Lunch, a movie, plus sherries with MJ and Martin, and introducing them to cell phone lenses later at their house. I think we photographed everything in the lounge!

Had an appointment with Dr Hutton, Marshall's chiropractor today as I've been in a sorry state lately. He was fabulous and a really nice guy. As I relaxed on the rolling table at the end, this notice was on the ceiling. He said the building was also a chiropractor's office when he bought it 15 years ago and this was on the ceiling then. And it's never fallen down. It looks to me as though it's been up there since the 70's, loved the retro cartoon look.

The sun setting behind the silo.

Another hike at Shenandoah River State Park.

An Urbexing social down DC.

Went for a hike today at Shenandoah River State Park. We were the only ones there. It was a beautiful crisp sunny daywith the mud frozen and crunchy underfoot. We hiked about 6 brisk miles, invigorating!

Finally the sun goes goes so I can see my Christmas lights. A beautiful Christmas evening.

The last window of my chocolate advent calendar. 

A pretty Christmas scene on the way home from work.

For some time I've been hunting for a coffee pot that I can use on the wood stove. Found a great little one today so I can now enjoy a big mug of Jamaica Blue Mountain .

A beautiful and huge chandelier in O St Mansion.

Mum sent some these Cadburys choccies. Yum!

I printed some transfer letters today and after weeding out the negative space I was left with this which needed to be discarded. But the artist in me thought it was cool so I hung on to it for hours thinking I could use it for a project until I finally accepted that it really was just trash after all.

And another layer of snow has fallen. On the way to work. Slowly.

Retro lights on my Christmas tree.

Cute 'wind up' VW on the way home tonight.

Urbexing in PA at an abandoned rayon factory.

The beautiful Christmas tree at Oatlands Plantation, Leesburg.

The steep road down off the hill. I managed to get down here today after 4 days being stuck. But I've also realized that I need to make a purchase, snow chains.

Tiny bird prints closely followed by little paw prints, but thankfully no carnage. The trail showed that the bird got away. Kota and Rosie Lee were indoors so I wondered if the hunter had been a raccoon.

The same scene as yesterday, this time covered in thick ice.

This was at midday. We've had about 3" fall and the snow has already hardened to ice. Guess I won't be driving in the morning unless it disappears overnight.

Some of the beautiful lights at Brookside Garden Center.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Joe and Mike at our Emblemax Christmas party.

Hundreds of scarves produced each day all week for Discovery.

That's the show room decorated for Christmas!

Stopped to get gas in Marshall and spotted this artwork in the dim light on a pump. Pretty cool, wish the rest had been allowed to stay.

Uploading the work Christmas cards for printing.

Sunday, December 1st, 2013

Beautiful but icy day for a hike.

A ceiling panorama of a closed Catholic Church in Johnstown that we were allowed in.

The Inclne in Johnstown, PA looking festive with lights and snow.

Loved the artwork at a gas station on the way to my Thanksgiving lunch, which I don't have a photo of because I forgot to take any photos due to having such a good time. The food was diabolical but the company terrific. My tummy hurts and my face feels stretched from laughing so much. 

The first snow of the season was fluttering down as I drove home through Middleburg.

It's officially winter in my book. Freezing cold and raining all the way home where the patio was a frozen slush. Glad to be safe indoors in front of a blazing fire.

Was amazed to see this when I got home and even more amazed to find it came from my best friend in England. Makes me chuckle that america has such beautiful card shops but never buys them, well my friends don't, ha ha! I know very few folks that want to make this effort when a text or Facebook posting will do. It has made me chuckle that the two events of the year that Americans celebrate a lot more than the English has been noted only by cards from my English friends. 

Saturday, November 23rd, 2013

Forgot to post this yesterday. I bought these Beech mushrooms to try and had them for breakfast with local sausages and eggs. I'd never seen these before. They were nice, a little sweeter than regular mushrooms.

Autumnal decorations in my window.

I found another item to bust open today. We had one of these Galileo barometers that had been sitting around for years and had lost its water. But the little glass ball things inside still held their water and I wanted them so out came the hammer again, and da da! I got them!

Yay! Got my last voucher so now I have a free $20 at Food Lion. Free wine! Woo hoo!

The Fosters Grille racing car in Marshall lit up with Christmas lights.

How about these leg warmers then? They're the bees knees!

Spent the evening at the Czech Embassy in DC with Margie listening to Shin Dong-Hyuk, the only known person to have been born in Camp 14 in North Korea and to have escaped to tell his tale. He autographed his book for us.

Found a cute Christmas store run by an elderly couple in Winchester, and spent a happy hour or so rummaging around.

Went with explorer friends to visit the Aspin Hill Pet Cemetery in Maryland.

After listening for over 51 hours to the superb book, A Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham, I eagerly sat down to watch the movie with my all time favorite female screen star, Bette Davis. But alas, it skipped the first third of the book, leaving out his childhood, and then skimmed over the rest. It was probably a good movie in 1934 when it was made but really fell short of my expectations. Oh well. 

Thursday, November14, 2013

Production finished for the day and only Johny left, cleaning screens.

Kota and Rosie Lee have the best seats in the house. I think they're spoiled...

I've rarely been one to blow my own horn but just for laughs today I googled myself and was amazed at what came up. Loads of references and then I googled images and had fun looking at what people would view me if they ran a search.
Click here for the image link.
There's definitely a 'Debbykaralee Footprint' on the internet!

All tuckered out after a hard day spent snoozing. Cats can spend more than 20 hours a day checking the backs of their eyelids and Kota is always willing to set an example.

The stick insects are prowling over my wood piles and my windows, going to have to be careful putting wood on the fire.

A return trip to the Truck Farm, thankfully sans ticks!