Madeleine Monday

The kid has no fear of cold (not that it gets bitter cold around here). What she did object to was dragging the sled back uphill by herself. Daughter Emily didn't own a pair of snow boots and wasn't about to trip downhill in her street boots with 2 inch heels. So, it was declared to be hot chocolate time.

Yesterday morning she and her mom built a snowman in front of our house. I think that's a baby carrot for the nose. Nothing handy for a mouth but her old broken sunglasses were an inspired addition. 

              

We're Not Used To This

Okay, no sniggers from northerners. I've been lazy about posting lately but this is what has been going on around us. We don't get a lot of anow most winters. This weekend has been an exception.

It's unusual for me to get a shot from the passenger seat of a car. I had to have my neck magnetically resonated on Friday. It's messed up enough that they had to give me some narcs to be able to lie flat for 20 minutes and I was not allowed to drive myself home. Mrs. C did the honors. This shot is from mid-afternoon Friday. I'm writing this mid-day Sunday and there is still a little bit falling. The Lou panics when it snows. It took us an hour to get home from the Washington University Medical Center, a drive that would be fifteen minutes off rush hour.           

Drill, Baby, Drill

I always admire the craft of ice sculptors. We see them working freehand with precision. Do they have some kind of template when they start the process? Where do you get an ice template? 

About out of material so may have to go archive diving. We are expecting a fair amount of snow from Friday afternoon into Saturday and that should provide plenty.  I may not like it so much but Ellie will.        

The Piasa Bird

Just upstream from the center of Alton, Illinois, there is a limestone bluff with the image of a fearsome creature. It is known as the Piasa Bird (pronounced PIE-a-saw). Its history and meaning is too long to set out here but if you are interested click this link.         

After Elvis Left The Building . . .

. . . in Las Vegas, presumably, it appears he ended up at a bar and restaurant in Grafton, Illinois. It's a nice little river town with some marine services and attractions for people driving on the Great River Road along the Mississippi. You quickly notice that most of the buildings below the bluff are built on pillars. The river sometimes floods big time.

We were looking for a lunch place with something Ellie would eat. (Classic chicken nuggets and and fries were fine.) You walk up stairs from the parking lot and are greeted by the host.  Tips are neither expected or accepted.