Christmas Eve…

Are you ready?

Christmas Mirage

This morning the snow is falling gently and the frost is thick and white.  It’s cold again after a warm afternoon on Monday when we watched this mirage build.  Waves of warm air shimmering on the horizon distort and reflect the view.  Trees flip upside down and stretch upwards until they look like the Cliffs of Insanity.  Grain elevators become skyscrapers and the hills swell like bread dough.

Frosty Christmas

Unusually, we don’t have much snow up here in the Peace Country this winter.  Predictions predict one of the driest and warmest winters for many a year.  However, the weather conditions are certainly providing a strong display of rarer winter phenomena.  We’ve had ice fog and thick hoar frost for weeks, which makes Christmas lights wound through spruce boughs and pine look especially pretty.  LED lights don’t melt the frost, they just glow through it.

Choir Practice

Judy caught this flock warming up.  They stretched, they fluffed, they preened, they chattered.  They spaced themselves along the risers and cast nervous eyes out toward the audience.

Frosty Afternoon

We’ve had some dark and foggy days here, but one bright spot is the hoar frost.  I just had my cell phone for pictures when I took the dogs out, but at least you get the idea.

Starry Nights at the Lodge

It was our last week at the lodge before Christmas because our ladies are so busy with preparations!  We painted Christmas cards again, this time churches on starry winter nights.

The three on the right are demonstration cards. We had two styles ready because these ladies are good 🙂

It’s always fascinating to see what individuals will create, even though we all begin with the same basic composition.

The lights must be on to welcome the people in!

An impressive line up in our temporary gallery. The artists took them right away this time so they could send them out for Christmas.

Pastel Swirls, Step 3

Here’s that Pastel Swirls scarf, still under way.  The scarf has been wetted and flipped over so that the wool is between the silk and the plastic.  Next it will be rolled up around a pool noodle and rolled back and forth many, many times until the wool begins to felt through the silk.

 

Felting on Silk

Warm yet delicate, a Nuno felted scarf is a lovely accessory for any outfit.  The process is delicate in many ways as well (see the previous post to see how the felt is laid out on the silk), but it also involves an electric sander!  Here’s Judy’s Pastel Swirls scarf in the making.  Sanding encourages the wool fibres to work through the silk.

A New Scarf Underway

Judy is working on a new felt scarf. Here is the initial process for laying wool on silk.

Morning Birds

The weather is unusually warm just now, but a clever bird knows winter chill is on the way. We’ve been enjoying watching birds of all sizes visit our yard to gather  bits of food and stash it in secret places. Chickadees, waxwings, blue jays, flickers, ravens and magpies visit daily.