Tiffany in Florida

[Judy K]

http://www.morsemuseum.org/special_exhibitions/laurelton_exp_new.html

This could be a very nice winter day distraction. Wish I lived closer.

[Wayne]

I met a friend at the Morse a couple months ago.  He has the ambition to move out of the normal stained glass arena and into the artist oriented Tiffany type of glass.  It takes about 5 hours of steady discussions and talking to get through the shades and windows they have on display.  It is not the number of items currently on display  but the depth to which each must be studied.  The Morse has the largest collection of Tiffany products from furniture, pottery, blown glass, enamels, jewelry, lamps and shades, windows, and mosaics.  The addition of the Daffodil terrace and the expansion which adds another 250 objects in Feb will add even more time to the in depth study.

They rotate some of the inventory every year so the study is even more exciting.
BTW, the admission is $3.00

[Glassic]

I'll pop down there for you Judy, it's less than an hour away!

[Wayne]

I'll pop down there for you Judy, it's less than an hour away!

Where are you in FL?  I thought you were in the Orlando area.

[Glassic]

North of, will be staying nr Mt Dora.

[Graham]

I'll pop down there for you Judy, it's less than an hour away!

Stop saying things like that to Judy.
That's the sort of statement that's liable to cause an Alaskan to scream (or worse)..

[Glassic]

If you guys stop reiterating she might not want to scream. 

[Graham]

If you guys stop reiterating she might not want to scream. 

But making Judy scream is in my job description. I don't want to neglect my duties and get myself fired. Besides, she's go such lovely tonal quality. It's like a trip to The Met, when she raises her voice.

[Judy K]

I can sing out in harmony to myself if I am real quick, and the last scream is still in the air. :)

Actually, I want you guys to go and tell me about anything really cool, I mean awesome, I will keep the cool here. Not much energy to scream right now. The dark and cold is bringing on serious hybernation desires, Hiding sounds real good today.

[Judy K]

What I do not want to hear about is how you ate fresh oranges off the tree for lunch, while sitting in the sun on the lawn outside the museum. Then I might have a more diffecult time controlling my zen attitude. And you might hear it all the way from here. So PLEASE enjoy yourself for me, but dont tell me too much :)

[Glassic]

You can bask in the knowledge that I am still freezing my butt in KS, not leaving 'til Friday....I hope. The oranges probably froze off the trees a few nights ago.

[Kev]

It's been in the low forties all day and expected to reach down to the 30's tonight, with some places hitting the 20's.

I thought I moved to Florida?

[Judy K]

Kev we are warmer than you, I have 34 degrees. ......... Oh wait, @#$@#% there is a minus infront of that 34 

It was always so sad in Calif when the fruit froze. I remember the pot burners between the trees trying to raise the surrounding temp enough to save the fruit. With last winter and the start of this, I think the swing toward cold is back. We will see.

[Rebecca]

Record low of 7F here this morning.  Now the prediction is that it will start snowing tonight, but warm up and change to freezing rain.  Oh, goody!

Rebecca

[ct4mom]

This is sure a crazy, cold year so far. I hope things change soon for the travelers. My kids are coming next week and getting worried. Have a safe trip Yvonne!

[Judy K]

There is nothing worse than winter roads. If they have to travel very far I would vote for having a quiet Christmas and a big Family Easter Party if the roads are icy. Better than a nightmare memory. I try to stay off the roads and prioritize shopping, visiting, and safety. 99 times out of 100 everything works fine, but the 1 time can be the only.

Good Luck all

-41 and still dropping :(   Thank God for a small house, good insulation, and a wonderful woodcutting and hauling husband!

[Glassic]

 Thanks Di. Have new tires on the truck!

[ct4mom]

Judy, They are coming to NY from Oklahoma with 3 kids and a pregnant wife. I would rather they wait and we go there when the baby comes...but my son is very home sick. Keeping fingers crossed that the weather gets better.

I dont go out the the messy roads unless I have too and that may be to the store on the corner...if I get stuck I can walk home..

[Rebecca]

It is raining here and freezing when it hits.  Everything is covered in a layer of ice and I am hoping that the power stays on.  My kids (son and dil) are driving from Syracuse on Sunday.  Last year they were stuck on the interstate for 24-hours.  I hope they have an eventless trip this year.  Dil is homesick, too!

Rebecca

[Glassic]

I'm meeting people in TX on Saturday, headed to NY. I'm happy to be headed t'other way!
Put boiing water in birdbath this morning!

[Judy K]

Boiling water in the birdbath , too funny. A birdy hot tub.

I remember being young and invincible. Driving in conditions that should have killed me, so I will just pray for all you travelers and be glad that cars are so much warmer and more reliable than they were 30 years ago. Travel warm and safe all!

Well after my ,"stay off the roads" comment my son called and his car died in town. We drove up to Fairbanks on the icy roads at -41, -46 at the mid point, to give him warm clothes to walk the 1.7 miles to work.

I had not been on the highway since our big ice storm a few weeks ago. Holy Crap what a mess! The road surface was very safe to drive now, if you are used to this stuff, but the trees. Oh my gosh, the poor trees.

I wish I had taken a camera. In 28 years I have never seen such destruction. In 1992 we had a 3 foot weird snow dump on the trees with leaves still on. It was bad. It bent many birch and poplars all winter, and they grew rounded from then on. But this is far worse!

For 50 miles in the hills the trees are bent and broken with and inch or more of ice on them. The forest is just bent over. Even some spruce trees were topped off.

Since I moved here I have seen the tree line move up in elevation by 500 feet. The tundra is becoming forest with the warmer temps. I have seen pictures from 100 years ago that show this whole area as open tundra. In the last 10 years the brush has gone crazy too. Old trails have been completely taken over.

We knew the forest was at optimum burn condition. Too much undergrowth. With any luck this ice storm will relieve some of that fire burden by knocking it all down to rot. But that means we need rain next summer.

After the snow bent trees in '92, people built a lot of bent wood gazebos and stuff. It was fun for weddings. Most of the good stuff has been used up by now. I wonder what will be available next year after this Ice storm has damaged so much forest. Mother Nature is so dynamic. Never a dull moment! It really look amazing in the dark on the way home when the oncoming lights shown on the icy branches.

Stay safe Rebecca. Ice Storms are terrible. I hope your weather warms soon to melt it off.

Stay safe all you drivers, ... and take a camera. It is dangerous out there, but it is also so interesting. :)

[ct4mom]

That happened here a few yrs ago. A freak snow storm in early Oct. destroyed many trees. We got stranded at a friends home and when the driving ban lifted went home and it seemed like we were driving through a war zone. The leaves still on the trees and most were split in half. Many, many had to be cut down.

[Judy K]

Well after my ,"stay off the roads" comment my son called and his car died in town. We drove up to Fairbanks on the icy roads at -41, -46 at the mid point, to give him warm clothes to walk the 1.7 miles to work.

I finally got a hold of my son today to see how his first frosty walk went. He has only been living in town for 6 weeks. Town is 2 hours from home. When he did not answer his phone I was mildly concerned because he works midnight to 8am.

Yippy! Doing the happy dance!!!!!!!! My son did not answer his phone because he went to the new TRON movie in HD in the theater . He went with 5 guys from work. Yippy!!!!!! He walked and had no problem. Laundry is the only issue and he said another guy needs to find the laundry matt too. I told him of a good close one that I used to use for showers and laundry when I lived in my van. It is right on the corner on the way to the university. All the kids that live in cheep dry cabins and go to school use it. So I am sure it is still in good shape. He will also meet other kids that way.

Oh, I am so Happy. My boy is going to build his life from ground up and love it!!!!!!!!!!!! I am proud! His car died, his computer died last month, and his phone is sputtering. But By Summer he will have replaced all of these on his own and he will never forget this tough winter. I am happy for him.

It's not going to a glass show in Florida, but it is still good . Ok, we got a little off topic. :)