Winter in Wisconsin can be mild and easy, or it can be frigid and icy like it has been this year. It’s good news for the cold enthusiasts – the skiers and snowmobilers. Not so much for the peeps that don’t care for it. I do want to say though that through this cold snap when I woke up and poured my morning cup of coffee I gave thanks that I have a home that is safe and warm.
Growing up in the late ‘60’s a snow day was pure, analog magic that started with the hushed ritual of huddling around the giant dinosaur of a remote-less TV, holding our breath as the announcer read the scrolling list of school cancellations in alphabetical order, erupting in a cheer the moment our district was finally called. Once the heavy wool mittens were clipped to our parka sleeves and the bread bags were tucked into our boots to keep our socks dry, the world became our playground. We’d spend hours building lopsided snowmen with coal eyes or trekking to the top of the snow piles dad had plowed up with his old faithful crank-start tractor for some high-stakes sledding on Flying Saucers and wooden Flexible Flyers. Later, when our noses were runny and our fingers ached like little frozen icicles in our wet mittens we’d head inside—limbs heavy and face stinging from the cold—to peel off layers of sodden corduroy and wait for a steaming mug of Swiss Miss with those tiny, hard marshmallows. Great memories..
Fast forward to now, when the cold and snow makes me wish we had a second home somewhere tropical; where I could sit with my computer on a beautiful lanai smelling fragrant flowers and sipping on a pretty little beverage with a paper umbrella and some fresh fruit on a skewer. Huh. Just looked out side. Nope. Still cold. But hey, at least the outdoor thermometer is registering in the positive numbers now. Hope that groundhog didn’t lie.
The Local Art Scene
I’ve been spending some time in town at our art center teaching classes and doing a little volunteering in the Art Treasures room, the sale area that is filled with amazing works of art from our community. Earlier, in December, Edie the event scheduler was musing about something we could do in January to break up the winter a little. She wanted to do a Winterfest where artists would be available to talk about upcoming classes. She set up a fiber art exhibit, was bringing in great food, but she was looking for something that would bring families in to see the facility could be used for so many things. Me, being me, just threw out an idea (I’m never at a loss for suggestions, I have Pinterest and I’m not afraid to use it). How about an indoor snowball fight?
The center is housed in an old brick church with an attached gradeschool. On the lower level there is a gymnasium that was probably the only space Edie didn’t have something planned for. Perfect for a snowball fight.
Something I still haven’t learned in my adult life – if you suggest it, it will become your baby. So now I was planning a snowball fight with no idea how we were going to execute it. Thankfully another volunteer had ideas for details. We set out to make sure that families would not want to miss out. I ordered 1000 snowballs from an online site. That was a start, but they were quite small and seemed awful light. There must be something better..
Being a veteran repurposer I started looking for decorating ideas at the local thrift stores. I was trying to keep the budget low and looking for the best bang for our buck. We had ordered some decorations but it never hurts to look. Imagine my surprise when found a whitish king size fleece type blanket.
A Great Idea. I need some help
With the help of one of the other artists, we were able to turn that blanket into about a hundred baseball sized snowballs. I drafted a pattern, Lori cut the blanket into strips and traced the wedges, and I sewed and stuffed the puffy artillery. It was kind of a mind-numbing task, I was able to work on them and brainstorm other decorating ideas at the same time. I took a bag of them with for my volunteer time in the art store, there would be time to do the hand sewing part. We were getting down to the wire. As I sat at my table a friend that I hadn’t seen in a few years stopped by to drop off some of her amazing quilts. After a hug and a how are you I realized she was not her usual perky mischievous self. We sat and she talked while I sewed. Her husband was having health issues and was moved to a care facility where she would go to spend time with him. Her life had changed in a very big way and it was evident in her talking that she was feeling down. As we visited and reminisced about the quilt guild we had both been part of, what we were working on, her mood lifted some. She finally asked me what I was sewing, so I tossed her a snowball. She chuckled when I told her about the snowball fight, it was nice to see her smile again. That’s when I had an idea. I gave her two more snowballs and instructed her to go see her husband and have a snowball fight with him. The balls were soft and wouldn’t injure him or cause damage in his room. I hoped the surprise would be a distraction from the sadness they were both feeling. Maybe they could feel like kids again, if only for the afternoon. She put the snowballs in her coat pocket and smiled that devilish smile that I remembered and we hugged before she went on her way. I haven’t heard if they worked their magic, I hope her day got better.
I finished the last of the snowballs, I think I’ll make more. If I start now, I can give my kids a bucket of them for christmas this year. The snowball fight was a hit at the art center, we had a good turnout. It was fun to listen to the kids explore the building looking for the hidden wood numbered snowflakes too. According to the volunteers the kids liked the bigger snowballs better, so the smaller ones were mostly in the areas where the younger kids played. Our Winterfest went well and the date is set for the second annual in January next year. I’d better get on the ball!