2025 Trio

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year!

Another Arbitrary Celestial Rotation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And so we have reached 2025, may she be a good one despite recent circumstances!

Almost Midnight

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watching the ball drop in New York with Mari, Dad, and Gigi.

Wish

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Candle magic complete.

78

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another trip around the sun completed for my dad.

Yards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After opening gifts we settled in for some Christmas lunch and a couple of rounds of football. Merry Christmas to all!

GMas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course we couldn't forget about Gigi, who got a new toy and a new bed.

With Care

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We exchanged a few gifts and had a nice morning.

Orange You Glad We Made These

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have I mentioned I like traditions? Like Christmas morning iced orange rolls.

Open Door Policy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And all of the doors on our Fortnum and Mason advent calendar are open.

Feliz Navidad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's Christmas 2024!

A Little Small For A Reindeer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later that night we had this little fella hanging out on our front step. Probably some kind of advanced scout checking the house to make sure it's safe for Santa.

Oh Snap

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dad about to pop open his cracker.

XMAS EVE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yet another beautiful table set by Mari. I do love my traditions and as always Christmas even means salmon chowder and crackers (the British kind, not the crunchy kind. Although we have those too.)

Sleeping In

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Casie and John went home on Monday, but I still have some time off so I slept in. Dad was volunteering at the hospital so Gigi came over in the morning and fit right in.

Football Sunday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent the day watching football with the fam, then went out to Moby Dickie's. Not eventful, but really nice to just chill and talk with Casie and John since we don't get to do that very often.

The Kids Are Alright

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A good lookin' family that had a good time.

Breaking The Surface

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This large oceanic display is the last thing on the way out.

Pink Finish

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last stop is always the flamingo pond, and they seem to be out night or day unlike most of the other animals.

Groovy Man

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a beach party themed section anchored by a classic flower power van.

Leopards and Llamas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A tree to lounge and a stylish hat.

Monkey Business

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mari turned out to be a monkey. John is a tiger and Casie is a rabbit.

I Am A Dragon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another cool new thing they had this year was they had each of the Chinese zodiac signs explained and a stylized representation of each creature. I am a dragon.

The Birds And Bees

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bluebirds and bumble bees.

Praying For Less Rain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It started to rain pretty steadily and we were prepared with jackets and umbrellas, but that meant the extra treat of the zoo bringing out certain animals you could interact with wasn't going to happen.

Global Warning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This display was about the globe and how everything is connected so we should respect our planet. Amen.

Free Shipping

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ship was amazing, but I particularly liked the cranes flying along the sea level.

Best Worst Gift

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is there anything better than a puppy? But seriously folks, never put a dog in a box.

Sleigh Leaders

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's a live Santa for the kids, and you can't have the big guy without his flight crew.

Temple Blue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first loop towards the Christmas village centers on this huge blue temple.

Neon Fauna And Flora

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were several patches like this with various pretty flowers and insects.

Path To Pretty

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once passed the entrance, this path lead to the start of the zoo proper and it's illuminated cloth and metal structures.  

Lighted Way

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The entrance to the zoo.

Guest Pass

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the kids posing in front of the iconic (for the zoo at least) entry sign.

The Zoo In Lights

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We took Casie and John to this years Zoolumination. Despite some rain it was fantastic, with almost all new displays and many more of them than previous years.

Holiday Treat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are extremely excited to have Casie and John here for a few days. It's nice to show off all the Christmas in our house and give them a little taste of Nashville.

Decorated With Care

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Casie and John arrive tomorrow and the house is ready to be seen!

Dirty Chicken

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The most coveted of the dirty Santa gifts this year, a metal chicken on a spring.

A Will And A Christmas Way

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The JIS Holiday Christmas party 2024. Complete with a surprise visit from Will (front, red shirt), who has been very ill and put in for retirement so we did not expect him to come back to work. From left to right, Amber, Muna (our current intern), me, Tracy, Michael, Joe, Jerry, Edward, Will, Nathalie, Gary, Butch, Wes, Christian, Matt and Dan. With a few not present.

Lit Up Large

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to having the eaves done this year, I got our standard lights up as well. I have mixed feelings about the the two hues of white. I'm not sure if they matched more it would be too washed out so the contrast is good or bad? Good? I think? Anyway, over all I know it looks good!

WOTM

Though worries loom in the future, for this month it's all about Christmas joy.