* Happy Birthday to us *

Christmas, birthdays, and a new year all rolled up into one.

It was 22 years ago yesterday that our beautiful daughter was born. She was quite the birthday present for me!

And I was about 22 at the time.

Hahaha ... OK, I wasn't.

I'm just happy she didn't arrive on Dec. 25. That must be a tough day to have a birthday.

And today would have been my father's 100th birthday, so I, his only child, was his birthday present!

He was an "older dad," and when I was little some of my friends thought he was my grandfather.

Here's Allegra on her birthday modeling a Turbie Twist my mother got for her. It was a good gift, since she never quite got the hang of putting her wet hair in a towel.

Ralph devoted a post to us. Just click on his name to read.

Happy almost New Year to all.

~ Ruby Tuesday ~

"Look at all that snow! I hope it doesn't ruin my naturally curly hair."

You can see lots more photos featuring the color red at Mary T's Ruby Tuesday meme at her Work of the Poet blog.

Happy Ruby Tuesday and Happy New Year!

Yuletide re-post

Merry Christmas!

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Ho ho ho

Ralph took this photo last night after I was asleep. Santa was waving to him

through the front window!
Quite the capture, if I do say so myself.

A Yuletide re-post ~ Love these vintage cards

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Children make Christmas special

Vintage Christmas greetings ~
Isn't she sweet? Reminds me of myself when I was about 4 or 5. I loved dolls, and actually I still do.

Santa Claus takes the train and gives his eight reindeer a break. I'm guessing this card has a Christmas message. I must use online translator to figure out.

Santa never forgets the children.

This kiddo is sadly mistaken. No Santa?
I think he is a misguided lad.

And this last one I post in honor of Airhead 55 ~ Ralph just loves fixed-wing aircraft. That's why I named him Airhead 55, of course.

Shadow Shot Sunday ~ brrr...

I couldn't find a shadow shot to share today, until I braved the 19-degree cold to get the newspaper on the driveway and spied this shadow.

I missed posting a shadow last week but I'm happy to be back.

See lots more shadows from around the world at Hey Harriet, our awesome Aussie friend Tracy's blog.

And have a fun (almost Christmas) week shadow seeking!

It was a day to lend a hand to those who served

Last Friday Ralph and I attended a stand down for veterans at our city's Armory. It was the third such event sponsored by No Vet Left Behind, a non-profit organization founded by two Army veterans who just happen to be married.

Ralph remarked that what struck him was the dignity of the veterans, mostly all men, who arrived for free clothing, blankets, toiletries, food, hot coffee and camaraderie. Some of them were homeless, others just in need of some assistance to get them through the winter.

I wrote a story about the stand down. You can read about it here.

Still stuck in non-blogging mode...

So today I share something from the e-mail bag. I thought of Tesla, blogger Linda's cat, when I saw this comic! Linda was concerned the little guy would destroy her Christmas tree.

Happy Yuletide to all. I hope I can think up something to write about soon.

Christmas is coming

I had a day off yesterday. I accomplished a tiny bit. I bought one Christmas present and sent one card!

I'm getting organized. Really.

I started to arrange my winter village...Look who I found enjoying the snowy village when I got up this morning. Awww...

Guess that's all I got today. Have a great Thursday!

Remember Pearl Harbor

I did remember Pearl Harbor today...but not because I was alive when it happened.

I attended an annual Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremony. I've been to it many times, and it is always a moving tribute.

At the event I met a young man who had served in the Army National Guard in Afghanistan for 14 months. I thanked him for his service. He said it was the first time he had attended the event, and called it "amazing." He said he was happy to meet veterans from previous generations.

Sadly each year there are less World War II veterans in attendance than at the previous year's ceremony.

Many of the speakers talked about the debt of gratitude the American people owe to veterans for preserving the freedoms we all enjoy.

My mother has told me of her memories of that day in 1941...her family was having Sunday dinner when they heard the news that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

She had many friends and acquaintances who left their quiet New Jersey town to go to war, and never returned. I can't imagine what that would be like and I hope I never have to find out.

Ruby Tuesday

"Mommy what did you just bring into my house?" Linus might say if he could talk.

You can see how the Christmas geese look in our front yard here.

Visit Mary at Work of the Poet to see lots of photos featuring the color red.

Happy Ruby Tuesday to all!

Sending fond greetings

That's a new one.

I've never heard of anyone sending fond greetings for Christmas. Ah, those wacky Victorian-era people and their holiday sayings!

This is a "new" vintage Christmas card ~ not a repost from 2008 when I posted a bunch of them. Just to be clear here..

Happy Yuletide season to all!

Let the festivities begin!

Yesterday I bought these three tiny trees to put in the front yard. Today I splurged and got the goose family. It's a Christmas Goose and her goslings.

'Tis the season to get festive. The decorating has begun. Once I start there is no stopping me. I know, I'm a wild woman.

tee hee

Shadow Shot Sunday

Today's photo features another cameo appearance by my bloggy friend Linda, author of the always interesting Are We There Yet?

I took this as she was shooting photos at the covered bridge in West Cornwall, Ct. I didn't dare to go down the steps toward the river, even though they were concrete and looked sturdy enough. Linda is clearly more adventurous than I!

We had a fun foliage trip, full of laughs and leaves, but no lunch..We did stop for dinner at a diner. ;-)

See many more shadows from across the globe at our hostess Tracy's Hey Harriet blog.

A Yuletide re-post from 2008

I posted a series of vintage Christmas cards two years ago, and thought I would share one today. I have nothing about which to write..at least nothing fun!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Vintage Yuletide ~ Part 2

This would have been perfect for a Ruby Tuesday post, but I didn't take the photo, or illustrate the vintage Christmas card.
So maybe not.

I could make up a story about this character. Let's see...There once was an angel named Ruby, and one Tuesday she filled up her car with beautiful blue flowers to offer to anyone who needed some holiday cheer (of the floral variety).

Who knew angels drove?

Anyway, Ruby spent all day Tuesday driving her red car around the countryside, giving flowers and spreading Yuletide joy to all who she encountered along the dirt road.

The End.

~ Happy December ~

I do a lot of writing for my job, and I love to write, but apparently I've come down with writer's block as far as my blog is concerned.

So...I thought I would take the easy way out and offer up a riddle for the season:

Q: Why was Santa's little helper depressed?

A: He had low elf esteem

(Stay tuned for more...I can at least copy and paste!)

Online shopping today?

Not moi, but I guess many people are..I'm just not in the Christmas spirit. Or the shopping spirit, for that matter!

I have a few gift ideas rolling around in my head.

In our extended family we enjoy a wacky Yankee Swap on Christmas Eve. The other day I saw a perfect gift that is sure to be "swapped" around the room.

It's a George Washington Chia head.

There are several other Chia choices, including our current president, but I liked ol' George the best.

I think it will elicit a few laughs. ;-D

Happy Cyber Monday for those who partake.

Shadow Shot Sunday

Ah yes, it's all coming back to me now...the blogosphere and the friends who live here inside my computer.

Hi everyone! I'm back. And ready to share some shadowy scenes.

I snapped these two shots moments apart, as bloggy friend Linda, of Are We There Yet? and I explored the picturesque Norfolk, Ct. Green in October. We had a fun foliage trip, and I hope we can do it again next October!

She drives; I sit and passenge...works for me.

See lots of shadows from around the world at Hey Harriet, hosted by our awesome Aussie friend Tracy.

The boy is 20? Yikes

I've not been blogging much lately. I'm not proud of that fact, but I suppose it is what it is. Haven't written or visited.

These past few weeks at work have been busy but I couldn't let today go by without wishing a *Happy Birthday* to our Cameron (Kid Two) who turned 20 today.

He was due on 11-11. Woopsie - he made me wait for 12 more days, arriving on the day after Thanksgiving.

But he was and is more than worth the wait!

Ralph, who is participating in NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month), has been posting every day this month, pretty much putting me to shame.

He wrote about Cameron and posted an adorable photo from a few years back here.

Sepia scenes

On Sunday we attended a Thanksgiving open house at the David Humphreys House in Ansonia, Ct. Here are several junior docents who made a lot of the food (pumpkin soup, squash pie, turkey and all the fixings) we sampled. They did a great job.

They even churned butter in glass jars. Now that is a lot of work!

Our daughter has been working there as a docent teaching fifth graders from area schools to learn about "A Day in 1762," the year that Humphreys was 10 years old.

Unfortunately tomorrow is the last day of the program until spring. Part of the day is spent outside touring the historic district, and so the classes are put on hold for the winter.

You can read about the open house here, and here, and at Ralph's blog here and here. I hope you can stop by! Safe to say we both got a lot of posts out of the fun event.

Visit Mary T's Sepia Scenes to see lots more sepia-fied photos.

Ruby Tuesday ~ historic

On Sunday our daughter Allegra worked at a Thanksgiving open house at the David Humphreys House.

The house in Ansonia, Ct. is run by the Derby Historical Society. She has been working there as a docent teaching fifth graders who visit the house on school field trips about life in the18th century.

The experience will be invaluable if she becomes an elementary school teacher, which is her goal.

In the photo taken through a front window you can see the sign for the house, where Humphreys, a Revolutionary War hero, was born in 1752.

You can read more about the event here in a post I wrote Sunday, and in posts Ralph wrote Sunday and today. I hope you take a look at them!

See lots more photos featuring a little or a lot of red for Ruby Tuesday at Mary T's Work of the Poet.

Our daughter the docent

Today was a Thanksgiving open house at the David Humphreys House in Ansonia, Ct. The house is the headquarters of the Derby Historical Society. Ansonia, as well as several other towns, were once all a part of Derby.

Our daughter, who hopes to become an elementary school teacher someday, has been working there as a docent when fifth graders visit the house where Humphreys, a Revolutionary War hero, was born. The house was built at the end of the 17th Century. Humphreys was born in 1752.

Humphreys was a teacher, an aide-de-camp to George Washington, and later served as an ambassador to Spain. He brought black Merino sheep back to Connecticut from Spain and started a woolen mill.

At the open house we enjoyed samples of pumpkin soup, squash pie, turkey, cranberry sauce, applesauce, and brown bread with freshly-churned butter. Everything was delicious. I enjoyed watching Allegra talk to the members of the public about the house and the food that had been prepared in two fireplaces.

I was pleasantly surprised when blogger and history buff extraordinaire Linda walked into the room while we were sampling the food. I knew she had wanted to see the house, but I wasn't sure if she would be able to make the trip today to our part of Connecticut.

Happily she did, and brought her daughter Jamie and, of course, her camera. It was good to see them! I hope they enjoyed themselves. I'm sure Linda got some great shots.

You could say the kitchen is "rather dark" even when it's sunny out. But with its big fireplace it is definitely cozy. Notice the formal portrait of David Humphreys in the front room, seen through the doorway.

The turkey was roasted in this tin oven in the fireplace in Lady Humphreys' parlor, located next to the kitchen. This room in the front of the house definitely lets in more natural light.

Ralph also wrote a post about our afternoon, which you can read here.

Shadow Shot Sunday ~ sunny!

I always appreciate alliteration, as many bloggers do.

Snapped this when I went with blogging friend Linda of Are We There Yet? fame to the Northwest hills of Connecticut to do some leaf peeping and foliage picture taking. She drove, I pointed at trees and hills and said "pretty!"

Can you figure out what hour (Daylight Savings Time) we were on the Norfolk, Ct. Green?

Now that I look at it again, I think the sundial was using Eastern Standard Time. I know it was later in the afternoon than what it shows here.

The inscription says "My days are as a shadow and there is none abiding."

Food for thought. ;-)

Below we see Linda using her Nikon to get a shot of the sundial. I've got lots of photos from that October foliage ride. Must get them organized and posted.

You can see lots of shadowy shots from around the world by visiting Hey Harriet, hosted by our awesome Aussie friend Tracy.

A tribute to veterans

I have been taking photos of our Stars and Stripes lately. I spotted this flag flying above a school in our neighborhood last week as the sun was setting.

I took the photo below of a torn American flag that flies from a highway overpass. It was published in the newspaper today, with information about where to properly dispose of tattered flags.

A member of the American Legion did not know who had put the flag there. It clearly needs to be taken down and disposed of properly.

There is a second, slightly less tattered flag attached to the railing on the other side of the overpass. One veteran I spoke to surmised that the flags could have been put there after Sept. 11, 2001.

Today, on Veterans Day, I am deeply grateful to all veterans and I thank them for their service and their sacrifice.

Ruby Tuesday

I took a fun foliage trip to the Northwest hills of Connecticut two weeks ago with blogger extraordinaire Linda of Are We There Yet? and we stopped at this covered bridge.

Linda is an expert on covered bridges! And she was startled to find this one in need of a good power washing. She said other ones she had seen in New England were not filled with dirt and cob webs like this one is, which made us both embarrassed for our home state of Connecticut.

It was pretty gross when we ventured inside and walked through it. You can't tell from the photo below, but take our word for it!

See lots more photos featuring a little or a lot of red at Mary T's Work of the Poet.

Noooooo!

It's that four-letter word that begins with "s" again...

Drama in the morning

Clouds

Bright on one side of the house, foreboding on the other.

The sky was dramatic-looking this morning when I went outside to get the newspaper, so I came back in and grabbed the camera.

These shots are straight out of the camera.

Have a great Saturday ~