Category: Holidays

The Stockings were hung by the Chimney with care.

Posted in Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Holidays, PhotographyTagged , , Leave a comment

Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

I made David’s aka He-Man’s stocking back in the early mid 80’s. It’s counted cross stitch, and has an error or two, but those are hard to find. My Mother made mine, my son, and daughters in the early 80’s. I just bought a kit to make #1 Grandson’s. This year his stocking is store-bought with his initial J on it. I hope to have his counted cross stitch stocking completed by Christmas 2014.
I love our handmade stockings. Each stocking is unique mine is counted cross stitch, my daughter’s is needle-point, and my son’s is satin stitch. I pack them in a special box, and I look forward to hanging them each Christmas. They are among my most favorite and cherished Christmas decorations.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 35mm f2AF-D with SB 600 on camera bounced at 45º

Christmas Dinner

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Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

We had a lovely Christmas. We slept til 8:00 AM which was so nice. When the kids were little they were up well before dawn poking around. This year my daughter, son-in-law, and new Grandson spent the night with my son-in-law’s  parents so they arrived at our house mid-morning. We opened presents, had breakfast and spent the rest of the morning/afternoon being slugs.

I was off the hook for dinner this year. We were invited to my son-in-law’s parents for dinner. I only needed to take dessert. Easy! I took a pumpkin pie, and apple pie. They were a nice end to Marilyn’s fabulously delicious Italian dinner…I should say feast.

When we arrived Marilyn had the table laid; it was festive, and reminded me of my Mother’s Christmas table setting.

Marilyn's Christmas Table

There were before dinner hors d’oeuvres. My favorite was a Corn dip. I don’t know what besides corn is in it, but it’s really good. I need to get the recipe. We ate it with tortilla chips:

Corn Dip

Little Jaxon made the rounds meeting some relatives for the first time since coming home. Here is he with his Great Uncle Don, and Great Aunt Steph.  Jaxon is in for a lot of good times and laughs when Uncle Don is around. He’s funny!

The Greatest Aunt Steph and Uncle Don

Aunt Rhianna, Uncle Ben, and cousin Maci were there too:

Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

Jaxon eventually made it back to his Mommy, and his Daddy was nearby.

John Allie and Jaxon Christmas 2012

The aromas emanating from Marilyn’s kitchen were making my stomach rumble.  There’s nothing like a home filled with the great aromas of a home cooked meal about to be served. On the menu were:

Lamb Osso bucco, Chicken cacciatore, a spinach salad with pecans, and pomegranate, all tossed with a light dressing,  fresh steamed broccoli on the side, and no Italian meal is complete without pasta. It was paired nicely with a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Moscato wine.  Oh, and Mother’s milk for Jaxon.

Both the chicken and the lamb were so tender; they fell off the bone at the slightest touch of a fork tine.

Marilyn's Chicken Cacciatore

Lamb Osso Bucco, Chicken and Pasta

Our lovely Hostess Marilyn:

Marilyn_0829Thank you so much for a wonderful meal, great conversation, and your warm hospitality! I’ll be dieting the rest of the week.

Marilyn, I’m serious, come for New Year’s Dinner and share our family tradition with us!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and were blessed to spend it with those you love.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 50mm AF-D| SB600 Speedlight

Related articles

Post Thanksgiving Repast Hike

Posted in California, hikes, Holidays, Landscapes, Nature, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

All of us were feeling heavy and a bit groggy from the Thanksgiving Feast so we decided to hike up to Mission Peak to shake it off, and keep a tradition going. When my son comes home for the holidays we come up here at least once together. This time my husband came along too. The light was gorgeous at the top when we arrived.

It was a lovely afternoon, sunny, and warm, and it didn’t get chilly or windy until we were near the top. I didn’t outdo any records making it up here this time. The rich food of the day before and not hiking for a few weeks paid its toll.

Near the trail-head there were several Magpies hanging around. Here is one landing on a post along the trail. I think these birds are pretty, but they gross me out!

There are quite a few new calves up here now, and I saw a pretty big Red-Tail Hawk hanging around looking for something to eat near the top. There were also quite a few other people making this trek.

Calf with Caramel Ears

We stayed long enough to snap a photo, and head down. We wanted to get down before dark; we almost did.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 28-105@35mm| Manual Priority| Hand-held

“Soul meets soul on lovers’ lips.” Percy Bysshe Shelley

Posted in California, Holidays, Nature, Nikon, Photography, WildlifeTagged , Leave a comment

Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac.  All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

Hope you feel loved today!

Nikon D700| Nikkor 80-200 @ 155mm| f8| 1/640 sec| ISO 500| Manual Mode| Tripod

First Photo of the New Year

Posted in Astrophotograhpy, California, Holidays, Nature, Nikon, Photography, TravelTagged , , , , , , , , 3 Comments
Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

I spent the first few days of 2012 photographing parts of the Eastern Sierras with dear friends. This was our 2nd Annual New Years Photo Trip.
There wasn’t much snow in the high country so we were able to cross Tioga Pass to get to our base camp which was in Bishop, CA. From there we were pretty central to everything we had hoped to photograph. We roamed from Mammoth on the northern end to Alabama Hills in the south.
Sunrises, sunsets, and a bit of scouting during the day was on the agenda, and on our first night we had a clear sky so we drove south to Ancient Bristle Pine Cone National Park and shot in the Patriarch Grove.  The elevation is between 10,000 and 11,000ft.  Because the air is so thin up here these trees grow slowly.  This  harsh environment makes their wood denser and stronger to resist pests, and disease. The oldest tree is 4600 years old! Their twisted limbs and odd shapes make great subjects and foreground for star trails.

Once you get the focus sharp, your settings selected, and your intervelometer set up you can sit back and watch the sky, or  do what we did; go back to the car and turn on the heater. It was 26 degrees outside!

This star trail is made from 82 frames each were 58 second exposures. I cloned out 6 airplanes and 1 shooting star.
The trip was great fun, and I’m looking forward to our 2013 New Years Photo adventure.

San Francisco Changes her Colors

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San Francisco changes her colors several times a year, but don’t call her fickle.  She’s a city with a great spirit and lots of hometown pride.  In December she wears the colors of the season; Red and Green.

City Hall

Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

Embarcadero

Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

Port of San Francisco

Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 17-35 with a  Tripod