FLW

Arianna and I have been working for a bit on her Frank Lloyd Wright presentation. Her paper has already been judged exemplary and will be forwarded to DeKalb for judging in the regional competition of this school year's History Fair. But, she is also required to do a presentation board of her topic.

The work is predominantly Arianna's. I helped with mechanics. Downloading images, printing images, trimming images -- until Arianna got the hang of it. And, as for the layout, again . . . Arianna's work. 

It would have been so tempting to elbow my way past Arianna and showed her how to present her information, but I think it's important to let her do her own projects. And, she's enjoyed the decision making process -- what images support her topic, their arrangement on the page, the captions, and so forth.

We worked nearly 6 hours yesterday. Today, it took only a couple hours to finish mounting the sections. A "last minute" affair, which I would rather not have occurred. But, there was no stress, no frustration, no irritation on either of our parts. We worked well together. 


I will be surprised if the board is no chosen to go to DeKalb at the end of February.

No cavities!

Bright sunshine. Cold. Less than an inch of snow on the driveway.


Early morning dentist visit. Since this occurred on a Saturday, I promised Arianna I would accompany her and Sharon to Prospect Heights, where the clouds were thick and gray.


Upon return to Sleepy Hollow, I cleared the driveway, watching as the front moved across the sky, eventually blotting out the sun.

Snowman

This is becoming the winter that wasn't. A bit a snow fell -- just enough to make a short snowman. And since Arianna and Sharon were off today (MLK Day) . . . .

So little snow fell in fact that my (sensible) daughter decided that she needn't wear boots.

Sharon bought a bag of limes from Woodman's. Here's the treat she and Arianna made for us: lime chiffon pie.

Winter . . . at last

I stepped outside yesterday after work to fill the bird feeders and saw a number of flying insects in the garden. Unbelievable. 53 degrees. Sunshine.

Not today. After a two hour commute at no more than 30 miles an hour, I pulled out the snow shovel and cleared the driveway.

Maybe 4". Another 2" - at most - over night.

Winter was bound to come sometime before March.

Arianna sure was excited to be able to run around in the snow!

Little Christmas / Epiphany

Yesterday Sharon orchestrated the dismantling of the Christmas tree. It was an all day affair, that hardly resembled its raising nearly a month ago. But, what can you expect.

Today she spent an appreciable amount of time storing away the decorations scattered about the house. So, we're back in "ordinary time" - with all the day-to-day cares of keeping body and soul together.

But, all is not as dismal as January typically proves to be.

For instance, we still haven't had any snowfall to speak of and the temperatures continue to hover in the upper 30s and lower 40s. A gaggle of geese sun themselves in the side yard. An extraordinary sight (at least when considering the last few Winters).

And, in addition, to boxing Christmas decorations, Sharon used the breadmaker she received as a Christmas present.

As well, music still swells throughout the house and makes even the disappointing task of taking down a Christmas tree a bit lighter.

It's official!

Arianna learned today that she is going to De Kalb for the regional judging of her Nat'l History Day report on Frank Lloyd Wright. Her work was advanced to the next level along with four other classmates, two of which are best buds: Peyton J. and Bigit B.

Many of the details remain obscure to Sharon and me. Date. Location. Whether the family can travel with the student. Still, we're all excited.

Next step: Arianna has to build a presentation of her theme, using a three-fold poster board affixed with relevant quotes, photos, what have you. She's drawn a mock-up and (I hope) will begin to gather her materials next week. (She procrastinates.)

Nit Wits

This morning we dragged Arianna out of bed for school only to discover that she isn't due back until tomorrow! And, Sharon made her a special breakfast of plum pierogi! Where are our heads?

Happy New Year!

Since we didn't even try to stay awake until midnight, it wasn't too difficult to get up this morning. The same may not be said of our neighbors - given how few cars were in the parking lot of St. Catherine of Siena Church for this morning's 9:30 Mass. A lovely service: Maurice at the keyboard with a soloist singing the Ave Maria.

A quiet day. Both Arianna and I strive to push away thoughts of the resumption of our routines. We play games, work at the puzzle, read, watch Abbot & Costello. I filled in the birthdays, anniversaries, and deaths of family and friends on the 2012 calendar - my annual New Year's Day tradition. Tonight Downton Abbey @ 8 PM. Then to bed.