X is for X-mas

In terms of the alphabet, is this good timing or what? (Totally unintended...photo karma.) When I was growing up, educated in Catholic schools, I was taught NEVER to use the term "X-mas" because it was secular and took the Christ out of Christmas. Not so. The "X" is the transliteration of the Greek letter "chi" which stood for "Christos." And so I wish you all of you who celebrate it a blessed and merry Christmas. (PS: it's also a whole lot better for the theme than "xanthan gum," and yes, I do have a photo for that. Contact me by email if, for some bizarre reason, you really want to see it.)

Still life

My LensBaby Muse came last night--and I had today off to play with it! There is definitely a learning curve, which makes me grateful for digital photography: it costs nothing to experiment. This is one of my first successful shots.

Happiness is...

...finding the right Christmas tree. We had raw, windy, gusty rain today--downpours at times--so not the best day to take the wagon ride through the woods and up the hill to cut our own as we usually do. But we also needed to get the tree this weekend, so that it will be up when our grandson comes to celebrate an early Christmas with us on Wednesday. We decided to get it at Stew Leonard's, a store that specializes in fresh meats, seafood and produce. We do most of our grocery shopping there. Despite the gloomy weather, spirits were high, and we found the perfect compact tree to fit into our cozy little house.

Quite honestly, pointsettias give me the creeps. Maybe it's because the things in the middle remind me of the poison dart thingies were shot out from plants and nearly offed Mr. Spock in the classic Star Trek episode, "The Apple." Be that as it may, they are still emblematic of Christmas, and churches are festooned with them. These were on the altar at our church this morning. The Watercolor filter given them some needed depth and definition.

The granddudes were over tonight to celebrate Christmas Eve. At four, Aidan is still at a place where everything is a surprise and a delight. Here he is, wearing (as he puts it) his "handsome pants and shirt, reacting happily to one of his gifts. Flourescent Crayon and a Radial Blur recreates the excitement of a young child's Christmas.