Arts & Crafts
I've begun a new project. It's a crocheted table runner for the dresser in my hall. I only know the one basic crochet stitch, so it won't be super fancy, but I'm thinking I'll go around it in a second colour then back around in the first and that may make it look more complex. If I ever finish it. Despite using stitch counters, which keep breaking, I keep having to recount. I have metal ones coming, but I'm not sure why the size keeps changing. I think I have an idea at how to make a lacey edge with chains. It's an area that has been a dumping ground and I'm wanting to clean that up. I have a cute rainbow pillow that will go there.
I didn't make it to craft night this week as I was quite exhausted from the rest of the week. Craft night is changing to Mondays in the coming weeks as we are changing locations. It will be free and an ultra safe space for queer folks, so I think it's an excellent move.
Decluttering & Minimalism
Nothing got done this week with everything else going on. Well, I got the sticker-bombed doors back onto the cabinet, so I guess that's something.
Still lots to do, which I'll get into more next week since this one has been absolutely packed.
Gaming & Streaming
I had to cancel Monday's Diablo IV stream because I suddenly had to curl that evening after losing on Sunday. I also had to cancel the Saturday crafting stream due to the last PWHL Ottawa home game and the curling banquet.
My streaming schedule is changing. Thursdays will become my gaming stream day due to my craft group's day changing as mentioned above. Given that I've missed a lot lately, I will be streaming twice this coming week.
Lifestyle & Sports
I was a bit nervous to curl since it had been so long. Also, my arm not being fully healed contributed to the nervousness. But it went OK. For the first game, I did have one moment where I instinctively jutted my arm out in a way that hurt, but I didn't fall or hurt it more. We lost quite badly, but had fun anyway. The Gordie Perry bonspiel guarantees 3 games, so we had our next one on Monday and the third was on Tuesday. We would either be done until the banquet after that or have more games.
On game two, we lost again, but we won two ends instead of just one. I was a bit sore, so I iced my arms when I got home, then applied the injury strength Rub A535. That game was against people a year ahead of us.
Game 3 had us up against the convenor of the league. Their team was aging out of the U5 (Under 5 Years a.k.a. Novice Division). We were utterly destroyed, but kept playing as hard as we could. They stopped putting the scores up to be kind. We didn't score at all, but they said we did really well for our level. Considering they beat us by more than 10 points, it didn't feel like we did much well...
My arm actually got better as the bonspiel went on. I guess it forced the muscles to remember how to work or something. I still have rotator muscles to build back up, but overall it went well. By the end, I was almost able to throw like myself again.
Before the PWHL Ottawa game versus Boston, I was interviewed by CTV as part of Pride Night. The people beside me had been asked and declined and I thought that we miss all the shots we don't take, so why not? The game was so stressful and intense. I had also said that Pride Night is important because many of the players are queer and queers have always had involvement with women's hockey. They didn't keep that part, but they kept quite a lot of what I said. It's true though. Many of the players and fans are women who love women. Not acknowledging that is like not accepting a key part of the lives of the players. As the league says, hockey is for everyone.
Physio helped with the after effects of all that curling in a row. My new exercise is to stretch my pectorals because they're pulling things out of alignment. I also tried out my new massage gun. I felt pretty good after using it. The stretch hurts quite a lot and I'm to do it three times a day for 2 minutes if I can.
Friday was Lez Go's billiards night.
Saturday held the final PWHL Ottawa home game of the season and I was a bit trepidatious about going given the presence of far right activists, freedom convoy idiots, and some weird dating event for unvaccinated people at Lansdowne. We have the most information available to us that we've ever had in human history and yet...
Anyway, there was also the banquet for the Gordie Perry on Saturday, so I was headed there after the game. I got very little sleep due to my jerky arm, so I watched the game from home, watched some of the Boston game as well, and virtually hung out with friends who were doing Dinosaur Streamfest. Considering how much I had to catch up on around the condo after the rest of the week, this wasn't a bad thing for me.
I have officially survived tax season unless I get audited. I barely made it in time this year and I think that is partly due to having way too much going on.
Movies & TV
On Thursday, I watched Aunt Mary, which is the story of Mary Dobkin. Mary was a disabled woman who coached many youth sports teams in Baltimore in the 50s. She didn't care about race, gender, or ability. It was a very wholesome film.
I'm not usually one to join a bandwagon with television, but I've missed out on some good TV shows because of that. All that to say, I'm watching Fallout and damn is it great television. One better not have a weak stomach for gore though. If you've never played the games, the basic premise is that the fear of nuclear in the 1950s is realized and a segment of the population goes underground. Those that don't get into the fallout shelters end up becoming transformed in various ways by the radiation.
Reading
The ballot for the year's best Sci-Fi and Fantasy in Canada is out in case you're wondering what to read.
Writing
It's high time I get some things out into the world. My two projects right now are my novel and a horror screenplay. For the novel, I felt like I was floundering as I needed to research more, but it's not a strong suit of mine. I especially need to research into Celtic things and I had been, but I reached out to a writer friend who has done extensive research on the various Celtic peoples over the years to see if she could just help light the way a bit. I've been finding *some* documentaries here and there, but not enough to feel confident that I'm going to put out a novel that has enough reality in behind the fiction. I hate asking for help on literally everything, but it didn't make sense not to, especially since she had already done it. So I have one of the books she recommended and several more specific to the group I'm researching. One is quite expensive compared to the others because it's on the rare side. I will probably order more in the future. I got the things I needed the most.
For the other project I may reach out to other friends once I have a first draft completed. Really, I probably just want a certain subject matter beta readers to check it out.