So, Ornaments

I slept until a blissful 9 AM this morning, and woke up to a non-functioning coffee-maker. Oh, and a snowstorm. It took me nearly an hour to run a vinegar cycle and then numerous plain water cycles, and then, voila, coffee.

It's the first night of Chanukah -- I just realized we forgot to light the candles because I was taking a nap and K has a migraine -- but I did make latkes for lunch, and then we decorated the tree.

I have many, many ornaments, many more than I have pictures of here. Even so, here ya go.


These two tarnished sliver snowflakes are the only silver I have in my house (and clearly, I need to get some polish tomorrow.) I have them because they were made in the Reed and Barton Silver Factory, which is in Taunton, Mass., where my father was born and grew up.


These are the girls' special ornaments. The one on the left is K's, a gift from a friend in pre-school, and the one on the right, the glass rocking horse, is R's, given to us once by my sister.


During the years that my sister had a Christmas tree (husband #2), she and I gave each other rocking horse ornaments every year.


I mentioned that I had started out years ago with a half dozen cheap glass balls. Now the girls, especially K, bring me glass balls from their travels, when they can. The one on the left is fromn a trip they took together to Colorado. The middle one is from Germany, the one on the right from Venice.


More rocking horses.


Various other glass balls, the two on the right from Disney World, as you might guess.


K especially likes to give me ornaments that reflect ... well, us, or at least her. The one on the lft lights up and says Merry Fucking Christmas. The one on the right, of course, is a Sock Monkey Jesus.


Lots of Disney. Here are Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. We have a similar set of the three fairies from Sleepy Beauty.


From Wales, R brought a red dragon and a love spoon.


I have gotten ornaments from every vacation we've gone on. The Scary Elf is from Sturbridge Village (Mass.) when I was pregnant with R. The shell is from the beach at Cape May when K was three. The loon is from Squam Lake (N.H.), where we vacationed for many years, and the Hubs went there as a kid with his folks as well. The sorcerer's hat is from last year's trip to DW. No idea where the dough people came from.


I collect things that represent children's stories or rhymes. Wynken, Blynken, and Nod on the left, and of course, Jack Frost. A lot of these are Hallmark ornaments.


For many years, I made at least one a year.


I also have all but one of the Hallmark thimble ornaments. I also have a collection of actual thimbles that I started years ago, which is why I started collecting these ornaments. The first one came out the year we were married.


My Colleague's husband for many years was a craftsman who worked in sand-blasted and stained glass, so this was one of his smaller works. Yes, it's cracked. I have another one that isn't, but I didn't find it until after I took the picture.


More children's stories and characters.


I made these before we were married, actually. The Christmas before, so that was 1976, I made a set of these plastic-needlepoint canvas ornaments for the MIL, and one for us, to be used the next year.

Just a sampling. The tree is done, and looks very nice.


WATCHING BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS :: ENTRY #1944
READING: How to be Good by Nick Hornby