photo by Mr. Heap, Class 6H
Now that the business of Christmas is over, I can get down to the business of preparing for Winter Fun!
I am currently enrolled in Snowman School ↓
“Why Snowman School?” you may be asking. Because this winter, once that snow gets here, I hope to build the biggest, most awesome Snowman ever in the history of Snowmen, since recorded Snow Man history began! And what better way to improve my snowman construction skills and artistry, than by attending an internationally acclaimed Snow Man Academy? In Switzerland. Uh…in the..uh… Swiss Alps. Yeah. That’s it. I’m edu-vacationing. In the snowy mountains of the Swiss Alps. You believe me, right?
The students’ dorm accommodations are a bit severe -
- and the student body is a bit chilly…
But the Common Areas of the Snowman Academy promote academic discussion, and exchanging of ideas -
The cafeteria food is pretty good, too.
On weekends, we go out to the coolest hot spots, and party -
One night, a drunk Snowman managed to get me back to his room…he was obviously very wealthy. How else could he have afforded Mink Sheets?
Eww...he either drools in his sleep (look at his pillow) or I melted him with passion.
Most of the students here are studying Ice Sculpture.
I tried my hand at Ice Sculpture, but this was the best I could come up with:
- photo by Benjamin Diebert
(I’m not sure, but I think the third one from the left is mine…the result of my night of passion with Mister Frostyballs)
I love petting all of the little baby snowmen, and feeding them mini-marshmallows (that’s what snowmen eat, by the way). So, I’m sticking with my snowman classes.
Here’s a few examples of what our Post-Graduates have accomplished:
A flash Mob of Snowmen
An Artistic Interpretation of Snowman-on-Snowman Violence
-Not actually a snowman. Jack from my snow chemistry class just got drunk and fell asleep and froze to death outside of his Frat House - we memorialize him here)
damn those foreign exchange students! Like they even have snow in Japan!
The Senior Out House is always occupied.
When I get back to the states, I am planning on going into the Snow Man Business. I intend to make my fortune in snow people this winter, then retire to my very own private island is the South Pacific.
- where I will continue to make a killing selling Tropical Snowmen to tourists and locals, alike. I have confidence in my ability to succeed. Maybe I’ll set up as an artist who specializes in Snow Man Portraiture.
Now, if we could just get some snow around here, already!
Announcing The Great American
SNOWMAN CONTEST
Do you think you have what it takes to build a mighty and awesome snow man this winter? If so, post your pic on your blog (when snow permits), and leave your comment here, directing me and everyone else to your spectacular post. As winter nears its end, I will devote a post to all of your fantastic snow sculptures.
The Winner Gets
-
Bragging Rights
-
A Guest Post detailing your artistic struggles in creating your frostbitten masterpiece
-
The Mystery Prize inside This Box →
Don’t Delay!
There are only 100 days of winter left!
(Unless you live in Alaska. Or Iceland)
When all the snow melts away, you won’t even be eligible anymore.
I feel robbed. I am robbed. We will not get snow for far more than 100 days and here in far too sunny Canberra we will be lucky to receive enough to make an ice ant. Quite possibly not enough to make an ice amoeba. You Spectra, are geographically prejudiced.
Rant, winge and whine over, I love, love, love the beauties you have presented to challenge those who might get ice away from their refrigerators. (particularly the ice mirror proving that the smug cat is nothing like as gorgeous as she believes).
You claim you “will be lucky to receive enough [snow] to make an ice ant. Quite possibly not enough to make an ice amoeba” But have you considered visiting your local Italian Ice stands, and using the frosty scrapings to build yourself a summer snowman? Also, I will accept marshmallow ephigies. Just sayin…
Hmmm. Thinking hat on (it is a tad tight since it is some time since it was last used). Thinking, thinking, thinking….
Just for you, Dear Elephants Child, I have expanded the snowman requirements to include alternative materials: http://spectrumwoman.com/snow-man-contest/
So now you can join. So there! (maybe make a birdseed snowman?)
Ooooh!! I’d hire you to come decorate my front yard with snow people that look like celebrities. Male celebrities. Of course it only snows in this valley about every 10 years, so it may be a while before i can utilize your many talents, and you’ll be famous by then and will have moved to your secret island and begun a new empire in sand sculpture. Crap. This rainy weather makes me miss soooo many opportunities.
I love the photos. Brrr cold. When I have I beer, I’d rather be sitting in front of a fire instead of a block of ice. Here’s a hug and a toast to you for the new year: Let it snow, girlfriend.
I no longer receive notices that you’ve posted. I checked and I’m still following you. Is anyone else having this problem? I hate to miss one of your posts.
ooch… I have no idea how to fix that. Oh, wait! Here’s an idea… cancel all of your other blog subscriptions. Re-Follow me. If neccessary, begin a new blog, a blog that exists to only follow MINE. If that STILL doesnt work, fire off a nasty letter to those WordPress Gods. They need to know about this. They are screwing me, once again…
- seriously, though… I hope by the end of the day, this problem straightens itself out!
Yep, it did. I got an email telling me you’d posted. Hooray. Now I just sit by the computer waiting to hear if you’ve written anything.
- as it should be!
I had to re-follow too! What is going on?!
I haven’t a clue – except that it had something to do with my privatizing my blog for all of 36 hours! I lost a good quarter of my blog followers…thankyou WordPress. not!
I feel for you. I moved my blog from Blogger to WordPress, and it seemed most of my followers came too. All was fine. Until suddenly the feed stopped working for several people. I had to dump everyone and start all over with a new feed. I lost A LOT of my subscribers. Discouraging.
As for the post, this is great, although being in California I have as much snow myself as the Australians do at the moment. I especially liked the picture of the snow cat.
This doesn’t count as an entry, but I once made a little snowman artwork (can be seen here). Its title, A Telling Sign, comes from a translation of a quote from Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snowman”: “It became warmer and the snowman became smaller. He didn’t say a word, not even one of complaint. And that’s a very telling sign.”
A Telling Sign makes my eyes misty (can you tell I am tired and emotional today). Given Spectra’s expanded material list, I think it is an entry in its own right.
Awwwwwwwww! I LOVE him! He’d make a nice advertisment for our little contest, though
You are so talented, Ms. Chipmunk!
Plus, that surely stinks about losing subscribers. I guess we should keep a list of names and addresses in our draft files, in case these things happen. Technology gives me headaches.
I am STILL waiting for snow in the Northeast! (tho I am sure I will curse it once it arrives)
Sniff… you’re so kind, both of you. Thanks.
I hope, Spectra, that you manage to get the subscriber thing sorted out. Indeed, technology… !!!
Is it normal to still be snowless this time of year in your part of the world? Our weather has been weird–colder and drier than usual. But I guess unusual is becoming the new usual, alas.
It didn’t used to be normal. But these past years, it takes longer and longer for winter to do its thing around here. Then, all of a sudden, we get dumped on, blizzard after blizzard, if that’s the winter we’ll be having, Some years, hardly any snow at all. Last year and before – very snowy
Right now, I am having a wordpress problem, and can’t read my subscriptions, so I have to hunt around to find peoples blogs and posts. Been going on for 2 weeks. Probably time to email those Happiness Engineers (barf)
Perhaps try a third party RSS reader such as Google Reader? That’s what I’ve been using. WordPress…drives me crazy. Not that I’m such a big fan of Google, but at least, for the most part, Reader works (for now!).
Don’t you know, today, it mysteriously began working again? Just a few hours ago. It boggles the mind!
I so want to enter into this contest! Of course, this post comes on the day we are having 50 degree temps and every single last bit of snow has melted. As soon as our first snowstorm of the new year hits, I’ll have to think of something as clever as the snowcat looking in the window at the cat…hmm….
I am counting on you to lead the way, Darla. That’s assuming you have mad cat snowman buidling skills, with all of that Maine snow all winter. Plus, you have your little assistants by your side, someone to fetch pails of snow for you. I eagerly await your masterpiece!
(and I don’t know what’s happening to my subscribers feeds. Maybe it just needs to reset itelf?)
No fair. Darla lives in Maine where there’s at least a CHANCE of snow.
Yeah, I know you’re allowing alternative materials, (Thanks) but I feel our there might be a bias against our non-frosty-entries. It’s challenging to enter a SNOW man contest when we’re working with peanut butter as our main component. Will that be taken into consideration by the elite team of SNOWjudges you’re bedding?
And how many times can we enter? Awww…doesn’t matter. I intend to break the rules anyway.
How’d you figure out I am bedding down these judges?
I am thinking your beloved peanut butter snowman will win the public sentiment over, and you could compete, even with the proffessionally trained, dinosaur-sculpting post graduates. Do not hesitate to enter. You’ve got the Sympathy Vote all wrapped up
You have a good 3 months to outdo yourself, and everyone else. Think…think hard!
I love those snow dinosaurs! If we ever get snow, I’ll totally build one. I haven’t done it since I was little.
Make use of Kiefer and his tribe. I think you’ll’ come up with something spectacular – a giant Pop Tart, perhaps? A not-so-mini-Cupcake? One which you pop out of? The possibilities are endless
Absolutely fabulous!! I thought you were gone forever!!! Thank you for coming back! I’ve loved reading the posts…
-and Thank YOU, NMHW…hey, what’s all those initials stand for, anyway?
The sculptures of snow dinosaurs are awesome. Now I feel compelled to build one myself. If only we got snow in California…
I think there is snow up in the Sierra Nevadas. And in the Trukee Lake area – you know, where the Donner party spent the winter? Now, there is some inspiration right there. SO if you weekend in Trukee or Tahoe, for some skiing, they get 12 foot drifts of snow there. Plus, you’ll have more wonderful pics for your travel blog.
OK! Now I feel like a real DING DONG! I e-mailed you yesterday responding to your comments and called you “Darla” OMG! I am so sorry! LOL For some reason I thought you were “her” …sorry…..I scare myself sometimes! I took a little vaca during Christmas and my brain went on “freeze” or something….no pun intended….HOWEVER I am joining your contest! We live in the Great NW and I can definitely do a kick butt snowman…watch out everyone!
PS: I LOVE the upside down drunk one! ha ha ha ha ha! …..and the cat? hilarious!
I, and everyone else, await your entry! SOme parts of the Northwest (Oregon, and western Washington) don’t get much snow – like 2 inches a year when I lived west of Seattle. Are you closer to Ranier or the Olympics? I can’t wait to see what people create!!!
We live in Spokane. LOTS of snow “usually”! However this years seems to be really late in coming…..but it will come I know it will!…..and when it does!
Your new website is awesome! I hope you will accomplish everything you dream of, and make lots of money, and solve your identity crisis to boot! WOndering, how much does hiring someone to do what your team did cost? Just email me the info…it is something I need to think about, for down the road. Oh – and feel free to leave your link here.
Spectra, darling, so happy you’re back. But I’m sad, because so far the likelihood of us getting any snow is looking pretty slim. Especially since we bought snow tires. That should jinx us for sure. But if we get any, I so would love to enter your contest. Your pictures were great. Love Cinderella’s ice coach, and the cat in the window did tickle my fancy. (Among others). Winter’s just started….there still is hope!
Well, my dearest Garden Mad, if you read the Snowman Contest page, at top, you will see you can work in any medium available to you! Elephants child felt slighted too, and accused me of being, like, a weatherist, or something predjudicial. So I opened up the perameters to include anyone who is currently snow-challenged (including me ::sniff::)
I will e-mail you all the info you want. I am so glad you like the website/blog. It will be slow going at first but I hope if I am diligent to do my part with maintaining it properly it will eventually be successful. I am trying to blog more often ….like at least 3 times a week. Thanks so much for the encouragement. Here is the link http://www.katecourysfarmhouse.com/
Good – I’m glad you left your link. More people need to see the wonderful work you do, and your incredible new blog. Like I said, I feel envious (in a god way?) as your house is so beautiful, you work out like a Banshee, you garden and do canning (love it) and you have a very strong and positive future with your site…have you ever seen Pioneer Womans’s blog? If not, go find her. She is magnificent. And now she has a food show on Food Network, I think. Keep building your site, and I see you going in the same direction!
Thanks for the encouragement! I needed that!
Thanks so much for telling me to leave the link. After the holidays and when all my house clears out from company I am planning on looking at the website as a full time job with regular hours…there will be much more activity on it then.
Oh…I misread this…I thought you.(Spectra) had a new job and site. Woof. I need to find my glasses. Kate’s Country House is so beautiful, it make s me feel like a lazy slacker. I’m going out to console myself with a mud (snow)man.
Pingback: I Shall Win the Snow Man Contest For Myself! « Spectrum Woman
Today, I have formally entered the fray. My entry can be found here: http://myjustsostory.blogspot.com/2012/01/great-american-snowman-contest.html
How can you miss with this DaVinci-like creation? It’s stupendous.
-and a Magnificent entry it is, EC! She is now posted on the official Snowman Contest page…:D And, may I add, she is quite a contender!
I love it that I stumbled across your blog. I was looking for snowmen pictures to make melted snowman cookies for watching Super Bowl with friends. I found your Assembly Required snowman picture, which is very funny. I posted it on facebook as I felt it represents Idaho’s snow season this year. Wonderful blog, great humor.
Are you having a spring for winter out there as well? I drove through Idaho once. Back in the 1980′s – thru this one-horse town, that still had wooden sidewalks and horse hitchin’ posts. Loved it.