OUR CHRISTMAS DAY

Lisa was singing at church in the morning. They come over to our house for lunch and then it's off to her parents for dinner.  They give their time to us equally. We have often offered them to forego Christmas Dinner with us, but they won't hear of it and split their time between the parents. We love them dearly for that.  

You can read about the tradition of Christmas Crackers at this link and many blogging friends know all about them, even over here. Now, how do they work for those who aren't familiar? They got their name because of the sound they make when they're pulled open.  Each one is a tube of cardboard prettily decorated. It has a tiny explosive charge attached to narrow paper strips attached in the middle, which is woven inside the cracker. Sounds crazy I know but I can honestly say they don't burn your fingers like they used to mine when I was a child, and that was part of the excitement as a kid. Nowadays not so much. You give each person on either side one end of your cracker, and on the other they give you theirs. They hold on tight and tug with the strip held by your fingertips. It cracks and things fall out of the inside. 

We each enjoy reading the oh so corny jokes on little bits of paper inside, and little bits of trivia, which we did yesterday. We did this with Brad all through his growing up years.

There are also things like this inside. It came in handy. Gregg couldn't find the bottle opener for his coca-cola and I handed him this. It worked! Our Christmas Crackers were more for adults. You can buy them with children in mind. 

And now it's time to open gifts.

I forgot to take photos of other ones.

Lisa sang for us, which was a joy as you heard in my post yesterday.

and now...

We gave away a lot of food, and half the cake/yule log. Slices were cut up and put in the freezer. 

Lisa's birthday was on December 27th. They went away on a birthday trip. I have been looking at their photos and I can share them in a few days. Now I will end with the photo I turned into a painting at the beginning of this post.

I wish everyone a very blessed ending to the old year. It's hard to believe that a new one is almost upon us.

3 PHOTOS TURNED INTO ART

As I had some playtime on my computer tonight, I used the ArtCard app to do something artsy with my photos.  The actual shots from riding around the neighborhood, which will include these three, will be shared tomorrow.  

Thanks for dropping by, 

and have a great day!

TO A VISITOR…

 

To A Visitor

I live in an old house 

With two big dogs out front.

They may run to greet you.

Don’t worry, 

Just scratch them under the chins

And you will have forever friends.

If you’re hungry, pick purple grapes 

From the porch,

Or sage leaves

From that dented metal tub.

The porch is messy.

You might find a bike

Or a cooler just unpacked from camping,

Or a book turned upside down,

Or a cat,

Or three cats

Snoozing in the shade.

Pet the cats.

Borrow the book if you like.

Come in.

Tea’s on.

~Amy Ludwig VanDerwater~

I took the photo of this lovely old house on our trip along the Snickersville Turnpike a few weeks ago.  I am continuously drawn to these beautiful old homes.   It is another ArtCard effect.   

AN OLD RED BARN

 

Through the ample open door of the peaceful country barn,

A sunlight pasture field with cattle and horses feeding,

And haze and vista, and the far horizon fading away.

~Walt Whitman, Jr. - A Farm Picture~

This, as you might know, is another photo turned into art with my ArtCard app on my iPad.  I haven’t gotten tired of it yet and I hope you haven’t either.  The original photo I will share soon.  We went on another drive along the Snickersville Turnpike scenic route after having to curtail our last trip due to a car problem.  It was a very enjoyable ride and once again the weather was perfect.  We saw a lot of old barns and pretty homes.  Even the places that had been abandoned had their own beauty.  These red barns look incredible against the blue of the sky.

We had an unexpected visitor today.  A very regal looking hawk rested on the deck rail.   The neighborhood crows set up quite a racket.  They were warning other birds to stay clear and were sitting on other branches quite near it.  Gregg read that Blue Jays mimic the call of a hawk to warn other birds also.  The hawk flew up into a tree when it realized we were staring just beyond the glass.  After a few minutes of the crows loudly squawking it took off, with the crows in hot pursuit.  Gregg took a photo and tomorrow I will share it if it came out.  It all happened so fast.  I don’t know my hawks well enough to tell which kind.  Others I have identified as Coopers Hawks.  

Walt Whitman Jr. (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American history. Whitman incorporated both transcendentalism and realism in his writings and is often called the father of free verse.  His work was controversial in his time, particularly his 1855 poetry collection Leaves of Grass. Whitman was born in Huntington on Long Island, and lived in Brooklyn.  You can click on his name for more info.

WISE WORDS

Not everyone will love you, even if you try, 

even when you give everything that you have, and more.  

You can be tender and they will say you are too soft.  

You can be brave and they will say you are too loud.  

You can be kind and they will say you must have other intentions.  

You can be confident and they will say you are drunk on your own reflection.  

You can be different and they will say you are delusional.  

You can be sad and they will say you are only looking for attention.  

You will never find love by compromising who you are.  

You will find love by remaining true to yourself 

and seeing who chooses to stay. 

By

Ullie-Kaye

Powerful words! Any thoughts on this?  

TALKING TREES…

The talking oak

To the ancient spoke

But any tree 

Will talk to me.

Talking trees by 

~Mary Carolyn Davis~

PHOTOGRAPH TURNED INTO ART

I often enjoy playing with the ArtCard app on my iPad.  Below you can see various settings I used to turn a photo into a painting.  Do you have a favorite?  If so which number?  Or do you prefer the original?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.8. 

A nod to Halloween with graphics from pixababy.com and tweaked in my Paint Shop Pro.

9.

10.11.12.13.14.Below you can see the original photo.

15.

Thanks for looking and enjoy your day.