Someone sent me a post asking, "Why aren't you blogging?" Strange thing is I have no idea who this person is. That said, I realized I hadn't posted for a while, so here is a little update.
The picture shown here is my latest project - Sunday in the Park - in progress. Here you can see what a mess my sewing room is when I am down on the floor with my design wall putting a top together. This one is tricky; I have to really pay attention to what I am doing. Because I am recovering today from a migraine that struck yesterday minutes after I skated for only 45 minutes, I needed to be in a quiet place with no stress. Retreating into my sewing room is just what the doctor ordered. I sat on the floor, sipping tea, and put the quilt together. I am about 60% done with this part of the process, but as you may be able to see, I've run out of room on the wall as the quilt has two more entire rows on the right side and bottom to piece. So far this top is coming together well, although I won't know that for certain until I begin sewing it.
I had a wonderful day early in the week doing my volunteer work at the Source-of-Unconditional Love (S.O.U.L.) animal assisted therapy program at Catholic Healthcare West/Mercy Hospitals. I attended a hospice volunteer meeting for two hours in the morning, then went to a safety fair where S.O.U.L. volunteers and their therapy dogs were in attendance. The employees at the building love seeing the S.O.U.L. dog teams and learning about the program. I spent the rest of the day on administrative activities, like writing an article about the program for the volunteers' newsletter. I feel as though I am making a contribution to keeping this wonderful dog therapy program growing and assisting with the hospice volunteer work.
Now for the confession. This always gets attention, right? After trying to adjust to my new SP-Teri boots (and I truly have tried and thought I was making progress), I have officially thrown in the towel. This is a long story that would bore most non-skaters and even some of my skating friends also. The fact of the matter is that the SP-Teri boot is not cut for my very high-arched foot. There isn't enough material at the height of my arch on the top of the foot, so the sides of the boot do not come together well. It is a struggle even getting them laced, which takes at least 20 minutes. While they are comfortable, they are not doing my skating any good. On top of that, the left blade is a problem (I knew that from skating on these blades). This has been confirmed by an expert who knows about these things. He took one look at them and pronounced that blade "mis-mounted." I knew it, I knew it! I now must decide what to do with my new boots and blades. Because they are custom-made for me, selling them on eBay could be a problem. I will never recoup what I spent on the boots and blades, either. Big sigh. But, I have told Dear Husband who has been nothing short of a saint about this.
As I will return to my old Klingbeil boots. I took them to the cobbler (no one uses this term any more, but I love it) to have Sno Seal applied and to be re-dyed. Then I will send them back to Klingbeil (on the East Coast) to have the tongue and inner foam replaced. All together, this will be less than $150.00; a pittance compared to what I spent on my SP-Teri boots and blades. Finally, I will have the blades sharpened. Fortunately, these boots have not broken down; in fact, they don't even have one crease in the leather. And, at the end of the day, the model just fits my foot much better.
Now that my sights are set on passing FS3 (ISI) and Bronze Freestyle (USFSA) this year, I have selected new music and Coach J and I have set the program to "Gabriel's Oboe" from the movie "The Mission." I have always wanted to skate to this beautiful piece and am so glad I now have the chance. Things do work out in the end. Now I am looking for a dress that will fit this spectacular music.
I trust, Dear Readers, that you will be watching ice skating on the Olympics and rooting for our teams. We have an impressive line-up in our male and ice dance teams. I am interested to see what happens with our ladies and pairs teams. We've got our work cut off for us on those fronts.
Onward!
Yep, I feel the stress of FS3 and Bronze FS already! The latter is a "stretch goal" for me. I'd like to achieve it, but am not going to break my back (figuratively speaking, of course!) trying to accomplish it. I want to compete at FS3 in Las Vegas and will be happy if I can achieve this and pass two dance tests this year.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sending the links for dresses. Am actually considering buying the mint color ensemble dress. Can't beat the price and I do love the style. Also, I saw another applique (same style, different color) that would work with it.
See you soon at the rink.
Did you watch the pairs competition in Vancouver? I thought I had recorded it, but couldn't find it this morning when I went to watch it. Looks like the Chinese were absolutely brilliant.
The ensemble dress would look lovely on you. I like the idea of wearing something underneath it if you are concerned about your back. It's a very attractive style - understated but with an air of intrigue too. :)
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