Frantic Life

So, I failed my photo challenge. 

 Miserably.  

There was just no way I could keep up with the frantic rush of the Christmas season, 

the multiple illnesses the Brat Child had, 

my own health issues, 

the dog's ongoing mystery illness, 

the cat's UTI, 

normal life and all its demands,

 taking specific photos 

and blogging. 

So, here are the photos I did take:

 Ok, so I didn't take this, my sister did 

(that's her front and center with me to the left, 

my mom to the right and my daughter in the back), 

and it was taken on Thanksgiving, 

 but it was going to be my photo for "Family".

 This is Bailey getting one of her regular baths with medicated shampoo.

Since August, Bailey has had a mysterious skin issue where she looses her hair

and scratches until she has open sores which then develop into skin infections.

We are on possible diagnosis #3: food allergy. 

I now get her meds at the Pharmacy-

the name reads "Bailey J. dog of Jamie"

 This is Gibbs the cat.

Here he is shown playing dead 

waiting for an unsuspecting Vet Tech to enter the room

so he can attack them.

Seriously.

He went from love bug to rabid jaguar in 6 seconds.

After attacking the tech and me, 

he prowled the room continuously

hissing and growling and swiping at whatever got in his way.

He had a UTI, easy enough to fix with pills.

Ever try to give a rabid jaguar pills?

 This is Gibbs hiding from getting his pills.

He learned to keep the pills in the side of his mouth

so I thought they had been swallowed,

then he's spit them out in the hallway.

Now I crush them up and mix them with canned food.

So far he doesn't suspect.

 A photo from Valley View Farms in Baltimore.

It has every ornament imaginable

even some you can't imagine.

 Christmas Day and the Brat Child with one of his favorite gifts.

 A shot of one of my favorite gifts- the game Quelf.

If you want a night full of hysterical laughing,

play this game.

So those are the photos I managed to snap this month.

Will I manage to do the January Challenge?

Who knows.

I'll make an effort, but I'm not going to make it seem like a chore

or worry about getting it done.

Photo Challenge

#6 Shopping- 

not that I got much accomplished 

since I had both Big E and the Brat child with me.

Neither one is keen on shopping.

#7 Bright. 

No explanation needed

#8 Ornament-

This is my flying pig ornament.

The pig is actually an example of Scherenschnitte

which in German literally translates to "scissors cut".

It's the art of cutting paper into decorative designs.

#9 Something You're Reading-

Picked this up at REI (my new favorite store)

in order to learn some things for the big hike in October.

#10 Wrapping Paper

#11 Green

#12 A Beautiful Sight

Our church Christmas tree-

not only is it beautiful, but so are the handstitched Chrismons

and the fact that the Brat Child was so thrilled to help in the decorating.

Photo Phriday (on Monday)

I'm a slacker, I know, but things get hectic and time disappears and suddenly 

it's Sunday night and you're laying in bed and you realize 

that you never blogged the photos on Friday like you intended.  

You also realize you forgot to do something with the Elf on the Shelf- 

who is really the Elf on the Top of the Refrigerator 

because that's where you toss him after each day's shenanigans.  

But despite this, you stay in bed and channel Scarlett O'Hara 

and decide to worry about it tomorrow.

So, here are the first 5 photos, 

and I promise I'll get back on my designated schedule

(like there's anyone out there reading this and disappointed I didn't blog on Friday)

Day 1: My View

(outside my office)

Day 2: Favorite Holiday Movie

(Miracle on 34th Street- actually Big E's favorite)

Day 3: Red

(Our family ornament at church)

Day 4: Joyous

(The first married couple Christmas tree)

Day 5: Today's Temperature

(It's really just rain and extreme fog but looks as cold as it was)

Favorite Things

One thing I enjoy doing at Christmas is revisiting favorite ornaments.  

Of course, most of them are favorites in some way since most have some story about why they were purchased, or who they were from.  

But there are a few that are a little more special.  

(And they're all Deltaville related which makes sense since this is a blog 

that's supposed to be all about Deltaville)

So in addition to the (2) horseshoe crab ornaments and

the row boat with Deltaville, VA on the side,

here are a few of my favorite things

This angel ornament is at least 30 years old

(these are all at least 30 years old really)

and was tied to a gift given to me from Pepop and Memom.

I have no clue what the gift was anymore, 

but I still have the ornament.

I remember picking this ornament at Valley View Farms

in Baltimore.

I got it because it was a green boat like Pepop's boat Pigpen.

It's had to under go a few repairs 

but is otherwise the same as when I got it.

And this was another Pepop gift

(sense a theme here?)

This one is dated 1981 and features 

Miss Piggy and Kermit (on the other side).

So this concludes my little walk down memory lane

and concludes blog posts until the new year.

I will, of course, make a resolution to blog more regularly in 2014.

We'll see.

Gearing up for Christmas

I posted this same video last year during the Yuletide season.  

It is a taste of what a Deltaville resident sets up in his yard each year.  

The video shows about 36,000 of the 77,000 lights he set up last year.  

This year he's reported to have 80,000 lights.

Check out his website Deltaville Lights for more information.  

The lights are on now until January 4, 2013 5:00pm- 11:00pm Sunday- Thursday 

and 5:00pm- midnight Friday and Saturday and Christmas Eve, Christmas Night and New Year's Eve.

 The display is located on Rt 33 in Deltaville so go check it out!