I hope you dance

This is a picture that hangs in my dining room.  I'm sure you've seen one like it.  It is my very favorite.

Recognize it now?  maybe, huh?

I took a photo of this picture this morning.  The reflections it picked up give it a rather haunting quality.  I like it.

I put it into Photoshop to play with.  I added one of my favorite song titles to it by Leonard Cohen.

Dance me to the end of love.

I hope you get to dance tonight.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas! Say Cheese!

Just a quick Merry Christmas to everyone!  My husband bought me a lovely new camera for Christmas.  I am obviously still taking blurry photos.

I need practice.

The software is a pain.

The 6 year old computer is a pain.

Technology in general is a pain.

My 53 year old brain is a pain.

BUT...

It is Christmas.  And the camera is lovely.  AND I'm not  stuck on I-35 in a blizzard in Oklahoma like some of my family members.  I did not eat white bread toast for Christmas dinner in a motel on the side of I-35 because of the blizzard like some of my family members did.

We are safe at home and are heading out to see the chipmunk movie.

Because my husband wants to.

And my daughter wants to.

Me?  I'd rather look at Robert Downey Jr. for 2 hours in the new Sherlock Holmes movie.

But it's Christmas.  We are happy, healthy and safe.  Sane?  Not so much.

But 3 out of 4 ain't bad!  (with apologies to Meatloaf)

Merry Christmas and may God bless.

Wonderful giveaway over at Sassafras Stuff!

Wouldn't a lovely basket of these goodies be a great Christmas gift to win?  Take a look at the Sassafras Stuff blog.  She's got a great giveaway going for this basket of goodies to celebrate her 100th post.  You have until midnight on Monday December 21st.    Good luck and peace to all!

Up on the housetop reindeer paws (?)

I was filling out a friend's Christmas game the other day. It's one of those trivia games where you have to guess the song. The question was, "Where do reindeer put their paws?" Paws? paws???? Cats have paws, reindeer have hooves. AND it's, "Up on the rooftop reindeer pause." As in pausing before old St. Nick hauls himself and his bag of goodies out onto said housetop and tries to shinny down the chimney hoping that the kind folks who live there have left the flue open. Otherwise the song becomes, "There's something stuck up in the chimney, and I don't know what it is, but it's been there since last Christmas." So, on Christmas Eve keep those

flues open. ...just saying...

I love reindeer. I have lots.

Basically, I just enjoy decorating with old beat up stuff and animals. Here's the reindeer vignette on the dining room table.

The shepherds abiding by their flock over on the buffet enjoy watching them too. I put those little battery operated votive candles around them at night. I use to think they were kind of cheezy, but then I realized that I could possibly lower the cost of my home owner's insurance by using them. Kidding. I'm just kidding. They are great though and available just about everywhere!

This is my Wendy Addison addition to the collection I purchased at Marshall Field's

(Macy's) at their after Christmas sale last year. I didn't grow up in Chicago but I adopted it

heart and soul and it is STILL Field's forever and always to me. Nothing says

Christmas like a lovely vintage looking piece hanging on an empty wine bottle.

This empty bottle has two dressed up

piggies (animal theme anyone?) and it

is called Le Snoot!

I had to save it. Wouldn't you? The wine was Merlot and really pretty forgettable but, the bottle was worth the $5.00 I think I paid for it. I am a wine snob, you know...

The Christmas season is in full swing. Get out your fancy duds, favorite bottle of wine, sing your most precious Christmas carols and deck them halls! Hallelujah, holy cow, and

where's the eggnog!?!

Yes, we need a little Christmas

I finally, finally got the white tree put up as well as my manger scene. The white tree always makes me smile. It's really beautiful. I don't think it shows up very well in the photo and I still need to make a star for the top. I usually have an angel I put up there, but she decided to take a trip to Bermuda with Mrs. Claus so I'm going to work on plan B.

I also managed to get the manger scene all arranged. I love putting up our nativity scene. It's a combination of three different

sets. One I made in a ceramics

class years ago. Remember ceramics? Does anyone do this anymore? Some

of it turned out well, others not so well. My sister

always said that the Mary I made

looked more like a hooker instead of the Virgin Mary. She was more of a Madonna-esque sort of Mary only she actually predates the singer Madonna. She's buried in the bottom of the box now. I use a much more suitable looking Mary.

This Mary does not have the 70's eyeliner that I put on her.

I also have lots of animals. I didn't put them all out. I have a fox, and a bear, and a skunk, and chickens, rabbits and 3 little mice thatI put up on top. The list of animals is quite extensive. A friend even gave me a manatee one year to add. It's kind of ridiculous, really. It became a Noah's Ark type of manger scene. I exhibited restraint this year. That is hard for me. Really, it is.

This is the side with lots of shepards. I always liked the shepards in the Christmas story. My favorite part of Christmas is Linus from Peanuts reading the Christmas story. I can hear his little voice reading the King James version:

	And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
	And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid.
	And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
	For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
	And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
	And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
	Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And that's how it should be. Peace to you and yours.