December

The month is winding down and we get closer to the Christmas holiday.  A few thoughts on life, the universe, and everything.  

I love the Oxford comma. Don't send me notes about it or the fact I put two spaces after the period. Just don't.  

The January 6th committee is having its final meeting on December 19th at 1pm. Mark your calendars. This is important. 

For a while now, I have been ruminating about the entire holiday season. Not everyone celebrates Christmas and I can't imagine how marginalizing it is for those who don't celebrate this season. The decorations, the words, the days off, the greetings, the cards, the parties. All of it around a holiday that isn't part of your life, faith, or family story.  

I have so many books to read. 

I took this picture a few days ago. The sunrise was spectacular.  

With love from the lake.  

Christmas post ex

we lost a little time this Christmas vacation.  we were out of power for a couple of days and that had us scrambling ... trying to save food, keep warm, figure out where/how long/what we were doing.   but we recovered with grace and elegance.

and had a magnificent Christmas.

the highlight was Paul's dinner.  I don't like lamb.  I try ... like bell peppers but I just don't like it.  (I know, I think not liking bell peppers is akin to treason but really I have tried and gah - can't stand them).  but we have this lamb in the basement and we tried a dish earlier in the year and WOW.  it's fabulous.

we call it lamb balls.  say that without laughing.  really, say, "I love lamb balls" out loud without chuckling just a bit.  you can't.  we can't either so we spend all kinds of time laughing at our meal.

lamb balls





and there was wine.  and some really good wine!
 





and the lamb balls were - delicious!


served with Paul's homemade bread.


and we had this little visitor join us.


the snow continues to fall.  as I listen to the wind and the ice crackling on the branches, I ponder.  it's a really white Christmas - 8-10 inches all around me, plummeting temperatures, grey skies.  today involves a fireplace and a really good book.  we look forward to the rest of this glorious vacation.

Cheers!~

how quickly things change

it was Saturday and I spent the day relaxing.  first day of Christmas break.  did some laundry.  did some grocery shopping.  started to read.  had a wonderful dinner.  watched the winter weather start.

planned Sunday - Christmas cards, the last of the decorations, football, a great fire in the fireplace, a pot of lentil soup.

then the ice came.







and the power went.  and stayed gone.  so we redeployed to warmer environs with electricity.

Mr. Handsome adapted perfectly.





while I realize that Consumer's Power is working to restore power to so many of us, their communication has been horrific.  last night, they reported our power restored at 7:50 pm; then they couldn't find my address on their site; now, they have no estimated restoration time.

Bleh.  but we are grateful to be together and warm, safe, and connected.  hopefully we will be home soon.

Back to the grind

Well, the holidays are over.  Decorations are down and put away.  Schedule is back to early morning wake-ups, shopping, laundry, work.  The usual.

After such a nice Christmas break, January was like a slap in the face.  The snow came down, the cold moved in, and the early morning wake-ups are even more difficult after such a mild December.

We completed one major accomplishment over the holidays.  We painted our living/dining area, along with part of our bathroom.  Fortunately, we have a good friend who LOVES to paint and has been hounding us for years to add color to our home.

We are sort of color adverse.  We resisted.  Until we could no longer resist because she simply showed up with drop-clothes, rollers, cut-in tools, and brushes.  She pronounced that, "Today is the day."

And it was. 

From Painting

Too much WHITE.

From Painting

From Painting

Deb gets to work and Samson supervises.

From Painting

And while Deb and +Paul Kratochwill  painted, Samson and I were banished to the basement.  Okay, we had great fun in the basement.  But let's pretend it was banishment.

From Painting

And it looks stunning.   I would cross it off our bucket list but that phrase has been banned.  So I will just say that it's been crossed off our Google drive list.

From Painting

From Painting

From Painting

Happy New Year!

Christmas post-ex

We had a glorious Christmas!

Lots of naps without much room



Beautiful table accoutrements





A wonderful dinner with a magnificent wine



Fabulous decorations



And now, some down time before New Year's Eve.  Be safe on those roads, wherever you are! 

Merry Christmas

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Merry Christmas and Peace to you ... from our home to yours. 

Christmas Eve

We have it all going this Christmas - wonderful lights, casual decorations, a killer Charlie Brown tree, and a roaring fire.

One piece missing are gifts.  Years ago, we quit buying each other gifts.  What we need, we buy.  We don't need to wait for a holiday.

Okay, we do get each other Amazon gift cards.

But this year, a real gift came at an odd time.  Our cow was ready. Perfect timing.  We drove out to Mike's house to pick up the beef.  While the guys were doing business and packing up, I went to see the cows still standing.

They were a little skittish.  Who can blame them?





After I walked around for a bit, they ventured a little closer.





Her ears look like pigtails.  :)



We have our freezers full of some of the best beef on the planet. We love buying locally from a good friend and great farmer. All the different cuts of beef make us experiment in ways that we never imagined. It's the perfect gift this Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas Eve.  

The next ten days

If you happen to ever peek on over at our cooking blog, last night we made (with an awful lot of help) a roast chicken.

It went from this:


to this:


then this:


It was spectacular.  You can read the full account with recipe over here.

Paul and I have the next two weeks off.  Fair warning, the next ten days will be a plethora of pictures involving food, drink, merriment, and Samson the dog. 

Cheers to Christmas vacation!

Comfort and Joy

For Christmas, I bought myself a little camera.  There are times when I just don't want to pick up the monstrosity, set the ISO, WB, aperture, etc just to take a picture.

I bought a PS (point & shoot).  [GASP]  And I love it.  I can, from the comfort of my little sofa, take pictures like this. Without ever moving.



Isn't he a cutie?  Yeah, I think so too.  My 100 lb German shepherd guard dog, hard at work.

Comfort and joy, indeed. 

Christmas 2012

It's been a little somber around here.  I needed a little lift so I decorated the tree. This is our Charlie Brown tree. Paul put it up last week.

This is our naked tree. 

From Christmas 2012

I wrapped it.

From Christmas 2012

Then I put up the lights.

From Christmas 2012

Then I put my camera on the tripod and had a little fun. 

From Christmas 2012

From Christmas 2012

From Christmas 2012

From Christmas 2012

While somber, I hope and pray for us, all of us, this Advent season. Weep with those who weep. We do.

Christmas ex-post

The days leading up to Christmas were pretty miserable round these parts.  I kept a brave face but boy was I hurting.  I haven't had a cold like that in years ... dayquil and nitequil and advil and a whole bottle of Visine in a few days, well, it was brutal.  I slept.  A ton.

The miserableness started to break on Christmas eve and I felt well enough to venture out.  By Christmas day, I was able to ditch the Visine and pick up the camera.  It was a Christmas miracle.

The good.

Christmas eve dinner Rosemary-garlic Chicken

From Christmas Eve Dinner

From Christmas Eve Dinner

From Christmas Eve Dinner

From Christmas Eve Dinner

music

From Christmas Eve Dinner

and some of the best wine that I have ever had, from our friend Amy and her amazing shop. 

From Christmas Eve Dinner

Christmas day filet Mignon in a Cabernet reduction. 

From 2011-12-25

From 2011-12-25

with shallots

From 2011-12-25

From 2011-12-25

and more of the best wine, ever, really ever.

From 2011-12-25

The less than good?  Well, we watched a move, Trainspotting.  I love the soundtrack (especially Brian Eno's Deep Blue Day) but the movie is profoundly depressing.  Mostly the heroin and needles.  Lesson learned on that one.

So it's off to enjoy the rest of the week! I have it off and have a ton of things to do, to see, to enjoy. Hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are. Gearing up for a wonderful New Year's eve.

Cheers!

Gloria in excelsis Deo

From Christmas Eve Dinner

And thank you Santa!

From Christmas Eve Dinner

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!  A day to celebrate and reflect, with profound gratitude.  Cheers. 

Christmas Eve

Christmas eve on a Saturday is sort of an odd occurrence.  Many of the places we visit on Saturdays are closed.  I had hoped for lunch at Ramona's Table or the Winchester, but alas they are closed. 

Good for them!  Bad for us.  So we may have to try the hot dogs at Jonny B'z.  (Um, they are delicious ...)

Our Christmas tradition is to fill our growler with heavenly deliciousness from Founders and fortunately, they are open from noon to 5pm today.   Pale Ale, here we come!  And then one last stop for hand-selected wine by our personal sommelier at Art of the Table.  <3

Tonight, a tour through EGR to look at Christmas lights.  With camera and tripod in tow.  Happy Christmas Eve!  

Small towns

Or aptly titled, "Why I love Oscoda."  Where else can you see Santa Claus at the Burger King?

From 2011-12-18

And then, there is this:

From 2011-12-18

From 2011-12-18

From 2011-12-18

Just beautiful. Lovely. Blessed. Grateful. Today begins my Christmas break. Cheers to Friday.

Gifts for photographers

One of the funniest blog posts I wrote last summer - diary of photography addict - generated some hilarious conversation on facebook and some wonderful email notes.  There are many of us out here, we who love the little black box that takes light and pixels and metal and creates a visual masterpiece.  It is a hobby that haunts us, one that is never very far from my thoughts.  Love.

Yesterday,  a friend shared this link - 50 reasons not to date a photographer.  It's hilarious.

So getting into the Christmas holiday, I thought I would write for those who don't understand our addiction hobby.  Need ideas for what to buy that fabulous photographer in your life?   A gift that isn't in the four digits?  Here is my help. (Hint.  Hint.)

Memory cards.  We/I/they can never, ever, ever have enough memory cards.  Whenever I head out with my camera, I am convinced that I won't have enough room for my pictures.  That's insane and completely unrealistic but sadly true.

Gift cards.  B & H Photo/Video.

Photography books.  Anything by Scott Kelby or any from the hosts of fabulous photographers who write and shoot about pictures.

Any kind of really cute gift from Photojojo.  Like the lens mug.

Go forth and take care of that photographer in YOUR life.

Decorations

Slowly but surely, they are going up. 

From Lamb Stew

Soon enough, the house will look festive. I love Christmas lights. That is the one area where I will splurge a little. The lights frame our entrance way, a few windows, and our fireplace. I love that they are on timers; I can come home to a house filled with lovely Christmas color.

Later this month we will put up our Charlie Brown Christmas tree. It's a cute little tree we purchased at Ikea years ago. It looks very much like Charlie's little tree. I love it. And I don't have to worry about falling needles.

We are closing in on December.  We have no snow, but I imagine it's coming soon enough.  Happy Monday.