After Christmas

I have seen The King's Speech - it was fantastic!  I have seen Harry Potter 7 part 1 and enjoyed it.  I liked the books, so seeing the last of the movies is a form of letting go, I suppose.

I'd still like to see Unstoppable, have no intererest in True Grit and will fit in Black Swan by this weekend.  And that will pretty much wrap up my annual movie going.  For some reason, I never make it to the theaters except during the holidays. 

I've had my eyes checked, spent some of my remaining flex money and learned that most eyeglass orders are placed the last 3 days of the year. Can't wait for those prescription sunglasses to be ready.  They are most flattering, according to the salesman.

Exposure to the flu generally results in symptoms in 1 to 4 days, and I'm on day 4 and am happy to say apparently home free.  I did have the flu vaccine, but different strains can occur once the vaccine is produced, and you never now.

Otherwise, the photo below is a pretty accurate representation of what we've been doing during the very cold weather.  It's been hard on the dogs since they aren't allowed on the furniture, but they seem to be bearing up admirably.

It's 3 days until the New Year.  I've not come up with a single resolution.  But I am working on my word for the year.  I haven't settled on anything that seems right yet.  But hopefully I will figure it out soon.

Wishing you a Happy New Year!

Favorite Picture from Christmas Day

My niece received a cooking kit (apron, mini cupcake pan, apron and cupcake stand).  She and my mother made cupcakes and iced them.  This is the proud baker offering a cupcake.

While they baked and we opened presents and ate and visited, it snowed.  For the first time in 120+ years (if I recall my research correctly) we had a snow accumulation on Christmas Day. 

There was that little dusting in 1993, but who counts that? 

Not me.  Anyway, it was a wonderful feeling being snug inside with family while snow fell outside.

Below are the few shots I took.

It was only after I got home that I realized that my camera was not set the way it should have been.  At some point the dial got moved from the normal manual to one of the creative modes and I never noticed I was so distracted by the day.

I hope your day was warm and bright no matter what the weather was.

Crash!

My niece spent the night last night...dogs loved it. 

This morning we were waiting on the biscuits to bake when I went on a hunt for more votive candle holders.  So I could put out all 3 of my Christmas Tree smelling Yankee Candle votives.  When I opened the second side of  the sideboard

CRASH!

It took a bit to sort out, but only two dishes seem irreparable broken.  So before I finish sorting that out, we are going to walk dogs.  A bit of fresh air should dispel the lingering shock we both got from the crash.



New Favorite

Hard to think of an ice cream being a limited edition, isn't it?  Anyway, this joins the ranks of eggnog, dark chocolate cordial cherries and my grandmother's lime jello salad (w/pineapple, pecans and sour cream) that I look forward to each year. 

If you are near a Publix, and it's still in stock, I say you can't go wrong. 

Off to put eggnog in my coffee to see if I can make my own eggnog latte. I am celebrating being treated by the self proclaimed 'most conservative' endodontist in Atlanta.  He goes to work at 6 am and says "if the antibiotics fix things, why have a root canal?"  Odds are I will need a root canal, but it's nice to see if I might not.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

What was that?  Did you unwrap cookies? 



Did I hear you open something?

Traditions

What do any of these things have to do with traditions?  Well, I'll tell you.

My tooth was a bit tender Friday just before I went to bed.

By Saturday morning it was wildly painful and my face was hurting too.  Thank goodness for call fowarding.

When I went to pick up the antibiotics and pain reliever the dentist called in for me, I saw these.  This is a dark chocolate covered cherry that my Grandmother always bought in December each year.  It's special - there's no white sugary stuff in it, just clear cordial, the cherry and the dark chocolate.  They are getting hard to find, and I usually get my brother one too.

Not this year.  There was only one box left. 

I think I'll need the whole box to comfort myself with after my root canal.

Jingle Bells

Peachtree Center puts these out each year over the Thanksgiving holiday...this is the first year I realized the black parts are painted and not cut out of the metal. 

Twinkle

I took a short ride through the neighborhood looking at lights last night after picking up my dogs.

Sigh.  If only I had an outside outlet.

A giraffe?  For Christmas? 

An artsy take on the giraffe.  I like it!

Extreme Cold in the South

...means broken water mains.  This time it was my neighborhood.

Catching Up!

I'm running a little behind here because I'm keeping up elsewhere.  In fact, of the birthday and Christmas gifts I want to give this year, I have all the birthday and at least 1/3 of the Christmas. I know.  It's stunning, really.  I usually spring into action via Internet somewhere around mid December.

Here are some Thanksgiving snaps...I had a great time this year.  And hope to build on it next year.

Now, on to December:

I'm doing December Daily, and my friend Merry the elf sent me a word a day chain to get mindful about the season, and I'm meditating on that reverb10 thing [well, sometimes] that has swept the blogosphere, and last, and possibly least, Picture Holidays...I must say, I'm less compulsive about Picture Holidays this go around as the others have first claim on my attention. Actually, the season has first claim.  But you know what I mean.

Monday is our potluck at work. I need to run to the grocery store.

How's you're December going?

December Daily

These are two books I made for my sister and sister-in-law, following the December Daily model created by Ali Edwards.  The idea is that you have a place to record the 25 days of December: the ordinary, the decorating, the events, the ordinary, the small special things like a favorite coffee drink only available during the holidays, the excitement, the giving, the wrapping, the ordinary...

Ali says she puts her books away each year with the ornaments, and then they have fun looking at past books when they come out each year.

I used a combination of purchased templates, recyled material and stuff I had on hand.  I will put mine together tonight, and mail theirs today.

I hope that by getting a ready made book to work with, this doesn't feel like yet another task, but a fun chance to capture family traditions and memories. They can take a photo a day and print them at the end, put sticky notes on pages to remind them what the words should be, or do it as they go.  And since they each have children with birthdays in December, I suspect that those days will be easy to fill in and cameras will already be out.

Plus I bet that the oldest children would be willing to take charge of a day that they write about for the family so all the work doesn't fall on mom.

Off to find envelopes!

Happy Thanksgiving to You!

This historic proclamation was issued by George Washington during his first year as President. It sets aside Thursday, November 26 as "A Day of Publick Thanksgiving and Prayer."


Signed by Washington on October 3, 1789 and entitled "General Thanksgiving," the decree appointed the day "to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God."



While there were Thanksgiving observances in America both before and after Washington's proclamation, this represents the first to be so designated by the new national government.



After their first harvest, the colonists of the Plymouth Plantation held a celebration of food and feasting in the fall of 1621. Indian chiefs Massassoit, Squanto and Samoset joined in the celebration with ninety of their men in the three-day event.



The first recorded Thanksgiving observance was held on June 29, 1671 at Charlestown, Massachusetts by proclamation of the town's governing council.



During the 1700s, it was common practice for individual colonies to observe days of thanksgiving throughout each year. A Thanksgiving Day two hundred years ago was a day set aside for prayer and fasting, not a day marked by plentiful food and drink as is today's custom. Later in the 18th century each of the states periodically would designate a day of thanksgiving in honor of a military victory, an adoption of a state constitution or an exceptionally bountiful crop.

Such a Thanksgiving Day celebration celebration was held in December of 1777 by the colonies nationwide, commemorating the surrender of British General Burgoyne at Saratoga.



Later, on October 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for the observance of the fourth Tuesday of November as a national holiday.



In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday to the third Thursday of November (to extend the Christmas shopping season and boost the economy). After a storm of protest, Roosevelt changed the holiday again in 1941 to the fourth Thursday in November, where it stands today.

May we all be mindful of our many blessings.

I wish you all a day of family, friends and peace.

His Majesty

Dishes abound in my family.  Both grandmothers had multiple sets that they pulled out seasonally.

My mother has multiple sets.

Right now I have a set of Royal Orchard in boxed in my attic that I have no room to pull out and use.  I have an everyday set (white) and a fine set (white w/gold trim) that were selected to go with whatever my taste might turn into.  I have a small set of Spode Christmas Tree that I bought in interest free installments from a store in Dothan, Alabama.

But.

Other than a turkey majolica plate, I have no Thanksgiving dishes.

Homegoods, I thought.  Homegoods will have something. They never let me down.

I found two mugs that fit the bill.  And that was it.  Homegoods had literally nothing else left in the Thanksgiving mode.

The gobbler, His Majesty, resides on the inside of the mug.  His Majesty is by Johnson Brothers. 

With my white dishes, I think a full set of mugs or a set of salad plates or perhaps soup bowls would be great.  And much better than a full set of dishes that I have no room to store :)

What's in your cupboard?

Beauty in the Chick-Fil-A Drive Through

The title doesn't have the same literary weight as if it had included a small town institution like Piggly Wiggly, but Piggly Wiggly doesn't sell Chick-Fil-A sandwiches OR have a drive through.

Amen.

For those of you scratching your heads about the title reference, there is a book by Kate DiCamillo entitled Because of Winn Dixie which was made into a movie starring AnnaSophia Robb, Jeff Daniels, Cicely Tyson, Eva Marie Saint, Dave Matthews (yes, that one) and a charming rascal dog, Winn Dixie.  Based on Winn Dixie's behavior, I believe him to be my Gus' forebear, if not in genes, at least in spirit.

It just goes to show, there's good light everywhere, even in the Chick-Fil-A drive through.

Bugged

These photos were drive by shooting photos - photos I take from my car window or sunroof.  See the guy who mugged for the camera in the photo to the left of the tree?  I didn't know he made the photo until I uploaded it. 

In other news - Work!  Expanding to fit outside it's allotment!  Ack!

That is all.

Color Scheme

Aren't these colors wonderful?  They are wonderful color scheme inspiration.

In the Gutter

I spotted these leaves looking like two hearts nestled together this weekend, right before the rain started.

Leaves of Gold

There is a tree that is too close to my house.  I have dragged my feet in having it taken down, and in fact, it's large enough now that I have to get permission from the city treebeards (Lord of the Rings, anyone?) to take it down since it's a hardwood. 

Right now, that tree is covered in gold leaves, and from 2 pm to around 4 pm it glows as if someone plugged it in.

Maybe I'll have it taken down next year.

Veterans Day

To my great (in more ways than one) Uncle Jimmy,

Uncle Dixon whom I never knew,

Grandfather Will,

and all the United States men and women who serve and have served,

Thank you for my freedom and safety.

Random Snaps

I loved the sunlight coming through the golden leaved trees behind my house.

This tree on my street is magnificent.

Fortune cookies should be called Common Sense Cookies, and we should print trillions of this particular one.

My dogs never snuggle closely together.  But while I was recovering from a cold last week I spent a lot of time napping on my sofa.  So did they.

Blue Light Special

Late afternoon light from behind the vines.

Loaner Dog

When we took a long walk down a meandering dirt road in the NC mountains, this sweet black dog came up from her yard and joined us.  She was solid black, but for the white tip of her tail.  And she stayed with us all the way back home.

Fall Sparkle

Here's a bit of gold and blue for Friday.  I've been looking at things to make a kids table for Thanksgiving.  Finger puppets would be fun, wouldn't they?  I love having the family over on Thanksgiving, hope that's what we end up doing. 

And I've already secured a smoked turkey, leaving the fun stuff to make or ask someone to bring.

Perhaps I'll step up my campaign for Thanksgiving at my house this year.

Cotton

No, this is not Cotton.  This is Gus.  Cotton doesn't like to have her photo made.  Her strategy has developed over time.  Originally it was to duck her head and hide from the camera.

Now her strategy is to rush up to me and lick the lens. 

Works every time.

Flat Busted

Normally, Cotton is the dog who tries to get as flat as possible.  She's smaller, and she will lie with her back legs flat.

Lately, Gus has adopted a version of flat as well.  But note the back legs:  the feet are neatly beneath his bottom.  No matter how flat his front might be, he never sprawls his back legs.

By the way, this is the posture he adopts when I get close to leaving for work.  Somewhat melodramatic, isn't it?

Freckles

This pumpkin looks freckled to me...I'm passing on handing out candy tonight.  Past experience is that I don't get many visitors and am stuck with the candy.  I am thinking I'll take the dogs out about the time that little trick or treaters make their rounds to see costumes.

Magic

Today we were challenged to capture a bit of magic or fantasy...I am going the non-costume/halloween route.  I think the light in October and early November is magic.  

And when I saw this through the viewfinder, I thought it was a little otherworldly. A bit like some magical being is glowing just to the left and lighting up the leaf caught in the branch.

Great Pumpkin

This is the photo I wanted to put up in my photo class.  It's a little off beat, a little fun and not so deadly serious.

But I chickened out and went this route.

Here's hoping you have a great pumpkin!

Abandoned 2

This house was on the side of the road headed up to Signe's mountain place.  The shingle patterns and gaping windows were so compelling to me.  Again, I wondered what led to this house on the side of a mountain, with a creek just behind it, to be left empty.  The mountain was doing its best to reclaim the house.

That combination of shingles says that someone loved this place once, enough to use what they could afford to create a pleasing pattern.

A clothesline once wrapped the side and front of the back porch - clothespins still held fast to the line.

The front of the house had a deep porch, and a tin roof.  I was intrigued by the back corner of this house - see the high sides of the back corner?  I think this may have been a place for livestock.

Fairy Caps

Acorn caps just look like fairy caps, don't they?

Abandoned House

Just for a minute, I stood on the road, looking through the viewfinder, imaging that I rescued this old house.  The tin roof, the deep front porch, the shake siding, the stone fireplace, the paint colors...they are all perfect.  Yet it sits empty, waiting.  Alone.