Christmas Drum

Every year, my friend Lisa and I would go to a little shop on Cascade Rd. in Concord, Ohio. It was run by three sisters and was packed with the most amazing ornaments, like this toy-topped drum. The shop is long since closed, but I treasure the reminders of happy Christmases past.

Nearly Full

Used a Virtual Photographer filter called (appropriately) moonlit. This was taken along side my building, through bare sycamore branches.

December 28, 2009: Home

The living room, decorated for Christmas.

Jack

He's either a Haflinger or a Norwegian Fjord horse. I'm going with Haflinger, since his mane isn't roached.

Boxing Day

The Rockefeller Greenhouse in Cleveland's Wade Park has a spectacular poinsettia display every Christmas. Chuck and I visited on Boxing day and spotted this cute reindeer in the cream and pink section.

Christmas Day

My sister-in-law and niece, Christmas Day.

Messy

The Russian Teacakes are coated and packed away for tomorrow. This is my favorite part - covering the kitchen with powdered sugar!

December 23, 2009: Chill Dough Overnight

I made 4 batches of these - dough on day 1, roll on day 2, bake and coat with powdered sugar on day 3. Kind of a pain in the neck, but my brothers love them.

December 22, 2009: Breyer Ornament

Confession time: My name is Mary Ann and I collect horse ornaments. This is Breyer's 2009 Christmas ornament, bought on sale at Big D.

Hand Made

A clothespin doll made a long time ago.

December 30, 2009: Welcome

December 19, 2009: Acorn Alley

Shopping with Regina today. This acorn shaped lamp is in Kent's Acorn Alley. If you have the chance, Kent is a fun and quirky place to shop.

December 18, 2009: Garland

Just finished this today. Had to replace the lights and re-hang it. I've collecte the bird ornaments for years, and this seemed like a good spot for them.

December 17, 2009: Snoozing

Wondering why the heck I'm bothering him with the camera. Is nothing sacred?

POTD Layout, Nov 19 to 25, 2009

19. Choosing recipes for the Pre-Holiday Madness Brunch. 21. Messy house. 22. Clean house after a whirlwind of vacuuming, dusting, buffing and polishing. 23. Front door of Pufferbelly Restaurant in Kent. 24. Grocery shopping for Thanksgiving.
25. A very cold, drizzly, gloomy day - much better spent indoors!

Credits: Katie Pertiet Classic Embossed Christmas Cardstock; Font is Georgia.

Point & Shoot Wednesday

Goofing around at Panera.

December 15, 2009: Bubblelight

My Grandma always had wreathes with a single bubblelight in the sunporch windows. These lights remind me of her, and of Christmases long ago.

December 14, 2009: Writing Christmas Cards

Writing cards is one of my favorite Christmas activities. Shuffling through the addresses reminds me of old friends. Sometimes it's a bit melancholy, but mostly it's fun.

December 13, 2009: Kitten Mitten

Took some pictures for a layout on favorite ornaments. This is one I made a long time ago out of tiny pom poms, felt scraps, extra gold cord, and a couple of black beads.

December 12, 2009: Larry

We had a glorious ride today. Perfect weather.


I had a tough time getting a clear shot of Larry. This little paint (below) wanted to know what I was doing. Or maybe he just wanted to see if the camera was edible. He followed me around the paddock and managed to get between me and Larry most of the time. So I gave up and took some pictures of him. Don't know his name, but he's quite a cutie!

December 11, 2009: The Lights are Up!

It's taking forever to get the Christmas decorations up this year.

December 10, 2009: Too Cold!

Christmas Tree

Spent a very pleasant evening putting up the tree. Chuck started a fire in the fireplace, played on his laptop and watched some BSG, while I was fluffing the branches and stringing lights.

Shot this out of focus to blur the lights, added a thin edge in cocoa brown blended with color burn, and blended a photo of a ripe soybean field using luminosity at about 25% opacity. Kind of a cool effect.

December 8, 2009: Cooking Class

Cooking class last night at Summa's The Way program. On the right is Bill Bailey, owner of plays with knives and fire. He was demostrating a lighter version of tiramasu frosted with carob. Carob doesn't melt like chocolate - it looks like brownie dough - but it was very good. Bill's an amazing guy. When he's not catering and working as a personel chef, he's an ultra-marathoner. He and Lee Ann were having a causual conversation about his 100 mile and her 35 mile runs.

On the left is Ben, the class clown. Very smart guy and very funny. Tonight's topic was "the hell that is protein shakes".

Let the Decorating Begin!

Probably a good idea, since Christmas is only 2.5 weeks away...

Front Door Wreath

Nature is my Christmas theme, so I try to keep the decorations centered around plants and animals. I love the pine cones, nut, berries and twigs in this wreath.

December 5, 2009: Kent Christmas Lights

26 degrees with wind is cooooold! We had dinner at Pufferbelly, then walked to the little plaza. Chuck froze instantly, and didn't want to get his camera out. I forgot to lock mine into the tripod, and only a very lucky catch kept it from hitting the cement. Got some pretty shots though. I like the car light streaks in long exposures.

Pre-Holiday Madness Brunch

We had friends over for brunch the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Chuck made French Toast and Fred and Cheryl brought mimosas. Great way to start the holiday season!

Crytallized Flourishes No. 3 brushes, Rejoice and Classic Cardstock Autumn Ice pps, all Katie Pertiet.

Fonts are Georgia, Retro Rock Poster, and Reservoir Grunge.

Neighborhood Lights

December Desktop

Desktop by Katie Pertiet at Designer Digitals. That's my honey!

Thankful

I made these cards for Thanksgiving. Got a little bit of grief from my brothers, but everyone except Dave did one. They're in a little 4 x 6 album - I'll add everyone's photos across from their card and bring it to Christmas dinner at Sheila and Greg's.

Leaf by Katie Pertiet at Designer Digitals. Fonts are Hurrican and Georgia.

Photo for December Desktop

Chuck is so sweet - he let me take a bunch of photos for my December desktop.

December 1, 2009: Sootie

My cat with his crackling butterfly toy.

My Wedding Silver and Grandma Bea's

When I wash this silver, I think of Grandma, and friends and family. The more it's used, the deeper the patina.

November 5 to 11, 2009

5. November clouds from the upper deck. 6. Frosted ornamental grass in the morning. In order to get any light at all, I have to shoot in the morning before work. Kind of limits the outdoor stuff. 7. Photowalk with CVPS on Brandywine Creek, below the falls. A little too sunny for landscapes, but nice reflections and light shade for macros. 8. I like this one - the sun setting over the back paddocks at Promise Land. 9. One of some letterpress horse prints I found at Yankee Peddler a few years ago. I like the contrast of the crisp black ink pressed into creamy white paper. 10. Grumpyland, where I waste good shooting hours (someone has a little problem with short days!). 11. One of the last trees to lose its leaves.

Katie Pertiet 9/20/09 Color Challenge pp. Font is Georgia.

Chagrin Falls

Lunch at Gamekeepers and a little bit of shopping with Regina, Mike, Cheryl, and Heidi.

November 27, 2009: First Snow

Very late this year. We usually have snow before Thanksgiving. The snow was very light, gone in Kent by 10 am. This shot was taken farther north, around 4 in the afternoon in Shalersville.

November 26, 2009: Thanksgiving Day

Sheila made the pumpkin roll, Marge, the cookies and pumpkin pie, and I made the apple bread. Ten minutes after this shot, there was considerably less food on the island.

November 25, 2009: Warm Inside

Oops, forgot to take the white balance off "fluorescent" and ended up with a very blue photo. Used a warming filter to get back to normal. Check the settings, chickie!

Drizzly and pleasantly cool today. Picked up a very expensive fresh turkey at Kirby's and starting cooking and baking for Thanksgiving. Also had a meltdown, since there wasn't a lot of time to play. Once that was out off the way, mental sunshine returned, and the rest of the day was pretty productive.

November 24, 2009: Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

$92.95. There's a lot of cooking to be done!

N.B. As expected, the presence of lettuce drew much mockery from my brothers. Evidently,"weeds" are not a Thanksgiving-appropriate vegetable. That title is reserved for the enormous casserol full of vigorously nuked frozen corn. Gotta love brotherly quirks.

November 23, 2009: Kent Project

Late rose. It's been an amazing Indian Summer. This rose still has buds.

Front door at Pufferbelly, with a Virtual Photographer filter called "photocopy".

To replace P365 for 2010, I am going to do a photography project on my adopted hometown, Kent, Ohio.

I have three objectives:

1. To document Kent as it is in the first decade of the 21st century.

2. To improve my photography skills.

3. To write a bit about the history and sense place.

The last goal is probably the hardest, since I typically stick to date and place. Kent is quirky and colorful enough to merit a little more.

November 22, 2009: Tidy House

November 21, 2009: Messy House

Egg & Sausage Casserole

For brunch on Sunday.

Right in My Front Yard

He was in my front yard when I pulled out this morning. I managed to stop the car, fumble my camera out of my purse and take a couple of shots. The telephoto was in the digital zone, hence the fuzzies, but there was no way he'd let me get close enough with the p&s. He was puzzling over something, shuffling this way and that.

Two-Fer Tuesday, November 17, 2009

To make up for being a slug on Saturday! Below is cooking class at Summa Wellness. Chef Bill Bailey of plays with knives and fire showed us how to lighten up Thanksgiving dinner. Lee Ann, the nutritionist, told us that the average American consumes 1800 calories at Thanksgiving dinner. That's a lot of circuits around the track! Sunset from the parking lot at Summa Wellness. I'm thinking of moving in. They have giant hot tub with a waterfall and a spa - the perfect place to go home to after work.