Celebrate!

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And with that, I'm done!

I've been sitting here typing for a half an hour trying to sum up this past year, but I'm in no mood to be thoughtful.  It's New Year's Eve.  I'm not ready to reflect on the past year; it's a night to look forward.  But I do have a couple facts.

I have taken a photo every day for 365 days straight.
There are 28,152 photos in my '2011' folder on my computer

Thanks to my friends and family for supporting my project.  You were patient when I stopped everything and pulled out the camera and tolerant when I made you the subject of my photos.  You are the best.  I'm lucky to have you in my life.

New

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One reason I undertook this project was to get myself to do all those things that I always told myself I would do.  Skating at the rink on Lake of the Isles was one of those things.  I went this morning before work.  It's been cold enough to freeze the lake and since we haven't had any snow, the entire lake is one giant rink.  My hands smelled like my hockey gloves for the rest of the day.

From 35W

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Fitting that at the end of my project I get the classic Minneapolis skyline shot.  The past year has essentially been a love letter to my hometown.  It's the backdrop to my life; it's my playground.  I'm lucky to live in a place filled with so much awesomeness.

Slippers and Tea

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Home from work.  I'm fighting a cold and spent the day on the couch knitting, watching Buffy on netflix and drinking tea from my new Dr Who mug (the TARDIS flies into space when you fill it with hot water!  Awesome!).  A bit of a nerdy afternoon.

Jude!

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Ann and Jude!  Woo!

Christmas Weekend

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Christmas Eve chinese dinner with my work family.


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Pure Christmas morning joy.  Childhood is pretty great.


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I went 'day after Christmas' shopping with Jannie and scored this awesome hat.  It's cut like a fashionable women's hat, but made with fantastic old man hat fabric.  I love it!  It will be perfect for next week's ice fishing trip.  I brought it out to the lake near my house to break it in.

Remember last year's trip?  I'm excited to get back out on the ice!

RED!

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Alison inspired me to head over to the Como Conservatory to check out the poinsettias.  I only had twenty minutes, but it was an excellent twenty minutes.  The poinsettias were on display in a beautiful glass hall that fills with natural light.  I enjoyed the warmth.  The warmth and the color.  Minnesota is presently very VERY brown.  This room exploded with red.  Nice.

Front Row Seat

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Snow

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Perfect snowflakes dust my yard.  Alas, this is all we will get before Christmas.  I can't yet accept this fact.  I remember last year's 86 inches.  I had to shovel it.  All of it.  We had so much snow it caused our dome to collapse.  You couldn't see traffic coming around the snow piles on the corners.  Now?  It's above freezing.  We'll have a brown, crunchy holiday.

Christmas-y-ing Things Up

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My cards are done.  Just awaiting stamps.


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Sugar Cookies!

Warm

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50 degrees.  On December 18th.  What?

Friday and Saturday

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'Tis the season

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There's been a mix up.  We got Seattle's weather.  No more snow.  My failings as a homeowner are evident on my leaf covered lawn.  It needs to snow.  I don't want to feel guilty about my leaves.


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Photo for the Christmas card!

Great friends

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I got to play with William when I went to Mackenzie's for dinner.  I love this family.


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Christopher is in town from San Francisco.  He came over, I made tator tot hotdish and we drank egg nog.  I'm glad he's home.  It's not the same when he's all the way over there (as in California).

Two great nights with two great friends.

Carols

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Jan invited me to her church to see the annual choir concert.  They sang beautifully.

It feels a little more like Christmas.

Gifts

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While I was over at neighbor Matt's house this morning, I got to watch his beautiful daughter, Allie, open an early Christmas gift -  Books!  Good ones too - One Fish, Two Fish and Snowy Day, being two of them.

Two weeks until Christmas.  I have a lot of shopping yet to do.  Why doesn't it feel like Christmas yet?

Magnetic Pull

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No one sitting in the spacious living room.  Everyone standing in the cramped kitchen.  Has anyone conducted a study of the average Christmas party to uncover the cause of this phenomenon?

I suspect the refrigerator has it's own gravitational field.

Griswolds

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Hudson and I spotted these lights from the freeway.  We couldn't resist the chance to get a closer look so we took the exit and wound through the neighborhood.  Totally worth it.

Freezing

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The lakes are freezing over.  Good thing, because it's only one month until icefeeshorama!

Bake, Decorate, Enjoy

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Cookie making and tree decorating and Christmas movie watching night.  All three of these things are excellent on their own, but together...  Whoa.

Tree Shopping

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My house smells fantastic.

Holidazzle!

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Nicollet Mall

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4:30

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4:30 sunsets.  This is the time of year when I'm glad I work nights.  When most people arrive at work in the dark, and leave for home after dark, I wake up to the sun rise, and go to work only a couple before it sets.

December

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30 days left, my friends.

Heart you

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I interrupt this 'week of the lensbaby' with a photo of me in my 'most favoritest' sweater that I got in Ireland on Inishmore, the largest island of the Aran Islands.  I heart you, awesome, super warm sweater with kick ass buttons down the shoulder.  I heart you.

That is all.

In the Trees

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Two Cities

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Downtown, once again, this time with some lensbaby awesomeness.  Minneapolis is such a pretty city.


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Rice Park is lit up like a Christmas tree.  Oh, wait.  I told that joke in my last post.  Blast.

Tracy and I went all the way out to St. Paul, shocking, I know.  I mean, it's so far away.  Anywho, we had sushi and wandered around Rice Park.  Next time we're bringing our skates.  We are getting good at making Monday feel like Saturday.  It's a skill.

Like a Christmas tree!

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I am not a fan of overnight shifts whether it be summer or winter.  Winter overnights feel worse.  First, it's cold.  Second, I never get to see the sun.  Fortunately for me, downtown is covered in happy Christmas lights.  One might even say that downtown is 'lit up like a Christmas tree.'  And that someone would be my Dad.  It's his joke.  Just ask him.

Thanksgiving

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Time in NE

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Karaoke.  In NE.  At Otter's.  Greatness.


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Grey

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Internal

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The first snow has me turning inwards.  I've been thinking, wondering, contemplating - no longer filling my time running around town.  Winter is the time to settle in and slow down.

Reds

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The bright red maples three blocks over finally dropped their leaves.  I've been stalking these trees for a couple weeks.  The red was more than just kinda red, it was a brilliant red.  The sunlight under the trees had a definite redish hue.

I took the lensbaby out for a spin today.  It's going to take practice to get used to how it works.  And it's going to take trial and error to learn where it is most useful.

MAIL!

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It came!  It came!  I got a new camera toy in the mail, a lensbaby - something I've wanted for years now.  I finally allowed myself to order it and it's here!

Pete, my mailman, brought it to the house just before I went to work, so I haven't had time to play.  I did have a quick second to take this photo at the capitol.  That's Twilight Sparkle, or as I call her, T Sparks.  Next time you see me, ask me about her.  It's a good story.

Knit, knit.

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Shorter days and cooler weather has lead me to retreat to my reading nook to catch up on some long promised knitting projects.  I have a baby hat promised to a 6 month old, and a one year sized sweater to a 9 month old...  I'm a bit behind, but catching up.

Purple

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Lake of the Isles.  I wander the southern end near the dog park - good people watching and I love seeing all the dogs.  Today at the lake, I spotted a beaver.  A for real, swimming in the lake, live, actual beaver.  I got some shots of him, but it was a bit too dark to get a good one.  I'll be heading back to try again.

Gold Medal Reflected

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Let's Go

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