Wonderfully White New Year !
by Rachelle Siegrist
Unbelievably, yet another year has passed, seemingly passing more quickly each time! We rang in the New Year, while playing Mexican Train at a party, with Fred and Barb and friends, at their neighborhood barn nearby! New Year’s evening was spent with neighbor friends enjoying dinner at our house, followed by dessert and a night of music at friends Dick and Elise’s beautiful home. Elsie played her baby grand while Tom played along on his guitar and I on my hammered dulcimer, and we all sang along, filling the air with joyous sounds and at times much laughter! It was a delightful evening to say the least and indeed a truly inspirational way to start off the New Year!
Yesterday we woke up to a white world and it was simply gorgeous! Last year we missed the snow, and thus sledding opportunities, so I was thrilled it came while we were here this year! Like a good friend recently said to me . . . “I wish it would snow, at least it’s compensation for enduring the cold!” I totally agree and it seems to brighten the world up! So after taking a few photos of our snowy landscape yesterday morning, after lunch we headed out with several friends to enjoy it on our sleds!
After a short walk we were at one of our favorite sledding spots and the adventures began! I made the first trip down on my purple sled and it was pretty exciting! Then Tom and his grandson Chance loaded up on their inner tube and started down the hill. Within seconds they had really picked up speed and were flying and bouncing along! Then all of a sudden they hit a deeper section of snow and looked as if they became human snow plows, as the snow was flying over them so densely that you could hardly see them at times, giving them both a real “snow shower”. Squeals and laughter could be heard all over the mountains I’m sure, as we witnessed their extreme snow tubing trip and thus Chance’s first real induction into the world of snow! Many thanks to Kit for getting this awesome video of the human snow plows! To see it click . . . video (On Facebook so hopefully you can see it)
Then suddenly the inner tube became the favorite thing to ride and we all took turns flying down the hill on it! Between the tube and sleds we sped along shooting up and going completely airborne each time we hit the one particular hump, filling the air with squeals and “yee-haws“! This went on for as long as we could stand the cold, while Wes warmed little Chance up after his one and only trip, with that becoming his favorite seat during our outing! After thawing out back at home, we returned later that afternoon once the sun had finally popped out, and of course had a blast once again! This time I too had my tube, and the dropping temperatures had made it freeze, causing us to fly even faster that time around! Chance decided he loved to sled too on the shorter runs! Afterwards we enjoyed a relaxing and warm evening at Tom and Sharon’s home, while eating pizza . . . A great ending to a great day!
Lovely views of our front yard dressed in white
A beautiful snowy scene from our front door and the greenhouse in the backyard
Yes, the snow is still here today and I must say I’m very anxious to get back out there on the sled for a little while with our friends, enjoying it while we have it!
~ See Our Miniature Paintings In Person ~
The Miniature Art Society of Florida’s exhibition opens this coming Sunday the 14th, at The Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art in Tarpon Springs, FL. Sadly, Wes and I will not be attending this year, but we encourage you to see this wonderful miniature show if you are in the area! For more information visit MASF or Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art
~ Fresh off the Easels ~
Wes finished his latest commission of a Red-shouldered Hawk and Crows this past week, and I finished my miniature landscape painting featuring a beautiful section of Yellowstone from one of our trips out there in years past. Wes also finished his painting of a Gray Jay, which we really enjoyed watching when we were out West!
~ To Commission A Painting by Us Click Here!
Until next time . . .
~ Rachelle
Under the Magnifying Glass 
Very nice Blog this week! D
Thanks Don! We has a blast yesterday and had even more fun today sledding and snow tubing!!!!
Rachelle 🙂