2013 Project 365 – Week Fifty-Two

It’s the last week of the year. I have been thinking long & hard about P365 & whether I want to continue doing it for a 5^th year. And for now the answer is yes. I won’t guarantee what day I’ll post my pictures, but Dr. M & I enjoy it too much to let it drop now. That being said, this week was for the birds. Ha!

Sunday, December 22^nd   

Sunday was a quiet day of church and relaxing around my dad’s house. Dr. M took pictures of birds through the rain-washed windows in the sun room. The top photo has a titmouse on the left & male & female house finches on the right. The bottom photo is a female cardinal.

Monday, December 23^rd

Mr. Cardinal.

Dr. M drove out to see his dad & passed by one of his favorite sheep farms along the way. We love this dog!

Amy & I dressed alike to walk at the mall :)

My dad cut two bunches of collards to give away. Wow that’s a lot of collards!

Tuesday, December 24^th          

We spent Christmas Eve evening with Dr. M’s brother & his family.

After dinner we went to check out our niece Misty’s lights. She & her husband really go all out each year!

Wednesday, December 25^th

Christmas was SUCH a busy day! Breakfast at my brother & sister-in-law’s house, brunch at Amy’s daughter’s house, & then dinner with Dr. M’s uncle & aunt & family. I started out taking pictures but then just totally forgot for the rest of the day. This is Dr. M at my brother’s house mesmerizing their dog Chloe.

His Christmas gift from my sister-in-law. It came in such an innocent package!

I am excited about this gift!

My oldest nephew – wearing a tie to Christmas breakfast. I had to have a picture!

Thursday, December 26^th    

More birds – there’s such a variety at my dad’s house! Blue Jay, titmouse & male cardinal here.

Friday, December 27^th  

Another in the series of photos of critters who stare at Dr. M. Ha!

I started a totally new scarf pattern today. I like it!

My dad’s Christmas cactus is outrageous! It’s a family heirloom – from a cutting from my great-grandmother’s plant.

Saturday, December 28^th   

We had breakfast with some of my best friends today – we’ve been getting together at least annually for 30 years now. We were missing one of our members – J had the flu. Boo!

One last shot of NC birds. In this group is (clockwise from top): Bluebird, sharp-shinned hawk, mourning dove, Carolina wren, mockingbird, and goldfinch.

Have a great week!

Most of our photos are taken with a 12 megapixel Nikon D5000 DSLR, using a 55-200mm zoom lens. This is the camera that Dr. M takes with him most days. He also takes pictures with our old reliable 7 megapixel Canon Powershot A710.  The Bug uses our new Nikon Coolpix S6200 most of the time. If you’re interested in which camera was used for a particular shot, just ask! 

Merry Christmas!

Snowflake

Alone, awash amidst this sea of spruce
And pine I sit. Into the rising fog
I gaze as if to see some mystic realm.
Enchantment drew me to this holy hill
By promising a glimpse of heaven's bliss,
But haze and heavy clouds obscure my view.
The gloom, my doom it is, I think, to see.
What is it like to dream of future days
And not of nightmares past? The wintry blasts
Come howling through my brain. Yet on the winds
Of pain a solitary snowflake floats.
Someday the snow will fall and bury all
My shame beneath its pristine flow, and I
Will know at last a season of new hope.

Mike & Dana Rhyne
Christmas 2013

2013 Project 365 – Week Fifty-One

Here I sit at my favorite B&B (my dad’s house) the day before Christmas Eve & I think that I’m mostly ready for Christmas. Although it might just be that sense of resignation that one gets after it’s too late to do more anyway. Ha!

Sunday, December 15^th   

It was our 23^rd anniversary & we celebrated by going to see the Nutcracker at the Dayton Ballet. Fun! Dr. M took a few pictures of one of the department store window displays they had in the lobby. They were pretty cool.

Monday, December 16^th

Our house is pretty hilarious to me. Dr. M found a dog’s Christmas costume & put it on Polly Bug. And then there’s the polar bear & penguin train…

The moon!

Tuesday, December 17^th          

It was really cold this week!

Wednesday, December 18^th

Pinky says, “Peace out man!”

We had our office Christmas party today. I brought the (bought) decorated cake. Someone else brought her famous homemade bourbon cake. Which one do you think was gone by the end of the day? Ha!

[Note: Correction! It's rum cake, not bourbon (yeah, I'm not really that into alcohol - ha!)]

Thursday, December 19^th    

Dr. M took a lot of really great pictures today. If you haven’t already, you should go check them out. In the meantime, I had a little bit of fun with one of them.

This was my “dirty Santa” gift from the office party. Pretty great, huh? I can’t wait to try out all the different teas.

Friday, December 20^th  

I love this yard!!

I was washing dishes & asked Dr. M to tuck my hair behind my ears. This is what he did – ha!

Saturday, December 21^st    

Today we drove down to NC, but since it was rainy & dreary the whole way we didn’t take any pictures. Fortunately, I took one before we left the house. When we moved in we took the closet doors off of one of the closets to give us easier access to our clothes. I had the bright idea of dragging one of them into the living room to put our Christmas cards on. Just call me Martha. Heh.     

Go to Mamma Fran’s blog here to see the blogs of all the other Project 365 participants. Have a great week!

Most of our photos are taken with a 12 megapixel Nikon D5000 DSLR, using a 55-200mm zoom lens. This is the camera that Dr. M takes with him most days. He also takes pictures with our old reliable 7 megapixel Canon Powershot A710.  The Bug uses our new Nikon Coolpix S6200 most of the time. If you’re interested in which camera was used for a particular shot, just ask! 

Public Service Announcement

My Project 365 post might be a bit late going up so to tide you over, here is a link to Dr. M's blog which you MUST visit forthwith! He's kind of outdone himself with pictures this week...

Wordless Wednesday - the Moon and Jupiter Edition

2013 Project 365 – Week Fifty

I have to be honest with you. With my new job duties and Christmas coming up I’m just not getting around to read blogs. And I miss you guys! I’ll be thinking, “I haven’t heard from so-and-so for a while,” & then I remember that it’s because I haven’t been reading blogs. Because, by “I haven’t heard from,” I mean the part of the conversation where I read your blog. You’ve all been great to keep commenting here. I think things will calm down after the first of the year.

Sunday, December 8^th   

More snow pictures… Part of a fence, our cairn (it’s that snowy lump), a dark-eyed junco, and a Bug!

The moon!

Monday, December 9^th  

This is just a preview of silliness to come…

Mama cardinal.

Our neighbor’s house.

Tuesday, December 10^th          

It’s been pretty darn cold this week!

Wednesday, December 11^th    

The sunflowers look just a little bit different these days.

I was waiting to start our weekly Bible Study & there was this little sailor hat on the table. Obviously, I couldn’t resist. (Kim, note my earrings – thanks so much for them!)

Thursday, December 12^th   

I asked for a fancy-schmancy lunchbox for Christmas. Of course, Dr. M couldn’t wait to give it to me. I love it!

Papa cardinal making some of his usual faces…

Ta-da! This squirrel loves his new feeder – we’re a little worried that he’ll get too fat to climb around!

I finished an American Girl Doll purse for a friend. It’s cute, but all that tiny crocheting was very annoying!

Friday, December 13^th  

Our neighbor’s snowman.

This is a SNOW turtle! They dyed the snow green. Isn’t it great?

We got just a little more snow last night.

Saturday, December 14^th       

Scenes from Dr. M’s journey home from graduation.

He did have to sit through a traffic jam.

It’s Buffy the Buffalo! He’s loving this weather.

Reckon these folks like penguins?

I finished up some Christmas presents today – scarves & fingerless gloves… After Christmas I might not want to see a crochet hook for a while. Ha!

  

Go to Mamma Fran’s blog here to see the blogs of all the other Project 365 participants. Have a great week!

Most of our photos are taken with a 12 megapixel Nikon D5000 DSLR, using a 55-200mm zoom lens. This is the camera that Dr. M takes with him most days. He also takes pictures with our old reliable 7 megapixel Canon Powershot A710.  The Bug uses our new Nikon Coolpix S6200 most of the time. If you’re interested in which camera was used for a particular shot, just ask!