Glassworking and Other Weekend Adventures

Cold weather persists here in Peoria.  A couple of us have been under the weather here, and we have all been pretty busy. Kris is rehearsing for "Godspell" at the end of April. Karen and Katie have been selling Girl Scout cookies (Katie dressed like a thin mint cookie today to boost sales). Yesterday, Karen and the girls attended Chinese New Year at Dunlap High School.  I attended demos at the Riverfront Museum and then later attended a glassworking workshop at J Draper Glass.  I love working with glass, but opportunities are rare, so I jumped at the chance to make a paperweight as part of a Chemistry Club field trip.

Groundhog Day, 2015

We got roughly 9 inches of snow yesterday at our house and therefore did not make it to Sunday School.  The snow was quite wet and sticky, and there was a lot of it, so Katie and I made a snow dragon on a nest (Katie named her Sally).  It was also so sticky that our clothesline picked up snow and was effectively turned into an umbrella.  This heavy snow just before Groundhog Day reminded us a similar snow event in 2008, where we had enough snow to make a fort with a roof (we used a plastic swimming pool to support it). We had snacks and played cards in that fort for a bit.  Interesting bit to me:  Kristine was in third grade then, and Katie is in third grade now.

Snow people

It got stressful watching the Packers playoff game yesterday, so the girls and I went outside and made snowmen in the melting snow.  Classes start Wednesday.

Braves Game

Pretty sunrise today.  Kris drove the car without an adult for the first time and did fine.  I attended a BU men's basketball game for the first time in years tonight.

Kristine 16 and Gotcha Day 5

Pretty wintery lately - many schools were closed due to cold for a couple days and we have been getting snow events. Kristine had her 16th birthday last Friday and got her driver's license.  My parents visited this weekend and helped cheer the Green Bay Packers to a controversial victory over the Dallas Cowboys.  Today was the 5th anniversary of Katie's Gotcha Day, with Katie and I recreating a picture from 5 years ago.

 

Christmas Break Ends

Over the last couple days we have been preparing for winter weather, doing things like taking down Christmas decorations, shifting woodpiles, and adding a TV antenna cable in the attic. Today Kris, Katie, and I went bowling at Bass Pro Shop in East Peoria and had fun. This morning we got 0.7 inch of snow.  It looks bright in the moonlight, reminiscent of The Night Before Christmas line about the moon on the breast of the new fallen snow giving the luster of midday to objects below.

Pix of the Year 2014

My wife and daughters sifted through the nearly 1200 pictures that I accumulated this year and these were the ten pictures that they selected. Enjoy, and have a blessed 2015!