Monday, December 14, 2020

Holiday is upon us

Early morning light

 Walking around my neighborhood in the early light, I am seeing more and more really delightful decorations. Although you can't see the top of that inflatable helicopter (with a single blade that moves slowly), I stop each day to enjoy the happy decor. I did walk by in the afternoon one day and saw that the helicopter was deflated when all the lights are off. I almost didn't recognize the home, it looked so forlorn and unadorned. Fortunately, our long nights mean that most of the time the lights are on.

A vegetable Santa

I saw this wonderful edible Santa on our local gardening web page, and I was enchanted with it, even though I couldn't find anybody I could attribute it to. I used it anyway. Don't you just love those eyebrows? And his blueberry eyes, too. Someone had a lot of fun creating this guy.

Lake Padden, smooth as glass

Last Saturday, it was just my friend Chris and I who went twice around Lake Padden. We thought about going on the trails behind the lake, but neither of us is very familiar with them, so we decided we'd take our chances with the probability of encountering lots of other walkers. There were indeed plenty of them before we were done, but happily, EVERY ONE of them was masked. As we have entered a more strict lockdown, I guess people are abiding by the rules better than before. 

Chris recently bought herself a foldable kayak, and she realized that as smooth as this water was, she could easily navigate on the lake when it looks like this. We saw several kayakers, but they were moving too fast for me to catch them. No matter, I truly enjoyed the serene untouched water and reflections in this picture. I'm sure the day is not far off when Chris will launch her new kayak into this scene.

A friend gifted me with Jacquie Lawson's Advent calendar to be enjoyed every day from the first of the month through Christmas. I am taking great pleasure in it, and every day I must search the scenery to find a hidden gnome, which when I click on it, disappears and shows up in the virtual living room. There are also a dog and two kittens who are in different places every time I visit. And something new is added every day. It's a lovely and much appreciated gift.

And today, we in the US have received our first doses of the new vaccine to help us get the coronavirus under control. That is an especially welcome gift, since three hundred thousand Americans have already died from it. I am hopeful, today, for a brighter future.

:-)

20 comments:

  1. Which vaccine are you using in the US? I didn't realise any had been approved yet. Beautiful photo of the lake.

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  2. We are also getting our first jans here today. Very few, but it is a start.

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  3. The vaccine is on it’s way here too. The beginning of the end, we hope. Masks will be with us for some time I suspect.

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  4. What a sweet little creation, some people are so talented, I like his beard :)
    Hope is on the horizon, I am trying to stay positive on the vaccine, but so many people say they will decline it....
    Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year dear friend,
    ~Jo
    x

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  5. I love that vegetable Santa!
    I am trying not to think too much about Covid, because vaccine for most of us will be a long time away yet. We have to be very careful right now because I have hip surgery on January 4th, and we want to have a family Christmas. Lots on my mind these days.

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  6. The more I look at him, the more I'm amazed at that veggie-Santa, boy that's clever! And that photo of Lake Padden... well put, it does look like glass. Stunning.

    We had an outbreak this weekend, 3 people on the second floor of my apt building tested positive for covid-19. No visitors permitted in the building (besides medical personnel) until further notice. That vaccine cannot get here soon enough.

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  7. Love veggie Santa. Some people are just so clever.
    I am enjoying the Advent Calendar also. Do you wake up the kittens and dog each day. I can't help it, I'm a pest.
    Have you also noticed that the clock high up on the store in town is always the same as your computer clock. Also if you open it at night, the scene changes to night time. Very clever Jacquie is.

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  8. The calender sounds super! Love the early morning light on the house lights...the lake is beautiful...AND that Santa is truly a work of art!!

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  10. We can hope for better times because of the vaccine but it's going to take a long time to get this done

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  11. It seems like everyone -- in our town and it looks like yours too -- is going all out on the Christmas lights this year. Brightens up an otherwise dreary time. That's the smoothest lake surface I've ever seen!

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  12. This is a lovely, hopeful, happy post.
    Huge thanks to you for brightening my afternoon.
    I was also given the Advent calendar and like you I am enjoying it greatly.
    I would love to kayak on that lake - though it is years since I have been anywhere near one. Something for the new year?

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  13. Someone has quite an imagination with veggies and a few fruits! The lake is beautiful!

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  14. Never seen a Xmas helicopter before! Veggie Santa is brilliant, and I would love to get my kayak on that lake :-)

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  15. Pretty lights and cute veggie Santa. David and I paddled a tandem kayak in Molokai Bay back in 2004. Never again. It was so hard to paddle because we were too heavy together.

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  16. Love that Santa--LOL!
    Nice to see the lights and decorations.
    Glad to see the start of the vaccinations. :)

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  17. Great moment in this holiday with your family and neighborhood. Great article and I followed your blog now

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  18. I love that veggie Santa! It is creative genius. I am eagerly awaiting my vaccine, although I'll have to wait a while. I think I'm in group 4.

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  19. Oh gosh! Your veggie Christmas Santa is fabulous and yes, I love those eyebrows. They must be roots of some kind. What imagination!!!

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