Snow Night

 It's 1:30 AM on Monday & it has been snowing for over 24 hours here.  There was a lull in the wind, so I went out to do some shoveling.  I actually like doing it, especially very late at night when no one is around.  It's very relaxing & there's something gratifying about clearing the driveway (a little like the feeling you get when you are rolling everything up neatly in Katamari Damacy...sez the gamer geek).  The snow says "shhh" to you as you work, & if you just turn your back to the wind it isn't too bad.

(  pictures )

In other news, Kumo is a lousy cookie-stealing cat!  The furry miscreant snatched one of our gingerbread men & hid with it & ate the whole thing!  Or hid it well, 'cause I sure can't find it.  Even Kiba wouldn't be so bold.  Kumo....!  *fist shakey*

Working on new stuffs for Etsy.  Pictures when everything is done...dragon masks this time.

Wow!!!

 Okay...today in the mail I got the most wondrous thing.   Charlotte has been nominated to be an exchange student this summer...in JAPAN!   I literally cried when I read the notice.  It's the People To People Foundation that sponsors the trip; she'll be part of the Student Ambassadors program & I think it's one of her honors teachers who nominated her, which is so very, very cool.  She got a 3.4 average in her first quarter & I know her Honors History teacher is very quietly impressed with her...I bet it was him.

She'll be in Japan for two weeks & she'll get to do all the things I've always wanted to do; a trip to Mt Fuji (they'll go up to the Fifth Station), a trip to Kyoto to visit various temples, prayer gardens & castles, a trip to the geisha district in Gion...even a visit to an onsen!  She gets a class in calligraphy & tea ceremony, she gets to attend a school there for a day, she'll stay with a sponsoring family for three days & she gets to visit the offices of the Tokugawa Shogunate.  She also is going to spend a day at the Hiroshima memorial site...I'm going to teach her how to fold a paper crane properly for that.  OMG I'm getting misty just thinking about it all.

There's a juried selection process involved.  We're going to find out more about it in January at a special meeting.  She'll be interviewed & she'll have to write an essay.  I'm not worried; she tests very very well & is good with interviews...she'll make it into the program, I'm certain.

It's pretty darn expensive.  6,000 to 6,500 depending on how many children are selected.  I'm really not sure how we'll pay for it...we'll be contacting ALL our family members for help with this one.  All I know is she must go.  This is going to be a life-altering trip for her & she cannot miss out on this chance.

I'm thinking of offering a special line of items at my Etsy site.  I'm good at Japanese Kitsune masks...maybe a line of "Kitsune For Charlotte" masks & keychains, with all the proceeds going to her travel fund?  Would that be a cheesy thing to do?   Thoughts?

Anyway, we're all so excited here that we can think of nothing else.    ^__^