure looked fun!
15. Basketball players are tall. Even when they look short on TV they are still tall.
16 Gymnasts are short. Even when they look tall on TV they are still short.
17. The most important (favorite) sports in Brazil? Soccer of course, but also volleyball and beach volleyball. Even this American could get excited about their men's teams winning the gold medal in ALL THREE!
18. I'm sold. Brazil has got to be an amazing place to visit. And fun.
19. I thought I was watching a video game the first time I saw the basketball courts. They were bright green! Not the whole court, but enough that the green kind of jumped off the TV screen.
20. Michael Phelps. I'm glad you are growing up.
21. It must be hard to live your teenage and college years in the public eye.
22. I love watching people who don't expect to win medals win medals. It's the sweetest thing.
23. Those guys who wanted the girls to wear makeup? Hope they were happy with the track athletes. There's some serious bling in track running.
24. A surprising number of sprinters wear wigs when they run.
25. Hmmmmm. That wouldn't work for me.
26. Aren't you glad that I'm on 26?
27. I didn't think I would make it this far!
28. Synchronized swimming. People still do that.
and just for fun . . .
I'm sure that a lot of you did not watch the Olympics. I hope some of you did.
Are you a watcher? A non-watcher?
What was your favorite thing?
I'm sure I forgot something very important. I should have written this as I was watching.
Oh well.
It's on to American Ninja Warrior for me . . .
Hello, wonderful people!
It's deep couch sitting, Olympic watching, me.
I forgot how much I love volleyball.
Watching volleyball, I mean.
I don't remember watching ANY of the London Summer Olympics.
WHAT WAS I THINKING??
I haven't been completely unproductive.
I've been rebuilding a roadside find for the August Fab Furniture Flippin' Contest.
So I'm committed to this piece.
Otherwise I would have put it back on the curb after I looked at it more closely.
But let's not talk about that.
Have you been wondering what I've been up to?
I have been doing my share of deep couch sitting - I mean, it's the Olympics and all.
Except for the two and a half weeks I spent traveling and visiting in Oklahoma in July, I have been spending at least part of three days a week at Mimi LaRou Designs in Roseville, Michigan.
