songbird's crazy world

 So we got our first real snowfall Friday, More than a dusting but not enough to require shoveling.  And while lawns remained covered, by Saturday the snow melted away from all paved surfaces.  But the weather was cold …very cold … We stayed home Saturday, but I was feeling a bit stir crazy Sunday. So I dressed in layers, put on my warmest winter coat and my duck boots, and headed out. It’s the Sunday before Christmas, almost everyone who plans to decorate has done so.   Here are a few more houses. I only walked a mile because it was so cold.  But I have one more house to show you. My own. Other than the flag, it’s all cardboard.  I’m lucky to have gotten two uses out of everything.   We’ll put the electric menorah in the window Wednesday night. Drew and I were in Party City Friday. We almost bought an inflatable, a Hanukkah bear.  But it just seems like a lot of effort to set up …and we don’t have young children. But we’re all set for the holiday...

 Happy Hanukkah! Hanukkah is a moveable feast. This year we light the first candle December 25, The vagaries of the lunar calendar … Hanukkah is called The Festival of Light.  We bring light and hope into our lives during the darkest times, So let’s play some Hanukkah music. We’ll start with Six13’s latest. And the Maccabeats No surprise that the two groups produced similar videos this year, considering the state of the world. And more from Six13 (‘cause Taylor Swift …) Now for something traditional by artists you know.       Let’s have some fun with this.      If you want more humor follow the link for all four versions of Adam Sandler’ s classic. Something in Ladino to celebrate my daughters’ Sephardic heritage    A little bit of social  justice in the mix    Some a capella from the Maccabeats and Six13             And in these dark days, we will rise up. My complete playlis...

  The New York Wildlife Conservation Society operates five parks within the City of New York.  The largest and most famous of these is The Bronx Zoo , a 265 acre park filled with wildlife from all over the world.   Our membership in the  Wildlife Conservation Society  gives us unlimited admission into the Bronx Zoo, the Central Park Zoo, the Queens Zoo, the Prospect Park Zoo and the New York Aquarium.  Every year the zoo presents Holiday Lights , an after-dark special event,  As members, we take full advantage of this event.  Here’s what I wrote  last year , with links to our prior visits. The zoo is turned into a Festival of Lights,  There are lanterns, representing the animals and plants preserved at the zoo.  There’s ice carving, a carousel, puppet show and train ride for the children.  Costumed characters, of course.  And, as always, there’s a Christmas tree display.   This year we didn’t get to the zoo early enou...

Someone was excited as she looked out the window.   Snow!     And a visitor … Yeah, even in the snow ..,

 I haven’t been able to walk around the neighborhood, I hope to be able to walk today, But I spotted some birds in the neighbor’s tree early Friday morning. Later we got snow. And a visit from a tuxedo And my neighbor down the street did this  Yeah, the guy on the tractor showed up just before Halloween. They decided to keep him around for the holidays. And another neighbor did this I’m doing my Hanukkah lawn decorations later today.  

  HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Welcome to  Saturday: 9 . What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme! SATURDAY 9: HAPPY HOLIDAYS  From the archives 1. As you can see, when Sam Winters was a little girl, she loved giving her annual wish list to Santa. If you could ask Santa for anything at all, right now, what would it be? “Peace on Earth” might be too much to ask for, but a ceasefire in Gaza and bringing the hostages home sounds do-able. 2. Are you currently on the Naughty or Nice list? How did you get there? I hope I’m on the nice list.  3. Are you traveling this Christmas? If so, are you going by car, pl...