In this year of government oppression of the people of our country, sometimes it’s hard to find anything to celebrate.  I remember March of 2020, when the government locked down society (except for what it deemed “essential” activities).  The weekend after the lockdown started, I decided to celebrate my independence, and refusal to accept government demands that I remain in my house and cower in fear of a virus.  I got into my car, and drove up to the Skagit Valley, to see if the tulips that normally bloom in the Spring had made their appearance yet.  I celebrated the fact that I was a free person, who could act of my own free will.  It was a pleasant drive, and the freeway and local highways were almost deserted.  I took this photo of a field of blueberry bushes, still dormant from the winter’s cold, but looking like they would be ready to flower and set fruit quite soon.

Speaking of celebrating Independence, this year we made sure to celebrate United States Independence on July 4, since last year the Health Nazis forbid any such celebration.  We love our country, the very best country ever established in the history of mankind.  The City of Bellevue put on an excellent fireworks show this year, and I got some excellent photos and video with my phone (I can hardly wait for next year, when I will be able to get even better photos with my new phone, which has better cameras).

Here’s what I think is my best video from the fireworks display.

I got married in October of 2003, and my husband and I celebrated our honeymoon in Victoria, BC.  Since then, we have returned to Victoria a few times to celebrate our anniversary.  Fall colors are always present when we visit, and we always stay in the same hotel we stayed on our honeymoon. Since we cannot go to Canada now, here are some photos from previous anniversary trips.

We always tried to get a room on the side of the building that faces the entrance of the harbor, and that’s where all the float-planes land, pretty much all day.  I think I was incredibly fortunate to capture this sunset picture.

In this season of winter holidays, we liked to go to the mountain town of Leavenworth on a Saturday, for their tree-lighting ceremony.  People would gather in the streets, and someone would flip a switch to light the big tree in the right photo, just as dusk was turning to dark.  Everyone would ooh and aah, and laughter and applause would shake the crowd.  It was a great start to the Christmas season

Leavenworth Tree Lighting-Before

Like much else, Leavenworth has abandoned the tree-lighting, for fear of crowds.  I think that diminishes the holiday spirit.

Around our house, we keep our holiday decorations up year-round.  Most of the glass ornaments above our dining-room were made by a friend from my old job.  So our house has a festive look all the time.

The blue star on the red ribbon was bought at the Corning Museum of Glass in New York.

Merry Christmas to All!

Here’s the link to Amy’s original post.