I'm not making as much progress as Janet on our January fitness challenge, and according to the weatherman, this is our "warm" week. Next week we'll be into negative temperatures - no outdoor activity for me. And even though it's warmish this week, it's very tricky trying to walk around outside, because all the places with ice have a thin layer of melted water on them.
Luckily, I had a Ladies Out to Lunch which got me a few extra steps walking across the parking lot, but even it had spots of ice. We went to Doug's Diner, a popular breakfast place, so we all ordered egg dishes. I got the Little Billy, thinking it was the smallest thing on the menu. It still came with 2 eggs, 2 slices of thick bacon, hashbrowns, and half a biscuit with gravy. The biscuit was huge (about 6" in diameter). I don't think this restaurant knows the meaning of the word "little."
I refereed another robotics tournament via Zoom over the weekend. This week's tournaments were supposed to be in Springfield and Columbia. But the teams from Camdenton and Sedalia couldn't get there, because of all the ice and snow on the roads. I was kind of tickled to find out that one of the Sedalia teams was from Sacred Heart where my niece and nephew went to school.
I managed to make some progress on my applique wall-hanging. I had to cut out over 50 pattern pieces, iron them onto 26 different colors of fabric, cut them out again, and then iron them onto the background. I got most of the big pieces done. Now I have to sew down all the edges before ironing on the tree and leaves. So far it looks really good, and I only made one mistake cutting out the patterns.
Bruce has been busy in the basement painting the I-beams and support poles. For some reason, the contractor painted them red (he probably figured it wouldn't matter, since most people have refinished their basements, and the poles and beams are hidden in the walls and ceiling.
But we've kept our basement unfinished, partly so it can be an exercise and workspace, and partly so it can be a play space for Charlie. I built him an agility course with some hurdles and a tunnel I got off Amazon and a few other obstacles I built myself from PVC pipe and old boxes. He's really good at running through the maze, as long as I have a bunch of treats in my hand.
Bruce's passport is going to expire this year, but if you don't have a criminal record, you can renew it online (no standing in line at the Post Office). They allow you to upload a photo from your phone, but you have to be standing in front of a plain off-white background. We tried a million different places in the house, but the sun coming in the windows was so bright that it caused really dark shadows (not allowed). We finally found a good spot in the bathroom, but Bruce had to stand in the tub to get a decent shot. Luckily, I was able to crop out the bathroom tile behind him.
