Snow

Here you can see a row of the larger bell used in a handbell choir. They have to be handle with both hands, or you will sprain more than just a wrist…

Bill had in our group someone who had been ringing for more that ten years and he had me and Jacques who could barely read music. And in a very special way he kept us all interested, showed us the basic techniques, discussed choir directors differences and also had us play five or six pieces of music written for bells. Starting with a very simple tune and then getting more and more complicated as the afternoon progressed.

We stood at the long row of tables prepared for the evening’s concert.

We had to concentrate so much that smiling was not even considered although everybody said afterwards how much they enjoyed the workshop.

More soon!!

Apart from the visit to the ice sculptures yesterday, I had another very unique experience yesterday: I took my two sons and we participated in a handbellringing workshop!

I have seen a handbell choir before in Europe, but those were with cowbells and very ‘folksy’. What we ‘discovered’, was an artform that was very new to me.

The photo at the top shows one of the bells I played with. The strikers inside are controled only to swing along a single plane and is felt covered, so that the bells give of wonderful mellow tones and no harch sounds.

The workshop was presented in a very special way by a very special man: Bill Alexander, from Duluth, Minnesota.

But more about him, his choir and the workshop tomorrow.

This morning saw us up before dawn and in the new minivan on our way to Rice Park in Downtown St. Paul. We arrived there before the crowds to see the ice sculptures that had been finished the night before. The little light in the trees were still on and the temperature gave us a mercifull windless -15ºC.

Behind me and my mom you can see the ice sail of a viking ship – not much of us is showing…..

Friday’s half an inch of snow did its magic with a thin white coat everywhere.
Ice sculptures like this magnificent Pegasus is just not the same unless surrounded by snow.

Sneak peak! This is the behind of the new ram in my garage!
Yes, the lease of our big conversion van expires soon and we decided to change to a minivan – A Dodge Grand Caravan (a ram is the symbol on the Dodge’s nose).

Photos as soon as I take it out the garage in daylight!

Just a day or two before Christmas we had a flurry or two, just to put a
slight dusting of snow on the ground and placate the many people who were
clamoring for a white Christmas. And Ouma Marie had to contend with that.

It has now officially been declared the fifth driest winter ever and it is
starting to hurt the economy – there are many businesses who rely on skiing
and ice fishing and all the many outdoor activities of Minnesota that
relies on there being snow on the ground.

And to cap it all, we have just busted all records for 7/8 January – at
12ºC each day it is the warmest it has ever been on each of these two days.
Yesterday was also the earliest that it has ever reached 12ºC (54ºF) in a
calendar year.

Most Minnesotans are smiling and enjoying the balmy weather – there are
motorcycles on the road and cars are getting washed (not always possible at
the -10 – -15º that it should be this time of year). But the rest of us (I
call us the romantics) are lamenting the absence of at least a foot of snow
at this time of year.

According to the predictions, however, this is the last day of summer -
tonight and tomorrow or temperature will drop with more than twenty degrees
C and for same days we will be back to normal. This cold front falling
down on us from Canada, will hopefully bring some snow as well!