St. Mary's Church Christmas Concert, Clayton, NY photos

 

Program cover for Christmas Concert  at St. Mary's Church, Clayton, NY. 

Yesterday (Sunday, December 11, 2022) my Celebrity Brother and I attended the first annual Christmas Concert  St. Mary's Church, Clayton, NY. It started at 4:00pm. It was most excellent. All of the participants performed very well. The following are some photos I snapped of the show. I took the pictures with a Sony a6600 camera with a Minolta 200mm f2.8 AF lens. I also snapped a couple with my iPhone. When the show was over about 5:30 we went to O'Brien's bar for a beer. We each had a 16oz Lagunitas IPA. That's a good brew. The 2 beers cost $16.00. Add a $4.00 tip and a 20 dollar bill disappears. The weather this day cold, high temp in the 20's, light snow, no more than a couple inches, kind of lousy driving. 

2922 Christmas Concert  at St. Mary's Church, Clayton, NY. 

2922 Christmas Concert  at St. Mary's Church, Clayton, NY. 

2922 Christmas Concert  at St. Mary's Church, Clayton, NY. 

2922 Christmas Concert  at St. Mary's Church, Clayton, NY. 

2922 Christmas Concert  at St. Mary's Church, Clayton, NY. 

2922 Christmas Concert  at St. Mary's Church, Clayton, NY. 

2922 Christmas Concert  at St. Mary's Church, Clayton, NY. 

2922 Christmas Concert  at St. Mary's Church, Clayton, NY. 

2922 Christmas Concert  at St. Mary's Church, Clayton, NY. 

Photo of Dirty Snowbank

 

What caught my eye. A dirty snowbank in Watertown, NY, remnant of November snow storm.

I snapped this photo of a dirty snowbank yesterday in Watertown, NY. It was over by the New York Airbrake Co. The snow is a remnant of the huge lake effect snowstorm that his the region on November 19th. 

We Get A Christmas Tree - 2022

    

Our Christmas Tree 2022

 Yesterday The Better Half & I, along with her daughter H, son in law D went together in our 2011 Kia Sedona van to buy Christmas trees.We first went to Martin's Greenhouse in Philadelphia. Unimpressed with their selection we then went to a place in the Town of Pamela, near Longways Diner. This used to be called Sonny's. I already forgot the current name. Anyhow, their selection too was not impressive. We did buy a nice tree though, for $60.00. It is called a Canadian Fir.  As for weather, it was rainy and miserable. After that the four of us had a late lunch / early dinner at Tully's in Watertown. 

Today we git the red ut of the van and into the house. The Better Half strung up the lights. I had a couple of guitar lessons at the Copley House while she did that. Tomorrow we will finish decorating the tree.

Our Christmas Tree 2022

Our Christmas Tree 2022

Our Christmas Tree 2022. I needed to put some shims the tree stand.

What Caught My Eye Today

Dishes and sop bubbles. It's what caught my eye today. iPhone photo copyright Gary Walts 2022

I never know just what is going to catch my eye and prompt me to snap a photograph. Very often it is dishes and soap bubbles in the sink. That was the case this morning. I made some marinade for some chicken thighs. I placed the dirty utensils and bowl in the sink. Cleaned up the counters and stashed the chicken in the fridge. Looked back at the sink and saw the image presented here.  An impromptu still life.

Clayton Christmas Parade 2022 Photos

This years Clayton Christmas Parade celebrated the village's 150th birthday.

Yesterday my Celebrity Brother (Al) and I attended the 2022 Christmas Parade in Clayton, NY.  (Saturday Dec 3rd). We arrived in the village about 4:30. Normally we would pass the time before the parade's 6:00pm start by having a couple of beers at the Coyote Moon Winery's riverside store. But they were closed. Bummer. It seems they have closed for the winter season. It's probably a business move on their part. But the Better Half and I are disappointed. It was nice to go there on a Friday or Saturday night in the middle of January or February. It was cozy. The staff was friendly. Generally a small number of patrons in there. Sometimes a musician would be playing. 

Santa Clause in this years Clayton Christmas Parade.

As for the parade it wasn't as impressive as normal. There were fewer participants. No school marching bands. Fewer businesses. A Much smaller crowd turned out. The weather was somewhat harsh with a strong wind chilling things. In fact the ind has been strong for quite a few days. The snow from the recent record breaking storm has melted away. Warm temps and lots of rain helped erase the snow in the region. In fact the day's high temperature reached 50 degrees.

Anyhow, here are a few more photos I snapped:

This years Clayton Christmas Parade celebrated the village's 150th birthday.

This years Clayton Christmas Parade celebrated the village's 150th birthday.

This years Clayton Christmas Parade celebrated the village's 150th birthday.

This years Clayton Christmas Parade celebrated the village's 150th birthday.

This years Clayton Christmas Parade celebrated the village's 150th birthday.

This years Clayton Christmas Parade celebrated the village's 150th birthday.

This years Clayton Christmas Parade celebrated the village's 150th birthday.

This years Clayton Christmas Parade celebrated the village's 150th birthday.

This years Clayton Christmas Parade celebrated the village's 150th birthday.

This years Clayton Christmas Parade celebrated the village's 150th birthday.

This years Clayton Christmas Parade celebrated the village's 150th birthday.

On another note, I inadvertently brought the wrong camera with me. It was a Nikon D300 that I hadn't used in quite a while and I had trouble remembering how to use it and the flash unit. I wanted to use the Nikon D7000. Anyway, the flash contacts on the camera were dirty (I think), and I had difficulty with the flash synching and working properly. Every photo I snapped was a challenge. Consequently the whole shoot suffered, but I had a few usable pix. 

I Shovel Lake Effect Snow for 5 Days November 2022 (photos)

The first big snow storm for the 2022-2023 winter season started during the night of on November 17, 2022. I spent a good portion of Friday the 18th shoveling snow at our house in Chaumont.

418 Clay St, Watertown, NY, snowed in.

418 Clay St, Watertown, NY, snowed in.

Woke up Saturday morning, the 19th, to another 10 - 12 inches in Chaumont. I spent the morning shoveling that here in Chaumont. From there I went our Clay St apartment house in Watertown. There was close to four feet of snow there. Clay Street had not been plowed. I parked a block away and walked to our house and proceeded to shovel the sidewalk. I also dug out some of our tenant's car that was buried in the driveway. 

418 Clay St, Watertown, NY, snowed in.

418 Clay St, Watertown, NY, snowed in.

On Sunday the 20th I went back to Clay Street to check on things. The city had plowed the street. Not perfectly, but enough to drive on it. On this day I touched up the sidewalk and chopped through the snow and ice at the end of the driveway so our tenant would be able to get out in her car.

Monday the 21st I went to Clay to assess things. Did some minor snow removal. The balcony roof however was bothering me. Very heavy load of snow on it. No way to get to it without mu 32 foot ladder.

Shoveling lake effect snow at 418 Clay St, Watertown, NY.

 

  418 Clay St, Watertown, NY, snowed in.

Tuesday the 22nd my Celebrity Brother Al assisted me with loading the ladder on. the roof of my 2011 Kia Sedona van and followed me to Clay St. I shoveled the roof and he worked at removing the roof snow that fell on the sidewalk. It was much warmer, close to 40 degrees. I was sweating as if I were mowing the lawn in August. The sweat got in my eyes, soaked my shirt. The roof has a shallow pitch, but stressful being up there where slipping and falling off is a real threat. I exercise great caution in these situations. I kneel in the snow and push it off the edge where possible. Anyhow, we loaded the ladder at 10:00am and I was back home with it by 2:30pm, the job completed. 

  418 Clay St, Watertown, NY, snowed in.

  Lake effect snow removal at 418 Clay St, Watertown, NY.

 Lake effect snow removal at 418 Clay St, Watertown, NY.

 Lake effect snow removal at 418 Clay St, Watertown, NY.

 Lake effect snow removal at 418 Clay St, Watertown, NY.

 Lake effect snow removal at 418 Clay St, Watertown, NY.

Lake Effect Snow November 2022 photos

Lake effect snow at our house in Chaumont, NY, November 2022.

I snapped these photos Friday morning (November  18, 2022). We woke up to a blanket of lake effect snow. At our house in Chaumont, NY we had about 8 inches. Temperature hovered around 30-31 degrees. The snow was heavy and wet. I spent q couple of hours shoveling the driveway, steps etc. I found it very pleasant being in the fresh air and the mild temperature. I pace myself and get some good exercise. It sure beats going to the gym, which I NEVER do.

Lake effect snow at our house in Chaumont, NY, November 2022.

Lake effect snow at our house in Chaumont, NY, November 2022.

Lake effect snow at our house in Chaumont, NY, November 2022.

Lake effect snow at our house in Chaumont, NY, November 2022.

Lake effect snow at our house in Chaumont, NY, November 2022.

Lake effect snow at our house in Chaumont, NY, November 2022.

My neighbor helping clear snow from our driveway, Chaumont, NY, November 2022.

Halloween 2022 at Our House in Chaumont, NY

Me with a Saranac Pumpkin Ale awaiting the witching hour in Chaumont, NY.

Yesterday was Halloween. It was a warm day, temps around 57-60 degrees, overcast. The afternoon started some light rain. By 4:30 the rain stopped. First trick or treaters arrived at 5:00, 2 pre-school kids accompanied by their mother. The rain started up at 8:00 and the last of our 124 trick or treaters arrived. The Better Half's daughter H & her husband D and their two sones J & N came over. We had some excellentfood. A roast corn dip, a buffalo chcken dip, croghan bologna, oilive bread, and apizza from Valee Peetza. For beer we had the usual Labatt Blue and Saranac Pumpkin Ale. The Better Half was still suffering from a diverticulitis attack. Overall it was a very nice evening, accentd by about perfect weather.

Halloween at our house on Washington St., Chaumont, NY