A Special Day with Family

Our Christmas was fairly modest. I haven’t had a lot of energy and my left hip has been bothering me for a month or so. The most important thing to me was spending time with my daughters and we were able to do that, even though Lynn has a very sore knee and had to make a real effort to be here. Marie purchased and cooked a delicious meal for us today.

Lynn took this picture of Marie and me with dream catchers that she made for us.

This was Charlie’s first Christmas in a real home. He seemed a little nervous having two visitors at once, although I took him to the dog park this morning so that he could run off his excess energy. He was a good boy today.

Marie and Lynn always feel a little awkward when asked to pose, but here they are.

It was a good day. I hope your day was special too.

 

Charlie’s Christmas Eve

Hi, it's me, Charlie. Mom said I can tell you about the changes here. Maybe she already told you that Marie is here. I guess she is my sister because we have the same Mom. 

She got me a Pup Cup. It’s creamy. Later we went to a store and to the dog park. I showed her how fast I run. Only one other dog was there because the ground was too cold. The water in the dog bowls was frozen. We did not stay long.

Mom has put up a bunch of decorations. Some of them look like dogs. The best ones look like beagles! Mom said she had dogs before that looked a little like me. 

I have some Santa toys. Mom said they are for Christmas, which is tomorrow. She said to wish you a Merry Christmas, whatever that means. If you have pets, I hope they are staying warm and getting treats.

Looking for that Holiday Magic

Lights Reflected in Mirror and on Side of Car, in B&W

The buildup to Christmas is exciting when you are a child or when you have young children. I don’t. I've been trying to get into the spirit of Christmas but it's been slow coming to me. I do like seeing the Christmas lights and decorations. When I find something that makes me smile, I just might take a picture of it.

Today my younger daughter Marie showed up, so that cheered me. There is nothing as nice as having loved ones around during the holidays.

Warehouse Gallery is Closing

Luray, Virginia

The Warehouse is closing at the end of this month. The artworks will be sent to at least two different locations. I am sorry to see it close because it is big and fun to explore, although it lacked central heat and cooling.

Jim Mayes founded the gallery and has announced the new locations. He is the subject of a mural on the wall.

The current location is across the street from the visitors center. I took some pictures of the decorations in front of the center.

Seasonal Artificial Intelligence or Lack Thereof

"Garbage in, garbage out." (An early statement about computer data.)

Generating AI images is not easy. Well, it is easy to generate something, but it may not be at all what you want. I’ve been playing with freeimagegenerator with extremely mixed outcomes. The app’s results seem rather random, and both people and animals often have extra limbs or fuzzy features.

Today I was trying to conjure up Christmas-themed pictures. The only ones that show the subject I described are Father Christmas/Santa images and a Christmas tree in Klimt style. There were a number of pictures so distorted that I didn’t download them.

I enjoy experimenting with images and working around computer problems. Hmm, blogging is like that too!

Not Yet Ready

Since it is only a week until Christmas Eve, I thought I'd show something seasonal. These critters were in Woodstock Gardens, formerly known as Fort Valley Nursery. They allow dogs on leash to come in.

I have not finished my Christmas shopping yet, or done much decorating. Perhaps tomorrow?

Sometimes I leave Charlie in doggy daycare at the veterinarian’s  office. He seems to have adjusted to going there. He’s doing a little bit better in most of our problem areas. He seems less afraid of the great outdoors, and less afraid of tall men, and  a little less scared of riding in the car. I admit that sometimes I bribe him with a plain cheeseburger so that he’ll get through a car ride without chewing on the upholstery.

The vet’s office has a feline office supervisor.

Looking for Red and Green

As usual, I am slow to find inspiration for the holiday season. For some people, it's their favorite time of year. For me, it's one bright day in the middle of the most dreary time of the year. But I don't know if I could make it through the winter without Christmas. I like the lights and the time spent with family.

If it were up to me, winter would start on December 24 and end on January 2. I don't like the short dark days or the cold weather.

I do like holiday colors, and it helps a little to collect pictures of them. Here we see an arrangement on the door of historic Mt. Zion Church near Aldie, Virginia. I’ve posted pictures of this church several times before, due to its Civil War history and also because it is a convenient place to stop when I drive to Herndon to shop.

Closer to home, I took some pictures yesterday and today in Woodstock and Strasburg. 

Haybale Santa and Missus

Shenandoah County Fairgrounds Entrance

A Ruff Day and a Better Day

Yesrterday was a rough day for Charlie. There are things that really upset him which would not bother a typical dog. I will briefly describe what happened.

The cleaning people came. I didn’t feel I needed them before I got a dog but now there is dog hair everywhere, and I am so dog-tired that I don’t have the energy for much house cleaning. Well, Charlie is afraid of mops and upright vacuum cleaners, so I took him outside. We were doing fine until a delivery truck stopped across the street and a tall man in a dark uniform got out. Charlie looked at him and started howling. He remained upset after the man got back in his truck and left.

When I tried to carry some dead flowers and sticks to the backyard, that set him off again. He ran this way and that way and almost made me fall down.

To add insult to injury, another tall man showed up and Charlie got upset again. He didn’t calm down until late afternoon. I told him that we would make the next day better.

So today we went to the dog park even though the weather was cold. Charlie wore his new coat but no one was there to admire it. I guess the other dogs stayed home where it was warm. Still, Charlie got to run around at high speed and even chased a ball. 

We are working on feeling safe outdoors. Charlie was raised in a large breeding facility that got shut down for abusing the dogs, and he spent the first year of his life indoors in a cage. 

On the way home we stopped at Walmart and picked up prescriptions. They will bring them out to the car for you so I did not have to leave him alone. I noticed this display of inflatable decorations. Who invited a triceratops to the nativity scene?

Skywatch 

Christmas with my Daughters

A Very Nice Holiday

Marie arrived yesterday. I got her to pose for a sample shot of the "Portrait" mode on my iPhone SE. As usual, she rolled her eyes.  Her patience with her mom's picture-taking ran out long ago. 

This year we only had a small tree. I put it on a little table so that we could put presents under it. 

I have two daughters, both of them adults. Lynn lives an hour from me but Marie lives much farther away. They both helped me get ready for the holidays and they both helped with our very nice Christmas lunch. 

Although I sometimes get a good snapshot of them, getting them to pose is a challenge. I told them to roll their eyes and get it out of a their system. That did not guarantee that a good portrait would follow.

They are often silly when they get together, but they are so much fun!