Christmas

        I decided to approach Christmas with a new attitude and direction.  Mrs. Grinch, a regular holiday visitor, for the past several years was given the boot.  She never was issued an invitation, but for some unexplainable reason she  showed up every December.  Mrs. Grinch is the kind of person who would serve hot dogs and beans for Christmas dinner and think it was a French dish.  Her sour attitude, finally became a bone of contention.  I asked her to leave and make sure she took everything that belonged to her.   We had a little problem when she thought the fiber optic tree was hers.  Even though it will not be the center of attention this Christmas, I still have a sentimental attachment.  I am not usually a physical person, but when the car board suitcase flew out the door she quickly followed saving both of us our dignity.

      As I planned the decorations for the new tree (the fiber optic tree has been retired)  I thought long and hard about what I wanted to acheive.  I had a grand vision of opulence.  Perhaps a tree with a theme where everything is color coordinated.  The kind of tree Country Living and Martha Stewart magazine editors would pick  for next year's photo opt. 

     As I started accumulating ornaments, I realized there was a line I could not cross.  What I kept going back to was simplicity--a tree that quietly said look at me and did not shout here I am.  I wanted a tree with heart that repesented what Christimas was intended to be. Initially, this was not my goal when I began this decoration journey.  My idea of the perfect tree was a show piece : bows, ribbon gracefully draped around it, with elegant ornaments and vivid colors.

    

 The tree of my imagination was not a true Christmas tree, but a symbol of the commercialization of Christmas.  There is beauty in simple things, a certain enduring classic elegance.  In the end my tree-- is my tree and it represents to me a softer side of Christmas.  I hope it is a tree that puts Christ in Christmas.

                                                                                                

Those who wander often find surprises and opportunities in the most unexpected places.  The small town of Ashton has more than meets the eye.  Nolan and I went to their Christmas festival quit by accident.  Driving through we saw a notice about the Christmas bazar and the arrival of Santa.  We were there so why not go.  Somtimes good things come in small packages.  Only in Ashton would Santa arrive on a flat bed sleigh pulled by a team of black horses and a pack of dogs as chaperones then leave after the festivities in a Cadillac SUV.

This post card perfect Lutheran church in Ashton was begging to be sketched.  We sat in the car while Nolan stetched and listened to the church chimes play Christmas songs.  It doesn't get much better!