A quick walk in the woods

Took a quick walk in the nearby woods late this afternoon during a light snowfall. In addition to seeing a few cardinals, I saw a few snowflakes sticking to a single strand of spider silk.

Semester's End

The fall semester at Bradley ended today with commencement. Broadcaster Larry King spoke at the ceremony and told a very funny story about a stunt he helped pull in 9th grade.

More Icicles

The recent rain/cold snap again made for spectacular icicles along Kickapoo Creek Road.

Study Day

Well, lots of items. Monday night one of Karen's friends threw her a baby shower for our future adoptee. Kris went with Karen; I went to a Christmas party held by the Bradley Chemistry Club. Tuesday we had a nice less than 1" snowfall, followed later by rain which melted much of the snow. This morning the heavy rain changed to light snow. The winds picked up, too. I had to chase my trash bag down the street and took down a few yard decorations so they would not blow away. This bitter cold snap will last a few more days. Tuesday was the last day of classes, Kris had her Christmas concert at school, and we got news of our much awaited travel dates to China - Jan 8-29. When I think about all the things that could still go awry I want to curl up in a ball, but I thank God for the wonderful opportunity. Today was study day - finals start tomorrow. Five students and I did a demo show at a junior high school in Morton.

Happy St. Nick's Day

Christmas preparation, including decorating, continues. We have added some elements of whimsy. We have added a small sign to a manger scene, and we have had some teddy bears help us decorate our tree. Karen made a lot of cookies yesterday. This afternoon a nearby church had a "night in Bethlehem", where kids could do activities supposedly similar to those in ancient Bethlehem. (Kris is wearing the laurel on her head.) The event was part of a kit written by the same organization that puts together our vacation Bible school curriculum. I think it is a neat idea. I shot the pic of ice crystals along a creek this morning.

Early December

It flurried not long after my most recent blog entry. Here is a picture of snowflakes whizzing past a street lanp that still had a spider web. No real accumulation yet. We started putting up the Christmas tree tonight. Strangely, most of the burned out bulbs were red ones. We have had the same artificial tree for about 15 years and it is holding up well. The wire frame scratches me up -but a real tree would do that and get me full of sap. :*)

Have to share a poem that Kris wrote for school:

Our Adoption Trip to China

Looks like vendors everywhere and historical buildings.
Smells like yummy food and stinky feet.
Tastes like hot noodles and yucky sushi.
Sounds like car horns beeping and people shouting.

Feels like the pushing crowd, my backpack getting heavy, and my little sister’s warm hand.

Mountain snow

I'm giving an exam right now and just finished putting together a quiz. The end of the semester is fast approaching. I have not taken much in the way of interesting pictures lately, but grabbed this image this morning from a webcam located in the North Cascades region. I check this site to peek at the weather in the Cascades: http://www.cascadeclimber.com/web_cams.htm. Something about the lighting caught my eye, so I captured and cropped the image. Snow has definitely reached the mountains out there - my brother's family has gone snowshoeing already. There is a chance of snow here in Peoria tonight and tomorrow.