January 4, 2006

I think ‘dryer’ is not a word found in Italian; Jaz and I hung the clean clothes, sock by sock in the laundry room last night. This morning it’s out on the patio: every piece frozen solid. We played a version of Balderdash around the table, using Italian vocabulary: ronzare, spremere, torrido, togliere, intossiare and limpido. Risotto was delicious!



A word about the substructure: it is being pieced together bolt by bolt, fitting by fitting. Yesterday Peter announced they’d found five ‘leaks’. Art said that’s nothing. Apparently there are over 450 connections! Words like ‘acetyline’ and ‘glycol’ are being bandied about we heard a story about how refrigeration was discovered by accident.

Gord wants the cold to come from the bottom up, rather than from ambient temperature in the church, in order to create the melting/freezing dynamic in his paintings. Art says that ice cracks at 7 degrees celsius, so it’s a delicate balance. Peter & JC are learning everything so that when Art leaves !?. . . It’s so cold now that even without the substructure turned on, your tongue would stick to it, if you would be so silly and Canadian as to try that trick.



Finally had a chance to download some of the emails from friends and relatives re: Christmas. So great to hear that people are following our adventures! Discovered that one of Gord’s hockey buddies, Mel, fell on his head, back in December. Was in hospital last we heard, hope he’s okay! Can’t wait to find that opportunity to skate. I heard that the local outdoor fenced-in rink is open everyday from 2:30 - 4:00, not a good time as we’re all working. We forgot to pack a hockey puck!