My online journal sharing interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
… then off to meet a friend for coffee and conversation. I will be taking down the tree today or tomorrow, so I thought I’d pst at least one image of the tree decorations. It seemed like the gift giving this year had a special meaning. My youngest daughter helped pick out gifts for my grandchildren so they were happy with what they received. I also did not spend much money this year as I did not have much money to spend on them. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends.
“I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”
― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
May all of you have a wonderful time with family and friends offering the best gift we have: love.
Merry Christmas to everyone!
Every year I post at least one image of an ornament on my tree. Not sure this is one of my traditions but I do enjoy some evenings when I just look at the simple little tree and take a few shots. So, here is my Christmas tree ornament image for 2012.
There comes a time when we learn there is no Santa Claus or at least one that lives at the North Pole. I remember when I discovered there was not Santa Claus. I was in kindergarden when a classmate informed me and in the process laughed at me for not knowing. Since then I’ve discovered that Santa lives in people’s hearts, not at the North Pole. I wished that the toys we find on Christmas morning were made in Santa’s workshop rather than mass produced in China. As we get older we come to understand that Christmas is not about Santa Claus but about keeping the spirit of Christmas alive is within us.
A story not always told to our children or grandchildren is about a young man named Nicholas. After joining the church, Nicholas heard the sorrowful tale of a poor old man and his three young daughters. It seemed the man could no longer feed his daughters, and he feared he would have to send them away from him. Nicholas knew he could help this family.
That night, while the whole village slept, Nicholas crept up to the hut where the three sisters lived. He climbed up to the rooftop to find the chimney. There Nicholas dropped three bags of gold, one by one, down through the chimney stack.
Earlier that day, the three sisters had hung their newly washed stockings by the fireplace to dry. Each small bag of gold that Nicholas dropped fell into one of the stockings below.
The next morning, the girls were overjoyed to find gold coins in their stockings. “Father!” they called, running to wake him. “We have received a magical gift!”
As the story of these three sisters spread from village to village, other people began to hang their stockings by the fire, hoping to find a secret gift when they awoke the next morning. Though this was Bishop Nicholas’ most famous gift, it was not his first good deed. And it would certainly not be his last.
Bishop Nicholas enjoyed surprising people. He began to deliver his secret gifts of hope and joy only at night, while his friends were asleep.
People all over the world began to celebrate St. Nicholas Day. They hung their stockings by the fire the night before and awoke the next morning to find them filled with candy, fruit, nuts, or toys. St. Nicholas had left a magical gift at each home!
So the spirit of Christmas is about gifts, those we give and those we receive. I pray that everyone enjoys the Holiday Season. Merry Christmas!
… and hoping everyone has a wonderful Holiday Season!
Here is few lines from A Charlie Brown Christmas movie:
Charlie Brown: Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?
Linus Van Pelt: Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about. Lights, please. “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not: for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”
I’ve been having trouble with the Main Command Dial on my D300. I find when I want to change shutter speeds or adjust my EV, it takes a couple of clicks to get it to change. My first indications was when it started to stiffen up. It makes sense to me as that is the most used dial I use on my camera. I’ve been looking for quite some time in having another D300 as a backup but did not want to put out the money and wondering if it would be more feasible to wait for the next generation to come out. I’ve been using my old D100 as a backup but I’m noticing some switch issues with it also. Financially a used D300(s) would be a better solution than paying a higher price for the next generation. I found a used D300 on Craigslist that’s a year newer than mine and with about 50k actuations. He told me bought it to play with Photomatix HDR and therefor the higher shutter count. The price fit my budget and he threw in the Nikon 18-70mm kit lens. We ran it through a few tests then made a deal with him. So, here is a shot of one of my tree ornaments using the camera with the lens. So, I guess I bought myself a Christmas present!
The last two days of holiday travel have not been good for those along the eastern coast. We have experienced snow from the southern states all the way up to the New England states. Needless to say my work has been more difficult and included longer work days. Yesterday was a 14 hour duty day. It will probably take a couple days to get things back to normal. And, by that I mean flight crews, aircraft and passengers where they were suppose to be.
I quickly found my hotel room last night and tucked my tired body under warm covers. Slept well. Slept late. Woke to sunshine, cold temperatures, snow on the ground and a stiff wind. I quickly voted against taking a walk and splurged on breakfast in the hotel restaurant. After consuming a Godfather omelet, I headed up to my room to iron my shirt and prepare for day four of this trip. Outside of the elevators I stopped to enjoy the Christmas tree before it comes down for the season. With the new year quickly approaching I got in one more Christmas photo, my last one for this year. I sincerely hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas and hope you have a wonderful week!