Tick tick.......it's that time of year again when the big yellow busses are on the roads either practicing their routes OR actually taking students to school.  In Minnesota it is also state fair time with daily reports featuring food on a stick and micro brewed fruity beers.

Florida or Globes????

Laura - possibly ready to return some gifts that weren't on her list......

I just read that there is only one state in the contiguous US that does not have snow - and that is Florida, so......that must be the location of our shopper above, Laura.  As I study her now, it looks like she is coming off a party at the Golden Globes with her see-through dress and her gift bag........


I am anxious to see LaLa Land now.  They certainly did well at the Old Globs (as Jimmy Fallon advertised,) and I like both of the stars (Emma and Ryan G.) that received "best" in their lead in a musical or/and comedy.  Anyone see these yet - anxious to know what the personal review are! 

....Blowin' in the Wind.....

Have you ever noticed how snow and sand drift in very similar patterns? 

The textures created on the ground created by the wind provide a great opportunity for comparison and contrasting.  The first big contrast is the temperature.  The temperature between the picture of the rabbit in the snow and the reeds in the sand could be 140 degrees, or more, different this time of year.  It seems like a big difference for 1400 miles!

The ridges and parallel patterns in the snow and the sand are what I find so intriguing!  There are often days when the clouds take on these same patterns in the sky.  Hopefully wherever you are, you have one of these three elements (snow, sand, or clouds,) to check out these beautiful patterns!

Happy New Year!

Gloria - the Finale

We are now up 60 degrees from four days ago, the snow and ice are rapidly melting, and the roads are either dry or filled with puddles along the curbs and potholes.  My car seems to have made a full recovery, thanks to the combination of maintenance and warming temperatures.  Three days from now the forecast is for rain, so I hope the apparent improvements continue through the next weather and temperature shift!

I am working to finalize all of my shopping and hope each of you who participates in gift exchanging is at a good point in the process, as well.   I am also nearing the completion of mailing cards - something I have not done for several years.  I was tempted to print an original image with a good discount coupon for printing.  Of course, in good promotion form, the coupon was only good for a very short time...but offered a very good discount.  In hindsight, I probably should have ordered double what I ordered, but......with mail-order printing, you just don't know what you are going to get..........the results were pretty good!!!!!

The meter officer in the picture below is actually called Gloria on the Chicago website.  I think this is the last in the series for her image, and the next in the series for the summertime shopper - Laura.

Gloria - finale - pencil, gouache and acrylic ink on tan 400 series Strathmore paper.

Laura - in progress - pencil, gouache and acrylic ink on tan 400 series Strathmore paper.

Maintenance Complete

Today was the big day for my car to go in for its' oil and filter change and check on whatever it is that is going on with the tires.  Evidently there has been a tremendous increase in maintenance visits for tires and tire pressure in the past week - due mostly to the weather.  First and foremost is the tire pressure issue (also the topic of the feature news story yesterday.)  The second issue frequently negatively impacting the warning system and drive-ability has been the build-up of ice and road "sludge" that freezes in the wheel wells. 

My tires were inflated appropriately (after a little 'at-home' intervention with the air compressor last week when it was 35 below zero,) and were not scheduled to be rotated.  Once inside a warm service garage, where the sludge,etc. fell off, (it was also more than 60 degrees warmer today than it was on air pressure day) the maintenance system did not indicate a tire problem any more - go figure.  The diagnostics testing DID indicate that my battery was not functioning properly, however, and so I received a new battery under the warranty replacement program.  Could that have been the cause of the maintenance system activity?  The gas gauge appears to be functioning at a more responsive rate, the dash lights are brighter (in comparison to what they have been, ) and the clock does not lose a minute + an hour.....hmmmmmmmmmmm.  Well, until we get our own personal diagnostic plug-ins, like the Progressive insurance gizmo, we're at the mercy of the service departments of the auto industry (can you tell I am a little less that confident in their practices???)

Anyway, below are the next stages in our meter officer from Chicago and our summer shopper - equipped with I-phone and ear buds (the picture this was based on was obviously taken pre-WiFi (easily lost) ear buds.

Finally back...

At long last I am able to get back into my blog site.  I am not sure what the problem has been, but I have typed many entries, only to have them disappear when I click save........the wonder of technology!

My car has been communicating frequently, these days.  Although related to the frigid cold, it necessarily because of the below zero temps or the wind chill warnings.  The first communication was about tire pressure.  The threshold seems to be 32 degrees and the warning lights flash "tire pressure, tire pressure, tire pressure.....!"  No sooner were the tires welcoming additional air pressure then the next communication alerted me to a "maintenance" update that it was time for an oil change.  Since the sticker on the windshield also marked the arrival of oil change time, this warning did not send chills of "car failure" to me like the flashing "tire pressure" did. 

The following day came alert number three to indicate the "urgent need" for a new oil filter.  Since oil change and oil filter go hand in hand, this is a "no brainer." 

Then came day four AND alert number four - tire maintenance needed.  I have no clue what this one is and digging through the layers of screens in the alert system provides no additional information.  Since I have an appointment at the dealership scheduled, I can relax a little when a new panel light flashes.  With the temperature at -20something today (and the wind chill is significantly lower,) staying home and attending to gift wrapping, tree trimming and laundry seems more prudent than driving anyway....that's one way to ensure that I will not have to deal with additional warning lights today. 

Prior to Thanksgiving, when I was able to enter this site daily, I was sharing the work I had done using the Chicago website as a source of inspiration.  Below is the next progression in the image I was sharing at the time.  Clearly this is not a picture from 2016, December in Chicago.  Neither is the beginning of the Chicago shopper........if the pictures were from today, I would be working on a great sketch of a nose sticking out of a coat.....brrrrrrrr!

We'll see how long I am able to get back to this site....stay tuned!

Post Turkey

I am still not convinced that the Thanksgiving meal is the best eats of the pre-Christmas season.  I think I continue to land in the camp of black Friday Leftovers....OK, that sounds awful in that advertising context.  Let's just call it - leftovers.  There actually is a little of this cherry pie left, for example......a couple of people might enjoy a slice before the pan is "...put to other uses."  (yes, that's a SCAMPER skill! )

And yes I did assemble this pie, although I have to admit it is not a "from scratch" endeavor -  I did whip the egg whites to brush on the top to get that crispy, golden glow...the rest is truly assembled!  Delicious, nonetheless!

 Did you watch the dog show that followed the parade on Thursday?  (I just have to catch a little of the New York parade to make the day officially Thanksgiving, although I did switch the channel to see what was going on in Chicago.  Do you remember when several cities had parades and you would play "dial a channel" to catch glimpses of them all???) 

Anyway, I was very hopeful that the spaniel above would win the show...A striking look for a well-groomed canine and very bright-eyed as handler responsive.  I was disappointed when the greyhound was announced as the winner. 

I think this hound has nailed my sentiments regarding the announced winner - "Bah, humbug!"  Combined with the fact that they ran commercials during the presentation of the dalmatian, it was not a stellar dog show year in my book.  Of course I might feel differently if I had spend much time actually watching it...I was mostly preparing food........which brings me back to the delightful leftovers we will enjoy for today's evening meal. 

I hope your day-after-Thanksgiving is filled with the people, activities and things that you enjoy!  Let the merriment begin and the flakes fall (yep, I mean snowflakes!) Some Minnesotans are looking forward to to wonderful sonwmobiling season this year!