Destruction, pt. 1

We had an ice storm last night, so the trees hereabouts have acquired several extra tons in weight overnight.

 For many of them, it proved too much.  In fact, we are now without power, since about 8:30 this morning.

 Grandma's front lawn (I heard the crash from over at our house):

 Walking in For-Mar (without the good camera) - I heard branches falling constantly and glanced up nervously on more than one occasion.  You could see the trees shaking as if an invisible giant were pushing through them.

Fun at the beach

A bit nippy at Bluebell Beach, but we still managed to have fun.

Last days of VG's

Second sled of the year

Turkeys in the snow

Big...

And little:

Granny's here!

One lady of mature years greets another: Granny is a little shocked at how damn cold it is, but luckily had the foresight to order a nice quilted coat from Land's End that arrived just before I set out for the airport to collect her. She arrived yesterday and already we've had a massive uptick in the quality of our meals...

First Sled of the Winter

JacQue couldn't work today so I got to stay home with Frederick. He was beside himself with joy when he woke up this morning and saw snow on the ground--staying home from school only made it that much better. He asked to go sledding and I agreed, stunning Simon who was convinced I wouldn't go through with it. We headed out about 10 and even as we loaded the sled into the car Frederick was still convinced that we wouldn't ACTUALLY go sledding. When we pulled into the parking lot of Kearsley Park we were the ONLY people there and, perhaps, for miles in any direction. And it was easy to figure out why: the 16F degree weather coupled with the arctic howling winds made standing on the hilltop unpleasant indeed. That didn't stop Frederick from enjoying himself. Here he squeezes onto his sled. When I pushed him down the hill, he turned and said, "Mommy! Mommy! Say 'Blast Off!'" So I did. After three runs down the hill, I begged Frederick to get back into the car. He pointed to the playground and headed off. King of all he surveys.

Flint Handmade Craft Fair

Today was the day of the Flint craft fair. I used to sell stuff at it (and actually made decent money) but just do not have the time anymore to make dinner, let alone anything else. But we dutifully braved the cold to check up on the latest productions. As always, Stephanie (of Frankenstitch Productions) has been prolific (after a 1 week hiatus to have a baby, Lola Jane, this summer). I asked Thomas if he wanted to come with us--he used to love to go and has a very sizable collection of Franken Stitch monsters. But he must be getting old as he said he would rather sleep in than see the latest. So, it was us and Frederick. While I talked with Stephanie about this and that (she said that it had started slow but picked up and she had made a fair amount of money), Simon and Frederick took off to explore forbidden parts of the Masonic Temple building which was housing the craft show this year--a huge structure in downtown Flint. Frederick waits for the Board Meeting to start. I have no idea what this room is about. This looks like furniture that used to be in our dean's conference room before it was refurnished. Hmmm. Here is downtown Saginaw Street - the view from the window in the room above. I bought two aliens from Stephanie for a song (I did donate to her all my leftover fleece from the past two year's Halloween costuming efforts). One the way home I asked Frederick if he wanted the orange one or the blue one. He answers, "Yes!" Both are in bed with him now as he sleeps.