Well the holidays have come and gone and the tree is sitting by the curb, and it’s back to the ol’ grind in the new year. Getting up before dark and standing out in the cold waiting for the train is what I love best about January. But I don’t want to sound to grumpy. I had a really nice winter break. Got to see some friends and family and do a bunch of travelling and other things, and just as importantly, take some much needed time to rest. Of course the vacation was too short and there were people I wanted to see but didn’t get the chance to. Sorry John, John and Larry.
Here are a few assorted highlights:
Way back over two weeks ago, the Friday before Christmas was supposed to be the night of the kids’ big xmas concert at school, but nature had other plans. A big snowstorm meant school was cancelled so the concert was postponed until the following day prompting all kinds of frenzied reordering of plans. In the end the concert was a success. Lizzy had a Flute solo (the only solo in the band) and did very well.
It was a big xmas for legos. The kids had a lego advent calendar and they both some lego sets as presents, Jeannie set up her lego train from a few years ago around the tree, carrying presents and all. To I got a lego Avatar Air Temple set as a gift from the office. So we put ’em all together under the tree in a big ol’ explosion-at-the-genre-factory kind of legopalooza extravaganza.
We played a good amount of Nintendo after playing virtually none at all since last winter break. Up to 59 stars in Super Mario Galaxy, plus played a bunch of other games at various people’s houses.
I had some good Origami time. I finally got a chance to get back to working on my book. I finished diagramming and laying out my Elephant II, which weighs in at 33 steps, well down from my previous pachyderm with its 57 steps. Also closed in on my Moose, which will be about 70 steps — just the antlers to go — and am more than halfway done with my Adirondack chair. So I now have models diagrammed, and 2 more in striking distance. Not too far off the pace of one a month, which isn’t bad considering I did no origami at all the last month or so. Winter has always been my big origami time, being dark and cold outside and all, so I’m optimistic that I can continue in this groove. (Last year was a bit of an anomaly, as it was right a year ago I started a three-month marathon of working 7 day, 60+ hour weeks. Luckily I don’t have that sort of thing on the horizon now.)
Also my friend John Montroll asked me to fold some of his polyhedra for the cover photo of his forth coming book. I recently bought some Canson, which as an art paper normally used for pastels, thicker than regular kami. I thought it’d be perfect for these models. So far I’ve made 4 out of 5 of them in 12″ squares, and they’ve come out quite well. Nice look, good and very strong.
I also spent some more time on the continuing saga of fixing and upgrading my computer and music recording system. I will talk about that in a separate post, since I’m sure you’ll want all the tedious geeky details.
Lastly we took the girls for a day trip skiing. After staying up and sleeping late every day for more than a week, it was hard going getting up and out the door, and the mountain was the most packed I’ve ever seen it, but the snow was good and we all had a good time. Lizzy is doing quite well. She picked up right were she left off last year and got here groove after a run or two, and even went down a blue trail in the afternoon. Michelle is not a big or strong, and needed some coaxing. I spent a good deal of time with Michelle on the bunny hill, getting her used to basic sliding, turning, stopping, shifting and holding weight and skis. I think she progressed pretty well. I’m hoping she’ll be ready to get on a lift by the end of the season.