A Break in the Cold Snap

Recognize where this picture is taken? Hint: my car used to be so dirty I could hardly remember what color it is. Thanks to this place it is once again a beautiful blue!


Today our temps climbed above freezing for the first time since late December. Oh, it was gorgeous!! Take a look at this ... I know the photo is blurry, but it's the only one I captured today, though I saw MANY people in similar attire. Trust a Minnesotan to pull out the shorts and the sandals the minute the temps soar above freezing! It got all the way up to 45 degrees F... true shorts weather after you've been freezing your butt off at sub zero temps for too long.


I ran a few errands, and it was such a beautiful day that I dawdled and took side trips. I drove past the first apartment building hubby and I lived in after we got married. The building used to be a hospital, so it was a nice, solid building. We had BIG windows and lived in a corner unit. It had really great air flow. The day we moved out, I turned around to take a farewell look and wished we weren't moving away!


While in the neighborhood, I decided to stop in here for some lunch. I had a gyro. This used to be a little corner grocery store when we lived in the neighborhood.




Here is the new football stadium they are building on the U of M campus. Yes, an open air stadium in Minnesota. Personally I think that is nuts, but who am I? I rarely go to the games, so my opinion is worth diddly. But I know this.. I'll be even less inclined to go to an outside game when it's snowing and my nostril hairs are freezing.


All in all, today was a great Saturday. Hubby and I slept in, I got to see Mary again briefly and even meet her hubby! (The quilt she helped us finish is gorgeous in person! Wow!) The rest of the time I have been sewing. I'm getting bindings done today. Tomorrow I hope to spend some time sewing with Sunshine: a Super Bowl Sew-in.


Thanks for the prayers for little Emmy. She still needs prayers, and so does her family. They are really struggling. Please read her mommy's post here, and continue the prayers. It's a scary time!

Please Pray for Emmy

This is Emmy. She had major surgery about a week ago and had done so well. She went home and seemed to be fine, but she had to go back to the hospital. Today she is back in ICU and it sounds pretty scary. They are hoping to fix her problems without more surgery but are not sure what is going on. Please pray for answers and a quick recovery. I'm sure her mommy and daddy and all her relatives and friends (including me) are sick with worry!

May God work another happy miracle and bring health and happiness back to Emmy and her family!

One Week Left!

In one week I need to turn in the quilts I intend to hang in our guild's annual show. I'm scrambling to get everything done because I have - big surprise - procrastinated! This is one quilt that I did finish. It is for the small quilt auction that we run in the store during the month the show is up. Thanks for the interesting middle piece, Leslie! (All I did was add the border and quilt it.) What do you think? Will it sell?

Why Panama?

I had one more question from a reader who wants to know how it came to be that I was born in Panama. The simple answer: my mom was there! haha.. The real answer: it was a bottom line decision. When my Dad finished college he was married and had a new baby, so he needed to find the best income he could.. teaching jobs in Panama paid better than here in the U.S., so off they went. That's how it happened! My family stayed there for 9 years, and all three girls were born there. I am the youngest, so I don't remember Panama at all. I was two when they decided to move back to Minnesota.

Some day I would like to go there and see where I'm from! The above picture is a house my family (thought perhaps not I) used to live in. The area has now become a resort, so I could go back and stay in my family's same old house! Awesome!

Books Are My Friends

This is my son, reading in my sister's bookstore - I love having a bookstore in the family!

I'm loving my book club. We meet at church. We have very lively discussions. Sometimes about our book, but many times about everything under the sun, usually with a faith or church bent to the discussion. The book we just finished was not our favorite. I won't even say anything about it, because I disliked it so much that I stopped reading at chapter 2. But we still had a good discussion. Now we are starting Speaking of Faith by Krista Tippett. I am looking forward to digging into this one.

However, there are too many books in my head, and in my To Be Read pile. I am currently reading two books at once! I don't like doing that, but I frequently do, because I just can't wait to start some of them that seem like they'll be so good. And aren't words and language just scrumptious? Yesterday's post included a quote from one of my books... I loved the language! ".....he spoke slowly, gobbling the words in his jaws before he let them out." Isn't that just poetic?

Yesterday on the radio I heard an interesting interview with a top interpreter from ?? somewhere in the Middle East. He has been involved in high-powered meetings with presidents and prime ministers and such. He spoke very beautifully about the power of language and its beauty and meaning. And even the meaning in what is not said. These are the things that interpreters listen to! I am also an interpreter (Sign Language and English). I listen to all those same things, and my work involves understanding the meanings, the implications, the emotions of what is said and what is implied and the meaning in what is not said. Then I must convey all those affects in the other language. What a great job!

Aren't words fun? Words and books are my friends.

I Tagged Myself

I saw this tag at Busy Intersection. I love random stuff like this. She doesn't like to tag others, so I tagged myself. I don't like to tag, either, so consider yourself tagged if you want to be!

The rules:

1. Grab the nearest book.

2. Open to page 56.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the text of the next 2 to 5 sentences, along with these rules.

5. Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual book. Pick the CLOSEST!

6. Tag five other people to do the same! (or not)

The closest book is one that I am reading, and I had not yet reached page 56 (but I'm close). I'm reading it slowly, because it's an upsetting book, and I can't read it at bedtime like I usually do with my books. I don't want to get bad dreams! It's a book worth reading, though. It's called A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah. It takes place in Sierra Leone.

Now here's the text from page 56:

His face was too wrinkled to still be alive, yet his dark skin was shiny and he spoke slowly, gobbling the words in his jaws before he let them out. As he spoke, the veins on his forehead became visible through his skin.

"Everyone ran when they heard of the 'seven boys' on their way here. I couldn't run at all. So they left me behind. No one was willing to carry me and I didn't want to be a burden," he said.
----------

The quilt pictured above is one I saw in an antique store, and I really wanted to buy it! I couldn't afford it, though. Bummer.

Answers and Quilt Blocks

Friday Block Party, week 4

I thought a long time about Beth's question about who I would like to meet. I have been fascinated by several famous people, such as Princess Diana. I considered some other living people who are journalists, politicians, actors... none of them seemed worthy of this special visit. So I decided I would most love to visit with my Grandma. She is an angel in heaven, so I guess it won't be happening soon. But if I could ask her questions and chat about her life, that would be awesome!


Lotto blocks for January

Torina wants to know about my quilting history. I have always loved quilts and wanted to try to make one, but I'm ADD-ish and didn't think I'd have the patience for it. Finally I decided I could make a pot holder. I asked my mom for some help. We were up at the lake, so she didn't have her equipment there to show me how. She gave me verbal directions. Then I had a visit from a pal from Australia. She is a quilter and also encouraged me to give it a try. So I made that pot holder... "incorrectly," as it turns out (I was improvisational right from the start). I had misunderstood my mom's directions. But I got hooked and kept making more pot holders, and it turned into my first quilt. It's the passion I had been seeking. Love it! Oh, that was in 1999, so it's almost ten years that I have been a quilter!


Lotto blocks for February

The pictures are quilt blocks I made this weekend. I also worked on a small quilt for the auction at my guild, but I'm not quite done, so I'll post that later.

25 Things; Any Questions?

I'm totally a blog copy-cat. Some blog pals have listed "25 Things" - random stuff about themselves. And other bloggers have asked for questions. So I'm doing both. Here goes.

1. I'm pretty good at photography. I once thought about going into it as a career, but I'm happier doing it as a hobby.
2. I was born in Panama.
3. In 10th grade I broke my finger while playing basketball. It's still very crooked (see photo above).
4. I'm lazy.
5. I work obsessively on the things I love and want to do (e.g., quilting).
6. My favorite sound is waves lapping against the shore.
7. I'm a flaming Liberal.
8. My favorite season is autumn.
9. I've lost track of the countries where my quilts have gone. They include: U.S., Canada, Mexico, Honduras, Panama, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Germany, Estonia, Czech Republic, Armenia, Russia, China, Viet Nam, Philippines, Australia, Liberia, Kenya.... and others.
10. I majored in French but should have majored in Anthropology.
11. I was surprised in college when I took a Linguistics class and loved it.
12. I didn't learn how to ride a bike until I was 12.
13. I wasted many good years of my education day dreaming about boys.
14. My dream is to go on many mission team projects around the world, but with at least one friend so I'm not just traveling with total strangers.
15. I'm shy but outgoing. (Fellow shy people will understand this.)
16. I like to draw. In my next life I want to be an artist.
17. I'm not a good money manager (thank goodness for my smart hubby).
18. I would love to learn how to play the bassoon.
19. I love writing letters and still have pen pals.
20. I wear size 9 shoes.
21. All 4 of my immediate family members have names containing 5 letters, and my soon-to-be daughter-in-law also has a name of 5 letters.
22. My favorite states are Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Minnesota.
22. For the last year I have been working on writing my autobiography. I'm sure it's interesting to no one but me.
23. I love to swim! But it's not so much fun being seen in a swimming suit these days.
24. I am working on strengthening my Christian faith (United Methodist).
25. My hero is Jane Addams.

OK. Got all that? Now is your chance to ask me a question... any question about anything you want. I'll answer the best I can. Fire away!

Remembering my Quilts

This is my friend, Carrie, wrapped up in the quilt I gave her for Christmas. Yes, it is the same one I'm wrapped in in my sidebar picture!


Remember this little quilt? It sold at the Alzheimers auction for $45!! I'm in awe. Two people bid on it, so it went up from the minimum bid! Really???

Frigid Friday Five

1) Prayers for Penny whose mother is dying and for Melissa whose baby is recovering super fast from major surgery! [the circle of life]

2) This has been a long winter! We're facing another below zero weekend. I'm lucky to have a warm, comfy house and lots of quilts!


3) I'm thankful that I managed a mid-day visit to the Closing Quilt Shop - prices are 75% off now, and the store is nearly stripped bare. I got 15 yards at an average price of about $2.75/yard!



4) Hooray for good books: just finished The Plain Sense of Things by Pamela Carter Joern and am now reading The Good Women of China by Xinran. I think after dinner I'll curl up under a quilt and read more of this excellent book!

5) My hubby is a computer pro, and I reap the benefits. Makes life pretty simple for me!


Photo taken at my morning meeting - a staff development day.
Do we look thrilled?

Learning New Systems

playing with close-up feature with new camera & plant at office

I hate learning new systems. I was quite comfortable with uploading and editing my pictures from the old camera. Now I have this new camera, which I love, but the new software and photo editing process are befuddling me. I usually hate reading directions, for example. I had to force myself to read the instruction booklet that came with the camera. I just want to start using it. Why should I have to READ first??

So we finally got these new photos uploaded, but I can't figure out how to crop my pictures. The quilt picture, for example, has way too much closet door. I would crop it down to focus just on the quilt if I could figure out how. Hopefully I'll figure it out soon.


quilt by Jackie from my guild; I sent it to Rosebud

As for yesterday's post about Grandmothers, wow... I never expected to get such thoughtful and long comments! That was cool! I'm going to read them again and think about them later. Yesterday I worked ALL DAY, plus some overtime hours, then had a meeting at church, so I didn't get home 'til 9 p.m. and was too tired to think.

Grandmothers

This is my husband's grandmother. She was from Alaska and was a Tlingit Indian, raised in a Catholic orphanage. We know nothing about her background. At one time the orphanage burned down, so there are no records. Sad. Wouldn't it be fascinating to learn about where she came from??? She married an Irish miner and moved to Minnesota and the rest is history.


This is my grandmother. She came here from Ireland when she was a young woman. Alone. To look for a better life. How brave is that?! She met my grandfather, a man 20 years her senior who already had five children. She married him and became an instant mother. How brave is that?! She is the only grandparent I ever knew. All the rest died before I was born or when I was too young to remember them. And she died when I was 12, just before I was old enough to appreciate having a grandma. About a year after she died I began to realize what I had lost.

I'm Not a Scrapbooker!

Somehow I got myself into maintaining THREE photo album/scrap-booky type things. One for my quilt guild, one for church, and one at work. I know, no one forced me to do all of these. But.. some of them I chose to do because no one was doing them, and it needed to be done! I like having photos in order. However, the novelty of doing all three of these has worn thin.

At first I kept up really well, but lately I've let the pictures pile up, and it gets to be such a chore. And the headache of having these THREE to do has meant my own family photos have been piling up for months. I never used to do that! (Oh, there is a beautiful, bikini-clad woman coming out of the ocean on TV. She looks EXACTLY like me!)

Here's a sample of the extent of my creativity.. just slap some fancy papers in the background and put pictures at funny angles. Or cut them off in funny wiggly shapes where the background is non-essential. (Imagine a picture here... my computer is in transition, like everything in my life, and right now I can't upload pics from my old OR my new camera. I'm losing my patience! I'm getting gray hairs!)

Given a choice of quilting or scrapbooking, I'd rather quilt, ANY DAY!

Tawanda!

Transitions

My life seems to be wrapped neatly in a circle of transitions.

1) Work. I work in a Special Ed transition program which itself is in transition. The school district is making radical changes in servicing models. We are not sure what is in store for our program. I will have a job... but not sure exactly where and under what umbrella.

2) Politics. A new president! Hooray!!! A new model of operation. I was thrilled to hear a quote from a Republican, a friend of McCain. He said something like this: "maybe it will become fashionable to work together." Let's hope so!! This is what Obama represents! Change, hope, cooperation, possibilities - transitioning to a new way of living out America's dreams.

Have you seen this circulating on the web and/or on blogs? --
Rosa sat so Martin could walk,
Martin walked so Obama could run,
Obama ran so our children can fly.
(This just makes me smile, like I did non-stop all day yesterday, when I wasn't crying.)

3) Church. The congregation of which I am a member has been working hard on transitions for a couple of years and is continuing the work. We had become stagnant. We are working on CHANGE! Our work is helping the whole church come alive and is helping me on a personal level. I have never felt more alive and happy.

4) My family. Growing a family means always being in transition. We are even more so now as our son prepares to graduate from college and then will get married. Hubby and I will be in our new role as in-laws. Son will be in a new role as a husband and as a job-seeking adult. We'll have to learn to help and support him in the midst of all our new roles.

This is a time of change and hope and finding new ways to serve - in all areas of my life! It can be nerve-wracking, but exciting, too! Life is good! God bless us, every one!

Whooo Hoooo!!

The wonderful day has arrived!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hope prevails!

Visited My Mom

Here's what I did in the last two days:

1) Decided to go visit my mom (spur of the moment). Didn't even call, I just went. It's about a 3-hour drive.

2) On the way out of town, I stopped briefly to toss Joanie's quilt top to Mary, so she can get it quilted. I only talked to her for 1 minute and 37 seconds, but I already like her! What a cutie.

3) Took my mom and my sister out for dinner on Sunday, to celebrate my sister's birthday which is on Thursday.

4) Stayed overnight on my mom's couch. She finally was able to give me our Christmas presents as I had not made it up there for Christmas. I got a really nice book.

5) This morning I left my mom's place, but stopped in town and shopped a little. Trumm Drug and Cherry Street Books accepted some of my money, and a little later Aunt Annie's Quilts accepted more. (I just LOVE that shop.. she has the coolest fabrics and awesome samples all over. When I grow up I want to be that talented at creating gorgeous quilts.)

6) Came home. Read my 77 emails that piled up in two days! (Do I even know that many people??) My hubby updated my computer, but he's not totally done, and I still don't know how to upload my new photos, so the above is an old one, just to have a picture to look at.

Back to work tomorrow, but I wish I could stay home and watch the inauguration events ALL DAY LONG. I am so excited for tomorrow! A new Prez! A people energized! You gotta love it. Yipppeeeeeeeeeeee!

P.S. I didn't do service work today as was encouraged, but I spent all Friday night and all day Saturday sewing quilts for the children. As I always tell my husband, "I'm helping the children." He just came home from work and found a chore I had forgotten to finish. He told me to "go back to your knitting, and I'll do this man's job." Ha! That's how much he understands my quilting (calls it knitting?!) but at least he forgave me for not finishing the chore. Isn't he a doll?

Thanks for the Idea, SW.

my sister at Niagara Falls (I took the picture.)

My friend at Facebook posted this, and I thought it was fun. So I'm doing it on myself:

99 Things

Things you’ve already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven’t done and don’t want to - leave in plain font

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland/world.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child. (sort of)
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David in person.
41. Sung Karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkelling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book. (from Shutterfly.. does that count?)
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.

Totals
Already done – 48
Want to do – 15
Haven’t done, no interest - 36

24/7 Sewing

Friday after work I started sewing, and I haven't stopped yet! I'm trying to take advantage of my long weekend and get caught up on lots of projects.

Yesterday I posted the quilt top for Joanie. I made another top using more of the blocks people sent, along with some that I had forgotten I had. I mixed those together and filled in the spaces with 3-inch squares. It turned out pretty cute for being 99% unplanned, I think.



These are the pink/orange blocks I made for Project Improv. These will eventually go into a charity quilt. Wow! I can hardly wait to see the quilts that come out of this project. They definitely won't be boring.



I'm also (finally) once again working on my challenge quilt that is due for my guild's show in February. It's almost all put together, so now I can start the quilting process. I need to finish a few other projects for the show, too. I've let those deadlines sneak up on me this year!

It's 1:40 a.m., and I just finished another pink/orange block. I call it Eyeballs.

Quilt for Joanie

Thanks to all of you who donated Ohio Star blocks for Joanie's quilt. I apologize that I could not use them all in this top. I still might make her a pillow with some of the others... and I probably have enough to make a Sunshine quilt, too! People were very generous. Thanks so much!

Here's a close-up of the border fabric. I love how it picks up so many of the colors in the blocks!



Mary has kindly agreed to quilt this for us, even though she's very busy with a pile of other quilts to do. Thank you, Mary! (I'll deliver the top to Mary this weekend.)

The 4th of the 4th

Heather over at Needles and Pens tagged me today. I think I will do this instead of my usual Friday Five. This one is kind of fun and random. Here are the rules:
Go to your fourth photo album, to the fourth photo, and write about it.
Fun! I love photography, I love stories, and I love the randomness of this tag. It is making me write about something I never would have thought of today!

My fourth photo album is called Animals. I have very few pictures in it. But the fourth photo is easily the all-time best of that folder. Here it is:


photo by Abraham Lincoln

Back in 2006-07 I discovered several Daily Photo blogs. People all over the world chose to post a photo each day of the city in which they lived. It was begun by a guy named Eric who lives in Paris. What fun! I decided to join in. For one year I photographed St. Paul, Minnesota and each day posted a new photo. The daily photo bloggers around the world joined together in rings so we could see each others' photos. On the first of the month we had a theme to follow. These themes were voted on by us.. and were fun and challenging, sometimes odd categories.

Some of the daily photo bloggers met in person! Sometimes they would travel to other countries and announce that they would like to meet people in the cities where they were going. Sometimes, like happened in the Twin Cities, the locals got together for a couple of gatherings. I met several other Twin Cities photographers, and at least one of them is still an inspiration to me.

That whole year I learned a LOT about photography. I had a few favorites around the world that I always visited daily. Abraham Lincoln was one of those. He lives in Ohio and takes fabulous pictures of wildlife in his back yard. You should see his bird photos! I saved this raccoon picture of his, for another reason which I won't go into here - it's just another random story. But if I had to share a photo with you from my fourth album, Animals, I'm glad it's one of Mr. Lincoln's. He is an inspiration to many photographers around the world.

After I participated in that year, I put together a book of my daily photos. When I realized how expensive the book was going to be, I asked hubby to give it to me for Christmas. He did, and I love the book. It is a real treasure to remember that fun year of taking pictures. (And yes, there are a couple of quilt pictures in it, of course!) Oh - and some of the daily photo bloggers have kept it up for several years. I only did it for one year - 365 posts of photographs! If you ever see me in person, ask to see my book! I'd be glad to show it to you.

I'm going to tag only one other person: Beth from Walk a Mile.

Photos

Feast your eyes...



...on photos I took...





moon on lake; playing with motion



...with my old camera...





Get this... the new camera won't upload to my oldie-but-goodie hard drive. I need a new hard drive to upload my new photos!! Arrrrggghhh.

It's a balmy 17 below zero (F) this morning. Time to button up the vest.
Edit: I found out it was really 21 below when I thought it was 17 below. What's 4 more degrees among friends?!

Twobelow, Minnesota

Every time I hear the name of Tupelo, Mississippi, I think that we should have a town here named Twobelow, Minnesota. Today I texted my friend in Georgia that it was "damn cold" here, and then I realized it was "only" two below. That's really not what true Minnesotans would call damn cold. But it's cold enough, I reckon.

I've been having fun playing with my new camera, but I need to learn more before I can upload to the computer. So you will have to wait to see my photographic masterpieces.



Yesterday I had a WONDERFUL mail delivery day:

1) Marjorie came home! Thank you for sending her, Amanda. We had a happy reunion.
The little tote bag is so cute, and it came with some other interesting tidbits such as news articles about the Orphan Train, a printout of Michelle's blog post after she read the book, a couple of business cards, and even some orphan blocks for starting another quilt, AND the cute bookmark you see pictured to the right. Who made it? It's adorable.

2) a block for Joanie from Sue B. Thank you!

3) 3 blocks for Joanie from Yvonne. Thank you, too!

4) the highlight was my camera! Snap, snap, snap. If I see you I will photograph you.

I now have about 4 gazillion blocks for Joanie. I'm going to start making her quilt! It'll be plenty big, and I'll probably have some leftover for a second quilt. As soon as I learn how with my new toy, I'll post pictures!

It Came!

Now to learn all its functions and secret powers.........

Cuties on Ice

A neighborhood elementary school started ice skating lessons today. A few people from my church volunteered to help. We tied on skates, helped the kids wobble out to the rink, and we provided hot chocolate and treats.

There were "big kids" there to help - middle school kids who are good skaters. It was so cute to see the little ones holding on to the middle size ones for support. A few used folding chairs.



It was five below zero, but the kids were bundled up nicely, and the teacher was careful about having them go into the warming house periodically.

We'll be there to help again next week. Fun!

Snow!