Welcome Home Sgt. Daniel Vasselian

Normally I would be writing a blog post about New Years Eve today, but instead I would like to share with you the homecoming of a hometown hero......Sgt Daniel Vasselian, who was killed while serving in Afghanistan on Dec 23rd.

I am so proud of the town of Abington and proud to call Abington my home. We are a small close knit community and the whole community came together on this cold December day to welcome Danny home. Photos in blue tint for a very somber day.

Ryleigh was asleep and unaware of her surroundings, but I'm glad she was with us today.

And finally a special tribute I made this morning. I pray that the Vasselian and Doyle families find comfort from all of the support they are receiving, and I'm glad that they know that we appreciate the ultimate sacrifice that Danny made.

Two more days to go!

Christmas is for all creatures, great and small

I photographed this Female Junco in my yard last year after a snowstorm. The red bow and ice frame was added with some photography software to give a Christmas feel to the image.
Three more days until Christmas. It just doesn't seem possible. I got my wrapping all wrapped up today....pun intended....and the food shopping has been done for the most part. I hope you are enjoying your Christmas preparations. I don't like to hear people say they are stressed this time of year. That is so not the reason for the season. I hope you always remember what is important!

All is calm, all is bright

Snuggled up at home

Tonight's Camera Club Christmas Party has been cancelled due to snow, so I am home all cuddled up with my blankie and laptop. Hope there's a good Christmas movie on The Hallmark Channel tonight. I just love all of those corny Christmas movies.

It's beginning to look a lot like..........

Christmas! What a beautiful time of year for a wedding!!! Mr S and I are getting ready to attend the wedding of one of our son N's best friends, Christopher. They met in Kindergarten and have been best buds ever since. I will never forget Chris's adorable round face with the big smile staring out the window of the School Bus each day.......always sitting in the very first seat. One of the best things about their friendship is it brought one of my best friends into my life......Chris's mother.....my friend Mary. Love you guys and am really looking forward to celebrating with all of you today!

Seeing Santa

Miss J and I took Ryleigh to see Santa today at the Bass Pro Shops in Foxboro. For those that don't know this......a visit with Santa is FREE at the Bass Pro Shops. They even allow you to take your own photos of Santa with your child/children! We had a fun day, and did some Christmas shopping while we were there.

Ryleigh wasn't too sure about what to think of the big guy........

Procrastination

I MUST work on my procrastination. It is probably my worst trait........

Let it snow

Loved the snow today. It prettied things up around here.

Do you see the "bird" in the tree? I had to do a double take when I first saw it! 

Deck the Halls

How's your Christmas preparation coming along? Have you got your tree up yet? Your house decorated? Your shopping started?
Yeah.....I'm a little behind on all of the above. I did start decorating the house. Hope to finish that tomorrow. The thoughts of decorating inspired me to make this image:

This year Christmas seems like it's approaching so quickly, huh? But ready or not....here it comes! 

Edaville Railroad

I went on a roadtrip to Edaville Railroad in Carver MA with my Camera Club last Saturday evening....to photoraph the Festival of Christmas Lights. It was a chilly evening, but with virtually no wind, it felt comfortable and refreshing to be outdoors. As always, I had a great time out photographing with my friends.

With the magic of a slow shutter speed....

And finally the star of the show.......the train of course!

I know I have been slacking with my blog posts recently....it has been brought to my attention :-). So....I am going to try to post daily from now until Christmas day!

Christmastime with Ryleigh

Christmas is going to be extra special for our family this year, since we now have Ryleigh to celebrate with. She brings so much happiness, love, and joy into our lives!!!

Hollister Hill Farm Bed and Breakfast

I'm so happy to share with you a lovely B&B which I stayed at in early October with my number one foliage sistah and good friend, "CT". It was my first visit to the backroads of Marshfield VT. I was sooooo excited and pleased to see the beautiful long views and vistas on these beautiful mountain roads. There are also many farms in the area. I have said it before but will say it again. You have to get off the main roads and off the beaten path to see the "true VT".

Here is a link to where we stayed:
http://www.hollisterhillfarm.com/

And here are some of the images I took. This is the main house. It was a comfy relaxing place to stay. The room I stayed in was nicely decorated. The linens and bed were warm and cozy. The breakfasts both morning were delicious and the owners were very kind and friendly hosts!

I loved the look of the gardens in the Fall. I can  only imagine how beautiful they must be in the summer:

Here is the Sugar House which is located out behind the house under an old apple tree, just waiting for sugar season in the Spring:

Country Play:

Guests are welcomed to roam the entire grounds and barnyard. It's a perfect place to enjoy some country life. Guests are also welcomed to help out with the chores if interested. This girl just wanted to roam around with her camera. :-0) I had a ball!

War Memorial Park West Bridgewater MA

Spent a wonderful few hours photographing here yesterday with two of my camera club friends. The late Fall colors are really beautiful, and the weather was perfect.

And big thanks go out to my buddy Wayne for his help with this shot. He gathered a bunch of leaves for me and threw them into the stream. I was shooting with a slow shutter speed and the leaves gave a nice colorful blur in the water as they traveled downstream.

God Bless Ryleigh Anne

Yesterday was Ryleigh's Christening Day. There was a beautiful ceremony at the church, followed by a party at a rented hall. Ryleigh was surrounded by so many family members and friends who love her. We are blessed that all four of Ryleigh's Great Grandparents were there to celebrate her special day.

I have taken literally tens of thousands of pictures. This picture of Ryleigh is one of my favorite pictures that I have ever taken. I am usually super critical of my work. In this image, I ignore any technical flaws, and just love the image for it's subject and the moment captured.

The Deacon invited anyone who wanted to come up to the alter during the ceremony. He didn't have to ask me twice. :-) I was right there with my camera......used my point and shoot.....the amazing Panasonic LX3 for this image.

Stepstone Falls RI

Hello!!! Happy Sunday! Getting over the bad taste in my mouth from last nights Sox game. Lets hope the Pats game has a better ending this afternoon. Speaking of the Pats game....Miss J and Steve are attending the game today. They are off tailgating right now and Mr S and I get to spend the entire day with Ryleigh. What a wonderful way to spend a beautiful Sunday. Life is good!

Yesterday was a beautiful day that I spent with some camera club friends. We spent a wonderful late October afternoon at Stepstone Falls in West Greenwich RI. Here are a few of my favorite images from yesterday. The afternoon light was really beautiful.

What a beautiful day we had!!!!

Ryleigh is six weeks old today!

Spent a little time with Ryleigh today. :-)

She is growing so much and she is smiling these days as well. Today was not a smiley day, but I'm sure we'll get some pretty smiles next time. Love you Ryleigh!!!!! xoxoxoxoxo

Chandler Pond Farm

I recently made my second visit to Chandler Pond Farm in Lyndonville VT with my camera club friends. Our first visit was on a very rainy day last Fall. Here is the blog post I wrote about that visit:
http://www.carolsviewofnewengland.blogspot.com/2012/10/chandler-pond-farm.html

This year we visited late day in hopes to be there for the alpine glow at sunset. As the best laid plans sometimes turn out.......the sky clouded over and we never really got the color in the sky that we were hoping for. But it was all okay. We still had a wonderful time visiting and photographing. Our first stop was to the Farmstand. We needed to be sure to make our purchases before they closed!

The owners and staff at this farm were so welcoming to us and our cameras. They could not have been any nicer, and gave us free reign of the entire banyard!!

A view of the farm from high up on a hill

The cupola's view:

And here is the pond....""Chandler Pond"

A wonderful place to visit in any season!!!!