Sandscapes

Driftwood with heads

A fantastically beautiful, cold day on Plum Island beach (Saturday). The 2nd head is my father's, who poked over to inspect the preview window on my camera, as I worked out the framing on some driftwood.

Newburyport Christmas

I'm not sure what's up exactly with 2 Christmas posts in a row. Maybe I just needed to provide something in contrast to the wacky lights of Somerville, with these more subdued, "quaint" windows decorated in Newburyport in the dead quiet of Christmas day.

This is just funny:

Somerville Christmas

The folks of Somerville take their Christmas decorations very seriously. Some to the point of causing traffic jams. Josh obliged to driving Sharona and me around on a tour to find the brightest corner, on this otherwise dark and uneventful day.

I don't celebrate the holiday myself, per se, but do appreciate the enthusiasm. Best holiday wishes, nonetheless, Christmas, Chanuka (past-due) or otherwise!

Garbanzo abstraction

I've been cooking a lot of beans lately. Beans rule. These are chick peas cooking in my crock pot, with a steamed lid.

And, on an unrelated note, if you're wondering about that oil spill, here's what the floor of our garage looks like. This is how we knew for sure that there's oil sitting below the house - it's not rainwater:

Boat with grass

A bit of November brownnness, but a clear day in Annapolis, where boats rule (yes, I'm still filtering out pics from Thanksgiving intermittently).

Jeni with Grandma

I'm bummed this picture is out of focus and overexposed - it's so hard to catch Jeni still for more than a few seconds, that it seems to be a matter of luck as to what comes out. In the end, I guess sentiment wins over exposure. This was over Thanksgiving, while working on play-doh peas.

Vanity

What a strange name for the thing in the bathroom that you use to wash your hands. Well, despite all the other crap of late, we did manage to find this super cheap replacement vanity, and only had to make 2 retrun trips to get all the pieces sorted out. This bathroom refurb started as an attempt to spiff up the house so we could sell it next year, but with the oil spill and all it looks like we'll get to enjoy it a bit first. YAY!

Chocolate mice

It's not been the greatest last week or so. We have an estimated 100 or so gallons of oil that we inadvertently dumped under our house...we have a lawyer involved...the cat needs dental surgery...among other things. Chocolate anyone?

These guys are a bit creepy (a la the Double T Diner in Annapolis). And, I'm entirely sure what they are, but they're covered in chocolate so who cares.

Moss and pine needles

Things look so different up close. This is the microcosm of textures found on top of an old railroad tie used to edge my in-laws' front lawn, with a backdrop of iris greens, trimmed-for winter.