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.