Friday, December 25, 2009

gifts received

I received a few astronomy-related items this Christmas... Directly and indirectly related.



Donna gave me the January 2010 editions of both Sky and Telescope and Astronomy. The S&T includes the neat annual graph (the Almanac), shaped like an hourglass, which shows the location of the planets over the whole year. I'll hang that beside my RASC 2010 calendar (which I bought for myself).



Donna gave me Dava Sobel's book The Planets. I really enjoyed her Longitude.



Mom gave me a drawer pull from Lee Valley (I think). It's the Space Shuttle! It can also be used as a fridge magnet (which is how I shall use it). Isn't it cute?!

Mom also gave me some soft pencils, 4B. Seven of them... They are Turquoise brand, without erasers. This rounds out my current selection with various grades or degrees of softness (B, 2B, 4B). I'll use these for astronomical sketching.



Then she gave me 40-gram insulated-heated gloves! Sweet. They have little battery holders on the wrist gauntlets which hold 4 AA batteries. Two settings: low (8 hours) and high (6 hours). I wondered if the Gaherty Curse is upon us now, if that explains the super cold temperatures...

I should remember these gloves if I decide to go for a bike ride...

§

I almost forgot. I received another set of the IYA postage stamps! The 10-pack with bonus envelope seals.



The set that Malcolm gave me back in August... I'll keep those. But this set from Donna & Steve, I'll use 'em.

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