Memphis, Tennessee

Cooper-Young

Max, right, watches Christmas videos with his cousins Lily, left, and Forrest, center. This is the first of several holiday parties.

There is an old holiday tradition in my son-in-law Brian's family. Each year they break out molds, bake and decorate Santa Claus and Christmas Tree shaped cookies. Shannon, center, works on a mold while Brian's mother Beverly, left, and sister-in-law Amy look on. There is much discussion between them on how the cookies should be rolled and patted so that they don't become too hard.

Brian prepares potato soup  — he is a wonderful cook and everyone looks forward to his creations — for the evening meal and ...

... puts out the condiments to add to it.

The cousins are excited. There are three computers in the house this evening. They can play the interactive internet game, Club Penguin, all at the same time and watch what each other is doing on their individual screens. Max's computer is in another room so he dashes back and forth checking on Forest and Lily while their mother Amy assists Forrest.

The cookies are finally out of the oven. Everyone begins decorating them with food coloring, icing, sprinkles and coconut. 

Beverly and Shannon finish decorating the last of the cookies. There is a family joke that while the cookies are pretty, they are hard and not very good. I disagree. I think they are great.

At the end of the evening after dinner, Max plays Christmas music while gifts are exchanged.

Photographed with a Leica M8

Travel from Short Pump, Virginia, to Memphis, Tennessee

It was still a winter wonderland this morning but the roads were clear leaving Kingsport, Tennessee. Not far from here we were rear-ended while traveling 70 miles per hour. Fortunately there was no damage to our car and very little to the car that hit us. 

There was more snow crossing the Cumberland Plateau but still the roads were clear. We ran out of all weather coming off the plateau.

It has been a long, hard trip. We finally reach Memphis late this afternoon. One of the large ornaments hanging from branches before our daughter's and son-in-law's home in Midtown.

Photographed with a Leica M8

Travel

Driving from Richmond, Virginia to Memphis,Tennessee

Dianne — relaxed, calm, enjoying the trip — at lunch just north of Roanoke, Virginia. We had been making wonderful time when 30 minutes afterward we ran into this ...

... snow! We were behind this fellow nearly two hours waiting for an accident to clear somewhere up ahead.

It was a beautiful day ...but slow.

Tree backlit by lights around our hotel at Kingsport, Tennessee. We finally pulled off the road after nine hours of driving — most of it crawling, at times less than 20 miles per hour — when snow began to turn to rain. We traveled 326 miles today, averaging 36 miles an hours.

Photographs taken with a Leica M8

Short Pump, Viriginia

Three of my favorite models ... Jenine in front of the cupcakes ...

... Sadie in front of the fireplace ...

... and ... Toby on the sofa.

Photographs taken with a Leica M8

Short Pump, Virginia

Daily Grind

Jenine steals my hat ... and looks good in it too.

Cambridge Church

Harper, right, and Dianne, left, wait in line for Christmas dinner at the church.

The children of the church put on a Christmas pageant this evening ... 

... in their midst are two little lambs and a devil.

Photographs taken with a Leica M8

Richmond, Virginia

Above and below: The C.E.O. plays sax at a company Christmas party.

Aubrey visits her Dad at work and offers a tentative wave.

Photographs taken with a Leica M8

Short Pump, Virginia

I saw this on the evening news the other night and meant to post it. Evidently there is a new campaign in Washington. Since social problems often happen there before we face them in our communities, get ready for a rash of "drunking driving!"

Photographed with an Apple iPhone

Video of a friend's missing relative. Please watch. Help if you can:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrt7rUm-Pbk&feature=player_embedded

Short Pump & Richmond, Virginia

Short Pump

Copperas Creek

Lamp in early morning fog.

Trees in the fog along Copperas Creek.

Richmond

Monday morning meeting ... another kind of fog.

Short Pump

Daily Grind

Jenine works on Christmas drawings, upholding the standard of the Grind as a place for all kinds of art.

Copperas Creek

Sadie greets Dianne with an ear snuffle. For those unfamiliar with ear snuffles, they require a long yellow nose pressed against the ear while delivering rapid and deep sniffling.

Photographs taken with a Leica M8

Short Pump

Cambridge Church

Jay Smith, pastor at Cambridge church, greets the congregation in a sanctuary decorated for Christmas.

The hands of Eugene Smith — organist for the church — play across the keyboards.

Allan, foreground, joined the church last Sunday ...

... today Pastor Smith baptizes him.

Harriet offers one of her magnificent solos. Cambridge is fortunate to be able to enjoy her artistry.

Emery, foreground, lights the first of three candles today — the third Sunday in Advent — as her mother Llew tells the significance of the candle. Two more candles will be lit; one next Sunday and the last on Christmas Day.

I couldn't resist one more image of a guttering candle against a backdrop of lights.

Photographs taken with a Leica M8

Short Pump & Tuckahoe, Virginia

Short Pump

Daily Grind

This morning students from Richmond Piano's Music Education Center hold a recital for customers at the Daily Grind. Families, including sisters, above, show up for it.*

Jonathan plays a piece he knows by heart, followed ...*

... by his brother David, who also plays from memory.*

Mary, above, and her brother Sam also play ... she on the piano ...*

... Sam on the guitar. Their mother listens with pride.*

Tuckahoe

West End Assembly Church

Each Christmas season West End Assembly puts on a musical centered around the Christmas story with a cast of 100s and live animals ...**

... every year a different play is performed, but one thing never changes: Actresses lowered by cable from the ceiling fly like angels across the auditorium for spectacular effect.**

Short Pump

Daily Grind

A Christmas party is held at the Daily Grind. Many who attend are regulars. We talk, share a meal, listen to a concert and sing carols.*

Edna, who know the second, third and fourth verses of most of carols plus "O Come All Ye Faithful" in Latin ...*

... and Jenine — sitting primly during a rare sedate moment — are there ...*

... as is Alison, right, with Edna.*

Susan Hayes of the Hayes Brown group — regular performers at the Grind — sings, plays the keyboards and leads the party in Christmas Carols ...*

... while her partner David Brown, left, accompanies Jenine, center, on a solo. Shannon, right, stands by offering Jenine her silent support.*

*Photographs taken with a Leica M8

**Photographs taken with an Apple iPhone

Richmond & Short Pump, Virginia

Richmond

Marie, right, is back to visit coworkers and friends like Melissa, left. She moved from Richmond for Nashville last year to get married.

Short Pump

Colleagues gather for a Christmas party. Gifts meaningful to our grandparents are exchanged ...

... including a bag of fertilizer made from chicken manure and ...

... a mechanical egg beater.

Photographs taken with a Leica M8