"I fecking love curling," says longtime blogging buddy Jackiesue of West, by Goddess, Texas so this post is for her! Enjoy all the curling going on right now at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Jackiesue!
And incidentally, everyone, Jackiesue (formerly known as YellowDog Granny) is now called YellerDawg Granny (what a great pun, LOL!) and she has a brand new blog called Rabid Yellow Dog Democrat that is found here! Spread the news!
And now, back to the Roaring Game.
Curling is, of course, HUGE in Canada and always has been. Curling and hockey are how Canadians have traditionally endured our long cold winters. From our largest cities right down to our smallest villages, they all have curling rinks. When I was a kid, there was even a place in Saskatchewan called Broomhill which consisted of nothing but a curling rink.
Jasper Place Curling Club in Edmonton recently had a beautiful mural painted on the side of its building by Jill Stanton, a local artist who does bright, cheerful murals all over Canada and the USA (see more of her work here). The mural celebrates the history of curling brooms. I know that modern push brooms are so much more efficient, but I miss hearing that unique "slap, slap, slap" sweeping sound of old-style corn brooms on the ice.
[Photos © Debra She Who Seeks, February 2022]
You know, I almost got frostbite taking these photos of the mural in -30 windchill with my gloves off to work the camera. Sheesh, the things I do for this blog! Here's a photo of the entire mural taken by some other smarter photographer in the summer --
Her Royal Highness the Cat wants it to be known that she enjoys curling too!
ReplyDeleteBrrrrrrrr!!!
Yay for curling. Brad Gushue and his Newfoundland team represent Canada this year. We’ll be watching!
ReplyDeletei had just signed up for curling lessons when we were transferred back to the states. there went that gold metal!
ReplyDeleteHaha I don't watch any sport so all of it looks the same to me. I do love the artwork and the fact that your froze your arse off to take the photos. :D
ReplyDeleteNo offense to curling lovers but we turned on the TV to the Olympics the other day and curling was on and I said:
ReplyDelete"Oh my god, f*cking curling? Really?"
I DO love the mural, though, and the HRH.
All my sisters emigrated to Canada from the UK, and one turned out to be a curling fiend, always on about the bonspiel etc. whatever the heck that is. I never asked for fear of another hour of curling talk!
ReplyDeleteIt's a great mural but sure wouldn't catch me out in that weather trying to photograph it lol!
ReplyDeleteI use to curl in Fairbanks. It's quite the sport.
ReplyDeleteCanada beat the USA yesterday, they really played well.
ReplyDeletethanks for putting out the new address..poor Leanna and I were up till midnight getting it right...will still take some tweeks to get it up to par..but she did an amazing job. and yes..curling...thanks for my curling post...I've watched every country and who knew the Italians were good at curling??? Been rooting for usa and canada for everthing...thanks again.
ReplyDeleteooh, and everyone.. i lost my list of followers so everyone needs to follow new blog so I can find them.
ReplyDeleteDone!
DeleteI've been a fan of curling for about 20 years. It's hard to be a fan of a sport that no one watches in the U.S. I have to really hunt for it. Oh, and the U. S. Women's hockey team is killing it in the Olympics.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link to the Rabid Yellow Dog; that was fun.
ReplyDeleteI like the mural - bright and colorful though I have to admit - I don't understand curling. Of course, I don't understand the love of football or baseball either so maybe it's just me!
ReplyDeleteHello Debra, If I declare my apartment a curling rink, will Canadians come and sweep it for me? I like the muralist's idea of adding mops into the mix!
ReplyDelete--Jim
WEll, leave it to us Americans. I have never seen a curling match. I never even heard of it until I was in my 30s, I think. lol
ReplyDeleteThat is a fantastic mural though. Wow! xo Diana
Curling physics...
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CUojMQgDpM 8:15 The rest is a beg for money.
Just this morning I heard a podcast on 'what is curling' what a sport
ReplyDeleteBoring as hell to watch, but curling is really fun to play! I first tried it in a high school P.E. class that introduced students to "lifestyle sports" such as golf, cross-country skiing, curling, horseback riding and swimming. My school only had organized team sports such as volleyball, basketball, and track & field and I was not athletic enough for those, LOL!
ReplyDeleteI remember curling 20 years ago, and thought What in the World? Now I understand more about the game.
ReplyDeleteIt's the best time of year.
ReplyDeleteThank you for braving the elements to shoot the works! You did good locating a willing cat, too.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, the Swiffer company is missing out on a huge sports endorsement bonanza :-)
ReplyDeleteAlso "Men with brooms" is one of my favorite movies.
Watched the US mixed doubles team all afternoon. They lost to Switzerland by one point, won't go on to the semis.Bummer.
I can picture sloths curling.
ReplyDeletethe Ol'Buzzard
Curling here in United States isn't as big. My husband likes it. Said he saw match in Creston BC.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on and stay safe
Beautiful mural. I'm nor up on curling though my sister did it for awhile. Btw, I love all your bee theme stuff. I'm quite crazy about the little buzzers myself.
ReplyDeleteMy cat loves curling, but she prefers the curl up and go to sleep style.
ReplyDelete–30 windchill? You’re a saint! And the photos are beautiful... but thanks for sharing the complete view. Very cool. SG LOVES watching curling. I still don’t get it (SORRY) and find it a bit, well, funny. But I’ll try harder.
ReplyDeleteBack in the day when I used to watch television, we had a couple sports channels run by NBC and CBS (sadly these two channels have been discontinued) used to fill up programming time with all kinds of "interesting" sports, of which one was curling.
ReplyDeleteAbout the only thing that I was able to deduce from it, besides it being a very weird version of boccie, was that any time that the Americans tried to play a sport that the rest of the world had at least a 75 year jump on they usually were outplayed, outmanned and outgunned.
Curling is no exception to this rule.
I too miss the sound of the old corn brooms. Those were the days of the Curling Campbells and Ernie Richardson. I used to watch curling then.
ReplyDeleteCurling got a reprieve with Saskatchewan's Princess Diana, Sandra Schmirler. She passed awa, age 36, in the Pasqua Hospital Palliative Care Ward in Regina when my late wife worked there.
For a second or three, I wondered why your blogger friend was so excited about curling her hair. Sigh. I need coffee.
ReplyDeleteCurling is definitely unique
ReplyDeleteBeautiful mural..Thanks for risking life and limb, well fingers, to take it for us..Gold for the US..Who woulda thought it?? HRH is eating too much...LOL
ReplyDeleteLove the mural! What a super star you are in your efforts to entertain and enlighten the world! I hope you got your hands around a hot cup of tea after that.
ReplyDeleteMy neighbor was in a recreational curling league. We have all the unlikely sports in Portland. I believe there's an axe throwing league now.
Your reader appreciate the sacrifices you make for the blog. Your pictures are lovely.
ReplyDelete@ e -- I would LOVE to try out axe throwing!
ReplyDeleteMy pastor's wife was supposed to teach me about curling. She's a huge fan. But covid hit and so we never got around to it.
ReplyDeleteI don't know anything about curling, except that I'd stink at it.
ReplyDeleteHRH likely has come curling chops, though.
great mural
ReplyDeleteMy little brother wrote a comic book about curling after he went to see the Labatt Brier in Chicoutimi back in the 80s. I never managed to get interested.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and a couple of buddies of his took a series of curling lessons at a nearby ice skating rink. As I recall, he had a blast.
ReplyDeleteI've been yelling "Sweep, sweep" all afternoon at the tv. It makes me feel good. Canada lost 3-5 to the Swiss.😭 I, too, miss the corn brooms. I just noticed the Haida Spirit Bee ~ So cool! The photo of the whole mural is a work of art, but I like the close-ups you took because of the details. Your brutally-cold effort is much appreciated! Stay warm!
ReplyDeleteOoh...that mural! Gorgeous. And HRH is into everything it seems. For a price perhaps? :)
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderful mural, and thankfully your fingers are intact💖 Such a great post about curling! Be well, and sending lots of hugs. RO
ReplyDeleteThat mural is amazing! Wow! Big Hugs!
ReplyDelete