WELL! Had a fun adventure today! Got up really, really early, took the ferry and went over the pass just as the sun was rising - a bit of snow, but the road was fine.

 We were going to dog mushing camp, but no one was there when we arrived, so we went on a little hike, instead. The snow was old, and had a thick crust.

 Cathi and Tui - Tui loved the snow, and rolled and tried to dig in it, but usually didn't break through the crust. Us larger types usually did, though, so we kept to the trails that were already broken.

 When we got back to camp, the dogs started showing up. The local kids at camp loved them.

 The harnessing process was wild and LOUD! And, up until the moment the sled brakes were released, every dog was too excited to stand still.

 But as soon as they were off, they were silent and all about the business of pulling and running. FAST!

 When we went down to Roslyn (yes, the same town where they filmed "Northern Exposure") for lunch, we saw a Sleigh Ride sign, so stopped in for another little adventure. The Percheron horses had some Paint in their background, and were just gorgeous. The ride was very fun, with another family along, sleighbells and all!

It was a great way to finish the year!

 Had to go visit a client's site, and passed a previous client's house under construction, so thought I'd stop and take a peek. I couldn't get in, but it looked great through the windows. He is using recycled wood for the siding - I LOVE it!! And, above is the view from his deck - as you can see, it was very windy and wavey!

 Warmish again today, although not as warm as yesterday, which was positively balmy. Made a quick run around the woods, and also cleaned a lot of the branches off the driveway. I found a quartz rock just sitting on the path, growing some moss on its back.

Looking up, the alder cones are about the only entertainment in the trees this time of year.

Love to watch a kitty sleep - so cozy. Can't quite tell which end is what.

Score!! I went to the thrift store needing one thing - a pair of lined jeans for the winter. I was so lucky - there was only one pair that I found, but they FIT!! Yay! They are L.L. Bean, so nice quality with the reindeer-and-pine-tree patterned flannel.

 Two of my christmas gifts - ornaments!! Above is a star made by Cris, using buttons and silk threads from our grandmother's sewing basket - a treasure.

And this one from Kathy - how she managed to find a tent-trailer, I'll never know, but it sure brings back a lot of great memories! We loved camping in ours. Mom and Dad got it around 1966, I think, and David and I moved it here with us in 1977, at which point it was used more for storage than camping, but we sure got a lot of good years out of it!

Camera play with the tree lights!

 Finally decided to make Christmas cookies!

 The before . . . 

and after!

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2011

 Apollo waits under the tree with all of the other stuffed animals and dolls.

Sunset.

 OK - see if you can spot the difference in these two photos - below was taken on Wednesday, and above, today.

This is what was left on the floor. The funny part is that the house was glued to the white cardboard with the frosting, and when I found it on the floor, the cardboard and all the little trees were still sitting up on the dresser, intact! Somehow, Tooker picked up the house and dropped it without disturbing anything. Even the little Santa who you can see standing in the door, below, was still sitting there. It was too funny! And he sure acts innocent . . .

 And sunrise on the first day of winter. Already the days are longer - 6 whole seconds! It doesn't sound like much, but it is progress. Our day is 8 hours and 25 minutes long.

 It cleared up last night, so it got good and frosty! I love a good frosty picture with sunrise - almost as much as drops!

This is a small paper wasp nest that fell on the lawn - lovely!

 Winter solstice - the sun is setting the furthest to the south. Sunset on the shortest day of the year.

 Bedewed mushrooms glow in the sunset.

Here's that little Tooker cat sitting on the dresser with the Santas and the graham-cracker house. Who knows what mischief is lurking behind those innocent eyes???

 The sun came out a bit today, but it seemed to be lightly foggy most of the time, too. I stopped by the boat ramp to see the beach for a minute - tide was going out.

Tookers likes being under the tree, too.

 Well, I finished decorating the tree today, with Apollo adding the final touch. Doesn't he look so sweet and innocent? He and Tookers spent the day wrestling on the white tree skirt - I finally had to resort to the dreaded spray water bottle, but that only works when I am there to catch them. I guess I'll see what's left of the tree tomorrow morning. Sigh.

 It is a bedraggled-looking tree, isn't it? The branches are thin and soft, so it was hard to hang things, and they are spaced unevenly, with some rather large gaps here and there. But it is typical for us, and it came from our woods, so I love it! As my sister says, I may need to get creative with it.

 O Tannenbaum . . .

Went shopping today - wasn't as crowded as I feared. But that is probably not such a good thing . . . I also stopped at the holiday market at the Greenbank Farm, and found a basketmaker. She makes pine needle baskets with raffia, which she dyes by hand, adding scented oils to the dyebath, which made the baskets smell really nice! This is only about 1 1/2 inches across. A gift for me . . .

 It was game night at Sally's, but she had a surprise for us! We had to make "gingerbread" houses, using graham crackers and lots of fun candies. It was quite a production, and I did not get a group shot, but sure wish I had! Above, Tookers tries to get a bite - guess I'll have to keep it up high, out of his reach!

This was after we were pretty much done, although you can see my little house sitting there.

The view of the back.

 Tookers and Apollo wanted to help with the picture-taking.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2011

 Tomorrow is our Art Day group meeting, and we have often made each other little gifties this time of year. I was at a loss, but my PhotoJoJo email newsletter came, and had this fun project to make with photos, so I decided to give it a go. They turned out pretty nice, and it's a quick and easy way to use my photos!

I painted the backside (which becomes the inside) with paint and glitter, so it's a little nicer than the back of a photo with printing showing!