Mono Monday: Festive

To me, sparkly and colorful are synonymous with "festive", so a mono shot was particularly challenging. This angel has had a prominent spot in my home and my life for many years, and I thought she still looked quite festive with her bow and ornament, even in mono.

Last night Will picked us up and drove us to Sonoma where we celebrated his birthday with the rest of his family at a steakhouse (his choice) called Saddles. There were two elderly couples dining together sporting Santa hats--the women's with corkscrew supported bobbles on top. The seating in the lounge included stools in the form of real saddles. There were no side saddles and I was wearing a long skirt, so my photograph will not appear with the others. The food was excellent, the service good and the atmosphere festive in a restrained, Western sort of way. There were lots of branches, green boughs and pine cones, all graced with dozens of bright red cardinals. I imagine they would have looked quite nice in mono.

The morning dawned cloudless and warm. Our walk through the field was a wet one as the seasonal creeks were all running with water, and the flat bits of trail were muddy pools. However, the sky was blue, the grasses were sparkling Ozzie and I were invigorated by the running water and the warm sun, and the birds seemed to be enjoying the same high spirits as we were.

A visit to the shopping center was not festive. Trying to make up for lost shopping time during the storms, or perhaps simply due to procrastination, pedestrians and cars vied for the same space in the parking lot--people waiting for someone to back out blocking me so that I couldn't, others behind me deciding to back out at the exact same moment I did, pedestrians darting amongst the dueling autos in a death defying dance, all to the strains of broadcast pop Christmas music, and overseen by Santa and his reindeer, frozen in mid-flight until they light up and resume their flight to nowhere at dusk.

I am enjoying my festively decorated house and the fact that I do not have to go anywhere else today.