Lightdance, December 19, 2011

Purple mittened snowman has a cheery look about him, but what he’s really saying is, “Na, na, na, na, boo, boo! I’m ready for Christmas, and you’re not!”

Lightdance, December 16, 2011

I was at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens, where they know what they doing,  when I took this photo, but, really, should anything in zone 6 be blooming in December? Judging by the thorn, however, flowering quince (Chaenomeles speciosa) is probably capable of fending for itself.

Lightdance, December 14, 2011

Knowing that Cheekwood’s model garden train display would end on December 31st, the Deers planned their Christmas lunch at the Pineapple Room in order to see the exhibit before it was too late.  We had a sunny, warm day for our completely enjoyable visit. G-scale trains zipped around the display of over two dozen recreations of Tennessee’s most famous landmarks, and 2500 tiny trees, shrubs and plants. The entire landscape was handcrafted using native, natural materials such as twigs, bark, leaves, acorns and pebbles. I did not know that all weather model train displays were commonly  (common for train hobbyists, anyway) set up in residential gardens until about the 1950′s, when the practice died out, but there are still enthusiastic hobbyists who create such installations. We were glad to see the conductor return from lunch as we moved on to the Japanese garden, as there had been a serious derailment in front of the State Capitol.

Lightdance, November 24, 2011

I will start this cabbage cooking in a little while. It will stink up the whole house as usual. It’s really worst during the first hour or so that it cooks, and then it blends in with all the other aromas. I try to time the cooking so that it smells the worst as everyone arrives, so I can hear all the expressions of horror at the aroma that greets their noses.

I’ve actually never liked this dish, but I take a bite to go along with my musings about whatever ancestor thought this up in the first place, how in the world it became an enduring tradition, and why I continue to cook it on Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving! And, not to be rude, but I don’t want to hear anyone’s memories about the delicious smell of pumpkin bread or pecan dressing baking away in the oven.

Lightdance, November 11, 2011

Actually, more than a few, but the pictured Marine is right up there at the top of them! Thanks to our veterans, for their service and the example of honor they set.

Lightdance, November 7, 2011

The world is in a mess, you say? Fix it with a smile!

Lightdance, November 2, 2011

Another photo in my continuing project to  re-edit various lighthouses I’ve photographed over the years. This one outside of Ketchikan, Alaska, although taken in the summer time, looks more appropriate to our current November calendar. It was as cold as it looks. We visited this lighthouse by boat and saw many seals and eagles on the shore as we passed.

Lightdance, October 31, 2011

Here’s the motley crew for Halloween, 2011. Fun!

Lightdance, October 30, 2011

It was a gorgeous, and cold!, fall day in Centennial Park, where we went yesterday for the ALS walk. Everything was brighter and warmer if you stayed in the sun, like the red maple leaves that made a nice frame for the Parthenon.

Lightdance, October 29, 2011

I’m revisiting my lighthouse photos.  Many of them are old and in need of my improved editing skills, plus, no matter how beautiful fall is, who wouldn’t enjoy returning to Lake Michigan to sit by a lighthouse and bask in a summer sunset?