Sometimes you don’t need words to tell a story. Sometimes an expression, or a lack-there-of, is enough. Here is a trio of photos that encapsulates a trip with my brother at the wheel. It says more than I could ever put into words.
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A Rose in the Snow
It’s fitting that this week begins with another Christmas rose – even if it’ s a different one from last week’s. This particular specimen was not in the Back Bay of Boston, but somewhere in Beacon Hill, on the snowy Saturday that my brother and I just spent in town. We picked up my friend Kira on Friday night and did some holiday shopping at the Wrentham Outlets, before celebrating our annual holiday weekend back in Boston with a couple of old-fashioneds at City Bar. The night was brutally cold, with a biting wind, but the condo was warm, candles were lit, and a bit of whiskey can warm the wickedest heart.
When we woke on Saturday morning, the snow was already falling down…
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2012
Eat My Heart Out
You’re out on the streets looking good, and baby,
Deep down in your heart I guess you know that it ain’t right,
Never never never never never never never hear me when I cry at night.
Baby, I cry all the time!
And each time I tell myself that I, well I can’t stand the pain,
But when you hold me in your arms, I’ll sing it once again.
I’ll say come on, come on, come on, come on, yeah take it!
Take another little piece of my heart now, baby.
Break another little bit of my heart now, darling, yeah, (come on…)
Have another little piece of my heart now, baby, yeah.
Well, you know you got it, child, if it makes you feel good…
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Racy Almost-Rans…
Now that the Holiday Card 2012 has been revealed, I can show you a few shots that didn’t quite make the cut. The inspiration for these was a combination of disturbing and sometimes disparate things that caught my eye in the last year or so – particularly ‘American Horror Story’, a few bits of ‘Dexter’ (blame Andy for that infiltrating my life), and a classic Janis Joplin tune (‘Piece of My Heart’). The notion of doing a somewhat scary image was intriguing, as I’ve actually never thought to marry that to one of my holiday cards (I don’t consider S&M all that frightening, so those don’t count). This, however, incorporated some blood and guts (or at least a substitute heart), and it ranks high on my amusement list. The look on Andy’s face alone as the various props were being assembled was a priceless highlight of the year. (The work involved in getting stubborn fake-blood stains off my hands was not as fun.)
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The Holiday Card 2012 ~ A Christmas Massacre
Without further ado, I present both sides of this year’s Holiday Photo Card. Eat Your Holiday Heart Out…
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There Will Be Blood
Tomorrow morning marks the big reveal of this year’s holiday photo card, and, just to take the edge off, here’s a little titillating tease that is actually much worse than the actual card itself. For the first time, it’s a double-sided photo, which means there are two pics for your viewing pleasure, or displeasure as the case may be. In a 180 from last year’s too-cute-for-words sweetness, 2012 may be the scariest card I’ve ever done. For that reason alone, I love it. (As for the blood on the paper version that was sent out to my closest friends, relax – it’s not real. But the knife is…)
And a bit of musical inspiration for this year’s fiasco…
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Sneak Peek of This Year’s Holiday Card
Coming Tomorrow… with one more sneak peek a little later.
Don’t… go… anywhere.
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Christmas Magic
How many magical Christmas moments are spent in the doorway, greeting friends and family, watching and waving as they leave, or eagerly awaiting their arrival? The transitory aspect of the season finds metaphoric meaning in the portals from one world or room to another – from the outside to the inside, from the kitchen to the living room, from the cold to the warm – and we are just the vessels that bring a singular view to each space. At this time of the year, making such space pretty, adorning it with garland and lights, and framing and highlighting those entry-ways are the methods we welcome those we love into our little worlds.
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The Most Shocking Holiday Card Ever ~ From 2011
I had already shared billing with my husband, but the notion of sharing a holiday card with a baby – much less two – was once as incomprehensible as wearing white after Labor Day. But that’s how things like ‘Winter white’ get invented, and how I ended up in this photo pulling my niece and nephew along in a Radio Flyer. None-too-subtly hyped up as ‘My Most Shocking Holiday Card Ever’ it was a rare moment when the hoopla lived up to its promise, as jaws dropped around mailboxes across the country.
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Brotherly Bonding in Boston
This weekend my brother is joining me for some time in Boston – starting with a bit of holiday shopping at the outlets, and then some quieter time just taking in the sights and sounds of Boston as it gears up for the season. It comes just in the nick of time – I’ve got to get out of dodge before my holiday card officially hits the internet… tomorrow at midnight. Yes, you must stay tuned for that… it is not to be missed.
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The Wedding Coat ~ The Holiday Card 2010
Being that Andy and I were married in 2010, the only suitable photo card for that year was my first-ever joint picture. It depicts us in our wedding finery (the coat was what I wore for our reception/celebration, while Andy’s outfit is what he wore for the ceremony.) Taken by the pool on one of those glorious summer nights, it was proof that I didn’t mind sharing the billing, and a nifty commemoration of that special year.
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November
2012
A Rose for Christmas
This beautiful white blossom is from the plant commonly known as the Lenten Rose – but it is also called a Christmas Rose in some parts – which for this season, and for this particular flower – is more apt. I saw this on my last trip to Boston, and swore I heard it crying out on a November night, hanging on to the last bit of warmth from the sidewalk, shrinking into its Brownstone-backed corner, and valiantly putting on its last show in the spotlight of a street lamp. I’m not sure it will still be there when I return to Boston this weekend, but I’ll keep an eye out.
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My Big Fur Muff (Unseen), With Wings ~ The Holiday Card 2009
At this point in the parade of holiday photo cards, I can admit that I was getting a little lazy, and in 2009 I could barely muster the effort to come up with anything other than a sneak peek at an upcoming project. This one was all about the wings, no more and no less. And the mop of hair, which I don’t usually keep that long. Ho-ho-hum.
