The Ciel Show

By Ciel - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in Journal

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Another day 'at' the Olympics...

Mogul ski runs, speed skating relay, curling, and coming up on more figure skating... I'm getting very good at muting the most annoying of commercials, as well as getting other things done while they take up screen time. Yesterday I took time off for some business of my own. Amy Kessler who does this professionally is formatting my collection of Middle-earth/Tolkien-inspired poetry to be actually published as a book: Lays of Middle-earth. I don't know why it never occurred to me to do this a... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 9:54 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Saturday, February 7, 2026

Poking my nose back in...

Sun's going down after one of those home days when I never felt the need to get out of my 'jamas. I've watched a bunch of icy, snowing Olympic sports, something I've never done so much before. The skating is always a big draw, but it has changed a lot since I last watched: back then, no one touched the ice on purpose with anything but their skate blades. I even saw one backflip, something that I was told Back Then was flashy but easier than it looks, a 'Capades move, not competition-worthy.... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 5:21 PM | add or view comments (8) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Thursday, January 15, 2026

Yesterday I got that haircut--This morning first look in the mirror I realized at any length, hair just wakes up hysterical and frantic, and takes a little while to settle down. Most of the little crocus corms got planted, some outside, some I brought inside. Thinking I should mulch them against tonight's and the weekends' big chill. Two packages of photo books arrived yesterday. The first one, The Forbidden City, was so thoroughly wrapped in bubblewrap sleeves and surrounded by plastic... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 12:12 PM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Monday, January 12, 2026

An unusual Monday...

Mondays are usually just an extended Sunday for me, but for some reason today I'm so busy at odds and ends, it feels like a Tuesday--I had to check the calendar just now to be sure. Despite several expensive toys that held her interest for a brief time, her favorite plaything for a while now has been a yard-long piece of half-inch wide plastic strapping tape from some package or other. I've done a moderate kitchen wipe-down, got the dishwasher loaded and running, finished the laundry that went... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 9:40 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Sunday, January 11, 2026

On an eggroll...

Just back from grocery shopping and a late lunch at the Chinese restaurant we usually order delivery from. We ordered some things we have not tried before, and some we have--but they were sooo much better fresh from the kitchen! And they make the best eggrolls we've found in the Springs so far--though they are not magnificent, just better than the rest: not cooked to mush, mainly. Insides are mostly just cabbage. I was thinking about them because I was watching the British Baking Show where they... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 4:08 PM | add or view comments (4) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, January 9, 2026

Things not going as planned...

That 1-3 inch snowfall is now closer to 10 inches which makes this a proper snow day. Glad I had no plans for going out today! And the crochet project... a cowl that takes about 10 hours to make, is a bust as I pulled a problem thread and messed up the first row in a way I have no idea how to fix. So... starting over, reworking the same yarn, unraveling as I go. At least I'm going to improve the technique of joining the ends of the first row to begin the spiral upwards. It wouldn't bother me so... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 7:42 AM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Thursday, January 8, 2026

Grey Wednesday

The snow has started--tiny cold flakes--but we only expect 3 inches or so over the next day, and it won't last because temps are going up again by Sunday. Yesterday I finished the next two China trip books--one of the tea garden we went to several times, the other of the Forbidden City. As I do these, I wish we could go back again, there were so many pictures I missed! But just now is not the best time to be visiting China. And I'm not the traveler I was what with the aches and pains of age... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 1:13 PM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Monday, January 5, 2026

Going Bookish

Well, the holidays are over, we're back to the regularly scheduled programming, and the chaos out of DC continues... Saturday I decided to take advantage of a good deal from Snapfish for making photo books and pulled up the images from our 2019 trip to China. Charlie and I went to Beijing for a week, and we packed in as much as we could, and you know I took pictures! The Beijing Zoo, the Forbidden City... One of the grandest things was taking a walk on the Great Wall. And now, the best pictures... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 8:45 PM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, January 2, 2026

Getting off to a good start

Today was busy and started early compared to most days when I wait for Charlie to get himself ready to go. I was prepared to go out on my own, but this time he did want to get things done, so he hurried himself to meet my schedule. I finally mailed off the packages that were not ready to send early enough to get them to Maryland where the rest of the family was doing Christmas, before Grandpa flew back to Seattle and the Bell family flew back to the UK. It would have been a lot less expensive if... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 4:01 PM | add or view comments (9) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Wednesday, December 31, 2025

It's the little things...

How suddenly the days arrive that seemed so far away just yesterday...! I've been thinking about something to write, a particular idea that has recurred several times, so this time seems like a timely time to write it and invite you to think about it in your own life, too. Through the course of my life, there have been moments that have stayed with me, that give me warmth to remember, brief experiences that are a special kind of wealth in a life. They are not the big things, those usually are... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 11:58 AM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

February 2026
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About this Blog

I'm doubtful the events of my life will be of great general interest, but I'd like to share a little more of me to the several of you on Blogit I've come to feel are real friends, and the many I imagine are potentially real friends. We'll see how it works out. ______________________ all my words and images posted on Blogit are copyright 2005-present, all rights reserved.

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