Christmas Eve

I think I need to double-post today. I've already put up the Prospect Carol Sing post, which I had set to post earlier. But, of course, there was family time at Christmas, so I am going to post a few pics before they become too outdated. This is about Christmas Eve. It's my record; you may want to just move on.

We drove over to Sha's place around mid afternoon with a trunk full of stuff, which included games, food, overnight clothes, and whatnot. This was after already making a delivery of gifts on the previous day. We mostly sat and chatted while we wait for our pickup time of Chinese food. That  happened to be at 5:30, which we pre-ordered days before.

As we waited, Sue noticed an interesting sky from her position and suggested that I take a picture. I stepped just outside the back door for this quick shot. By then, the sky had lost some of its glory but is was still interesting with its bands of colour.

This is the second consecutive year that we have eschewed the traditional turkey. Now that the Christmas feast must be consumed on the eve rather than the day, it seems best to take the easy way out. Do I miss the traditional turkey? Yes and no. No because while I am eating the takeout meal I am not wishing that I were consuming turkey. But yes because a turkey feast with all of the trimmings on Christmas Day is our tradition, and it just seems right and proper.

After dinner, Sue pulls out the journal in which we must all write and entry. I blather on about something odd, for it has struck me just recently how incredible it is that anyone would purchase my photographs. It's not that people queue up for my latest prints, but I do sell on occasion, which no one, including me, would have believed remotely possible if you had sat beside me in art class back in school. I was abysmal, and I don't say that in false modesty.

After more chatting and some games, the kids were permitted to open two presents, including the traditional pyjamas that Sue started with our kids more than four decades past. I photographed them at the top of the stairs where there was some light as we kept the lights low down by the living room.

There was more chatting and gaming and a little snacking plus a video break for Shreks Christmas.  The lights were so low that I didn't attempt many photos. But I did take a few at very high ISOs and very slow shatter speeds, which is why they are a bit blurry. But I can't always be bothered to get out the flash, and I don't usually prefer the results from flash photography anyway.