2019 Scallion: Extra Edition

You know, Vic always gives me more pictures than I can use in The Scallion, but I always want to use them all, so with apologies to Paul Harvey, here's ... the rest of the story.

I'd like to start with more pictures of our yard menagerie.

Goldfinch at the feeder

Western tiger swallowtail (I think)

Rufous hummingbird (I think)

Rufous hummingbird (I think—don't judge me; I could just say "bird")

Our raccoon family

The fox

The skunk

This last picture is one I took through the living room window. She looks so soft and fluffy, I just want to pet her. You know who doesn't want to pet her? Our neighbor two doors down. His dog went out early one morning and got sprayed. Oops.

Here are a few beautiful scenic pictures Vic took:

Lunar eclipse in January

Cool sunspot in April

Moonset in April—and not to rub it in, but for those of you who don't know,
this is the view from our bedroom window.

What's that you say? You want to know what I got from the Chocolate Fest? Well, I just happen to have such a photo. Yes, it is a lot. But I did give one piece to Vic, so ...

And here's a fun, oddball picture: the world's largest sticker ball, which resides right here in Longmont:

Here's a great picture of Vic's family after Aunt Eddie's funeral:

Clockwise from bottom left: Alice Harris, Becky Sauer, Vic, Patty LaBriola, Debbie Hines
Alice and Patty are Vic's sisters, and Becky and Debbie are their cousins—Aunt Eddie's daughters.

Now, I know some of you are thinking "Did they really see Dinger at the baseball game?" Yes. Yes, we did. Here's a picture of that plus another one from the game and one of the Long Island Loves.

L to R: Zoe Welter, Lisa LaBriola-Welter, Patty LaBriola, Brady Love, Gianna Welter,
Katy Love, Alice Harris, Patty Love, Liz Love, with Dinger in the back

Let's go, Rockies1

L to R: Liz, Katy, Ryan, Brady and Bryan Love

Now I'm just going to put in a smattering of dresses that I liked from the Dior exhibit—there were just so many gorgeous gowns! If dresses aren't your thing, skip to the end, where there are more pictures of our family Christmas photo session.

This was Nicole Kidman's dress from one of the Oscar ceremonies.

This was Anne Hathaway's.

I often see a dress on the red carpet and wonder whether the star looked in the mirror before venturing out.
This was one of those dresses. "What are those, feathers? Ridiculous!" I remember thinking. But in person,
oh, my, this dress (which was worn by Zoe Kravitz) is stunning IRL. I'll keep my judgey mouth shut next year.

I don't remember who wore the front dress, but the
black dress in the back was Charlize Theron's.

Anybody remember that year Jennifer Lawrence tripped up the stairs at the Oscars?
This was the evil dress that tripped her.

The making of a family photo
Every year, it's a chore to get Bella to take our family Christmas photo. She emphatically does not like the camera. This year, I was tired. I didn't want to get dressed up and spend an hour trying to get one decent picture of us with Bella, so when I saw Bella playing with Vic under the Christmas tree, I snapped a photo and thought, "Done."

Ah, but Vic's a photographer, and he's not gonna let a persnickety dog keep him from his appointed rounds. So it starts with this: trying to get Bella in on the side where she won't feel fenced in. As you can see, she feels fenced in.

Then we try getting her in the middle. Not much of a success.

So I try luring her with treats.

"I know you are hiding a treat in your hand."

Solo works well, so what if we add Vic?

"I will take the treat, but I will not pose for your stupid picture."

"I'm not gonna show my face. That's what they want."

Obviously, we got one good picture and put it in The Scallion. And then we just hung around and took a couple pictures of us by ourselves.

Hope you enjoyed this extra edition of The Scallion! See you next year!