This past weekend was chockful of two things. One, I had a visit from a cool blogger. Two, THE OLYMPICS.
To start with, Kyria came to visit me on her massive cycling road trip!! For those of you who don't know Kyria, she is currently doing a massive trip on her bicycle and I was lucky enough to host her on Saturday night. (Also, you all should know her because she did a guest post for my anniversary celebration.)
Poor Kyria was greeted by a dog who was losing her shit because a) Hannah has a documented hatred of bicycles, so bringing Bob into the house created some dog drama and b) Hannah apparently has a (newly documented) fear of people in bicycle helmets with lots of bags. I guess? I don't know what her issue was. But we bribed Hannah into liking Kyria with lots of sweet potatoes and chicken and Hannah then became the calm, sweet dog that she is when there aren't bicycles and accessories around.
And then we watched the Olympics. More on that below.
And then we went to eat at one of three passable restaurants in town. She missed Friday Fish Fry, but I'm hoping someone in the Midwest will make sure she experiences a full fish fry while she's here. After that, we did a tour of all seven cows and we got ice cream at the local ice cream stand.
The next morning, Kyria got to join me and Hannah on our regular Sunday morning off-leash walk at the middle school. The thing is that I roll out of bed and walk the dog in whatever I wore to bed. I don't brush my hair or put on a bra, so I'm going to show you photos of this, but don't judge me. I just got out of bed!
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| Good framing here. You can see the scoreboard. |
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| Hannah looks really worried! LOL. She is wagging her tail, though, so it's not dire. |
Anyway, that was a blast and Kyria is as lovely in person as you might imagine. I hope we're able to meet up again soon!
But! I know for a fact that my reading and blog posting is going to take a dramatic decline in the next two weeks because of the Olympics! You GUYS. There's fencing, diving, gymnastics, and archery. There are fancy horses, boat races, shooting sports, and this guy:
Sorry, friends. I can't comment on your blogs. I have to watch Nedoroscik warm up for his 45 seconds of fame.
It's been a long time since we watched an Olympics because of reasons. The last one I remember was 2012 in London. We felt terrible about the political conditions in Sochi, then Rio was a mess for the people who lived there, I don't know why we didn't watch the Winter Games in South Korea, but I suspect I was too busy dealing with LIFE, we though the Japanese summer games were irresponsible re: COVID, and then there were the Beijing games and we had more issues with geopolitical issues. BUT! 2024! France! No COVID! It's FINE and I can enjoy all the events*!
*I do not care for all the events. If it has a ball, I will not watch it. I'm talking about basketball, tennis, water polo, etc. Blah. Boring. I also find swimming and running sort of boring to watch. Eh. Whatever. You'll find me over here debating the finer points of dressage and horses dancing.
Are you watching the Olympics? What sports do you enjoy?
I am seeing a bit of the Olympics and kind of keeping tabs on things.
ReplyDeleteI suppose Canadians are more into the Winter Olympics!
DeleteFirst, I am so jealous of all the Cool Blogger meetups. Looks like so much fun.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving the Olympics. I skip anything with horses or shooting; diving and gymnastics are probably my favourite, but I'll watch just about anything. My husband LOVES surfing, so it has been really fun to watch all the heats of that event, too.
I will honestly watch anything, but we got Peacock for a month and we can watch any sport, any qualifier, any final, so I do have to be a bit choosy! I choose non-ball sports!
DeleteI'm not into the Olympics but I'm in to the Cool Blogger Meetups big time! It's a total wildcard for how Doggo reacts to new people, but chicken and sweet potatoes definitely smooth the way.
ReplyDeleteHannah was fine once Kyria was untethered by bags and bike, but it was touch and go there for a bit. I felt terrible. Welcome to my house! Let me convince my dog to behave! *sigh* Now we know and can try to work on these things.
DeleteI'm glad you have an update on Kyria. We haven't heard from her in a while. So great that you got to spend some time together!
ReplyDeleteAs far as the Olympics, I tune in during the day every once in a while. I find that I'm not as into it as I once was. I think it's because I got so inundated by coverage of sports I don't care about in the past (like constant hours and hours of women's beach volleyball--honestly, why is this even an Olympic sport? And why is it ALWAYS ON?). And how are they The Paris Games if some of them are in TAHITI, for heaven's sake?
Yeah, Peacock has a great system now so you can pick what sports you get to watch. I haven't seen any volleyball and that's turned out pretty well for me. We do like to watch the primetime coverage because we get highlights without having to watch every single heat from every single country, but if primetime is covering something boring, we'll definitely opt out.
DeleteI'm not really watching the Olympics, just catching highlights on TikTok here and there. My favorites are women's gymnastics and equestrian. Have you seen Mopsie, aka "the rave horse?" It's cute.
ReplyDeleteI love how you meet up with so many bloggers. That is really cool.
I LOVE the dancing horses. LOVE IT.
DeleteI have been lucky because so many bloggers live here and Birchie and Kyria traveled here! It's really just a good geographic location for meetups and I'm going to take advantage of that whenever I can.
I'm just catching clips from the Olympics online. I mean there are things I could be mad about like allowing rapey Dutch guy, not allowing hijab-clad athletes, not banning Israel, etc. But we just jettisoned our cable this year, so we can't access it on demand.
ReplyDeleteYes, there are definitely things we can pick at about the games including what you mentioned, the treatment of Taiwan and Hong Kong, and making athletes compete in the Seine when that water is GROSS, but it's so much better than other recent Olympics that I'm letting myself just enjoy and try not to think about it too much.
DeleteWe got Peacock just for this month just so we could watch as much Olympics as we want! Then we will get rid of it, as is our nature.
Yay, Kyria!!! How fun that you got to see her on her epic journey.
ReplyDeleteYes, the Olympics. I love gymnastics, and the men were just as much fun to watch as the women this time. I love swimming and track and field. The one thing I get annoyed with is beach volleyball- I think it was because in previous Olympics then seemed to show WAY TOO MUCH of it- this time I haven't been subjected to it at all. I'm still managing to read, I've just cut back on my sleep, ha (oh wait, is that bad?) Anyway- glad you're enjoying it!
Yes, I think the men were so charismatic and charming and their excitement over winning that bronze made me so happy for them. And that women's final! They were so dominant.
DeleteI also am cutting back on my sleep. And my blogging. And my reading. I haven't even started I Capture the Castle and I need to because I need to get a post up on Monday!
How fun that you got to meet Kyria!
ReplyDeleteI too am on the Nedoroscik bandwagon. I saw someone on social media say, "I have been a big fan of his since I found out about him 5 minutes ago" and yeah, that's me, but I love his specialism, his Clark Kent glasses, and that he apparently put his "beating Rubik's cube in under ten seconds" on Instagram while he is IN PARIS FOR THE OLYMPICS. You rock it, dude! Be your nerdy self, it is awesome.
I enjoy gymnastics, diving, some swimming, some track and field. I'm already at the "not more volleyball?!" stage.
Right? I'd never heard of Nedoroscik before the men's final started. LOL. But now he's on my blog. That's the way the Olympics work!
DeleteHow fun that you got to host Kyria for a night! She is arriving at our place on Friday afternoon and we have the kind of friendship where my husband texted her last night to see what flavor of ice cream he have on hand for her and we will leave a lockbox with a key so she can let herself in when she arrives since we'll both be in the office that day. She's the easiest guest to have around and just an all-around delightful person. Her and Phil are 2 peas in a pod so they get along very well, hence the reason they have each other's numbers in their phone.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the olympics! I love a lot of the things you hate, though, like swimming, track & field, and sand volleyball (that's probably the sport with a ball that I am most interested in watching). I would also watch golf if it was televised but I doubt it will be. I have ZERO interest in anything with horses. I am just not a horse person at all. But gymnastics is my favorite. We enjoyed watching Nedoroscik's pommel! Such talent!
I was surprised that my husband also opened up to Kyria right away, too. She's really a people person!
DeleteYeah, I honestly don't understand why people like swimming because everything happens under water and you can't see anything! Like, why is Katie Ledecky so much faster than everyone else? I have no idea. LOL. I don't want to ride horses, but I like to see how these big creatures can be so delicate.
I have really enjoyed Equestrian! We also signed up for Peacock specifically for the Olympics. Dancing horses though...do you mean dressage? Or is there something beyond that that I'm missing? I hope you have time to pop by my blog at some point, there aren't too many people who are going to be interested in discussing the Neapolitan Novels. Maybe during some down time next week when you've finished your chapters of I Capture the Castle? (I'm 2 chapters in thus far and enjoying it! The title reminds me of the Shirley Jackson story, 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle', have you ever read that?)
ReplyDeleteI do mean dressage. I love it when they prance around.
DeleteI am always up for a discussion on the Neapolitan Novels. I think I need to do a reread with the idea of Lenu as an unreliable narrator and see how that changes things for me.
How fun that you got to meet up with Kyria! I haven't had time to watch any Olympics, just a few highlights. I agree that The Pommel Horse Guy is so awesome!
ReplyDeletePoor guy is going to be called the Pommel Horse Guy for the rest of his life!
DeleteI also roll out of bed to walk the dog, and you look MUCH better than I do - there will never be photographic evidence if I can help it.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that guy. The removing the glasses a la Clark Kent to Superman. The absolute owning of his one event. So awesome.
Eve hates all the ball events too - "we can see tennis or basketball literally any time, why would we want to watch them at the Olympics".
Blogger meetups IRL are so special, even if the dog has to be bribed with sweet potatoes.
I don't usually provide photographic evidence of my morning walks, but needs must. I'm mostly amused by my "Loves Animals, Tolerates People" tshirt. I must be making quite an impression.
DeleteEve is correct! We could watch the boring ball games any other time and I choose not to. Why would I watch them when there is skateboarding, surfing, gymnastics, and boat things to watch?!
I rush home after work to watch the Olympics. I avoid putting my kids to bed because it interferes with my Olympic watching. I stay up waaay later to watch replays of things like badminton and table tennis.
ReplyDeleteLast night we watched one of the sailing events. It was a lot of hurry up and wait yet it was fascinating. The first race, 30 seconds before the start -- SECONDS -- the officials delayed theace because the winds weren't doing the right thing. Can you imagine gearing up to race and then, literally having the wind taken out of your sails? There is something really interesting to me about watching the entire event and really seeing the glacial pace at which thing move until bang, suddenly there is four minutes of action and a gold medal at the end. There must be some kind of mental acuity required to deal with the moments of non-competing.
I feel that way about the hurry up and wait with gymnastics. Each apparatus takes forever! And they're mostly just sitting there trying to stay warmed up. Crazy. I think the mental game is at least half of success at the Olympics.
DeleteAhh how awesome to see you and Kyria!! I have missed her blog so it was super cool to see her pop up on yours from an IRL visit. I'm so glad you were able to get ice cream together.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the Olympics! I have not watched any yet. But I really should.
I mean, if you aren't into the Olympics, don't force yourself. I just really love it and can't get enough. I will resume my normal no television stance when it's over.
DeletePaddy's, Tavern, and Brock's?
ReplyDeleteOne of those is correct and where we went, one is a dark, dank hole that smells bad, and the other was irresponsible during COVID and will never get my business. I think we might have different reviews of restaurants.
DeleteAhh...I didn't live here during COVID. Dark and dank is obvious, though. Now I'm super curious!
DeleteHow sweet to host a fellow blogger! What an adventure she is on---whew!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I can't imagine walking without a bra because: ouch. (that might just be me though--and I only wear sports bras, in case you even care. LOL)
YES the Olympics--we're trying to watch an hour or two a night and seeing Nedoroscik do his thing was the bomb! So, I'm assuming you're following the Doubles Badminton since there isn't a ball? 🤣
Fortunately my morning walks sans bra cause me no pain. LOL. I bet there WOULD be pain if I tried to put one on before I was fully awake.
DeleteI mean, I'll do my best to catch up on badminton and table tennis and all the other weird sports this weekend. It's fun to see athletes in uncommon sports compete!
What a fun blogger meet-up! Kyria seems like an all-around awesome persona and that's so cool that you were able to host her for a night. I'm sure she appreciated it!
ReplyDeleteI am very much into the Olympics! I've been watching the gymnastics finals while "working" (shh), haha. I've also just been turning on the primetime coverage in the evening to see some of the other sports, like swimming, diving, etc. Excited for track & field to kick off soon!
Kyria was awesome and I 100% recommend her as a houseguest.
DeleteIf I were at home, I would definitely be watching the Olympics the whole time! I do not hold that against you at all.
I am so stoked to read about all the cool blogger meetups in the midwest. So wonderful that you got to spend time together.
ReplyDeleteSan, you need to come to the Midwest. Think of all the cool people you could meet!
DeleteOh man, I am late to this party, but yes, it was so fun to finally meet up with you!! Also, I did not find Hannah to be a bother at all, she was just defending her space and I am okay with that. Also I did not find your husband to be a bother either...just kidding! Really, everyone was lovely. And dinner was good and not dark or dank, but now I'm curious to see the other place!
ReplyDeleteAs for the Olympics, I don't know who the person is that you are talking about, but I enjoyed watching Ingebrigtsen, I mean, because he is a fast runner of course. Also the dressage is just weird, although they did a spoof where it was done to a Snoop Dogg song and it actually made more sense that way.
You're welcome to come get barked off by Hannah anytime you want to!
DeleteHuh. Ingebrigtsen's personality was off-putting to me. I firmly believe no one should have that much confidence!
The dressage isn't weird! It's really tricky to teach horses how to do those things. It's really skillful.
You and your strong dislike of ball sports. *shakes head* What did they ever do to you? And how is, say, fencing better than that?
ReplyDeleteI'm so bummed that I did not get to meet Kyria... and get to see which restaurant you took her to. I sincerely hope that you took her to Frosty Freeze, though. A double check - cow + ice cream! :)
Wait...what did ball sports ever do to me? Are you kidding? Are you forgetting the existence of K-12 physical education classes?
DeleteWe did go to Frostee Freeze! And she took a photo of the cow. It is what we do in this town.
OK, point conceded re: gym class. However, I will posit that there is a difference between *participating* in said ball sports, and *watching* said ball sports. You're transferring the hatred. ;) (Sorry, just teasing, I couldn't resist.). And thank goodness for Frostee Freeze. :D
DeleteOkay, so here's the thing. I think the athleticism that comes with ball sports is impressive. But it's boring to watch. They are literally all the same - get the ball/puck through the defender to a goal. I'm sure there's strategy and the like, but compared to the batshit nature of kayak cross or the hula hoop part of rhythmic gymnastics, they're just plain boring. Why would I watch ball sports when they're on all the time? I know you're teasing, but I am so serious about this. I do not find them entertaining to watch. Perhaps that's a weakness on my end because I don't know the intricacies of the sport, but I stand by my statement.
DeleteI did watch a ton of Olympics this time. Loved it so so much. I do enjoy watching track and field and think I only missed one or two days full coverage. I dont much care about fencing. I checked it out about 30 seconds and were gone. The horse thig I only checked in for the German performances.
ReplyDeleteI love a good boat race... probably because my grandpa was an olympic candidate in 1940 and 1944 but germany was excluded. After the war three of his team mates didnt survive. I thought about it during these Olympics... he aslways said well who would I have doen it with but there might have been a more traumatic and guilty aspact. unfortunately I cant ask him anymore.
Anways I grew up kayaking a lot and so this is dear to my heart. And of course volleyball as a former player and referee.
I love that there are sports for everyone at the Olympics. You want track & field or swimming? You get it! You want ball sports? They're there! You want batshit crazy rhythmic gymnastics and kayak cross? That's also there!
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