It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

What happened to the last 4 weeks? Somehow we find ourselves smack dab in the middle of the holiday season all of a sudden. I hope yours is merry & bright and festive & a delight!

I've been singing Christmas songs since Thanksgiving, and for the first time ever we live in a neighborhood where carolers are walking around, coming to people's doors. Their renditions of the songs sound a bit different than mine. Different may not be better or worse, it just depends if you like dreaming of a Vhite or White Christmas.

Deck the Halls...

 I have no idea how much longer I can hold off on opening the presents. I'm surprised I've made it this far already...

 I hope Santa doesn't get tangled up in the decorations. 

All together we have 5 Countdown to Christmas calendars in the house. Anything to make the time go by faster. 

 These guys are a lot quieter than their outside friends. And they poop less.

 If you look closely, you can see that there are gifts in the stockings already. Falalalala!

 I spy...

 Art!

Thank you for traveling with me today and since the beginning of this blog. Have a Happy Holiday season and a great start into 2015! 

Until then,

Nadine

If I ran the zoo...

We finally made it to the Montgomery Zoo! The weather wasn't too hot, too cold, or too windy. Just right! It was as if Goldilocks had planned this trip.

One of the very first enclosures was that of the acrobatic turtles. Balancing on a rock just so takes skills. And they've got them. Not that that was ever in question.

One of the coolest features of the Montgomery Zoo in my book is the Sky Lift. 

How else could you get such an amazing birds' eye view of the animals?! It was the first time I had ever seen a hippopotamus do anything else besides wallowing in a pool of water.

And although the giraffes used all of their celebrity face covering tricks on us, 

eventually we got a great picture.

Selfie on the Sky Lift:

Thank you for traveling with me today!

Until next time,

Nadine

Blue Skies in Pensacola

Welcome to the 2014 Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show!!

We went to Pensacola to watch airplanes, enjoy the beach, and take lots of pictures. I think we managed to fulfill all three objectives. 

Team AeroDynamix

Fat Albert, impressive as always.

And here come the stars of the show:

Sun, Surf, and Supersonic Booms!

Zee Germans brought a Tornado from New Mexico.

The Navy's new F-35

T-28

F-14A, part of the Museum of Naval Aviation's collection...

Thank you for flying with me today!

Until next time, 

Nadine

Halloween & other Ghosts

Happy Halloween! 

For the first time in 6 years we are living in a neighborhood that brought trick-or-treaters to our door. I may have bought too much candy in anticipation and have been working on diminishing the leftovers since Friday night. Sugar high anyone? 

Just in case you are thinking I'm Tina Turner, I'm not. Obviously, I am a candy corn.

The house came with a chandelier. Perfect for Halloween, I just had to keep my highly flammable head away from it.  

Our Jack-o-Lanterns

Boo!

Not so scary anymore! 

 I walked around the neighborhood on Thursday. Everybody was getting ready for the big night.

Sunday found us out at the Montgomery airport. We had a special visitor.

B-17 Flying Fortress

History on its head. 

That seat probably wasn't so comfortable over the course of a mission. 

Thank you for traveling with me today! 

Until next time,

Nadine

Meet the Neighbors!

It is about time you met my famous former neighbors. They don't live here anymore, and never did for very long, but they sure made an impression on Montgomery & the world.

Scott, Zelda, & Scottie lived on 819 Felder Ave (now 919 Felder) from October 1931 until April 1932. He worked on "Tender is the Night" during their stay, although the book wasn't published until 1934. Zelda, suffering from frequent mental collapses, had another one in early 1932 and went to a clinic in Baltimore, leaving husband and daughter in Montgomery. 

Being at the house, one of the many places they called home, was eerily fascinating. Their letters to each other were full of love & beautiful prose, while at the same time their lives were unfolding much like one of Scott's stories.The amount of foresight he gave us into their lives to come:  the rise to fame and notoriety, the travels around the world, the mental collapses, the loss of fortune and appeal, the affairs, then the resurgence of fame & money. One could think "The Beautiful and Damned" was an autobiography. 

Although the museum isn't very big - 3 rooms filled with various letters, paintings by Zelda, books by and of the Fitzgeralds - it offers a very intimate glimpse into their lives, almost like a snapshot. One can imagine Zelda sitting down on a couch to read a book, Scottie running down the stairs to show her parents a toy, Scott sitting at his desk, working on his next short story. The old record player providing music from the 20's adds a nice touch. 

Scott started a stamp collection for Scottie by clipping the stamps from all their postcards sent from Europe to various friends and family members in the US. Not only is it a fantastic variety, it also serves as kind of a travel journal from that time of their lives. 

This bookshelf contains works by Scott and Zelda in different languages. 

I did not have time to delve deeper into Scottie's journal, but be assured, that this wasn't my last visit to my neighbor's home. 

Thank you for taking a stroll down the street with me today!

Until next time,

Nadine