Christmas Eve with Scott's family is always
a warm blast of color, light, toys and magic.
It isn't Christmas at my Mom and Dad's house
until my favorite Snoopy ornament is on the tree.
Okay... THESE TWO.
Another holiday...
Another Montone family portrait.
...and of course Steve is my folks' adopted son.
All Chancey wants for Christmas is a lap
to sit on (and for some ham to fall from the table).
As always, Mom and Dad put out the most
beautiful and elegant holiday spread for us.
This is the stuff I appreciate the most, alongside
the general feeling of warmth and laughter we share.
My favorite Russian elf stopped by too!
Tatyana is always the life of this or any party.
Meanwhile, Dad has entered virtual reality.
And Scott, of course, just wants a nap...
I'm always happy to celebrate holidays with loved ones,
some of them for the twentieth (or more) year in a row
as I did with my friend Janie. Love you, kiddo... Seriously.
We said goodbye to George Michael.
Sleep well, George. You will be greatly missed.
Thank you for the fine artistry and the songs you left us.
We said goodbye to Carrie Fisher and her mother
Debbie Reynolds in a cosmically surreal narrative of
heart attack, death, stroke and then another quick death.
Mother and daughter reunited in the light. Rest in peace.
Even as Carrie's life lay in the balance
earlier in the week, I saw shades of her memory
peeking out from the shelves of a Route 22 thrift shop.
It was a bit of a dark harbinger or a prescient haunting.
Those damn dolls... Santa Claus is over it.
Unseasonably warm temperatures
brought me to the park for an afternoon...
Warm light playing on the bare trees
made for great shadows in my neighborhood...
Night time roadside Americana
remains what it always has been...
My buddy Steve continues to make magic with yarn.
Despite the December chill,
mannequins ready themselves for Spring...
Furs of the past become finery of the present.
Meanwhile, some vintage vinyls in the shop above
magically transferred themselves to my turntable...
Patti Smith celebrates her 70th birthday...
Swatch watches old and new
keep time regardless of the decade.
The brand new Stranger Things soundtrack LP
ended up on my turntable as well... Thanks, Steve!
Always more crates in which to dig.
Always more sounds (old and new) to discover.
2016 was a difficult and perplexing year for many.
I was lucky enough to emerge unscathed (as far as I can tell)
and with a greater sense of gratitude for all of the different levels
of my personal prosperity. Here's wishing all of you who have
been visiting my blog over the past nine years much laughter, love
and light as we head into a new year. Have a beautiful 2017, folks!
PS: I also ran into Kelly Bundy...
She wishes you a Happy New Year too.
