The "Tis The Season To Be Jolly" Story

 It was an ordinary day.  Walking around the house deciding what decorations I enjoy the most.  My dear wife has spent hour upon hour decorating to make our COVID-19 Christmas a Very Merry Christmas.  Some days are tougher than others to cope with, but then I walk around our home and what she has accomplished in a week or two cheers me up a bit.  Carol and I, for the past dozen or so years, have made a visit to a nearby architects office each year to see the small gingerbread village that they make every year.  The village must be edible which makes for some interesting structures.  But, I just checked with one of their architects whom I had as a student years ago, and found the event will not be held this year.  So, that makes my wife's decorations so much more helpful in trying to cheer me up.  I grabbed my camera and began to search for a few of my favorites amongst the couple hundred decorations and ornaments on the tree.  Follow along and you can see what I have chosen this year as my favorites.  Hope you find a few that you too may appreciate and enjoy.  So, from our house to yours, have a Merry Christmas and a healthy New year!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - Click on images to enlarge them.

Little Christmas sandals...for the beach lover in me.

Once again, the beach in me picked this ornament.

An entire manger scene made by hand for Carol by her dear friend Margaret.

Just something about this decorative ornament,
which was made in Russia, is amazing to me.

Hawaiian shirt and shoes decorates our tree.

This is actually a key ring, but is one of my
wife's favorites since she enjoys pink flamingos.

Carol has a large collection of reindeer, but his one
which is made of clay is my favorite.

A rather unusual set of nesting dolls.

The skillfully placed light behind this ornament is what made me chose it.

An extremely small gourd is beautifully painted.

And, a much larger gourd decorates a cabinet in
our living room.  It is rather large and very well done.

Made from glass and is no more than an inch and a half high.

A teaching friend's wife, Kelly Gallagher,
made and painted this rather unique ornament.

I bought this coffee pot years ago for Carol, but is too
neat to use, since it may ruin the painting on it.

This was a Santa birdhouse which Carol and I
bought for my parents years ago.  When they both
passed we kept it as a memory of them at Christmas time.

Really neat silver spoon.

The final four Santas are all made from wood
and hand painted by very skilled artists.

This can't be more than a half-inch in diameter.

Hand carved in wood and about 6 inches tall.

My final favorite hangs on our tree.
It is made from some sort of a seed pod.