JHTBH

I bet you're wondering what is the significance of the title.

I heard this abbreviation the other day and was fascinated by it.

It is: Just Happy To Be Here

And I am, too.

Every day.

Especially after the weekend. I was amazed how all of our neighbors pulled together to get everyone cleared of snow. And even though my street was not plowed until about 2:30pm on Sunday--where really did I need to go?

So, when I'm getting all hot an bothered about not being where I think I want to be, I need to remind myself about JHTBH! Because, think of the alternatives!

I got in my car yesterday--turned the key, it started and I was free to conquer the world. Where else should I have been?

I know--diving off the Florida Keys--but that is a dream, my happy place and not reality. Somewhere I can go to in my mind.

Aside from that--JHTBH and don't forget it!

Monday Musings - December 21, 2009

I'm going to do something different this week. I am going to use only photos for the Monday musings. These are all pictures from 2009--various places and events.
The above is wine on the vine at Keswick Vineyards, VA in October 2009


A March wedding in Texas. Where is Cinderella?

A U.S. flag on the USNS Hoyt S. Vandenberg, 80 feet deep off Key West, FL taken in July

Footprints in the sand, Cocoa Beach, FL in July

The indiginity of it all, Islamorada, FL in July

Tarpon on patrol or I'm having fish for dinner! Dry Tortugas, FL in July

A shuttle has been by. Cocoa Beach, July

I love snow. February in Maryland.

Lounging at the Hemmingway House in July.

Gramma, who are we cooking for dinner? March in Maryland.

Dude--where did the year go? Maybe it is down there? July in Cocoa Beach.

Pictures from the Storm of December 2009--This Just In

OK--I was so busy yesterday that I didn't get the pictures from the storm together--but we have a few Since church was canceled this morning, I have a few minutes to get the storm pictures together for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy them. Today dawns, by the way, bright and sunny!

First--a couple words--the Great Blizzard of 2009 ranks only as the 5th all time single day storm in terms of snowfall in Maryland history. But--December 2009 is officially the snowiest December on record with the storm from earlier in the month and this one.

The World outside Our Window December 19, 2009

Snow--while some find it beautiful, I find it cold although it does make for some nice pictures and it makes the world seem white and clean. It washes away the sins and stains of the world I guess.

Our neighbors are awesome. We received about 22 inches of snow here. I love their snow blower. We wound up clearing the driveway twice AND are heading out in a few minutes today. This was taken at dusk--about 5PM and the reflection of the flash off the falling snowflakes is kinda neat.

Makayla in the Snow

Makayla loves the snow and she is a great snow dog.

Chritmas 2009 After the Storm

So last night, we had to take a picture of the Christmas lights on the house in the snow. You can see we didn't try to go anywhere yesterday. The cars are still marshmallows.

Wedding Picture to Remember

A mid-October wedding in Upstate NY is bound to be fraught with challenges.

But sometimes--when the wedding is in the afternoon on a frosty, crisp autumn day interesting things happen.

This shot at sunset of Andie and Brian actually top my list of best ever wedding shots.

I like the mist in the background rising off the field in front of the trees and the hues of the sunset as it fades.

We tried a bunch of pictures as the sunset was happening--but this one seemed to be the best!

Maybe I'll enter it into a competition at a fair next year.

Dragonfly Summer

It seems this was a summer to notice dragonflys.

And there were two images that really highlighted our photographic efforts against these ubiquitous creatures this summer.

One in Cocoa Beach while we were waiting for the Space Shuttle Endeavour to launch on July 15th. We were standing on the side of the causeway with some thousand of our newest friends waiting for the launch and Chris noticed this dragonfly striking a pose.

The other while we were doing a nature walk on Merritt's Island--just north of Cocoa Beach about two weeks later.

I can still smell the damp, musty odors of the trail and leaves on the nature walk as I look at this picture.

It was hot!

But our friend dragonfly was trying his best to keep the pesky mosquitoes away.

I must give credit where it is due--Chris took both of these awesome pictures!

But I still hold fond memories in my mind of both of these experiences.

A Sunny Afternoon in a Quieter Place

So after my brief respite at the beach, the other day. I began to think--I wonder what my best images of 2009 really are? Not that some are more or less better than others--but some just express an emotion that really helps me to remember the fonder times as I struggle through the dark days of this season.

This image--I call Monticello Monarch, and although taken during our early October trip to Charlottesville, VA; it caught my eye for its color and contrast.

As we strolled around the walking path outside Monticello, Chris and I came upon this very busy butterfly--probably just preparing to migrate to warmer climates for the winter. I wish I had migrated along with the butterfly.

I can still smell the flowers in the gardens and enjoy the leaves on the trees in my mind. And I also remember the winding trail through the woods as we walked down the mountain from the main house to the visitor center.

Not just an image--but a memory!

Christmas Gifts--Men vs. Women

And there it was--an article I linked to titled: "The Gift That Needs Forgiving," or "Gifts You're Better Off Not Giving." The title made me smile and I clicked the link to read more.

And this article was so true! the differences between men and women when it comes to Christmas gift shopping and giving.

There are a couple excerpts from the article I want to share with you:

Of course, gifts between couples can backfire in either direction. But—please don't shoot the messenger—men seem to be more clueless than women.

Women tend to care more about gifts. They shop more, and think more about them. They attach more emotion to them. And they can be more demanding and less direct. (If I ask my husband what he wants for the holidays, he will say "nothing" and mean it. If he asks me, I will say "nothing," as well. And God help him if he believes me.)

Making matters even worse: When it comes to bad gifts, women have the memory of elephants. Take Donna Clark Goodrich. In 1962, she asked her husband for a recording of Handel's "Messiah." Instead, he got her a parody LP of the Kennedy family by impressionist Vaughn Meader. "I've never let my husband live that Christmas down," says Ms. Goodrich, 71, a writer in Mesa, Ariz.

If it weren't for the gifts and all the shopping and all of the stress--I think Christmas would be a great holiday!

The eating is good, the parties are grand, and the general jovial nature of people in holiday spirit is fantastic. But it is the gifts. We even make fun of the gifts at office parties by having white elephant gift exchanges or Chinese gift exchanges.

We need to listen to each other--but the article continues later:

Then why so many bad gifts within couples?

It's simple, really. Sometimes men aren't listening to their wives. But just as often, women aren't clear about their desires. They want men to pick up on their subtle clues, rather than telling them outright what they'd like. As one woman I know explains, "It means we are special to them if they detect what we want without us telling them."

But here is the bottom line:

And there's the rub. When men receive gifts they hate, they typically shrug them off. Women, faced with the same dilemma, feel hurt.

Really? Now I think I understand.

I admit, there have been a few gifts that I have not appreciated that I continue to hold on to the memory of--but for the most part I couldn't even tell you what I received last Christmas let alone from who! Except for Makayla from everyone--but she was probably one of the greatest Christmas gifts I ever received, well at least since my first bicycle when I was a kid. I still remember that Christmas morning . . .

OK--the solution to the gifting problem!

Women need to lighten up and men need to listen up!

Merry Christmas

Waiting to Relax

I needed to get to my happy place for a bit.

I went through my pictures of last summer in Florida. The diving, the partying, the walking, the visiting, the watching the shuttle launch.

This was the one that most expressed my happy place---palm trees, sand, and a wicker chair in the sun on the beach!

Ah, and the memory of the day, too! Lunch at the Islamorada Fish House and a sweet day in the Florida Keys!

I can see myself in the chair, sipping a great glass of wine and having a conversation with someone about the way the waves are crashing on the beach. Following the fish as they swim in the surf and keeping an eye out for the occasional seagull or other shore bird. A Christmas light wrapped palm in the sand to lend light as night falls and I haven't moved.

It certainly is a long way from the foul weather we are experiencing right now. And the dark days!

Fear and Joe Bag-o-Doughnuts

"I'm not afraid O' nuthin!"


Really?


"Nope--I got everything I need and what can I possibly be afraid of?"

I guess--he's a healthy guy, being that way. Or is it that he is so afraid of something that he has buried it deep within his soul and it is now out of touch--that is until something sets it off?

What am I afraid of? Not getting everything done in time for Christmas and the New Years party! No really?

Really--I have got to get the ceiling of the kitchen painted--and I'm just not up to the mess. I hate painting and I'm afraid of all the places the paint will wind up other than the ceiling.

Fear must be an important subject this year. I have heard about it at church and on the radio while listening to country music. It is the season for joy (and fear!).

I guess we have a lot to be fearful of--but it seems fear is caused by not dealing with those deep down darknesses that we carry around as baggage. Like death.

Jesus said: “Do not let your hearts be distressed." (John 14:1a - NET Bible) and then he went on to say why--"You believe in God; believe also in me." (John 14:1b - NET Bible).

Keep it simple, keep it direct, keep it believable and know why.

Joe Bag-o-Doughnuts may not think he's afraid of anything--but when crunch time comes, as it does for everyone of us--we need to have our faith in the right place to address and even conquer our fear. I guess if ignorance is bliss--Joe here is in nirvana!

So what does this have to do with Christmas?

It seems that this is the time of year when our fears begin to take root in us and strive to overwhelm us. It may be due to the "dark days" as I call them. After all the Winter Solstice is mere days away. Stand fast against fear--

In March 1933, one of the great Presidents of the US, Franklin D. Roosevelt, made, in his inaugural speech, a statement about fear:

"let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."

I urge you to read FDR's speech for an insightful commentary on the year 2009!

So--happy holidays and do not be afraid!

Monday Musings - December 14, 2009

1. Christmas shopping? Maybe I had better get on the stick and start/finish mine. So far everything I've gotten for Chris she helped buy! Hmmm! There needs to be a surprise in there somewhere.

2. At least all four football teams did not lose this weekend--and two of them are actually remaining alive for the playoffs. (Cowboys and Ravens)

3. I actually heard a new Christmas song this past week--a much needed break in between "Grandma got run over by a reindeer" and "Silver Bells."

4. News flash!!!! I am tired of rain, gray, and gloom! The weather better improve or else I'm going to file a complaint.

5. I have determined that there is probably no better procrastinator on the planet than me! Tomorrow, I've got to make a change.

6. Guys: How many shopping days until Christmas? One--Christmas Eve!

7. Women: How many shopping days until Christmas? Which one? I'm already working on next Christmas, too!

8. We went to a fantastic Christmas party--a different wine for every course and of course I found one that was really nice AND unavailable! Oh well--that is the fun of wine--the searching for that perfect vintage which combines everything you like in a wine. And everyone can have their own because there is no right or wrong answer.

9. I am finally beginning to get over the rotten sinus infection that has been plaguing me for the better part of three weeks! Yay, just in time for Christmas.