Present

Yesterday My Guy surprised me with a freshly cut tree to decorate. I had been pining for a pine since we got back to Texas but between the miles and the December days running us over, a tree sort of got lost in the shuffle. When I saw him holding the East Texas loblolly pine my heart melted. He had cut it down himself. This tree is by far the best Christmas gift I have ever received and the Christmas tree I will always remember. I grabbed some scissors, construction paper, glue and started on decorations. It felt good to make something again. It was a gray day that turned into a cozy evening. We made a pizza pie for the first time that turned out rather delicious and warmed more than my tummy. I heard it begin to rain as I put the lights on the tree. Christmastime is here, it is hard not to be present.

These are the days...

Me, in front of a vintage motor lodge in New Oxford, PA. We spent a week here and I was able to enjoy movie after movie on TCM.  We took little day trips to neighboring towns that looked exactly like little Christmas villages and were decorated a full two weeks before Thanksgiving. My outfit matches the siding and my figure the scallops of the door. I noticed this before the photo was taken, so I felt a bit silly. Happy days.

Pittsburgh

Passing restaurants, bars and businesses bearing names of Ukrainian and Polish origin, each looking hazy as if draped with a light, gray veil, behind them a long rusty steel mill by desolate railroad tracks, this is Pittsburgh. The sun always seems to disappear entering Pittsburgh. I wanted so much to take photos of the melancholic buildings and lonely landscapes we saw but to stop, aim and shoot would ruin the poetry of the drive and I didn't want even the briefest pause. I was enjoying the rhythm of the scenery: Naked trees, falling buildings, fading row houses scattered on distant hilltops. A photo would be insignificant, it would be out of context. To appreciate, one needs to see it all at once.