A Bike Santa Won't Leave Under The Tree

I try not to spend too much of my life living vicariously through others.  Sometimes, though, I can't help living, if only momentarily, through the triumphs and accomplishments of others:  There are some things I simply can't do on my own.  Then there are other things that, for all sorts of reasons, I probably will never do.  

For example, I doubt that I will ever decorate a house for the holidays in the ways I sometimes see.  Buying a poinsetta plant and, perhaps, hanging a wreath or the Christmas cards I receive is about as far as I go in bedecking my apartment for the holidays.  Even if I ever buy a big house, I doubt that I will ever turn it into the sort of display I have seen in my neighborhood during the past few years:

I took those photos last year.  The house's residents have created the same spectacle in each of the past six years I have lived nearby.  I passed by that house on my way to work this morning but didn't notice any decorations.  Perhaps they're in the works.  At least, I hope so.  I really love that display, more than I ever thought I could love such things.

For now, I will content myself with this:

which I found on brown bobbin.  Thank you, Melissa!

Color For Today

Some rainy days are cheerful, with raindrops pattering against leaves and windows, and  a soft hiss rising from the plume of a spinning wheel.

Today has not been such a day.  It's just been dreary:  The rain simply drones on, and even though houses are festooned with holiday decoration, somehow there seems to be scarcely a hint of light.

So, I though I might cheer you (and myself) up by offering some color.  This can be seen just a few blocks from my apartment:

  

The owners of the house have put on an impressive display every year I've been in this neighborhood.  Here's  one side of the display:

Some things in it have been constant, like this lovely young lady:

And then there are the concessions to the times:

Tosca simply can't get enough:

After that, we did the ride I described yesterday and, from the Jersey City waterfront, watched daylight giving way to twilight and the lights of the New York Skyline:

Lighting The Way Home

Well, it's that time of year again.

Whatever route I take home from work, I pass through a couple of residential neighborhoods in eastern and central Queens that feel more like they belong in Nassau County than New York City.  In those neighborhoods, many of the homes are decorated:.  Some are gaudy, others are stunning.  

Then there are ones that are distinctive, even in an image taken on a cell phone by yours truly: