A few images from the 2007 Christmas Season to share. We start with the Christmas Tree at our humble Ellison Park abode.
Last Update: 1 Jan 2008
Christmas Eve. "We can help bring out presents!"
Christmas Day, and look at all of those presents under, and around, the tree! Looks like Santa did make it in after all!
Thalia is busy opening presents...
...but it looks like Kieran needs a bit of a break! Or more likely, he's trying to get one of the cats to notice the small toy on his back, do you see it?
Speaking of which, this is one of our newly adopted cats, Shadow. She and her companion Lizzy are female tortoise shell types (actually, all "torties" are female, as are all Calico Cats). She is sitting on her Christmas present. However, she still strongly prefers my computer chair.
Hmm, what to open next? asks Kieran. Thalia's already working again...
We headed to New Jersey on Boxing Day, not for the after-Christmas sales (Please!!!) but to visit Grandma and Grandpa Irwin. Thalia sits between them as they open their gifts.
The next day we headed for The City-- New York City, that is. With a bit of a detour... We were supposed to drive into Brooklyn to see friends, but with traffic across Staten Island at a dead stop, we headed instead for the Staten Island Ferry. Here's Kieran sitting on a representation of the St. George Ferry Terminal-- er, inside the St. George Ferry Terminal!
Thalia enjoying the ride to Manhattan. I computed that the last time I rode the Ferry starting from Staten Island, I was a Freshman in high school and Disco was still heavy on radio playlists. Oh, and said Disco Recordings were still on vinyl also.
It was very cloudy and quite misty for most of the day, including the ferry ride, which limited photographic opportunities for the most part. But the weather certainly lent a bit of drama to the crossing. Here are two examples (above and below). It was just before Noon as these were taken.
Kieran feasting on a chocolate chip muffin at Citicorp Center. OK, not exactly the most nutritious possible lunch. Well, at least the chocolate milk has some protein.
What's Christmas without trains around the tree? Well, not around the tree here (though we did for a while). When I was a college student in Manhattan, I visited Citicorp Center, and one of the attractions then during the Holiday Season was "The Station" which is a large and impressive model train display. The Station is still thrilling crowds of people each December. Here's a sample of just one of the four major scenes; looks like there's a parade on!
Straphanger Kieran on a not very busy southbound "W" train heading back to the Ferry. The "W" stands for "Whee!" given the sharp curves the Broadway Line makes in Lower Manhattan on the way down to its Whitehall Street terminus (a more logical reason for the "W" designation than "Whee!").
We're not quite done with the trains... the next day, we went to the Barron Arts Center in Woodbridge, New Jersey, where an exhibit of Lionel trains has been open for over twenty years. Thalia takes in the newest addition to that display, a Jersey Shore scene complete with Boardwalk. We didn't get to the beach this trip (it would have been kind of cold and wet anyway) so I guess this is the next best thing.
Somewhat of an attempt at an overall shot of the display. That's Kieran on the right, along with a friend my father has had since he was in Kindergarten (!!!).

I think that's as good a place as any to close out the Christmas Coverage... until next year!