It’s 27 degrees under a sky filled with glitter-snow, and I felt like updating the Icebox Blog. A beautiful winter night is just the thing to get the wordsmith in my going.

Happy belated holidays to everyone. I hope your Christmas and New Years were fun. Mine was spent on a west coast tour of family abodes that began and ended on an Amtrak train speeding across the Midwest. We had a wonderful time as a family, though I strongly recommend making the trip in sleeper cars. We tried it both ways (sleepers on the way out, coach seats on the way back) and can positively report that the sleepers are the only way to go when your trip lasts as long as ours did (thirty hours each way). Still and all, we saw some great scenery, enjoyed truly exceptional cuisine in the dining car (everyone’s favorite part of the trip) and had a great time once we got where we were going. We spent Christmas with my folks, as well as my sister’s family in McMinnville, Oregon, then spent the week tween the holidays (Kwanza, I guess) with Diane’s family in Sedro Wooley, Washington. Many presents, much eating, and many miles on the rental car were our lives for those two weeks.

Back in the Falls now, I’m getting very focused and very excited about the IBRT’s 2008. We have a new board president in Harley Droba who is bringing an amazing amount of energy and enthusiasm to every project he’s involved with. He’s a gifted fundraiser, and led us to our best payday ever the first week in December when we did ‘Calls to Santa’ on local radio station KSDM. Kids called the station and got to talk to Santa Claus live, on the radio, and the whole town got behind it. After the show one night, Harley took his wife to dinner and said he overheard four different couples talking about the show. It will definitely be an item on our plate next year.

Blog posts should be brief, so I’ll cut off right now. Keep checking this space for more on the Adams Family, and the IBRT. Cheers!