Thursday, December 30, 2010

Christmas in Rochester

Below is an assortment of photos from Christmas in Rochester. Merry Christmas!










Btw, yesterday was the first day, I think, Sam really learned that you just can't play freeze tag with just two people. Not saying it took him long to figure out; but we all have to learn that sometime.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Thursday, December 16, 2010

eyeballs on fire, carmel rolls, etc.



Sam's friend Ian: I'm not afraid of anything!
Sam (with a big grin): I'm not afraid of anything except volcanoes and my own shadow!
Ian: I'm not afraid of anything except my eyeballs being on fire!
Susan: Volcanoes, and eyeballs being on fire, are both very good things to be afraid of.

Also: Carmel rolls Susan made us, spontaneously, last weekend.

And today's holiday program at Sam's school. His class recited a Robert Frost poem about a village smithy (suddenly I know why Sam perked up when I mentioned a smith, and recently knew who Robert Frost is!), and sang Frosty the Snowman.

Tonight the Christmas play at church. Sam's first play of any length.

Any of you have fun recollections of Christmas programs from your youth?

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Lake-effect update

I mentioned that we've been at the receiving end of an unusual lake-effect engine for the last several days. Buffalo has too, in spades--I hear they got a few feet of snow in places, forcing a shutdown of interstate 90. Our friend Barbara, coming back from playing a concert in Erie, PA with the Irish Tenors, was forced by the weather off the throughway, to wander Buffalo "surface roads," not making it home til 2 AM.

The average snowfall in Rochester in December is 20" (compared to 5.4" in Columbus and 7" in Sioux Falls). Since yesterday morning, according to the National Weather Service, we got 4.7", bringing the current total to about 10-12", depending on how close to the lake you look.

It's pretty. And Sam could not be more excited about his snow boots and new gloves. :-)

Anyway, this is really just an excuse to show some photos of snowy Penfield, NY.

Despite our large snowfalls, we often are sitting on the sidelines when Columbus and Mitchell get pounded by serious winter storms.

This snowfall has been ideal--not more per day than we can easily handle, and cold enough not to turn to slush. What is the largest storm you've been in which wasn't too dangerous or inconvenient?

There are many places around here to hike through the snow. I think this weekend I may take Sam snow shoeing at the nearby Tinker Park Nature Center, where you can rent snow shoes, even for children (follow the link for photos). Maybe sledding, soon? Sam's ambivalence toward sledding marks him as a true Collins. He's equally likely to love it or to realize, "Hey! My face hurts and I can't feel my toes!" and want to go home.

Nothing makes the subsequent cocoa and roaring fire more satisfying than a little cold-induced nerve damage. :-)

Monday, December 6, 2010

weekend addendum

Got half a foot of snow yesterday. (Had to run out in the evening to get gas for the snow blower...) It was coming down heavily with a healthy wind in the late afternoon when Sam and I went out to play. You can see him here well bundled up. He wanted to make a snow man. The snow was pretty dry, so we ended up with a snow blob, adorned with coal eyes, stick smile and carrot nose.

Sam's shovel (handle shown here) didn't make it in when we came in and when I went out later it was buried. This is the first forensic evidence to tell me where to dig to find it!

Due to have more lake-effect snow in the next few days. What fun. :-)

Saturday, December 4, 2010

PreYulePost

Sara Dill babysat Friday night while we were at small group. (Long-time readers will know the name--she used to be a very regular sitter back when we leaved in The City; now that she can drive, we are hoping that frequency will jump up again.) She has a new MacBook, and spent some quality time taking photos of Sam and her and processing them.

Saturday started with puttering, Sam made some wood bead necklaces with a craft set from Nana & Grandad, and then put all the photos of Sara and him into a book with captions. Sam is very happy when crafting.

Last night driving with Sam he asked me if Santa is real. He knows the answer's no--we've never gone the Santa route. (Ask if you want to know our reasons.) Anyway, tis the season for kids at school to talk about Santa, and I think Sam may end up spilling the beans. He asked why some kids think Santa's real, and then, working it through, asked about when their presents end up under their trees. (I wonder if these kids are using the nocturnal present appearance as evidence for Santa's existence?) He seems to find the whole thing curious.

Whole day with Sam and most of it with Susan; included a long trip to the library and the hardware store. Perfect.

A Douglas Fir is now up in the corner of the living room. Sam's very eager to decorate. Tomorrow!