Christmas Cards Past V (2016-2022)

2016 Card

Like its 38 predecessors, this card visually commemorates our lives' events--now, sadly, just Eva's life-- the previous 12 months. However, there is a textual insert, and on the other side of that some straightforward photos taken in 2016. In addition Eva's 2016 book and movie lists were enclosed with the card.

A photograph of a Blue Tit made of wool felt, on a bough front a photo of a European Goldfinch made of felt inside left a photo of a magpie made of felt inside right A Puffin made of felt swimming on a sea of blue felt back

The envelope, please:
; ;

Alternate images of the felt birds:

We saw a lot of sheep in Ireland. That's one reason I cut these trip bird depictions out of wool felt.

2017 Card

As usual, this card visually commemorates the previous 12 months of my life. There is a textual insert to explain the images, and on the other side of that some straightforward photos taken in 2017. In addition Eva's 2017 book and movie lists were either enclosed with the card or emailed.

A photo of an indigo bunting atop an evergreen that I took during the 2017 Birdathon back A colorful drawing of Ellie, Eva, and Jean singing while wielding tambourine, bell and bongos,
while Stauffer lies on the floor with his head in Ellie's lap. He's playing a trumpet. front
a photo of a snowy owl inside left a photo of a king eider inside right

The envelope, please:
; ;

Alternate medley of photos with red-bellied_woodpecker
Alternate medley of photos with sculpture and car trouble.

2018 Card

As usual, this card visually commemorates the previous 12 months of my life. There is a textual insert to explain the images, and on the other side of that some straightforward photos taken in 2018. In addition there are pointers to Eva's 2018 book and movie lists.

A photo of Eva and her cat in an isulated house madeout of a card table with pitched roof made of cardboard all insulated with
feather quilt over the whole thing, photoshopped onto a snowing forest, with a wreath and a poinsetta. front two blue circles containing black and white drawings of, respectively, a dovekie and a
Barrow's goldeneye, along with text crediting Mollie and Ida with leading me to these life MA birds back
a drawing of a skimmer with text thanking Chris Floyd for the tip and Margo Goetschkes
for showing me the bird in her spotting scope. inside left A drawing of a pileated woodpecker in flight and then
landed, with text describing my thrill in seeing it inside right

Here's a printable, foldable card. The inside panels are upside down so that, if printed, the card can be folded twice resulting in a card with everything right side up and the cover, inside and back panels all in position. In this image I used an alternate photograph of me and my cat Miai in our insulated house.

The envelope, please:
. ; ;
Here's a zoom on the long-eared_owl address label, which didn't miniaturize well...
and a sampling of the other stickers used:
Bullock's oriole, my snow shovel is a wovel, Mollie and Ida getting the white-fronted goose, Anna's hummingbird, a kestrel, and put your right foot in.

Alternate medley of photos including a wild pony of Chincoteague
Alternate medley of photos including Kathy and Mary's introduction to birding.

My Christmas card cover was meant to commemorate the insulation of my house in 2018. I wonder if it would have helped if I included a proportionally sized can of house paint in the tableau, because I did say in my year summary that I had my house insulated and the interior painted. As it was, two recipients told me they took it as a crèche! They seemed to have liked it, so I take it no blasphemous intent was perceived. Did they think I was taking a break between creating the stable and moving in the holy family and the animals?

2019 Card

As usual, this card visually commemorates the previous 12 months of my life. There is a textual insert to explain the images, and on the other side of that some straightforward photos taken in 2019 (with one exception: A 1965 photo is included to show how much Ed looks like his biological father George Casey). In addition there are pointers to Eva's 2019 book and movie lists.

A Madonna and Child draped in the hand-painted silk scarf Eva got in Vietnam, and a Joseph figure carpetering
a cradle, with the text Unto us a child is born. front the 2nd panel from my 5-panel graphic saga about discovering Ed. The setting is a New Year's Day family dinner in 1936. back
My 2017 Evening Grosbeak photo because it was better than my 2019 photo. inside left A drawing of an opposum, with colorful primitive Happy New Year 2020! text inside right

Some recipienmts thought my opossum was a rat. After Chinese New Year, 2020 is the Year of the Rat, so that works too.

The envelope, please:
. ; ;
Here's a sampling of other stickers used:
Yellow-bellied_Sapsucker at its well, Red-breasted Nuthatch on Ida's windowsill, Dark-eyed Junco in an evergreen tree, Harlequin Ducks, Blackburnian Warbler in a pine tree, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Great-crested Grebe in France, Bee Eaters in France, Flamingo in the Carmargue, and Burmese Shrike in Vietnam.

Alternate medley of photos, including Eva at Carcasonne in France and on a water buffalo in Vietnam
Here's a horizontally-oriented medley celebrating get-togethers with friends and family.
This photo medley remembers a brunch with three high school friends, the basket-boat in Vietnam, and birding France.

Our O.A.T. group in Vietnam. Thanh our wonderful leader.

My birding trip to France is detailed here.

The back cover of my 2019 card is panel 2 of a 5-panel graphic saga about discovering my half brother.

2020 Card

As usual, this card visually commemorates the previous 12 months of my life. There is a textual insert to explain the images, and on the other side of that some straightforward photos taken in the last year (since mid December 2019). In addition there are pointers to Eva's 2020 book and movie lists.

Photo of a Crested Caracara image made of pebbles. back A rectangle of pebbles with two kneeling adults made of pebbles on either side of an infant on a stone slab. front
Drawings of RBG near the start and end of her tenure on the Supreme Court. inside left A representation of a Class of '64 Zoom meeting, and an Quinite figure from 1964 from my animation text inside right