Shaking off the summer rust

 So, last night a few of us got out on the new ice. For me, this is the first time this season. I'll get the bad news out of the way first: I hogged my very first stone!

 In my defense, it was some VERY frosty/wonky/sticky ice. The last few days here in Rochester have been very warm, with high humidity. And it really shows on the ice. Our club put ice down a little early for the Senior Games this weekend. Unfortunately now we are experiencing a little bit of an Indian summer.

 Also, the ice was running extremely straight. I found myself begging out loud for even a little curl. But according to Team Canada (Alberta) who were practicing for the Senior Games on sheet D, 'green ice' (new, fresh ice) will typically run pretty straight. Sure enough, as the night went on, more and more of our stones were finally picking up a tiny bit of curl.

 After we threw a few practice rocks, we split into two teams (3 on 3) and had a little bit of game. It was a lot of fun, and it was exciting to see everyone play so well for early season. I had a few killer shots. Some very nice weight. I was fairly good about staying on line. And I managed to pull a few good hits out of the bag as well. I was just trying to be conscious of all my movements. Sometimes though, a little TOO conscious. I noticed on some of the screwier shots of mine, I was thinking too much. I was actually talking to myself, running through all the pointers I've picked up. I think then I was distracting myself! When delivering, there needs to be a break in everything: Talk yourself through it, talk yourself out of your bad habits, get lined up, THEN shut up/shut your mind up, and then just do it. Ah well, just one more thing to work on.

 Also what I need to work on: The toe shift!! I was doing it again last night. I would line myself up in the hack, get ready, and then at the last second my hack toe would click over to a 45 degree angle! Totally an involuntary move. I would catch it out of the corner of my eye, and sometimes when it was quiet on the ice I would actually hear it happen. Then I would have to make an effort to click it back and hold it straight. I hate this. I hate that I don't know why I'm doing it. I hate it when I don't catch it, and then leave the hack a little off line. Hopefully I can work this bad habit out of me! We'll see.

 The Senior Games this weekend are going to postpone anymore practice time we can get, but my Thursday night skip is trying to get us all out there as much as possible before the season starts. He is trying to line up a practice game for his Wednesday night men's team (the Husband is on that team) for next week, so I'll probably head over then and knock around on the next sheet.

 Feel free to leave a comment and let me know how your transition from Summer to Curling is going. I'm curious to hear how people get into the right mindset. Good Curling! (It's fun to say that again.)

We have houses!

 It's getting closer...can you feel it???

 A bunch of us met at the club last Thursday night and painted the ice. The houses are Purple and Green. Yes, you read that right. And yes, it's a little odd when you first look at it. Purple and Green are in our club logo, and it grows on you after a while. The green is a very pretty, true, Kelly green. And the purple goes well with it.

An homage to our club logo? or the Joker??

 This was my first time painting ice, and it was fun. 3 out of 4 of our Thursday team painted together, so it was a little team building exercise. Gotta work together and stay within the lines!

Our team did the green in these houses.

 There is chatter amongst my teammates to get together soon and have some practice time. I'll let you know how that goes. It seems like everyday I'm mentally going over all the tips I received at camp. I can't wait to practice them some more.