HOW many more sleeps???

Well, Christmas is officially less than a week away.  Hard to believe ...

I spent the morning painting.  Very pleased with the way the bathroom is looking and expect to have it finished today once I put on a second coat of paint.  The color is a lovely rich slate-blue which looks great against the white trim, tub and shower curtain.  All I need to do is add some fluffy white towels.

I took a short break to take some photos in the yard.  Had to bundle up as it is only in the 30's and very windy.  In fact, it's pretty unpleasant outside and I find myself wishing (not for the first time) that I was back in FL!  However, colder temps brought more birds to my feeders, including a bunch of these little "snow birds".  Dark-eyed juncos (members of the sparrow family) breed north of here, mostly in Canada and Alaska, but every fall they move south into most of the continental US.  They have a bell-like trill that is, to me, one of the sounds of winter here in NJ.  Like most sparrows, they prefer to feed on the ground, so it's not always easy to catch one perched in a tree like this.  In fact, a second after I snapped this, he dropped down below the tree where some seeds had fallen.  I liked the expression on his face - kind of "deer in headlights".  Appropriate for the time of year...

Two more shots from today on Flickr, starting HERE

My roast chicken was very nearly a disaster last night.  Must have had the oven too hot because the next thing I knew, the house was filling with smoke!  Quickly opened windows and set up a fan - can I just tell you how much fun that was on a cold night?  Anyway, after a bit of chaos, we eventually had dinner and it wasn't bad.  I think we'll go out tonight...

And now I'm off to do more painting...