A Visit from Jack Frost

It's been so cold the past few days and today was the worst. It hit 8 below zero and that was the temperature not the wind chill factor. Not too comfortable for outdoor photography but I did manage a few shots.

I thought the little girls looked so cute all bundled up outside of Frannie's restaurant on Saturday morning. Their friend was taking their photo from inside the breakfast place.



On the way home I noticed the snow in the cemetery and thought I would stop to photograph it.



The Stonham common and Congregational Church made a pretty scene. The town hall is behind the snow mound.



Days before that, I walked around Winchester and thought the birds, the steeple and the moodiness of the sky would make for an interesting shot.



At home, I caught Percy in a stretch after his cat nap.



And then it was right back to sleep but in the dining room instead of the bedroom. It's warmer there.



Oscar hunkered down in the living room chair near the fireplace. I was a little jealous of the kitties as I got up for work this morning. I knew I would have to brave the bitter cold to get to work and they could just relax and sleep all day.





Molly put her face towards the sun hoping for some warmth, but, alas there was none.

I reluctantly bundled up with gloves, scarf, hooded coat, and boots, looking like Nanook of the North or maybe the Michelin Man. The weatherman freaked me out by saying that some people could have car trouble and could get stranded in their cars. He suggested bringing a blanket to keep in the car just in case. So I bundled up in case I got stranded on my 10 minute commute to work. Ha, ha!

The forecast? Warmer temps (in the 20's) and a possible storm with a foot of snow from Wednesday into Thursday. Affecting both the Wednesday evening commute and the Thursday morning commute. Now, I really want to be my cat!

Eat, Pray, Shovel

It feels like all I've done this week is eat, pray, and shovel. I think we had about 3 snowstorms this week. Each day I was praying that the roads wouldn't ice up until I arrived home from work.

And there's another storm headed here tomorrow. I am hoping it clears out for the weekend so I can take advantage of the photo opportunities.

To those of you anticipating tomorrow's storm, drive safe.

Stepping out of my comfort zone

So I am thinking of participating in the 100 strangers project. Do you know of it? You can read about it here

I have taken photos of strangers from afar, but, to go up to a perfect stranger and introduce myself, ask permission to take their photo, and then get a little story out of them? That's kind of nuts.

But I want to do it and I hope you will too. Just think of the interesting people you can meet and the stories you get to tell. It speaks to the photojournalist in me.

So who's game? Anyone out there want to sign up to meet 100 Strangers? And just for fun, you can listen to my playlist for inspiration. It's at the bottom of the blog.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Another blizzard today and I had a snow day from the bank. Looks like we got 18.5 inches so far. I decided to walk around the neighborhood before tackling some shoveling.



This is the house across the street. The trees are really weighted down and that makes for a dangerous situation. I just heard about a tree branch that fell on a fire truck and one of the firefighters was injured.



Lots of people without power in Massachusetts, I think the newsman said 101,000 without power. Thankfully, I have heat and electricity because it is bonechilling cold with the wind.



The houses in my neighborhood look absolutely gorgeous with all the snow.




As you can see, it was really coming down when I was walking around and I could hardly see through the lens. I didn't want to wreck my camera so I didn't stay out too long.



Here's the view looking down my street.



This is my neighbor Emily. The two of us shoveled some of the walk and parking lot.



Emily's husband dug their car out, what fun!



This is what my sleeve looked like after I shoveled. I had so much snow on my coat after taking my walk around the neighborhood Emily said I looked like the abominable snowman.

Well, it is really pretty and tonight it's supposed to end. And the sun will come out tomorrow. (I suddenly feel like singing).

Mosaic Monday- Coffee

What better way to start the week off than with a nice cup of joe? These are some new and old images from my vast collection of coffee photos.

Going for coffee is one of my favorite ways to socialize and there is no shortage of good places to find the perfect cuppa in the Boston area.

Please join Mary of Little Red Schoolhouse for Mosaic Monday and check out the other participants too!

Cozy by the fire

"There is no place more delightful than one's own fireplace"- Marcus Tullius Cicero

With more wintry weather headed this way, I think we will just sit by the fire and relax this weekend.

What I did with my week off

I had eight vacation days to use up by the end of the year. I really had no big plans between Christmas and New Year's I really just wanted to relax. So here's the recap of my days off.

Actually I did have some plans. I had tickets to the Nutcracker Tea in Melrose. My sister and friends Lori Lee and Karen attended with me. We knew it was sort of geared to children but I was told adults would enjoy it too.



And I did enjoy looking at all the little girls and boys dressed for a tea party.



The Christmas Tree at Corinthian Hall was lovely and had some very over sized candy themed decorations on it.



The children decorated a castle with candies.



All the little girls were dressed in their party finery. So cute!



I thought this girl looked perfect as she waited for tea.



Then she caught me snapping her photo and well, not so pretty!



A local group of dancers performed some scenes from the Nutcracker. This is the Sugar Plum Fairy.



Our tiered tray was filled with delicious treats- sweet and savory.



Another look at the candy castle.



The ballerinas won over the audience.



Our centerpiece. I loved his hat.




The ballerinas graciously posed for photos with their fans.




And then they served us dessert. One for each of the dances.



Even the cupcake holder had a tutu!




I think the dancers really enjoyed themselves too!



I know the children enjoyed it.



After Christmas we had a blizzard so no shopping after Christmas sales on Sunday. But later in the week I did stop by my favorite store in Concord, Nesting on Main. They had some beautiful decorations for sale at 40% off. Yippee!




Here's the view as you enter the store.



This angel is made of paper. She went home with me. I am thinking she is more of a Winter angel than a Christmas angel and so I can display her through the Winter.



All their displays are so gorgeous.



It really was a Winter Wonderland and it got me to thinking about my New Year's Eve tablescape. I always have a small party on New Year's Eve.



One more photo of Nesting.



While I was driving to Nesting I passed by a farm with a snowy field, very picturesque. Out of the corner of my eye I spied what looked like a beautiful white horse illuminated by the sunlight. I decided to head to Nesting and check it out on my way back.




I was so happy that the horse was still in the same spot when I returned. There was a no trespassing sign so I parked my car and walked down the snowy path towards the horse. He was
magnificent!



A man came down the path almost immediately to see what I was up to. I told him I just wanted to take a few shots of the horse. He proceeded to tell me the story of Drummer.

Drummer was rescued by the man 3 years ago. He was about to go to a slaughterhouse in Maine. He had been abused and was a former dressage horse. He is 20 years old.



Drummer has some good days and bad days. Lucky for me he was having a good day. He is one gorgeous animal and I can not imagine who could possibly abuse him.

The caretaker/owner of Drummer had been planning to put this sign out front. He was putting it up just as I was leaving. I was thankful I had met these two even though it brought tears to my eyes to hear the story. I am so happy that Drummer is now in a loving home.




On to the Bedford Village Inn for another holiday tradition. My sister and I try to meet up with our friends Lori Lee and Duane for a post Christmas dinner. We love to see the Inn decorated for the holidays.

This is the entrance to the restaurant.



This is one of the rooms of the restaurant. We did not eat in this room.



Fast forward to dessert. The big one was my dessert.



My sister had the chocolate pudding cake.

I opted for the chocolate bag. What is it? A chocolate shell filled with cake, chocolate mousee, berries and whipped cream. Yum! I took half of it home to enjoy the next day.



So here's my New Year's Eve tablescape inspired by my shopping trip to Nesting on Main.

Hope everyone is enjoying their New Year! As for me, it is back to work tomorrow.