Snow At Last!

We finally have snow! And the temperatures to keep it! It started falling in the early afternoon and there was enough accumulation by 4 pm that Bekah and Isaac's bus had a hard time getting all the way up the hill. They were 20 minutes late getting home, so they wasted no time getting into their snow gear and back outside to play before it got too dark! Erin was already outside with friends. I made a video of Isaac's first use of his Christmas snowboard-




Bekah pulled out a sled for a test run as well!





This past Sunday we had a neat afternoon with friends at an art gallery of sorts. The Goggleworks was, years ago, a manufacturing facility for safety goggles. Once the business moved the building stood empty for I'm not sure how long. Skipping to the present, it now holds art galleries and artists studios as well as a theater and dance studio. On Sunday we went to explore the Goggleworks since they were having an open house with demonstrations free to the public. As it turns out, several friends from church were also going, including a family whose kids are Erin's and Isaac's friends.

We got to watch a glassblowing demonstration which was absolutely fascinating. Working as a team, four guys made a life-size pike (fish). Their teamwork, considering the weight of the material, the heat of the furnaces and the crucial nature of the timing was amazing; like watching an elaborate dance. When they reached their suspense-laden finale the whole audience applauded and cheered. Wow.

After the glass work we visited several art studios where the artists were all in residence, working or explaining their work. Another friend of ours was singing with her folk group in one of the galleries so we enjoyed an interlude of their music. The "can-we-go-nows" didn't begin until the afternoon was actually over, which was very nice indeed. The only drawback was that I forgot my own camera. (Our friend Mike took some photos which I will post when he emails them to me.) For a closer look, check out http://www.goggleworks.org/.

In the meantime we will be lighting a fire and enjoying the snow, hot cocoa, and the American Idol tryouts!