Silent night

I have no words.

One more day

Thanks for your input about the holiday movies from the previous post. I sometimes need all it takes to get into the holiday spirit and a movie never seems to fail. I should have the list up later this weekend.

Today is my last day of work until January 2, 2013. Woot!

I am so glad to have the time off but today is going to be a busy one. I have a booklet to produce for a basketball tournament this weekend and a few odds and ends to finish before I leave. And then there is our school’s tradition of caroling around the tree, and we always have alumni who return from college or their jobs. It’s so wonderful seeing them again.





My little tree.

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Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree.  In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall.  

~Larry Wilde, The Merry Book of Christmas 

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I always have faeries in the tree.

I collect owls.

And acorns.

You’re thrilled, aren’t you?

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Isn't it funny that at Christmas something in you gets so lonely for – I don't know what exactly, but it's something that you don't mind so much not having at other times.  

~Kate L. Bosher

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{This is exactly how I feel.}

It’s cold out this morning, and I’d better get moving 

.

Hope your day is a good one ~ 

Three more days

I have three days to go until Christmas Break at our school. Three days until I enjoy two and a half weeks of down time. I am so glad, and it’s not because I don’t love my job. I really do enjoy what I do for a living . . . but it’s wonderful having off at the holidays. And for the past 15 years, I’ve held a job that has afforded me the ability to do this.

For this, I am blessed.

 

I think my husband will be glad to have me around.

I’ve gotten a little bit into turmeric tea lately. A friend tuned me into it, and when I looked up the numerous health benefits, I was sold. I bought this jar at Amazon.

 

Then I took a picture of an ornament that just happens to be a teapot.

 

Hello.

I have no idea why I am in this contorted-looking position.

 

Here’s a question for you ~

What are your favorite holiday movies? I just love them, and would like to compile a list to post on this blog.

Here’s a scene from one of my favorites, Love Actually:

I love Colin Firth.

 

And I love that you take the time to come here to visit.

Thanks for that.

Hope your day is a beautiful one ~

A quiet start to the week

Today it was extremely foggy and it never burned off which was fine with me. I was stuck inside school anyway but on the drive home, I stopped at the cow ponds at the edge of town where I live. The cow pond is a reservoir and is indicated as ‘cow ponds’ on historic maps of the area. It was lovely in the late afternoon fog.

 

Canada geese are on the water in the distance.

 

I used Kim Klassen’s brand new ‘Marabella’ texture (a free download) while editing these photos which were all taken with my cell phone.

Kim Klassen Café

If you join KK’s Texture Lovin’ List located on the right sidebar of her Café blog, you’ll get free weekly downloads direct to your e-mail inbox. Extremely generous of her.

 

Today I had to take two Advil before I left for work because when I woke, every single muscle in my body was sore – or so it seemed. Yesterday, I spent the morning cleaning and the afternoon decorating. This involved bringing all the Christmas tubs from the garage and up into the house, then unpacking and returning them to the garage. It was a huge job but I was motivated and am now enjoying some of the fruits of my labor.

I’m not entirely done, but I made a major start.

 

You can see the headlights from the cars along the road – the route I take daily to and from the school where I work in the next town over.

 

A young girl and her mother were feeding the geese.

So I tried to keep out of their way.

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Thanks to everyone who answered my Friday Five questions in the previous post. They’re always such fun to read. And I love your honesty.

You were being honest, right?

Until tomorrow, then ~

Happy to see me

It’s Friday and I’ll admit it . . . I wrote a post earlier this week but never published it because I was angry and in a bad mood. It was not nice.

Actually, it really wasn’t all that bad because I’m not that bad of a person. But I didn’t think it belonged here so I deleted it. I was fed up, mostly with my husband. And I’m sure that sometimes he gets really fed up with me, too.

But it’s ok now. And at least someone is really happy to see me come home every day ~

 

But, unlike my husband, this one wants to play.

 

He wants to play tug tug.

 

He’s had this pink rope since he was a puppy.

Maybe it’s time to get him a new one.

 

After dinner tonight, my husband and I sat at the table as George came out to the breakfast nook and ate his dinner. After he ate, the dog was sniffing at the ledge of the cabinet where my husband has all these wrapped presents sitting. There are about a half dozen of them and I know they’re all for the dog. (Which is cute in and of itself). I think George knows they’re all for him.

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On another note, and since it’s Friday and inquiring minds would like to know ~ you’re welcome to answer a few random questions.

1. Are you a dog person or a cat person?

2. Are you early, punctual, or habitually late?

3. When you’re on vacation, are you more likely to see and do everything you can, or just kick back and let it all be?

4. What do you consider to be your strongest talent?

5. Are you more likely to indulge or abstain from holiday treats?

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See you in the comment section ~

Crazy beautiful

Today was a better day. The weather continues to be crazy beautiful, and I took some pictures after I got home late this afternoon. Sunset was 4:49 PM so I chose the 50mm lens for these shots because the little sucker seems to let in a lot of light. And it was already dark.

I know I post a lot of photos of trees and am hoping you’re not too tired of them. I just happen to like them.

Especially in the fall and winter.

Life is good today.

Come on in.

There’s a glazed ham baking in the oven, and other dishes simmering on the stove. My husband is doing the cooking tonight – a rare treat that’s greatly appreciated.

The majority of us lead quiet, unheralded lives as we pass through this world. There will most likely be no ticker-tape parades for us, no monuments created in our honor. But that does not lessen our possible impact, for there are scores of people waiting for someone just like us to come along; people who will appreciate our compassion, our unique talents. Someone who will live a happier life merely because we took the time to share what we had to give. Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have a potential to turn a life around. It's overwhelming to consider the continuous opportunities there are to make our love felt.  

~ Leo Buscaglia

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Always a pleasure having you stop by to visit.

If it wasn’t for you, don’t know what I’d do

I didn’t get a whole lot accomplished this weekend but I’m going to look at it this way: Sometimes you don’t have to get a whole lot done just to feel good about yourself. Right?

I did get the car situation taken care of, but unfortunately they found a couple of new issues with the Element that need to be addressed soon. Luckily, they won’t cost a fortune. I actually have a lot of Christmas shopping done. Easy to say when you’re hardly buying gifts, but still – it makes me feel better. My husband and I have agreed that we’re not exchanging gifts this year but experience has taught me that he will not honor this agreement. Plus he has that memory issue . . .

I got absolutely no cleaning done but honestly, the place is not that dirty. And the only people seeing it are us. We’re fine with it as it is. For me, it’s too early to decorate for the holidays, so I’m leaving that until next weekend.

 

Saturday afternoon, I sat outside in the absolutely gorgeous sunshine. Played a little frisbee with George, too. Did something to my knees but hell, it doesn’t take much to mess them up these days. Stupid knees. At least I can still walk.

There are a few straggler leaves clinging to the branches, and I like how they look.

 

 

After I got settled by the dogwood tree, the birds began coming back. I can always hear the chickadees before I see them because for such a little bird, they are so very noisy.

 

But they’re awfully cute.

 

And being in the sunshine was absolutely scrumptious.

 

The cat was chasing her tail . . .

 

 

. . . and the dog was happy because someone was playing frisbee with him.

 

 

And I still love squiggles.

 

And dreamy bokeh.

bokeh is the blur, or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image, or "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light."    ~Wikipedia

 

And the bare branches of trees.

 

 

I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape. Something waits beneath it; the whole story doesn't show.
~ Andrew Wyeth

 

 

I’ve found that I prefer winter and fall too.

Takes all kinds, doesn’t it?

 

Heard this tune on the Zales commercial yesterday and decided it’s pretty cool.

 

If it wasn't for you, don't know what I'd do.
I'd have nothing to prove, I've got nothing to lose
I'd be all lost at sea, with no reason to make it through.
If it wasn't for you.

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Hope your weekend has been a good one. I’m making one of my husband’s favorites for dinner tonight because I’ve decided it’s about time I actually cooked something. It’s an easy one, too: Bangers & Mash. Yum.

Until tomorrow, my friends ~

Waiting

Sorry I’ve been so cryptic lately. I’ve been sort of down but there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel, right? The truth is that I’ve been experiencing some terribly sad times with the health and welfare of loved ones. A beloved co-worker stopped by my desk yesterday and said, “You don’t smile nearly as much as you used to.”

Things make me smile all day long, though. Beauty does. Children do also, with their innocence and sweetness and I’m blessed to work where I do because whenever I need a dose of cheer, I merely have to leave my desk and walk down the halls. Instant smiles ~

 

This is the scene that greeted me when I arrived home from work yesterday. I was smiling the whole way home and not only because it was Friday. The setting sun was making everything glow and everywhere I looked there was a beautiful scene to fill my soul with cheer. I captured this photo, and all the photos on this post, with my cell phone – shooting through the window of the car.

 

If I had won the Powerball this week, I would have bought this place and begun work to restore it to its former beauty.

It would scare me to win that much money, though.

But I think I could get over my fear.

Ha!

 

This morning, I got up early due to an appointment at Honda service for our beloved Element which we hardly drive anymore. Our son uses it occasionally and it was time to have it winterized and have a few issues addressed.

I shot these last two photos while the sun was coming up during my drive.

 

As I write this, I’m sitting in the waiting room. I think I’ll stop at my favorite store on the way home because they’ll have their holiday displays going on. Maybe that will help get me in the right frame of mind. (And maybe I’ll buy a little something).

In the meantime, here’s one of my favorite holiday tunes.

 

Have you begun listening to holiday music yet? I started this week with a CD I’ll share with you here. I love the sweet sound of the harp, and bought this one from the Isabella catalog recently.

Not for everyone, but it quiets my mind.

Christmas Lullaby – Kim Robertson, Solo Celtic Harp

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Enjoy your weekend, my friends ~

I feel better already just talking with you all.

I want a perfect soul

I have little to say and my heart is hanging a kind of heavy right now. I have a lot going on I guess, and I hesitate mentioning any of it. Some things are just private and should remain so. It gets me sometimes how much people say online.

Sigh. I haven’t taken any new photos to share with you either, which is a drag. The ones I’ll be using in this post today are actually from my files. No wait, they’re not really from my files as those images have all been lost due to a crashed external hard drive. These two have been salvaged from old blog posts. They’re not the original sized images, but they’re fine enough to use for re-posting.





I took this one back in 2008 shortly after we had moved to this manor house on the hill. Reading the post took me back to that time. My husband had just had his second brain surgery and had lost his job and subsequently, our house that went with the job. We were lucky to have stumbled on this place and I was counting my blessings daily.

Still am.

Here is the actual post from back then. Sad thing is that I don’t even remember falling and hurting my ankle. I guess so much has happened since then that it’s all just a blur.

The best laid plans . . .


I remember taking this one, as well. Back then I wasn’t into shallow depth of field at all and I remember being upset that everything wasn’t in focus.

Silly me.





My heart was warmed by this story that I heard while watching the national news tonight, a story that has become a Facebook sensation:

Officer gives boots to homeless man in Times Square – warms hearts online

And I am still smiling just thinking about it.

I’ll be back to my happier self tomorrow ~ I promise, ok?

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Thought this was an interesting scene. It’s from a French film called “Ils se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants” (which means they married and had many children). This scene features Johnny Depp and Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Radiohead is playing in the background, an acoustic version of Creep. I just thought it was kind of cool.