Southern is Relative

I've been living in the South for quite a few years now...almost 20.  But I have to say, that my daughter wins this one.  Here is a recent photo of Sparky in Antarctica.  I guess her "south" beats my "south" by a landslide...or perhaps a polar ice cap.

Merry Christmas to All!

Merry Christmas to all.  

And to my daughter in Antarctica, Sparky, I love you and miss you so much.  Christmas isn't the same without you, but I'm so happy you're doing what you love.  We'll have fun when you next visit.

(penguins, courtesy of Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas- this kind even knows how to skate!)

Antarctica's Recycling Program Upgraded

It's time for another small Antarctica post.  As many of you know, my daughter works down there and leads me to some great photos, blogs and other sources of information.

The other night, we were chatting about the recycling down there.  We're always very careful of what is sent to her, because there is no landfill where she is and all trash has to be reused somehow, burned or brought back out of the continent.

It appears that the inhabitants of the station have quite a sense of humor.  I heard that prior to the head of the waste program's arrival, a few new containers were added for grins.

and

And in her usual fashion, my daughter actually checked in the glitter bin recently and found that someone had recycled their glitter make up.  Unfortunately, that wasn't what Sparky was hoping for.  She was looking for the usual craft store variety.  (And by the way, the back of this bin has little unicorn heads painted on it.)

Hope you have a good weekend.  See you Sunday.  I'm in Austin teaching and will pop up a quick post to say hi.

Penguin Party

Well it's that time of year.  My daughter has returned to Antarctica to work.  Luckily, there is an easy way for her to communicate with us, despite the cold, windy weather.  (It was -10 the other day).  This photo of Emperor Penguins found down there, which was on one of their websites.

And here's an Adelie Penguin.  Cute little thing, isn't it?  My daughter has photos of these type of penguins following some runners during a marathon.  They look like the Happy Feet movie kind.

See you tomorrow.

Sparky's Continuing Adventure

My daughter Sparky won't be home for Thanksgiving again this year. For those who have followed my blog for years, you'll know that she's working in Antarctica for their summer season again.

Sparks called us last night using an iridium phone from Byrd Camp in the middle of the continent. She's living in a small tent and helping build the tent city for scientists and others who will be using it.

As with each call, I learn something new- she said the weather has been holding them back a bit with windchill making it close to -50 below at times, wind at 40 knots and about 20' visibility... yikes! She sleeps with her water bottle, so it doesn't totally freeze up. Makes me appreciate my warm, cozy house so much more.

One of the cool things about their environment right now are the "sun dogs" Have you heard of them? This is new to me. They're like halo reflections on each side of the sun. She said with the snow, (and 24 hour sunlight), the reflect even more and it looks like little rainbows all over the sky.

So as always, I miss her. But I'm really proud of her. She said it's a dream job for her and what parent doesn't want their kids to be that happy?

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

Wishing you family and friends and lots of laughs and conversation today.

And to those of you who have dear family members who can't be with you, I'm sending out hugs.

Today, I'm missing my daughter who is happily working in Antarctica. I sure
miss her, but know she loves what she's doing and that's important. But holidays just aren't the same without her.

So cheers to you all and wishing you happy holiday.

And thank you for indulging a Mom with getting personal for a moment. Sparky, if you're reading this, I'll pour one out for you!

Love,
Mom

Headed Back To The Ice...Continuing Saga of Sparky's Adventures

My daughter, aka Sparky, is headed back to "the ice". For those of you who are newer to my blog, that's her term for Antarctica. She works there for about half a year and then her past history is to travel and have adventures the rest of the year.

She messaged me that she's in New Zealand, until her employer is ready to fly her in. You see, the weather conditions need to be right. They're heading out of winter and into spring. And that it's freaking cold is an understatement.

If you look at the bottom right side of my blog, I have reinstalled my Antarctica clock and weather do-hickey. It's my Mom-O-Meter. You know we can't resist checking up on our kids, no matter how old they are.

Okay back to glass and creativity talk tomorrow. Thanks for the quick personal post. I promise, I won't indulge too often.

Going Green

  My daughter has left "the ice" and is in greener pastures...literally.

With her job in Antarctica over, my daughter has left the volcanic rock and ice shelf and is now enjoying an extended camping and climbing tour around New Zealand and Australia.

Hope you've enjoyed the tidbits about Antarctica.  I know for me, it's been an education about a very different life style.

She has said that she's happy to see sunsets again.  The 24 hour sunlight was a very different environment.  And although we haven't chatted with her since she landed in the next continent, we know that she's filling her senses with people, pets, vegetation and probably lots of fresh veggies and spicy food.  Kiwis watch out.  If you see a banjo toting young woman who enjoys wearing purple and red together, you might just have spotted her.

 Thanks for the mini vacation while I'm teaching. We're back to glass topics tomorrow.  See you then.

Here's an update about my daughter down in Antarctica. Sparky has been traveling around a bit.

This first photo is a picture of her at the real South Pole. (Kind of funny looking striped pole, isn't it?)

There's a new visitors' center building there, but I wonder how many people make it to visit. She arrived on an airplane that had skis where the wheels normally are located.

Thls photo is where the ocean meets the ice.

It's still daylight 24/7 . She says she misses having lots of fresh produce, being around pets and children and of course she misses regular vegetation. She's my outdoor kid who loves it all.

I'm really happy that she had this wonderful opportunity to experience Antarctica, but I know she's really going to enjoy the next step of her adventure as she hikes and climbs her way around New Zealand and part of Australia after she leaves this job.

I always have a problem with photos in these blogs and I apologize if it looks more like a crazy quilt. But I wanted to show you a couple of photos. My friend Alice asked about their water supply down there and Sparks said that they use ocean water and purify it. So that's my latest update and if you ever want to see the current temperature down there. Look on the lower right side of my blog and there's a little widget that will tell you.

Happy weekend. See you tomorrow with some real glass information.

Adventures in Antarctica Update

For a blog that focuses on hot molten glass, here's a little icy, wintery cold.

Some of you know that my daughter is working in Antarctica these days. I thought I'd share a couple of the photos that she has sent of her surrounding area and experiences.

This first one is a 12000 foot tall active volcano. It's Mount Erebus and is one of the four volcanos which formed Ross Island, where my daughter is. It's funny thinking that she's living on top of lava which is buried underneath all that snow and ice.

The second and third photos are inside of ice caves. These are located at the point where the tongue of the Erebus Glacier meets the sea ice.
My daughter says that these are the actual colors.

She's enjoying her "summer" down there. If you look at the bottom right side of my blog, I always keep the time and temperature widget there. You can check daily, like I do, to see what their weather is like.

As you can imagine, there's a limited living space and about 1000 or so inhabitants there right now.
They find ways to make their own fun, although there are 3 bars at McMurdo Station where she is.
She said it's funny leaving there at night and having to wear sunglasses. She hasn't seen a sunset since September 20th.

This is the first year without her at home for Christmas and already I'm missing her. But I am thrilled for her being able to travel to far away places and experience life. She's happy, healthy and having fun. What more can you ask for your kids?