Made this for Maggi, featuring lips and horseshoes which she makes in her bakery. And glitter. Glitter is good.

The barber shop in Marshall got what it wished for, even if it was just a dusting.

Part of an incredible hand drawn picture I saw today. I stood looking at it for a long time, like a cathedral in Dickensian times. If I had had the $600 I would have bought it. It was hard to tear my eyes away, there was something very compelling about it.

Because of the very low temperature today little Kota has spent nearly all day asleep. I kept the fire blazing for him and Rosie Lee so they could snooze without shivering.

I had a quick play with my new metal detector today but with the temperature below freezing and winds blowing I didn’t last long. Snowflakes so fine that they looked like glitter were twirling around. This was really a day to spend in front of a blazing fire!

The local hunt set off from Orlean today. The hounds stole the show and literally bowled me over with friendliness.

Kota and Rosie Lee had a wonderful dinner of prime rib, chicken and gravy. Rosie Lee left most of here, so Kota had to clean up.

24th Dec 2017

Spent a lovely evening with the family of one of Steve’s friends. They all made me feel very welcome, as did their beautiful cat, Sophie, who spent some time sitting on the arm of my chair.

Meeting Darth Vader at DC’s pop up Star Wars bar that Richard and I visited this evening.

Posing by the humongous Christmas tree at the Broad Run Brewery. Enjoyed an evening chatting with Steve and sipping on their superb Tangerine IPA.

Another view of Marshall Main Street with the electrical poles and wires which will disappear when the ‘let’s look like Middleburg’ transformation begins, which is likely to start in spring. I will miss our little town’s rural old charm.

A pretty and clever Christmas tree at the framing shop in Marshall.

Kota asking me to follow him as we hiked through the woods on a lovely balmy and sunny afternoon.

We went to The Alamo to watch The Last Jedi this evening. This cinema shows magical old time clips relating to the feature show and tonight they didn’t disappoint. 

Panic at the fire pit! But all was OK. Great fun afternoon with friends at Meadow House.

There was a long line at the car wash for all our salt covered cars, but it had to be endured; Stanley was filthy.

15 Dec 2017

I have a string of clear balls on my branches which don’t look particularly interesting in daylight but at night time they come into a world of their own. With the tree light reflections they become beautiful.

So many clients expect artwork they’ve taken from other sites to be recreated for free. Not happening. I’ll recreate it, and I’ll charge them.

My precious little man having a snooze in front of the fire after a big dinner.

Mum sent me, and 3 friends, this beautiful lamp. It’s water filled with glitter so it looks like snow is constantly falling. I’ve never seen one like it before, it’s beautiful.

A pretty house in Aldie, lit up for Christmas, that I pass on my work commute. 

Kota taking his daily hike, being very careful not to step on any of that awful wet white stuff.

A snowy evening spent in DC watching Gary Numan in concert with Richard. He was amazing, and nearly 60 years old. Great show man.

Chowing down on some pucker fodder at our work’s Christmas dinner. 

Just an abstract image, created from looking through a colored glass vase and then throwing some filters on top of the image.

Lovely care package from Mum contains stuff to read, crisps, mint sauce and lots of Maltesers. Yum!

A lovely evening, catching up after a long absence, with Bill and Janice. Plans already made for future meet ups. Good to have them both back on the scene again. 

Gathering my supplies for Christmas. Very happy to share the nuts and mince pies but the Maltesers are strictly off limits. They’re for me and Kota.

Kota looking very content as I headed out to an afternoon party. He hadn’t been able to get up here a few weeks ago, he’s certainly regained much of his energy since being on his heart medication. It’s a joy to watch him enjoying life again.

While putting up a few Christmas decorations I tried to get Kota into a festive spirit. His expression very obviously says he wasn’t amused.

1 Dec 2017

Main Street, Marshall was very busy as I passed through on my way home from work. Christmas decorations we’re going up on both sides of the road.

Couldn’t be worse, Cooter’s a great guy, on screen and off!

While Kota and I were on our afternoon hike, I spotted some pine trees that Brandon had trimmed, and which were now leaking sap. I hope they’ll be OK, will have to Google that.

Update: leaking sap is nature’s way of protecting the wounds from boring insects, so all’s good.

I came home to this package stuffed firmly into my mailbox with a very contrite note on top from my mail lady apologizing for ramming it in so tight and saying she’d try to get it back out later this evening and then she’d drop it off at my house. I had to leave her a note in return thanking her for ending my work day with a laugh and wondering who had the toughest time, her shoving the box in or me tugging it back out again.

An arty view of the electrician’s house in town, his home is understandably always the first to display holiday lights.

A beautiful day for a hike. Another trek along the Appalachian Trail, this time from Front Royal. 

I met two English friends I hadn’t seen for years and after an afternoon at a winery we ended up at The Hunter’s Head, loosely styled as a British pub. It was fun catching up, especially with no one checking phones for the whole time. Just like the old days!

Little Rosie Lee is all tuckered out after doing nothing all day. I wish I could sleep like a cat.

23 Nov, 2017

After a huge Thanksgiving lunch, I took Steve and Jason out to the woods close to the house for a hike.  They made me chuckle when they both concentrated really hard to take a photo of the rocks we’d climbed down from, as though they’d tackled Mount Everest.

Kota Kat sitting on his fleece, purring louder than a Harley, and dreaming of a big turkey dinner that he’s expecting tomorrow.

These horrendously ugly and warped ‘cat’ bottles of wine were on sale for $10. It didn’t look like many had left the shelf, I’d imagine any self respecting cat lover would have turned tail and scarpered in the opposite direction.

Poor little Kota tries to lift his head. He’s still sedated after having blood taken for a test that will hopefully yield great results tomorrow. The doctor said he looked amazing, so with some rest tonight, he’ll hopefully be up for his hike again tomorrow afternoon.

Kind of a shame that, with a name of The Gathering Room, I was the only one who pushed a door open and went inside. There was a welcome screen behind me and these amazing chandeliers. The new Museum of the Bible is, in my eyes, a hit.

Had to pick up some meds at Kota’s doctors’ office and loved their slightly sinister Thanksgiving decor outside. I wonder how many of the dog patients stopped to bark at these?

Rosie Lee pulls the funniest faces on camera, especially selfies, like this one. She always makes me laugh.

I like the way my light shade distorts the light bulb so it appears to be melting.

Our refurbished 7/11 in Marshall will hopefully soon be open, judging by the 7.11 gas price on the new sign, and I will be very happy. It’s been additional stress trying to find another gas station with low prices and I e often had to pay higher.

With the freezing cold evenings, snuggling on the sofa in front of the fire is a must. Little Rosie Lee takes it to the extreme and likes to be completely covered by fleeces. Well, almost.

While it’s freezing cold outside we’re all happy to snuggle together on the sofa.

An almost surreal evening. What started as a reception for artist Yuri Gorbachev in Middleburg ended up with myself, Emily and Margie having dinner at the gallery owner’s house, enjoying delicious food and champagne with other guests. An interesting experience!