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We need a litte cold and snow in the Grand Duchy!

Here is a picture of Santa Claus/Father Christmas in fur-trimmed purple robes, whch make his look magical and almost wizard-like.

Lots of people moan about winter weather, but I love it.  Winter is my favorite season, and my ideal day is about 20 degrees Fahrenheit with 7-10" of fresh powdery snow on the ground.  Ideal for Nordic (cross-country) skiing even without groomed trails.  Sadly, we have so far had a pretty balmy December here in Central Illinois.  Sunny and 45 degrees Fahrenheit today and warmer tomorrow.  There have been times in recent years (though not in 2011) when is was bitterly cold with snow on the ground by now.  And pre-Young Master Paul, the Grand Duchess and I have even enjoyed skiing locally and in Southern Wisconsin by now.  Sigh.  Yes.  We need some cold and snow right this very minute, to paraphrase the song!

On another note, I've tinkered with the GD of S blog format again, opting for a rather more dynamic appearance that has yet been the case.  It's certainly more eye-catching, and even busier, but I am aware that old black design with white font was not easy for everyone to read.  Hence the new look.  I hope you might like it.

Off to school in  a little while to collect my last batch of undergraduate papers.  I hope to have all of my final grades submitted by Saturday or Sunday this weekend, so I can work on my own things for a while.  And, true to pre-Christmas form, it's a busy time here at Stollen Central.  Friday evening, I play my final gig with my amateur rock band The Indras.  We've had a good four-year run, but it's time to either move on or reconfigure the band.  Of course if I could find guys who would reliably practice and not take months to learn a handful of new tunes.  Sigh.  

On other fronts, the Grand Duchess and I  also have a small party coming up here at Stollen Central on Saturday, and we plan to decorate the Christmas trees next Monday.  And then, it's fairly quiet sailing on into Christmas Week and the end of the year.  And in the meantime, I'll keep plugging away that those 18 remaining Minden and RSM95 staff figures. 

Comments

Peter Douglas said…
Stokes

We have plenty of snow and cold here - and you're more than welcome to it. It's warmed up to -13C today (that's 9F for those of you still measuring in medieval king's body parts) and we've already had more snow that we did all last winter. The link shows a photo (not mine) of the yard at my daughter's high school complete with Coyote.

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/details/620/8982506/2/cask0261/plpcities/1920/

As for the band, I checked you out on bandmix and I do bash out early Beatles and rockabilly on an Epiphone Casino in my basement, but that is a long drive from your home base!

Hope you get some results on both fronts soon.

Cheers
PD
11:34 AM
Mike Siggins said…
Blimey Stokes, you have gone all Pinterest on us.

My personal advice would be to adopt a scheme and font that evokes the 18th century!
2:08 AM
Big Andy said…
We have as the local say nae snaa here - yet but you can have the cold- and the frezing fog too if you like.
4:04 AM
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