Observed Venus at 5pm local time today with 12" LX200 (invisible in the 8x50 finder)-- amazingly thin crescent (Voyager II says 1%). Its only 5 days from inferior conjuntion.
(It's so close to the Sun now, that I hold my hand up to the eyepiece each time before looking thru it just to make sure I don't make a horrible mistake; a fried hand will heal, a fried retina will not!)