New Year's Eve celebration - the last night of the year. Boy, are we all ready for a new start!!!! Jon and David shot off the fireworks in the snow - Jon above, David's headlamp below . . .

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2010

We're having a series of cold, clear nights, where the stars are sharp and beautiful. So cold waiting for a long exposure . . .

 We got a funny little snow early this morning - about an inch of hail! The deodora tree provides shelter to the little bitty birdies who were out early, before me!

 Worked late, and didn't get a photo today, but I was ready for that - I had taken photos of the basket I made for my sister, and couldn't post them until after she received it. So, here it is - made from strips of willow bark that I harvested over the summer, woven in a diagonal plait. A wider piece of the bark was folded over for the rim, and mother-of-pearl buttons are sewn on for decoration. By the way, she loved it!

Pallo kitty and his toys - the brown mouse next to the purple ball is his favorite - it has a pouch where you can put catnip inside. He lays on his back and holds it close, licking and kicking it.

 I found this beautiful pattern of lights - I had propped an envelope behind a snow-globe, which was sitting near the tree. You can see the set-up below. You just never quite know what you'll see . . . the magic of christmas!

 The table is ready for our small turkey dinner.

 In the entry, you are greeted by the angel table, below. Turning to go into the living room, you see the santa table.

 Christmas Eve - peace and love to all this night.

Especially the kitties!

 We got another "book" back from the Photo Art Journals group - and this one is a deck of "inspirational" cards. Catherine sent each of us a deck of playing cards, and we attached our photos and quotes to them to create the "Inspiration Deck". Above is the front side of the cards.

 The box for the cards.

 Catherine decorated bags to hold the boxes.

The backs of the cards.

 Another sunny day - we seem to be alternating days of rain with days of sun. All of the rain has filled up the swamp and streams, so it was a good day for reflections.

 The stream wanders through the woods and empties into the sphagnum bog, where the sun lights the willow shrub and hardhack.

This glaring log-o-fungi had caught my eye from the driveway, so I had to investigate. It's covered with overlapping rounds - actually quite pretty.

Happy Solstice!

At dusk on the shortest day of the year, the Christmas decorations look warm and inviting. Time to go in!

Now the daylight will slowly increase day by day . . .

As for last night's eclipse, I saw part of it, but clouds kept coming and going, and I fell asleep . . .

MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2010

Again, no photo today - it was a very long day in town. We had 3 appointments at the Hospital - blood draw, CT scan, and follow-up DR visit.

It started off long - there was a ferry line-up, so we missed the one we wanted, but still with time to make the appointments at the hospital. Lots of rain, then a colossal back-up on the freeway, so we ended up missing the first appointment, but got there just barely on time for the second. Then, of course, they were backed up, so instead of getting out in time to grab some lunch, we again barely had time to get to the next appointment, where we ended up waiting and waiting, there, too. The end result was lunch, finally, at 5:00 - we were both beyond starving!

BUT - the exams were great! The scan showed nothing, and the labs and exam were all good, too. So, that is a big relief! David is feeling much better in general, and now he's on a schedule of follow-ups every 3-4 months for the next year. Now, that is a wonderful Christmas present!

And tonight will be special -  winter solstice, the longest night; with a full moon; AND a full lunar eclipse. This series of events only coincides every 5 or 6 hundred years . . .

 Another gorgeous day after yesterday's rain - the mountains looked too inviting, so I sat down on the beach for a few minutes to enjoy the sun and smooth water.

Pallo enjoyed the sun in his own way.

Well, this photo wasn't taken today, but it represents what happened today - lots of rain, and overnight the swamp has filled up! This little pool has all sorts of flotsam and jetsam on the surface; soon that will be carried away downstream.

Today we had a big birthday/family/Christmas ham dinner with a dozen people. I spent most of the day in the kitchen, and neglected to get any family photos, which would have been nice! Oh, well - the birthdays were the boys: nephew Jon, the 13th, friend Loren, the 17th, and son Cory, the 19th. Always a fun week before Christmas!

Boy, when we get a nice winter day, it is gorgeous! Mount Baker shows off it's many feet of new snow, viewed across Penn Cove from Coupeville, where Barb and I had lunch at Knead-n-Feed - yum!

 It's nice to have some help decorating the tree!

I think this ducky should go right here!

 I warned you! Plenty of Christmas pictures. At any rate, I finally got the ornaments on the tree - I went pretty light this year, picking and choosing my favorites, or the sparkly ones.

And there's already a few presents under the tree!

Our Book Club meeting at Candace's house - we discussed "Little Bee" by Chris Cleave, an interesting, well-written but disturbing book. But, we enjoyed delicious hors d'oeuvres and desserts, and warmth and joy beneath the tree. Me in front, sitting: Candace, Cathi, Robin, Dawn, standing: Sarah, Dayle and Karen. Missing are Jane, Madelyn and Denice.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2010

 Ooohhhhh, brightly colored cookies rival the lights on the tree!

We worked hard today, as you can see.

 The tree is up! Pallo regards it with cat-like disdain, or maybe just indifference? You never know with cats . . .

 but the back of the couch is a comfy resting place, where you can see everything that's going on.

 Our art group got together again today - the first time in probably a month, so it was great to see them again. And we have a new member - well, she's an old friend and member of other groups I'm in, but she's new to us. We've set a new schedule - instead of every Thursday, we'll get together the first and third Friday of each month. It's something I have missed this year!

On the way home, I passed this retention pond. We've had a LOT of rain lately, so the ponds are filling. We had some nice sun and clouds to make good reflections.

Aaargh! I've been so bad recently - haven't even picked up the camera! No real excuse, just a combination of working, bad weather and short days! Yikes - by the time I look around, it's already getting dark. But, we just got our Christmas tree, so, prepare yourselves for the decorations and lights photos! You know how much I love them!!

Ahhh, the cat's life: washing in the sun . . .

New kitty toy!



Working on Christmas gifts today, so I can't really say what this is . . .

 Did something festive tonight - went to Anacortes, where our Basketry Guild is having a show. The city was all decked out, and it was the First Friday Art Walk, as well. A car is going past during the long exposure for the photo.

 It was the opening night event, with many of the artists in attendance. The show is just beautiful - a nice large space,

 fantastic baskets,

 even live Christmas music, courtesy of the school!

Anacortes has it all:  tree-lighting ceremony, a choir singing under the awning, and a quilt raffle. Doesn't get much better than that!