Go, Swimmers...and All!!

Yahoo!!  Dana Vollmer just got her first gold....she's a local Granbury, Texas gal...her mom is/was my grandkids coach when they were younger...They swim with the Fort Worth Area  Swim Team (FAST)  and Dana's mom was coaching them when Dana was in high school and a FAST member.

And I am feeling for Michael Phelps.....but Ryan Lochte is a pretty neat guy too...Phelps will do better in days to come!

My studioQ Creative Crones meet tomorrow.  It is the first time we have met without our dynamic Sue...and it was her turn to give our challenge..."I Heard It Through the Grapevine"...I have a bottle of wine chilling to have with our lunch...for the theme and to toast a wonderful friend!  She was such a force...I keep running into people who have a connection to her, unbeknownst to me.  For example, tomorrow, Texas Christian University...TCU...is flying the flag at half mast in her memory.  I knew she and her husband were involved fans, but had no idea they were that influential!  I miss her!!!

Let the Games Begin!!

I love the Olympics!  While watching the opening ceremonies last night, I was very taken by the lighting of the Olympic torch.  And this morning I was reading that every country is getting to take one of the individual torches home with them at the end...how cool is that!!!!

Also I wanted to give this "Mi2" tangle pattern another try so while watching television, I was working on this Challenge...I had already done one...but thought I would post another one...I dedicate it to the Olympic Torch-2012!!  And I was very touched by the presence of the Queen, too.....she has always been a favorite figurehead to me...I remember when she got married....when she became Queen...and many other milestones in her life!  Loved her "entry" with James Bond/Daniel Craig!!!

Challenge #80-2 "Mi2! Mi2" 

Challenge #79-Citius, Altius, Fortius

Challenge # 79-Citius, Altius, Fortius

This week, the Diva had a guest Challenger.. Rho Densmore who selected the up coming Olympics for her challenge...specifically the Olympics motto...."Citius, Altius, Fortius" translated "Faster, Higher, Stronger"!  I chose to design the rings...also including an Olympic event in honor of the swimmers in my own family, particularly my grandson and his dad....who knows what the future may hold????

This piqued my interest so I did a little research and found out some interesting facts about the Olympics:

The motto was proposed by Pierre de Coubertin on the creation of the International Olympic Committee in 1894. De Coubertin borrowed it from his friend Henri Didon, a Dominican priest who, amongst other things, was an athletics enthusiast. The motto was introduced in 1924 at the Olympic Games in Paris.

A more informal but well known motto, also introduced by De Coubertin, is "The most important thing is not to win but to take part!" De Coubertin got this motto from a sermon by the Bishop of Pennsylvania during the 1908 London Games.

The five Olympic rings represent the five continents involved in the Olympics and were designed in 1912, adopted in 1914 and debuted at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics.

The symbol of the Olympic Games is composed of five interlocking rings, coloured blue, yellow, black, green, and red on a white field. This was originally designed in 1912 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games. Upon its initial introduction, de Coubertin stated the following in the August, 1912 edition of Olympique:

"The emblem chosen to illustrate and represent the world Congress of 1914...: five intertwined rings in different colours - blue, yellow, black, green, and red - are placed on the white field of the paper. These five rings represent the five parts of the world which now are won over to Olympism and willing to accept healthy competition."

According to De Coubertin the ring colours with the white background stand for those colors that appeared on all the national flags of the world at that time.

Olympic Time!

"Live shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage."  Anais Nin

I love the Olympics...the coming together of athletes from all over the world; the courage for some of these little countries with one athlete; the comaraderie which seems to exist.  

We watched most of the opening ceremony tonight...it ran so late we recorded it and will watch the rest tomorrow night.  Of course, it is always a thrill when the USA enters...I have almost the same feeling of pride for the Canadians.  Our trip last fall up through there gave us so much better of an understanding of our relationship with our neighbors.  We were very impressed by how many places would fly an American flag right beside the Canandian flag...and not just at the border...this would be way up into the interior. And, truly, what warm, welcoming people!

We also have a greater grasp of the "First Nation"/"Aborigine" peoples because of having traveled there.  I loved the different tribes at the opening ceremony...their clothing and dances, etc.  I bet they will be a weary bunch of people tomorrow!

I didn't think anything could top or come close to the Ceremony in Beijing, but Vancouver did a wonderful job.  It was just as good, but in a totally different way.