Francesco's

 

So, I've had to overcome a reluctance on my part to share my local favorites, mostly because I favor the little known and often slightly out-of-the-way places to eat, which are not likely to remain "little known" if I spotlight them. Anyway, Francesco's is one of my favorites.

Greeting me, as I entered last night, was this cool color-changing sign. More about this place tomorrow.

Poinsettias

So when did poinsettias become a "thing" at Christmas? I looked it up on National Geographic's website. Here's what I found:

"Franciscan missionaries arrived in Mexico in the 16th century and eventually began setting up elaborate manger scenes at Christmastime. Holly, Europe’s holiday flora of choice, was nowhere to be found for the dioramas, but when the missionaries saw the red and green colors of this local plant—that happened to burst into color every December—they knew they had the perfect stand-in."

In-Between

 

Yep, it's been that kind of weather here. Kind of in-between sunny and pleasant and everything else. So it probably was a wise idea to carry an extra wrap with you just in case.

Linking again today with Skywatch Friday.

Fourth Day

 

No calling birds, at least I couldn't find any. So how about a Christmas fox and some holly? :-)

Reminders

 

It's a special time of year, to be sure. Everywhere, there are small and sometimes not so small reminders.

The Goodwin

 

Two looks at the recently renovated Goodwin Building on Henry Street, home of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Ring Out, Wild Bells

 

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas Eve and are not too tired out this morning. :-) I finally got in a half hour after midnight this morning after singing one service yesterday morning and three last night. Whew! Lots of fun. 

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,

   The flying cloud, the frosty light:

   The year is dying in the night;

Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,

   Ring, happy bells, across the snow:

   The year is going, let him go;

Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind

   For those that here we see no more;

   Ring out the feud of rich and poor,

Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,

   And ancient forms of party strife;

   Ring in the nobler modes of life,

With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,

   The faithless coldness of the times;

   Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes

But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,

   The civic slander and the spite;

   Ring in the love of truth and right,

Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease;

   Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;

   Ring out the thousand wars of old,

Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,

   The larger heart, the kindlier hand;

   Ring out the darkness of the land,

Ring in the Christ that is to be.

-- Alfred Tennyson

Ice Rink

Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la 

The ice rink on Duke of Gloucester Street (aka Dog Street) has become an annual tradition here. Quite a treat, especially in southeastern Virginia where daytime temperatures around this time of year rarely fall below freezing. Hope you are able to enjoy a wonderful Christmas Eve. I've got a full day and evening of singing ahead of me. Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!

Oranges

Odd, isn't it, how certain images provoke thought. This wreath had me thinking of those suffering from hunger all around the world this season.

As promise wakens in the sleeping land:

They carol, feast, give thanks,

And dearly love their friends,

And hope for peace.

-- Susan Cooper 

The Shortest Day

 

So the shortest day [yesterday] came, and the year died,

And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world

Came people singing, dancing,

To drive the dark away.

They lighted candles in the winter trees;

They hung their homes with evergreen;

They burned beseeching fires all night long

To keep the year alive,

And when the new year’s sunshine blazed awake

They shouted, reveling.

Through all the frosty ages you can hear them

Echoing behind us—Listen!!

All the long echoes sing the same delight,

This shortest day,

As promise wakens in the sleeping land:

They carol, feast, give thanks,

And dearly love their friends,

And hope for peace.

And so do we, here, now,

This year and every year.

Welcome Yule!

The Shortest Day by Susan Cooper

Survivor

 

On the corner of Duke of Gloucester (aka Dog Street) and Palace Green Street now hangs this lovely wreath. Amazingly, it survived the rain storm that swept up the east coast this past Sunday night. Well anchored, I'd say.

Owl

 

Lantern

 

Third Sunday of Advent

 

Hanging of the Greens

 

Basking

 

It was that kind of afternoon yesterday.

Artichoke

 

"Renaissance artists depicted artichokes in their works, showcasing the vegetable’s unique form and texture. During this period, artichokes were not only admired for their visual appeal but also held symbolic significance. The artichoke, with its intricate layers and thorny exterior, became a symbol of fertility and abundance. It was often included in still-life paintings as a representation of the bountiful harvest and the natural world." -- Wikipedia

Ornament

 

S-l-o-w-l-y adding ornaments to this year's tree.

Folder

 

Some of the music I’ve been living with for these past several weeks. I’m finished with the Magnificat for now, but I’ll be singing a couple of the movements from A Light in the Stable again later this month.

Rehearsal

 

Handbells

 

Wool

Blue Ribbon

 

I noticed just yesterday that this wreath had won first-place in the amateur division. Colonial Williamsburg's wreaths are like that. Some are produced every year by professionals, while others are created by amateurs. I see here a rather fun combination of both whimsy and design.

Nimbostratus?

 

Not sure what kind of cloud formation this is. My best guess, based upon this excerpt from Wikipedia, is that it is an example of nimbostratus clouds: 

"A nimbostratus cloud is a multilevel, amorphous, nearly uniform, and often dark-grey cloud that usually produces continuous rain, snow, or sleet, but no lightning or thunder.

Although it is usually a low-based cloud, it actually forms most commonly in the middle level of the troposphere and then spreads vertically into the low and high levels. Nimbostratus usually produces precipitation over a wide area."

Linking again today with Skywatch Friday.

Apples & Oranges

Advent

 

Tavern

 

Christiana Campbell's Tavern

Pomegranates & Scallops

 

Artichokes & Corn

 

The Fall

Take just a few days apart, the photo above shows a Gingko tree in all its autumn glory, and then . . .

 

the great fall. :-)

Bob Ross

It was, I guess you could say, a Bob Ross kind of day. :-)

Linking again to Skywatch Friday.

Nurtured Notion

A very fun shop to visit any time of year, but especially here during and in between the holidays.

Leaf Colors

 

Harvard has produced an interesting abstract on the variations in leaf colors in the fall, the upshot being "In other plants, leaves vary between individuals (as sugar maples) or even dramatically within an individual (as red maples), or even within a single leaf (red maples)."

Barn

It's Started!

It's started! Colonial Williamburg is decorating for the coming holidays and I'm very much looking forward to what are local wreath-makers will come up with this year.