Why February Why?

 I’ve never been a sports minded person. Even though my older brother was a high school cornerback, I never understood the fascination with football. Now, before you inundate me with comments about all the tight little tushies in their tight little pants, might I remind you that I live in Central Alberta where some men still know how to properly wear their jeans and I don’t have to wait for football season to appreciate that.

My other brother was never able to fully participate in sports because of an inner ear imbalance but you can ask him virtually anything about hockey, baseball or football and he will always have the correct answer for you. Me, not so much. I think I know which sports play for the Stanley Cup and the Grey Cup but could mix them up on any given day.

I can’t be bothered with tennis or golf - GOLF - I would rather watch paint dry! And I have taught art classes.  I have watched paint dry. Way more exciting than golf.

Me, I like math. And physics. I would watch billiards. All the caroms and combination shots. I actually played pool in my younger years when corrective lenses were big enough that I wasn’t forced to peer over the top of them to see fuzzy outlines of the balls on the table. The only way I could do that now is to wear contact lenses.

And now that I am older and have time for it, I league bowl with the seniors. No, I am not old enough to collect my pension, but the seniors aren’t as competitive as my age group and I’m just there for the fun. Not sure I could enjoy it as a spectator sport though.

One sport that I love to watch on tv is curling. Again, because physics. Mom and I are avid armchair skips. I would never be able to actually play the game but I enjoy calling the shots before they’re made and knowing I made the same call as the professionals.

Curling season starts in February and goes for a full two months. Even though they had to cut the season short last year due to COVID, they have created a bubble in Calgary this year and the four main competitions are being held back to back with slight breaks in between. They play three rounds per day - all televised - and I tape them all. Why don’t I just relax and enjoy them in real time you ask? Because this is also inventory month. Those of you in retail understand the dread that phrase can create.

Inventory involves counting, recounting and, in my case, rearranging the furniture. Why not? We’re already pulling yarn out of its bins so why not give it a new home at the same time? This year, it is also the opportune time for me to prep the yarn for travel in the mobile store. Because of that, I have been able to widen the aisles in my warehouse because I was able to remove one full shelving unit. (For those of you who feel you will never use algebra in your lifetime, I feel sorry for you. I used it multiple times just this week to save me from the hassle of eyeballing my measurements and wasting time and energy doing so.)

So, let’s do some more math. Because of the short breaks between the Scotties, the Briar, the Doubles and the Worlds, let’s assume an average of two games per day for the next two months. At 3 hours per game x 60ish games per month x 2 months, that’s 360 hours of curling to watch. Most days Mom and I can watch a half game (1.5hrs) per day - cos we have lives - so a maximum of 240 viewing days and that takes us well into the fall unless we binge watch once we’re done inventory. So, yes, February can be a little overwhelming.

Written by Lori, TCL owner, who shouldn’t complain about February being so busy and revel in the fact that I get to enjoy curling for 3/4 of the year!