Resolutions ?

I thought I'd save a lot of time this year by just using the list of New Year's Resolutions from last year, since most of them never got done. I found this extensive list from Woman's Day Magazine you might enjoy. 

Ring In The New You

20 feel-good resolutions you can actually keep
By Angela Ebron - Posted December 08, 2008 from Woman's Day

Start your own blog
Swap CDs with your teen
Be more spontaneous

Make your kids laugh

Surround yourself with color
Indulge guilt-free

Spread cheer
Think like a kid
Find the funny
Make one new friend

Get more sleep
Put your right brain to work
Explore your hometown

Start a potluck ritual

Do something that scares you silly

Simplify without stress

Take a “me” day

Lock lips with your spouse
Host a closet raid

Play a new kind of hide-and-seek

Have you noticed how many holidays fall around the weekend in 2009?

Wishing everyone a prosperous New Year.

Christmas Morning

I woke up Christmas morning and promised myself that I would try to be nice all day and not cuss. That lasted about five minutes. I dropped my favorite coffee cup that I have been using everyday for twenty years and then I saw what Santa had left me. I wanted to sleep all day since I wasn't expecting anybody until tomorrow. That idea worked for a little while until twelve relatives showed up at the same time. Well, at least they brought food.

( Actually, both of these pieces came from Colombia, South America )

Happy Holidays

Christmas Eve ~ West End United Methodist Church ~ Portsmouth, Virginia

~ MY CHRISTMAS E-MAIL ~

I have a list of people I know, all logged in my computer,

And now at Christmas time I have gone to take a look.

And that is when I realize that these names are a part,

Not of the computer they're stored in, but of my heart.

For each name stands for someone who has crossed my path sometime,

And in that meeting they've become the rhythm in each rhyme.

And while it sounds fantastic for me to make this claim,

I feel that I'm composed of each remembered name.

And while you may not be aware of any special link,

Just meeting you has changed my life, a lot more than you think!

For when I do a Christmas E-mail that is addressed to you,

It's because you're on the list of people I'm indebted to.

And whether I have known you for many years or few,

In some way you have been a part of shaping things I do.

And now that Christmas has come, I realize anew,

The best gift life can offer is meeting people like you.

Christmas Eve

I noticed a warm glow down the street and I guessed it was a luminaire at the church, so I grabbed the camera and walked to the next block and managed to snap off a few pictures before the battery went dead. The extra one is always in my bag which happened to be in the car. anyway here is what I got. I rushed home, downloaded it, did a little editing, tried three times to print it. How come nothing wants to work when you're in a hurry? I did manage to get one copy and took it to the church as the last people were leaving. Just so happens the lucky recipient noticed my name and told me he is living in the house that I used to some twenty-five years ago. Small world. I'm glad I saved the photos of the house from back then. Now I have found a home for them.

Larger images at > http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldetownephotos/

Breakfast With Santa Pics

If you're here looking for the Santa's Arrival or the Breakfast with Santa Pics, I am editing them now. You can see the albums here > http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldetownephotos/ or click on the Title of this Entry. Prints are available at the Olde Towne Bakery. If you see yourself in the photo, it's yours! Thanks.

Happy Holidays Veterans

New Christmas Poem

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, HE LIVED ALL ALONE, IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE, AND TO SEE JUST WHO IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT, A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE, NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS, NOT EVEN A TREE.

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE, JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND, ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES, AWARDS OF ALL KINDS, A SOBER THOUGHT CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT, IT WAS DARK AND DREARY, I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER, ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING, SILENT, ALONE, CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.

THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE, THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER, NOT HOW I PICTURED A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.

WAS THIS THE HERO OF WHOM I'D JUST READ? CURLED UP ON A PONCHO, THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

I REALIZED THE FAMILIES THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT, OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

SOON ROUND THE WORLD, THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY, AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR, BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS, LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN'T HELP WONDER HOW MANY LAY ALONE, ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

THE VERY THOUGHT BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE, I DROPPED TO MY KNEES AND STARTED TO CRY.

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE, 'SANTA DON'T CRY, THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;

I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM, I DON'T ASK FOR MORE, MY LIFE IS MY GOD, MY! COUNTRY, MY CORPS.'

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP, I COULDN'T CONTROL IT, I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS, SO SILENT AND STILL AND WE BOTH SHIVERED FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.

I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT, THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER, WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE, WHISPERED, 'CARRY ON SANTA, IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE.'

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH, AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT. 'MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT.'

Holidays in the City

Here are a few grabshots of this weekend's festivities at the 2008 Portsmouth Holidays in the City. Click on the title at the top to see my Flickr album or >
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldetownephotos/

www.flickr.com Olde Towne Photos' Christmas photoset

Full Moon

BIGGEST FULL MOON OF THE YEAR: Tonight's full Moon is the biggest of the year, as much as 14% wider and 30% brighter than lesser Moons earlier in 2008. Click on the Post Title for more info.

I managed to get a few shots before it was obscured by the clouds. More photos tomorrow. Moonrise for December 13 is 5:56 PM EST.

Chevra T'helim Synagogue

Since Hanukkah isn't until the 22nd, I am still searching for a picture for the "Festival of Lights" challenge. There are plenty of lights in the area, but I wanted something close to the assigned theme. I shot this image in NEF (RAW) and was having difficulty downloading it. The computer went to sleep and then I fell asleep waiting on the computer. The next thing I knew, it was another day.

This is Chevra T'helim Synagogue that is being converted into the Jewish Museum and Cultural Center. This rare surviving example of East European Jewish Orthodoxy is located at the main entrance to the City of Portsmouth. It is a place where visitors from home and around the world can celebrate and learn about Jewish history, faith, and culture. The Jewish Museum & Cultural Center houses artifacts and exhibits that reflect the history of the Hampton Roads Jewish community. On display is an eighteenth-century Torah Scroll rescued from a synagogue in Trebíc, Czechoslovakia. That synagogue was a victim of the Holocaust. Click on the post title above for more information.