Some Late Grooviness for Saturday

I can see I'm already failing miserably at Holidailies. Didn't post anything on Joysweb yesterday, and I've almost missed today, too. Well, we've been surprised with two absolutely beautiful days in a row, all of a sudden here, and I'm over the cold and the back seems to be working again - so M and I have been out and about quite a lot. Today we did a little Christmas shopping, stocked up on groceries and the inevitable milk/bread/toilet paper/bottled water before the winter storm that might be coming our way tomorrow. Treated ourselves to lunch at the local Olive Garden (artichoke/spinach appetizer - yum!). Then came home and took a long winter's nap! I'm definitely turning into a senior citizen.

So, that's the reason I haven't been posting much these last couple of days. But I thought, from time to time during this Christmas season, I might put up some photos of some of my favorite vintage cards from Christmases past, and I guess this might be a good time to start. So here's one I love - not that old, but it reminds me so much of the cards we used to send and receive back when M and I were first married and starting our own Christmas traditions. And the sentiment is still very, as we used to say, relevant, man!

Touring the White House (Not)

M and I almost got invitations for a special Christmas tour of the White House. Almost. But we got our request in just a few minutes too late, so now our names are on a waiting list – along with several thousand others, I'm sure.

Funny. When M gave up his teaching career and went to work for the Feds many years ago, I somehow imagined that the move to Washington would mean a constant round of official gatherings, embassy parties, and Kennedy Center openings. Alas, that was not to be. What happened was that we both disappeared into that faceless crowd of "Washington workers" living in the 'burbs, who descend into the depths of DC everyday and do whatever it is they do to earn their daily bread and latte. Just like faceless crowds of workers in all other parts of the world. And then in the evening we struggled back to suburbia and home and our usual hectic but boring routine – much too tired and disgruntled to regret the fact that Ben Bradlee and Sally Quinn once again had not invited us to their latest soiree.

In the twenty-plus years we've been at it now, I think the only official White House "thing" I've attended was a reception for (I believe) the President of Japan back in the '80s. It was held on the White House lawn, and in those pre-terrorism-scare days, there really wasn't much security to speak of. I think someone gave my purse a cursory glance, but I'm not sure there were even metal detectors to pass. Well, we had invitations and we were government workers (well, some of us were) and they trusted us. Mainly what I remember about the event is that there were a lot of very colorful military types present, and it was a beautiful day.


And looking at my photos from the time, I'm also amazed at what a lot of hair I had.


Oh, well. The White House can wait, I suppose. I've got my own Christmas decorations to look at. And Christmas cards that need addressing. And garlands that need draping. Oh, and I haven't put out my Kringle Bear or my Rudolph playset yet. So there's plenty to keep me busy – and I don't even have to dress up to do it!

Outdoor Wednesday: Winter Rainbow

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.

Almost decided not to post an Outdoor Wednesday photo today. I've had a cold for the last week or so, and really haven't spent any time outdoors. But I found a couple of shots from last winter, so I thought I'd just use those. (Click on photos to enlarge.)


One of the nice things about living in a high-rise is the great view we get of the sky - especially in winter when the leaves have all fallen and left the trees bare and easy to see through. Our balcony faces almost due east, so that means the end of this rainbow probably lies somewhere in the Potomac - George Washington would be pleased.

Christmas Makes Me Crazy

Well, maybe I should say it makes me crazier than usual. To wit: I've just done a really stupid thing - I've signed up with Holidailies. And why is that a stupid thing (I hear you ask)? Because Holidailies is "a free community writing project that promotes sharing your writing and other online creative endeavors during the winter holiday season" (that's the description from the website). So you see, I've sort of gone completely out of my mind and agreed to try to update Joysweb on a regular (hopefully daily) basis from now until January 6th! During the holiday season! With all that other stuff going on!

Looney? Wacko? Absolutely freakin' nutcase-level demented? Yes, I'm all those things and more, folks!

OK, the sign-ups end this evening at 11:59PM, in case anyone wants to join me in this weirdness. Although, there's another iteration of the project (Holidailies at Home) with a later sign-up cut-off. So go read all about it.

And since our first entry is supposed to be an introduction and a little taste of our "creative endeavors," here's a little shot of me getting really "creative" with my digital camera, its built-in flash, and a convenient mirror. I call it "Portrait of the Blogging-Artist as a Total Dweeb."



And here's a little more from the Holidailies website: Holidailies is "a free community writing project that promotes sharing your writing and other online creative endeavors during the winter holiday season. Holidailies 2009 participants try to update their personal websites consistently -- perhaps even daily -- from December 7, 2009 to January 6, 2010. As a participant, you can write or post photos/audio/video about whatever you like, although daily prompts are available."