Driving to my book discussion meeting on Tuesday in a snowstorm was both
harrowing and awe inspiring.While the fine snow made visibility short
range,  it stuck on each branch and twig of every tree. It was so
beautiful! I felt like I was driving through a Christmas card. Words
cannot describe just how stunning the scenery was and I did my best to
etch it upon my memory.
     
Passing a bank around the corner from the meeting place, a bank showed the temperature at 77 degrees! I did a double take & burst out laughing. I took my camera purposely to take some scenic pics, but the car was acting weird on the way home, so I didn't stop anywhere. I was afraid it wouldn't start again.
   Now much of the snow has blown off the trees, but still lingers on the larger branches. There's still 4 or 5 inches on the ground and all the parking lots have giant piles of snow pushed out of the way, in some cases, resembling mini mountain ranges. Here's an icicle hanging from the corner of my building, it's more than 2 feet long. I can see it from my living room window and have watched it 'grow' since the weekend. It's going to be sad when it finally falls. But, thankfully, it's still too cold for that to happen.
               

                

    This was my absolute favorite item at the show. A pteradactyl  planter! I'm sure it's intended to be dragons, but the Art Deco style makes them look more like the flying dinosaurs, plus it's in my favorite colors;blue & green. Since everything on the table was in the triple digits, I didn't bother looking at the price, because I knew I couldn't afford it.
                                                                                
While most of the booths at the
antique show were of actual antiques, a couple had handmade items that
fir the theme. The strangest was these chairs made out of doors
salvaged from old house, cut & repainted. My sister thought they
were just for decoration, but when we went past again there was a tall
man sitting in one, so they are usable. Looking like something from a storybook, they would be great for a household with kids.
                  
   What I could afford was a pretty glass insulator, which were used to hold wires on telegraph poles. I've long wanted one, but they are hard to find. I also got a little  lead horse, who obviously lost his rider along the way. He was galloping through a platoon of WW2 soldiers, looking out of place.  I know the front legs aren't quite right, but I really like the arch of his neck. They are both sitting on my windowsill. My sister did more intense shopping and even bought me a set of knight bookends that I've wanted since last summer. They are for my birthday next month, so I'll show you a photo when I get them. All around, it was a nice way to spend a cold winter day.
         

                            
     Saturday, my sister & I went to an antique show at a local high school. It was her alma mater, so she was interested in how it had changed. Smaller than the outdoor shows, there was still a lot to see. There wasn't as much furniture or farm implements, due to lack of space, so it was mostly decorative items, china and jewelry in a wide variety of styles. Some of the items were so large, you'd need a huge table just to hold them. Perhaps they were intended to have their own pedestal in a marble foyer?  
    I was pleased to see lots of animal themed stuff, that's what I mostly photographed. Loads of chickens in various media. There was an abundance of planters in various animals, the cutest being a bear cub on a log. This was one I liked a lot, Art Deco ducks with matching planter. I usually don't go for the color pink, but this was appealing for some reason.
     
   The same vendor had a large bull, in blue glass, it must've been 2 feet long. Across the room, another person had a reclining brass bison about the same size. Had either dropped on you, they'd have done some damage.
       

     Stay tuned to my next entry for more photos, including my favorite item of the show, as well as my purchases.
   
   

  My second art show of the year is on view now at another suburban library. It went up Jan. 14th, which overlapped the other one for a few weeks. This one is small works in a nice display case and went up quickly. The employees seemed to like it, at one point there was a small crowd standing around admiring my work. One librarian walked by, was startled and exclaimed "Ooooh, color!" It's there until next Friday, the 22nd.
   

  

   A tropical fish group that I belong to has a photo contest with a specific subject each month. February is Castles. Some members are posting pics of actual castles in England. For my entry, I'm taking a different angle. *wink* Here's a new photo of my crown-tail betta, Bengal in his tank. You might remember when I got him last summer.

   I'm doing better this week. Gotten some things done & am not as down. Looking forward to the Ralph Fiennes movie, "Doris and Bernard", on HBO this Saturday. There's another of his on the big screen starting this Friday, "In Bruges", but don't know when it will be near me. It's a violent one, so that's making me nervous. Guess I can just look at my shoes when all of the shooting starts.

   My regular eye doctor was out of the office last week, so I went to the one that my mom & sister go to. She's not on my insurance plan, but didn't charge much because of the situation. That was really kind of her. Anyways, it turns out that my symptoms are a direct result of stress and fatigue and told me warm compresses & eye drops would help to a certain extent, but that only more sleep and calm would eliminate the problem completely. She also said I needed bifocals to lessen the strain of reading & computer use, so I'll be making an appointment with my regular dr. for that soon.My eye feels a lot better after just a few days of drops, etc. but I'm still trying to limit my time online.

    Rufus has been extra playful lately, as if he knows I need cheering up. My painting is going well. A local library is having a book sale at the end of the week that I'm hoping to attend and I'm trying to concentrate on positive things.