DITMLOD: Ice Skating, Ice Capades and The 1992 Winter Olympics

We haven't done a DITMTLOD post in a long, long time, but here we go.

Gisela Head

I have a memory of the first time I saw a woman, who was not Princess Leia, as "attractive".  Who knows what word I had in my head?  I was probably around three years old, but it was such a weird idea at the time - that until I hit the ages where finding girls a great idea - I did not quite understand what that was all about. 

At the time, the Ice Capades were still very much a staple of American culture.  Younger readers will only know the post-Ice Capades world of "Disney on Ice" or "Muppets on Ice".  At one point, I know our family took in a mix of "The Ice Capades" and "Smurfs on Ice".  

The Ice Capades were essentially an odd relic of the Zeigfield Follies/ Vaudeville shows that had died out decades prior with radio, film and television.  Why go out for singing and dancing and some comedy when Our Show of Shows was readily available or Ed Sullivan could show you Broadway, comedy and an opera star in one hour?  But on ice?  

For some reason, that lasted until the late 1990's

Happy Lunar New Year - Year of the Fire Horse

They tell me it's the Year of the Fire Horse.  

I know nothing about any Zodiacs, from any culture.  So I am left to Google this.

Apparently a year for rapid change.  Good golly, do we need more of that?

Let's round up the Fire Mares, then.

Weekly Rewind - 02/15/2026

baby's first tooth brushing

Happy post Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day kind of came and went.  It's just not either my favorite holiday nor Jamie's.  It's expensive and a hassle.  We stayed in, had a pizza and watched a movie I did not like at all.  Jamie gave me a fun card.

This was our 30th Valentine's Day together, and every year we remember our miserable first Valentine's Day sitting in freezing weather outside waiting for a table, only to then be sat outside near one of those gas burners, which did nothing.  

It's a bunk holiday.

Steven and Lauren and young Alexander Come to Town

Weekly Rewind Week of 02/08/2026

Mayalsia arrives via BoomTube to the Winter Olympics

Well, the Olympics are Back

We'll be hiding out for the next two weeks or so while the Winter Olympics take front and center in Jamie's mind.  

I'm more of a track and field guy/ Summer Olympics fan, but I figured out well before we got married - Jamie loves the Winter Olympics, in part because she went years ago in Canada, and in part because she loves figure skating.  But I'll kind of watch whatever sport at least for a while.  And because we have Peacock, we've been watching lots of the games - but I admit, I have a rough time saying "let's watch 3.5 hours of a preliminary round of Curling".  

But I did watch, like, the US Women beat Finland in Hockey, some curling, some downhill skiing, some other stuff, and lots of skating.  And thanks to living with Jamie I know a whole lot of the skaters and what their deal is - especially as she's been watching all the competitions leading up to the Olympics.  

Weekly Rewind 02/01/2026 - Elliptical, Cooking, Movies, Basketball

Emmylou getting toasty

Exercise is Hard

I awoke Sunday morning, remembering - to my horror - that I'd told myself I'd start really exercising again on February 1. 

The goal is to get back to the gym 3-4x a week, use our home elliptical and do my little floor routine of weights and crunches and whatnot while also walking Emmylou in the mornings in summer and evenings in winter.  

Weekly Rewind - 01/25/2026 - Winter Weather and Failed Robots

Emmylou ponders a crunchy, white yard

Winter Storm 2026, #1

The big news, really, is that we're having a winter storm.

We've known it was coming since the start of the work week, and were able to plan ahead.  On Wednesday, we had some dry-goods delivered that we could eat if the power went out.  Peanut butter, bread, soup in cans, etc...  because if the power goes out, we really can't open the fridge.

And then you mostly walk around your house hoping the power holds.  

Folks from out of state want to point to the grid failure in Texas, and that is certainly a thing we all worry about.  But if you know *how* that happened, it seems ERCOT has that better managed.  The far greater problem is that power lines are hanging on poles, and those poles are near branches.  And if a branch is covered in ice, it might hit the power line, and... there you go.  No one in a few blocks has power.

Weekly Rewind - Week of 01/18/2026: Symphony, Pal Check In, Unrivaled Basketball, Reality TV

Jamie works on a puzzle while Emmylou watches over us both

Jamie is working on a puzzle I got her months ago - a 1000 piece picture of Wrigley Field from the press booth, I believe.  Emmylou has been less than thrilled that it means Jamie is not on the sofa with her.  She has made a nest on a different sofa to keep an eye on the world.

A Night at the Symphony