Oil-painted plywood Santas, made when I was a young man in Pennwood. Late 1970s. #christmas #santa #christmasdecor #christmasdecorations #decorations #homemade #homemadedecorations #painteddecorations #oilpainting #bandsaw #primitive #primitiveart #vintagesantas #vintage

Streamer Talk!!! #gaming #streaming #silksong #hollowknight #chatting #decorations #neighbors #rant #owncast #loops

For real my guys, it was frustrating and no effort was made to organize it even remotely.

Check out my livestream: https://dingusmacdongle.live

Tues. Jan. 6, 2026: Taking Down the Tree & Starting the Work Week

Tuesday, January 6, 2025

Waning Moon

Uranus & Jupiter Retrograde

Twelfth Night/Befana Day

Snowy and cold

Here we are, into the first full week of the New Year. Only two retrogrades, thank goodness.

The Community Tarot Reading for the Week is here. We are using the Ask the Witch deck for January.

The Goals, Dreams, and Resolutions Answers are up here, in a post called “Starting Soft.”

I had a hard time getting my act together on Friday morning, but I managed to finish writing thank you notes and hike down to the post office. The post office was wild, such a long line. People were tired and not so cheerful thanks to the cold and the clouds, but everyone made an effort to be cordial, and that always makes a difference. I had to buy stamps, too.

After I was done at the post office, I visited a nearby store and got what I need for next Saturday’s workshop, as far as small notebooks, extra colored pencils, etc. I also got some folders to get 2026 files set up.

Hauled everything home and was just wiped out. I had to walk carefully because of the sidewalks, the wind, etc. But I did it.

Caught up on some email. Did the day’s marketing. Prepped some materials for VICIOUS CRITIC. Set up the 2026 Submission Log. Did some other stuff that needed attention.

Cooked my mom’s favorite sausage pasta for dinner. We ate on the early side, because I had to get dressed, and put makeup on, and get out of the house for the opening down at Future Labs. I already had very little in the tank, so it was a slog to walk down there.

But the opening itself was a lot of fun. I got to chat with some of the artists I’m getting to know, and meet some of the other artists in the show, so it was a good balance. A couple of the artists brought their dogs, who were so lovely and well-behaved, and happy to be included.

I met the artists who will gallery-sit next weekend while I give my workshop, and that was fun, too.

The installers did a wonderful job with everything. It looks lovely. It was too crowded to take photographs that night, but I take photos both on my phone and with my digital camera when I teach next week.

I was very sore when I came home. I guess I’m still feeling the effects from the fall.

I read a little, starting the third book of a series about which I was on the fence. I liked the first book, although I felt it tried overly hard to be cute. The second book upped the faux cuteness factor, and also had a lot of logistical and plot holes that the editor should have caught. This one – I’m already on page 10, and probably won’t finish it, because I’m done with this series. There are snarky comments that I guess are supposed to be funny and cute, but read as judgmental and mean. You don’t treat your friends this way, and if you do and you’re the protagonist of a series that calls itself  “cozy”, I’m out. This is not a thriller with an unreliable narrator. This is supposed to be something light and fun, but is, instead, mean. Nope. Yes, it was published by a traditional publisher. Ick. On top of that, there are errors with wrong names – characters talking when they are already dead (and it’s not a paranormal). Mistakes that should have been caught by an editor or a copyeditor. On top of THAT, three books in, and the character shows zero growth. She hasn’t learned anything, and makes the same stupid, foolish choices over and over again. It’s not cute. This is not someone I want to waste time with. I struggled with the book all weekend, and Sunday night I asked myself, why? I don’t want to spend time with this person, when there are so many other wonderful characters out there. Bye.

Woke up at 1:30, feeling sore. I woke from a nice dream where a bunch of us from the gallery were in someone’s loft cooking together. It was too early to start the crockpot soup. I dozed off again and woke up just before 4.

I fed the cats early. Tessa and Willa were pleased. Bea was confused. Charlotte took one look at me with, “Princesses don’t get up this early,” put a paw over her face, and went back to sleep.

I started the chopping and peeling and stirring for the soup. Tessa marched in – this is NOT the routine! She had to supervise. It took about a half hour to get everything prepped and in the crockpot. I was a little grumpy about peeling and chopping without any coffee, but as I added ingredients, it started to smell amazing, even before it was put on the heat.

Once I had it cooking, I went back to bed. Charlotte was awake by then, and couldn’t believe I’d done something without her, so it took a bit to get her settled again. I went back to sleep until a little after 7:30.

The house smelled wonderful by then. I did the morning yoga, meditation, writing, etc. We had breakfast. I attempted to repair a few things, and learned that Elmer’s School glue is awful.

I made vegetable stock, since I had two bags of vegetable bits from the past few weeks’ cooking. It made one large jar of stock for the fridge, and two smaller jars for the freezer.

The soup was amazing! So delicious. It was really good, and I will make it again. Next time, I might prep it late at night and let it cook overnight, then keep it “warm” until it’s ready to eat.

I did household chores Saturday afternoon, and worked on the handout for next weekend’s workshop. Played with the cats.

Slept reasonably well, had dreams that left a positive residue, which is helpful. Up a little later than usual on Sunday, morning routine went well. I did the Community Tarot Reading for the Week and scheduled it to post. I really like the Ask the Witch deck.

But the news? The US entered a sovereign country and kidnapped the leader and his wife, trafficked them to the US, and is putting them on trial? WTF? Absolutely insane. And now threatening other countries, including the whole Greenland thing again? Someone stop this insane creature! The whole thing is absolutely deranged. Yes, I know it’s about oil and natural resources. But they don’t belong to the US, and this country can’t just stomp in anywhere it wants and take whatever it pleases. This is what happens when you elect a predator who ignores consent. Consent isn’t always about sex.

The rest of the day was about taking down and putting away the decorations. It took all damn day. And there was lots of moving things around to get at other things. We didn’t get the tree down, but the ornaments are off and packed away, as are the rest of the ornaments all over the house. Because, you know, if it doesn’t move, it gets decorated. We left the tree with the lights on it up, much to Tessa’s delight. We left most of the lights up everywhere, actually, and the fabric swap didn’t happen yet everywhere, although I did reset the fireplace mantel and switch out the white twinkle lights for little red hearts. We are also keeping the dark red runner on the mantel until after Valentine’s Day.

It snowed on and off all day, so I was glad I didn’t have to go out.

I was sore from the packing and hauling and climbing, but slept well anyway, and, again, good residue from the dreams, although I didn’t remember the dreams themselves. I woke up around 3:30, but fell asleep again almost immediately, and woke up just before 7, much to Tessa’s dismay.

So Monday had a slower start than usual.

The original plan was to do the big grocery shop and library run Monday morning. It was flurrying, and predictions upped to 3-5 inches of snow, so I decided to put everything off until today.

I did the “intent for the week” and also posted the link to the tarot reading. I put in the request for my next review assignment. I got a sales report and saw that some books I haven’t been promoting somehow increased sales anyway. Yay, but it means I have to think about getting back to those series sooner rather than later. Which is a good thing, I just have to figure out how to do it.

We took the lights off the tree, wrestled the tree back into its bag for the year, and got it back into the closet. We started some other tidying up and rearranging, but that will be ongoing over the next couple of weeks, I think.

A package from a friend arrived, with all kinds of delightful things. We both like to cook, so we send each other ingredients and recipes and things. And she included cat toys that made the cats very, very happy. Bea is teaching Charlotte how to share.

The digital galleys from VICIOUS CRITIC arrived from my editor, so I have to incorporate that into my schedule this week and next. I sent of a requested script to the Athena Project in Colorado, so, fingers crossed.

By mid-afternoon, it was snowing hard, and I was glad not to be out.

Worked on the ghostwriting, although I’m behind where I want to be, and, on one section, I’m on hold until I can get information from a request I sent out during the holidays.. Hopefully, I will get those answers today, and can fold everything in. I may have to toss a good portion of what I’ve done so far, but that’s part of it, when you compress a process that often takes months into days.

My book review editor is assigning me two books, which is great, because it means I can invoice for this last batch when I’m done with them.

Leftovers for dinner (leftovers I planned to serve later this week, but since I didn’t go to the store today, I moved the menu around). Started reading the next Bruno mystery in the evening.

Slept well, and we’re done with the Twelve Days of Christmas today! A small Befana gift this morning (chocolate). I will have to finish switching out fabric and lights over the next few days, and take down the evergreen wreath on the door, putting up the heart wreath. We decided to keep the blue lights on the porch up a little longer, as well as the white lights around the living room window.

Morning routine was fine, although everything had a later start today, since I slept in until almost 7 again. I have some bills to pay, and then I head out to take out the garbage, dig out the car, and run errands, including the library and the grocery store.

Once I’m back, it’s settling in at my desk for the writing.

Have a good one!

#cats #decorations #friends #life #mentalHealth #nature #planning #tarot #writing

Carnaby Street
🎄
#carnabystreet #space #decorations #Lights #street #london #swingingsixties #nikonz8 #fisheye

#snap_community_member #snap_street #snap_challenge #snap_illuminations #snap_edit #snap_lookup #snap_winter #snap_community #snap_christmas #snap_Night #snap_uk #snap_vip_member #snap_moods #snap_lights #snap_lights #snap_yule #snap_shops #snap_streetart #snap_artwork

During my visit to the city, I couldn’t help but notice London’s starry-eyed love coming to the surface during the winter season!

#London #Stars #Seasons #Decorations #Photography

https://asterisk15.wordpress.com/2026/01/04/londons-starry-eyed-love/

I visited Maisie's Magical Christmas House on the north side of Edmonton in 2011 for the first and only time, until tonight. Alberta Views magazine published a photo I took back in 2011 in their December 2025 issue and it inspired me to go back and take some updated shots. I finally made it back before it closes for the season tomorrow.
--
#yeg #christmas #decorations #northside #edmonton #yegevents #yegphotographer

Home Pics Christmas 2025 - as the festive season comes to an end it’ll soon be time to put the decorations away for another year and get creative in 2026. Onwards ✨✨✨#makeartnotwar #attitude #art #alchemy #kreativ #photos #christmas #decorations

Carnaby Street at Christmas
🎄
#carnabystreet #Christmas #space #decorations #Lights #street #london #swingingsixties #nikonz8

#snap_community_member #snap_street #snap_challenge #snap_illuminations #snap_edit #snap_christmaslights #snap_winter #snap_community #snap_christmas #snap_Night #snap_uk #snap_vip_member #snap_moods #snap_lights #snap_Christmasdecorations #snap_yule #snap_shops #snap_streetart #snap_artwork #snap_jul

This London street is lined with 22 inflatable Santas and 1 Grinch
Several residents on Baker Street in London's Old South neighbourhood have decorated their front lawns with 8-foot tall inflatable Santas. What started as one neighbour's joke has now grown to a three-block tradition.
#Christmas #decorations #tradition #London
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/baker-street-inflatable-santa-clauses-9.7026992?cmp=rss

This online map reveals Windsor-Essex’s most festive Christmas homes
From towering snowmen to hidden elves, Windsor-Essex residents are turning Christmas light displays into a festive road trip with a purpose.
#Christmas #decorations #community #WindsorEssex
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/christmas-homes-9.7027824?cmp=rss

12 Days of Sketchmas - Day 2: “Wreath”

#art #drawing #sketch #creative #christmas #holidays #draw #artist #sketchbook #sketchmas #illustration #illustrator #wreath #decorations #ornament #watercolor #pen #ink #linework #simple #easy #holiday #twelvedaysofsketchmas #twelvedaysofchristmas

The Albert Memorial, London [no date recorded on caption card]
Bain News Service
1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller.

London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of 9.1 million people in 2024. Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 15.1 million. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a 50-mile (80 km) tidal estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years. Its ancient core and financial centre, the City of London, was founded by the Romans as Londinium and has retained its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has been the centuries-long host of the national government and parliament. London grew rapidly in the 19th century, becoming the world's largest city at the time. Since the 19th century the name "London" has referred to the metropolis around the City of London, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent and Hertfordshire, which since 1965 has largely comprised the administrative area of Greater London, governed by 33 local authorities and the Greater London Authority.

#AlbertMemorial #London #Photograph #Tapestry #Chandelier #GrandBuilding #Decorations #Furniture #Interior #Opulence #photography
https://www.loc.gov/item/2014688018/

Season in South Florida

NIKON Z 8 Nikon Z 35mm f/1.4 1/30s ISO 64

#Miami #Decorations #Photography #Christmas

Season in South Florida

NIKON Z 8 Nikon Z 35mm f/1.4 1/30s ISO 90

#Miami #Decorations #Photography #Christmas

Season in South Florida

NIKON Z 8 Nikon Z 35mm f/1.4 1/50s ISO 64

#Miami #Decorations #Photography #Christmas

Carnaby Street at Christmas
🎄
#carnabystreet #Christmas #space #decorations #Lights #street #london #swingingsixties #nikonz8 #iphone

#snap_community_member #snap_street #snap_challenge #snap_illuminations #snap_edit #snap_christmaslights #snap_winter #snap_community #snap_christmas #snap_Night #snap_uk #snap_vip_member #snap_moods #snap_lights #snap_Christmasdecorations #snap_yule #snap_shops #snap_streetart #snap_artwork #snap_jul