Ice Castle Surprise

Towering two or three stories high....

Right there on the side of the road...

I had never seen anything like these forms before.

What on earth???

How did they form?

Why were they there???

A landscape of the towering ice was taking over an area in front of the Zermatt Resort in the small town of Midway.

At first I thought I would just take a picture from the car window. Then I decided I would get out to get a closer view.

Quickly I realized that would not be good enough! I commanded Bernie to pull our car into the hotel's parking lot so I could get a closer look.

A picket fence was between a side walk and the massive forms, and a gate.

A sign on a tiny booth said it would cost me two dollars to go inside the gate. I got out of the car again, and I motioned to Bernie to join me on the path through the ice.

He waved me on; I kept going, leaving him to enjoy his nice warm car seat.

Each form was so unique!

Every direction I turned afforded me another breath taking view.

The center castle in this picture is three stories high!

Some forms were powdered lightly with snow. The forms were a pale blue, the natural shade that you see in cracks in glaciers and snow crevaces.

Coral...moss...sand castles...stamen...forests

My brain kept searching for just the right word to describe what I was seeing.

About a quarter way into the area, I met Brent Christensen, the creator of this frozen masterpiece.

He briefly told me how they were created: PVC pipe grids were used to grow icicles, which were then harvested each day. Each icicle was then "planted" and sprayed with more water. The structures have been "growing" since December, adding about three feet in height a day. The ice forms are solid ice. No internal structures are used. Brent climbs up the structures to add more and more icicles to the design.

His blog site had pictures of the project since day one. The forms really did change every single day! The night time pictures are especially wonderful. What an amazing place it would be for a wedding!

He and his family and friends tend the creations on an average of 16 hours a day. The Zermatt Resort has given him and his wife a room to stay in while the forms are being made. He and his wife are the parents of six children, ages 6-23, and this has been the first time he has ever created his forms in public. "Today" he told me "is the last day the forms will be maintained". They will now begin to slowly melt away, lasting probably until May.

How did he learn to do this?

He said he used to create them in his own backyard for fun around a small skating rink that he had made for his kids.
Next year he hopes to do it again, only with LED colored lights instead of halogen colored lights illuminating them from inside at night. And if I was in the area, I was welcome to return at dark and see the forms again for free.

Oh gee....how amazing would that be?

This is definitely on the calendar for next year!

I've walked on glaciers, flown over glaciers, and even walked THROUGH glaciers in Switzerland.

This was even more beautiful than what I had seen made by nature.

It was kind of funny; when I was first walking the pathways through the forms, I kept thinking "This couldn't have just been made by nature"; and sure enough, I was was right.

There actually was a "creator" involved.

(If you want to do a moment of deep-ish thinking, consider this fact and compare it to evolution and see what thoughts you think...)

(The ice castle actually looked better without me in the scene, but I could imagine how cool pictures of kids could be on this bench!)

The path wound through narrow passages where the ice was deep blue. Brent assured me no dyes were used; that the blue was the natural color of water.

What was more interesting: the close up view of individual icicles...

or the distant view of their towering elements?

In the center of it all: A natural hot spring fish pond, with a school of brilliant orange fish swirling like embers amidst the colorful aquatic plants.

The night time reflections on the pond must be stunning.

They had ski poles available to aid visitors footing.

I didn't grab one, it did require careful walking on the frozen pathway.

The view back to the hotel.

Next year Brent wants more to add more ice caverns to explore.

Frankly, I hope next year he can franchise this idea so EVERYONE everywhere can enjoy such a fantastic exhibit.

The caverns were amazing too...wish I could have also gone through them at night.

Capturing the height of these forms was a problem.

I wound up holding my camera above my head and clicking away at random.

Just water...slowly poured and freezing naturally. Apparently the forms change daily as the icicles form and reform with the weather.

Wish I could have seen them on a night with a golden and pink sunset!

And then there was a bit of artistic whimsy as well.

It was hard to walk away from the Land of Castles of Ice.

I meandered back to the car and to Bernie...

Bernie had indulged in a bit of whimsy himself: while I was gawking at the ice castles, he had walked over to a Swiss pastry shop and purchased a fresh strawberry studded cheese danish, and a flour-less chocolate mocha treat.

Does this day just keep getting better and better or what?

Just one view of the Swiss Zermatt hotel. It has a killer great spa too.

The bell boy was awfully cute in his traditional Swiss costume. Look at his adorable grin.

Down the street was the Blue Boar Inn, a place where I want to go to dinner some day.

(I've seen the menu: mega yum!)

Midway, a town that I plan to explore more this spring.

I've got a feeling it has a lot more surprises to be discovered.

I am still just amazed at the surprise that it had for us on Saturday. What a bit of serendipity that Bernie had chosen to drive home a different way than before.

There's a first time for everything

I love the chance to try something new.

Was I ready for a first time out on snow shoes at age 55 years and 10 months?

Absolutely!

And it only took me a few minutes to figure out how to put the shoes on.

(Bernie was right there to tell me the buckles go on the outside of the foot. Duh.)

My DIL loaned me her snow shoes; Bernie rented his.

A 45 minute drive over to Soldier's Hollow, and we were ready to hit the trails.

Or would have been, except B.s snowshoe had a broken strap holder!

I was simply flabbergasted that he was able to just reached into this pocket and pull out a plastic tie down (the green little bit that you can see in the picture above).

He was able to cinch the strap down in a jiffy. Now I'm thinking I should start carrying a few of those handy items in my purse along with all my other "might need" emergency paraphernalia.

Posing beside the Olympic sign, I asked Bernie if snowshoeing was an Olympic event.

(Answer: No)

The snow was a tad slushly, and the air was quite warm except when a breeze kicked up.

I kept thinking of my semi-slutty girlfriend who used to ski in springtime wearing just her bikini.

Wonder how snowshoeing in a bikini would be?

Especially at my age.

Hmmm...maybe that "first time" should remain a "never going to happen" opportunity.

I couldn't have asked for a pretty place to take a shake down walk.

And it didn't take long to discover what interested me most: all the animal tracks in the snow!

Now what kind of animals makes this cute little barefoot print?

I'll be scouting out a book on animal tracks before we head out again.

I totally do not understand why white snow photographs up close looks blue, but that fact does help one see the tracks better.

I'm thinking these are deer track?

(I'm also thinking that I need to get my camera lenses cleaned...those spots are from lens dust, not an animal.)

My favorite trail picture of the day.

No, wait...I think this is my favorite!

Bernie liked this one with the paths intersecting.

I'm guessing rabbit tracks. Really, I have never studies animal tracks before.

It amuses to me to see how the snow both hides and reveals the activities of those that live in the wild.

Other tracks are much easier to figure out....

Of course we had to snowshoe up to the tiny cabin at one end of the valley.

This scene gave me flashbacks to the famous novel "Mrs. Mike" by Freedman.

If you haven't already read it, RUN to the library and check it out.

If you haven't read it since you have become an adult, read it again.

It is simply an amazing true love story between a young girl and her Mountie.

The tiny cabin had a small wood burning stove inside. If I was making this cabin my home, my Mister would be hearing some serious nagging about caulking up those gaping walls before I would even try to heat up the place with some firewood.

The shed and a small corral were just a bit up the hill. Dang, I hate it when there is no information about a place like this.

The red barked trees branches added a nice pop of color to the landscape.

B. is looking good! He starting to look more like a skier than a surfer now after all his time on the slopes.

I'm digging this activity!

It was so good to get out and hike around, use our walking sticks again, and just enjoy being together on a Saturday afternoon.

As we trudged along we both recalled our walk about high up in the mountains of Switzerland.

That was a few years back; but we remembered the time we rested on the trail's bench overlooking the snow covered mountains and talk about our dreams for the future.

It was during that conversation that we decided we wanted to live someplace where we could enjoy the changing seasons, and take hikes and explore the outdoors. We made a pact that that would be our future, God willing.

It was just awesome to see that day's dream for our lives has come so beautifully true.

How far did we hike? If you enlarge this picture you will see the words "cabin" in white. Just below it is a small thing that is the cabin that we went to, and we made a big circle getting and returning from there.

A pretty good walk/hike for a first time out!

Oh come on...it wasn't that far!

Bernie had packed us a picnic; we returned to the parking area and noshed on an Oriental salad, shredded beef burritos, and a nice glass of white wine.

I've discovered drinking a glass of wine after exercise sure help to keep the muscles from being sore later.

Or at least that's what I think happens!

We finished our meal, packed up and hopped into our car, GREATLY enjoying the heated seats on our tired legs and back.

Bernie headed a slightly different way home, driving through the small Swiss settled town of Midvale. I was enjoying seeing the cute little houses with typical Swiss cutwork and murals decoration, when suddenly I saw something so astonishing that I turned to Bernie and shouted

"STOP THE CAR!!!!"

To be continued....

Wanna bet?

There was a BIG picture today in our local paper showing the Canadian Women's Hockey team smoking cigars, swilling beer and pouring champagne on each other at the arena after their victory.

Apparently some thought that was offensive; the girls were quick to apologize.

If I was a Canadian cigar store owner, or beer brewer I would be making a point today to ship each girl a congratulatory package of my goods.

If I was one of their mothers I would be explaining to my daughter the value of a non-apology as in:

I am so sorry that you found my smoking and drinking offensive.

Sincerely,

Gold Medal Winner Jane Smith


Privately I would tell her that I hoped she would refrain from cigar smoking except for instances such as winning Olympic medals. Mouth cancer is a threat not to be taken lightly; but my lectures on the subject to my own husband and son has to date fallen on deaf ears. Celebratory events such as a game of golf, a day of skiing or a dip in the hot tub all qualify as cigar puffing worthy events.

All of which is to explain why I am putting forth a small bet on the upcoming Canadian/USA hockey game.

If you agree, here's the bet:

If your team wins, you get to drink the beverage of your choice.

If you lose, you must take at least one puff of a cigar.

And post the picture of yourself doing so on your blog.
(I personally have NEVER smoked ANYTHING ever in my whole life. At age 55, I'm hoping I won't need to give up that standing. But one puff? It won't kill me if I had to do it.)

Anyone interested in betting?

Aw, come on....how often do you get to get in on a crazy bet like this one?

Root, root, root for the home team...

I've been quite taken by all the enthusiastic and supportive Canadian blog "shout outs" to various Canadian home town Olympians.
Isn't it fun to cheer the locals on?
Isn't it just THE BEST when they do good?
It makes watching the events so personal.
So special.
So memorable.

And of course it makes one feel so proud of one's own home town.

I wish I could say it was the same way with our local Salt Lake City area Olympians:

Team USA has 216 members.

FIFTY SEVEN of them reside in Utah either full or part time, mostly in areas that are just minutes away from my house.

(I think the training facilities around Salt Lake and Park City have a wee bit to do with that fact.)

With so many contenders from here, there actually is a "Utah House" up in Vancouver's Olympic Village.

I really can't do "shout outs" for all my homeys; I'd grow hoarse before I was a third of the way down the list!

I'm afraid I could never even survive watching all their events.

Truth be told, most of the time I don't even remember all of their names.

Sort of sad, isn't it?

I know players for Utah have won medals in each category, and more medals are likely still to be won.

Apolo Ono, for instance, has won a few medals in skating

Shannon Bahrke (lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, from Tahoe Calif.) won a Bronze Medal in Free Style Skiing at the Women’s Moguls

Chad Hedrick (lives in Salt Lake City, Utah) won the Bronze medal in Speed Skating Men’s 1000m

Bryon Wilson (lives in Park City, Utah) won a Bronze medal in Free Style Skiing at the Men’s Moguls

Last night another Gold medal was draped on one of our lads.

There are others who have medals of various colors, and I am sure there are more medals coming our way soon.

But I think I have probably already said too much about all this.

You know how it is.

Americans are just modest by nature.

I wouldn't want any one to think I was bragging!

(I just couldn't resist. With love to all my Red Mitten wearing Maple Leaf wagging blogging friends! I cheer for your teams whenever they are not going up against my team and think of all the fun you are having right now.)

Registering china patterns in my mind...

On my way to work and running early for a change...

I stopped at a traffic light by the O.C. Tanner building, originally a library built in 1905 that was renovated just last summer.

Been meaning to take a look at the place...wonder if they will let me inside?

I know the O. C. Tanner company has something to do with jewelry...class rings maybe?

Whatever.***

Looked like it was time for another Field Trip!

I pulled up to the curb in front of the building, put my car in park, scrounged up two quarters for the parking meter and bought myself 30 minutes to explore.



Inside I found a three story high spiral staircase, with an imaginative folded paper sculpture suspended on LED fibers.

There were jewelry cases everywhere, but what immediately caught my eye was...



A series of china plates.

Not just any ordinary plates...these were the plates used in the White House during various Presidential administrations!

Above is the orange lily patterned china that was part of the china service from the Presidency of U. S. Grant right after the Civil War.


Then there was a sample of the china selected by Mary Todd Lincoln...the first time White House china was selected by a First Lady.


(Some people thought Mary was trying to be "royal" with her choice of a purple band on the china).



Mrs. Franklin Roosevelt dignified choice...



Mrs. Wilson's slightly more exuberant choice...



The unexpected and controversial selection of Mrs. Hayes...


Popular with the people, yet panned by the critics. I think she was quite brilliant in her design thinking!



Mrs. Benjamin Harrison's selection with a corn border designed to honor her home state...



With a bit of sad history noted.



Theodore Roosevelt's plate.

and this design sprigged with wildflowers...can you guess which First Lady selected this pattern?
(Answer at the end!)

I learned later that the china display would end Feb. 28th. Whew! What a lucky impulse I had!
As it turns out, the foremost collector of White House china has a friend living in SLC. The friend convinced the collector to to loan some of his collection to the store. An article about the collector and the plates can be read HERE.

I warn you though, collector shared some pretty funny and touching details that are likely to haunt you for awhile. I'm still laughing about his wife's comment about the collection, and President Truman's thoughtful designing methods.

The top floor of the O. C. Tanner building had art objects for sale. I took a fancy to this glass design immediately.

And enjoyed the idea of having this adorable real diamond bunny to wear when feeling spring-ish.

If you are interested in seeing a few more examples of Presidential china, check out THIS or THIS site.

I realize that many of the First Ladies were around my age when they selected china patterns for White House usage.

What a daunting task that must have been for them.

I myself can hardly ever pass by a display of china patterns without mentally deciding which pattern I like best.

Sometimes my husband agrees with me, other times he doesn't.

It is a simple routine that we engage in...yet I find I wince when he doesn't care for my pick.

The First Ladies don't just get feed back from their husbands, they get feed back from the whole country!

How brave they must be to dare to select something that will be commented on forever.

I've read the biographies of many of the First Ladies. They form an amazing sisterhood. So many of them moved into the White House with personal sorrows burdening their hearts, grieving children that died weeks before moving in or miscarriages, bearing personal physical limitations, mental health challenges and homesickness that would over shadow their new station in life.

Growing up they all seemed so poised...now that I am closer to their age I can picture their personal lives better and am quite amazed at how they managed so well in the public eye.

If I should ever be invited to a White House dinner you will be sure to see me edging my way over to the China room to have a look-see, while ignoring the high profile guests seated at the next table. I have a feeling that there would be quite a few women who would be quite game to join me!

So which pattern is your favorite?

Mine is the red bordered Reagan China.

Or maybe it is Theodore Roosevelt's china.

Gosh it is hard to decide!

Answer: Lady Bird Johnson of course, she who championed beautification via wild flowers across her home state of Texas.

***O. C. Tanner makes the Olympic Team rings. Now that's what I call a "class" ring!

When I am old I shall wear leather....

When I grow old (say age 97...) I shall wear leather, dye my hair pink, go to biker bars and shake my bootie while holding on to my walker.

Seriously,...it could happen.

Here's a story about one group of 90+ year old women who did all that!

Oh yeah...I think I already know a few women who would be happy to sign up for such an outing when the time comes.

And I'm thinking about reserving a space at a Bethesda nursing home for some time in the future.

Heck, with this kind of fun, I'd be happy to move in today!

Nursing Home Residents Form a Biker Gang
“I want to be the first one on the bike,” said 90-year-old Scheltes.

(For now, I'll leave biking to my son....)

By ANDREW GREINER

Bethesda

Lydia Scheltes woke up in her bed at Bethesda Retirement Center one morning with pinkish hair, a tattoo on her arm and a hangover. Not a typical morning for the 90-year-old.

“Seniors are more fun than you’ll ever know,” she said.

Scheltes wasn’t alone: Seven ladies and one dude – aged 65 to 97 – all had a similar hazy look in their eyes after they hung out with bikers at the Evil Olive bar in Wicker Park on Feb. 11.

Some of them were still wearing their own biker gear.

Bethesda’s residents usually spend their time knitting or quilting or doing an activity typical of their age group, but they wanted something different for a change. They often drive past the Evil Olive during day trips and fantasized about what goes on inside.

One day Elizabeth Barrett, 68, asked their Life Enrichment Director, Ruth Werstler, if they could check it out.

“I did a little digging and found out it was a nightclub,” Werstler said. “But that didn’t deter them.They still wanted to go.”

In fact, Barrett upped the ante: She suggest going out as bikers.

“It was all my idea,” Barrett says with a devious laugh. “We aren’t the regular type of nursing home.”

Werstler indulged her crew and reached out to various people who could help transform the retirement home crew into a boss biker gang. She recruited hairstylists, make-up artists, a professional costumer and a tattoo artist from Artreach at Lillstreet to donate their time to make the ladies look fearsome.

About 100 people showed up to the club, including members of the Latino American Motorcycle Association and Chicago’s Chapter of A.B.A.T.E.

“These women were serious, man,” said Evil Olive General Manager Eric Bollard. “They showed up with pink hair and skull caps. It was for real. One woman walked straight up to the bar and ordered a Dirty Martini. It was great.”

They even turned the event into a semi-fundraiser. Werstler is trying to raise $25,000 for a touch screen computer system for the non-profit retirement home so that the women can learn and use the Internet. The bikers who showed up pitched in about $250 toward the “Never-Too-Late.”

But it wasn’t the money that tickled the residents. It was the exhilaration of an evening that felt like it “flew by in a nanosecond,” said 66-year-old Janet Kaplan.

Kaplan, who is wheelchair bound and admittedly extremely overweight, was disappointed when she first arrived at the club because there were stairs by the entrance.

“I said, We’re not going to make it,” Kaplan said. “Then before I knew it a group of bikers came and grabbed my wheelchair. All I saw was my head being tipped back and my feet were up in the air and they had me in the club.”

The bikers gave the women club hats, and spent time chatting them up, flirting and even dancing.

“One of our residents, Katie, just turned 97, and she got up with her walker and shook her booty," Kaplan said. "She shook it good."

The one thing the women didn’t get a chance to do was ride on a motorcycle, because it was too cold.

But that’s coming.

LAMA and A.B.A.T.E. members made plans to come by the residence center in the spring and take the ladies for a ride.

“I want to be the first one on the bike,” said 90-year-old Scheltes.

They may ride straight back to Evil Olive.

“Man, those ladies were an awesome bunch," Boland said. "Everyone was so into it that we’re thinking about arranging another party for them soon."

Find this article at:
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/Nursing-Home-Residents-Form-a-Biker-Gang-84805857.html

There is a reason...

Hang around with a librarian and you get fun factoids on the fly...like this one:

Imagine you are holding a new baby in the crook of your arm.

Got the picture in your head?

OK.

In which arm is the precious little head being cradled? Your right arm or left arm?

Next: You are holding a baby over your shoulder, steadying the baby's head with your hand and patting the baby's back with the other hand.

Which shoulder is the baby resting on? Your right shoulder or left shoulder?

Record your arm preference in the Poll at the top of my side bar!

Now for the factoid:

As you probably already know, the human brain is divided into two spheres. The right brain is the more creative or emotional hemisphere and the left brain is the analytical and judgmental hemisphere.

But...the way that the spheres receive information is switched: The left ear/left side of a face informs the right side of the brain emotional information that is needed for bonding and caring, while the right ear/right side of the face delivers information to the left side of the brain, which is concerned with analyzing and evaluating things.

The optimum way for a human to tune into the needs of speechless infant is to observe subtle cues. The left side ear/eyes are best suited to register those cues and deliver them to the right side of the brain, where it bonding and caring occurs.

Interesting, eh? There actually is a good reason behind the inclination to hold infants over a left shoulder!

This information was from a study reported in this month's Psychology Today magazine.

How the brain works facinates me. The brain really is the last frontier in my opinion. Only now do we have the tools to "watch" brains process information. The more studies that I read about brain studies, the more amazed I become.

Who knew that the instinctive left hold on babies had a specific reason?

Not only does the holder have better access to the emotional needs of the baby, but the baby's left ear is held open when held on the holder's left side, enabling the baby to readily process signals with his/her right brain that looks for emotional content. Cool!

The study lead to a suggestion: When speaking messages of emotional content, speak them into the left ear for more impact.

When speaking messages that need analytical processing (such as should we do this or that? or "I've put the mail to go out on the table" for instance..) try speaking the message to the right ear.

Hmmm....this information may be useful on many levels of routine family life!

PS:
Happy Washington's Birthday! Anyone baking a cherry pie out there today?