Photo a day - December and January. Our Christmas holidays album

Published on 18th of January 2023
   


January often finds me in somewhat melancholy mood. The magic time of the holiday season is over, all the bright lights and decorations are packed away, the days are short and the weather is not the best, and one is expected to have all the new fresh starts and ideas and beginnings. I wish the magic would linger a bit more, but I'm also ready for new things, once the January blues fades away. In the meantime, there are photos, and stories behind. 

Baking - we usually bake some cookies, with or without decorations, and gingerbread houses. Size and number varies. This year we had three, and they were part eaten by Mara even before they were assembled. The chimneys had some missing corners, oh well. Decorating gingerbread houses is easier before assembling, if you like to do nice drawings with icing - otherwise it's runny and the patterns swim away before they set. At least mine do. Kids eat more sprinkles and little sweets than usually end up on the houses too, that's a fact. Maya likes her baked goodies with more sprinkles, the more the merrier! Mara discovered that it's possible to remove the sprinkles and leave the rest for later, or someone else - so this is what she's been successfully doing. Or feeding her brother the bits she did not want herself - he did not mind a bit!

We have a new piece of Christmas decor - a stick tree with crochet stars made by my mom, very special. Last year Mara was my biggest competition when it came to panettone, this year she won't touch it, maybe just fish for a raisin inside. It's still one of my favourite Christmas treats, I'd eat it all year long gladly! I tried pear and chocolate version this year, one with berries, and my favourite "Setteveli", with rich chocolate cream. I revisited an old trick of holding some lights in front of the camera for a special bokeh effect, and am fascinated by the effect. For a few days that was all I wanted to do, imagining what else can be photographed with a string of lights in front of the camera. The funniest was probably me photographing Mara napping under the tree, I was on a ladder above her leaning down with camera and dangling the lights. I have the photo of that too, maybe someday also that will be shared. 

























 

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