The Trees

A wonderful picture came across Facebook that I borrowed for this post because that truth is driven into why I have so many Christmas trees.

I am a firm believer that the Christmas tree represents the tree on which Jesus died for us… all of us, regardless of our nation. To me, the lights on the tree represent God’s light, shining down from Heaven to guide our way in this world. The ornaments are artistic representations of what’s in our hearts: whether they’re beautiful to see, hold sentimental meaning from a family member, or carry a saying that reminds us of the reason for the season.

I am getting older in years, and don’t know how long I will be able to carry on this wonderful tradition, but I plan to enjoy every minute of it for as long as I can. That being said, I currently have 7 Christmas trees scattered throughout my small house and wanted to share some of my joy with you. The sunroom alone has 3 trees. That is also where my Christmas village is located, as in my post “25 years Ago“.

My most fun tree is in my bedroom, as it has family connections on it with ornaments that my children made. My oldest son made this angel when he was two years old. It sits atop the smallest of my trees, on the small table by the window.

The big tree in the bedroom holds many fun memories, and the thirty-odd S’more ornaments I have collected for about twenty-five years. The train is also in this room, along with many other Christmas items filling every available space.

If you are not familiar with Smore ornaments, I have posted a few below. These, of course, are not edible.

Two of the trees in the sunroom are themed. One is an owl tree, and one is an ocean tree. The owl tree is home to mostly owls, with a few other birds scattered about.

The Ocean tree is filled with fish, whales, sharks, and shells. A blue net hangs behind the tree, with interesting-looking shells and starfish. I chose a frocked style for this tree to represent the ocean foam.

Orca mom and child, and a coral-eating fish

The Dining room tree is a 4.5-foot tree perched atop the table. It has mostly all white ornaments, and below are a few favorites.

The living room tree is the big tree. It holds more of the artistic ornaments, ornaments from some of our travels, and ornaments surrounding the reason for the season.

The big tree and the Christmas Rabbit with his lantern showing the way.

I hope you enjoyed my fun at Christmas. I wish you all the very best Christmas filled with love, kindness, and joy.

Not Even Winter Yet

The winter solstice, the first day of winter, is December 21. That’s a week away. Yesterday we got another four inches of snow, bringing our total close to two feet for the month. And the temps are down into negative numbers. Very much like February, not early December.

So, as I sat on my sofa, enjoying my living room Christmas tree, I snapped shots of the birds at the feeders in the falling snow and thought I would share them with you.

I made sure the feeders were filled before this latest snow came, knowing how spoiled they have become for easy food options. The upper feeder holds suet filled with seeds for energy and needed for warmth.

Since this feeder got low, I had to shovel a path this morning to refill it.

This morning, with the sun shining, it was a beautiful day despite the -1 degree temperature. The mourning doves fluff their feathers for warmth in the sun as they wait their turn to feed.

The red-breasted woodpecker is a favorite and one of the larger birds that visit the suet feeders. The mourning doves prefer the platform feeder.

Tomorrow, the temps will rise to normal December levels, and hopefully, this snow and cold will not be the norm for this year.

As we approach the Christmas season, remember the value of kindness and share it often.

25 Years Ago

In the summer of 2000, a friend of mine and I took up the new hobby of painting miniature plaster houses to create our own Christmas village. We thought that by Thanksgiving, we could have about five or six houses complete…yeah, 50 houses later, we were way over of our goal.

For the first few years, I gave some away, but then I saw others I liked and bought new ones. Today, of the plaster houses that I painted, I have 41. I have purchased a few that were already complete, that were totally different from what I had, like the observatory for stargazing, a large cathedral, and two different covered bridges.

I will share a few pictures of my favorites, plus the ski mountain I created out of Styrofoam, which includes the abominable snowman, Bumble from the Rudolph movie. If this interests you, I hope you enjoy it.

We will start off with the Christmas Ski Mountain, complete with skiers and snowboarding bears.

Some of the buildings I painted had details and character that made me smile.

Joe’s Burger Shack is shaped like a hamburger

This group of buildings reminds me of my dad, as he was a lawyer. Conveniently, the lawyer’s office is next door to the police station and across the street from City Hall.

Library, Fire Station, and Post Office are at the top of the hill above the Salvation Army toy drive

Out of view is the firetruck that I got on our trip to New York. There are several vehicles I picked up on our travels, like the NYFD fire truck, the San Francisco streetcar, and pickup trucks from the Coca-Cola store in Las Vegas.

Moose Lodge, complete with a pair of moose

There are several homes of various styles, along with shops such as department stores, a toy store, a clock shop, a candle store, and more. I have several styles of churches besides the large cathedral. A fun house to paint was the rock house, and up the hill from it, some children decorate a Christmas tree while others are having a snowball fight.

And of course, every Christmas town needs at least one gas station and one Christmas tree farm.

As we enjoy the fun and festiveness of the season, let us always remember that holidays can be very hard for some. So share an extra smile, a friendly hand, and lots of kindness.