LATE...

It was so cold this morning....I was not happy to go outside.  And it's only January!  After the horses finished their grain, for some reason they went straight out to the pasture where there was no hay.
 

Fortunately they figured out where they needed to be and came back to the front paddock.

A little snow.

 Thanks to Barb we were finished with chores before 9:30.

When I got into the house, checked for messages on my computer.  The dogs kept me company.

Before I left for Brockport, our daughter Jennifer, emailed us this photo.  She and her neighbor and running/walking partner, ran in a race this morning.  It was so cold, she said her nose was frozen.  (It was only 9 degrees here at chore time).  This is the first time I have posted a photo from a phone.
Good job Jen!

At 1pm went down to the college for drumming.

Khalid just got back from Haiti last night, where he was performing at the ceremony for the first anniversary of the earthquake.  He brought back this painting for me!  I was honored!

Here's a short clip from our session today.

 

 When I got back from drumming a little after 4, Louise had called and invited us to dinner.  But, before that, we went over to the local Elks Club where a reception was being held for Bob and Debbie Ryan.  They had to close their grocery store several weeks ago and the community got together for a fundraiser to help them out.

Between 3 and 7pm it would not surprise me if 1000 people showed up.

Before we had arrived, there was no parking left and people had to leave so others could come in.

Topper was there.  I never found Carol.

Many of the store's employees showed up to support the Ryans.

So did their customers and friends.

A ton of food was donated and there were many raffles.  People were buying tickets 15 at a time.

Many people bought tickets for the event in advance and donated between 50 and 100 dollars to the cause.  They were on the Wall of Thanks.  This is just one more thing that makes this community great.
The Ryans were extremely generous when they were asked to support a team or donate food or whatever.  It was our turn to give back.

By 7pm we arrived at Jack and Louise's.

A good meal was guaranteed.

The salad was oranges, olives and fennel.

(Jack always buys Louise fresh cut flowers)

We had roasted chicken...

Root vegetables....

mashed potatoes, crusty rolls...

And a banana cake for dessert.

Home at 9:30.  A long day.

Night all.