25 Days of Christmas, Day 25

After lunch and exchanging gifts, my family played a couple of games, including Kismet. This is the same set we played when I was a kid. (I think it was made in 1973...) It's seen a lot of use!

25 Days of Christmas, Day 24

...Dirty Santa at my maternal grandparents' house...

25 Days of Christmas, Day 23

...pretzels dipped in almond bark...

25 Days of Christmas, Day 22

We went into our little town this night to get a pizza and take a walk through the tiny park the city decorated with Christmas lights. These two oaks wrapped up together in blue lights were my favorite part of the display.

25 Days of Christmas, Day 21

...glass teardrop ornament on our tree...

25 Days of Christmas, Day 20

Looks like someone has a little Christmas wrapping paper addiction, hm?

But in my defense, some of these rolls are almost used up, and all were bought at after-Christmas sale price, so it's not as bad as it looks.  (g)

25 Days of Christmas, Day 19

These are chewy peppermints (sold as "Christmas Nougats"). We're on our second bag of them for the season. They taste like Christmas.

25 Days of Christmas, Day 18

On Saturday, Donald made this year's Lucia "cats" (or buns). The initial samples were promising, but I think further testing is required. ;o) Hey, somebody has to do it!

25 Days of Christmas, Day 17

...playing around after a game of Scrabble...

25 Days of Christmas, Day 16

...a pretty Christmas card from one of Donald's aunts...

25 Days of Christmas, Day 15

Tangled light-trails. This is another fine example of, "Oh, I haven't taken a photo yet today, and it's already dark"-style photography. (g) Well, that, and I'm (easily) amused by swirly lights...

25 Days of Christmas, Day 14

I am relieved to have some of my Christmas shopping done. There's more yet to be done, but at least it's a start!

25 Days of Christmas, Day 13

I'm having a hard time remembering to take my photos before it gets dark, which is part of the reason I've been taking so many Christmas tree light photos. (g) Today, however, I remembered before the sunlight was completely gone.

This is part of our nativity scene. The blondish-looking hair seems a little unlikely, but it's the thought that counts ;o)-- and the figures do serve as a reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.

25 Days of Christmas, Day 12

Hey, look! It's the ubiquitous "reflection in the Christmas tree ornament" shot! ;o) With guest stars Donald and Trixie!

There are a couple more in this series in my Flickr photostream.

25 Days of Christmas, Day 11

Playing around with wobbling the camera on extended exposures... and enjoying the cozily lighted Christmas tree.

25 Days of Christmas, Day 10

The tree is finally fully decorated!

25 Days of Christmas, Day 9

We've been having some very frosty mornings lately (along with the unseasonably cold weather).

Frost-edged red (Japanese maple) leaves. Looks like December to me!

(I didn't feel like leaving the warm couch to edit and upload this last night.  Oops. ;o))

25 Days of Christmas, Day 8

What could it be?

I've been trying something a little different with crochet, lately. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this (seasonally appropriate) crochet project (because there are so many chains! and picots! and slip stitches!), but it's interesting to try something new.

25 Days of Christmas, Day 7

I'm aiming to take the world record for slowest decoration of a Christmas tree, anywhere, ever. ;o)

The ornaments (and the tree-topper) are all that are missing, at this point. That's supposed to be the fun part, right?

25 Days of Christmas, Day 6

The garland went on the tree today. (Yes, we're really dragging this out, aren't we?) It's actually not the garland in the photo, but I thought this one was more photogenic and Christmassy.

(I need to get out of this bokeh habit for this particular challenge. I like bokeh, but it's not the most interesting thing to look at day after day, and at this point, it's really just me being lazy...)

25 Days of Christmas, Day 5

Stars, still and shooting... (Courtesy of a spare string of Christmas lights and a piece of construction paper with a star shape cut out of the middle of it.)

25 Days of Christmas, Day 4

Our tree is up and filled with Christmas lights!

I've been looking forward to having the Christmas tree lights to play with since I learned the trick for making (non-circular) shaped bokeh. (Yes, this means you'll probably be seeing more of this kind of thing-- but I'll use some shapes other than hearts, next time.)

There are three or four (can't remember which) exposures layered in this photo, and Donald showed me a new trick for easily layering these light photos-- the "screen" setting. Everything except the black portion of a layer is made visible. Very useful!

25 Days of Christmas, Day 3

Tonight, my parents hosted a family game night. All three of us sisters were there, as well as the two sons-in-law. Yummy grilled hamburgers and sausage dogs were on the menu-- and then we played some Catch Phrase and Phase 10. It was a lot of fun! (And it gave me a good chance to snap a photo of my parents' Christmas yard decor. Bonus! ;o))

Technical jabber: This is a layered image. The main layer is the house and lights in the yard. The secondary layer is a tangle of light trails (made by setting the camera for a longer exposure and moving it in circles while pointed at a lighted Christmas tree). Then there are a couple layers of colors (dark red, gold) that I fiddled around with to get the tone I wanted. (I'm sure there are other ways to get a similar effect, but I was apparently in a layers mood tonight.)

25 Days of Christmas, Day 2

Still no tree, but we're headed in the right direction. (We moved the TV over to make room for it, so maybe tomorrow!) While we're waiting for our tree, a little candlelight (especially glowing through red glass) really helps put the warmth of the holidays into a room.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 1

Isn't it beautiful?! Doesn't it fill your heart with Christmas cheer?! ;o)

I still haven't put up our Christmas tree yet, so this is how most of our decorations look right now, stowed away in the game and general "stuff" closet. (Maybe I'll start unpacking it tomorrow... This Christmas photo challenge may be just the spur to action that I need!)

Now, try not to be jealous of my elegant storage system. ;o) The Dirt Devil-- our first vacuum as a married couple (awwww)-- has since been replaced by my wonderful bagless vacuum... and the fondue box... is kind of mysterious, since we definitely don't have that fondue pot... (I'm pretty sure someone used it when wrapping a gift for one of us, however-many years ago.) Oh, and then there's Amazon. (Of course.)

(A couple of our board games also sneaked into the shot. Haven't played Catan in a while...)

New Month, New Challenge

Hey, I managed to complete the Month of Gratitude Challenge!  (Er, well, after a fashion.  I didn't post a photo a day, but I took at least one every day, and eventually got them all posted before the end of November.)

Now I'm thinking of setting a personal challenge for myself for (most of) December.  I've seen similar group challenges on Flickr, but at this point, I'm going solo--  that is, not posting it to any group pool.

25 Days of Christmas
--The challenge, should I choose to accept it ;o), is to take (at least) one seasonally-themed, Christmasy, wintery photo a day (and post it here, as well as on Flickr), from December 1st to December 25th. 

And... that's pretty much it.  I'll try to post a photo every day, but, well, you've seen how that goes... So long as I'm at least taking a photo a day, I'll be satisfied. 

Anyone who cares to follow suit-- or link to one of your favorite holiday-themed photos-- is welcome to do so!

Gratitude, Day 30: Home

I am thankful that we have a warm, dry, comfortable place to live-- especially on such a chilly, wet night!

Gratitude, Day 29: Pleasant Surprises

This box full of candy came all the way from Sweden for Donald's birthday. (Any guesses what his favorite candy might be? (g))

Gratitude, Day 28: Privacy

It's not always completely convenient, but living off the main road has its good points!  I appreciate the quiet and the privacy.

Gratitude, Day 27: My Best Friend

Also, my husband:  Donald.  :o)

Gratitude, Day 26: Something New

I'm thankful for something new that provides a little extra excitement on a cloudy afternoon-- in this case, a new board game (that we got for Donald's birthday).

(The game is Saint Petersburg, by the way, for my fellow board game geeks. ;o))

Gratitude, Day 25: Family

On Thanksgiving, I'm especially grateful to have family and friends with whom to celebrate (and be silly ;o)).

Gratitude, Day 24: Trees

For their beauty, the shelter and warmth they provide, and the music of wind in their leaves.

Gratitude, Day 23: A Clean Kitchen Sink

I'm always grateful to see the clean bottom of the kitchen sink-- especially when I've been letting the dishes stack up for a while.

(Oh yeah, and that whole indoor plumbing, constant easy access to hot and cold running water thing is pretty nifty, too, even if we only think about it on those rare occasions when it's not working properly.)

Gratitude, Day 22: Macro Lens

I ♥ our macro lens.

Gratitude, Day 21: Chance Encounters

...with (non-dangerous-to-something-my-size) wild animals, that is.  I'm not quite so much a fan of chance encounters with old acquaintances in the grocery store.  (Why do those always seem to happen when you forgot to brush your hair, are wearing something you just threw on in a rush, etc.?)

Related:  Also grateful for the beauty and gracefulness of the creatures in the world around me.

(I've been a bad photo-blogger.  Diligently taking my photos, yes, but rarely getting around to posting them in a timely fashion.)

Gratitude, Day 20: Wilderness Next Door

I'm thankful for the wilderness(y) area around our home.

Just enough wilderness to ensure that there's always something interesting to take photos of.

Just enough wilderness to make me feel more connected with the natural world than I think would be possible in the concrete jungle.

Gratitude, Day 19: Afternoon Sunlight

I appreciate golden sunlight slanting through the blinds. It looks so warm and inviting on a November afternoon. Evening darkness seems to come too soon this time of year, but in just another week or so, Christmas lights will be twinkling!

Gratitude, Day 18: My Kitchen Companion

Molly the Spaniel-dog loves helping out in the kitchen during meal-prep. This is with the understanding that "helping" constitutes stationing herself wherever she thinks scraps of food are most likely to fall. Molly has an uncanny ability to be always standing either right where you need to be or directly in your path to get there. She's very gifted in that way. ;o) Fortunately, she's also a sweet girl.

Gratitude, Day 17: Our Cozy Bed

At the end of a long day, there's no cozy comfort quite like sinking into a soft, warm bed!

Gratitude, Day 16: The Moon

A lantern in the sky-- a friendly, familiar face to light us on our way (well, some of the time, at least).

Gratitude, Day 15: Our Freezer & Microwave

I love the convenience of reaching into our freezer, grabbing something I cooked and froze a few weeks ago (Santa Fe stew, in this case), and popping it into the microwave to defrost. And with that, most of a home-cooked meal is taken care of!

Thank you, trusty freezer and microwave!

Gratitude, Day 14: Crochet

I'm so happy I finally learned how to crochet with (relative) confidence, because it is now one of my favorite pastimes.

I'm grateful for weekend afternoons of guilt-free crochet time.

Gratitude, Day 13: Pleasantly Warm Days

I spend most of the summer wishing it could be cooler outside. It isn't until autumn-- winter, even-- that I truly appreciate warm days.

(However, there's a world of difference between one of our typical humid August days and the glorious just-warm-enough beauty we enjoyed today.)

Gratitude, Day 12: Candy

While not absolutely necessary, a little candy sure does make life sweeter.

(I try to believe that these are healthier than plain M&Ms, because they have peanuts in them, but I'm not sure I've quite convinced myself.)

Gratitude, Day 11: The Right Tools

The right tools for the job-- they really do make all the difference in the world! When I need to cut out 144 squares of fabric, I appreciate my rotary cutter and self-healing mat.

Gratitude, Day 10: Enough to Eat

It's easy to forget that for many around the world, unsatisfied hunger and a lack of nutritious food are daily problems. I am grateful that my family and loved ones all have enough to eat.

(Although perhaps "porcupine meatballs" aren't the most photogenic of dishes... (g))

Gratitude, Day 9: Afternoon Walks

...down to the pond, along paths through the pines.

This time of year it's especially pleasant-- cool air, touches of autumn color here and there, leaves crunching underfoot, and all sorts of interesting, earthy smells.

Gratitude, Day 8: Seasonal Color

We don't get a lot of it down here, but what we do have is very much appreciated.

Gratitude, Day 7: Someone to Play Games With

I appreciate being married to someone who enjoys playing board games (and card games, too, for that matter). It's a rare weekend that we don't make time for at least one game. Yesterday we played Jambo; this afternoon it was Scrabble (and he won, even though English is his second language).

Gratitude, Day 6: Scratching Things Off Lists

This morning, Donald kindly cut down some small trees that had either died or volunteered where they weren't wanted. Meanwhile, I burned some garden debris, including trimmings from our sago palm.

There are still plenty of gardening tasks on my to-do list for autumn and winter, but it's a start, and boy, it sure feels good to be scratching things off that list, for a change!

(Also, I like bonfires, so I'm grateful that we've finally had enough rain recently that I feel safe making one.)