AULD LANG SYNE

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

   And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

   And auld lang syne!

   For auld lang syne, my dear,

   For auld lang syne.

   We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,

   For auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint stowp!

   And surely I’ll be mine!

And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,

   For auld lang syne.

We twa hae run about the braes,

   And pou’d the gowans fine;

But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit,

   Sin’ auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl’d in the burn,

   Frae morning sun till dine;

But seas between us braid hae roar’d

   Sin’ auld lang syne.

And there’s a hand, my trusty fere!

   And gie’s a hand o’ thine!

And we’ll tak a right gude-willie waught,

   For auld lang syne.

   For auld lang syne, my dear,

   For auld lang syne.

   We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,

   For auld lang syne.

Auld Lang Syne

by

Robert Burns

 "We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,

   For auld lang syne."

The following can be found on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIaC8A2E254

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHArJzJ697A

SATURDAY MORNING NOT AT THE BIRD FEEDER...

 "A while ago" from now on will be code for, "This is from my old blog", and it could mean events that took place several years' ago.  So, a while ago and not too long after December 25th, we drove into Occoquan.  As we walked down to the river, we saw a long line of gulls sitting in a row.  You can see the bridge we drove over, and we immediately turned right into town.A couple of gulls turned their heads and looked at us as though quite bored...with one deciding he had had enough of us.He flew off but I didn't feel so bad when...he returned a minute later and settled back at the spot where he was before...and seemed to know we meant no harm.  We walked away and left them in peace.  I told them we would be back in the new year. Gulls are fun birds.  Fortunately, we didn't bring a picnic as it was a cold day.  I would have been in trouble if I had brought a packet of French Fries from the local Fastfood.  They seem rather fond of those.  I have seen people toss them into the air.  I breathed a sigh of relief and left before they decided to check what I had in my tote bag.  I know how that goes!

Thank you for visiting.  

Have fun on this last day of the year.

CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS SOON TO BE PACKED AWAY FOR ANOTHER YEAR

I have shared very few of our Christmas decorations.  As we are almost at the end of the year, I thought I would share these.  You will see the tree I mentioned before, after having had a smaller one in the family room for many years.  I wrote about that here, when I shared the decorations on the Mount Vernon tree. 

For several years I have been putting a collection of teddy bears underneath the tree, including items I have been gifted.  I also decorate the hearth.  This year's addition was a pretty cardinal lantern, a gift from my son and daughter-in-law.  It is the kind that lights up and there is a small motor inside that acts like a jet and swirls the sparklies around in the liquid.  It is beautiful when all lit up, like a perpetual snow globe of sparkles.  I love it!  A perfect and now treasured gift.  And, as you may know by now, I play with photos on the artcard app I have on my iPad, finishing off in Paint Shop Pro.  But first here's the original lantern...

              and this is one I turned into an artsy 'painting'...

with thanks to my Lovelies who gave me such a thoughtful gift.

A few angels.

Wherever you live in this world, may you know peace, happiness and love in 2023.

Washington Cathedral

A few Santa Claus ornaments.

There are several British themes.  No surprise there!

There are many critters on the tree, such as the sea horse... 

and then a little mouse in a shoe.

EUROPEAN ROBIN

Another old blog post from June 2015, with miniscule updates.I have not been going too far this week so haven't taken any photos.  It has also been very chilly.  Thankfully I can rely on my old blog, and this is another transfer from our last trip to England in June 2015.  

They were the best I could get of a European Robin. I was taken by surprise as he was sitting in the dirt with lots of pebbles in a raised garden bed, and seemed to be enjoying a dust bath.  It was an out-of-the-way spot and it didn't seem too disturbed when I turned to take its photo. I was using the camera with a zoom, so am not as close as it looks.  We were on our vacation in Devonshire visiting Paignton Zoo, a place I have known since I was 15 years' old, when my parents moved us down to Devonshire from the Midlands.  I often remember walking by the entrance as my school was across the street, and the bus stop for home was in town about a mile away.  (I married and moved to the States in 1975.)  Getting back to this day, no one else seemed to notice the little Robin having a quiet moment, and I am very glad I did.  Two different photos with an almost identical pose except for a slight turn of its head.

One of those moments I considered a gift.

ANOTHER FROM THE ARCHIVES, TYSON'S CORNER SHOPPING MALL

I wonder if these are still there, the two small bird sculptures on the concrete seating area near the ice-skating rink?  It looks like a crow and a dove.  

We were sitting in a chilly courtyard because there was no room in any of the crowded restaurants we tried inside. The place was swamped!  We found a place outside and ate a quick lunch with tall buildings surrounding us, and fortunately pretty blue skies overhead, but they offered no warmth.

The Zamboni was smoothing out the surface of the ice-skating rink next to us.

I froze and it tickled Gregg to come back to our seat and find me like this.  By that time I had found a table a little further up with no heating lamp unfortunately.

There was a burger place outside he had read about, a small shed-like building not much bigger than a kiosk.  It had no seating by design, and no outside seating available.  Every table was taken and I envied them their tall heating lamps over each.  The burgers were good and I told him I would be happy to go back, in the Spring.  It was colder than I thought it would be.  I didn't bring a coat or gloves, as I didn't know we would be sitting outside.  The weather was mild the last time we went out, only a couple of days before.  We didn't stay long (I have since learned to check the temperature before leaving the house).  Just time enough to eat lunch and then go get a hot chocolate inside the mall, to warm up numb fingers and frosty nose, and ears that by that time were tingling.  This was the last day of the year in 2014. 

I still had a good time watching everyone have fun on the skating rink.  I was also glad we got to see the Christmas Tree before it was taken down.

It was a giant of a tree.

Another sky reflection in one of the glass ornaments and you can just make out Gregg and me.

But it was time to go back inside the mall and I was eager to warm up with a nice mug of hot chocolate.

Isn't this overhead light festive?  It reminds me of art deco and covers a very large part of the ceiling located near the escalators.  They must have changed the lights to red and green for the holiday season.

Another one from the archives.  

Thanks for looking and I hope you have been having a great week so far.  

I HEARD…

"I heard a bird sing 

In the dark of December

A magical thing

And sweet to remember

We are nearer to Spring 

Than we were in September

I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December."

~Oliver Herford~

1860-1935

"I Heard a Bird Sing"

Oliver Herford (December 2, 1860 to July 5th, 1935) was an Anglo-American writer, artist and illustrator.  He was born in Sheffield, England to Rev. Brooke Herford and Hannah Hankinson Herford.  Oliver's father, Brooke, was a Unitarian minister who moved the family to Chicago in 1876, and to Boston in 1882.  

ONE DAY LATER….

 

I hope you had a wonderful day yesterday.  Our time was very special spent with our son and daughter-in-law.  

Wishing you all warmth, peace and love in these frigid temperatures.  

In the words of Charles Dickens,

“Have a heart that never hardens,

A temper that never tires,

And a touch that never hurts.”

MERRY CHRISTMAS/HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

“I will honour Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year.  I will live in the Past, Present and Future.  The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me.  I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.”

Words spoken by Ebenezer Scrooge

in

“The Christmas Carol”

by 

Charles Dickens 

and my last jigsaw puzzle of the year.  

Merry Christmas 

and 

A Very Happy New Year!

⭐️🎅🏼❄️🎄Comments are off for today🎄❄️🧑‍🎄⭐️

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER

from all the birdies in my neighborhood and from our house to yours around the world, to my family and friends...

Afrikaans:   Gesí«ende Kersfees

Chinese: Shèngdàn jié kuàilè

Czech: Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok

Danish: Glí¦delig Jul

Esperanto: Gajan Kristnaskon

Finnish: Hyvää Joulua

French: Joyeux Noí«l

German: Froehliche Weihnachten

Greek: Kala Christouyenna

Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka

Hindi: Bada Din Mubarak Ho

Icelandic: Gledileg Jol

Irish: Nollaig Shona Dhuit

Italian: Buon Natale or Buone Feste Natalizie

Japanese: Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto

Korean: Sung Tan Chuk Ha

Latin: Natale hilare

Lithuanian: Linksmu Kaledu

Maori: Meri Kirihimete

Norwegian: God Jul

Polish: Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia

Portuguese: Feliz Natal

Russian: Srozhdestovm Kristovim

Scottish Gaelic: Chan eil iad a’ reubadh

Spanish: Feliz Navidad

Swahili: Kuwa na Krismasi njema

Tagalog: Maligayang Pasko

Tamil: Kristhu pirandhanaal nal-vaazthukkal

Thai: Suksun Wan Christmas

Ukranian: Shchaslyvoho Rizdva

Vietnamese: Chuc Mung Giang Sinh

Welsh: Nadolig Llawen

For my blogging friends of different faiths, I wish you a joyous celebration,

and to all

A Very Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year!

If I have missed any country out of my list, please let me know and it will be added.