Vacation!

Thanks in part to my frequent travel schedule throughout this year, I have managed to accumulate a lot of vacation time. Unfortunately, our new department president (bless her heart!) has decided to forbid the carrying over of any time off into the new year. Thankfully, I've managed to get a small exemption and will carry over one week which I MUST use up in the first quarter of 2009. So, for the next four (4) weeks, yours truly will be at home enjoying some badly needed R&R. Hence, the "Traveling Chemist" will NOT travel anywhere - except to The Mall for Christmas shopping! (Memorial City, The Galleria - pictured above - and First Colony are just a few of Houston's finest places where I will likely lose - I mean spend - some of my hard-earned money.) To keep my readers interest from lagging, however, during the intervening lull caused by my not traveling, I will be posting examples of what I hope will be some fine photography of sights throughout the Houston metropolitan area (population 3 million people) during the Holiday season. Our work team purchased a new Canon 50D digital SLR camera and I have been allowed to take this camera home with me and play with my new "toy" and learn about its new features.

Happy Holidays everyone. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!