Happy New Year everyone. Hope you are having a wonderful start to 2022! Norm, the genius that he is, suggested an end of year N-N-1 that captures human resilience and the spirit of Christmas. What better way to start the new year than to share some of these pictures with you, featuring my very favourite bloggers (and friends!)

In case you missed it, here’s the callout post.

A Magical Door

My sister and I go on road-trips from time to time.  Sometimes we plan our destination but other times we just head in a direction whether North, South, West or East.  We went to a small town about two hours away.  As we were walking, we came across a candy store with one door for adults and this door for ‘kids’.  How delightful to be a child wanting to go through this magical door just for them to behold what is on the other side.  It made me wistful to be a ‘kid’ again.

At First Glance

You may be wondering “Where is the Christmas spirit in this picture?” There is none on the surface. But this piece of street art says to me that while this woman at first glance appears to be at repose, her four arms and hands are busy, just as all women in a patriarchal society, including the Virgin Mary, have been kept busy making life easier for the rest of us. She is the symbol of a humanity that is worth all of the love and respect that we can offer and except. Or perhaps I am just seeing what I want to see. I do that a lot. A note on the picture: I took this through my car’s windshield, and I cropped a large part from it due to glare on the glass.

Omicron Persei 8

Coming up to Christmas, there was a bit of panic about whether we’re going into another harsh lockdown like we had last year, and whether we’d be able to see our families at all. And in that panic, small independents were thrown into another era of uncertainty of whether they’d be able to survive another shutdown. In comes the Leeds Corn Exchange who has been a mainstay in our 2 years living with a pandemic. They are a family run independent space that houses shops by local creatives, collectors, cooks and craftspeople. In the middle of another “let’s make Bezos another billion” holiday, it is so heartwarming to see an old Victorian building being kept alive through the idea and imagination of a people who dare to dream of a fairer, kinder world. Here it is in all it’s Christmas glory!

Take Your Best Shot, Universe!

For this N-N-1 I have chosen to include two photos, because this is the time of year when generosity comes to the forefront.  Harsh winters bring out the best in many of us. More often than not, we Homo sapiens have had to be generous with one another simply to survive the season. I genuinely believe that this instinct was there long before organized religion.

Oh, who am I kidding? I simply couldn’t decide between these two photos. I love them both.

The first one is of the annual Christmas Boat Parade that takes place in Seattle, Washington, USA every year. I love this photo for many reasons. It is probably the most beautiful sight I’ve seen all year. It makes me think that despite this pandemic and all the stress and setbacks we’ve experienced in 2021, Christmas remains undaunted. It comes right at you, like a fleet of colorfully lighted boats, omicron or no omicron. I also like it because it looks beautiful and gives me a peaceful feeling, despite the fact that when I took the picture, I was under an unbelievable amount of stress. I open drawbridges for a living, and I was on duty and took this picture between boat openings. It was my busiest shift of the year. I was overwhelmed by the onslaught of vessels. So when I see this photo, I will always remember that peaceful things can be created even in times of tension. That gives me hope.

The second photo was the result of me playing with exposure times on my camera. My husband and I had spent the evening driving around and checking out Christmas lights from the safety of our COVID-free car. It seemed like the best thing to do to celebrate the holidays this year. Safety first. We came across this extravagantly decorated home, and I got the idea to do a long exposure photo out the passenger side window as my husband drove past. This photo is a celebration of light and color during the coldest, darkest time of the year.

Take your best shot, universe! We can’t be held down. We will continue to bring the light! Isn’t it wonderful?

Happy holidays to all, and please stay safe and get vaccinated!