Happy New Year!

Here's a very traditional version of Auld Lang Syne sung by the inimitable Dougie MacLean:

Very very warm wishes to you, gentle reader, for a most wondrous 2011. Let's travel it together.

Sunday Sketching -

Happy day after Christmas...

Heads in teensy purse Moleskine balanced upon my knee...

Merry Christmas....

May you be filled with the peace and joy of the season.....

Happy Christmas Eve -

May your days be merry and bright.....

Wishing you and yours a warm and loving holiday....

Christmas Libera - (plus Florida, part IV)

I love these boys.....

A quickie overview of the remainder of the fantastical Universal Studios -

 The truly fanciful Dr. Seus land...

 There were live Seussian characters bounding about (complete with stripey clothes and Seussian noses - they frightened my daughter. I found them charming...)

 The "Lost Continent" section of the park was enormous and epic looking....

 (Look! I would think they were the giant feet from 'Lost' - but there were five toes...)

 Jurassic Park was my son's favorite section of the place -

 We got to see lots of dinosaur bones and even pet a baby stegosaurus...

 (Not all the inhabitants were as benign however!!)

 And then there was Marvel Super Hero land!

...where Super Heroes abound! Just waiting for computer ops!

And villains tower over the unsuspecting citizens (hubby's foot was all sore - so we relegated him to a wheel chair for the day).

(I also enjoyed their sense of humor - such as placing Aquaman over the restrooms. :-)

Go team! Fun day.

WIP Wednesday - Christmas Dragons (plus Florida part III - Harry Potter World!)

(Detail of the still being fiddled with Christmas mailer...)

On our third day of Florida, we hit Universal Studios, the primary reason was for a visit to the wonderful Wizarding World of Harry Potter. :-)

The entrance to Hogsmeade...

Our picture taken in front of the steaming Hogwarts Express with the heavily accented conductor.

A peek at the snowy skyline of Hogsmeade...

...with its crooked chimneys and random dormers...

The entrance to The Three Broomsticks (which was serving very British fare) -

The street was lined with store fronts of great character and fabulous window dressing..

...Outside the cauldron shop...

In the Owl Post (where the roosting owls moved, hooted, and boasted roosts complete with bird droppings...)

In Ollivander's Wand Shop - where we got to watch a wand magically choosing it's owner...

All of the employees were dressed appropriately wizardy...

And past the end of the street, you could see Hogwarts off in the distance....

It is enormous, rocky and castlely...

And as one zig-zags back and forth throughout the castle on ones' way to the interior ride - you can see all sorts of Hogwarty things, such as talking paintings...

Dumbledore's office. The Gryffindor common room. Various classrooms. All in murky dim, maintaining the illusion...

And here be one of the happy visitees - holding her Hermione wand, wearing her Ravenclaw scarf and eating a chocolate frog. Twas a magical day. :-) It couldn't have looked more perfect. My only wish was that there was *more*. Or maybe that we could live there...?

Solstice Tuesday - plus Florida part II

A happy Solstice/first day of winter to one and all...

We continued to be surprised at how wintry our Florida stint continued to be...

(shivering here in front of the giant 'golf ball' of Spaceship Earth in Epcot). We enjoyed the rides at the front of the park...

But my favorite aspect of the park is all the foreign country pavillions. Small slices of charm and atmosphere...

Germany was maybe the most picturesque. Especially all done up for Christmas.

(here be the kids - all squinty in the sun in front of the British phone boxes. The son wanted to know where the blue police box was...?)

The porticoes of Italy...

Stucco and tile in Morocco...

Norway - complete with most awesome carved wooden doors ever seen...

Mulan was even on hand in China to sign autographs. :-)

Twas a fun day traveling around the world...

...and night!

Music Monday - Grown-up Christmas List (plus Florida - part I)

One of my favorite Christmas songs, and a lovely live performance:

(Amy Grant's version was my first exposure.)

Well, the kids are both in college now, so we thought it was time we made it to Disney World.. you know, before they're married and have their own kids....?

It was bright and sunny, but frigid! (record breaking cold temps in fact. A thing we did not really pack for, much to our fingers, toeses and noses dismay).

It was fun to see the kids seeing the Magic Kingdom for the first time though.

A thing they took full advantage of - including getting their pictures taken with the characters. :-)

Or riding the iconic rides (son covering his ears in pain as we were stuck in the final room of the 'Small World' ride - trying to rid his brain of the virulent Small World ear-worm...)

But being this late in December, the sun sets early....

...and it is exhausting having so much fun!

Sunday Sketching - plus pre-Christmas vacation

Just back from a chilly, but fun-filled week in the land of Disney. Internet connection has been iffy, both during and since, but I will start catching up in this brief window of connectivity...

 More Sunday heads in the teeny purse Moleskine ...

And here's a taste of the bazillion of Christmas lights we spent the week surrounded by. :-)