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Category Archives: Hockey
Short Take: Please stop comparing NHL team records across eras.
So a number of commentators have remarked that the Montreal Canadiens 7-1 stat is the team's best since 1961. Wow! That's a long time ago. I wasn't even born then (although I was expected…) Amazing that all the great Habs teams of the '60s and '70s never equaled or bettered the 1961 start (which was 7-0-1, incidentally, the "1" being a tie).
Ah yes, a tie. Remember those? Of course, they don't exist anymore, all games tied at the end of three periods now being decided in overtime or a shootout. In fact, if memory serves, the second and third games of the current season were tied at the end of regulation, as was another game during the first eight. So, in 1961 terms, the Habs' record this season is 4-1-3. Doesn't look quite so impressive now, does it? Also, if you want to look back in Habs history, you'll see that the 1975-76 team opened 6-1-1 and five of those six victories were by scores of 9-0, 9-4, 7-2, 7-1 and 6-2. I think that's just a tad more impressive than this year's performance.
I really don't want to take anything away from this year's edition of the Habs, as it looks to be a very exciting team for which I have high hopes. I just don't think there's any need to paint the lily by referring to their start as the "best since 1961", when it so obviously isn't. It's a pet peeve of mine, similar to people saying that the 1994 MLB strike robbed the Expos of a World Series. They might not have even made it to the World Series and, even if they did, the Yankees team that they would likely have met wasn't exactly chopped liver. It's really enough to say that the strike ended the chances of probably the best Expos squad ever, one that might have gone all the way. And it's enough to say the 2014-15 Habs are off to a great start.
Posted in Hockey, Sports	| Tags: Expos, Habs, Montreal Canadiens	|
The (death of the) narrative in sports
19th September, 2014 · Kerry Butt · Leave a comment
It starts with randomness. When you start watching a sport for the first time, all you see is randomness. Everything seems chaotic. In hockey, the puck bounces here, then there. A pass tips off one player's stick, another picks it up, and…GOAL! In soccer, a corner kick comes in, glances off one player's head onto another's foot, whose shot is saved by the keeper, who spills it to an attacking player and…GOAL! In football, the ball is snapped, the line of scrimmage is a tangle of bodies, one player emerges with the ball and…TOUCHDOWN! When you're new to a sport, these events often seem to come out of nowhere. Everything seems like an incredible fluke. The play that led to the goal could have broken down in any number of ways or it formed though a series of what looked like random events.
With time, you begin to notice patterns. Some players or teams seem to find success more often. Plays that looked random at first now seem to have purpose behind them. The corner kick didn't glance off the player's head; he deliberately flicked it on. As we get to know players and teams, we begin to construct narratives. We see a team come from behind a few times and, when we see them fall behind again, we nod sagely: "They're just biding their time – they'll turn it on in the final period." If one player scores a couple of game-winning goals: "He's a clutch performer."
This is reinforced by what we read about the sport and what we hear on TV and radio. We want to know the story behind what we see. We want to make sense of it. We see a rookie player; he impresses us. After he becomes a star, it seems preordained somehow. We knew it. "I remember when I saw his first NHL game – you could see then that he was gonna be a star." A team is consistently successful; we need to know why. What does this team have that others don't? If it's high-end skill players, that's the reason. If it doesn't seem to have enough skill players to explain its success, then it has to be the coaching system, or the presence of "character" players, or something.
Beyond making sense of things, we also seem to need to feel that these things fit into a larger picture, a narrative. And many who write or comment on sports are happy to oblige. As an illustration of what I mean, read almost anything written by the Globe & Mail's Cathal Kelly. For example, before the recently-completed US Open tennis tournament, Kelly wrote this about Eugenie Bouchard:
"Though we've seen too little of her to know for sure, Bouchard is shaping up as that very specialized athletic beast – a form player.
This genus thrives in professional team sports, where they can hide for long stretches when things aren't going so well. Usually in the regular season. They emerge into the open when it matters, in the playoffs. A lot of great careers have been made out of very few great performances this way.
However, it's hard to think of anyone who manages this sort of thing in an individual sport such as tennis. Here, consistency is key. You build into a big win.
Trainers and sports psychologists call it peaking. Somehow, Bouchard has turned this theory on its head. In her world, she bombs out in a bunch of tournaments she should dominate, using those failures as inspiration for the ones that should be difficult.
There's no explaining it, because it doesn't make any sense. The majors bring out the best in Bouchard. Everything else bores her.
One day in and you could already see the mental portcullis coming down. The cocky, game-faced Bouchard has returned. Someone underhanded her a beach ball in the post-match Q&A: Who were her Canadian tennis influences?
"I never had any Canadian tennis influences," Bouchard said. "I looked up to the best."
Alrighty then. And quickly moving on.
This looks a lot more like the player who has dominated for short stretches when it mattered this year. Some people think summer stock matters. "They paid good money for a ticket," and all that noise. Bouchard mails it in until she gets to Carnegie Hall. It's hard to gainsay when it works."
Does the fact that Bouchard lost in the fourth round to a lower-seeded player change how you view what Kelly wrote? The heat and humidity were extreme and Bouchard was clearly struggling. Maybe that was it. And what if she wins one or more non-major tournaments next year? What then? Is she still a player who "mails it in until she gets to Carnegie"? Time will tell. If events don't bear out this version of the narrative, you can bet that another will replace it.
Since most of us grew up with this there's-a-story-behind-everything model of sports coverage, we're comfortable with it. We've left far behind our initial perceptions that all is random and chaotic. Now we see that there's an underlying story that explains everything. Perhaps sportswriters and broadcasters may disagree on what that story is, but no one doubts it's there.
I think that's why the analytics movement in hockey has caused so much controversy. Its focus on objective data and modeling of outcomes has uncovered a number of truths that those who explain sports results to us would prefer to lie hidden. One that had a particularly big impact on me is the role of chance in performance. After years of hearing stories to explain why things that looked like luck in fact aren't, to be shown objective evidence that chance is a significant factor in performance is mind-blowing. You mean that player didn't "elevate his game on the big stage" when he scored two goals, including the overtime winner, in the Cup final? He was just lucky? You can see how that leaves the Cathal Kellys (and Jack Todds and Steve Simmonses, etc.) of the world in a tough position. What are they going to write about in such a world?
And now analytics is going mainstream. Not only have a number of the leading analytics thinkers and bloggers been hired by NHL teams, it looks like mainstream hockey coverage will have an increasing analytics focus. It's going to be really interesting to see if the average fan, so long conditioned to the narrative view of sports coverage, will accept a focus on objective, fact-based coverage that is willing to call a team's winning streak or a player's hot streak a pretty-much random event, rather than looking for the "underlying reasons" that "explain" it.
For me, it's oddly liberating. What it means to me is a freedom to "live in the moment" when I watch sports, without having to wonder what everything means or portends. It's a way to keep me from getting too high when things go well or too low when they go poorly.
In any event, it's certainly something to watch with interest as the coming NHL season unfolds.
Posted in Hockey, Sports	|
Short take: A proposal to get rid of the "loser" point in hockey
18th March, 2012 · Kerry Butt · Leave a comment
There are a number of things about today's NHL that annoy me as a hockey fan. The shootout, for one: this is 100% a crapshoot, in my view. The number of teams that make the playoffs, for another. But the one thing that annoys me the most about the NHL is the "loser" point for those teams that lose the game in overtime or the shootout. I know the loser point has contributed to parity in the league, but it has done so by artificially creating a logjam in the standings, especially in the later part of the season. Moving up the standings is difficult even when you're playing well, as the teams in front of you are frequently picking up points even when they are losing.
There have been occasional proposals to change the system for awarding of points. Most that I have seen have involved making a regulation win more valuable by awarding three points for such a victory. Others have involved simply getting rid of the loser point. This has merit, especially since games can no longer end in ties. (Remember that the original rationale for the loser point was to cut down on the practice of "playing for a tie" to get a point and hold your opponent to one.) With no ties possible, why award a loser point to discourage what can no longer happen?
However, I do not think this proposal goes far enough. What is needed is a system that rewards regulation-time, "regular" victories (that happen because your team played better in the 60 minutes of "real hockey") and properly penalizes, rather than rewards, losing. I propose the following: two points for a regulation victory, one point for an overtime or shootout victory, and zero points for a loss.
The main benefit to this system is that teams will be encouraged to play for a regulation win, which (to me) is the desired outcome of any game. If you are unable to beat your opponent fair and square in regulation time (when real 5-on-5 hockey is being played), your punishment is that you only get one point instead of two, even if you win in overtime or the "skills competition." And there is NO reward for losing.
Now, I'm sure there are plenty of arguments that can be made against this plan, but I am not interested in arguments that speak to "parity" or how the standings will change under this proposal. My rationale for this system is based purely on the principle that a regulation victory is the desired outcome and should be encouraged.
What do you think? Comments, as always, are welcome.
Posted in Hockey	| Tags: loser point, NHL, overtime, shootout	|
Has the (hockey) world gone mad?
7th March, 2012 · Kerry Butt · 1 Comment
(Sorry this post is a bit delayed – WordPress problems…)
So, Don Cherry ranted last weekend about there not being enough Ontario-born players on the Toronto Maple Leafs. No, he did. Really. (Read about it here, or see here if you want to watch it in all its video glory.) Now, I'm not a follower or fan of Mr. Cherry, so he might have referenced this belief before, I don't know. I know what he has said about Europeans and "French guys" (some time ago, granted), but this Ontario thing seemed to come out of left field a bit.
But what was even stranger to me was the reaction. People seemed to actually take this seriously. Yahoo Sports' Greg Wyshynski provided an analysis (with a big table, no less) and even the (normally) reliably bullshit-averse Ted Bird came down on Cherry's side on this issue.
Has the world gone mad?
Bird offered that:
"Ontario produces more and better hockey players than any other province or country, and Cherry makes a legitimate hockey point when he says the Leafs are cheating themselves and their fans by not mining talent in their own diamond-rich backyard."
Now, I don't know if Ontario really produces more AND better hockey players, but Ted Bird knows more about hockey than I do and I am willing to take his word for it. But, even if that's the case, why are there none on the Leaf's roster? Why in the word would a Toronto hockey team pass over the "more and better" local Ontario players to employ the fewer and worse non-Ontario lot? Isn't it possible that, on a case-by-case basis, the Leafs decided to sign, develop or trade for what looked like the best available player at the time and it just so happened that they were born somewhere else? I find it hard to even imagine how the where-the-player-was-born conversation could arise. When does it happen? Where does place of birth sit in the hierarchy of factors that are used to rate players?
Wyshynski noted the following in his piece (in discussing Cherry's view that "it's important to have Ontario-born players on the Leafs"):
"This is a bit more subjective, but we agree with Cherry. First, because it does matter to young players that they have NHLers to look up to; and seeing a guy who played in your youth leagues and grew up in your neighborhood making the show with a team that you root for is a hell of a motivator. Second, because even though the pressure is greater on players who are playing back home, so might the motivation to excel."
Now, I've never played organized ice hockey, but I'm a Canadian and I grew up playing street hockey (and was blessed with enough speed to be not bad at it). The players I worshipped as a youth were chosen for (a) the team they played for (the Habs) and (b) their style of play (Yvan Cournoyer, Guy Lafleur). I didn't give a hoot where they were born, or grew up, or played junior hockey. And although Wyshynski's point that someone who "played in your youth leagues and grew up in your neighbourhood making the show with a team you root for is a hell of a motivator" has the ring of truth, the reality is that many, many, many more young players are inspired by NHLers whose skills, heart and work ethic resonate with them (regardless of their origins) than they are by the local boy who made good.
And a final note: even though Ted Bird exonerated Cherry from any accusations that "partisanship and politics" were at play in his rant, does he (or anyone) think for a second that the "fiercely loyal Ontarian" Cherry would say anything different even if Ontario didn't produce more and better hockey players? My feeling is that Bird so wanted to draw a distinction between Cherry's views and what Bird characterized as the "tireless drum-beating of Quebec media for more francophones on the Canadiens," that he basically gave Cherry a pass, regardless of any logic to the contrary. I have to say that I fail to see any difference. Would Bird think the "tireless drum-beating" was OK if francophone areas produced "more and better" hockey players than other areas?
Posted in Hockey	| Tags: Don Cherry, Greg Wyshynski, Habs, Ted Bird, Toronto Maple Leafs	|
Why the NHL playoff structure sucks
6th February, 2012 · Kerry Butt · Leave a comment
Although I was a hockey fan first, for a long period of time I was actually a bigger fan of baseball (more specifically, of the Montreal Expos) than I was of hockey. Being a fan of baseball in the late 1970s and '80s was a very different experience from being a hockey fan (then or now). One difference that always struck me was how the playoff structure in the two sports affected the definition of a "good season." In Major League Baseball at that time, there were two leagues (National and American) and two divisions (East and West) in each league. Each division consisted of six (American) or 7 (National) teams. ONLY the top team in each division made it to postseason play. So 4 out of 26 teams (15%) made the playoffs.
Contrast that with the NHL. The 1979-80 NHL season saw the addition of 4 WHA franchises to the league, for a total of 21 teams. That season also saw the playoffs expand, moving to 16 teams for the first time. Thus, 76% of the teams in the NHL in the 1979-80 season made the playoffs. Even now, 16 of 30 teams (53%) qualify for post-season play. By contrast, today's MLB sees only 8 of 30 teams (27%) qualifying for the playoffs.
What do these differences mean in terms of how you view your team? Well, in hockey, the criteria for "success" is generally viewed as, at the very least, making the playoffs. If your team has championship ambitions, of course, merely making the playoffs is not enough. Conference top-4 status, with home ice advantage in at least the first round, might be needed. But even an 8th place team can ride a couple of upsets deep into the playoffs, as the Canadians did a couple of seasons ago. And, of course, commentators often talk about the playoffs as being "a whole new season," where "anything can happen." So, take the Canadiens of last season. They finished in 6th place, but took the eventual Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins to overtime of the 7th game of their first-round series before bowing out. Was that a "successful season?" Imagine for a moment that only the top 4 teams in each conference made the playoffs. The Habs would not have qualified. Same team, same level of play, same record, but no playoff berth. Successful season?
On the other hand, you have a sport like baseball. When I first started seriously watching baseball in the mid-1970s, the Expos were a very young franchise that had not had much success. But after a 1978 season that saw early promise dashed, the team excelled in 1979 from start to finish, their 95 wins placing them just 2 games behind division (and eventual World Series) champion Pittsburgh. Only 2 teams in all MLB won more games than the Expos that year (Pittsburgh and Milwaukee). But the Expos did not make the playoffs. Successful season? Of course it was. No baseball fan at that time looked at a playoff berth as the only measure of success. If they had, there would be only 4 successes and 22 failures.
The beauty of the MLB system, to me, is that you are forced to look beyond mere playoff qualification to define success. And I think that's the way it should be. The problem with the NHL is that we have become too focused on making the playoffs. It's as though we don't trust the fans to come out to the rink or watch the game on television if we don't hold out the hope of a playoff berth (where "anything can happen") to motivate them. And, of course, the teams themselves have become heavily dependent on the playoffs, not just for the extra revenue the playoff games themselves bring, but also to drum up interest in a mediocre team during the regular season, when the "playoff race" starts after the all-star break (if not after Christmas!) It's an interesting exercise to wonder what would happen to teams like Columbus or Carolina if only the top 4 teams in each conference made the playoffs. Would fan support erode if fans knew the team would have a long road ahead of them to reach elite status before they could even think about making the post-season? Are they fans of the team, or fans of a (potential) "playoff team?"
I've been using MLB as a comparison. What if I used English soccer? In the English Premier League, there are no playoffs. The team at the top of the standings (or "table", as they call it over there) is the league champion. That's it, that's all. Now, I know there are other elements to English soccer – there's the guarantee of Champions League play for the top 4 clubs and the danger of relegation (what a great concept!) to keep up interest for the bottom-feeders. But still, there is only one league champion. They don't feel the need to create a playoff system to give 4 or 8 teams a shot at a championship. If you finish 5th in the EPL, that's an accomplishment and you don't need a playoff berth to validate it. You were one of the best teams over the course of the season. You can hold your head high. That's all you need.
Ultimately, I think that having too many teams make the playoffs is damaging for the league because it creates too many casual fans and it makes the league cater to them because the league comes to need them. I know that some people laugh at the fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs because they support the team no matter the quality of the on-ice product. I know some say that fans of unsuccessful teams should just stay away because management has no incentive to improve a bad team if it sells out every game and the TV ratings are good. But that is not what being a fan is about. (See my earlier post on cheering against your team for more of my thoughts on this.) If it takes the possibility of a playoff berth to motivate you to support the team, I have news for you. You are not a fan. And I don't think the NHL should cater to your wishes over mine.
What do you think? Comments are welcome. I approve all comments that are not spam.
Posted in Hockey	| Tags: EPL, Expos, Habs, MLB, Montreal Canadiens, NHL, playoffs	|
Why I will never cheer for the Habs to lose
4th February, 2012 · Kerry Butt · 1 Comment
It seems that the time has just about come to give up hope that the Canadiens will make the playoffs this season. The glimmer of hope raised by the pre-all-star-break victory over Detroit and lovingly nurtured over those few days off has been all but extinguished by three straight losses against beatable teams. And now we are hearing more and more that the Habs should use this "opportunity" to finish as close to the league basement as possible in order to get a high draft pick and start the rebuilding process.
Well, when it comes to cheering the Habs to lose, you can count me out. I mean, I understand it at a macro level. Nobody trades top draft picks anymore, so the only way to get one is to get down to lottery level. That means these players will have to be established stars before other teams (maybe) get a crack at them via trade or free agency and, if they do live up to their high draft number, they will be prohibitively expensive. So you have to "fail for Nail" (i.e., Nail Yakupov, projected #1 pick this year).
The problem for me is at the micro level. To succumb to the "fail for Nail" mentality means that, if I'm watching a Habs game and the Habs score, I have to be upset about that. If they rally from two goals down in the third period and win it with five seconds left, I have to be mad, to boo that comeback. If Carey Price registers a 39-save shutout, I have to curse at him. Well, maybe other people can do that, but I can't. I can't just decide "OK, from now on I want them to lose." Being a sports fan is not rational like that. I can no more cheer against that Habs than I can decide not to breathe anymore. I will always be happy when they score, when they play well, when they win. And I'll always be unhappy when they lose. And I've been a fan of the team a long time, through the good times and the bad. Each year hope springs up afresh.
They way I see it, if the Habs go on a tear for the rest of the season but don't quite make the playoffs, then we've got a sustained run of good play to keep hope alive through the offseason. If they continue their poor play and do end up with a high draft pick, we've got the promise of that player to sustain us through the summer. It all works out. There's always a reason to be hopeful.
So go ahead and cheer the opposition when they play the Habs. I'll be over here, keeping the faith.
Posted in Hockey	| Tags: draft, fail for Nail, Habs, Montreal Canadiens, Nail Yakupov, playoffs	|
Short take: Tim Thomas and the White House snub
24th January, 2012 · Kerry Butt · Leave a comment
Much has already been written about Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas and his decision to not accompany the rest of the 2011 Stanley Cup-winning team on their White House visit yesterday, the majority of it not very complimentary to Thomas. The most common reaction seems to be that, even if Thomas is not a Democrat or doesn't support U.S. President Obama, he should have still accompanied his teammates because (1) it's the "team" thing to do and (2) he should respect the Office of the President, even if he doesn't respect the current holder of that Office. See here, here, and here for examples of this type of reaction.
However, what struck me in reading commentary on Thomas' decision was the number of people who noted that Thomas' decision was "courageous" or "took guts". Greg Wyshynski reacted to Thomas' decision in this post on his Puck Daddy blog on Yahoo! Sports:
"My take: Good on Thomas.
Good on Thomas for using this moment — where a professional sports team participates in what's both an honor for its accomplishments and a political photo opportunity — to make a political statement of his own.
It's the moment when Thomas will no doubt lose a lot of supporters, for sure, when they realize an athlete they celebrate has stark political differences than they have."
Even some of those who disagreed with his decision noted that it took guts to make it.
I just don't see it. While I may not go so far as to label it cowardly, it seems to me to be a carefully calculated decision on Thomas' part to make a political statement at a time when it will have the maximum impact. I think it's significant that there was no prior inkling of this decision. I think it's significant that Thomas did not single out Obama or the Democratic Party in his stated justification for his decision. I think he wanted to play the role of the American Patriot and he wanted to play that role to the hilt, and on the largest possible stage. He knew full well that his decision (and the rationale he gave for it) would not have had the impact it had if he had announced it weeks before. He knew that he would be criticized as partisan if his rationale mentioned Obama or the Democrats by name. What he did, in effect, was deliver his manifesto with the same impact as it would have had if he had delivered it from the White House itself, without having to face the consequences. And what he did, in effect, was criticize President Obama and his government while insulating himself from charges of partisan sour grapes.
I think that, whatever else we learned about Tim Thomas from all this, we learned that he does not lack brains. Or ego.
Posted in Hockey	| Tags: Boston Bruins, Obama, Tim Thomas, White House	|
In which I make a great deal of very little
As a fan of the Montreal Canadiens, I follow on Twitter a number of journalists who write about the team. One I like quite a lot is Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu), who writes for nhl.com. Recently, he tweeted on Habs' captain Brian Gionta's bicep surgery as follows:
#Habs Gionta had bicep surgery, deemed a success by the team
This tweet struck me as odd. As a lifelong sports fan, I have seen dozens of media reports of athletes' surgeries. Most of them immediately report the surgery as successful: "Joe Blow underwent successful brain implantation surgery at the clinic of noted surgeon Dr. Frankenstein." It struck me that Basu's tweet was making a broader commentary than simply relaying the Habs' release. So, I tweeted a reply to him:
@ArponBasu When did we go from "Gio had successfully bicep surgery" to "Gio had bicep surgery, deemed successful by the team"?
(Yes, I know the word "successfully" should have ended two letters before it did.) Basu's reply:
@THEkerrybutt Because it's the team that said it was successful. I've learned that doesn't necessarily mean it was a success
He expanded his point in a subsequent tweet:
@THEkerrybutt In my eyes, a surgery is a success when the player returns. The Markov saga has taught me that much
At first glance, this seems reasonable enough. There's many a slip twixt the cup and the lip, as the saying goes. So, like Markov, Gionta might have setbacks, have to undergo subsequent procedures, etc. But does this make the original surgery unsuccessful? Perhaps the player did not follow the recommended post-op procedures or rehab properly. I have always assumed that the word "successful" in a team's release about a player's surgery refers to the surgeon's characterization. If we have to wait until the player is back playing before we call the initial surgery a success, how then are we to evaluate the initial surgery? Perhaps a team's surgery press release should read:
"Joe Blow underwent brain implantation at the clinic of noted surgeon Dr. Frankenstein. We're hoping the surgery was a success, but we really have no way of knowing until Blow takes to the ice and shows us that he now has a clue. That's expected to be about a year from now. We'll keep you posted."
Is that a better way of reporting the surgery? I don't think so. I think that, if the doctor (who's supposed to be the expert) feels the surgery was a success, there's no reason why the team shouldn't report that. Basu's phrase "deemed a success by the team" implies (intentionally or otherwise) that the team is "spinning" the outcome of the surgery. I think that's a bit unfair.
What do you think? Comments, as always, as welcome.
Posted in Hockey	| Tags: Arpon Basu, Habs, Montreal Canadiens, surgery	|
Short Take: Thoughts on the Michael Cammalleri trade
So Michael Cammalleri is not longer a Hab. From what I've seen, it seems most will not miss him. I will. Even if your perception of him is that he was something of a diva, he at least could back it up. Basically, in his time with the Habs, he was their best non-goalie playoff performer. A career point-a-game playoff man. Yes, he is slumping this season. So are Tomas Plekanec and Max Pacioretty. So is P.K. Subban. In fact, aside from Erik Cole and Josh Gorges, it's hard to find a Hab who isn't slumping.
Like all snipers, Cammalleri thought he needed more ice time to get out of his slump. And like most snipers, he was not shy about saying so. You may feel that Cammalleri's recent comments about the Habs' "losing mentality" were graceless, that he was "calling out his teammates" when he was as bad an offender as anyone else. Well, although we may wish that every player on the team was a selfless, give-110%-every-shift, great teammate kind of player, it will never happen. Actually, it may happen, but I would bet that team wouldn't be competitive. The fact is, there are all kinds of players and all kinds of personalities, and it's the job of the coach to get the most out of them, whatever they are. At least Cammalleri seemed to have a brain and to genuinely love playing for the Habs.
If we are to believe Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier, the Cammalleri deal was in the works since early December (although Calgary GM Jay Feaster, while acknowledging that there had been talks with Montreal regarding Cammalleri, said that he had thought the talks were dead.) and that the deal was done, in part, to improve the teams' size up front. Whether you believe that or not, the fact is that the key player the Canadiens received in return (René Bourque) is hardly a "character" player (ask Kelly Hrudy) and has less offensive upside than Cammalleri (and not nearly the playoff resumé). Only in Montreal would you trade a player because of his character and get in return a guy with character issues of his own.
Of course, as a Habs fan, I'm hoping Bourque will come in and give the team a spark and maybe they'll put together a few wins. And, his current issues notwithstanding, Bourque is coming off back-to-back 27 goal campaigns (and is on a similar pace this year). So it's not like the guy is a has-been or fourth-line plugger. Even so, it's hard to look at this deal as anything but two teams swapping problems, hoping that the famous "change of scenery" will work the miracle that it rarely ever seems to do.
Posted in Hockey	| Tags: Habs, jay feaster, josh gorges, max pacioretty, michael cammalleri, Montreal Canadiens, René Bourque	|
Short Take – The Canadiens' coaching change and the language issue
20th December, 2011 · Kerry Butt · 3 Comments
Since the (mostly) out-of-the-blue firing of Jacques Martin and the hiring of Randy Cunneyworth as "interim" coach a couple of days ago, we have heard a lot about the fact that Mr. Cunneyworth doesn't speak French. This has sparked the usual reactions from the usual suspects. The French media characterize the hiring as a slap in the face to the French majority in Quebec, saying that the Canadiens are an "institution" in the province and, as such, have a responsibility to the (mostly francophone) community. The media outside Quebec wonder what all the fuss is about – shouldn't the team simply hire the best coach, regardless of language? Who cares what language the coach or the players speak? Would they turn up their nose at a Mike Babcock? a Sydney Crosby? (As usual, Yahoo's Greg Wyshynski has skillfully summarized the reactions in this Puck Daddy blog post)
But, for all the bluster, the underlying truth is that there is much less to this story than it seems, at least from the language perspective. To me, the issue is not that the coach of the storied Montreal Canadiens, the team of Maurice Richard and Guy Lafleur, doesn't speak French. The issue is simply that Randy Cunneyworth doesn't speak French. If a coach with an A-1 NHL resumé has been hired, no one would care what language he spoke. It's at least partially because Mr. Cunneyworth is not seen as The Answer that he has been attacked as a unilingual anglophone.
The hiring of Mr. Cunneyworth is quite logical, from a certain point of view. Canadiens' management saw the season slipping away and probably felt the team simply wasn't responding to Jacques Martin anymore. (It happens; most coaches have a shelf life, at least with one team.) So the Habs' brass probably thought the team would get a lift from not having JM as coach, no matter who the replacement was, and figured Mr. Cunneyworth was "good enough" to at least do no harm. People can talk about lame ducks all they want but, ultimately, the team wants to win (so goes the thinking of Canadiens' management) so, freed from the shackles of JM and his boring style, let's see what they can do. We can use this information to help us make both player and coaching moves down the road.
From this perspective, management is treating the remainder of the season as a kind of experiment that will determine, not only if Mr. Cunneyworth can make it as a head coach in Montreal (with all that entails), but also which players will make up the core group going forward.
What do you think? Comments are welcome.
Posted in Hockey	| Tags: Habs, Jacques Martin, language, Montreal Canadiens, Randy Cunneyworth	|


The day has come. The discussion has officially shifted from "how many followers do you have?" to "what's your engagement rate?" To prove this point, social media influencers are taking to apps that remove ghost (inactive) followers from their Instagram account in order to improve their engagement rate. What it really comes down to is the discussion of a social media following of quality vs. quantity.
As a digital marketer for small businesses, I am happy to have this conversation. I never quite understood the draw to have 10,000+ followers if 80% of them reside in India (where none of our businesses are based, sell a product or offer services). While having a social media following that is large AND engaged is the ideal scenario, many brands and influencers fail to assess whether that is the case. When working with businesses, our mission is to build more than a following — it's to build a genuine community.
What a loyal community can be for you that an impersonal following cannot, is your advocate. Brand advocates are valuable both online and off. They genuinely care about your product or services because they actively appreciate the ways in which it can improve their own life. More than just seeing your content and giving it a double tap, they go out of their way to share your brand with others that might also find your product or service useful.
One of our Digital Marketing client's is Party at the Moontower Event Rentals. They serve the wedding and corporate event industry here in Austin. We've helped them build both an engaged online following and a real-life community. Their Instagram profile is frequently tagged or shared by the community we've helped build when their own friends is getting married or associate is looking for chairs for their annual Christmas party. While we do run Facebook and Instagram ads to introduce the brand to new people — a lot of the recognition and sales are happening through the engaged community we've worked to build!
This doesn't mean that there isn't power in numbers, we're just here to remind you that there is more value in 2 people that actively advocate for your service or product than 10 people who couldn't tell you why they follow you in the first place. So, resist the urge to buy followers and automate engagement and dive in amongst your community! Offer content of real value and add your voice where it matters.
If you're wondering how to grow your Instagram following in a way that is both strategic and authentic, we found this article from Social Media Examiner to be especially insightful. If you'd like us to cultivate an engaged community for your brand… let's talk.
Words that Sell: Is Your Message Strong Enough for Cold Calling?
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text:
Shadows of the Underworld (German: Schatten der Unterwelt) is a 1931 German action film directed by and starring Harry Piel. It also features Dary Holm, Elisabeth Pinajeff and Hans Junkermann. It was made at the Terra Studios in Berlin while location shooting took place in St. Moritz in Switzerland.

The film's sets were designed by the art director Robert A. Dietrich and Emil Hasler.  A separate French-language version was also released.

Synopsis
After his invention is stolen and his business partner kidnapped, Harry West pursues the perpetrators while trying to avoid the police on his own trail.

Cast
 Harry Piel as Harry West
 Dary Holm as Irene von Sheridan
 Elisabeth Pinajeff as Yvette Finetti
 Hans Junkermann as Amadeus Keller
 Hans Behal as S Berry
 Carl Balhaus as Jonny
 Aruth Wartan as Apolloni
 Leopold von Ledebur as Kommissär Braun
 Carl Goetz as Jonnys Vater
 Eugen Rex as Kommissar Stückli
 Charly Berger
 Olga Engl
 Maria Forescu
 Wolfgang von Schwindt

References

Bibliography
 Hans-Michael Bock and Tim Bergfelder. The Concise Cinegraph: An Encyclopedia of German Cinema. Berghahn Books.

External links

1931 films
1930s action films
German action comedy films
Films of the Weimar Republic
1930s German-language films
Films directed by Harry Piel
Terra Film films
Films set in Switzerland
German multilingual films
German black comedy films
1931 multilingual films
1930s German films
Films shot in Switzerland
Films shot at Terra Studios

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
package com.ait.lienzo.client.core.shape.toolbox.items.impl;

import java.util.Iterator;

import com.ait.lienzo.client.core.shape.Group;
import com.ait.lienzo.client.core.shape.toolbox.Positions;
import com.ait.lienzo.client.core.shape.toolbox.grid.Point2DGrid;
import com.ait.lienzo.client.core.shape.toolbox.grid.SizeConstrainedGrid;
import com.ait.lienzo.client.core.shape.toolbox.items.DecoratedItem;
import com.ait.lienzo.client.core.shape.toolbox.items.ItemsToolbox;
import com.ait.lienzo.client.core.types.BoundingBox;
import com.ait.lienzo.client.core.types.Point2D;
import com.ait.lienzo.shared.core.types.Direction;
import com.ait.tooling.common.api.java.util.function.BiConsumer;
import com.ait.tooling.common.api.java.util.function.Supplier;

/**
 * An ItemsToolbox implementation.
 * It's implemented as an ItemGrid wrapper, which can be placed at
 * certain locations as from a given shape.
 */
public class ToolboxImpl
        extends WrappedItem<ItemsToolbox>
        implements ItemsToolbox {

    private final ItemGridImpl items;
    private Supplier<BoundingBox> shapeBoundingBoxSupplier;
    private Direction at;
    private Point2D offset;

    private final Runnable refreshExecutor = new Runnable() {
        @Override
        public void run() {
            if (null != items.getPrimitive().getLayer()) {
                items.getPrimitive().getLayer().batch();
            }
        }
    };

    public ToolboxImpl(final Supplier<BoundingBox> shapeBoundingBoxSupplier) {
        this(shapeBoundingBoxSupplier,
             new ItemGridImpl());
    }

    ToolboxImpl(final Supplier<BoundingBox> shapeBoundingBoxSupplier,
                final ItemGridImpl items) {
        this.shapeBoundingBoxSupplier = shapeBoundingBoxSupplier;
        this.items = items.onRefresh(refreshExecutor);
        this.at = Direction.NORTH_EAST;
        this.offset = new Point2D(0d,
                                  0d);
    }

    @Override
    public ToolboxImpl at(final Direction at) {
        this.at = at;
        return checkReposition();
    }

    @Override
    public ToolboxImpl offset(final Point2D offset) {
        this.offset = offset;
        return checkReposition();
    }

    @Override
    public ToolboxImpl grid(final Point2DGrid grid) {
        items.grid(grid);
        updateGridSize();
        return checkReposition();
    }

    public ToolboxImpl setGridSize(final double width,
                                   final double height) {
        // If the grid is constrained by size, update it.
        if (getGrid() instanceof SizeConstrainedGrid) {
            ((SizeConstrainedGrid) getGrid())
                    .setSize(width,
                             height);
        }
        return this;
    }

    @Override
    public ToolboxImpl add(final DecoratedItem... items) {
        this.items.add(items);
        return this;
    }

    @Override
    public Iterator<DecoratedItem> iterator() {
        return items.iterator();
    }

    @Override
    public ItemsToolbox show(final Runnable before,
                             final Runnable after) {
        return super.show(new Runnable() {
                              @Override
                              public void run() {
                                  ToolboxImpl.this.reposition();
                                  before.run();
                              }
                          },
                          new Runnable() {
                              @Override
                              public void run() {
                                  ToolboxImpl.this.fireRefresh();
                                  after.run();
                              }
                          });
    }

    @Override
    public ItemsToolbox hide(final Runnable before,
                             final Runnable after) {
        return super.hide(before,
                          new Runnable() {
                              @Override
                              public void run() {
                                  ToolboxImpl.this.fireRefresh();
                                  after.run();
                              }
                          });
    }

    public ToolboxImpl useShowExecutor(final BiConsumer<Group, Runnable> executor) {
        this.getWrapped().useShowExecutor(executor);
        return this;
    }

    public ToolboxImpl useHideExecutor(final BiConsumer<Group, Runnable> executor) {
        this.getWrapped().useHideExecutor(executor);
        return this;
    }

    public ToolboxImpl refresh() {
        checkReposition();
        items.refresh();
        return this;
    }

    public Direction getAt() {
        return at;
    }

    public Point2D getOffset() {
        return offset;
    }

    public Point2DGrid getGrid() {
        return items.getGrid();
    }

    @Override
    public void destroy() {
        super.destroy();
        at = null;
        this.shapeBoundingBoxSupplier = null;
    }

    @Override
    ItemGridImpl getWrapped() {
        return items;
    }

    private ToolboxImpl updateGridSize() {
        final BoundingBox boundingBox = shapeBoundingBoxSupplier.get();
        final double margin = getGrid().getMargin() * 2;
        return setGridSize(boundingBox.getWidth() + margin,
                           boundingBox.getHeight() + margin);
    }

    private ToolboxImpl checkReposition() {
        if (isVisible()) {
            reposition();
        }
        return this;
    }

    private void reposition() {
        // Obtain the toolbox's location relative to the cardinal direction.
        final Point2D location = Positions.anchorFor(shapeBoundingBoxSupplier.get(),
                                                     this.at);
        // Set the toolbox primitive's location
        // and ensure it's on top of any node or connector present in the layer below.
        asPrimitive()
                .setLocation(location.offset(this.offset))
                .moveToTop();
        fireRefresh();
    }

    private void fireRefresh() {
        refreshExecutor.run();
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Here is some visual documentation of the two Green River shows May 22/23, opening for the Melvins at The Showbox. First, Flickr user human? has some lovely photos, including some taken by photographer Amelia Gydé, of Friday's show. Highlights are in the below gallery, but go here for the complete set, including some from last November's reunion shows.
Very nice video was uploaded to YouTube – here are two of the best!
and next: "This Town" shot May 22 by YouTube user rockstar buddha08.


text:
Catharina Elisabeth Godefrida (Karien) van Gennip (ur. 3 października 1968 w Leidschendam) – holenderska polityk i menedżer, działaczka Apelu Chrześcijańsko-Demokratycznego (CDA), parlamentarzystka, w latach 2003–2007 sekretarz stanu, od 2022 minister spraw społecznych i zatrudnienia.

Życiorys
Córka polityka Josa van Gennipa. Absolwentka Aloysius College w Hasze, w 1993 podjęła studia z fizyki na Uniwersytecie Technicznym w Delfcie. Odbyła również studia podyplomowe MBA w szkole biznesowej INSEAD. Od połowy lat 90. pracowała w firmie konsultingowej McKinsey & Company.

W 1998 wstąpiła do Apelu Chrześcijańsko-Demokratycznego. Od 2002 była kierownikiem projektu w Autoriteit Financiële Markten, holenderskim regulatorze rynków finansowych. W maju 2003 objęła dyrektorskie stanowisko w tej instytucji. W tym samym miesiącu powołana na funkcję sekretarza stanu do spraw gospodarczych w rządzie, na czele którego stał Jan Peter Balkenende. Odpowiadała m.in. za politykę handlową, przedsiębiorczość, sprawy konsumentów i turystykę; zakończyła urzędowanie w lutym 2007. Od listopada 2006 do września 2008 sprawowała mandat posłanki do Tweede Kamer.

Od 2008 była związana zawodowo z grupą ING, początkowo jako dyrektor ds. europejskich i międzynarodowych w ING Bank, a od 2010 jako dyrektor ds. bankowości prywatnej i inwestycji w tym banku. Od 2015 była dyrektorem wykonawczym oddziału ING we Francji. W 2019 weszła w skład rady dyrektorów INSEAD. W 2020 opuściła ING w związku z nominacją na przewodniczącą rady dyrektorów towarzystwa ubezpieczeń zdrowotnych VGZ.

W styczniu 2022 w czwartym gabinecie Marka Ruttego objęła stanowisko ministra spraw społecznych i zatrudnienia.

Odznaczenia
Odznaczona Orderem Oranje-Nassau V klasy (2007).

Przypisy

Deputowani do Stanów Generalnych
Holenderscy menedżerowie
Holenderscy ministrowie spraw społecznych i zatrudnienia
Politycy Apelu Chrześcijańsko-Demokratycznego
Odznaczeni Orderem Oranje-Nassau
Urodzeni w 1968


Just east of Palm Springs and the jutting San Jacinto Mountains, lies the Coachella Valley. Known to many as the home of a large music festival, it is also the largest date producing region outside of the Middle East. Two winters ago, we visited the valley and stopped at Shields Date Garden, in Indio, CA, whose small store is as much a paean to the date as it is a retail outlet. At Shields we tasted nearly a dozen date varietals, most of which are difficult—if not impossible—to find in grocery stores outside the valley. Because a trip to Indio is impractical on an average Saturday morning, I was thrilled to discover Siegfried Dates at the farmers' market. They offer many date varietals from Coachella growers, including some delicious Deglet Noors from Leja Farms.
Deglet Noors are a fairly robust date varietal, recommended for cooking. While we were selecting out dates, another purchaser mentioned she was going to use her Deglet Noors in a pork dish, and leaving the market, we initially had similar ideas; however, when I realized that Monday was Pi Day, my thoughts turned to baking a date-pecan pie.
Based on a quick Google search, there seems to be a canonical date-pecan pie recipe, sourced of all places from Cooking Light. I am a bit skeptical about the "light" claims for this pie, but my wife assures me that the recipe is "light for a pie." As I am far more versed in eating pies than baking them, I am trusting her on this point, but I would consult your a nutritionist or physician before making this, if calories and fat are a mortal concern.
Using a pretty good store bought pie crust (again, I am not a baker) makes this recipe ridiculously easy. I chopped the dates and pecans (Pawnee pecans from Chico, CA), then sprinkled them evenly on the bottom of the pie crust.
For the rest of the filling, I mixed brown sugar, molasses (which I used to replaced the dark corn syrup the recipe calls for), eggs, a little flour and a touch of vanilla and salt. When poured into the pie crust, this lifted the date and pecan pieces, suspending them in a rich, dark mixture of fat and sugar.
I baked the pie for 45 minutes, then removed it and added a layer of whole pecans to the top. It needed about 15 more minutes in the oven to finish.
I think the pie came out looking pretty sharp.
We served the finished pie with a healthy dollop of unsweetened whipped cream.
To complement it, we opened a cellared bottle of Full Sail Brewing's 2009's Black Gold Imperial Stout, a delicious, bourbon barrel aged imperial stout from one of Oregon's premiere breweries.
This is an awesome pie recipe, and I consider this a first run with it. I found the cup and a half of molasses to be a bit too strong, and in the future I plan to try a half cup of molasses and a 1/2 cup of bourbon brown sugar simple syrup (1/2 cup brown sugar dissolved in 1/4 cup bourbon). I also have a strong desire to add a little chopped bacon to the filling. The pork-date alliance is too strong to resist.
The pie making is documented in full here.


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I've been crocheting for a while now, and honestly, I'm SO over all the pricey, "yummy" (I freakin' HATE that yarn store word!) yarn out there. Gimme the Red Heart cheap stuff, and let me sculpt something goofy in my favorite crochet technique, Amigurumi, and I'm all good.
Case in point, I wanted to make a fun cartoony Surfer Dude, but I'm better at doing it in yarn- I'm not a great clay sculptor. So, I just started crocheting, spiraling around Amigurumi style, starting with the head, hair and face. I typically use between a 2.5 to 3.0 mm hook with the standard acrylic yarn like you find at most hobby stores for a couple of bucks. On this project, I used a 3.0 mm hook. No pattern, I just made it up as I went, yo, it's all righteous….
I made the appendages next, and I wanted them to be exaggerated and goofy. The narrow legs and arms made it tricky to stuff, though.
I even made the Dude some boss boardshorts from an old rash guard sleeve. Plus, I used a tiny holed shell I found on the beach last week to make him a gnar surfer necklace, so he has some cred.
When he was finally complete, he just looked like he should be named Max Chill. Cool, bro, stoked. Let's surf.


(WASHINGTON DC, April 5, 2019) – Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has announced the 2019 Hall of Fame Cruise Industry Awards. The awards identify individuals and organizations whose efforts and accomplishments represent a significant contribution to the cruise industry. Award winners received recognition at the Hall of Fame Cruise Industry Awards Gala Dinner during the CLIA Cruise360 conference in Fort Lauderdale, FL on Thursday, April 4, 2019.
Awarded to an individual who is a lifetime champion of cruise travel and has made monumental contributions to the cruise industry.
As President and CEO of a multi-billion dollar vacation brand, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo is a high-impact leader in the travel/hospitality industry. Her commitment to opening up the world through travel has brought recognition, awards and invitations for Celebrity Cruises to be applauded for their global impact. Lisa was appointed President and CEO of Celebrity Cruises in December of 2014, making her the first and only woman to lead one of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.'s (RCL) cruise line brands – as well as the first and only female CEO of a publicly traded cruise line on the New York Stock Exchange. Lutoff-Perlo is a high-impact leader in the travel/hospitality industry. Lutoff-Perlo has held a variety of roles during her ladder-climbing 32-year tenure with Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. She spent many years within the sales and marketing organizations in varying roles and levels of responsibility, creating a deep understanding of the value of customers. Lutoff-Perlo actively participates in and lends her leadership to a number of regional, philanthropic and women's organizations. She has received numerous awards for her contributions to gender equality, diversity and inclusion, the travel industry and the South Florida business community.
Awarded to a CLIA Travel Agency Member who has demonstrated visionary leadership in their approach to promoting cruise travel and growing their cruise travel sales.
A CLIA Premier Travel Agency, Avoya Travel is a family-owned company with a longstanding reputation for being one of the world's most innovative marketing and travel technology companies. As an American Express Travel Representative for more than 30 years, and one of their largest sellers of cruises and tours, Avoya is deeply committed to Integrity and Professionalism™, service and value in every aspect of planning cruises and vacations. Through an elite network of independently owned and operated travel agencies, Avoya provides exclusive discounts, amenities and first-class customer service to travelers worldwide.
In 2018, Avoya entered into a first of its kind professional development partnership, under which CLIA serves as the preferred professional development and introductory travel education provider for new-to-travel professionals opening an Independent Agency in the Avoya Travel Network™.
Through the partnership, new-to-travel professionals affiliating with the Avoya Network can join CLIA with Avoya's member rate and take a series of CLIA courses prior to affiliation. With education in selling skills, customer service, cruising, geography, and more, the CLIA courses are all designed to give new-to-travel Avoya Network members the knowledge and foundation needed to achieve early success with their Independent Agencies, begin claiming more Avoya Live Leads™ (new customers sent directly to Independent Agencies) sooner, and booking more exceptional vacations.
Avoya is headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, with support offices throughout the United States.
Awarded to an Individual Agent Member who has demonstrated their career commitment to professional development through achievement of Elite Cruise Counsellor or Elite Cruise Counsellor Scholar status – the pinnacle of CLIA certification with the requisite sales requirements – as well as significantly impacted the travel agent landscape through contributions to their agency.
Lucinda is committed to professional development and sharing the value of using a travel agent, particularly when booking a cruise. A brand ambassador for Dream Vacations, Lucinda has served on its Certified Spokesperson team for six years. This means she is provided with interview opportunities – consumer and trade – where she can share her professional expertise. She often is called upon by prospects to learn more about the Dream Vacations opportunity and whether it is a career worth pursuing. Lucinda is a professional student of travel – always studying to learn the latest and greatest in the industry so she can better serve her clients and provide them with the best customer experience. Lucinda also mentors travel professionals in third-world countries through her involvement with the non-profit organization Adventure Angels.
The 2019 Cruise Industry Hall of Fame Cruise Industry Awards draw nominations from throughout the CLIA membership. Recipients of the awards are determined by a selection panel that includes representatives from the CLIA Strategic Trade Advisory and Review Board (STARBoard) and Trade Relations Committee.


Lisa does a great job on my 2C/3A hair. She also totally gets it - as a fellow curly-haired girl herself. She rocks her own 3A-ish curls and has a wealth of knowledge on curl care that comes from her own experience. She does cut my hair wet, but she then she spends a lot of time tediously touching it up to compliment my curl pattern after she diffuses it dry. My curls always look so "happy" and I always feel gorgeous after Lisa does my hair! I highly recommend Lisa to any wavy/loose-curly haired person who is looking for someone who will make them look trendy AND keep their curls in line.


Irresistible Me Review - The Mrs. & Co.
You may have seen some pictures floating around Instagram of me with instant long hair.
I wish I could say I had a magic pill that made my hair grow so long, but alas I don't. But I do have the next best thing!
I was contacted by Irresistible Me to review a set of their hair extensions and I jumped at the opportunity!
I love long hair, but I just can't seem to be patient enough for it to grow. Then I get bored and chop it all off because I want something new and the whole cycle of wanting long hair starts again.
So when they contacted me I knew this was going to be the fix to my problems.
I did my research to make sure that their brand was reputable, sturdy, and real hair. And it checked out across the board.
Irresistible Me makes their extensions from royal remy hair (REAL hair) so you can cut, wash, blow dry, and curl your extensions, which for me is a must because I love wearing my hair curly and need to be able to curl the extensions.
They are so easy to clip into your hair as well! No tape or glue. Just clip in and clip out.
They come in tons of different colors and they even have a highlighted option where they combine 2 colors. I went with the highlighted version and chose ash blonde and golden blonde to match my ends. Since the extensions go under my hair, it was a necessity to have them match my roots.
They come in different lengths (14-24 inches), I went with 18 inches, but if I could go back, I'd choose 16 inches. I feel like it would look more natural.
It also comes in different weights (140-200 grams). The weight is how much hair is sent to you. I chose 200g so that I could have the option of putting a lot in or not a lot.
Also, if you get the extensions and decide the color doesn't match or they are too long or too short, you can return them and choose something different. At first I decided to get the color to match my roots because I was going to go back to all over brown, but once I got them, I decided I wanted to keep the blonde on the ends. So I sent back my first set and waited for them to contact me to choose my next set.
My only complaint was the length of time it took to get my new set. It was almost 2 months. My first package somehow got lost in transit. It would have been nice if the return system was a little more efficient. Possibly adding tracking numbers to the orders would be a great addition.
So if you are looking for a simple and easy way to get long, beautiful hair, Irresistible Me extensions is it!
They are also extending a sale code to my readers! Use code IrresistibleAshley for 10% off your purchase.
And here's a little secret, they are running a sweet promo and you can actually use the code GET20OFF and get 20% off right now!
In the video below, I show you how I put in my extensions. So if you have no clue how to do it, just follow my tutorial and you'll be good to go!
I do apologize that I get blurry throughout some parts of the video and the fact that the last 15 seconds or so got cut off. I'm still new at video blogging!
I'm having my maternity pictures done this week and will be sporting the long hair for them. Can't wait to share them with you!
A set of extensions was given to me in return for my review. This in no way swayed my review.
I am PRO extensions and wear my clip in ones all the time! I don't own this brand but will check out their website! They look great on you, mama!
Irresistible Me makes extensions from royal remy hair so you can wash, cut, blow dry, and curl your hair. It sounds something very good and convincing because personally I love wearing my hair curly and want to be able to curl the extensions. Those who want to experiment their hair should go for it. You must see http://www.toptenwritingservices.com/ and there is and most relevant piece of information posted here.


It's Mystery Monday Link-Up time!
Part 6 of our Good Fortune Mystery was released on Friday, and here it is Monday and I have seen from so many of you that you were able to kick out this clue over the weekend, if not all in one day. HOORAY for easy clues that fall between major holidays. It does my heart good to know that so many of you were able to squeeze in some machine time.
The neutrals you are using in part 6 are so wonderfully varied – each photo was a treat for these old eyes!
I do want to stress FIRMLY once again – for those using ONE PIECE OF YARDAGE as their neutral to WAIT before cutting into that fabric for part 6. DO NOT CUT YOUR YARDAGE if you are not string piecing or strip piecing from multiple fabrics.
I will not be held responsible if you have cut your fabrics, ignoring what I have said and find that you wish you hadn't later. This just applies to those using ONE PIECE of neutral as their background. Please folks – if you must cut something, go cut something else – like a UFO project or something.
If I suggest "WAIT IT OUT!" That means WAIT. IT. OUT.
Check out these shares from our Quiltville's Open Studio group on Facebook!
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 8:53 AM 14 Snips & Comments by others!
Just pick up a brush and dig in!
I love – I mean deeply, absolutely, positively ADORE the old quirky door frames and the variety of mismatched doors of various sizes – none of them the same – at Quiltville Inn.
Some of them have been repaired with added bits and pieces holding them together – the door knobs also varying throughout the house. A hodge-podge of 135 years of living under this roof.
And while "shabby chic" and "chippy" are the in-thing with farmhouse style decorating, I'm just not one to faux-shabby anything. I like to think of what the original owners may have preferred to see in this grand old house. Given the choice – would they want chipped up paint with sanded and roughed up corners to make it look "vintage?" Heck, no!
And since most door frames, doors, moldings and base boards are going to take at least two coats if not three, just pick up a brush and get busy with it. Make the rounds. Then come back again in a day or so and do it again.
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 9:00 AM 36 Snips & Comments by others!
There are days when all you wish for is time to sew.
I have counted on the holidays to bring me that "down time" that I need – but there has been LITTLE machine time over the past week. Still, I was able to crank out some more purple triangles where I was running low for a current project. Pieced one evening, and then pressed the next. It's amazing what you really can do with an hour here, an hour there making you realize you CAN accomplish quite a bit in small bites of time.
Not that I'm getting cranky or anything – There are other things that I have longed to have time to do – and to be able to do them as a family has been a great experience to date.
It's become our daily ritual – wake up, watch the sunrise, have breakfast. head down to the cabin studio to sit at my computer and type out that morning's blog post, or write a mystery clue, or work on class supply lists for the coming year, or answer emails of a variety of natures – and by 9:30am I've been in the van, Sadie in tow – heading 7 miles up the road to Quiltville Inn to continue on with the next item on the renovation list.
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 8:55 AM 52 Snips & Comments by others!
These have sat untouched since Christmas.
But I'll get to them eventually!
I am surrounding the recycled shirt nine-patches with purple bonus triangles to go in along with the red ones. This is going to be fun – when I can get time to get back to it!
For now, sewing is on the back burner as we work on doing some of the much needed fixes at Quiltville Inn.
Coat 3 has been brushed on to the kitchen cabinets – FINALLY looking the way they should.
There has to be a life lesson in that – take it slow, there is no rushing. It can't be done all at once, but in smaller bites. Bit by bit things will even out.
The bathroom cabinets have received coat 2 – and I ran out of paint, so another trip to Lowes was made last evening. I think we are getting to be on a first name basis with these folks – all roads lead to Lowes!
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 9:08 AM 26 Snips & Comments by others!
No, the winner isn't Sadie, but she steals the show wherever she goes and wanted to photo-bomb the post so how could I say no??
This morning we are drawing for the winners of the December Quilty Box and Quilty Box Mini! Did you get your entry in?
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 9:38 AM 37 Snips & Comments by others!
It is indeed and beautiful Christmas Morning at the cabin!
This is a very short post, as our goal today as a family is to spend time together in the same room, not apart in our own corners of the cabin each attached to our own mobile devices and computers.
There are favorite old movies to watch. There is a pumpkin pie baking in the oven for tonight's dessert – filling the cabin with spicy hints of cinnamon and nutmeg, and Christmas music is playing through the sound bar via my favorite holiday channel – James Taylor Holiday.
A family funny – did you catch that the presents are wrapped using electrical tape to hold the paper on? When you live this remotely, it isn't possible to always just go buy scotch tape. This was The Hubster's doing. Whatever could be found on his work bench was what had to be good enough.
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 9:25 AM 39 Snips & Comments by others!
Things have finally settled down here at Quiltville – spending time at our cabin in the mountains of Southwestern Virginia just fills me to the brim and rounds out all of my rough edges and mis-matched points don't seem to matter as much. LOL.
Wherever you are, and however you are spending the holidays, may your corner of the world be lit by a little more hope, a little more joy, a little more patience and love for those we share this beautiful planet with.
You have enriched my life beyond measure – and I am so grateful for this time of year and our mystery quilt adventures that bring us closer together as we work to bring these clues to a fine and wonderful finish. Soon, my friends – so very soon!
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 8:36 AM 15 Snips & Comments by others!
Balm to my soul, this is my bliss!
I arrived in Virginia yesterday afternoon, the van full to overflowing with groceries, quilt projects, items for Quiltville Inn – my clothes for a week, my backpack with my laptop and busy bag – It's full on Christmas mode time.
There is a definitely "elevation line" as I climb up and over the mountains on highway 16 leading north out of Wilkesboro, North Carolina. the road rises steadily through Miller's Creek, through Wilbur (also nicknamed "the flats" by us) - and up toward the Blue Ridge Parkway before finally reaching Jefferson, NC and onward to the Virginia state line.
The roads were clear with no snow until just before the parkway – By the time you have gone under the parkway overpass, temps have dropped 10 degrees from the high 40s to into the 30s and snow is still visible along the sides of the road, in yards, fields, farms, and definitely on the mountains in the distance – the remains of 20'' of snowfall a couple of weeks ago.
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 9:12 AM 25 Snips & Comments by others!
This little ditty happened last night.
Isn't that always the way that it gets you? The ideas?
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 9:30 AM 46 Snips & Comments by others!
And SOMEONE is going to win this delicious December Quilty Box featuring Quantum fabrics by Giuseppe Ribaudo, AKA Giucy Giuce! I am so excited about this fabric – rich tone on tone geometrics which are an absolute favorite for me.
I follow Giucy on Instagram and he is quite the character and always keeps me entertained with his travels, and especially his video stories. I feel like I am right there in the middle of his life and he is talking to me – I never know what he is going to come up with next!
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 9:04 AM 41 Snips & Comments by others!
Some red and white piecing has been going on!
Well, maybe the tan ones are dirty snow? LOL!
All of our snow is gone after this weekend's round of heavy rain, and a few days of temps in the 50s. I hope that is the last I see of that white stuff for a while.
My favorite size of half-square triangle just happens to be the Bonus Unit size –measuring 2'' and finishing at 1 1/2''. It's the PERFECT size for loads of triangle punch. They are not too big, not too small, and easily made with 2'' strips from the Scrap User's System so it is easy to pull in loads of variety – the more the merrier!
I had stitched these on a previous round of night time sewing, but they've sat for a while as my evenings have been hijacked of late.
My promise to myself of studio time meant that I could move on to my next step – simply sew these to neutral 2'' squares. I have a plan – but it's a slow growing one.
Still – any step forward, no matter how slow is still measurable progress, right?
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 8:33 AM 30 Snips & Comments by others!
This quilt dates back to …well, quite a while ago.
It was from my love of blended quilts phase. Florals and busy backgrounds with some stripes, plaids and other parts pieced together strippy fashion for ME as the only female in a house full of men-folk.
This was long before quilt patterns and book writing and magazine columns and world wide travel for teaching and lecturing. Times were so much simpler then.
Though, as I really examine what was going on in my life during the making of this quilt I am brought back to the time when both of my boys (one in middle school and the other in high school) were both suspended on the SAME DAY from two different schools for two different offenses and I didn't think I could survive being a parent either!
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 9:08 AM 174 Snips & Comments by others!
It's another Mystery Monday, can you believe it?
It seems the time between each PART release on Friday and our Link-Ups on Monday are getting closer and closer together – just where does the in between time go?
I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and found some time in between the holiday hubbub for some baking, some visiting, for some reflecting on Christmases past, and was able to squeeze even just a little bit of sewing time in!
My favorite part of the weekend was popping in at odd moments to check out our #quiltvillemystery and #goodfortunequilt tags on Instagram, as well as thumbing through the feed in my Quiltville's Open Studio group on Facebook and see what YOU were doing! The excitement is building with how all of this is going to fit together, and it brings me so much joy.
We gave you FIVE options on how to do Part 4. Which one did you choose?
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 9:11 AM 40 Snips & Comments by others!
These are Mona's Part 4 units for Good Fortune!
I am just so tickled that she is sewing along with us this year – and just as excited to be waiting for FRIDAY to arrive, printing clues, digging into fabrics and having a blast.
She's been leary before – afraid to be overwhelmed, and finished her On Ringo Lake after the reveal because she wasn't sure she could keep up. But this year? No Holds Barred, Baby!
If you were to come look at my stash, you would see that I have LESS Orange than anything else.
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 2:12 PM 87 Snips & Comments by others!
It was a wonderful quiet evening of hand quilting on Jason's hexie quilt – the main red/green Christmas decor hanging out in my living room right now!
Stitching happened to Mowgli on Netflix followed by a round of Blue Bloods accompanied by popcorn on the stove – there is NOT a packet of microwave popcorn to be found in this house. Once you've made real popcorn, there is no going back.
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 8:42 AM 50 Snips & Comments by others!
It was dropped ON THE DOORSTEP last night by the USPS.
See that stamp in the corner? This is when I was using up the last of my Net-Stamps for first class postage a year ago.
Evidently – Yours Truly, in a mail-order-induced-zombie-state-of-automation, stuck a US stamp on a package needing to arrive in South Africa which evidently wouldn't, couldn't and didn't get there with first class domestic postage.
Well, DUH! Hanlie Van Zyl, if you are reading this – do you remember this lost shipment? We thought her package was gone-forever-never-to-be-found and I sent a second one – and it turns out that this one never left the good ole USA.
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 9:11 AM 31 Snips & Comments by others!
Mona doesn't have odd angles – but her runner does!
This is the valentine runner that Mona quilted a few weeks ago. She had no idea when she was designing this that it was going to require a tiny bit of an adjustment when applying binding since the corners were roughly 60 degree instead of 45 degree.
And since I was teaching HER how to do it, I thought this might be a good way to share a couple of hints with you just in case you want to bind something with odd corners.
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 9:46 AM 26 Snips & Comments by others!
Silly Out and About Lunch Selfie!
Celebrating with Rick and Mona!
And I am wearing the lampshade on my head! LOL!
These are the faces of three very happy friends who met up for a round of antique mall wandering and lunch out to celebrate the closing of the North Carolina cabin ---happily in the hands of new owners who will love it as much as we did. In fact, I'm wondering if they were up there for the snowpocalypse that befell this corner of North Carolina, Virginia and beyond and how they fared.
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 9:14 AM 24 Snips & Comments by others!
Hello, Monday! How are ya??
There is a whole lot of showing and sharing of completed part 3 units for our on-going Good Fortune Mystery happening all over social media, and I couldn't be more thrilled!
If you follow along with our hashtags #quiltvillemystery and #goodfortune quilt on Instagram, you are going to see a wondrous array of colors and fabrics -- it gets the juices flowing!
I can't say enough about how much I love this time of year and how quilters are running with it!
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 8:49 AM 15 Snips & Comments by others!
A big snow dumping this early in December is not a usual occurrence in North Carolina. Sometimes we get a light dusting in January, or perhaps some freezing rain (that always takes the power out) in February – but this is a solid several inches, and it is still coming down.
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 10:02 AM 70 Snips & Comments by others!
How did I end up here? Well let me tell you, it wasn't intended! Not exactly.
We finally sold the North Carolina Cabin (1 1/2 years after moving out!) and our closing was yesterday morning in Jefferson, North Carolina.
Mona and I finished up as many book orders as we could and headed out at 3pm on Thursday afternoon – she to her home in Boomer, and me – planning on spending the night at the Virginia cabin, so I would only be a short 30 minute drive from Jefferson for the closing, instead of fighting Friday morning traffic through Winston Salem, and have a 2 hour morning drive on a morning that also needed Part 3 of Good Fortune released, and another 500 copies of String Frenzy as wave 4 entered the Quiltville Store.
No, that would be too much to do in one morning and expect to be in Jefferson by 10am, not to mention that I'd sign for the closing and turn right around and drive another 2 hours home? There had to be a better way.
Well, the way I ended up was not the way I intended!
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I have a small house.
It is overrun by boxes at the moment!
This is a shot from the little front room toward the dining room where "Quiltville Mail Order Central" is happening – oh, my goodness is it ever happening!
And it isn't just from within these walls. I've got my postal person bringing me more tubs as they pick up more outgoing mail from my doorstep – she is intrigued and amazed that we are doing all of this from wihin a seemingly unremarkable little 1970s bungalow.
Remember the movie "Ground Hog Day" where the main character wakes up to find he is in the same day again? Yep! That's pretty much it over here! LOL!
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 9:32 AM 24 Snips & Comments by others!
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 8:15 AM 18 Snips & Comments by others!
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 8:09 AM 21 Snips & Comments by others!
I've made a rule for myself. I don't care what is left in the queue to get out – by 8pm I am DONE.
Let's face it, no one is any good after staring at a screen for more than 13 hours. Mistakes happen, and I'd rather make mistakes of the kind I can pick out with a bit of seam ripper action, not postal problems by signing a book to the wrong person, and mailing it to someone else, or shipping the wrong book or item – oh boy!
So 8pm to bedtime belongs to me!
Sometimes you have to leave the mail order, and hit a quilt shop!
Here I am with the staff of Studio Stitch in Greensboro, NC – a short 1/2 hour drive from me, but in a side of town that I rarely wander to because Winston Salem is closer to home.
It took months and months of planning to find a time when Elizabeth (on the far left) was at the shop, and I was in town with free time to head over to pick up something that she had been saving for me for months – read on to see!
It's been a while since my feet have wandered through a quilt shop door – I'm thinking of the day I had in Nebraska and wandered around with Stacey in her big ole pick up truck.
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 9:52 AM 21 Snips & Comments by others!
2003 – 2018. About time!
I rediscovered this quilt top while pulling fabrics to help Mona assemble a back while she was here a couple of weeks ago.
Was it only a couple of weeks? It seems like last month at least!
I so enjoyed the three days that she was here – we quilted up SIX of her projects! Two large quilts and 4 small projects were then trimmed and made ready for binding so she could do that part at home.
And because I was SO in the mood to continue hearing the hum of the machine, I pulled this one out.
I always knew it would be great for the queen bed at the cabin SOME DAY – but with so many of my own quilts around, and fearing this one needed "Custom" quilting (that I didn't have the time or desire to do with deadlines toward my own designs looming..) it had sat. And sat. And sat.
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 8:36 AM 31 Snips & Comments by others!
Hurry Hurry! November is almost over!
I returned home last evening to find my November Quilty Box sitting on the table beckoning me to OPEN, OPEN, OPEN!
Oh my goodness!! It's got Tula Pink, a fun Clam Up zipper tote pattern, the beautiful zipper included that perfectly matches the fabric in this bundle!
Even the liner fabric is included – and I'm sure this will be enough to make MULTIPLE bags as gifts for family and friends. Whoowhoooo!
And since November is ticking quickly away – we better get on this!
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 9:06 AM 20 Snips & Comments by others!
Things have turned incredibly cold!
I don't know about you – but anything below 40-something is just NOT something I enjoy getting out into. Best tolerated from the inside with some hand quilting in my lap and a fire in the stove.
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 9:21 AM 17 Snips & Comments by others!
Good Cyber Monday Morning, my friends!
This post comes with a warning – it's going to be a long one as we've got a lot going on today. Grab a cup of your favorite and pull up a seat!
First things first – I have put another 500 PRE-ORDER copies of String Frenzy in the Quiltville Store. Books are on the truck – they should be delivered this week and I will get in to filling orders in the orders that they were received as quickly as possible.
Orders from today's 500 will be filled and posted as wave TWO – and it is likely 10 days to 2 weeks before that order filling will happen.
Please remember you are placing a PRE-ORDER! Orders are filled in the order that they came in and it could be that there are several hundred orders in front of yours being filled by yours truly.(With some help from some friends and family!) I will do everything I can to get orders out as quickly as possible.
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 8:31 AM 19 Snips & Comments by others!
Happy Last Sunday of November!
I feel like we are doing this String Frenzy Trunk Show thing a little bit inside-out, but it was too much to post along with Friday's mystery post – and Thanksgiving was in the mix, and let's face it – the books are still on a truck and haven't arrived here yet!
So once again I am flying by the seat of my britches and shoveling this in on Sunday, so we can do our first Mystery Monday Link-Up for our Good Fortune Mystery tomorrow!
I've loved writing this book. I've loved even more – making the quilts for this book, and I know this isn't the end of my own love affair with string quilts. String quilts are just the most fun I have ever had in my quilting life, and there is no stopping this string piecing train.
To get the detail photos for this post, I had to go back to my google photo albums, back to September of 2017 when I was getting the quilts ready to send off to photography for my Quilter's Date Keeper. This book writing thing takes a LONG TIME!
And so my friend - this is what you are going to find within the pages of String Frenzy.
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 9:36 AM 47 Snips & Comments by others!
Rick, Mona, son Jeff, Dave, Me and Dad!
And yes – we were out in shirt sleeves – it was 50-something outside and sunny.
Last night as I went to bed there was ice falling from the sky – what a difference a couple of days makes. it has now warned UP to 35. Oh boy!
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 8:24 AM 20 Snips & Comments by others!
Found in West Jefferson, NC.
I took my dad on a little jaunt to Jefferson/West Jefferson North Carolina yesterday afternoon – there were a few odds and ends to pick up, and then we met with the rest of the family who were inbound from Winston Salem – deciding to have dinner at our favorite Mexican Place in Jefferson.
Only upon arrival we saw that they were CLOSED. No worries – in the same plaza is The Winner's Circle – and you can find just about everything you could ever wish for on their menu with portions so large you could feed a family of 4 on one platter. No lie. Half of it came home!
But before we ate – there was some time to kill. We hit up an antique mall I love to frequent to just to see what holiday decorations may be out (not many) and with Dad in tow, I told him to just look around for anything that interested him. "It's like a museum where you can touch stuff!" I announced as he headed over toward a display of vintage cameras, from old brownies to polaroids, and we talked about the technology of this long out of date artifacts, the earlier versions of what is now found on our cell phones and live in our back pockets on a daily basis. Can you imagine?
Some of them even had manuals still in their boxes – so much fun to look through.
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 8:05 AM 28 Snips & Comments by others!
Dad and I went out and about yesterday.
It was really too cold for any "real" hiking – and Grayson Highlands State Park was full of hunters for a controlled hunt so not a good time for us to be on trails, anyway.
But we did what we set out to do – what was on our agenda to do, and what I was so happy to do! I showed my dad around the area and I think he gets it why Southwestern Virginia has just captured my heart and won't let go.
"This is sure a world away from where you grew up!" he said, memories of growing up in the busy and bustling bay area of California. Life in San Jose in the 60s, 70s, and 80s definitely WAS a world away. I never would have thought life would send me here, either!
To my young self – a life in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Appalachia was just not even on the radar. Yet here I am.
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 7:25 AM 36 Snips & Comments by others!
Good morning from Quilt villa, VA!
Yes, the Monday before a major "meal" holiday – Thanksgiving.
I knew it would be a zoo – but I had company all weekend, and there was no room in the fridge at home to buy all of this a week or more ahead and then have to transfer it up here to the mountains.
I wanted items, especially produce to be somewhat fresh – and I'd be picking my Dad up at the airport anyway, so how simple it would be to just make a couple of early afternoon stops before swinging by the airport to pick him up?
A master of time management and organization, I thought I had this nailed! And then…..
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 9:10 AM 41 Snips & Comments by others!
I love my piecing machines VINTAGE!
But I want my longarm DIGITIZED!
I think we've done in my computer system. I got all the way to the last border and the machine started going herky-jerky. No longer were my feathers nice and round, but they looked like a 3 year old drew them on an etch-a-sketch. AUUGHH!
Son Jeff and The Hubster came down to see about adjusting cables further (Though he still can't see anything due to Thursday's Lasik and the protective lenses that are still in place on his eyeballs.) and things ran BEAUTIFULLY for the rest of that one row…but when I advanced the quilt to the last row, the fill in at the edge of the border – Herky Jerky All Over Again.
I unplugged myself from the cables and finished up the edge of the quilt free-hand, going old school. Boy, it has been a LONG TIME since I have done that, and moving that machine head is a skill that can be lost over time.
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 10:17 AM 23 Snips & Comments by others!
It was a Bad Hair Saturday.
But it was a good quilting day!
Mona and I pushed it to the max as we quilted SIX projects – SIX! And by the time she left, I had pulled out a seventh – something that had been hanging around since 2004.
We were on a roll, and there was no time like the present to do it, and no reason to stop this quilting train.
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 10:11 AM 23 Snips & Comments by others!
I've had a blast with my friend Mona here. She's getting to be a pro at using my computerized longarm quilting machine.
My big fear is that she will find she has to have her own and she won't come spend the night with me anymore on a joint quilt-fest!
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 9:52 AM 20 Snips & Comments by others!
It's a Friday FriYay Gift-Away day!
And have I ever got some goodies for not just one but TWO lucky winners!
You know that I've been sewing with Signature 60 wt 3-ply thread and loving it. A&E threads out of Mt Holly, NC have been manufacturing fine thread for the sewing industry for more than 100 years.
Before sewing with the 60 wt for my hand and machine piecing, I have been using (and still do!) Signature 40 wt on my long arm machine for years.
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 9:47 AM 48 Snips & Comments by others!
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Mary Margaret Malcolmson Wilkinson Buckbee.
While yesterday, November 11th, 2018 was the traditional day for Veterans Day, Veterans Day is observed as a state and federal holiday in 2018 TODAY Monday, Nov. 12th this year.
A federal holiday means that local, county, state and federal offices and agencies are closed. Which includes the Post Office – but not Quiltville!
Yesterday was a busy travel day for me, on the way to the Indianapolis airport by 7am, making my connection in Atlanta and home by early afternoon. It didn't give me much chance to write a veteran's memorial post the way I wanted to, so like the federal agencies mentioned above, I'm observing TODAY and keeping these folks in my thoughts.
While not a typical veteran herself, my grandmother was raising small children while her husband, my grandfather was in the US Navy.
This picture was taken in 1943 when grandpa was serving as a Naval Officer in the South Pacific. She occasionally earned money working as a photographer's model.
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 9:30 AM 37 Snips & Comments by others!
All of these things were going on yesterday!
Midnight Flight from MORE Adventures with Leaders & Enders was the workshop yesterday – the last of my 2018 tour year – and energy levels were SO high.
You know, we went back in time to check out just WHEN these dates were planned – the letter I received (hand written invitation at that time!) was dated 2013. We really DID wait 5 years for this date to arrive.
And that sometimes happens when a guild only meets the second Thursday of the month, and there are only so many second Thursdays to go around within any given year. FIVE YEARS! And yet it flew by so very quickly.
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 6:45 AM 9 Snips & Comments by others!
49 quilters running thread through fabric – piecing up the pieces, making blocks - but even one better, MAKING FRIENDS!
I'm having a great time in Carmel, near Indianapolis – and the time is flying just as fast as the scraps are.
Yesterday's workshop? Scrap Crystals from my book MORE Adventures with leaders & Enders – And oh, the colors that came out to play!
Quipped by Bonnie K. Hunter at 8:09 AM 15 Snips & Comments by others!
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High grade, warm jeans / denim frabic make the Pet Jeans Jacket a body-hugging fit.
Your dog will appreciate the warmth of the soft material in this lightweight Doggie Jeans Jacket.
Doggle Jeans Jacket keeps your adventurous outdoor pet comfortable + warm on cold days.
Your puppy is sure to be the center of attention in this little Dog Clothes outfit!
Please measure the collar circumference, chest circumference and Back length before buying.


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The overall design for my film Shine is coming together nicely and I have begun animating the opening scene! The full story isn't completely finished yet but I decided to start animating the opening scene in the hopes that it would build momentum and inspire me to finish off the story.
This is also a learning experience for me. I have never animated before so I have a lot to learn and the more animating I do, the better I will get at it (I hope).
I am going to upload the opening scene as a trailer soon, so you can get an idea of what I have been doing and how the film is progressing. I may also upload some test animations so you can see my progression as I learn how to animate from scratch.
Below is a sneak peek of a shot from the opening scene.
To keep up-to-date with the production of Shine, click the subscribe button!