Festivus: The Airing of Grievances

December 23 is the date of a made-up holiday, Festivus. This was popularized by an episode on Seinfeld in which George’s father described this supposed holiday. One aspect was the Festivus pole, and another was the annual airing of grievances.

I thought of this today because I have a few complaints to make. For one thing, I apparently twisted my knee the other day and it has been sore ever since. I bought a knee brace today and while it made the front of the knee feel better, it pinched the back of my leg and that hurt worse as the hours passed. I finally took it off.

Knee pain makes it very hard to walk the dog. Of course, he does not understand and continues to zig-zag with enthusiasm. Also, when I put my feet up to rest my knee, he sometimes jumps right up on my legs and that can be painful. 

In addition, my eyes are still bothering me. Although there has been improvement, they don’t focus in tandem and reading is difficult and exhausting. I often have to stop using the iPad when I still have tasks I want to complete on it. 

Meanwhile, my car is still at the dealer, and I don’t know when they’ll finish repairing the interior. I think we told you that Charlie damaged some seatbelts and armrests. I have a loaner car, but Charlie is not allowed to ride in it.

Well, that’s enough airing of grievances. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and Marie is coming. She can help me with the dog.

I did some grocery shopping today and stopped by the North Fork in Strasburg to eat lunch. 

Here’s Lynn’s picture of her and Peggy and me on Friday. I advised everyone to stand with one shoulder forward so we could all fit in the selfie.

Short Days, Shiny Things

The short days of winter can be distressing. I like sunshine, and I want to have time to enjoy the outdoors. 

Thank goodness for holiday lights and colorful decorations!

Christmas trees at Bits o’Moon and Dunkin’

A photography group recently ran a theme on things that are shiny. I didn’t have to look far.

Sharing with Mosaic Monday

Well, we have made it through our shortest day of the year. Now it’s time to wrap my Christmas presents.

Charlie’s Report, with Visitors

Hi, Charlie here! It's been a busy week. We went to the dog park one day when the weather was nice. Then it got cold again and there was a little snow. Mom moved some stuff around like something was going on. Then Aunt Peggy showed up to visit for a few days.

Saturday’s Critters /  Caturday

Lynn came yesterday and took pictures of us. Then Peggy left and Lynn stayed with me while my mom took her car somewhere. She came back with a different car, but she said I can’t ride in it because it is a “loaner.“ Well, I don’t like riding in the car anyway, but sometimes I get bored when I can’t go to a park to play. Oh, Lynn put up a bird feeder thing on the deck. 

Here’s a cow that we saw before all this happened.

I wonder when our old car will be back so we can ride in it again. I guess for now I can take some extra naps. Perhaps this week will be quiet. At least I got my chair back.

Private Stairway

Seen in a Shop in Luray

Black and White Weekend

Noticed While Walking

Thanks to my dog, I spend a good deal of time walking around at a stop/start pace. It can get monotonous. Beagles like to stop and sniff. They can get tired just sniffing because they do it so intensely.

To pass the time, I look around for things to photograph with my phone.

Weekend Reflections / Garden Affair 

Today in Blackwater Canyon

 Davis, WV

My sister is visiting and she shares my love for mountains. We drove west to Blackwater Falls, which gets more snowy weather than we do in Virginia. It was beautiful but cold. I wish you could hear the roar of the river as it plunges over the cliff.

I have been to this gorgeous park before, especially since Corridor H opened. It’s been many years, though, since I visited in snowy weather. The starker landscape reveals a drama that is obscured when there are more leaves on the trees.

Skywatch / H2O

Passer domesticus, or House Sparrow

This picture is from the files on my laptop, due to having download problems with my camera today. This handsome bird is a male house sparrow.

Wild Bird Wednesday

The house sparrow is the most widely distributed wild bird.

Old Chimney, Jeffersonton, VA

Spilman Park

Site of 1730’s Little Fork Colony

Sign was soiled and hard to read.

• Earlier Post: Little Fork Church
• Little Fork Colony on Rootsweb
• Linkup: Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday

Rappahannock Student Mosaics

These were on display at the Rappahannock Art Tour in November. Elementary and Middle School Students made these mosaic-style murals.

Sharing with Monday Mosaics / Murals

Notes from Deer Rapids

Yesterday's post showed a few pictures from a property in Deer Rapids. The story was from Charlie’s point of view so I thought I’d fill in a few details.

The brick house was built in 1792. The central section is the original house and was built of bricks that were handmade on the property. The additions were built in the 20th century. The property is now called Edgewater Farm. It is built on a rise next to the North Fork of the Shenandoah.

We wondered why people chose to live on this side of the river at the base of the Massanutten Range. It would’ve been hard to reach before the bridge was built. The river can be forded in some spots when the water is low, as it often is in a late summer, but when spring rains come, you can’t get there from here. I guess they would’ve until flooding subsided and then crossed in a boat.

Until recent years, high water was still a problem because the only access road crossed a low bridge and it would flood for days at a time. There is a swinging bridge for pedestrians that was built high above the water so you can walk in and then hike the rest of the way to your home. 

Another house in Deer Rapids was also on the Strasburg Holiday Homes Tour. This contemporary home was built in 1997 and features beautiful views of the river.

We also visited a couple of homes in the town of Strasburg on the other side of the river. I neglected to take pictures of the exteriors, and interior photos of homes are discouraged unless you get specific permission.

Charlie’s Mid-December Day

Hi, it's Charlie! There were some things going on today, so I'll tell you what we did.

Mom took me to Tractor Supply this morning. There was a special set-up, and some people from the Humane Society welcomed us. The ladies were very nice, but I wasn’t too sure about the man because he had strange clothes. One of the ladies took pictures.

We got out of there and drove to Mr. Frank’s house and picked up him and Miss Deborah. We went to Strasburg to see some houses. I did not go inside but took turns staying in the car with Mom and Miss Deborah. I like sitting with her because she is nice and I don’t feel so worried about riding in the car. 

We went to a place called Deer Rapids, and I liked that there were some animals. They looked like short horses with long ears.

Mom took pictures as usual. Some friends posed for her at the barn.

Then we went to the dog park, but we didn’t stay long because it was cold and there were no dogs to play with anyway.

It was a pretty good day and I was a very good boy.

Nets

Edinburg, VA

I assume that these structures in the town park are batting cages. They didn’t look quite right to me, but I searched for other images and learned there are a number of different styles.

Edinburg Town Park still shows as Madison District Park on some maps, but the town took over responsibility for it in 2002. 

The North Fork, 4:30 to 5 :00

Early Evening, Seven Bends State Park

From the Lupton Road Entrance

Skywatch / H2O / Reflections