Sunday, January 2, 2011 — It's a Nova night

I don't watch much television during the week even though Skip is gone and I seek out evening entertainment. I have so much reading to do that evenings are usually spent with books or my Kindle. But Sunday night was always a special TV night for us. We loved the Masterpiece Theater and Mystery shows. And before them, Nova and or Nature.

This Nova special is titled Secrets beneadth the Ice. All about Antarctica. They are drilling deep into the ice to determine the ice depth at many locations. ANDRILL is the name of this international project, devoted to answering questions about how deep, what's there and how will their explorations be able to explain what is happening to Antarctica as a result of global warming. I can't even begin to adequately describe these scenes as scientists from around the world assemble to find out what will happen if the ice melts beyond the current rate. There is much to be learned about the geological past by drilling deep into the ice through the sea and down into the layers of rock and mud that form the sea floor. Each core they extract is a fascinating history log. Trying to understand what happened in the past is becoming an urgent matter. West and East Antarctica are vastly different from each other and present fascinating contrasts. There's ten times as much ice in the east than in the west. Volcanic ash lies over ice in some areas. The fossils found in these drillings are amazing. Glaciologists are having a field day. Check it out. I'm sure it's available as a podcast or a PBS DVD. Skip would have loved it.

The holiday season is coming to an end tonight and I'm ready for it. I'm on my countdown for my yearly trip to Mexico. A few days in Puerto Vallarta followed by a few days with Jean Pierre and Yael in El Tuito getting ready for the yearly tapestry workshops. It was difficult for me to do the trip this year. I think I have made the right decision, but only time will tell. I'm not going to Yelapa after all. I just can't quite face it. Next year I'm sure I'll go there again because I love it so. When the workshops are over, eight of us will board a public bus with Mexico City as our destination. We'll have a showing of our Maiz (corn) tapestries there and then continue on to Oaxaca for another showing and some interaction with the people at the local textile museum. Wonderful wanderings through markets, workshops and and studios. Then, before we know it, we'll be back on a bus heading for Puerto Vallarta. I have always wanted to go to Oaxaca. But the time has never been right. I know there are those who do not think that the time is now absolutely right. My life is different now, however. It might be that I am a more fatalistic human being than I've ever been before. I'll be among great friends, both American and Canadian. I love being in Mexico and I think this trip will offer a huge opportunity for diversion, for learning and growth. For me, at this time, I couldn't ask for more.