Survivor, Nickelsville, and Trombones

Last night was Survivor, and I really enjoyed it. I was in my happy place when it came on and I heard that familiar opening music. I found out that it was a 2-hour show because it originally was scheduled to start last week, so they had to put two shows together. Which was fine by me - it was nice to get to know the players better. I agreed with both of the bootings last night. Michelle really never did try to get along with her "loser" tribe, and Gillian was a weak link when they're trying to win challenges.

I was a bit sorry to see Gillian go. Her daughter posts on 2peas (a scrapbooking site), and Gillian even started posting there and was funny and nice, so I was kind of rooting for her.

The African scenery is gorgeous, which is always a bonus. Tribal council looks a little hokey, but they did a nice job overall with it and with the challenges so far. I'm really looking forward to next week! And Sunday is the first episode of this season of The Amazing Race! Survivor and TAR are my only must-see TV.

Today, Ray took a day off work and helped out at the homeless camp called "Nickelsville", which was put up in protest of Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels' handling of various homeless issues (meaning that he didn't do much handling at all). They were camped out in donated pink tents on city property until the police arrested a lot of them this afternoon.

I took Ray over to Nickelsville this morning after I dropped off Chloe at school, and he's about ready to come home now. As far as I understand, they were able to move some of them a short distance away to state property, so the city didn't have jurisdiction over them any longer and could not make them leave. Still, there were some arrests made.

As I was talking to Ray on the phone a bit ago, I could hear cheering, as a group (released on their own recognizance) came back from downtown. It seems the protest did some good, as the governor is willing to help and see if they can get a place for them to camp out/stay permanently.

And right now, Chloe is practicing her trombone. She practices 30 minutes a day, setting the timer and stopping exactly when it beeps (lol). When I'm at work, she practices at my parent's house after school. It's been so nice to be able to hear her practice while I'm on my sabbatical. It's also nice to help her with her homework, to just chill with her after school. I have 2 more days of this.

Thursday

Working on my quilt - got the squares all put together, need to cut the sashing and sew that on next. I think it looks a little plain (probably because the squares are so big), so I'm thinking of appliqueing some stars scattered across, or candy canes, or something.

I've been able to do 1-hour workouts on the Wii Fit the last few days. I love the boxing one - I unlocked the advanced boxing and got 4 stars (Calorie Incinerator) and a "Good workout" from the boxing guy today. I usually get "Nice job" from him. Love those little motivations!

Well, tonight is the first episode of this season's Survivor - I'm really looking forward to it! Chloe and I have been watching Survivor for the past 13 seasons. We also got Ray hooked on it. We make a night of it - pizza, a fire log in the fireplace, and lit candles. The first episode is supposed to be a 2-hour premiere this time. I think that's a good thing, since you get to know the players better.