Hay everyone!
I can’t believe it’s already December! The fall semester really flew by. It seems that it’s already time for our annual holiday blog post. This year, we’re doing a “throwback” to some of our previous activities. I especially wanted to highlight the favorites of our past and present ESC members! Let’s see what they had to say:
Dr. Malinowski:
“My favorite activities are always making the treats for our horses. We all have fun and then can share our efforts with the horses on campus. I really love when former students return home and participate. It’s a great way to keep alumni engaged!”
Kyle Hartmann:
“One of my favorite activities was the ‘2023 Winter Holiday Crafts,’ It was my favorite one because we were able to get so many of our Equine Science Center family together to celebrate, and everyone was able to create multiple crafts. We were even able to include Ellen virtually, who with Francesca and Sarah led us in some of the crafts!”
Dr. Jen Weinert-Nelson:
“My most memorable holiday activity was the virtual Holiday Horse Wreaths. I still have mine! It was special, I think because 1.) I really like crafting, but with the demands of grad school it had been a long time since I had had the opportunity to do anything like that, and 2.) this was during COVID times, so it was really fun to connect with our little ESC family for something other than the virtual programs we were putting on and just have the time to chat and laugh even if we couldn’t all be together in person.”
Dr. Ellen Rankins:
“My favorite holiday activity was the holiday horse wreath making edition because it was so fun to see everyone’s creations! They all turned out so differently and were wonderful despite some reservations about the project from the group. We pushed several of our ESC members outside of their comfort zones! I gifted both of my wreaths to friends, and I get to see them hanging up every time I visit during the holiday season. One of the wreaths got an upgrade this year with some added holiday lights!”
Francesca Buchalski:
“I had a really hard time choosing a favorite ESC holiday activity–I have such fond memories of all of them! If I had to choose, I would say the Holiday Wreath’s was the most memorable for me. It was so nice to be able to connect with everyone virtually during the pandemic, and make a beautiful wreath that I still hang up on my front door every year! We also shared some laughter about crafting misadventures…including how I accidentally hot-glued my wreath to my dining room table! I was able to get it off, but the table cover now has some suspicious patches on it which may or may not be permanently stuck to the back of my wreath…
A close second would have to have been the Winter Wonder Treats. It was SO COLD that year at the barn that the molasses we used for the cookies completely solidified! I had to run the jar of molasses under hot water for almost 15 minutes before we were able to use it!”
I hope y’all take some time this holiday season to try out these crafts for yourselves! I particularly enjoyed the Northern Lights holiday candle holder craft. They were beautiful! Dr. M made one especially for me with an electric candle so I could enjoy it outside.
Happy Holidays from the ESC crew!
Your friend,
Lord Nelson