Saturday’s Critters: Chase Bird in the Sun

Today I’m joining Saturday’s Critters, a new meme started by Eileen of Viewing Nature with Eileen.

We have an enclosed back porch, and Chase Bird loves to roam the perimeter and make sure all is safe and sound or sit in the sun.

I admit that I get nervous when he is out there and tend to hover around, making sure he’s OK.

Mind you, the doors on the porch are locked, and there’s no way he can get out or something else get in. But I tend to worry, as you know.

On this particular day—Dec. 1—the sun was shining and Chase Bird was so obviously enjoying himself. I relaxed and tried to capture his contentment in these photos.

Old houses, Christmas decorations and another parade

I’m still doing randoms on Friday. Random 5 Friday is a meme started by Nancy of A Rural Journal. Nancy is taking a break, but it’s hard for me to give up my randoms.

So here we go for this week.

One

Becky Green Aaronson of The Art of an Improbable Life recently did a giveaway of a 2014 Creative Peeps Inspirational Calendar she designed and produced through Improbable Publishing. I won!

I already have it set up on my desk, ready for the new year. I’m looking forward to having an inspirational quote in front of me to help carry me through my work.

Please stop by Improbable Publishing and have a look at the calendar. Becky is donating $1 from every sale of a calendar to cancer research.

Two

Please visit Lisa at Two Bears Farm for a wonderful story about a horse rescue and continuing work to help horses in need.

Lisa is such a kind person with a generous heart for people and animals. I have been inspired by her, and I know you will be, too.

Three

Last Saturday was my mother-in-law’s 91^st birthday. To celebrate, we took her out for an early dinner at J.T.’s at the Lavalette, a restaurant in Gretna in the next county over.

The restaurant is in the Lavalette House, a lovely historic house. It was decorated so beautifully for Christmas.

And the food was great, too.

These photos were taken with my phone.

Four

Every year, the staff at the newspaper I work for have a Christmas photo taken. We put it in the Christmas issue of the paper, and it goes in the publishing company’s newsletter.

We went to Avoca in Altavista this week for the photo. The news editor at a sister paper met us there and took the group picture.

According to its website, Avoca was built in 1901 and is built in the American Queen Anne style. It’s on the site of the home of Col. Charles Lynch of the American Revolutionary War.

Avoca was decorated for its annual Christmas open house. I got some photos on my phone to share. They're not great photos, but they will give you a sense of the place, I hope.

Five

The local high school’s football team, the Altavista Colonels, will play in Salem on Saturday for the Group 1A state championship. My paper’s editor and sports reporter will cover it, of course. I don’t think Larry and I are going. But we’ll probably be listening to the game on the radio and hoping for a win. Go, Colonels!

And this week, I have a sixth random.

Six

I’ve got another Christmas parade to photograph on Sunday afternoon. It’s the Rustburg Christmas Parade. It was rescheduled from last Sunday, when we had all the ice.

I’m looking at a very busy time at work next week. We’ll be working not only on the Journal issues but on Forest Life, a monthly publication we also publish.

We’ll be laying out the Dec. 25 issue of the paper a day early, Monday, Dec. 23. So that means we have to have all our copy and photos done early.

With all that in mind, I’m taking today off. I have comp time to use, and I really need to get stuff done, like Christmas shopping, card sending, a bit of decorating, working on my editing business set up, etc.

I know this time of year gets busy and hectic for so many of us. Let’s all take a collective deep breath and focus on what’s most important in our lives.

A cat’s eye view

What does a cat see when he looks out the window?

Chase Bird looks out the large den windows, especially in the morning right after he has his morning meal of soft food.

We leave the blinds partly open so he has a view.

He looks right.

He looks left.

He looks straight ahead.

What does he see?

No squirrels on the rail fence today.

I hope I see a bird.

Where did that stick come from?

Are those leaves our leaves?

Will Mama leave in her blue car again?

Just my thoughts, I guess, not Chase Bird’s. 

But I like seeing what he sees.

Have you tried a different point of view lately?

Note: I took the photos of Chase Bird looking out the window and the actual cat's view photo on different days. 

Happy Holidays from my almost-decorated home

First, I’d like to say that I’m thinking about all of those caught in the latest winter storms, some with ice included.

We have had some sleet, a little snow, and freezing rain that left us with some ice. But we fared just fine and didn’t lose power—at least as of late Sunday night.

The frozen camillia bush in the backyard.

Larry and I were busy bees Saturday. We dusted, vacuumed and scrubbed floors, wanting the house to be extra clean before we started decorating for Christmas.

On Sunday, we put up two trees: the main one in the den and a small one on the dining table at one end of the living room.

With the main tree, we decided on red and silver for this year.

I still need to put the tree skirt around the bottom.

For the little tree, we used mostly gold and a little green.

Here are a few individual ornaments:

Larry likes snowmen. I found this ornament at a flower/gift shop in town a few years ago.

I bought this Mountain Lake ornament when I was at the resort on Thanksgiving.

A friend from grad school gave this ornament years ago. I like the stained glass look of it.

I cross stitched this kitty in 2000. She's black and white like both Waddles and Sam were.

I also put out Mr. and Mrs. Snowman. This pair lights up a cabinet in what we call the futon room (because it has a futon). It’s where I have my office, and I like glancing up and seeing the snowy duo smiling at me.

I get a little nervous while decorating trees. I worry about balancing things and whether or not the tree will look “good enough.” Isn’t that a waste of worry? It’s the meaning and thought that count, right?

The wreaths are on the doors. But we haven’t finished decorating. The lighted Santa and Christmas trees need to be set up in the front yard. And I need to set up the Nativity scene and hang the stockings.

I recently watched a show on TV that featured a woman who has well over 100 trees in her house. I wouldn’t want that many, but I am thinking of getting one more (small) tree for the back bedroom that we use as kind of a second den.

What about you, dear readers? How many trees (if any) do you have in your home for the holidays?

A parade, a cardinal, and other randoms

Hello, friends! I hope you’re doing well on this Friday. It’s time for another Random 5 Friday, a great meme started by Nancy at A Rural Journal.

One

The Altavista Christmas Parade was held last night. I took photos for the newspaper. This is the fifth Altavista parade I’ve covered. Larry met me and watched the floats go by as I stood in the street and tried for the best shots.

Two

It was in the 60s during the parade—it definitely seemed too warm for such an event. Last year it was so cold, we bundled up and my fingers I used for picture-taking felt frozen. This year, I got hot.

The unseasonably warm weather will give way to a cold front on Saturday, with freezing rain expected on Sunday. Mother Nature never ceases to keep us on our toes!

We haven't needed a fire for the last couple of days.

Three

Tuesday morning as I moved around the kitchen getting my breakfast, I looked out the window and saw a cardinal sitting in one of the holly bushes in the front yard. I grabbed my camera and tried a few shots through the window pane. I was reminded that I need to clean the windows.

Then I tried to sneak outside and around the house to get a better photo, even though I was wearing my Christmas pajamas and an old sweater.

But the bird must have heard me, or was frightened by my candy-cane-covered pajamas. He flew through the bushes as I came around the corner and flew into a camellia bush on the other side of the yard.

It's not a great shot, but I thought he was so pretty, I had to try.

Four

Yesterday was a workday that reminded me of the saying that variety is the spice of life. I covered the annual planning session of the Board of Supervisors for much of the day. Then I stopped by the sheriff’s office to talk with an investigator about a couple of cases I’m covering. Then I had the parade photos to take. Yep, being a reporter for a small paper keeps me doing different things.

Five

The plan is to put up our Christmas tree and do other decorating sometime this weekend. I can’t wait to have Christmas lights all around me.

What do you have planned for the weekend?

Feeling down this time of the year?

Our Christmas tree in the den in 2012. We haven't put up the tree this year yet.

I’ve had some scary moments lately. Not scary in that I feel like I’m physically in danger. But scary in the sense that my mood has dipped and I’ve felt some of the depression that I haven’t felt for a good while.

I can tell you when these episodes were. Both happened on Sunday.

***

In the morning, I realized that I was feeling upset and down. I had been crunching some numbers and thinking about Christmas gifts to buy, and I was disappointed that I couldn’t afford to buy the ones I love everything I’d like to buy them.

It wasn’t just a bad moment. I felt the now-familiar dullness of depression creeping around the edges. Even though I quickly recognized that I wasn’t’ focusing on the important things about Christmas, the feeling lingered.

***

On Sunday evening, Larry was working on his computer in the den, and I was working on mine in the next room. The TV was turned to a PBS Christmas music special. The music was lovely. The show had all the makings for putting any listener in the holiday spirit. So why did my mood sink so low? Why did I feel so dark?

***

It’s especially difficult to feel low when the community around me is getting ready for the “most wonderful time of the year.”

I know intellectually that that’s not necessarily true for everyone. This time of holidays is a wonderful time, a special time. However, it’s not and doesn’t have to be the best time of the year for everyone.

A little hard to remember when the lights are going up and the music is playing.

***

I’ve feeling better now, but I’m still rattled. I remember how depressed I got after Christmas last year, how dark the world seemed—and not just because it was the dead of winter.

I believe that some of my low mood comes from pressure I put on myself. Some of it is societal pressure that I allow myself to be influenced by.

But I do think about the part of me that makes me prone to depression and wonder if it’s stirring.

I don’t want to sink again. I’m taking my medication, and I believe it’s still doing its job. I am much more mindful of my thoughts and how they can lead me down the dark roads.

I decided that I need to take some special precautions this month. I need to do some things to protect my mental and my physical health.

Here are some things I came up with to try:

*Take time for a cup of tea while I sit by the fire.

*Get up early enough to have time to write in my journal and play with Chase Bird before I go to work.

*Write down when I want to get certain things done so they’re not weighing on my mind (things like sending Christmas cards).

*Save time for crafting in my little studio.

*Do things for others.

*Spend time outside.

*Take photographs.

*Listen to my favorite Christmas carols and sing along.

*Play Christmas songs on my keyboard.

What self-care measures do you take during busy times of the year?

Visiting Mountain Lake

Can you stand one more post about out trip to Mountain Lake? I hope so because today I’m sharing more photos from our Thanksgiving visit.

As I’ve mentioned before, Larry and I spent our honeymoon 10 years ago at Mountain Lake. We stayed in one of the cabins high above the main lodge.

Mountain Lake is a lake that sometimes nearly disappears. When we visited in 2003, the lake looked like this:

Now it looks like this:

You can read about this phenomenon of the lake waxing and waning here.

The Lodge is where we ate our Thanksgiving dinner. 

In the main lobby, there was a fire going in the fireplace. But there were so many people around, it was hard to get in a position to get a good photo of it.

I liked the simple décor in the lobby.

We walked around outside, exploring and taking photos before dinner.

Here’s Larry. He said his face was too numb from the cold to smile. He’s kindly carrying my camera bag.

Here I am in front of the gazebo.

This is the gazebo. You can see it in the photo above from 2003. I liked the way the ceiling was put together.

Here’s the boat dock. As you can see from the second photo of the dock, there’s no water for it right now.

There are benches around the grounds to sit and enjoy the view. That particular day, it would have been rather cold. It was 22 degrees Fahrenheit when we arrived a little before 11 a.m.

I loved this snowy path.

There was some ice around, though. We slow-walked across it. At one point, we were making our way down a hill with ice. About halfway down, I told Larry I was scared. Ever the calm one, he said, “I know, but you have to keep going.” And I did.

Ice on the driveway. At least this wasn't on a hill.

Anyone up for a game of chess or checkers?

There are areas around Mountain Lake that would be fun to hike. And I noticed a sign that said we were just five miles from the Appalachian Trail.

If you’re ever in Giles County, Virginia, I urge you to visit Mountain Lake. There might not be water in the lake, but there is beauty all around and a cozy Lodge to relax in.