Saturday, February 19, 2022

2022 Winter Olympics, Day 16: Curling, Round One

Welcome to Day 16 of the Winter Games! Only today and tomorrow left. 

We don't have a medal event today, instead we have the first round of Curling Games. 


Our mystery Olympic Spotlight Country today was Romania, and only Calib got it correct. I really thought the castle picture would tip more of them off, but I guess not. 


Our bets today were for the Men's four men bobsled, which we got to watch live on Saturday night. Germany took gold and silver, but Canada squeaked in with the bronze, so everyone gets a pay out. (Also, four man bobsled is super cool). 


For dinner we had Romanian Musaca cu Cartofi (a ground veal casserole with potatoes- although we substituted veal for ground beef). We also had some fruit, and some salad to round out the meal. I mean, how can you go wrong with potatoes covered in cheese? 

We paired it with a Russian beer, because, well, there was none from Romania. Calib and I were just fine with it. Asa couldn't stand it (but he's not a beer guy, and it had a real "beer" flavor). 

Since we're doing a bracket of Curling games, we decided today would just be round one.... 

...In part because I needed more time to freeze more curling "stones" (aka muffin tins/bowls of water made into ice) or so I thought (they held up better than I anticipated. and I don't really need anymore for tomorrow-even if they melt super fast!) 

I built the curling lane out in the garage with the half pool noodles as the sides, which I got from our cross country track in the backyard, and some tape. Of course you push your curling "stones" down the lane with the swiffer. 


Our rules were a little different. Each person had three "stones"(muffin tin sized) and one hammer (big bowl sized). We played two rounds (or "ends") of that, and alternated who went first (flipping a coin to see who got to call who went first in the first round, as opposed to the second). At the end of each round, we scored the points. Most cumulative points moved on. 

Of course, it's best to wear gloves when handling the stones (it's cold, but they were also colored red and yellow like the normal curling team colors- and spoiler alert, the red food coloring soaked right through to my hands and I spent the rest of the evening looking like I murdered someone my left hand). 


Asa and I went first for a play-in round. Whichever one of us won, advanced to the four person tournament with the boys. 

But, I was really no match for Asa, who slid his stone right into the four point bullseye

Calib then got to pick the matchups, since he was the only one who got Romania correct. He decided to put Peyton against Asa, and he would go against Hayden. 

Peyton and Asa's matchup was first. Peyton won the match on the hammer in the second match. Very exciting. Although, he was in the middle of something, and it seemed like he was throwing it, he spent no time determining the best shot and just chucked it. Yet, he somehow ended up winning. 

Hayden and Calib then faced off... 


Calib easily beat Hayden, sending himself to the gold medal match tomorrow, where he'll be facing Peyton. 

Meanwhile, the Bronze Medal Match up will be between Hayden and Asa- and I'll just have to put down the stones, and take the pictures. Such is life. 

But for tonight, the curling lane is all empty. 


I guess that's it from here. I don't have a medal update for you, since none were awarded today. But, there will be quite a few awarded tomorrow! 

Of course, by the time I'm up and around, the Olympics will be over in Beijing. But, thanks to the 13 hour time difference, we can live in the Olympics one more day. And tomorrow is a big one, we're finishing up Curling, doing the 2 man bobsled (I built a bobsled, and it's amazing!), and holding Closing Ceremonies. Good thing Calib doesn't have to work! 

I'll see you tomorrow (or maybe the next day- that's going to be a long blog!) for one last Olympic blog. 

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