A Time For Everything

Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving Day and weekend. We had a lovely day with family on Thursday and then spent the rest of the weekend eating deliciousness -- DH's word for the things that you can't eat all the time. I.E. Rotel Queso, pizza, brownies... I did make a lovely beef stew to balance things out though.

Anyway, today, I'm just gonna share some random things.

So I've had this oven mitt for over two decades--I still use it weekly and it has one job. And that's to hold the handle of my large stock pots while I'm cooking.

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Do y'all remember this mug? I got this early- to mid-2000s and I used it for ages and ages. These days, I'm using my tall Dallas Stars Tervis mug--which doesn't look like the picture because it's stained to heck and back with tea :0) -- but this was my go-to mug back in the day. I loved it so much, and I carted it around with me. I bought a second one in red on a subsequent trip to the USS Lexington and then broke it rather quickly. After that, I left the original at home. :0)

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Who's not familiar with Elf on a Shelf? Basically, you buy the little elf doll and move him around the house for the little ones of the house to find each day during the holiday season. DD was in charge of the "Elf Program" at her school for a couple of years. She passed it along this year because she's already at school early enough as it.

Anywho--one of our employees has a 3-D printer and created a glow-in-the-dark skeleton whose joints move. We ended up with him somehow and DH left him in the bathroom one day, and then the next day, someone (DD) started moving him around the bathroom. Then it became a game. Whoever found him moved him to a new spot. But the bathroom is only so big, so we moved the game to the kitchen and the living room.

He's been found and moved several times since his stint in the light fixture.

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Stars Win!

So DD and I got to watch a game from one of the suites. Someone donated two suite seats to the school fall carnival silent auction which DD won. We even got "gold parking" as part of the package.

It was a really fun experience / opportunity to enjoy the game from a suite. The food there was free, but we had to pay for our beverages, which was fine.

Here are a few pictures...

Our gold parking was under a restaurant next to the American Airlines Center and we got to take the elevator right up to the level our suite was on. Fancy!!

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Take care and catch you in a couple of weeks.

For lack of planning and something better to post about...let's remember some things, shall we?

Just gonna scroll through the collection of images I've amassed over the years and pick some experiences to remember...

During Sonshine's first year in band, they played on the steps of the Texas Capital. DD and I ended up making a run down there to see / listen to them. On the way back home we took a quick detour to visit the football field in Pflugerville where scenes from the hit show Friday Night Lights were filmed...

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As band mom for many years, I coordinated the provision of dinner for the band on game nights.

My turn...

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A rare sighting (in pictures, anyway) of the beautiful Darling Daughter (aka DD). This was taken many moons at the Fort Worth Zoo one lovely fall day.

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During my trip to Nashville with Dan back in 2019 (??) so that I could meet Mike Rowe--which I did, btw--I went on a walking tour of the city which included a trip to the original Grand Ol' Opry building.

.

See...

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Back when I was participating on the BBC Sherlock fandom online, I attended the 221B Con in Atlanta.

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Me in Red Rock Amphitheater in Boulder at the conclusion of my first time at GRL which was in Denver that year.

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My first Dallas Stars Season Ticket Holder event...meeting players at Six Flags. This is Tyler Sequin.

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And a final ode to the Lake House...hope your new owners are appreciating you...

As for you, dear friends, hope you have a great weekend. Get some rest.

Sadly, my Dallas Stars finally succumbed to the inevitable. They'd gone down 3-0 and clawed their way back to 3-2...they needed a win Monday night in the worst way and just couldn't pull that rabbit out of the hat.

Seeing grown men cry is the worst. :0(

One of the traditions in hockey is the handshake line at the end of a playoff series. I'm of two minds about it... It's gotta suck as the losing team to wait around for the winning team to end their initial jubilant celebration in order to shake your hand. As a fan, I like it. I guess it has that sportsmanship element that acknowledges that things could have just as easily gone the other way...

I'm sad for my boys in Victory (!) Green, but am relieved for myself. Playoff hockey uses up a lot of energy, and life can kinda stall out as you progress from game to game and series to series. But now I'm off the hook and can look forward to and move forward toward upcoming events.

Have a great weekend.

BONUS POST!

My Dallas Stars took the second round against the Seattle Kraken with a game seven win last night. It was nail biter for Stars fans even though the many of the hockey writers / pod casters I read / listen to seem to think the series was boring...

The Stars now move on to the third round, also known as the Conference Final--Western--in our case and will play the Vegas Golden Knights who punched their ticket Sunday night.

Vegas has depth, but not as good of a goalie as the Stars do.

Our goalie, Jake Oettinger, is said to be the best tendy of the four teams left playing. We also have what's been touted as the best top forward line for two regular seasons running. And not just by me. :0)

We're looking at the Carolina Hurricanes or the Florida Panthers coming out of the Eastern Conference to play in the Stanley Cup Final.

Carolina has the more suspect goal tending and a few more injuries, although that hasn't slowed them down much... So I think I'd rather the Stars play Carolina. The Panthers' goalie has gotten hot at just the right time, so I think facing him would be a tougher challenge for our team.

Have a great week.

>

The Dallas Stars have made the playoffs! But you knew that right??

*Clicking on the image will show you the largest version...

According to the chart above, created last October, the Stars had a 58.3% chance of making it to the playoffs and a less than 6.2% change of running the gauntlet of four rounds and winning the Stanley Cup.

Well. they made to the playoffs and they've secured home ice. Which means the first two games are at home to give them the lift of a hometown crowd to support them and cheer them on to early victory. DD and I have tickets to Wednesday night's second home game... :0)

Fast forward six months from the date of the original chart and there's new chart with the sixteen teams (of thirty-two) who made the cut.

Our chances of winning the Cup, today, before the playoffs even start, is 4.6%. It's not the lowest but it's close. They thing about hockey, though, is that once you're in, anything can happen. There are a lot of factors outside the players' control that help or hinder a team's progress.

Injuries to your own players or to the players of your opponent are a big factor, as is "puck luck" and the capriciousness of the officials on the ice making calls. The frustration of many teams is that the officials put the whistles away come playoffs because they don't want to affect the outcome of the games.

BUT... They affected every one of the eighty-two games that led to these teams being in the playoffs and they affect the outcome of a game by not calling penalties when penalties are due anyway. So please, for the love of the Hockey Gods, call the penalties as required.

Okay, enough of that. The officials that get assigned to the Stars' games are all going to call penalties properly. I'm putting that into the universe.

If you don't have rooting interests in another team, will you please send your well wishes and winner vibes toward our boys in Victory Green?

Many thanks!

And on a sad note, the Pittsburgh Penguins, captained by my favorite player Sidney Crosby, didn't make the playoffs for the first time in sixteen seasons. >>sad face<< That's basically Captain Crosby's tenure in the NHL...

Hope you have a great week and don't forget to:

BE LOUD while WEARing GREEN and cheering on the GO STARS!!

Have a super week.

Image courtesy the NHL / Dallas Stars.

It's been a while since we've I've talked about the Dallas Stars, huh?

It's not because they aren't doing well, because they are. They're doing so well, they're firmly in a playoff spot, bobbing between first and second place in the Central Division with Division rivals, the Winnipeg Jets, depending on who wins or loses on a given night.

Our top line is the best top line in the League. And that's not just me saying that--that comes from beat writers and pod casters I read / listen to.

Our young goalie is one of the best in the League. His save percentage speaks for itself. But, again, beat writers are writing and pod casters are talking about the young goalie in Dallas.

It's just that I've had so much else going on since the start of the season in October. DD and I have only attended two games because attending games requires (a lot of) money and energy, both of which have been in short supply--the energy more than the money.

While I do keep track of their wins and losses over the course of a week, the last few months have been busy months, so hockey's been more a part of the background fabric of life right now than the thing around which other things get slotted.

DD and I have tickets to two games later in the season, already bought before the no-spend challenge was officially issued, so we'll go, have fun, and add to our bobble head collection. I mean, if we're gonna go, we might as well score before the game too, right??

I guess I'm going to have to figure out how to pre-fund food before the games and a beverage ($6 bottle of water) while there. During our last season as season ticket holders, we got pretty good at keeping the expense to a minimum, usually eating at home or picking up inexpensive food at QT.

QT hot dog: $2.50 versus AAC hot dog: $6.50

Crazy, huh?

At this point I really don't need any more souvenirs-- If the Stars make the play-offs, however, there will be commemorative puck purchases for the collection; possibly magnets if they make it all the way to the Stanley Cup. Maybe a key chain or two as I've discovered that many key chains convert nicely to Christmas tree ornaments.

I guess I'd better think about pre-funding those as well. :0)

Have a greet week and don't forget:

The Boys in Victory Green Are Back in Town!

DD and I enjoyed everything the Dallas Stars home opener had to offer this past Saturday--most especially the win!!

As mentioned, for the first time ever, we were able to attend the opening day Victory Green Carpet Walk. After a lunch out (thanks to a gift card and no out of pocket $$ spent), we lined up along said green carpet and waited. And waited. And waited. Things didn't get started until about twenty minutes after they should have.

We got got stuck behind people who kept pressing forward against the "rope" and blocking our view. This really sucks for a short person. And DD has a few inches on me, but she's still on the short side.

But I was able to get my phone mostly in good position that it could see what was coming and I was pleasantly surprised a few moments later.

After being there way early and the things not starting on time, DD and I didn't stick it out for the whole thing. We were both hot and tired and very thirsty, so we left before everyone had walked the carpet. We only missed a couple of faces we would have liked to have seen, but we got the really important ones.

Jamie Benn, the captain:

Tyler Seguin, the super model:

Jake Oettinger, the new number one netminder:

And this dapper fellow here, is Luke Glendening. I thought he just looked so charming with his bow tie.

After our return to the car for some cool air and cool drinks, we returned to the arena. Not to our former season-ticket-holder seats, but close enough. But sadly we were in a set of seats that saw a lot of traffic by lazy people. It ended up being a lot of up and down to let people pass. Lesson learned for future games.

But the game was exciting and we won again a division rival. As is my wont after a win, I got a picture--no, have the whole video!-- of the Reunion Tower Ball lit up in Dallas Stars colors:

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Cleanup in Aisle 9!

Okay, not really, lol.

But my Walmart did get new shopping carts yet again. They're a little unusual, but with a couple of cool new features: A phone holder on the left of the back of the child seat, and a cup holder on the right side of the seat back. As a short person, the push handle is a little higher than I'd prefer, but what are you gonna do? At least all the carts will push properly for a while--no wonky wheels yet.

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The Sun's a Hot Star...

Did you know that Venus and Uranus rotate east to west when all the other planets rotate west to east...?

There are some theories as to why and you can read those here, if you're so inclined.

Uranus also spins on its side, which those who are fans of the original Blue's Clues would know.

I did note that the animation had Venus and Uranus spinning in the correct direction!

As a side note, the original Blue's Clues was a staple in our house for many years as Sonshine was a wee little lad when it first aired.

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A very young Rayna...

Last but not least...

Our family was given sad news last week.

Rayna, our dog of eight years (she's 10), was diagnosed with a very fast growing bone cancer on/in her left shoulder that could easily metastasize to her chest. The best (but not likely) prognosis, even with aggressive measures (amputation and chemo) is two years.

Unfortunately, the cost of treatment for only the possibility of a two year reprieve doesn't make any logical sense. And we still wouldn't know if she's in any pain and how much. Or what her quality of life would be. So the plan is to give her another month of the best life we can offer and then euthanize her over the Thanksgiving week so that DD and I can both be emotional and not have to be at work while doing it.

A teenage/young adult Rayna...

Best of all--the home opener is on a Saturday for a change. So...!! DD and I can attend all the pre-game events this year. Which usually includes what they call the Victory Green Carpet Walk. That's when the players walk into the arena on (obviously) a Victory Green carpet. Fans get to line the carpet for pictures and possibly autographs.

There are usually other events taking place in Victory Plaza, as well, so DD and I are gonna make a day of it since we actually can. I've had the tickets for a month already and I can't even say how excited we both are.

Others look forward to Halloween...I look forward to hockey season. :0)

However, for the first time in five seasons, we do not have season tickets or even half-season tickets. DD and I will be going to games as the mood strikes us and not because we have to because we already paid for the seats. Are there things I'm going to miss about being a season ticket holder? A few yes, but not enough to keep on right now.

Last year, I didn't opt out and wished I'd had. Way before Mom's cancer was known to me and before we even thought we'd be moving Mom to Texas, I just wasn't feeling the energy needed for that kind of commitment. Also, I had other reservations, which ended up coming to pass, and so this year, I said, "No."

Mostly for the same reasons, but also because after the hiatus of many things due to caring for Mom, I need to decide if the things I wanted to do are the things I still want to do; if so or if not--how do I move forward.

I've reached a crossroads...there is lots of pondering and consideration and prayer to come for me over the next weeks and months.

In the meantime...

The St. Louis Blues were swept from the first round of playoffs by the Colorado Avalanche. Now, I don't really care about the St. Louis Blues; they've been a general thorn in the side of my Dallas Stars, and their goalie is a bitch.

However--seeing any hockey player cry when their hopes for a(nother) Stanley Cup have been quashed, really gets to me. They're such fierce competitors and seeing them this vulnerable and willing to show their heartbreak really gets to me. I feel it in my chest. Even now, thinking about it, makes my heart clench a bit.

Remember that personality strengths test I took?

The strength of empathy ranked quite high, which surprised me when I first got the results. But I guess this is one way that empathy manifests itself.

On the flip side of the Blues' loss is the Avalanche win. They're also a favorite of mine and I'm over the moon they've advanced to the second round. One of my other favorite player, Nathan MacKinnon, plays for them, so I'm excited for him.

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Trying to get back on the KETO wagon today and will be doing a detox / cleanse for the next 10 days. It'll be interesting so see how it works.

Surprisingly however, when I weighed myself I hadn't gained as much weight as I imagined considering all the unhealthy things I've been eating for the last six months. In fact, I weighed in this morning at the upper level of my usual four pound swing. Now, I imagine the current high is actually higher, but overall, that's good news.

My main goal is not primarily the weight loss, nor the loss of fat, but getting back into ketosis and subsequently autophagy.

If you're not familiar, it means at its base level: self-eating.

When your body gets to this point it is removing debris and toxins from cells. The cells can then regenerate back to optimal functioning, whatever that may be. Autophagy has the ability to heal or really eat bacteria that is causing issues. For example--gum disease. A friend of mine had periodontal disease and after some time spent in autophagy, the disease had been eradicated from her mouth. I'm not sure how long that took, but I've known her for a while, and I'm going to bet less than a year.

That was of particular interest to me because I too suffer from periodontal disease. I've had boneloss in my jaw as a result. As a result of the severity of that boneloss, I had three teeth pulled and a bone graft applied. I'm on my way to getting posts and a bridge put in.

But I'd like for the periodontal disease be a thing of the past so that I keep the rest of my teeth. I'm only 53...

Now not only would that process heal my mouth, but I'm sure other parts of my body will also reap the benefits. Google-search "benefits of autophagy" if your curious as to all the other benefits...

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I hope you've had a good week since last I posted.

Take care...

The application I was using for y'all to receive the blog directly is disabling that feature in July...

Soooo...if you're still so inclined to get my my blog in your email, then I've researched other options and implemented the most highly recommended one.

You can subscribe there to the right in the box with the green outline. What that means is that you'll get notified twice for maybe two weeks and then I'll delete the other one and remove all y'all's email addresses from the original. (May 4th--I'll delete)

And if you no longer want to hear from me, that's fine too. I get it. :0) I'm not terribly exciting and have a bit of a three-track mind.

Good thing I no longer bite my nails. ;0)

Hope your week is going well...and, you know...

 This a post about my hockey team...feel free to tap out.

As of this afternoon, Wednesday, April 14, the Dallas Stars are three points from catching the team just ahead of them and seven points from catching the team in 4th place.

The teams in the first four positions get to go to the playoffs...

We have 15 games left to our season...3 to 4 more than most other teams since the start of our season was postponed due to COVID-related protocols and then four more games were rescheduled due to the snowpocolyse that hit our state.

The guys have playing four games in seven nights and back-to-back on Saturdays and Sundays to make up those eight games. It's not the worst schedule in the League, but it's tough. We're missing three of our top players. Another top player is a game-time decision every game day as he has an injury he's dealing with. There are eight or nine players rotating in and out of the lineup due to injuries and/or gameplay. There has been no time for any sort of organized practices.

Yes, I'll have some cheese with that whine...

They're streaky to begin with. Missing players, little rest, and no practices makes soooo inconsistent. 

While it's still statistically possible for them to make the playoffs; it's looking less and less like they're going to be able to make it happen

Am I sad?

I'm sad for the team. Not so much for myself.

Don't tell DD, but I'm ready for the season to be over. We have six more home games, four we'll be attending, two which we will not. I'm really not feeling the hecticity of playoffs. I have stuff to accomplish (hello, hockey book 5).

Yes, I know I could not go--but you never know when it's going to be the last time they make. Or you never know if they're gonna go on a tear like they did last season -- you want to be there for that too in case they win or in case they don't make it back for a while. It's history in the making...

But I just have this feeling based on how they're playing, they just won't be able to make up the points differences even with games in hand.

And I'm okay if they don't. It's been a crazy year and they had that wild ride to the Stanley Cup finals last year. They deserve the rest, even if every man to a one would say they'd do it all again to win the damn Cup.

Have a great week. Catch you Friday...

...play their first game of the season tonight. I can't tell you how excited DD and I are.

And yes, we'll be there. The Stars organization has implemented socially distant seating arrangements, one must wear their mask the whole time unless actively eating or drinking, and there's a COVID form each person must fill out before being allowed into the arena. I think there will also be temperature checks upon entry.

The Western Conference Championship banner will be raised and a commemorative mini banner will be handed out at the door. So yeah, we're going.

I'll have safety precautions in place upon my return home--namely going straight to the garage and changing clothes.

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In other news, I'm in negotiations with a friend for an exchange of services. I'll get editing for the epic lowlander book. She has an extensive knowledge of Scottish history which I want / need before this book baby goes into the world. Plus she's a great editor. Win/win for me.

She'll get a series guide for one of her series which currently has four books.  She wants to write a couple more at least. She'll have details of her characters and her world (it's a fantasy series) at her fingertips rather than reading all the books herself... So hopefully a win for her. Plus my writing is pretty clean to begin with and this book has been gone over several times already, once by a beta reader way back in the day, and by me a couple of times, so it shouldn't be a time-consuming edit needing a lot of "teaching" comments.

Also--it's the weekend so extra writing time for me. I've started writing the missing scenes and the ability to just submerge and write without having to stop and get ready for work is much needed right now.

Have a great weekend.

Catch you Monday.

And I have a long week ahead of me. But I'm ready for it!

The time has come for me to finally get my dental work done. However-- I chose to postpone the first appointment by a week because I didn't want to be down and out with pulled teeth and mouth pain while enjoying the Stanley Cup Finals and cheering my team to victory. :0)

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

We got the win...

...and we're headed for the Stanley Cup Finals!!!

 The boys will get a much needed extra few days to rest and then it'll be on to the Finals.

And just for shits and giggles...we used to see this clip in the arena during games but not often anymore...and I miss it.

Have a great week. Wheeeeee!!!!!!!!!!