Shadow Shot Sunday: Pine Cone Shadows

Shadow Shot Sunday is a weekly photo meme hosted by Hey Harriet. To see many, many more shadow shots or to contribute some yourself, head on over to her blog.

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Just playing around with a pine cone and Photoshop. (Click on images to enlarge.)

Friday Fill-Ins #160

Well, here we are with just a little more than a week to go in January. I'm finding that really hard to believe. You, too? Somebody - slow this year down, please! Anyway, this is my first Friday Fill-Ins of the new year, so here we go:

1. You have a chance to turn your life around! (Oops! Sorry. Been watching too many late-night infomercials.)

2. I want chocolate right now!

3. There is a time and place for everything. (Or so my mother used to tell me.)

4. Eat that extra spicy chili now, and pay later.

5. It's time to start that fitness program I promised myself I'd start this month.

6. My plans for the future are up in the air but I have no idea where I'm going with this.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching another episode of "Midsomer Murders" (we've been getting the DVDs from Netflix), tomorrow my plans include getting all the errands run and the shopping done before the next winter storm hits and Sunday, I want to stay in, stay warm, and get some reading done!

Outdoor and Wordless Wednesday: Window Washers, Philadelphia

(Click on photos to enlarge.)

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Shadow Shot Sunday: Saint or Sinner?

Shadow Shot Sunday is a weekly photo meme hosted by Hey Harriet. To see many, many more shadow shots or to contribute some yourself, head on over to her blog.


This little stone carving is about seven inches tall and was made in Spain. We've had it for over thirty years now, so it is ancient, although not as ancient as it looks. We've never be able to figure out if it's a copy of some bigger statue, or just some modern artist's flight of fancy. I used to refer to it as "The Druid," although it's probably meant to represent a Christian saint or an Apostle. Any ideas?

(Click on photo to enlarge.)

Holidailies: Final Musings

I suppose I could have titled this "I Suck at Holidailies"! Even though I "solemnly vowed" to update this blog regularly during the holiday season, I've really struggled just to get in twenty posts during the entire month. Well, there's regularly, and then there's regularly. You know?

So the Holidays are over for another year. We still have our tree up, but that will be coming down soon. We usually leave all the Christmas decorations up until Twelfth Night (which, depending on how you count it, would be tonight), but this year we'll probably leave everything up until this weekend when M is home and can help with the dismantling. He's much better at organizing these things than I am; if I did it by myself, half the ornaments would get broken and the other half would be stashed someplace and never seen again.


The outdoor lights will probably stay up until January 15th – that's the date decreed by our condo association. After that, all Christmas displays must be eliminated from balconies and doorways, or fines will be imposed. Well, in theory anyway. But I'm such a rule follower, I'll never find out if that is or isn't just an idle threat.


One of my Holiday traditions is my annual jigsaw puzzle. I'm a big fan of jigsaw puzzles at any time of the year, but for some reason I always get puzzle fever at Christmas – usually have several new ones. But this year I only worked one – a "vintage" Springbok puzzle showing a wreath decorated with Keepsake Ornaments from Hallmark (another of my addictions). It was just challenging enough to be interesting, but not hard enough to make me want to abandon it halfway through. Most years, M waits until I get stuck towards the end, and then pitches in and finishes everything up. But this year I did it All By Myself! (And, no, that's not a Snuggy I'm wearing – just a woolly red shawl.)



Well, I guess that's about it. Oh, except for the Holiday Movie Wrap-Up. But all I'm going to say about that is that we managed to watch almost all of M's "must see" films this year. The only two we missed were "Miracle on 34th Street" (not one of my favorites) and "Love, Actually." Oh, and once again this year I didn't watch "Prancer," which I always say is one of my favorites, but which I really only watch because it has Sam Elliott in it. Oops! [Note to hubby: Sweetie, if you're reading this – it's really only Sam's voice I'm in love with!]

Outdoor Wednesday: Deserted Sand Village

Outdoor Wednesday is hosted by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer. To see many, many more outdoor photos or to post some of your own, please visit her blog.

Here's a little something not even vaguely holiday or winter-related.
(Click on photos to enlarge.)

City gate.

Inner passage.

Lower depths.

Central thoroughfare.

From afar.

Random Photo Monday: New Stars

It's been a while since I posted a Random Photo Monday shot – Monday is not my snappiest day of the week. And I know everyone is probably tired beyond belief of seeing Christmas decorations everywhere, but I really had to show these off. The red and green wooden stars here were Christmas gifts from my littlest cousins in Texas. And I mean really little – ages not-quite-three-years and a-little-over-one-year. Their mom sent along photos of the kiddoes decorating these ornaments, and they are super cute. I have a small collection of star ornaments (like the gold wire star here), and these fit right in. Our tiny tree was too small to hang them on it, but they looked really pretty on the china cabinet, don't you think? (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Random Christmas Musings, Part Two

So I guess the holidays are really over now. M was on vacation the last couple of weeks - taking advantage of all that "use it or lose it" leave that federal workers sometimes end up with at the end of the year. And I've gotten very used to having him around all day. But today, it's business as usual, and he's back at work. I've got lots to do to keep me busy (thank you cards to write, new books to read, mountains of laundry to do, mountains of dust to vacuum away, a small mountain of Christmas cards to do something about), so I won't have time to sit around and brood, but it's definitely quieter around here this morning.

I typically get rather melancholy during the holidays, but this year I really didn't have time for that. For some reason, this Christmas season seemed more than usually frenzied; and it also felt as though it ended almost as soon as it began. One minute we were straightening out all the Christmas tree lights and putting out all the decorations, and the next thing I knew we were toasting the New Year - and I have no idea what happened to all that time in between!

But I think that was a good thing. The other thing that's helping me stave off the doldrums this year is the fact that we've still got the tree and all the outside lights up. We usually take them down around Twelfth Night, and this year they may even stay a little longer than that. They definitely cheer me up, but I will try to get them put away before the spring thaw hits. Although if our condo association would allow it, I'd probably leave the outside lights up all year. And the Christmas tree, too. I think I must take after my grandmother - it was not at all unusual for her to leave her tree up until Easter, some years. I think one year they hid eggs in it for me and my cousins to find!

However, now it's time to start thinking about what lies ahead in 2010. And though I always like to think that after Christmas, spring is just around the corner, I realize that winter has really just gotten started. But this year, I'm determined not to let that get me down. I know winter has its charms, and if I just stay positive and upbeat, I'm sure I'll be able to find some. Maybe. A few anyway. Someday. Right?

And speaking of winter, this is the last photo I'll be posting of our infamous snow piles. Last one. I promise. For today, anyway.

(Click on photo to enlarge.)

This photo was taken by my husband, with his cell phone camera. Pretty good, huh?

Shopping Blues

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We've had a few very nice, sunny days. Still much too cold for my taste, but at least we've been able to get out and about, and the snow is mostly gone. Well, except for those huge sooty piles of icy mess here and there. I'm trying to ignore them, although when we're out shopping that gets a little difficult. But sometimes, even though weather conditions may not be ideal, they do provide a few giggles. Like this shopping cart - the poor thing looks exhausted, doesn't it? Well, hey, I feel the same way after fighting for a space in those snow-filled parking lots! (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Shadow Shot Sunday is a weekly photo meme hosted by Hey Harriet. To see many, many more shadow shots or to contribute some yourself, head on over to her blog.