Suit of Armor

This cute little suit of armor was observed while taking a leisurely walk on a warm afternoon at Shops at Legacy in Texas.

Wishing everyone a healthy happy new year.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Personality

You Are Biscotti

You are a very direct, honest person. You don't have time for dramatics or emotional pleas. You feel most comfortable in the intellectual realm, especially with science and technology. You are good at understanding difficult subjects. Understanding people? Not so much.

What Holiday Cookie Are You?

Christmas at the Gaylord

MERRY CHRISTMAS


While here in Texas my son and daughter-in-law took me to the Gaylord to see a spectacular holiday and ice display.

Christmas Tree in Legacy Shops


Festive lights in Legacy Shops


Festive lights in Legacy Shops


Festively lit fountain



Last evening in a balmy temperature of the upper 60s my son, a daughter, a daughter-in-law and I strolled around Legacy Shops after have sushi at Naan. We took in the sites of all the Christmas decorations. A good time was had by all, even though walking in heeled boots became uncomfortable.

Snow

This picture is a memory from last winter season in my backyard.

I have just finished speaking to my next door neighbor. He tells me there is a lot of snowing going on back at home( I'm on vacation in TX). I love the snow, too bad I'm missing the whole Currier and Ives scene that is taking place back home. And I'm not there to photograph what is a photographers delight.

My Rainbow

Your rainbow is shaded indigo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is says about you: You are a proud person. You appreciate cities, technology, and other great things people have created. Friends count on you for being honest and insightful.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

On the Road Again

Well, here I am on the road again. But, I love traveling so no complaints especially when I am visiting family. Yes, I arrived in Texas yesterday and the temperature was a pleasant 70 to 80. I woke up this morning and it is in the 20s, windy and damp (brrr!). It was warmer back home where the temperature was in the 50s. Hopefully this will not last very long.

I am visiting with my son and his wife in their brand new house. We spent the morning watching Dark Knight. It was my first Batman movie to watch. For some parts I had to cover my eyes, because I can only take so much violence. But all considered it was a good movie. Than it was off to Bally's for a workout. I did half an hour on the treadmill.

Close to Bally's was a Hobby Lobby. As a scrapbooker I had heard a lot about Hobby Lobby, but I had never been to one. Needless to say I had to go there. They had a lot to see. I'll probably do some shopping there before I go home. The only unfortunate thing is no matter what I buy while here in Texas, I'm going to have to mail it home. My luggage has no room to take anything home.

Wildlife in the Woods

Living in the woods I get to see various creatures. This fall I had the thrill of seeing wild turkeys strolling across my neighbors property and then walking onto my driveway.






My favorite nemesis, white-tail deer are always present. We have a constantly ongoing match about how many of my plants I'm going to keep them from eating and how many they actually eat. I was the winner for most of this years growing season. They did manage to clean out a large pot of red impatiens in late September.

Yesterday, I finally got to see how efficient the cylinder like birdfeeder hanging from a tree branch worked to keep squirrel's at bay. It was hilarious. A fat grey squirrel made it's way across the branch. He leaped onto the birdfeeder and the birdfeeder closed do to his weight. Than he tried upside-down to work his way down the birdfeeder, but it stayed closed. After awhile he gave up.(ha!ha!ha!)

Today as I sat at the table eating breakfast and enjoying a cup of tea looking out the window I saw a herd of approximately seven white-tail deer. They were busily meandering their way down and across the hill while foraging for food. They are interesting to watch as long as they are not eating my plants. I wonder which creatures I will see tomorrow.

Are We Our Thoughts?

I was reading a natural health paper I picked up in the pharmacy today. In it was a quote by Buddha. The quote intrigued me. Are we our thoughts?

We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make our world. -the Buddha

Soooo Cold

The furnace was running all night. More dollar bills flying out of my wallet. The temperature was in the low teens overnight. When I left the house this morning(around 9am) the car indicated the temperature was a mere 16 degrees(Burrrr). Those low temps call for a lot of clothes:jeans, turtle-necked sweater, heavy faux fur lined coat, scarf wrapped around the neck, wool cap, and gloves. And did I say heavy socks as well. The sun is shining brightly, that's just to fool one into thinking it is warm outside until you step outside. Yes, I still love living in CT.

Dusting of Snow

The snow started to fall around 11pm Saturday night. This is a photo taken from the back steps of the snow falling. During the night I heard the town plow truck down on the road drive by.






When I woke up I saw we had about one inch of snow, just enough to say it snowed. I knew I had to go outside and shovel my long downhill driveway(~250 feet). It was cold and windy in the mid 30s.



Some of the snow had started to melt once the sun was shining on it, so after I finished shoveling the driveway I took a picture of things to come during this winter.

As Robert Frost wrote "Whose woods these are I think I know-----". Stay tune for more winter pictures as the season progress.

Waiting for the First Snow of the Season

The weather man tells we could see the first snow of the season tonight. I love watching the snow fall. Because I live in the woods, I'm reminded of the poem by Robert Frost. Needless to say everyone was at the grocery store today buying up bread, milk and snacks. You would think they were going to be stranded to days.

I'm watching the 1973 version of Miracle on 34th Street on TV as I write this. It's OK, but not as good as the original with Natalie Wood.

I need to close and go to the window, the newscaster just said the snow has enter the State.

Time to Think About Next Years Travels.

Traveling to different places around the world is something I have always wanted to do. I have always been an avid reader and I have traveled all over the world through the written word.

I started doing some traveling about twenty-two years ago. My first flight and trip outside the United States was to Barbados for a week by myself. I have been flying ever since. Quite often I go on trips by myself. You might wonder how could I go by myself. I got use to traveling by myself when I went to scientific conferences for my job. Since I am now retired, I have the time to travel as much as I want. My form of art is photography, so my traveling and photography go hand in hand.

This years travels have taken me to San Francisco, Tampa, Barcelona, Carcassonne, small villages along the Rhone and Saone Rivers in France starting in Arles sailing to Lyon, Paris, Connecticut, Massachusetts, San Diego, Trinidad, Grenada and Texas.

So far I know I'll be traveling to New Mexico for a book retreat and Texas for a graduation next year. I'll possibly go to Arizona to visit a friend who moved there this year. I'm seriously contemplating about going on a 13-day cruise on the Nile River. Egypt is one of those places I have read a lot about and I'm always watching something about Egypt on the History channel. So its time to go there and see all that is left to be seen. Some of the time would be spent in Cairo. Other places of interest are Alaska and China.