Our front door

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Our house was built in 1929.  This is our old-fashioned front door.  When I was a kid I wanted to live in a house that was surrounded by a moat.  The idea still kind of appeals to me.

Portal

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Jim's birthday is Tuesday.  That got me to thinking about how birthdays are a threshold into a new year that may be filled with mysteries and surprises, and that got me to thinking about the symbolism of doorways in general.  Now I'm looking around for interesting doors to photograph. 

Montreal street art

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I took this photo in Montreal when we were there back in September.  I have no idea what message the artist was trying to convey but I like it simply because it's so colorful.  Looks like maybe God and the devil are playing "rock, paper, scissors". 

Our Christmas

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Jim and I don't celebrate the holidays in traditional ways.  Yesterday I worked in the studio and finished this painting.  For dinner we had Chinese stir-fry, then watched "Cabaret" for probably the sixth time.  I still think it's the finest movie ever made.  This was the best Christmas I've had in years.

www.kayvinsonart.com

Bear's grave

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A couple of weeks ago Jim and I watched a documentary on Bear Bryant.  Considering that I'm not much of a football fan I found it very interesting.  I do remember being quite awed by the Bear every time I saw him on campus when I attended the U of A.  One day I saw him coming toward me on the sidewalk and I stepped off into the gutter to let him walk by.  It was raining.  He never even looked at me as I stood there with water flowing around my ankles.  Anyway, Bryant is such a legend in this state that I expected some kind of grandiose monument to him.  I was surprised to find this discreet and modest marker.  The only remarkable thing about his grave is that people put pennies on it.  Is that sort of like tossing coins into a wishing well?

Rusty chair

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Of course I love the rust and the peeling paint but I also love the grid pattern of the chair itself.

Fresh Market therapy

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Walking into Fresh Market always just perks me right up.  Everything is so beautifully displayed that it makes me want to actually buy a vegetable.

Still best buddies

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'Tis the season to post cute cat photos.

Nall!

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We went to an opening tonight for the one and only Nall--Alabama's most famous and infamous artist.  I had heard lots of stories about his outrageous behavior but he was quite charming to me.  Nall is the one in the hat.  I have no idea who the other guy is.

Ceiling

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I like the low budget, industrial look of this ceiling.

Local graffiti

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I found some pretty great homegrown graffiti right here in Birmingham.  This will undoubtedly end up in one of my paintings soon.

Waffle

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Some days you just NEED a trip to Waffle House for a pecan waffle.

Rust

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Still in love with rust.

Porcine mystery

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There's this enormous, beautiful house near us.  Very tasteful and elegant.  Really spectacular.  And it has a life-sized bronze pig in the yard.  I just know there must be a story there.  Maybe they made their fortune from pig products and they are showing their appreciation.  

Our holiday tree.

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We've put up our Christmas decorations.  There they are.  That's all folks.  Happy holidays.

Guess what?

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Quinlan Castle

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Here's another of my childhood fantasies--Quinlan Castle,  As a kid I wanted to live there.  What imaginative kid wouldn't?  My mother told me that only "bad people" lived inside--which, of course, made it seem even more exotic to me.  Quinlan Castle has a rocky and checkered past but I'm so glad the city hasn't torn it down.  I love the place and I still smile every time I pass by.

Tree house

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Is this not every child's dream?  Lucky, lucky kids that have this in their yard.

Making his mark

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"Footprints on the sands of time".

Rust fetish

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By now everyone knows how much I love to photograph rust.

Greenery and machinery

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I like the contrast between the worn and rusty utility box and the lovely vegetation behind it.

Beauty and Beast

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Beauty and her brother, Beast, live just down the street from us.  Whenever Jim and I walk by their house Beauty runs as fast as her short little Corgi legs will carry her and then flops down on her back so I can rub her belly.  I love this ritual.  Beauty obviously does, too.  See the smile on her face?

Rusty fence post

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I love the colors but I guess it's time to have our backyard fence repainted.