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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 23, 2017 16:28:56 GMT
It's that time of year again, so let's see some local jollity by damn. Mossie and Kerouac have featured festoonery from Ipswich, Norwich, and Paris, but where are the lights of London (I'm looking at you, patricklondon ), the baubles of Berlin ( rikita ?), the bling from Bellingham (yes, you fumobici ), the lanterns on the levee ( casimira ?)? I could go on, but that's enough nagging for the nonce. Those of you not named are still in my beady sights -- the lass from Leiester, our merry Montanan, the pleasant Pennsylvanian, etc. etc. ~ no twinkling lights or swags of greenery where you all live? Set aside any bah-humbug sentiments and simply think of this time of year as a valuable source of photo-ops. No need to make separate threads unless you wish to. I'm posting my by now repetitive pictures of this season's action in Oaxaca here, in the hope that you all will show us what your towns (or neighborhoods or houses) can do. A recent news story shows that Oaxaca continues to shine in the bizarre root vegetable category, with a bumper crop ready for carving: mexiconewsdaily.com/news/14-tonnes-of-radishes-harvested-for-festival/. I have shown this fun event more than once in the past, so will probably skip attending it today. But here's a look at the Alameda, the big space in front of the cathedral, taken a few afternoons ago ~
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Ho ho ho?
Dec 23, 2017 20:39:31 GMT
via mobile
Post by patricklondon on Dec 23, 2017 20:39:31 GMT
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Post by amboseli on Dec 23, 2017 21:30:39 GMT
Christmas lights in Antwerp, Belgium
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 23, 2017 22:55:27 GMT
Ooooo ~ beautiful, Amboseli! Strikingly effective use of white lights. Thanks! What I've seen in London so far seems to be the same as last year. For you, maybe! I've checked your blog & no London lights there either.
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Post by rikita on Dec 24, 2017 1:32:40 GMT
sorry, have no current christmas photos, and none of berlin. have this old one from kerala though, but that was seven years ago.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 24, 2017 2:37:33 GMT
Very cool photo, Rikita, and I think we can be sure it will not be duplicated by anyone else! Berlin + Christmas + plus the world's cutest little girl ....... hmmm. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 24, 2017 6:55:26 GMT
Having badgered everyone else, I'm now forced to continue to post happy holiday pictures. Walking the dogs late yesterday afternoon, I went to see if the usual festival folkcraft pavilion had been set up at the northern entrance to the pedestrian street ~
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Post by mossie on Dec 24, 2017 9:21:19 GMT
Jolly good show Bixa. And I'm puzzled, when did she take that snap of me!!!!
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Post by questa on Dec 24, 2017 13:10:27 GMT
The day you remembered your Santa hat but forgot your figleaf
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Post by lagatta on Dec 24, 2017 13:48:08 GMT
Was the food at David's any good?
¡Hola, l@s perrit@s!
Is the Black saint Martín de Porres?
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Post by whatagain on Dec 25, 2017 11:51:51 GMT
I'm always amazed by pics of Christmas from hot countries... For me Xmas is associated with gloomy weather, dark and short days, cold and sometimes snow. Seeing a father Xmas in the Caribbeans was actually a shock ;-)
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Post by lagatta on Dec 25, 2017 12:46:19 GMT
And then of course there is Austral Christmas, when it is the hottest time of the year!
Tod, questa...
And I heard from two Argentine friends ... yes, festive asados.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Dec 25, 2017 13:34:35 GMT
It's overcast here so I love your blue-skies and sunshine photographs Bixa...you just KNEW that I would lust over the balloon-bubble-sparkly things didn't you? The flower arrangements are pretty but I think that the statue needs some pants.... Rikita, that's a stunning photograph..an ex-colleague comes from Kerala and he tells me that it's the most beautiful place in the world
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Dec 25, 2017 13:37:04 GMT
Amboseli, Antwerp looks like a fairy tale place...very atmospheric photographs. Me like.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 25, 2017 16:39:30 GMT
Ha ha, Mossie ~ you know everyone here has been lusting eager to see the real you! Good one, Questa! Yeah, the food was okay, LaGatta. I was eating with a vegetarian friend, and I always let him pick the restaurant so he'll be assured of getting a decent meal. I was facing the statue and he was facing the door. He offered to swap seats, but I let him have the view of the red kiss print on David's buttock. The kids say "Hi there, Livia!" And yes, St. Martin de Porres is often seen in churches around here. Whatagain, it's easier to be merry when it's not gloomy and cold. And true that Father Christmas's wardrobe is not appropriate for the Caribbean. Thanks, Cheery! If I had two light-up sparkly balloons, I'd give you one.
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Post by rikita on Dec 26, 2017 1:03:58 GMT
Rikita, that's a stunning photograph..an ex-colleague comes from Kerala and he tells me that it's the most beautiful place in the world thanks! well, i wouldn't call any one place THE most beautiful, for that there are too many different types of beauty - but parts of kerala are definitely among the places i found most beautiful (of the ones i have seen so far). of course, to someone from there, it is understandable that it tops anywhere else ...
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 28, 2017 17:01:33 GMT
No sparkly swags or twinkling globes in these pictures. This is more to celebrate this time of year with shots of a place I pass all the time, always admiring how the light changes with the seasons. The Plumeria apparently decided to be festive and threw out a few untimely leaves and flowers ~
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 28, 2017 17:23:22 GMT
You are just being cruel to those of us who live in cold places!
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Post by mickthecactus on Dec 29, 2017 10:48:16 GMT
Christmas Aloe -
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 29, 2017 15:33:18 GMT
That is absolutely lovely, Mick!
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Post by lagatta on Dec 29, 2017 17:07:48 GMT
Yes, it is beautiful, and a good idea. I wouldn't mind having a poinsettia because they are red and cheery, but evidently they are very toxic for household pets. Though some modern sites say the danger has been overstated. I'd like to know, as they are lively in the icebox we are living in...
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Dec 29, 2017 21:06:42 GMT
What a splendid idea Mickus...I love it!
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Ho ho ho?
Dec 30, 2017 10:05:44 GMT
via mobile
Post by mickthecactus on Dec 30, 2017 10:05:44 GMT
And it’s got snowflakes on the leaves!
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Post by lagatta on Dec 30, 2017 15:09:25 GMT
A succulent, but not a cactus!
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Dec 30, 2017 18:43:57 GMT
A succulent, but not a cactus! yes but ' Mickthesucculent' sounds like a porn star....
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 30, 2017 19:31:21 GMT
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Post by lagatta on Dec 31, 2017 2:11:25 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 1, 2018 18:46:18 GMT
Happy new year to all, as we pass merrily through this season heading toward Twelfth Night. Let's keep those cards and letters coming! Here is our walk -- Bixa & her bowsers -- yesterday afternoon and evening. The same poinsettias growing over the wall across the street that I showed you all last year ~ Tree in front of the museum of contemporary art ~ Street performer making ready ~ Mary and Joseph and their enormous baby in the foyer of a restaurant ~ Behind the cathedral, this perennial potato stand was doing a good business ~ The zócalo was full of people ~ An upstaging angel and a MicktheSucculent Christmas tree ~
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 1, 2018 18:53:06 GMT
All of those decorations are really lovely.
However, I really like the "messiness" of authentic Mexican poinsettias. I grew up seeing the perfect little poinsettias in all of the identical little pots at the supermarket in December, and it was hard to imagine such plants ever growing naturally. It is so nice to see them in their native element.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 1, 2018 18:57:31 GMT
Melania Trump (great tan!) oversees her passel of rural younguns having Navideño fun ~ She bones up on the religious aspect of the celebration in case she gets to go see the Pope again ~ As we approached this scene, there was a strong stench of urine ~ Harley attempting to make sense of the smell that those animals appear to be creating ~ "Let me see!" Mexican Mary and her huge newborn seem oblivious to the odor ~ Moving on to the next display, everything makes more sense ~
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