Ellipsis Christmas Movie Countdown #12

 

"I never thought it was a bad little tree. It's not at all, really. Maybe it just just needs a little love."

~Linus

A Charlie Brown Christmas

A Charlie Brown Christmas, premiered on television on December 9th, 1965, so that means this masterpiece is 60 years old, and I watched it the night it debuted, and every year since then. It's timeless! It's not actually movie length, it's only 25 minutes long, but it holds you as well as any feature length movie could! No CGI, just an old fashioned Christmas moment. It's about what Christmas is all about, and lessons learned!

Watch it. Remember 1965. Love it all over again.

The Elves On The Autumn Shelves

"We do not need to merely see beauty... we want something else which can be hardly be put into words... to be untied with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it. That is why we have peopled air and earth and water with gods and goddesses and nymphs and elves."

~C.S. Lewis

Okay, I get it, some folks find the Elf on the Shelf a bit odd... maybe even off putting, but look at those adorable little faces, and they are distinctly mid-century, which makes them wonderful in my Christmassy mind. I miss all the decorations and ornaments I grew up with, and yes, even the big bulky lights our parents used to put on our Christmas trees. You know, the ones who occasionally set the trees ablaze? Happily these little elves have been very well behaved, watching over our trees, since 1990, when my mother-in-law gifted them to me, from the set she bought in 1962, for each her three sons and one day, daughter-in-laws. I melted when I saw them. My mother-in-law passed away earlier this year from Alzheimer's disease, just like my own mother did in 2005, so I feel even more sentimental then ever about them. The new Elf on the Shelf looks completely different now, much more updated, less like an elf and more like a child in an elf costume. Sigh. I guess folks find the new ones less off putting, but give me old school! These guys are 63 years old, and I love them, so there! Elf on the Shelf dates back to the 1940's, but this version came along in the early 60's, just like hubby and I did.

Holiday Leftovers

"What happens when you pray for an angel

 and get a vampire instead?"

~R.E. Mullins

I have always loved that quote! It kinda celebrates

 Halloween and Christmas in one shot!

 Tis the season!

Capitol Christmas Tree

Sacramento, California

December 23rd, 2017

New Year's Day is still a few days off, so I think it's okay to finish up the season by showing a few more holiday sights from here in the Central Valley and Sacramento. This is the Capitol Christmas tree, that usually goes up around Thanksgiving, and disappears sometime just after the start of the year, like in most towns I guess.  Sacramento actually has two holiday trees, this one, and one in Old Sacramento, which is traditionally lit on Black Friday! Of the two trees, I think the one in front of the capitol is my favorite! The lights seem more calming and nostalgic to me. Shrug. I guess holiday decorations are in the eyes of the beholder!

Christmas Tree

Old Sacramento

December 23rd, 2017

 

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

At Christmas... Wrong Will Fail, Right Will Prevail

"And in despair I bowed my head;

 'There is no peace on earth," I said; 'For hate is strong,

And mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!'

The pealed the bells more loud and deep:

'God is not dead, more doth he sleep!

The Wrong shail fail,

the Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men!'"

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 Christmas Bells

We did it! We put up some Christmas decorations! A little scaled back this year, but the tree is up, and the teddy bears are on the job, and we both feel a little better! The holiday blues are fading a bit, but we both know this coming week will be a bit hectic! We have some business in the Bay Area. Neither of us have done our Christmas shopping, and as you probably know, there is a rumor on Capitol Hill, that Trump will commit the ultimate act of Obstruction of Justice, by firing Robert Mueller!

So much is simply out of our control. We can't make Trump, suddenly give a flying Gingerbread Man about his country! If he makes a move to fire Mueller, it could very well turn into a Saturday Night Massacre, ala, Richard Nixon. The difference is,  more and more Republicans are bowing down to Trump, and ignoring the Constitution. Also different, Nixon didn't have it's own propaganda network, financing his delusions of innocence. And finally the scariest of all... Nixon was the leader of a cult, HELL BENT on accomplishing the Apocalypse or a civil war, whichever comes first! Not to mention, Nixon actually loved his country, Trump has NO IDEA what love is, be it love between family, or love of country. He is all about the money.

Merry Christmas!

I guess all we can do is forge ahead, and hope the rumors are wrong, but firing Mueller on December 22nd, is just the kind of pussy move Trump would make. He is the biggest coward to hold any political office, let alone the presidency. I guess when it comes to him ever being held accoutable for his misdeeds, we will just have to wait and see, and hope for the best outcome. I wish his cult followers could love their country, more than they do their fantasies of a neoconfederacy. Oh well, like my Ommy used to say...

"If wishes were horse, beggers would ride."

I guess the updated version would be...

"If wishes were horses, Roy Moore would have ridden well."

And, by the way, why hasn't that jackass conceded the election yet?

#17 Leaf Of The Day

December 17th, 2017

Knight's Ferry, California

Mood: Guarded

~Me

 

A Tale Of Two Trees, In The City Of Trees

California State Capitol Christmas Tree

Sacramento, California

December 11th, 2016 

"Use what you have, use what the world gives you. Use the first day of fall: bright flame before winter's deadness; harvest orange, gold amber; cool nights and the smell of fire.

 Our tree lined streets are set ablaze, our kitchens filled with the smells of nostalgia: apples bubbling into sauce, roasting squash, cinnamon, nutmeg, cider, warmth itself.

 The leaves as they spark into wild color just before they die are the worlds oldest performance art, 

and everything we see is celebrating one last violently hued hurrah before the black and white silence of winter."

~Shauna Niequist

Bittersweet: Thoughts On Change, Grace,

 And Learning The Hard Way 

 Old Sacramento Christmas Tree 2016

December 11th, 2016

Sacramento's nickname is the City Of Trees! And that is appropriate because Sacramento is gorgeous with trees right now! Autumn is alive and kicking up it's heels in Sacramento, and if all that spicy, colorful autumn laughter of the trees on a windy day isn't enough to put a big smile on this girls face, then the two Christmas trees that the city boasts certainly does!

There is one in front of the State Capitol building, and there is one down in Old Sacramento! Both lovely, both decorated to put even the biggest Ebenezer Scrooge in the holiday spirit! But you know me, I just had to drive around town to see as many autumn trees as I could. Like I said in previous posts, winter might legitimately claim Christmas, but autumn is the season that sets the stage!

It's just breathtakingly beautiful in Sacramento right now, and I am hoping to get back up to the capitol before December 21st to do some additional leaf photos! As you know, I continue photographing those leaves for as long as they continue to fall. I never get tired of them! 2017 will probably begin like 2016 did, with lots of late falling autumn leaves!

Stay Tuned!

Leaf Of The Day

December 12th 2016

Mood: Happy

~Me :) 

 

Will This Be The Year? :)

"December, being the last month of the year,

 cannot help but make us think of what is to come."

~Fennel Hudson

A Meaningful Life

Fennel's Journal #1

We put up our Christmas tree last night, and my goodness it's lovely! It is so pretty with it's tiny lights, and happy little stuffed animals at the base, working hard to keep some curious kitties from taking a mad leap into the middle of the tree! There is a small blue bear, that Hendrix claimed years ago, before it ever came out of the box of soft teddy bear decoration we bought at Costco. We put those soft decorations on the tree every year, so if someone does make a mistake, they don't get hurt by falling breakables. So far, they have never tore the Christmas tree down, we have well behaved cats! But it doesn't stop me from wondering... will this be the year?

:)

 Leaf Of The Day

December 11th 2016

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

 

 

Round Robin Photo Challenge: Lights! Camera! Action!

"Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how faster travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it."

~Terry Pratchett, Reaper Man

RRC: Lights, Camera Action

And yet another archived photo serves as my Round Robin Challenge photo, due to my computer crashing in November. It's going to take me a while to rebuild my files, so once again my apologies, but to be honest, I am a little happy to be sharing one of my favorite lighting mistakes. I took the picture above at the Tilden Park Carousel Christmas Fantasy, a few years back, and let me tell you, the lighting that night was not being kind. It was one of a very few times when I wished I was still using my 35mm film camera with all it's special lenses. Digital photography is worlds apart from film photography, in that I believe film is a lot more forgiving. But even in all my angst and hard work, I did get a shot I liked, and one that really kind of excited me! While the one photo at the top is clearer and more of a standard photo, the second photo almost seems magical to me. Like all the lights had come alive for a moment, and the star is racing up the tree! I don't know... the mistake photo is pleasing to my eye anyway!

What do you think?

Clear Photo...


Special Effect Photo By Mistake...


Thoughts?

 Now that you have seen my contribution to this edition of the Round Robin Photo Challenges, go see what other participants have posted. Just click the link at the top of this post to be redirected to the official Round Robin Challenge blog. I know Karen would love to see your post!


Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Round Robin Challenge: Wild Thing

"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe."

~John Muir My First Summer in the Sierra

Round Robin Challenge: Wild Thing.

For this challenge, I bring you two kinds of Wild...

Wild #1. Wildlife

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Wild #2. Just Wild







From my perspective, Christmas is as commercialized as we decide to make it. We can go out and spend a ton of money, or we can make gifts. We can spend the next year paying off things we felt some need to buy, or set individual budgets. I find the whole "War on Christmas" and "Christmas is Commercialized" arguments silly. You can choose to be as negative as you want to want to be. But negativity is not for me, I will just enjoy awesome creativity and sparkly lights.

Okay, you've seen my pictures and read my rant, now go see what the other Round Robin participants are up to! Hey, better yet, you can play along. Just click the link at the top of the post to be redirected to the official Round Robin blog where you can find the list, and information on how to join in the challenge.

~Me :)

EMPS #17: Holiday Greetings

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs."

-Ansel Adams

I thought it would be fun to play along with everyone else this week, so, here is my entry for the EMPS. This is a photo gone way wrong. LOL. But it has a fun quality to it that I am proud of in a weird way. I find it visually appealing, so I thought I would post it and see what all of you think. :) Feel free to play art critic, tell me what you think. Good photo? Bad photo?

And now my Holiday Haiku...

A Prayer Before Christmas (Haiku)
By Me :)

Lights Dancing Like Stars
A Prayer For Peace On Earth
Peace Begins With Love

Have you done your Monday Photo Shoot Assignment yet? If not, you have until next Sunday evening at 9:00 PM ET to play along. You can get the assignment here.

Don't forget to come by later tonight to see Dylan and Hendrix's Christmas greeting. See you later tonight!

-Carly
"Peace On Earth"
Berkeley, California
December 2008