End of Year

The year is almost over, and I can honestly say, "good riddance." It has been a challenging year all around. The headline news kept getting worse and worse and my private life has had ups and downs too. I observed my 50th birthday in the middle of a family crisis and an overall lousy month weatherwise. Arthritis in my knee kept me sidelined for several months and I haven't been photographing nearly as much as I would have liked. A couple of close family members spent weeks in the hospital and our cat has been sickly since spring. I had to cancel a photo workshop I had looked forward to, but made an unexpected trip to New York instead.
On the plus side, I finished three assignments last summer which should all be published shortly. That gives me something to look forward to. All in all, my photos have appeared in four Pennsylvania Magazines this year. I also started working on a big writing project and am busy sending out queries. I joined Toastmasters and am looking forward to the Pennwriters conference next May. Will everything go according to plan? Probably not, but at least I have set goals for myself.

Merry Christmas

My first Toastmasters speech is over and it went very well. Luckily, I had practiced at home. Everybody liked my cookies, and rightly so.
I finally wrote all my Christmas cards and greetings. It must be a Murphy's Law that the one person you forget to write sends you a long letter. Such was the case today when a long-lost friend in Australia send me a long chain letter e-mail. Chain or not, I was happy to hear from her and quickly wrote her back before I forgot again. She is one of only two people who went through 13 years of school with me. Apparently, we both got the travel bug because I ended up here in the U.S. and she's in Australia.
Today is Christmas Eve and we open our gifts tonight, as is the German custom. Tomorrow, we eat turkey--an international Christmas.
Merry Christmas everyone!

Water, water

For years, we've been wondering how long our water heater would last. Now we know...
On Thursday morning, we discovered a puddle of water coming from our water heater. Luckily, we could get a new one installed before I even ate lunch. We shudder to think what would have happened if the heater had died when we were out of town. So, we count our blessings that we were at home when it happened and that not too much water had leaked yet. On top of the water issues of Thursday, it rained buckets yesterday. I guess the drought is over now. In other news, our cat #1 has been very friendly lately. Next week is Christmas. Coincidence?
I have been very busy lately. Between Christmas parties and baking cookies, I'm preparing for my first Toastmaster speech next Monday. My theme is German Christmas traditions. I hope all goes well. Just to be safe, I'm taking German cookies to influence the evaluators...

The Big Apple

Last Monday, I had to attend some business at the consulate in New York and so we flew there in the early morning. The day began with an amazing experience at home when we saw a deer in our backyard, which then walked down our suburban street.
By 10:30, I had already concluded my business at the consulate and we had the rest of the day to act like regular tourists. Being in the heart of Manhattan, our first stop was St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was truly awesome and can rival the many cathedrals and churches I have seen in Europe. After warming up at a cafe, we headed to Rockefeller Center where we had no trouble finding the iceskating rink (it was still closed to skaters, though) and the famous Christmas tree. There were tourists from all over the world, despite a freezing 19 degrees Fahrenheit. We then went to the Top of the Rock where I detected German tongues everywhere. Luckily, we experienced the only sunny day recently and it was actually warmer up there than it was at street level. Unfortunately, the sun was directly behind the Empire State Building and I couldn't take any photos in that direction. The clear day provided a terrific view in all directions, though. Back on the ground, we walked around in circles, seeing the tree from all directions, until we found a place to eat. After that, it was time to hail a taxi to the airport. Luckily, the first taxi we approached just became available and we left Manhattan before rush hour. We were beat by the time we arrived back in Pittsburgh and concluded that our airport is nicer than New York's.

Squirrels be gone - or not

After spending way too much money on bird seed because the squirrels just jumped on the feeder and the seeds fell to the ground, we finally bought a post with a squirrel guard. So far it seems to be working. The squirrels can't get to the feeders anymore and resort to scrounching on the ground for the crumbs from the table - err, feeder.
Yesterday, I did have an amazing experience when I heard noises from outside our kitchen. It was a squirrel that clung to the screening outside a kitchen window. I guess it figured that's where the food is. Before I could grab my camera, it took off. There is never a dull moment when there's a squirrel in the area.