I kept wanting to do a winter photo shoot, but when I had time for photographs, it was either snowing or cloudy – not the beautiful sunny blue-sky days I was hoping for. So my last Snap-A-Dozen-Days will be about the joy of giving and receiving. I barely celebrate Christmas any more, because it doesn’t have much religious meaning for me, and I hate the commercialism and stress. I still do a few family gifts, but mostly I’ve liberated myself from the obligatory gifting. I’d rather enjoy spending time with friends and family than worrying about shopping for things they don’t really need. Instead, I’d much rather give gifts because I’m inspired to, for whatever the reason.

Although these socks happened to be knitted during the Christmas season, the timing was just coincidental. I bought this yarn to make socks for my husband just because I thought he’d really like them, and he does. So here’s a photo shoot of someone truly enjoying his “just because” gift. Click any picture to embiggen (I love that word!).

Trying on the new socks	A perfect fit!	Love those swirly toes!
Tie-Dye anyone?	They also make a good hat	Wait – I can’t see!
Nice as a shawl, too.	Can I sleep with them?	Oh, just put a sock in it already!

The things I appreciate most, of course, are my friends and family, being fortunate enough to have a roof over my head, being free of hunger, pain, and poverty–so many things that we take for granted, but which so many other people in this world are lacking.

But I must admit to taking pleasure in material things as well (don’t we all)? A couple of months ago, one of y’all posted about things around the house that made you smile–sorry, I forgot whose blog that was. I meant to do the same, but found it impossible to photograph most of the things I wanted to, because so many of them are paintings behind glass, and there was too much glare. So a bit belated, and without some of my un-photographable favorites, here are some of the things around my house which make me happy. I love artwork that makes me smile, can you tell? Of course, click any photo to embiggen.

Painting of a giant coc – Oops, I mean giant painting of a rooster. Original painting by artist Marian Dunn.	My improvised version of a leg lamp. Fra-gi-le!	Reproduction of an antique chocolate mold.
The artist, Fred Conlon, referred to this as a “bug on a stick”. But the stick has been removed, so now it’s just a bug on the bookshelf.	Yes, it’s right-side up. The caption is “Wake Up!”. Print by artist John Sumner.	Antique Japanese kissing dolls.
Hand-painted Portuguese mug.	One of my many Michael Sowa prints. Did I mention I love humorous artwork? More here	A gaggle of screamers. Great for stress relief.
Peter Rabbit clock	M*ckey Mouse cocktail smoothie shakers. We also have matching shot glasses toothpick holders. Yes, that’s what D*sney was selling them as. “Smoothie shakers” and “toothpick holders”*. Ya gotta love it.	Painting of Larry done by the Vincent Art Gallery, in the style of Van Gogh. Great service and reasonable prices for a unique gift.

* I hope my use of quotation marks to indicate euphemisms is appropriate. Otherwise, someone might report me. Why am I feeling the “need” to go back and “edit” my posts for “unnecessary” quotation marks?

Since the temperature is supposed to drop more than 20 degrees for tomorrow, I decided to take advantage of a glorious October afternoon today. Although we’ll probably still sneak in a few nice days before the end of the month, this is likely to be the last day I can comfortably enjoy a walk in shorts and a tank top. Yes, that’s right – yesterday there was snow on my deck, with a high of 51 degrees, today it’s tank-top weather (72 degrees). And I’m enjoying every minute.

So come on a walk with me through downtown Salt Lake.

	There’s not many red leaves to be seen in Salt Lake, but Burning Bushes give us a break from all of our typical yellow and gold.
	Or we might spy a bit of paprika-colored yarrow nestled among the grasses.		Even the shadows of leafless trees provide interest.
		From the steps of our main Library, you can see a beautiful panorama of the Wasatch mountains. Yesterday the mountains were white all the way to the valley. Today the snow is gone except for the higher peaks.
	The library’s rooftop garden provides a small oasis.		Sitting in the garden, you’d never know you were on a rooftop.
	And it seemed the perfect day to wander through Gilgal, the sculpture garden created by Thomas Child between 1945 and 1963. A secret get-away for many a teenager in prior years, it’s now an official Salt Lake City park.
	The Sphinx, with the face of Joseph Smith, is the best-known sculpture in the garden. Thomas Child did not actually carve the face himself, but instead hired a sculptor named Maurice Brooks.
	Across from the Sphinx is the “Captain of the Lord’s Host”, which I must admit to thinking of as “Blockhead”. This is not “unfinished”, Child intended for it to be left this way.
	Behind the Sphinx is a small hill, representing the Biblical story of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, in which a giant is destroyed by a stone which becomes a great mountain. In the foreground are the giant’s feet – his head is at the upper right edge of the photo.
	Then, of course, there’s Child’s “Self Portrait”. The statue itself was created by sculptor Maurice Brooks, though Child did all of the meticulous masonry.
	Though most of the garden seems yet untouched by Autumn, the trees by the entrance provided plenty of golden leaves to shuffle through.

Yet still, there’s the bountiful harvest from the garden, the fall flowers putting on their beautiful display, and the weather that makes for an inviting knitting session on the deck.

August. The peak of summer. Usually by August I’m a bit burned out on weeding the garden (not to mention that it’s too hot to be out there anyway), so other than reaping the harvest, I don’t do much in the yard except watch the weeds grow. I enjoy the heat of summer, as long as the humidity’s low, and I don’t have to spend a lot of time working in direct sun. But it’s also a great month for vacations.

We started out with a trip to Missouri for a BMW motorcycle rally – my husband was there as a vendor, installing the various LED light accessory kits he makes. Unfortunately for him, that meant spending several days (all day!) in the hot sun, lying on the hot asphalt in a hot parking lot – nearly 100 degree heat and excessive humidity. He did have an awning for a bit of shade, but even if he started working on a bike in the shade, he was in the sun by the time he finished. It’s a wonder he didn’t pass out.

And what was I doing while he was sweating away? Choosing between the larger pool by the lake, or the smaller pool closer to our room.

Or enjoying the view of the Lake of the Ozarks from our balcony – or watching the butterflies drink from the water on the sidewalk.

Rough, eh? Fortunately the weather improved later in the week, and cooled down to the mid 80′s, and my sweetie didn’t end up with heat stroke. This was the second year in a row that he had to fly to the BMW rally instead of riding his bike – last year it was in Georgia, but he had to fly there directly from a convention in Pennsylvania. This year we had to fly directly from Missouri to Detroit for a family event. He swore that next year he was definitely taking his bike, no matter what. So when they announced next year’s location at the end of this year’s rally, wouldn’t you know that it’s being held right here in Utah – in Midway, only a 40-minute drive from home. No question that he’ll be taking his bike, but unfortunately it won’t be much of a ride. He drives that far to work every day.

It’s the peak of wildflower season, and it couldn’t have been more beautiful. We were surrounded by the whistling of many Broad-tailed hummingbirds, but unfortunately none would pose for a photo. I also got a quick glimpse of a bright yellow bird I thought at first was a goldfinch, until I saw it’s bright orange head. I’m pretty sure I was lucky enough to spy a Western Tanager.

In other parts of the mountains, the sagebrush was damp from the rain and smelled wonderful. Even the birds spiders and the bees were enjoying the wonderful day. I had stopped to take a photo of the silvery sagebrush, when I spotted this huge bumblebee flitting around, his legs swollen with pollen. Fortunately I was able to grab a photo before he was off to the next flower. Even the rocks were beautiful with their coating of lichen.

June is also the month for the Salt Lake City Arts Festival. We’re fortunate to live only a few blocks from where the festival is held, so it’s just a short walk. It’s nice to look at all of the artwork, sample some food and beverages from the vendors, and listen to some great music. It’s definitely an annual ritual.

Then there’s hiking! As the weather heats up in June, it’s time to head up into the mountains for some greenery and cool breezes. We’re so fortunate in Salt Lake City to have the mountains so close – in only a few minutes, we can be enjoying beautiful forest and mountains. It’s late enough in the year to have dried out the trails, but early enough so that it’s not too hot. There’s nothing like beating the heat in the valley by taking a hike along a lovely stream.

THINK SPRING! That’s what comes to mind in March. The crocus, snowdrops and daffodils are starting to bloom, the days are longer and warmer, and how can you not start to feel wonderful after the doldrums of Winter. Yes, there will be days that are cold and rainy or snowy, but they don’t last long. And the first few flowers in the garden always bring such joy and promise.

Of course, it also means yardwork and needing to start planning the garden, so it isn’t all fun and games. But Spring is when I like working in the yard the most. I’m glad to be able to enjoy the warmth and sunshine, but haven’t yet gotten tired of the “work”. At this point, it’s still “play”.