And then it was quiet

I had myself a merry little Christmas, and I am hoping that you did, as well. Our sons have left and all is quiet here again at the manor house on the hill. Yesterday afternoon, there was lots of laughter and lots of family at my in-laws home in NJ. In fact, it was a bit too much for my husband, as he prefers the quiet here.

But it was just what I needed.

Today, my husband called me to the window and pointed outside. And there, sitting on one of the large branches of the dogwood tree right outside our kitchen window, was a beautiful hawk.

I went to get the camera. And then to get the long lens, and then . . .




the hawk was gone. The little junco above was taken about an hour later from my bedroom window.

This was all I captured of the hawk.

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This afternoon, I watched a Netflix movie that I’d never seen before. And I watched it from my tv. Our son gave us a Sony media streamer for Christmas and then set it up for us. It’s so cool to be able to stream movies on the big screen. Today, I watched A Christmas Carol (2009), the Disney film directed by Robert Zemeckis and featuring 3D CG animation. Jim Carrey voices Scrooge, plus all of the ghosts. Colin Firth, Bob Hoskins, Robin Wright Penn, and Gary Oldham, to mention a few, round out the cast. At times, I felt like I was on a Dickens Disney ride, as I swooped over the snow-covered, bitter cold streets of Victorian London. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this version of Charles Dickens’ classic tale.

And it’s on stream at Netflix. Here’s the trailer:

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I am not particularly fond of this trailer, however.

My husband bought me new hiking shoes for Christmas and they’re really very nice Solomons and although I would have never bought shoes this color, they’re excellent on the trail. I tested them out today.




The skies today were sometimes sunny, sometimes cloudy and always interesting.




And the sunset this afternoon. Can you see the moon? This is another photo opportunity pointed out to me by my husband.

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On Tuesday afternoon, I am leaving for New York City to visit friends, so I won’t be posting until I get home Thursday evening. I’ll be taking the train with {her}, then meeting {her} at Penn Station, then meeting {her} for dinner on Wednesday. I can’t wait and am so looking forward to having some fun in the Big City at Christmastime.

I’ll try to get some photos to share ~ but here are some from last year:

New York City at Christmastime

Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas


Hope your holiday week is a good one, my friends.