Lovely to hang out with an old friend on New Year’s Eve. Barb’s dog, Doc, made himself at home on the sofa.

Probably the most horrific artistic representation of a cat I’ve ever seen. Found at an antique mall in Culpeper. 

Rob with my new oven on the back of his truck.

I like looking at these cars parked in a neighbor’s driveway. They obviously like gold cars.

This lovely poinsettia and basket of fruit were sent to me from friends. Always lovely to receive a delivery.

Whenever I turn a corner on a hike and see a dark object I always have the same 3 reactions in about 10 seconds. 1) Whoa, made me jump, is it an animal? 2) Excited. Is it a bear? 3)Disappointed. It’s not a bear. 

Every time, it’s the same responses...

The carnage of a Christmas dinner. Food devoured, drinks depleted and now the clean up begins. Whew!!

Lovely gooey meringue. Making a mincemeat pie with one batch and then Forgotten Cookies with another. Yum!

My nearest boat ramp was severely flooded today, a good 5ft plus higher than usual, the water moving very fast. I’ll come back later...

 

Saw these today on my travels and was amazed at the price. I have one three times the size at home waiting for me to do something ‘arty’ with it.

A very strange sky on Rte 66 as I head home. Unusual for clouds to be so angular.

20 Dec 2018

A beautiful gerbera in the bunch of flowers that Emily brought me. Love the orange theme.

Cute and Christmassy but not really an outfit I could envisage myself in.

A Hungarian chocolate given to me by a member of staff. It tasted strongly of alcohol, sad there was only one!

While unpacking some boxes I came across Gerald, a squeaking spider which for many years had always hung in my previous cars. Not trusting the old elastic thread he hung from, he now sits on Stanley’s dashboard.

Looking through from the front porch, friends enjoying beers and food at The Blue House.

15 Dec 2018

I painted a portrait of my Kota Kat Supreme today at a local art studio. I was petrified that I’d fail to capture his expression of content; he loved his scarf. I think I did OK.

14 Dec 2018

Rushing past the newly decorated fire station on the way to work created some cool color wffects.

13 Dec 2018

I love looking at this beautiful white poplar tree every night on the way home from work. So perfectly upright. 

Looking through to my festive dining room.

I’d been looking forward to a long soak in the tub but it was not to be. The door was shoved open and both cats had to wail and howl until I’d got back out again. I’ll have to barricade the door next time.

I nearly stepped on this ‘bug’ in the grocery store tonight. Wasn’t sure if a kid had dropped it by mistake or someone had placed it there for a prank. Made me chuckle though.

Looks like there’s some ghost issues in Stephens City, VA

A nice visit from Rob today. He managed to find a few free stations on my TV and most importantly, got both of my cuckoo clocks running again. Great to hear those friendly tick rocks and hourly calls again.

Boss Man about to give his annual speech and hand out gifts and bonuses at our Christmas party. 

And another shirt design that needs to be printed.

A delicious sirloin casserole, cooked all day in the slow cooker, greeted me when I arrived home, its aroma causing my tummy to rumble as I walked in the door. 

This signs hangs around the corner from my house. It’s been here for years, the house it hangs from used to be almost derelict, so I was ecstatic to see the house renovated and the sign given a new lease of life.

The cloud formation made this mountain look like an erupting volcano spewinging smoke for a few seconds as I drove home. A few feet further and the perspective had changed to just some grey clouds in the sky.

Fun at Margie’s annual holiday brunch. We studied this mannequin and discovered a snake wrapped around it, with a button. We pressed it and the snake’s eyes lit up, it wriggled and emitted a lot of hissing noises. I have no idea where she finds these things!

I had old neighbors and friends over to see the Blue House and then later Kelly and I hung out at the Beer Museum in town, watching old beer commercials and drinking craft beers. A great way to spend a drizzly damp cold evening.