Tag Archives: Sports

Sock Upgrade

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I was shopping for a new pair of running shoes at Rogue Running. I was specifically interested in the Mizuno Wave Sayonara. I considered them my future Zentangle shoes.

Mizuno running shoes: pink with black Zentangle decoration

Mizuno Wave Sayonara

I brought my own socks, but when Chuck, the salesman, saw them he noticed they were cotton. He suggested a true running sock and brought me a pair to use and then went to get the Mizunos.

Rogue Running had the white version of the Mizunos, not the pink, so I started out with them to check the size and fit. The size was good, but I was not having any luck with the fit. I laced them three different ways, but that didn’t help; the shoes slipped on my heels no matter what. I was heartbroken to let go of the idea of pink shoes with black Zentangles.

Reluctantly, I tried on other shoes only to find that the problem continued. I jogged up and down the hall, always returning with the disheartening statement, “No, these are slipping on my heel.”

Chuck and I both thought it was a little odd that all the shoes were slipping on my heel. Being the professional that he is, Chuck suggested that I try a different brand of sock. Ooh. Aah. That made all the difference: the shoes didn’t slip on my heel anymore. Chuck retrieved the white Mizunos for me to retry. Success!

Chuck ordered the pink Mizunos for me and I shopped for socks. I left with four different brands, as they were having a sale: buy three pair and get the fourth pair free. What a deal!

Each day for the next four days, when I got home from work and changed, I wore a different pair of socks. The first three pair were okay, but the fourth pair, they were “just right.” Yippee! Upgraded running socks, worthy of being matched with a good running shoe. All I have to do now is wait for my Mizuno (Zentangle) shoes to arrive.

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That sequence of events seems simple enough as to how I bought new socks, but here’s the back story, in reverse chronology.

I ended up with new socks because I was looking for the Mizuno (Zentangle) shoes. I had called around town, trying to find them locally. When I was on the phone with Rogue Running, I forgot to ask which color they had in stock. I didn’t find out that they only had the white until I showed up at the store, thus the new socks.

I was looking for the Mizuno Wave Sayonara shoes because a recent Zentangle newsletter showcased them (with a photo) as a happy example of Zentangle art.

I subscribed to the Zentangle newsletter because I had seen a Zentangle fiber art piece at a gallery show with work from my Austin Fiber Artists group. That one Zentangle fiber art piece was enough to get me hooked. Before I went home, I stopped at Staples and bought some Sharpie pens to start my own Zentangles.

I joined the Austin Fiber Artists group because I had taken my thread painted Eagle for show and tell for a meeting of the Austin chapter of the American Sewing Guild. After the meeting, Pam Farley came up to me and gave me a card for the Austin Fiber Artists. I went to one meeting as a guest, fell in love with everyone’s work, and joined.

Miniature art quilt, thread painted eagle

Eagle, thread painted. Based on a photo by Jack Marshall (Austin, Texas)

I came across the Austin chapter of the American Sewing Guild at the Austin Area Quilt Guild show one year. I picked up a membership form and joined. (I’m now also a member of the quilt guild and entered my Eagle quilt in one of their shows.)

I created the Eagle miniature art quilt after taking a Photo to Finish (thread painting) class at my local sewing store, Sew Much More, where I take a lot of classes. I made a few other thread paintings, including a Grizzly Bear for my brother’s birthday present. I showed it to MaryKay at Sew Much More who put me in touch with the photographer Jack Marshall and he gave me permission to use his eagle photograph. Ta-da! The Eagle was my fourth miniature art quilt thread painting.

Grizzly Bear, thread painted

Grizzly Bear, thread painted

(I can now say that I have art work in a private collection. That’s stretching it a bit, considering that I’m referring to my brother’s living room, but as an artist, I’ve got to start somewhere, right?)

I wandered into Sew Much More when I was shopping for a serger. They invited me to their Serger Club as a guest. I showed up, loved their demonstrations and joined. (I’m starting to see a pattern here.)

I was looking for a serger because a some years earlier I decided to learn how to sew and bought my first sewing machine. Later I discovered that some garment finishing tasks are easier on a serger.

So, long story long, the reason I have new socks in July 2013 is because I bought my very first sewing machine in July 1991 with the intent of making my own clothes. (I’m still working on that.)

I don’t remember where I got the idea to learn to sew, so I will stop the background trail here and consider the sewing machine purchase the beginning of this story. The new socks are not the end of the story, even though I don’t know how it will continue; I just know that it will. I’ll keep you posted.

General Reader

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Non-professional reader, general reader: two terms I came across recently in books that I read that described the book’s audience.

I think they are talking about me.

I found the “non-professional reader” term in the acknowledgements for The Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan, about the three decades of war between Athens and Sparta (with a cameo appearance by the Persian Empire), 431-404 BC.

The Peloponnesian War

The Peloponnesian War

The “general reader” term came from Your Brain on Cubs, Inside the Heads of Players and Fans, a compilation of scientific essays edited by Dan Gordon of the Dana Foundation. From the front inside book jacket: “The contributors to Your Brain on Cubs introduce us to the role of the brain, not just in these emotions, but in many aspects of watching and playing sports.” “Emotions” referring to “a come-from-behind win and the equally powerful crush of a disappointing loss.”

 

Your Brain on Cubs

Your Brain on Cubs

After thinking about it, I came up with my own definition of “non-professional reader” and “general reader”: A reader who is not a specialist in the field of a book’s subject.

Okay, now I know they are talking about me. I’m not a historian or a scientist, but I seek out books in those (and other) fields.

What was most fascinating to me about the Peloponnesian war is that the leaders of Athens and Sparta, Pericles and King Archidamus II, respectively, did not want to engage in war, yet it happened anyway. After three decades of war [spoiler alert], Athens surrenders. Sparta’s reigning regime is relatively short-lived, however, as a few years after that, Philip II of Macedon comes along and conquers both of them (and a whole lot more) and his son, Alexander the Great continues the empire’s expansion. So much for the Greek independent states.

And while it took about 30 years for Sparta to conquer Athens, the Chicago Cubs haven’t won a World Series title since 1908. I had great hopes for them in the 2008 season (the Cubs, not Athens or Sparta), thinking they could win on their 100-year anniversary. Didn’t happen, but I haven’t given up.

The first essay in Your Brain on Cubs is The Depths of Loyalty, Exploring the Brain of the Die-hard Fan by Jordan Grafman, Ph.D. I’ve never met Dr. Grafman, yet there I am in his essay. Another essay, Baseball and Handedness by Kenneth M. Heilman talks about left-handedness, right-handedness, along with left-eye and right-eye dominance. What does it all mean? Turns out, it means a lot in how and when a batter sees the pitched ball and its trajectory towards home plate.

The Forest Unseen book cover

The Forest Unseen

Fascinating, just fascinating. So to all the historians, scientists, and other specialists out there: Keep writing for me! I’m reading as fast as I can and I’ll get to your specialty soon!

Now that I think about it some more, I just love being a non-professional, general reader. My next book in the general reader category: The Forest Unseen, A Year’s Watch in Nature by David George Haskell. Looking forward to it!

All You Need

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All you need for tracking is a dog, a harness, a lead, a couple of articles (gloves) and someplace to track, right?

Not so right. Last weekend I went to a tracking seminar in Bertram, Texas, where the presenter was Vince Ramirez, an AKC tracking judge from Kansas. I loaded up my vehicle on Thursday afternoon after work. It took me about 3 hours.

I loaded the wire crate for transportation (Dusty would try to help me drive if he was loose in the vehicle), a mesh crate and pad for when we were inside during the lecture portion of the seminar, a fold-up chair, two first aid kits (one human, one canine), a beach towel, two fleece blankets (silly, I thought, as the temperature was in the 80s at the time, but come Sunday morning when it was 37 degrees with a 30-mph wind, not so silly), a gallon of water for Dusty, two water bottles for me, two canine water bowls (one fold-up, one plastic and non-spillable), dog treats, four leashes, two collars, two bumpers (training items: one white, one orange), a paper towel roll, a box of facial tissues, two Texas maps, my GPS, a portable jump starter, a vehicle sun visor/reflector, and three flashlights.

My vehicle loaded up with a dog crate and gear

In “dog mode,” already somewhat unpacked.

I haven’t even started listing the tracking gear yet. That includes two tracking harnesses, three 40-foot tracking lines, four equipment bags (two wearable when tracking, two larger ones for storing the tracking gear in the vehicle), two 2-gallon bags of articles (gloves, socks, leather pieces, potholders, dishrags, wallets, etc.), a spray bottle for a spritz immediately before starting the track, poop bags (always clean up after your dog!), and surveyor flags.

There was hardly any room left for my stuff: gloves for me to wear when on the track, a vest, three hats, a sweatshirt hoodie, two jackets and one knee-length coat, an extra pair of hiking boots, extra socks, running shoes, my Frogg Togg rain gear, two golf-sized umbrellas, knee-high wading boots, snake-proof gaiters, two pencils, three pens, my camera, and a clipboard with lined paper, blank paper and waterproof paper. Oh, and snacks and lunch.

I need a smaller dog or a bigger vehicle.

Lottery Lunacy

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The Powerball lottery jackpot for this coming Wednesday is $425 million, cash value $278.3 million. Well, I don’t need all that money, but in case I win, I have a plan (Lottery Lunacy originally posted in September 2009).

We all have plans for when we win the big money, the lottery. Most what-to-do-with-the-money lists probably start out about the same: taking care of family, house, car, bills, charity, travel. You know, the usual stuff.

But what about after that? What about the interesting stuff? What do you have planned to do or buy that’s just plain fun, silly or both?

Here’s my idea of a silly waste of money, waiting only on the right combination of Quick Pick numbers to come my way (cash option, of course):

I’m going to buy a pair of Crocs for each professional football team. Then, when I’m watching the games on TV, I’ll wear one shoe from each team. For the team going left to right, I’ll wear their shoe on my left foot. For the team going right to left, their shoe will dangle off of my right foot. When the quarter ends and the teams change direction, I’ll swap shoes as well, right to left and left to right.

As a lottery winner, I’ll finally be able to afford the NFL Sunday Ticket and I’ll get to watch all the games. That means that on Sunday mornings I’ll move 30 pairs of shoes to the living room. (One game is on Monday night. Later in the season, Thursday night football on the NFL Network will take another game off of the Sunday line up.)

Each time I change the channel to watch a different game, I’ll get up and change shoes. I’ll count that as part of my daily physical activity. It’ll be fun, really.

Now, if I could just remember to buy a lottery ticket . . .