January 2012
Looking Back... January 2012
13 January 2012 - 2:55pm
The dog days of winter
Woof!
Poor pup is encased in ice.
Bless Rick (our graphic artist), he sent me this photo from this morning. I'd just cranked up my space heater, trying to talk myself into heading out into the park to find just such a photo.
(Originally posted 2/13/08)
11 January 2012 - 5:45pm
Testy times
(This HoliBlog entry was originally posted on 9/1/05)
It's back-to-school time. And the kiddos aren't the only ones taking tests.
Will, Mrs. Koch and our staff of directors are taking tests this week, too. The online "assessments" are meant to tell us about our strengths and weaknesses (or, rather, opportunities for growth).
I plowed through all the questionnaires (the first one has 435 questions!) on the first day. (No doubt, that tells the analyst something about me before he or she even looks at my responses.)
Mrs. Koch has been out of town, but she's back now and is determined to complete hers today. Meanwhile, a professional photographer drove down this morning from Bloomington. Mrs. Koch is slated to be the cover girl for a really nice regional home and lifestyle magazine. She and her home will be featured in their December issue. The giant black Christmas tree is already in place. Other decorations stay up year-round. Lots and lots of Santas.
In between shot set-ups, we were laughing about some of the "true or false" statements on the first questionnaire.
True or false?
Everything tastes the same.
I prefer showers to baths.
I enjoy listening to the symphony on the radio.
I half-expected to be asked: Boxers or briefs?
Mrs. Koch says the last time she took such a test was back in the 1950s.
When she was a Catholic nun.
The Sisters all took the Rorschach test. (That's the ink-blot test.) It wasn't long before Mrs. Koch had us howling: They called me in after I took the test. Very concerned. Sister told me, "Nuns shouldn't think that way!" What was I supposed to see in those ink blots? Angels? I saw body parts. I probably said "pelvis" and that was all it took. Good grief! I was a nurse and studied anatomy. What was the big deal? They never did tell me exactly what concerned them about my answers. (Sigh!) Maybe I'll do better on these tests...
11 January 2012 - 11:53am
Anyone know these beauties?
We were sorting through some archival photos the other day and wondered about this photo:
Goodness! Is that Marilyn?
And what's with those high heels?
Must be beauty queens. (If so, where are their sashes? Their tiaras? Didn't they have tiaras back then? What good is it being a beauty queen if you don't get to wear a tiara...)
If you're wondering where this was taken, it was back when the Santa statue was located in front of Santa Claus Land's main buildings (this area is now "back of the house"). Santa was elevated somewhat, and there were steps to get up on the same level with him.
Anyone recognize these ladies? If so, please be sure to email me so we can share the story.
(The above blog entry was first posted on 9/8/05 and by the next week, we had some "answers." Here's the second HoliBlog post:)
Where are they now?
Remember those mystery ladies from one of last week's posts? We've identified them all!
Thanks to a series of emails from interested parties (actually, they were all from my Cousin Jeff in St. Louis), we now know that those beauties all went on to find successful careers in the public eye.
Again, this is a photo from our Santa Claus Land archives. No scribbled notes on the back. No date.
But don't you think this might be Marilyn?
Just take a quick look and you'll probably agree.
Don't stare, though.
That's rude.
And couldn't this possibly be Jackie?
You know...Jackie O. ...back when she was Jackie B.
After identifying the most famous beauties, I was stuck.
Cousin Jeff came to the rescue within hours via email.
This beauty next to "Jackie" looks like Lucy's friend (not Ethel ... her other friend) but I'm drawing a blank.
Hmm... let's Google that.
Oh yes - Betty Ramsey! (The actress's name was Mary Jane Croft. She hailed from Muncie, Indiana. )
And Jeff says this next bathing beauty must be Andrea Martin.
By golly, she does look familiar, but I'm not sure if the ages synch up.
Close enough.
We're almost done!
But this one (no offense, Jeff!), I really do question.
According to Jeff, "The final beauty is now a grandma. Why, that's Lindsay Lohan's grandmother Bertie Lohan. Her friends just called her "Bert."
Maybe we'll try this again some day. We have lots and lots of old photos. And for some reason, every single face looks familiar.
9 January 2012 - 6:23pm
" ... just another Mammoth Monday"
It turned into quite a fun-day, as the first pieces of Mammoth fiberglass took flight.
It all began shortly after 7:30 this morning.
This first piece is part of Mammoth's first drop.
We started with a low-to-the-ground piece.
Yes, it's all ... ahem! ... uphill from here.
Each piece of Mammoth fiberglass will be lovingly guided into place by a human while being hoisted by a mammoth crane.
Want to watch the process live? Take a look at the Mammoth ConstructionCam.
Nathan shot a video of that first piece swinging into place:
9 January 2012 - 12:19pm
Cyber Santa
(Originally posted 8/27/08)
What a week.
Pilgrims Plunge announcement.
The town's first traffic light.
... and now this.
We're the featured iPhone Photo of the Week:
And to think it's only Wednesday.
