I've not had much time this month for making updates. It's the time of year for Christmas parties, socialising, and shopping. That sums up my last couple of weeks well. I've also started a new job this week; hence a new job for Christmas, as Christmas is around the corner. Starting a new job in December is good; workloads are normally a bit quieter, and there are many social events and parties. (I'm off to their Christmas party tonight, and I've got another one with friends tomorrow night.) It's all happening here, but I will try to keep this a little more up-to-date once I settle in! Of course, I miss my colleagues and clients at my last job. Happy holiday season, everyone.
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I've been asked to create some artwork for the Christmas card at short notice. The result of my mock-up is below.
To avoid the crowds, which seem to get worse every year, I decided to visit Bath's Christmas market on a Friday this year. This year, there seemed to be more vendors, and the Christmas market is running extra days for the build-up to Christmas. Crafts, cheeses, jewellery, glassware, foods, drink, clothing, and trinkets were being sold from the many stalls in the abbey square. I had cream tea at one of the tea rooms in the centre of Bath, and the rest of the day was spent walking around the market and visiting a few shops. The Christmas lights and light snow made the trip even more Christmasy. Bath's Christmas Market website: http://www.bathchristmasmarket.co.uk/
With six weeks to go until Christmas, London's shopping areas (Oxford Street and Regent Street) are now aglow with Christmas lights. The shops are full of the usual gift items seen in the run-up to Christmas. It gives me a warm feeling inside.
I enjoy this time of year; Christmas decorations and lights. (I don't care for the cold weather, snow, and ice, but it's tolerable at least until the Christmas season has come to an end.) Cambridge (in Ohio, not the city by the same name in England) is not too far away from where my parents live, so we decided to go and see the Victorian figures (an art display on the streets in downtown Cambridge) and look at the Christmas Light Show on the Cambridge Court House.
The Victorian figures (Dicken's Victorian Village) display are dotted up and down the main street in downtown Cambridge, and they depict 'scenes' with painted and dressed-up mannequins made of plaster. The mannequins are dressed in Victorian-style clothing, and a plaque is next to each one to tell a story or fact about Victorian England. There are about 150 of these figures, and many of the figures are often depicted in Christmas themes. Some of the scenes/figures included carollers, a family decorating a Christmas tree, a glassblower, a figure with firewood on a sled, shoppers, lamplighters, and a policeman.
Upon walking up and down the street to see the figures, a stop at the bakery was made as well was a trip into a car showroom where there was a display of prized gingerbread houses. When it was dark enough, the light show on the facade of the Cambridge Court House began, played to the sounds of Christmas music.
I enjoyed the Christmasy feeling and the use of art and music in a public display to bring families and people together.
Denver was the destination for New Year's Eve, followed by a week of skiing at Breckenridge and a couple of nights in Aspen.
Denver is a fairly quiet city with some nice shops; it may have been quiet because it was New Year's Eve and New Year's Day when visited. The downtown area offers small shops along a shadey walkway lined with trees. Denver was decorated from Christmas, and the New Year's Eve celebrations saw hundreds of fireworks launch into the sky. Unfortunately, I was suffering from a bad migrane, possibly due to altitude adjustment, so I was not able to completely enjoy New Year's Eve.
Aspen is a skiing village with several designer and artistic shops, nice restaurants, and an abundance of Christmas-light lit walkways piled with snow. Even at the beginning of January, Aspen felt Christmasy. The ski lift to the top of the mountain offers views over Aspen, and at the very top of the mountain are wonderful views of the mountains on all sides. A ski lodge at the top has an excellent selection of food, and it actually tastes really good when compared to other lodges.
Breckenridge is another nice ski village with several small shops and restaurants. There are several slopes available to all skiiers, and my favourite ski run was one that started at the top of the mountains with georgeous views and ended with a gentle sloping track just off of the main street in Breckenridge. Although not as high as Aspen, the views are still beautiful.
I have posted a few photographs from my travels in Colorado.
The Columbus Zoo was transformed into a winter wonderland with a thousand brightly-coloured Christmas lights, in every colour. Unfortunately, I choose the coldest evening of the year to see this display; it was one of those evenings where the moisture on your breath would immediately turn to ice around your nose. Brrr! The lights hung from trees all around the zoo walkways and reflected off the pond. In addition to the hanging lights on the trees, there were several animal-themed lights set up along the walkways. The aquarium, reptiles, and other animals could still be seen, so it is a great way for families to go to the zoo in the winter.
A quick break was in order, so we decided on a long weekend to Edinburgh. It's not the warmest time of the year, and Edinburgh was chilly. This did not spoil our time as we stopped at a Starbucks on the Royal Mile a couple of times. Besides, the Christmas-y feel added some character to the city.
The usual sights were visited, which included the castle, the Royal Mile, cathedral, and ancient/underground Edinburgh. (Edinburgh suffered during the Black Death, and the new part of the city used to be a lake area where they disposed of some of the victims.) We also ventured out of the centre to see the royal yacht, which is a museum. There's a lot of history to be discovered in this beautiful city. I have added a
few of my photos below.
Spring is here: I am behind on showcasing a couple of projects here as my energy has been focused elsewhere. I am in the process of a redesign now, since I do have some time... and as soon as I get into a cycle, the clocks change. What's new, then? I've been slowly getting through the two box set DVDs of The Twilight Zone, which I received for Christmas. (After that, it's the Monkees DVDs). Personal Zone favourites include The After Hours, The Invaders, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street, Walking Distance, The Lonely, Probe 7 - Over and Out, Perchance to Dream, The Hitch-Hiker, and It's a Good Life. Saturday night's Doctor Who episode was pretty good too, and I'm looking forward to the series and for the return of the second season of Battlestar Gallactica, which I did not care for in the first few episodes. (Bastille Day was the low point of that series, I thought. It has to do with political/patriotic issues and terrorism and long-winded speeches about freedom.)
I visited New York City right after Christmas, but I did not stay to celebrate the New Year. Here are some photographs of New York City.
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