Just Because It Was a Crap Year Doesn't Mean I Don't Have More Pictures!

Let's start at the end: The family Christmas pictures that didn't make it into The Scallion.

First, we get together under the tree and try to coax Bella
to come over. She is having none of it, as you can see.

So then we get treats. She is very interested in the treats,
but she still won't get in the middle.

How about some random pictures of me and Vic in masks?

Mr. and Mrs. Lion King!

Matchy matchy! (Masks courtesy of my cousin Kim)

We don't have to be the same.

Here are a couple of pictures of a poncho I made, which I'm really only including so you can see how long my quarantine hair has become.

Vic makes stuff too.

Yes, that is a lampshade on his head.
No, he is not drunk.

Ta-da!
I was so grateful he put my new lamp together.

In The Scallion, I mentioned the fire that devastated our state. These are some sunset pictures Vic took during the fire.

And here are a few landscapes that aren't fire-related.

 

There's never enough room in The Scallion for all the critter pix I want, so here are a few more of those.

A bee on our flowering prickly pear

A praying mantis on our front porch

I really love these bumblebees.

Plus more hummingbirds. Because they are fascinating.

I also mentioned in The Scallion our love for all things extraterrestrial. This year we had a comet blazing brightly in the sky, and Jupiter put on a brilliant display all year long.

This is Comet NEOWISE.
It was super cool to see it in the night sky.

This is Jupiter and three of its moons. Jupiter is very cool.
(For those wondering, this was taken with a
Sony NEX-7 mounted to a little Orion telescope.)

I'll close out my night sky section with a bunch of pictures of the moon. I feel you can never have too many pictures of the moon. First, a cool picture of the moon in the clouds. This is a picture Vic chose for The Scallion that didn't show well in the smallness of that format.

And here are two pictures that augment two pictures in The Scallion.

Here is a series of pictures from high in the sky through moonset.

And another, smaller set. What I love about this set—which occurred the very next day—is the translucence of the moon. It looks like it has holes in it and the sky is shining through it.

And, now for something completely different: a series of pictures of the moon. This one consists of close-ups of the moon at its different phases during the month.

There! Now, no more moon!

Although we were on lockdown most of the year (much of it self-imposed), I did manage to make two trips. The first one was to Nebraska, where we had my dad's inurnment.

Laura and I did our own "matchy matchy." These masks were also made by our cousin Kim, and they are significant because the fabric is roses, and Dad's mom's name was Rose.

The day after the service, my (step)mom and I went to the Sunken Gardens in Lincoln, a place where we went many times with Dad. It was beautiful, and we had a wonderful time together.

Can you see the butterfly in the middle?

Then in October, I went to the Denver Zoo to surprise my sister for her 60th birthday. I wore my Votes for Women sash (this year is the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote) and pretended to be a pollster. Because I was wearing a hat and a mask and a costume (it was close to Halloween, after all), she did not know who I was right away. I asked if she was registered to vote, and she proudly proclaimed that she was. So I asked her who she was voting for, and she emphatically proclaimed that it was none of my business. I started talking about one of the candidates, and she eventually found me out. It was the highlight of my year.

Here's me at the zoo with my newest great niece, Rosalyn, and then me with my less-new great nieces and great nephew. Hanging out with them and my niece Margeaux and nephew(-in-law) Xan was another highlight of my year.

And here's Laura with Bill and their grands:

Because I believe no zoo visit is complete without seeing a camel, here is a camel.

Being on lockdown and having my mother pass away made me buy a lot of yarn. And being me, I have to sort and organize and store that yarn. So one day, I pulled out every skein of yarn I have, checked the pattern I have planned for it, sort it by project (scarves, shawls, hats, etc.), and then put it in the order in which I want to do it. This is just my scarf yarn.

And what would a Scallion blog be without a bunch of pictures of Bella?

Bella and her cousin Chloe

Just Chloe

Bella loves this new rug we got from Bill's mom, Ginger.
(We love it, too.)

Bella loves to sleep with her head on a pillow.

Bella does not love the cone of shame.

This is what we call "tummy tickle position."

I want to leave you with one more picture. I saw this outside of our house one day and just started snapping with my phone. I feel like it perfectly encapsulates my attitude for 2021, courtesy of Jim Croce: Nobody every had a rainbow baby / Until he had the rain. / And tomorrow's gonna be a brighter day.

We hope your 2021 is filled with brighter days.