Social Media updates

I recently signed up for the new Meta app, Threads. It will take some time for me to find "my" people over there as many have not made the jump yet. This is perhaps the third different Twitter alternative I have tried and it might be the best, One thing I don't like right off is the lack of a desktop option. I am old and do not like conducting my life on the small screen of my cell phone. I enjoy scrolling as opposed to swiping. Time will tell if I become very active on Threads - waiting for the horse racing community to make a choice here.

    Speaking of which, I had recently followed a racetracker who is part owner of a horse I follow as he seemed to be totally smitten with this horse and I loved seeing the daily updates and pictures. However, this morning I unfollowed him as he had mocked another member of my online community for something I felt did not deserve his disdain or derogatory title. This had been coming for a while as he has also been a very vocal critic of a writer for a national racing publication for what he perceived of as an uber-negative comment about a trainer and also been very vocal and not very respectful in his pleas for the New York racing Authority to assign his trainer better stalls at Saratoga. I did not find the writer's assessment to be off the mark and while I agree that NYRA should be more sympathetic to the trainers who base their operations at Saratoga all the months the track is open for training as well as racing I think there are better ways to approach the problem than pleading on social media. Hence the straw that broke the camel's back today and resulted in the unfollow button being utilized. I don't follow people for the dramas they thrive on and this crossed the line for me.

    Still working on new stock for the upcoming Brunswick show. Another new show for me and one everyone has said should be a good one. We'll see. My first show in that area in several years so maybe it will be great. Hope the weather cooperates. (Thankfully, my last outdoor show for the year.)

    The weather is still gross. Too humid, too hot on the sunny days too wet on the cloudy ones. And today we have wildfire smoke drifting down from Canada which I can already smell this morning. Relief is coming in a couple of days - drier and clear. Cannot wait. Will vacuum and wash the kitchen floor. 

Racing updates:

 Re-reading previous posts has yielded the following updates:

1) Caravel did not make the trip to Ascot. Cannot remember the reason but it was all good as I was distracted by getting ready for the Belfast show and did not have ready access to the coverage (NBC decided to place most of the week in their Peacock streaming platform and I was reluctant to pay for an entire month). Saturday was available on regular cable channels but I was in Belfast with no way to watch. There was one shining US moment - George Weaver, in what I think was his first trip to Ascot, won the Queen Mary stakes with Crimson Advocate. He was accompanied by his wife, Cindy, who is still recovering from very serious injuries sustained in a fall from a horse at Saratoga last July.

2) HISA is in full effect now and already there have been "preliminary suspensions" for several trainers after failed drug tests for their horses. None of the big names but still a step forward. 

3) Churchill Downs Inc. just announced yesterday that they have extended their ban of Bob Baffert through 2024. Response from Baffert's camp was swift and contained the usual denial of any wrong-doing and subtle slams against CD. Baffert is sounding more like a certain GOP presidential candidate with each passing post.

On to other things - one of our neighbors must have spent an entire paycheck at the fireworks store last week, judging by the length and volume of the display they shot off Saturday night. Sunday was too rainy and they were quiet last night when it was dry - hoping today's weather or their lack of further funds keeps the neighborhood quiet this evening. They went until 10:45 Saturday- I thought the cutoff was supposed to be 10 but then what do I know? I would never impose such noise on my neighbors, which makes me think these are newbies in Sidney. 

Working this week on new pillows for the Brunswick show. Then on to more wall hangings as I'm very thin on inventory in that area. Than more placemats and runners. I've already replenished the bread cloths. Brunswick will be an exercise in patience because of the location and logistics of a show on downtown sidewalks. We'll see how this all works out - still no idea where my booth will be. I need to know this soon folks!

After Brunswick, I'm out of the spotlight until the end of October for the UMC Harvest show in Portland. A new show for UMC, we'll see how this location and date works for us. Then another new to me show, the SSMC Maine Made Christmas Show in Topsham. I'm familiar with the venue as I checked the show out last year. It was busy and bustling and seemed to have lots of sales going on. It's the first show for me with that group. Then I fins=ish up the season with the UMC Holiday show, again a new location this year. We loved the space at the Portland Expo but the parking was not workable for our patrons. So we're trying out the Italian Heritage Center this year. Then I think I'll work on getting the top that Alliene gifted me several years ago quilted - I have the batting and backing, just need to put it together and quilt it up.