glittery chunks

The second snow storm- This was round two of our storms and we got more snow and less ice.
The snow was powdery and ended up with a clumping of flakes, so the top layer was textured and then it sparkled like glitter was mixed in there. Click on the close-up pic to see the sparkles.
People are saying this will probably be our last snowfall. The temperatures have risen this week, so the snow is melting, the sun is shining, and people are thinking about gardens again.
The weather cleared up enough for my friend Margaret and I to travel to Carls Junction for DI training. It's been a while since I've seen Margaret, so we had a grand time together. We are judging 2 different challenges,and I was assigned to a more popular challenge, so I'll see more teams than she will. We've committed to spending the whole day there. This is my 5th year and this is her first. It's a great program, or I wouldn't be doing this again. Maura has participated in it for years, but this time she's not, still, I believe in encouraging kids to think creatively and this competition is all about creative thinking.
We only had a half day of training, so we were able to do a bit of exploration of Joplin. Every time I go, I try to get a better picture of the area. This trip, we searched out the Spiva gallery. The roads in downtown Joplin were still very slushy. The gallery was a very nice surprise. The attendant was very pleasant and explained they had two exhibits- one by Linda Mitchell, an artist from Atlanta, and the other by Gary Adamson, a local artist from Eureka Springs. They try to show a national artist and an artist from within 200 miles.
I liked her work but not her images. That doesn't make sense on the surface, but I liked the texture and colors and mixed media items combined, but didn't particularly like all the images she did of animals and stuffed toys. I've never been that interested in paintings of animals, especially ones that are dressed up. It's an interesting idea that she makes odd looking stuffed animals and then uses them in her paintings as models. I can't fault her on her mixed media- it looks complex, whimsical, it communicates her message well.
All in all, it gave me food for thought, which is a successful encounter in my opinion.
I don't think we'll have much time to explore the next time we go, but there has to be a time when I'm over that way (and the weather is nice) to see Carthage. I'd love to see the Older homes there and explore the Civil war history.