Starting a Puzzle

Photograph taken on Wednesday, December 27, 2023 by Henry
Starting a Puzzle

Starting a Puzzle

I’ve posted a pictures from time to time of puzzles we’ve completed. Today’s photo is of a puzzle we’ve just started. It’s got drawings of flowers with some text but looks like it’s going to be pretty hard, with a lot of pure white pieces. This is how we start a new puzzle, though. The first step is to turn all the pieces right side up. At the same time, we pull out any edge pieces, known by their straight side, and put those all together. We also move the pieces towards the edge of the table, so that when we have the edges together, most of the pieces are outside that. All the edge pieces that we had found by the time I took this are in the lower left. After this was taken, I started working on the edges and Cathy started grouping other pieces by color, since it appears that each of the flowers is somewhat unique in terms of flower color. Note that looking at the box once the puzzle is out on the table is cheating.

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Winter Tree

Photograph taken on Tuesday, December 26, 2023 by Henry
Winter Tree

Winter Tree

We went for a late afternoon walk at Sandy Spring today, starting from the Friends Meeting House. It was at this Friends Meeting that my great, great grandparents meet, sometime around 1850 (they were married in 1952). One of them traveled up from Washington, D.C. and the other from Northern Virginia, which was more of an effort then than it is now (even with our traffic problems).

A road runs south from the meeting house across a field to the spring. We turned right just before the spring and looped around, basically circling a large field and going into the woods a little before coming back up to the spring. It was foggy day and getting foggier through the afternoon. We didn’t see many birds and I wasn’t able to photograph any. I like the way this tree looks, though, with the green lichen on it against the foggy background.

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Dot and Her Great Grandchildren

Photograph taken on Monday, December 25, 2023 by Henry
Kaien, Silas, Dot, and Eloise

Kaien, Silas, Dot, and Eloise

At about 2:00 PM my family started to arrive, starting with George and Carmela (and their dog Chester) who drove down from New Jersey and made better time than expected. The rest came between 2:30 and 3:00 and we have a very lively Christmas afternoon. Our meal this year was all sorts of appetizer-type things. Some might call them tapas but we prefer the name ‘what-nots’. There was considerably more food that the 15 of us could eat so plenty of leftovers. I had planned to make latkes and had already prepared the potato and onion batter but lost track of things and didn’t make them. I fried up a few the next day and they were terrific, but we really didn’t need them today. We didn’t take a whole-group photo but I did get some of mom on the sofa with her three great grandchildren, from left, Kaien, Silas, and Eloise.

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Christmas Morning

Photograph taken on Monday, December 25, 2023 by Henry
Margaret and Friends

Margaret and Friends

As we did last year, we took Christmas breakfast to Cathy’s mom. Also like last year, I made a quiche Loraine and it turned out quite well (it’s not really very difficult, to be honest). Today’s visit was a bit more hectic than last year, though, when it was just Cathy, Dorothy, and me. This year, Tam and No were visiting, having arrived shortly before us. Then Tam’s sister Dieu and her husband Henry and his aunt arrived while we were there. We don’t get to see Henry and Dieu very often, because they live in Florida. Tam and No were planning to leave for a visit to Vietnam tomorrow and Henry and Dieu towards the end of January. So, a very nice reunion but not really a quiet Christmas morning.

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Christmas Eve

Photograph taken on Sunday, December 24, 2023 by Henry
Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve

With my beard and wearing a red and white ‘Santa hat’ this morning I was asked if I would stand in for Santa in a picture with some friends’ kids. I was happy to oblige, of course. This evening we returned to church for our Christmas Eve service, which is a real favorite of mine. Sadly, there are more good Christmas hymns than there is time for in a service and some of my favorites are inevitably missed. We do end, as many churches do, with a song sung by candlelight. We sang Silent Night, where our former church ended with Joy to the World. I took pictures and of course without flash, had to set the camera at a high ISO. The pictures are naturally lower quality because of that but it gives them more of the feel of candlelight, anyway.

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White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

Photograph taken on Sunday, December 24, 2023 by Henry
White-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch

Cathy, Dorothy and I went for a nice walk along Croyden Creek this afternoon. We started by walking east (downstream) on the north side of the creek. Shortly before Croyden Creek runs into the Northwest Branch Rock Creek, the trail goes up onto a wooded hill and then circles around to the left, eventually running into the roadbed of the old, abandoned Avery Road. We continued west from there, crossing the creek on a bridge and then returning to the Croydon Creek Nature Center across the bottom of the field beloe the Glenview Mansion. Back at the nature center I photographed birds at the feeders and got a few nice shots, including this one of a white-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis).

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Office Christmas Party

Photograph taken on Thursday, December 21, 2023 by Henry

Bonn, Doris, Bill, and Cathy

After a few years without, during that whole pandemic thing, we had our first group holiday party last year and another one this year. In the past I’ve been parts of small groups that had parties. When I worked for Mike his group had a party and that varied in size from a dozen or more, down to a low of three of us. Then we were invited to go to the party for the group we supported and we did that for quite a few years. More recently the larger IT team directly supporting project work had a party. That was a larger group. Last year and this, however, it’s been a larger group again, this time including all the systems and other support groups. We are now call Technology and Digital Solutions or TDS, which sadly has the effect of sounding like tedious. These are a few of my not so tedious colleagues, Bonn, Doris, Bill, and of course Cathy.

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Roosevelt Island

Photograph taken on Sunday, December 17, 2023 by Henry
Jim and Cathy on Roosevelt Island

Jim and Cathy on Roosevelt Island

Cathy’s brother Jim came for a quick visit. After we picked him up from the airport we had a little extra time before his and Cathy’s mom would be done with lunch so we stopped at Teddy Roosevelt Island and walked around it. Part of the way around we saw two of these shelter-like constructions made of collected branch pieces. I dont think they are official, National Park Service structures and may well be gone the next time we’re there. But it seemed like a good opportunity for an informal portrait of brother and sister.

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Cathy

Photograph taken on Saturday, December 16, 2023 by Henry
Cathy

Cathy

Where the Northwest Branch Rock Creek goes under Muncaster Mill Road the Kengla House Trail heads upstream. We seem to go there right around this time of year fairly regularly. We happened to go there again today. It’s not the most exciting trail around, but it’s nice. The worst part is where it goes under the ICC (MD route 200). Our favorite part is a little ways beyond that where a side stream goes between two huge sycamore trees. Whenever we head this way, I take pictures of Cathy leaning on one or the other of those trees. You can see two pictures from Friday, December 31, 2021. This year the sun was out so I had to move her into the shadow of the tree to get a better picture.

From there we continued upstream until we got to Norbeck Meadows Neighborhood Park where we crossed another side stream and then headed back. There were a lot of dogs out today, which Cathy enjoyed. One border collie wasn’t as happy to see me as we initially were to see her and she lunged at me, whacking me in the leg before her owner pulled her back. But no real harm done, thankfully.

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Bacon Dinner

Photograph taken on Friday, December 15, 2023 by Henry
Bacon Dinner Starters

Bacon Dinner Starters

Our good friends Krystal and Mike hosted a dinner this evening and asked us each to bring a dish. The only stipulation was that everything had to feature “the theme ingredient” (a la Iron Chef). The ingredient was bacon. I brought bacon wrapped asparagus, which I think turned out pretty well. We also had bacon wrapped filet mignon and bacon wrapped sea scallops. Thiz photo is of the appetizer table. As you can see, there are bread slices with cheese and bacon, deviled eggs with bacon, cheese (one of which is smoked gouda with bacon), and at the far end of the table, leek and potato soup shooters with bacon. We all ate too much but definitely enjoyed ourselves.

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Presidents Coffee

Photograph taken on Saturday, December 09, 2023 by Henry
Presidents Coffee

Presidents Coffee

In years gone by we would drive up to the farm to cut a Christmas tree. Every few years dad would plant more trees and there was usually one that was suitable for our house. When there wasn’t and especially after dad was gone we’d go to a tree farm near the farm to cut one. We would stop somewhere for a meal before returning home. In 2006 we ate at a little place in Gettysburg called Seasons Bakery.

When Cathy’s mom came to live with us, we started using hrr artificial tree. This year we decided to return to our tradition. We drove up to see Dorothy and cut our tree at Showers Tree Farm. Interesting side note: my parents bought the farm from Mr. Showers in 1964. We went to Gettysburg and had coffee at Presidents Coffee. It’s in the same location that Seasons Bakery was in 17 years ago. They have been open long but its a good spot for coffee.

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Sunset

Photograph taken on Thursday, December 07, 2023 by Henry
Sunset

Sunset

As we near the winter solstice, it’s getting dark before I leave work, which is one of the things I like least about the winter. Still, it does mean that I’m more likely to see the sunset, as I’m not home and engrossed in some book or other. This was taken through the window of my office. Until last February my office window faced north so I rarely so the sunset directly through it. Now I face west, although, as you can see, there are trees along the back of the parking lot so the sunset is only seen through them. Still, pretty colors.

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Rob’s Birthday

Photograph taken on Wednesday, December 06, 2023 by Henry
Rob's Birthday

Rob’s Birthday

When we moved back here after living in England I was going into eighth grade. In many ways it was like moving to a new town, even though I had lived in the same house until only 14 months before. One of the people I met was Rob and we’ve been close friends ever since. It was really nice to spend the evening with Rob, his lovely wife Susie, and a large handful of their closest friends. I only knew a few of them and those not very well, but I enjoyed talking with them, regardless. This is Rob and Susie with three of those friends who were able to come.

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Woodlawn Manor Barn

Photograph taken on Sunday, December 03, 2023 by Henry
Woodlawn Manor Barn

Woodlawn Manor Barn

After stopping to see Cathy’s mom we drove to Woodlawn Manor. We’ve been there quite a few times but for some reason we haven’t ever walked around to the lower side of the barn. The stone barn was built in 1832 and its three floors house the Woodlawn Museum and Visitor Center. It’s only open from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Fridays and Saturdays from April through November, so we were there at the wrong time on all three criteria.

From there we walked on the trail to the Sandy Spring, which is mostly through the woods. We took a short side trail to a hollow tree before continuing across the Northwest Branch Anacostia River and up through a field to the spring.

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Rat Gallery DC #2

Photograph taken on Saturday, December 02, 2023 by Henry
Rat Gallery #2

Rat Gallery #2

Back on September 30, Rat Gallery DC had their inaugural event. Tonight was their second and the turnout was very encouraging. For the first event, some people came, I’m sure, out of devotion to Dorothy, Rachel, and Katharine, the artists but also the organizers of the event. Tonight’s show featured three other artists and was even better attended than the first. While taste in art is about as varied among people as is taste in food, one can appreciate even what one might not pick to fit their home decor. So, while I wasn’t tempted to buy anything this time, I did enjoy the art and the people. Naturally I took photos. I could only wish it were a little easier to get to North Capital and O Street, Northwest. But it was definitely worth the effort. The next show, I believe, is in early February.

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Spice Puzzle

Photograph taken on Monday, November 27, 2023 by Henry
Spice Puzzle

Spice Puzzle

We finished another puzzle last night so I took pictures of it this morning. This is one that I got Cathy for her birthday. We’ll take a short break from puzzles because we need the puzzle table on Christmas and can use it for wrapping presents leading up to that. We’ll take it with us when we visit Cathy’s mom on Christmas morning and then have it available if we need more table space when my family comes in the afternoon. This wasn’t a particularly difficult puzzle, but we enjoyed it. We like the bright colors. As for what’s next, who knows?

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Cathy and Henry

Photograph taken on Sunday, November 26, 2023 by Henry
Cathy and Henry

Cathy and Henry

A few weeks ago I agreed to take portraits of folks at church for a new photo directory. It’s been quite a while since we had one and there have been significant changes since then, including pictures with children who are now young adults. Each Sunday I set up a mini-studio in one of the offices and took three to five photos of each family, couple, or individual (generally more for the larger families since it’s more likely that there will be closed eyes the more people there are). I had Tammy press the shutter release for me to get our photos and I think they turned out pretty well. So, here we are.

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Cathy

Photograph taken on Friday, November 24, 2023 by Henry
Cathy

Cathy

Cathy and I took the day off work today, as many people do the day after Thanksgiving. It was a pleasant, overcast day and we drove out to the Rachel Carson Wildlife Management Area on Zion Road in Brookeville for a walk. The trail we took starts along a field scattered with American persimmon trees (Diospyros virginiana). Then we headed down into the woods where we heard but never saw a barred owl (Strix varia). Eventually we reached the Hawlings River, which is nice as it tumbles over rocks. As we ascended from the river on the Greenway Trail we came upon a large outcropping of boulders which appear to be mostly quartz. This is one of a series of photos I took of Cathy on those rocks.

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Thanksgiving

Photograph taken on Thursday, November 23, 2023 by Henry
Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Iris and Seth hosted our family Thanksgiving feast this year and it was quite a feast. While I confess to being indifferent to turkey and while most of the sides are high in carbs, taking them off my regular diet, it is still a meal I enjoy. That’s more for the family I’m blessed to have than for the food itself. With three little kids in the house, it’s not necessarily a time for quiet chats but it’s still good to get together as a family. We missed having George and Carmela here, but they plan to come down for Christmas.

I made green bean casserole, sweet potatoes with oranges and marshmallows, and a fruit salad. Tsai-Hong also brought various fruits and amazingly, with my five fruits and her four, there were no duplicates. After the turkey came out of the oven and I could get some of drippings from that I made the giblet gravy, as well. The turkey was quite large and of course there was more than enough for everyone with leftovers to take home with us. There was dressing with chestnuts, peas, salad, bread, broccoli, and two types of cranberry sauce. Mom brought cake and Steve made both pecan and apple pies and of course there was ice cream. Trader Joe’s had a sparkling, rosé tea that Iris bought, which was really nice (but sadly appears to have been a one time thing).

It took two pictures to get everyone in.

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Abba and Hannah

Photograph taken on Sunday, November 19, 2023 by Henry
Abba and Hannah

Abba and Hannah

Abba, Hannah, and Sean’s visit ended today. I’m taking directory photos at church so I had to be there but the rest all went to see grandma again. She seemed a little confused but enjoyed having them there. They sang to the birds again. They got home about the same time I did. Before we took them to the airport I took a few pictures and this is my favorite, of the two sisters. With Abba not in the Chicago area, they get to see each other more often but we don’t get to see Abba as much as we did when she was in New England.

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