ice lantern

[asakiyume]

First it will be snowstorming, then it will be back to the deep, deep freeze. Keep the home fires burning and a light out for the stranger.**




**Rich of me to say this since my outdoor lights don't actually work. But now I have the ice lantern, so it's all okay, right?

Comments

[osprey_archer]

WHAT IS THIS WITCHCRAFT?

It looks like a big bubble of ice over... a candle? A lightbulb? A glowing magical crystal? WITCHCRAFT, in any case. You'd hesitate on the doorstep before entering a cottage lit by that light - but then it's the only shelter in the woods for miles around, and the snow's coming faster, and if you don't take shelter somewhere then you will surely freeze...

And presumably the witch turns out to be a good witch, in the end, and shares soup and stories and a loaf of bread, and once you are warm enough her cat colonizes your lap.

[asakiyume]

Yes, your parsing of the situation is perfect!

I just went out in the storm (so pretty, so cold) to get some stuff for stew, so I think it will be stew, rather than soup, that gets shared.

You should try this, though. Get strong, large balloons, like large birthday balloons, and fill them with water, blowing a little air in, too, before you tie them off. Then, set them outside on a very cold night. By morning, the water should have frozen--but not all the way solid (sometimes I've left the balloons out too long and they've frozen solid, leaving no room for the candle). The ice is thinnest in one spot, so you can break through that and empty out the water that's still in there. Voila! A shell of ice! And then you stick a candle in. It truly is beautiful. My friend showed this to me several years ago--here's her entry on making them.

[sovay]

Voila! A shell of ice! And then you stick a candle in.

I have some vague, slippery memory of reading about ice lanterns as a child, maybe in an issue of Ranger Rick. I can't remember if balloons were involved. I thought of it suddenly when I saw your photograph.

[umadoshi]

That is glorious. *starry eyes*

[asakiyume]

So glad you like it! I made another the other day, so now we have a pair

[cmcmck]

And clearly cold enough that the candle doesn't melt the ice!

[asakiyume]

That's right!

[radiantfracture]

Beautiful!

[asakiyume]

^_^ Thanks!

[kore]

Dude, you made that? COOL.

[asakiyume]

Thanks! It's insanely easy (or at least, what makes it difficult is just timing, not fiddly stuff you have to *do*)--see my reply to osprey_archer. You too can have a glowing translucent orb!

[sovay]

Keep the home fires burning and a light out for the stranger.

That's lovely. It looks like a winter moon.

[asakiyume]

It does! Now I'm imagining a saying from elsewhere: "On a cold night, keep the moon near."

[sovay]

"On a cold night, keep the moon near."

It's a good saying.

[sartorias]

That is really beautiful!

[asakiyume]

Thanks--I like it a lot too!

[marycatelli]

Here's to hoping the blanket of snow helps keep the garden safe from the cold!

[asakiyume]

I hope so--it needs protection from the temperatures coming our way!

[zyzyly]

I love that ice lantern!

[asakiyume]

Thank you! They're very rewarding to make.

[ivy]

That's beautiful! While I hope not to live somewhere that gets enough snow for this to be a thing, if I do, I'm totally doing this!

[asakiyume]

It's **cold** you want--but yeah, the two usually go together. (Though I had to take the second I made out of the nest of snow it was sitting in to get it to freeze better--the snow was insulating it!)

[khiemtran]

Stay safe!

[asakiyume]

Will do. It was -18F/-27C this morning. I walked around the block and my breath on my eyelashes.

[khiemtran]

-27C is mind-blowing. It was 47.3C (117F) in Penrith in yesterday, making Sydney the hottest city on the planet. It wasn't as hot where we live, but it would still have been around 45C.

[asakiyume]

I got a comment to that effect on Twitter from a person in Sydney. She suggested we average our temperatures to get something more livable for both areas.