11.1.20A Long WalkTook Myrtle on a long walk around the neighborhood this afternoon. The wind was blowing hard but it was sunny and relatively warm for November. We ended up on the hill in Grandview at the end of the walk so she could run around like crazy for awhile.

11.2.20Balloon BombedAshley’s boss direct messaged me on Instagram late last week and asked if I could get her and Myrtle out of the house by 2 PM on Monday (today). She paid someone to “balloon bomb” our house for Ashley’s birthday. I made up an excuse about being finished with work early and took her to get nachos at Qdoba in Rookwood and then to the park. We spent about two hours away from home before returning. I didn’t know exactly what the surprise was going to be and was pretty shocked when I saw it. Ashley thought it was great.

11.3.20The Results Will WaitIt’s election night. I’m scared out of my mind that we will keep these selfish monsters in power and show the world we are not the country we claim to be. I've already voted, though, so it's out of my hands. Until the victor is chosen, we need to wait. There's no sense in making myself sick tonight over something that's out of my hands, so I'm taking this photo of Ashley on her 32nd birthday, putting the internet away, turning off the TV, and focusing on my family. They bring me happiness and that's what I need tonight. Tomorrow I will wake up to the result of this traumatic election.

11.4.20Absolute ContemptThe results of the 2020 election aren’t finalized as of this writing. It’s 10 PM. When I finally got out of bed from a bad night of sleep, I expected to see news of Joe Biden’s victory; a catastrophic Trump loss that proved the American people chose someone good over someone of vile character and proven inability to lead. Instead, I saw a minor Biden lead over Trump, both Ohio and Florida red, and the race nearly neck and neck. Then it dawned on me that half of America are truly depraved, brainwashed, racist morons who would rather Donald fucking Trump hold onto the reigns of this nation than allow a proven leader to take over. They’d rather let the guy who refuses to denounce WHITE SUPREMACY lead the United States for four more years than the guy who outright condemns them. Half of this fucking country would rather keep in power the man who has NO PLAN to combat the Coronavirus than let someone who could do better (any plan would be better than what we have now). Half of this country is disgusting and I don’t want to live here anymore. Any hope I had for the American people were dashed like this week-old jack-o-lantern on the fucking sidewalk. Even if Joe Biden lands this thing in the end, we’re never recovering from the damage Donald Trump has done to America. He’s emboldened the worst of us—which is apparently half of us—to show their true form. I cannot feel anything but contempt for America at this point.

11.5.20Thursday NightsNo word on who will lead our country as of tonight. It’s leaning Biden, but who knows at this point. One thing I CAN count on is this: Thursday nights at Pete’s house. Every week, Pete hosts a beer tasting in his driveway. It’s a safe way for all of us to hang out and be social without worrying so much about the virus. I can’t go every week, but whenever I do, it’s always a good time. Tonight I wanted to commemorate at least one of these nights so I took a photo.

11.6.20Econolite Traffic ControlI’ll make this one short: no word yet on who’s president of the United States, though it’s still leaning Joe. All this uncertainty makes me anxious, so I took a walk and saw this gritty traffic control box I hadn’t noticed before. I liked the way the afternoon light was shining on it, exaggerating its tiny shadows.

11.7.20VICTORY!Joe Biden won the presidency. The redneck Trump train has derailed miserably and it’s a great relief to see a fascist pile of garbage sink into oblivion. It was announced today while we were setting up a new TV in the living room. We were so thrilled, we got a bottle of champagne out of the fridge, fired off the cork from the front porch, and went out with Chelsea to the Avenue to drink the day away. We went home at 7 PM and passed out after Biden’s victory speech. We weren’t even hung over the next day. It was a perfect Saturday.

11.8.20CHOO CHOOThe weather was perfect today, so we worked in the yard and grilled out for dinner. I heard the train coming from Dayton, so I ran down to the steps to catch a photo of the engine.

11.9.20Bereft of Balke’sSee my blog post for more on this photo: https://bit.ly/3n7NRrC

11.10.20FlowPhotographed Flow Koffee + Kombucha in Newport today. The owner was nice and they serve Coffee Emporium coffee. I’ll probably go there this weekend if I need a cup of joe instead of making it at home.

11.11.20Night in the Dining RoomWe have a stained glass window in the dining room that’s backlit by a light under the balcony outside. I love walking into the dining room at night because the amber yellow glass casts a warm hue on part of the room, and specifically on this money tree that’s sitting on the hutch beneath it. I wanted to get a photo of it because it’s the little things like this that bring me a weird amount of happiness when I see them.

11.12.20Cookies Are Cookin’Do I need a caption for this?

11.13.20Holiday JunctionPhotographed CMC’s Holiday Junction this morning. Always fun to see the trains up and running.

11.14.20Holy MealAshley made my favorite meal for dinner: enchiladas. She makes the best enchiladas.

11.15.20Caught In the RainWe went for a walk this morning and noticed some ominous clouds ahead. Figuring we had a better chance of making it to the Bellevue Beach Park gazebo, we hustled toward the river in hopes of avoiding getting caught in the rain. We just barely made it. The wind blew the rain through the area quickly and we only had to hang tight for about 10 minutes. I took a photo of Ashley and Myrtle as the sun started to emerge from behind the clouds again.

11.16.20Return to the BeachAfter yesterday’s neary-soggy encounter at Bellevue Beach Park, we caught a glimpse of a nice sunset from there tonight.

11.17.20Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3I think I may have COVID. Ashley was exposed to it last week and she’s possibly asymptomatic. I, however, am not feeling great. If this is COVID, my symptoms are light. Either way, we got a test done at a clinic tonight, and I’ll know my results in 3-5 days. Until then, I’m staying away from literally everyone.

11.18.20Mask RequiredFeeling a little better today, so I went on a walk with Ashley and the dog at dusk. After the walk, I felt worse, so now I’m relaxing.

11.19.20UghI do not feel well. Spent the day on the couch and in bed. Still awaiting test results.

11.20.20Shameless SatisfactionFeeling better today and learned I do not have COVID after all. Thank goodness. But the reason I took a photo of the sink is because I’ve fallen into a habit that I very much enjoy—doing dishes at night. “Enjoy” and “doing dishes” aren’t typically two things that unironically belong in the same sentence, but I’ve found clearing the sink and running the dishwasher before bed while listening to podcasts to be a centering task that puts my mind at ease as I wind down for the night. And when we wake up, all the dishes are done. It’s a win-win.

11.21.20I caved and we put up the tree early. Fuck it, rules don’t apply this year.

11.22.20A Girl and Her BearSnuck a photo of this moment tonight. We’ve been doing absolutely nothing for the last 24 hours. Myrtle and Ashley were basically attached at the snoot all day.

11.23.20SunsetTook a walk before sunset and managed to snap a photo of the only bit of color in the evening.

11.24.20Proper FramingWe took a piece of art to get framed down at Frame and Hang on the Avenue today.

11.25.20Bizarre BazaarPhotographed a shop in Anderson called Bizarre Bazaar this afternoon. It’s a family-run shop full of gifts, knick knacks, and more. Very eclectic mix of stuff with loads to see. They’re heavy on Christmas stuff and this was one of the pieces I saw. The little skaters moved around on the surface of the ice.

11.26.20Thanksgiving For TwoWe didn’t go to Thanksgiving with our extended families this year because of COVID, so we bought a take-and-bake Thanksgiving meal from Arnold’s Bar & Grill. It was really good, and even though not seeing more people during a holiday was a bummer, I still had a really good Thanksgiving. It was very relaxing.

11.27.20Christmas 2020I take a photo of Myrtle every Christmas and we make it into a card and send it out to our friends and family. This is 2020’s photo. The fireplace isn’t actually lit, I just put a Lumecube in there with an orange gel to simulate fire.

11.28.20Shop Small SaturdayWe went down to the Avenue and shopped for gifts for Christmas at various stores. It was nice to know our money was going right back into the local economy and helping the mom and pop shops of Bellevue.

11.29.20Spectacularly FestiveThe Purple People Bridge is all done up for the holidays and it looks great. I kind of hope they keep the purple and white bulbs on it even off season.

11.30.20Going Up?I took on another monthly building for Jake. Since I finished the Camp Washington property this month, I picked up another in Brighton to fill its place. It stands on the corner by itself by a private fenced-in lot. He gave me the passcode to get into the building so I could get pre-construction photos of the joint. After carefully exploring all three floors of the eerily quiet building, I dug deep to find the courage to descend into the darkened basement. This is always my least favorite thing about photographing old properties that are in the midst of transformation. With two flashlights in tow, I photographed the basement with my back to the nearest wall for security. I’m so unnerved by the dark because my subconscious cannot get rid of the feeling that I’m not alone in a place like that. Though unlikely, it’s not impossible for someone to find their way into a building and wait behind a corner, especially if they’re frightened themselves by my being there. Anyway, I stepped down into the elevator shaft and pointed upward to get this shot.