Christmas morning dawned a cold but sunny 12 degrees. Although I never like being in Illinois in the winter, this year has been especially difficult. Because of repeated ice storms and snowstorms, I’ve been trapped inside more than usual. But yesterday’s crystal blue skies meant that Dad and I could go to my sister’s house without worrying about driving on treacherous ice covered roads.

Rather than taking our normal shortcut on back roads that were still slick, we chose the long way around. Although this road is better maintained, it crosses over a cooling lake that serves the nearby nuclear generating plant. In winter the area is often shrouded in thick fog that is generated when colder air temperatures come in contact with the the warmer lake waters. The past two days of sub-zero temps had turned the fog into a frost that coated the trees, creating amazing wind-blown ice sculptures from the naked branches.

After a quick stop to admire this sparkling winter wonderland, we continued to Linda’s house. The Weibel clan can disagree about many things, but where food is concerned there is never any disagreement – our motto is “The more, the better! ” This was the spread of appetizers that greeted us upon arrival:

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