The Next Kwan!/What A Klutz! Lessons+Practices 7-13th July

[icenut84]

(Like the title? :mrgreen: ) This is for yesterday morning:

[b:19cfe1e2a9]The Next Kwan![/b:19cfe1e2a9]

Swing Dance and Fiesta Tango better in dance lesson

1 foot spin (doing it now without the 2 foot spin first, which means it's easier for some reason! Ah well, I'm not exactly gonna argue! lol) Also could keep it going a bit more, didn't travel as much, and even if I was slightly off balance I felt like I could correct it and keep going :D I think one of the reasons it was better was that, before, I was pulling in too soon, ie as soon as the spin starts.

Learned waltz-half loop-salchow combination! :mrgreen: It was ok, I managed to do them all in a row but I don't think it was particularly elegant ;) The half loop wasn't getting around all the way but coach said that's ok. I just did a 3 turn so I would be backwards for the salchow

Double 3s fine and dandy, spiral ok

Back inside pivots better :D

Improvements on some of the stuff in the group class

Toe loop better, but...

[b:19cfe1e2a9]What A Klutz![/b:19cfe1e2a9]

It only took one toe loop to make my foot hurt! (Gonna post about this in more detail on a different thread) Minus lessons, only had about half an hour practice time because I had to come off early

Still not really getting all the way round on the loop, or landing on my left foot. Hmph. Have some tips to work on though

Some of the stuff we did in the group class was kinda hard. I can do outside mohawks but we had to swing the free leg forwards (while on the outside edge) first, and then try to do the mohawk! Not easy to bend that way, lol

Rachel

[nutty-ducky]

I had my lesson and practice this morning:
The Next Kwan
Three Jump - It is the first ever one in my lessons. It is really good. :D
Forward Crossovers - Good, I am starting to do the power strokes. They are ok.
Backward Outside Edge - It is good but I need to remember to keep my back up and arched.

What A Klutz -
Close Chassis - They were ok, but hard. I think they were hard because I haven't done them for ages. I am going to keep on learning them. :(

[Mrs Redboots]

[quote:2f049f6148="icenut84"](Like the title? :mrgreen: ) This is for yesterday morning:

[b:2f049f6148]The Next Kwan![/b:2f049f6148]

[/quote:2f049f6148]All very well, but what about us dancers?

We had a lovely time at the British Adult Championships. The day started with a seminar on dance moves with Joan Slater, which was both interesting and informative, and got us used to the size of the rink.

Then the competition started, slightly late, and first of all were the elementary (=bronze/pre-bronze) free skaters. Sadly, my two friends who did so well at Bracknell did less well here, as one of them had a migraine, and the other was feeling sick! But it was good to see so many out, especially in the younger age groups, and there was some very good skating going on.

The Dance Couples, which we were, in many ways had the worst of it, as we had to skate three times. Robert and I seemed to go from bad to worse as the day went on, partly because we were tired, and ended up 2nd out of 2 - not altogether unexpectedly! But we enjoyed ourselves, and received lots of compliments on our Golden Skaters' Waltz, which I wasn't too pleased with as I noticed one very flat edge! And I collared a judge at the end of the day and said "WHAT do we need to do to get better marks", and he was both encouraging and helpful. And has basically said we really only need to improve another 10% - surely attainable within the next year, if we work hard? - to be there or thereabouts.

Meanwhile "Batikat" came a most encouraging 5th out of 8 in the solo compulsory dance, and I know she wasn't pleased with how she skated....

This being an inaugural competition, there were one or two hiccups, but in all it was a good day.

[icenut84]

[quote:383941fb87="Mrs Redboots"][quote:383941fb87="icenut84"](Like the title? :mrgreen: ) This is for yesterday morning:

[b:383941fb87]The Next Kwan![/b:383941fb87]

[/quote:383941fb87]All very well, but what about us dancers?[/quote:383941fb87]

I couldn't think of a famous ice dancer beginning with K! Plus it wouldn't make sense if I had more than one name. Plus I was thinking Michelle as a skater rather than Michelle as a freestyle skater. I do dance too! lol :)

[TashaKat]

[quote:afa7d36f9b="icenut84"][quote:afa7d36f9b="Mrs Redboots"][quote:afa7d36f9b="icenut84"](Like the title? :mrgreen: ) This is for yesterday morning:

[b:afa7d36f9b]The Next Kwan![/b:afa7d36f9b]

[/quote:afa7d36f9b]All very well, but what about us dancers?[/quote:afa7d36f9b]

I couldn't think of a famous ice dancer beginning with K! Plus it wouldn't make sense if I had more than one name. Plus I was thinking Michelle as a skater rather than Michelle as a freestyle skater. I do dance too! lol :)[/quote:afa7d36f9b]

Anjelika Krylova, Svetlana Kulikova, Victor Kraatz :D

Can I be Marina Anissina then I get to skate WITH Gwendal?

L x

[jenlyon60]

[b:5ac0d784c5]Klutz: [/b:5ac0d784c5]
Not skating since last Tuesday what with the holiday weekend...
Not being able to easily open out my hips when doing the LBO sustained edge in "Alternating Back Crossovers to Back Outside Edge" MIF.
Need to re-learn waltz, toe-loop, salchow...for my interp.

[b:5ac0d784c5]Kwan: (how about Klimova for us dancers?) [/b:5ac0d784c5]
Having the rink all to myself this morning for most of my lesson. Even if it was at 6:15 in the morning.
We started choreographing my interp... it's gonna be fun. We pulled a bit out of Quickstep for part of it..
Foxtrot... HUGE pattern. Bigger than when I tested it years ago. Width-wise, I was almost barrier-to-barrier on the large rink (100x200). Coach had me do a minor weight/balance adjustment on the XR-RFO (RFO crossroll) before the cross-LFO3...he had me move my weight back to mid-blade or a bit further back. Made all the difference in running on the edge and setting up for the LFO cross-3. Idea being that ultimately I'll actually generate power as I rebend and shift my weight on the blade during the RFO cross-roll.
Forward power-3s better, for the most part. I still need to make sure I do the same # of back crossovers or what-ever around each end of the rink. I like these forward power 3s, now that I've been doing them awhile. Have decided they make a nice warm-up exercise.

Another lesson tomorrow (today's was a make-up since coach took 4th of July off)...

--jsl

[flo]

Klutz: Because of schedules I won't have another lesson with my coach/partner until the tests. I'm still having a hard time with my injuries and the cammel spin. The back cammel doesn't hurt as much, but the forward might get changed to a sit-back sit.

Kwan: Skated Tuesday, Friday and Saturday reasonably well. It wasn't crowded so I had the chance to play with my back outside spiral to forward inside.

[garyc254]

Kwan/Klutz??? How about Hamilton/Horrible for us guys.
I look terrible in a skating dress!!! :lol:

Horrible:
After staying awake until 2:30 am waiting for a wayward teenager to get home, I arrived at the rink dead tired and VERY punchy.

I started to attempt a Waltz Jump, was moving well down the ice, bent my skating knee, and prepared to launch myself. It was at that point my common senses broke through and said "You idiot!!!!!! You've never jumped in your life!!! You've never been coached on jumping!!!! You're lucky if you can do a three-turn!!!! STOP!!!!!!! 8O

Fortunately, I stopped. WHEW!!! I could have killed myself. :lol:

Hamilton:
I told my coach about my "jumping" nightmare. She redirected my remote control thought patterns to edges, mohawks, and three-turns which were doing surprisingly well. Maybe it's because I couldn't think about performing them if I wanted to. :lol:

Next lesson: More sleep or else the wayward non-skating teenager is going to get up with me and go skating for his first time, WITH ME AS COACH/TORTURER!!! :lol:

[icenut84]

[quote:3fdd2fe60a="TashaKat"][quote:3fdd2fe60a="icenut84"][quote:3fdd2fe60a="Mrs Redboots"][quote:3fdd2fe60a="icenut84"](Like the title? :mrgreen: ) This is for yesterday morning:

[b:3fdd2fe60a]The Next Kwan![/b:3fdd2fe60a]

[/quote:3fdd2fe60a]All very well, but what about us dancers?[/quote:3fdd2fe60a]

I couldn't think of a famous ice dancer beginning with K! Plus it wouldn't make sense if I had more than one name. Plus I was thinking Michelle as a skater rather than Michelle as a freestyle skater. I do dance too! lol :)[/quote:3fdd2fe60a]

Anjelika Krylova, Svetlana Kulikova, Victor Kraatz :D

Can I be Marina Anissina then I get to skate WITH Gwendal?

L x[/quote:3fdd2fe60a]

LOL, I remembered about some of them as soon as I posted it. :roll: Well, Krylova and Klimova anyway. ;) (If you wanna be Marina A, you gonna have to fight me for Gwendal! I saw him first!! ;) )

[Anita18]

[b:14d3a0fcce]The Next Kwan![/b:14d3a0fcce]

[list:14d3a0fcce][*:14d3a0fcce]I got a skating dress! Well, not really....I'm taking a summer ballet class now and we have to wear a leotard with tights. So I got to thinking :wink: , and I got a velvet-ish leotard with skating tights, plus a wrap skirt. Multipurpose! (Not to mention those tights would be extremely hard to rip in other nonskating occasions! :lol: ) I was feelin' pretty this session! A lot of my skating buddies commented favorably on it, and I'll definitely do it again on if I have ballet before skating. :D To my surprise, skating in a skirt really didn't feel any different from skating in pants.
[*:14d3a0fcce]Spins! They're finally coming back! Well, they're still traveling, but it's definitely becoming less and I really felt that free leg pulling outward during the spin, like it's probably supposed to. :D Even my sitspin was cooperating! :D
[*:14d3a0fcce]Stroking felt really good today. Dunno why....[/list:u:14d3a0fcce]

[b:14d3a0fcce]What a Klutz![/b:14d3a0fcce]

[list:14d3a0fcce][*:14d3a0fcce]Backspin. Need I say more...Even tried a backsit, and only got around once, LOL. Most skaters at my rink have a harder time with backsits then a back scratch. Maybe I'll go back to working on that...
[*:14d3a0fcce]Toeloop. I'm not feelin' it...
[*:14d3a0fcce]Loop was kinda klutzy, but I got in two good ones after they tried to kick us off the ice, LOL...
[*:14d3a0fcce]Tried a camel today. I asked some people about how to learn a camel without actually doing a camel, and they all said, "Uh, just try it." Right.... :P
[*:14d3a0fcce]Darned racing-across-the-middle-of-the-rink hockey kids. :x :x One of them hit my free skate on a backspin exit, but luckily it wasn't hard enough to knock either of us off balance....[/list:u:14d3a0fcce]
Anita

[jazzpants]

I was at the Kathy Casey skating seminar today...against my better judgement b/c of my injury. Luckily for me I could still do 3-turns and jumps. (Can't spin though... ) And I wasn't really on the ice that much... I was standing and watching a lot too!!!

[b:985a9db26c]Kwan:[/b:985a9db26c]
Hey, Gary! My primary (male) coach looks pretty decent in his "Michelle Kwan" outfit!!! You might not look as bad as you think!!! :P

Besides Kathy Casey, today's celebrity coaches including Brian Boitano and Linda Leaver! I had two "Kwan" moments:

One came when BB saw my waltz jump landing. He made a minor adjustment to make sure my leg was straight behind me and to tell me to "puff up my chest." Outside of that, he liked my jump landing! :) He also liked what I did on one of my edge exercises, even though I was going slow as a snail's pace. :P "Hey! Look at YOU!!!" Very encouraging, considering that I know I really look sorta like a dork!!! :P(The edge exercise LFO3, slight two foot glide and push off on the right foot to a LBO edge, turn forward and repeat. The young'um can do them at faster glides and at long distance. I could do this exercise, but at a slower pace...)

Second Kwan moment. Linda Leaver on my loop. She spotted me on hold my land position and said "GOOD!!! Just keep your leg in front of you." (I assumed she meant while I was in the air and when I land. I'm supposed to then kick straight behind me to the land position.) :D

Off ice jump tracing classes were KEWL!!! (Everyone should learn to look at your jump tracing to troubleshoot your jumps!)

[b:985a9db26c]Klutz:[/b:985a9db26c]
Can't spin. The hamstring won't let me!!! :cry: Power pulls same too!!! Then again, I was never very good w/power pulls in the first place. :P And I have to cancel skating lessons with all my coaches 'til this heals too!!! (And the worst part is that I'm still going to go to this seminar... I'll warn everyone at the seminar that I just can't do much with the right leg right now...) :(

Cheers,
jazzpants

[Alexa]

The next Kwan--

I had a great lesson yesterday. My crossovers are going very well--I am finally doing them correctly. Learning the mohawk is going pretty well--I am not doing them without help yet, but am getting the feel of them. Also had some good 2 foot spins, and my backwards stroking went very well.

What a klutz--

I am working on backwards inside/outside edges and am still very clunky at that.

[garyc254]

[quote:b130a7afc2="jazzpants"]
[b:b130a7afc2]Kwan:[/b:b130a7afc2]
Hey, Gary! My primary (male) coach looks pretty decent in his "Michelle Kwan" outfit!!! You might not look as bad as you think!!! :P

[/quote:b130a7afc2]

You haven't seen my skinny legs and knobby knees!! :lol:


Monday Night Adult Only Session
Kwan (ok, I give in :lol: ): When a certain male ice dancer shows up, the women do their best to hide. He's very strange. Consequently, on those nights, I get lots of "the girls" begging me to dance. 8) I'm not a dancer particularly, but it's amazing how many girls are willing to do the Dutch Waltz with me over and over just so they don't have to dance with this guy. At one point, I was doing the Dutch with a girl on each arm.

Maybe I should learn the Canasta Tango, huh? :lol:

Klutz: When the session first starts, there were only a handful of us on the ice, so it's a great time to practice anything to the right or backwards moves. I was working on my BO edges, got a little too far back on my left blade, and took a dive. 8O Tailbone, head (goose egg), and arm are all bruised. OUCH!!! I took a couple of minutes break to get myself back together, then went back out for the balance of the session before my muscles stiffened up.

Maybe there IS something to be said for all of that hockey gear! :roll: :lol:

[Yazmeen]

Tip for the Day: NEVER tell your coach you didn't get in any practice since your last lesson/practice (no ice available with my schedule, plus the holiday)...

Michelle Kwan-like: ...In the course of a half hour she had me learn or review and go through:

1. Back extensions, alternating sides, down the line
2. Spirals, alternating left and right, both inside and outside edge down the line
3. 5 step mohawk sequence, alternating sides, down the line
(By the way, I plan to title my autobiography, if I ever write one, "Dr. Beth: I Lived My Life On The Blue Line"!!!)
4. Waltz jumps
5. Waltz jumps out of back crossovers
6. Half lutz out of back crossovers
7. Salchow
8. Salchow out of back crossovers 8O -- part of her "you must learn to do your jumps/moves while moving, not from a standstill" plan :) Gee, get the impression she gave me a good workout today? Seriously, it was great fun.

Then, as I had the time today (outside meetings instead of a hospital day) I promptly practiced all of it for another 75 minutes!!! And in the end, I do feel that I was at least somewhat "reaching Kwan" (the skater version of "Zen") on almost all of it. Honestly, even the salchow is approaching something resembling a real salchow, and my waltz jump is now a REAL jump, even out of back crossovers; in fact, my biggest happiness of the day was realizing that I can comfortably do it out of back crossovers, with decent speed, and I'm jumping, not just stepping through. WHOO HOO!!!

Klutz: My first attempt at the left inside mohawk sequence. I got through the back extension and promptly forgot what to do with which foot...shows you how long its been since I tried that (previous attempts--perhaps a dozen).

OK, everyone, repeat the mantra: "Kwan, Kwan, KWWWAAAANNNN, I will skate like Kwan....."

Grin,

Beth
:D

[Figureskates]

Kwan (I do not think the world is ready to see me in a skating skirt!!):

Waltz jump is getting better. It is now a case where I am going to have to practice, practice, practice...Lake Placid is where I will do a lot of that. Once I get some more speed I should get some more distance...

Backward cross-overs are coming along a lot better...again it is mpre practice, practice, practice...

Klutz: Working on the Salchow. First problem is the free leg during the three turn. Second problem is bringing the right leg through before I jump....folks, it's called coordination. It is going to take time before I sort this out in my brain then send the message to my skates. Madam coach wants me to have the rudimentary basics down so when I go to Lake Placid, you guessed it, practice, practice, practice. She figures if I get enough under my belt I can ask inteelegent questions if I get confused( KathkeenNK, CamAm sk8ter)..

[jenlyon60]

Truly [b:db76a841ed]Klutzy[/b:db76a841ed] today... I didn't get much of a warm-up since my lesson was 10 minutes earlier and it's on the first session of the day.

* Power 3's: Real bad today. Couldn't get a good check on the 3 to save me, and kept toe-tapping after I'd held the 3 a bit. Both sides.

* Alternating back crossovers to back outside edge. Actually this was the only decent part of the lesson. Coach said it was much improved except that I need to make sure I hold the back outside edge on the last repeat longer to make sure I return to my imaginary long axis. I remembered to open out the free side a bit more, which made the transition from the long back outside edge to the next back crossover MUCH neater.

* Foxtrot. Coach made me skate it faster today, closer to tempo, and my body didn't want to work that fast setting up for a couple of the steps, that early in the morning. Coach changed how I set up for the mohawk, which I'm not used to yet, except at slow speed.

[quarkiki2]

6th Lesson, Adult Alpha:

It was a Kwan lesson today! I am ready to test all of my stuff for Alpha, no problem! Crossovers started making sense about a week and a half ago and now I actually like doing them, LOL! (I posted the Crossover Connumdrum thread)
Right over left are suddenly smooth! As in: I can go around the circle over and over without a glitch! Yippee!! Only issue is that I'm toe-pushing slightly, but when I concentrated on not doing that, I didn't.
Left over right have poked their shy head out for a second week in a row, YAY! They're still not as smooth as the other, but I can do the consecutively now without extra pushes. On this side, I need to work on setting my left foot down avoiding the toepick -- I catch the tiniest bit of pick every now and then and scratch a bit, thus slowing me down. I usually spend most of my lesson doing these because it's so hard to swim against the grain in public sessions.
Snowplow stop disappeared a bit, but only because my stroking is more powerful and I'm not used to stopping at a higher speed -- should be OK by next week because I could do it at the slower speed last week.
Worked on backward stroking -- I'm not particularly smooth most of the time, but every now and then I hit a groove and can stroke 8-10 times in a row. I think I know where I need to be to be balanced, now I just need to do it, LOL!!
Played around with T-stops and upright spirals on both feet. For someone who had a challenged right foot, I'm finding out that my balance is now BETTER on that foot, go figure!

Klutzy: There was a new person in my group-of-2 lesson and she was a very, very basic beginner who was making up a lesson. The other gentleman in my group has improved tremendously and should probably pass his pre-Alpha test next week, but this woman actually looked frightened on the ice. She took quite a bit of my instructor's time, which is fine, but I gotta say that I was getting a little bored of crossovers for 20 minutes straight -- now I know why group lessons shouldn't have three levels of skaters at one time with one instructor. I started working backward stroking on my own because I needed to do something else for a while. Instructor didn't mind, though, that I moved on by myself.

It's amazing how used to the semi-private lesson I am, even after only 6 weeks, LOL! I am taking a make-up lesson myself on Saturday, so who knows what that class and instructor will be like?

[garyc254]

[quote:5e019f8d42="Yazmeen"]Tip for the Day: NEVER tell your coach you didn't get in any practice since your last lesson/practice (no ice available with my schedule, plus the holiday)...[/quote:5e019f8d42]

I learned that lesson months ago. :lol:

Now, when my coach asks me if I've practiced, I say "I'm having trouble with my ??????". :twisted:

That gives my coach something to concentrate on. :wink:

[LoopLoop]

Kwan:
* Making progress on double loop! I'm getting my arms pulled all the way in, now I need to get my legs tighter to finish the rotation in the air instead of on the ice.
* Flying change sit is flying (just a little bit, but it's so much fun!).
* Had a lesson with a potential new coach on Monday, and that was fun too.

Klutz:
* Camel spins are gone until I get my skates sharpened this weekend.
* Failed my juvenile MITF again last weekend. My own fault, I held back on the 8-step mohawk and was too tentative.
* Axel STILL cheated every single time. If only I could get my feet to stay crossed...

[Terri C]

[quote="garyc254"][quote:e190bf93f7="Yazmeen"]Tip for the Day: NEVER tell your coach you didn't get in any practice since your last lesson/practice (no ice available with my schedule, plus the holiday)...[/quote:e190bf93f7]

Guess What- I told my coaches that yesterday when I had lessons with both of them!

Kwan: Finally... A REAL SALCHOW!! Both back and forward scratch spins came back when I did. Also wearing my new leotard and skirt tomake sure what new practice outfits I bought for camp fit okay- felt like a real skater!
Moves haven't gone away, either!

Klutz:
Still.. that d@#$ sitspin! Can't get low enough and hold position or get into position at all! Still doing toe- waltz jumps instead of toe loops!

[TashaKat]

Quick 'Klutzy' 'cos it's funny (wasn't at the time) and I'll post the rest later when I've had some sleep!

BACKGROUND

On Monday evening I had root canal treatment, it was a tough job with lots of platelets (the red stuff!) flying around and he warned me that I'd be sore for a few days!!! Ouchie, am I SORE!!! Anyway ..... bring on heavy duty painkillers and even THOSE only work for 90 minutes before wearing off. This morning, before 5.30 am I managed to slice through my thumb whilst making sannies for lunch .... lots more platelets all over the kitchen ....... and then drop a cup and STAND on the broken bits in bare feet ........ even MORE platelets on the kitchen floor ....... so this didn't bode well for my skating lesson!

LESSON

Ran through elements in my programme - ok.

Started programme, music on, skated away and was about 10 seconds behind the music!

Started again after getting yelled at for skating too slowly ...... this time I was about 8 seconds behind the music ......

Ok, one more try .......... and again ........ again about 7 seconds behind the music!

I skated over to her, I could NOT figure out what was wrong ........ she said that I didn't SEEM to be skating THAT slowly ........ and then she spotted it! The REAL cut!!! We'd added 10 extra seconds to the first cut in order to fit a certain piece of music to my step sequence!!!! I'd been killing myself trying to make up these 10 seconds and failing miserably!!! After guffaws and an apology from coach I ran through the programme with the CORRECT cut this time! I was SERIOUSLY crap ..... by this time I was totally exhausted :(

Quote of the day has to be:

"You're maintaining your speed throughout the step sequence, that's good. Unfortunately the speed that you're maintaining is extremely slow!"

L x

[jazzpants]

This is for yesterday's skating camp session...

[b:5ba66f4206]Kwan:[/b:5ba66f4206]
[list:5ba66f4206][*:5ba66f4206]Working with Sarah Kawahara in a huge group number!!! WOO HOO!!![*:5ba66f4206]Asking BB what his off ice training routine is. (Yoga and biking, if you're curious.)[*:5ba66f4206]Toe loop was at least not a toe-waltz!!! :P The helper coach that was working on toe loops liked my toe loop.[/list:u:5ba66f4206]
[b:5ba66f4206]Klutz:[/b:5ba66f4206][list:5ba66f4206][*:5ba66f4206]Off ice jumps!!! Can barely get one revolutions on the loop jump as is. Can't get myself to wrap around tighter yet. GRRRR!!! (The jump back then jump back again with one rev. exercise is kinda KEWL though...) Also, trying not to land on the right foot (hamstring) too much...[/list:u:5ba66f4206]Cheers,
jazzpants

[jazzpants]

This is for today's Kathy Casey skating seminar:

[b:6970aa5ed7]Klutz:[/b:6970aa5ed7]
[list:6970aa5ed7][*:6970aa5ed7]Edge class: the FO3 step to BO3 exercise. I definitely looked like a dork in there.... EWWWWW!!! :([*:6970aa5ed7]Backspin exercise for practicing rotation: (to Kathy) Yes, I already know I have a crappy inside edge backspin!!! :cry: [*:6970aa5ed7]The flips and lutz session with Linda Leaver!!! (I have no stinkin' flip or lutz, never mind my attempts at doing the flips left my hamstring complaining!!!) I ended up practicing backspins in the corner while everyone else was getting their turn in doing a single/double flip or lutz. *sigh*[/list:u:6970aa5ed7][b:6970aa5ed7]Kwan:[/b:6970aa5ed7][list:6970aa5ed7][*:6970aa5ed7]Edge class: the swing roll exercise!!! It's challenging, but I did okay...[*:6970aa5ed7]Salchow: Helper coach liked my salchow a lot! Then Kathy wanted the students who don't already have a double sal to work on salchow land to a backspin. Don't know how, but I managed to do one attempt in front of Kathy...who promptly said "HEY!!! There you go! You did it!!!"[*:6970aa5ed7]Q&A session with our local US National judge (who's also our new prez in our skating club) was cool too!!! He assured me that my black boots were OKAY for testing!!! :D ("Black boot? No problem...if it goes with black tights...definitely gives it a nice line.") Same with over the boot tights. But he did say for women that you MUST wear a skirt!!! :( (Oh, well! Can't have them all!!) :P [*:6970aa5ed7]Same judge said for those adults who are testing adult moves like me that you are still going to be judged for the same things. The only difference is that the passing average is lower, that's why the expectation isn't as high. (Translation: He's not gonna go easier on you, just because you're testing on the adult track!)[*:6970aa5ed7]Last but not least... IT'S OVER!!! HALLELUJAH!!! I'm glad it's over!!! I'm gonna rest my hamstrings!!! (And boy, are my legs tired!!!)[/list:u:6970aa5ed7]Cheers,
jazzpants

[Yazmeen]

Lynne: Will you kindly stop trying to bleed to death slowly? You are hereby, Doctor ordered, to stop flinging platelets around--same for red cells, white cells and other plasma components.... :P

At practice today:

Klutz: Adult pre bronze MITF. I looked like a tired old ostrich out there--I just needed a place to bury my head in the sand, er, ice. Stroking was poor, edges were OK (except back insides, pathetic) forward crossovers fair, back crossovers mediocre. Three turns? For the first time in my life, insides actually seemed to go better than outsides. Possibly because I was so PO'd with my FO3's today that I just did the insides without really thinking about them...go figure...

In like Kwan: Back extensions, forward spirals and inside mohawks down the line. Same for waltz jump. Half lutz was wonky, but I seem to be at least getting it. Salchow attempts were at least respectable and one was quite nice, nearly a "real" salchow. And then I ran out of time. No skating again until my lesson Tuesday :( (Saturday rink is closed till the 17th for usual summer maintenance. I'm having withdrawl symptoms because next to my home rink, its my favorite).

So a half and half day, overall. I'll still take it, though!!!

Beth

[KJD]

This is for the last week or so. Finally passed my Juvenile MIF this Sunday. So, so, so sick of working on them. I don't think it was as good a test as the one I failed in May - a little loud and scratchy but certainly had power. Axel is now in its more consistant phase. Have done them moving more or less where it will go in the program without much trouble this week. Downside...camel spins are detiorating (what is with this spin anyway) and I still don't have the stamina to get through the 2:40 I need for the Gold Test on August 30. More off-ice conditioning. Sigh.

[TashaKat]

[quote:e2e1641d0d="Yazmeen"]Lynne: Will you kindly stop trying to bleed to death slowly? You are hereby, Doctor ordered, to stop flinging platelets around--same for red cells, white cells and other plasma components.... :P
Beth[/quote:e2e1641d0d]

LOL, will try!

WHATEVER FROM WHATEVER PLANET I'M CIRCLING AT PRESENT!

Gob is still hurting like mad, painkillers are being ingested by the bucketload :( Hence skating is somewhat er, erratic!

Field Moves - "well, they've improved, I don't know HOW"

Jumps - Flip and Loop are fine, Lutz has deteriorated because I haven't practised it for an age, Axel, suprisingly isn't 'too' bad .... will have to start working on it again I've GOT to get this thing!!!

Spins - getting MORE decent camels and backspins but neither are consistent yet. Did a couple of 'okayish' change sits, haven't even attempted a change camel and the layback has been consigned to the 'must practise some day' bin

Twizzles - except for the back twizzles where I unwrap my legs too early, they're all going fairly well, the FI one's (both feet) are even identifiable!

Dance - feel like I'm getting worse, it was much better a few weeks ago, don't know what the problem is :(

Programme - urgh, the first bit is FINE up to the step sequence, camel isn't always 'there' but when it is it's 'good'. The step sequence is always crap but sometimes more crap than usual. Today it was deemed to be 'the best yet' but I'm still wimping out of the double LBI3 :( on occasions! My basic skating after the step sequence came in for a rollocking :( Apparently I look like I can't skate (Shirelle speak for I'm not stretching free legs and am not bringing feet back together and bending for the push and am probably sticking my butt out too).

Other stuff - she's trying to get me to do the following:

FO3 - bring free leg around and cross it over CAUSING yourself to turn back to forwards (it's NOT a double 3, it's like the first half as a 3, the second as a twizzle) - without uncrossing the legs do a FI3 ending up with the free leg crossed in front - then a BI3. For SOME reason I can do the 'harder' version of a double FO3 but this half and half thing eludes me! I got it once which is an improvement ;)

I'm going to try and cut my 'proposed' interpretive music at the weekend to see if Madame likes it. I'm getting bored at the mo because I'm working towards 4 tests [i:e2e1641d0d](Inter-Silver dance, Inter-Bronze Field Moves, Free and Elements - for those of you in the UK I KNOW that the titles have changed but a) I don't LIKE the new titles, I think that they devalue the test system, I'm working on 'Gold-something' dance and, well, to me a 'Gold' dancer is my coach! and b) I can't remember what level I am under the new system)[/i:e2e1641d0d]. I'm 'hoping' to do the 'Childhood' theme from Free Willy. I've always loved that music but it doesn't fit into any of the other categories :( so fingers crossed that she's inspired!!!!

STILL haven't got beautiful purple boots attached to less beautiful silver Gold Seals :(

L x

[icenut84]

Had a practice only today (didn't have to go to college), think maybe I shouldn't have bothered! ( 8O For me, that's a big thing to say, lol)
Ok, firstly I almost missed the bus to the train station because I was running late. Almost run down the road (15-20 min walk usually), manage to get it (the next one isn't for about 3 hours!). First train journey is fine (although I had to stand), but have to wait ages for the connection (longer than I thought I would have to). Get on 2nd train. It's normally a 15 minute journey. Get there 1hr15m later. Oh, the joys of British Rail. We broke down after 10 minutes and were informed that the brakes were shot and we would have to wait for the train that had just passed us to go to it's destination (the nearest city) and come back to push us!! One girl asked if we could get off and walk and she was told that if she did she would get herself killed. So we spent an hour sitting on the train doing nothing! I read almost every article in the Metro newspaper I picked up. So we finally get going after the other train comes back, and I got to the rink an hour and a half after I would have had the train not broken down. I also had to go to the chemist on the way to buy some hair bobbles because I forgot mine, and there's no way I can skate with my hair loose. (Can you say haystack?) Oh, I also forgot my skating trousers, so I had to skate in my jeans! :roll: But also, because I got to the rink late, I didn't get to speak to my coach about my boot problems (he left at 1 and I got there at about 1:15) - I will speak to him in my lesson on Saturday but the problem is there's never really any time to sit down and talk, or for me to show him my boot and the blood stain in it! :(
Jeez... and then, if everything else didn't go askew, the ice was really poo! There was a school trip there (I waited till they'd gone and had some toast :) ) and they didn't resurface the ice when they were scheduled to, so it was really screwed up. There was loads of rubbish on it too! Blinkin kids. :roll: Sweet wrappers and soggy tissues and foil and bits and bobs and some larger things I didn't want to touch! And chewing gum!! Good gawd.

Ok, I've rambled for long enough :) My skating wasn't great today (I blame the ice and my rubbishy blades - I REALLY need new ones. I'm thinking Coronation Ace. Have to investigate on Sat.). My 2 foot spin was a little better, but my 1 foot spin wasn't so hot. (I'm SO on the toe pick!)
Waltz jump took a bit of persuading but then showed it's face. Good height but I still don't feel like I'm swinging through enough. Salchow so-so. Toe loop ok (but hurt my foot!). Half loop zero height and not remotely elegant. Didn't even try loop because I'm never ever going to get it.
Spirals all right (surprisingly! Considering I was in jeans!)
Back inside pivots better, forward inside pivots getting there (never been taught them, just wanted to try them)
3 turns and mohawks fine.
Because my elements weren't exactly ace, practiced crossovers and edges and turns etc, and steps/movements etc.

4 girls were there (aged about 13-15 I think) - came up to me when I was relacing my boot, said I was "really good" and that they envied me!! 8) lol. They wanted me to teach them something so I taught them to skate backwards :D

[tidesong]

Klutz:
I have been falling so much on the same spot that my butt (or the muscle around there) hurts whenever I land any jump, so I tried like about 10 odd axels and dble salchows only thursday.
Same for the flying camel... didnt get to practise that at all...

Kwan(oh I wish!):
Heh, I was out of jumps so I practise more spins... the last four or five skating sessions has been spin spin spin and amazingly I have improved! Not that much, my spins are still relatively slow but I am going the slightest bit faster and I can hold a lot more rounds on everything... even my back camel, I think I got three rounds at one time :)
My layback got 5 rounds... I'm so happy :)
Still working on power and speed with each stroke and more footwork patterns

[Anita18]

[b:ebb12a3aa9]The Next Kwan![/b:ebb12a3aa9]

[list:ebb12a3aa9][*:ebb12a3aa9]I landed my first lutz! Well, it was probably horribly flutzed, but I was on the outside edge until the very last second.... :roll: Hey, it was an accomplishment since I only did skate for 15 minutes today in a really pissed mood (see "klutz" part..)
[*:ebb12a3aa9]Sit spin was finally working yesterday!
[*:ebb12a3aa9]Backspin too! (see "klutz")
[*:ebb12a3aa9]Loop. I finally felt I was leaning forward on them less, but I'm still leaning forward. Must fix...but they are feeling better![/list:u:ebb12a3aa9]

[b:ebb12a3aa9]What a Klutz:[/b:ebb12a3aa9]

[list:ebb12a3aa9][*:ebb12a3aa9]Today I only got to skate for only 15 minutes, thanks to my lil sis who wanted me to drop her off at the movies last minute. :roll: Soo, I was pissed and planned to go back later, but couldn't. Oh well...I landed a lutz! :D
[*:ebb12a3aa9]Backspin. I overkill for the BO edge, and end up with my hip sticking out and my shoulders leaning in to compensate for it. :roll: Well, when I concentrated on being straight, it worked more or less...
[*:ebb12a3aa9]Scratch spin. They were so good on Monday!! :cry: :cry: :cry: [/list:u:ebb12a3aa9]
Anita

[Debbie S]

The Next Kwan

My scratch spin looks much better than it did a couple weeks ago. Now, if only I could stop whacking either my leg or my boot w/ my free foot when I pull in! :)

Waltz jump and half flip are coming along nicely - I just have to work on staying on an outside edge when I land.

In my first freestyle class (USFSA level 1), we practiced stroking and crossovers, and my "bad" direction is getting better. My instuctor was reminding me to stretch out my free leg more.


What a Klutz

For the summer, all the freestyle people are grouped together, b/c of the small number. So after the stroking part, the instructor announced we were going to work on the salchow. Keep in mind that this is a Free 3 skill, and I just started Free 1. So of course I had no idea how to do one, but the good news is I wasn't the only one. The instructor demonstrated for us and had us practice away from the others who were actually doing the jump. She came over and worked with us on the technique, and as she was helping me, I nearly fell doing the outside 3-turn. Arrgghh! Anyway, she said that I understand the technique, after which I joked that the only thing I needed to do was actually complete a rev. in the air :)

Then we worked on toe loops, which I learned the last day of Basic 8 and which I really can't do yet - I do the Sarah Hughes version (that was NOT intended to be a bash), where I stay on my toe as I turn around. Oh well, I'm a work in progress. The scary part was that the instructor wanted us to demonstrate one at a time, so I had to do my (rough around the edges) toe loop in front of everyone! I was just happy to land on my feet, but I'm sure my technique was horrible. The instructor assumed that it was the first time I had ever tried one, so I decided not to tell her that I'd worked on it before.

I guess the good news is that I've got lots of things to practice on Sunday!

[Figureskates]

Debbie S.

We are doing the exact same thing...right down thw line and are having the same problems. Now I do not feel so bad any more..

Which way is your "bad direction"? Mine is counterclockwise. I am so retarded in that direction!!

Just started the Sal...once I get coordinated I should do alright.

Have you started back outside 3 turns yet? Whole new dimension in terror...

[Debbie S]

Figureskates,

My bad direction is CW. I guess it's b/c most skating sessions have people going CCW, and that's the direction I tend to go in, even now that I'm practicing in the freestyle sessions. In Basic 8, I had that combo move w/ the mohawk turn down perfectly going CCW but w/ CW, it took me a while to stop tripping over my feet.

We haven't done the BO 3s yet. The instructor said at the beginning of class that everyone starts out doing forward stroking and crossovers (F and B) together and then we break up into different (ability) groups for specific skills, but she kept us together Wednesday. Maybe b/c it was the first class. I guess we'll start doing some more moves next week, so the BO 3 is coming. I actually tried it in practice last Sunday, just turning from front to back on one foot, and you're right, it was scary. And I didn't even stay on one foot - as soon as I turned, I put my free foot down in response to my "terror"!

Good luck with your lessons. And hopefully, I'll have "Kwan" things to report after my practice this weekend.

[flo]

Kyoko: passed the bronze and silver pairs tests yesterday. The bronze test was ok, but not as strong as I would have liked. I rushed things a little and so our synchrony was not the best.
The silver test was interesting. Before we took the ice one of the judges had a question about the music length for the new pairs tests. I had had the same question and had e-mailed the USFSA for clarification, and my coach also spoke to one of the judges who was on the pannel. Apparently I was given incorrect information that would have resulted in deductions even though I had the e-mail response with me, showing that I had got a decision from USFSA. My coach wanted to postpone the second test, but I was ready to take it and had waited long enough. I asked him to put on another cut of the music with additional time in it that he had used for another test (at that point I was going to play anything that fit the time length). He was a bit hesitant, but I convinced him that we could do it, and we went out and skated. When it came to the extra music, which was in the middle of the program, we did a serpentine spiral sequence that covered the length of the ice and came off pretty well. I would say that although I've made up things on the spot before, this is a first for pairs test! It turned out to be a much stronger performance than the first, and It was really a lot of fun.

[Mrs Redboots]

Lynne, thank you! You obviously had the root canal my husband was supposed to have had, but the dentist who said this left, and the other one said he only needed a filling, after all! Whew!

Icenut 84, it would have been better in the olden days when it WAS British Rail. These days all these private companies.....

First time I've skated all week, due to [b:cb669f6111]this[/b:cb669f6111] (http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/Photos/egrad.html), which you will agree is a worthwhile excuse.

[b:cb669f6111][color=brown:cb669f6111]Klutz[/color:cb669f6111][/b:cb669f6111]: We had just had our skates sharpened. Robert was fine, but I could do very little the first hour, it felt like skating through treacle! We did try to run through the Golden Skaters' waltz, which we have allowed ourselves to be talked into doing at a RIDL tomorrow night, but it wasn't much cop. Robert was cross because I was panting and sweating, and he said we weren't going fast enough. I am longing to have a lesson to try to learn [i:cb669f6111]how[/i:cb669f6111] to do some of the things the judge told us we should be working on.

[b:cb669f6111][color=orange:cb669f6111]K-wannabe:[/color:cb669f6111][/b:cb669f6111] (how's that for a compromise?) After Robert had gone to work, I sat and chatted to another skater who should have been practising but wasn't, and then got back on the ice when a friend came in. After about ten minutes, my skates were suddenly perfect! So I did my changes of edge, better than I've ever done them (largely thanks to the seminar with Joan Slater last Sunday), and worked hard on my back cross-rolls. But my back cross-cuts have vanished, and I was doing them so well on Sunday..... oh well!

Don't know when I'll next get a solo lesson; I am working every morning next week, as my boss takes a well-earned holiday, and so can't have my usual Wednesday morning, and the week after my coach is on holiday AND there is no patch ice because of hockey school! Oh well, it won't do me any harm, and I'll try to fit in a lesson some time next week, if only 15 minutes. Meanwhile we have our joint lesson on Sunday as per usual.

[LoopLoop]

Practiced Wednesday night and had another lesson with my potential new coach this morning...

[b:7550d5ea3a]Kwan[/b:7550d5ea3a]
* Back camel and flying camel are significantly faster
* Double loop is straighter in the air, even though it's still cheated
* Current coach said it's time to start working on double flip too

[b:7550d5ea3a]Klutz[/b:7550d5ea3a]
* Fell on a whole bunch of flying change sits
* Fell hard on a deathdrop attempt this morning
* No fully-rotated axels this week
* Potential new coach doesn't like my salchow at all (but then again, neither do I)

Marna

[JDC1]

Hi all. I was wondering where most of the people from FSW had ended up. I didn't skate much this past week but I did have a lesson on MOnday where I made some progress

Kwan - I had a GREAT LFO spiral where my leg was totally turned out and secure, boy was I happy. I am actually using my arms correctly in a waltz jump (most of the time) before I was bringing them in to my side and it was very awkward. Had a break through on the loop- had had one brief lesson on the loop and had been getting 1/4 around but now I actually got 1/2 around and I really hope I can get the whole revolution this week-end. I figured out my problem was that I wasn't "pausing" and holding my edge before I tried to jump. I actually have very little fear of the loop jump because when I fall I can control it whereas the waltz scared the crap out of me, but strangely not anymore.

Klutz - I cannot spin well, not even a 2 foot. I think I get nervous and rush the process. I have a bad habit of my hips opening up (very bendy) so I have to work on keeping my hips closed and my eyes open. I like to close my eyes when I spin (nope I don't get dizzy) but it freaks my coach out and she says it's a bad habit so I am trying to unlearn it. The kinda sad part is that spinning is the reason I started lessons in the first place!! Oh well, I am trying to be patient but I am very envious of all the good spinners.



Eek, poor Lynne!!

Jazzpants - wow! I would be so intimidated skating around BB and LL! What a wonderful opportunity.

[size=18:b333281b4f][/size:b333281b4f][size=12:b333281b4f][/size:b333281b4f]

[CanAmSk8ter]

[b:7c01c488b8]Klutz[/b:7c01c488b8] OMG, I am exhausted. I barely make it to Fridays at this point. I'm skating three sessions a day M-F, taking ballet MWF, skating one session on Saturday, and taking ballroom dance on Sundays, and teaching the kiddies Thursday and Saturday. I had to skip ballet today after my morning session was delayed when no one showed up to open the rink until thirty-five minues after I was supposed to be on the ice. I went home and fell asleep.

[b:7c01c488b8]The next Kraatz[/b:7c01c488b8] (Obvious choice for me, as everyone who knows me knows that Shae-Lynn is my favorite favorite favorite skater). Um, after my nap I skated really well this afternoon. My coach told someone the other day that I have three dances left until I can take my Blues and I said, no I have four, and he said he wasn't counting the European because it's ready as soon as I have a chance to test- which is going to be ON MY TWENTY-FIRST BIRTHDAY! How's that for unfair? Oh well, what can I do? At least he thinks I'll pass. Then he said, actually, it's more like two because your Rocker's almost ready to go too. Good news, as I have to compete the Rocker for the final rounds at Lake Placid in less than three weeks.

[mikawendy]

:D Kwan (bwaaah-hah-hah)--I'm in Basic 4 lessons and the Sunday BEFORE my first lesson, I did my first 3-turn (RFO)!!! :D I didn't even know I had done it right--I kept expecting to come out of it on a forward edge instead of RBI cuz when my instructor had taught it to us at the end of Basic 3, I was so terrified that I never finished one. On TV it looks like they rotate 360 degrees, so I must have been watching double 3s...
Then at my lesson, I was able to crank out a few more, better RFO3s and a shaky LFO3. But I quake in terror at the thought of inside and back 3s!!!

:roll: Klutz--We're learning forward crossovers and the CW ones feel absolutely yucky to me!! The odd thing is that I SPIN better CW (but my 2-foot spin hasn't been that great lately either. It was great on the day I tested Basic 3--but of course my instructor wasn't looking when I was doing my warm-up and the spins were nice and tight and "narrow"-feeling, then I stumbled out of it when he was looking...)

Speaking of KLUTZ... The other kid in my level (he's about 8 years old ) has NOOOOO concept of where people are on the ice. He nearly knocked us all over while we were practicing crossovers on a circle.

The Basic 5s in my mixed-level class are great though! They are so eager to learn and they were grinning ear-to-ear when the instructor told them they would be learning back crossovers and side-toe-hops!

[TashaKat]

[quote:a9f7e2b409="Mrs Redboots"]Lynne, thank you! You obviously had the root canal my husband was supposed to have had, but the dentist who said this left, and the other one said he only needed a filling, after all! Whew![/quote:a9f7e2b409]

LOL, anything to oblige :) I was 'quite' lucky anyway 8O in that I was scheduled to have TWO root canals done but he decided that I only needed ONE! I've now got a raging infection which, at least, explains the pain :( At least it's a good excuse as to why I was so wiped out at skating last week!!

Because of said infection (including extreme tiredness, hot sweats, pain, agony ........ sympathy? LOL) I'm not skating again until Tuesday but at least it will give me time to cut some music for my Interpretive :) I'm BORED with skating right now and desperate to do something different.

Have a good weekend everyone.

L x

[Mrs Redboots]

[quote:f90450bfaa="TashaKat"]
Because of said infection (including extreme tiredness, hot sweats, pain, agony ........ sympathy? LOL) I'm not skating again until Tuesday but at least it will give me time to cut some music for my Interpretive :) I'm BORED with skating right now and desperate to do something different.
[/quote:f90450bfaa]

Lots of sympathy! Poor you, how very nasty. A good reason not to go to the dentist, I always think - if my mouth doesn't hurt, why should I spend good money having it made to hurt?

But - bored with skating? Oh dear, you [i:f90450bfaa]must[/i:f90450bfaa] be ill! Surely, to misquote Dr Johnson, if you are tired of skating, you are tired of life?

All the same, I could live without having to skate in a RIDL this afternoon!

[TashaKat]

[quote:02a6200e28="Mrs Redboots"]Lots of sympathy! Poor you, how very nasty. A good reason not to go to the dentist, I always think - if my mouth doesn't hurt, why should I spend good money having it made to hurt?

But - bored with skating? Oh dear, you [i:02a6200e28]must[/i:02a6200e28] be ill! Surely, to misquote Dr Johnson, if you are tired of skating, you are tired of life?

All the same, I could live without having to skate in a RIDL this afternoon![/quote:02a6200e28]

Thanks Annabel :) When I said I was bored with skating I actually meant with my current 'place' in my skating 'career'. All I'm doing at the moment is working for various tests and I'm bored stupid. A break from the norm means working on the dances of the test above (Rocker and Blues - LOVE both dances but pulling them to pieces at every lesson loses some of the joy!). That's why an interpretive would give me the opportunity to do something different (I've just ordered a US skating book which gives details of ballet jumps, falling leafs etc and HOPE to get Madame to incorporate (and teach me) some of those!).

Where's the RIDL this afternoon? Hope you have a good time, those things sound like great fun :)

L x

[Mrs Redboots]

[quote:2cc66419c0="TashaKat"]
Where's the RIDL this afternoon? Hope you have a good time, those things sound like great fun :)

L x[/quote:2cc66419c0]
Well, why don't you? The one at your rink is in September, I can't remember the date; ours is on 1 September. And if your club doesn't need you to dance for it (and I'm fairly sure they would - they are as short of senior dancers as we are - then you can dance for us!).

Today's was Gosport's, at Guildford. Robert and I were skating for Slough and were delighted that we had a lucky draw and actually [size=18:2cc66419c0][color=red:2cc66419c0]WON OUR MATCH!!!!! [/color:2cc66419c0][/size:2cc66419c0]This is the first time this has ever happened to us, and we are delighted. Okay, so it is largely luck - there are folks there who we wouldn't have won against in a million years - but even still, it does mean we are making progress!

The [color=olive:2cc66419c0][b:2cc66419c0]Klutz[/b:2cc66419c0][/color:2cc66419c0] bit was that I had taken my over-boot tights, and forgot to pack any socks! So I had to skate bare-footed. Luckily, my skates don't rub anywhere, but I don't think that's something I'd want to repeat unless I had to, or not without loads and loads of talc on first. My feet were really sticky, and I was just "off" a bit. So I didn't skate much other than for our match, and a couple of dances besides. But then, I never do at RIDLs.

[TashaKat]

[quote:be5626578a="Mrs Redboots"] Today's was Gosport's, at Guildford. Robert and I were skating for Slough and were delighted that we had a lucky draw and actually [size=18:be5626578a][color=red:be5626578a]WON OUR MATCH!!!!! [/color:be5626578a][/size:be5626578a]This is the first time this has ever happened to us, and we are delighted. Okay, so it is largely luck - there are folks there who we wouldn't have won against in a million years - but even still, it does mean we are making progress![/quote:be5626578a]

[color=orange:be5626578a][size=18:be5626578a]YAY!!! Well done Annabel :) Keep up the good work[/size:be5626578a][/color:be5626578a]
L x

[jenlyon60]

[color=red:7b4fbf6dd3]WON OUR MATCH!!!!! [/color:7b4fbf6dd3][/size:7b4fbf6dd3]This is the first time this has ever happened to us, and we are delighted. Okay, so it is largely luck - there are folks there who we wouldn't have won against in a million years - but even still, it does mean we are making progress!



CONGRATS TO Mrs RedBoots and husband Robert on a GREAT SKATE!!!

(couldn't post earlier since my home computer is dead...)