Finally More Christmas Decorations!

I never did get around to posting the rest of the pictures I took of the decorations in my home. I don't have a lot this year. But I did do more than I did the last two years. Being involved in the Land of Blog does that to you I guess. And another thing is getting more used to having only the two of us at home for Christmas. After so many years with the kids around, it is still hard adjusting to not having the kids around for Christmas. This is the top of my pie safe which is in the family room. We bought this pie safe unfinished before we had our daughter. It has served us well over the years. Right now it holds cookbooks and boxed food items.
This is a close up at the left end of the pie safe. I am using the upside down wine glass idea again. I find that works very well when trying to add height and variation in the display. I got the little boy on a sled and the cup in 1980 the year of our son's first Christmas. The ornament on the glass says 1984, my daughter's first Christmas. And there is a little bitty Teddy Bear book. That was also a gift.
A lady at our church had these bear ornaments. She knew I collected teddy bears and so she passed them on to me. The bear on the left is a trinket box. It splits around the bears tummy into a top and a bottom of the little box. It was a gift from a previous secret pal at church. The white bears on the right was a gift also. I forget where the bear in the back came from.

This is at the right end of the pie safe. There is another little bitty book. The block ornaments have always charmed me. I think they were gifts when I was working for the school district. The Santa once held See's Candies chocolate balls. That was also a gift. The box on the right once had a truffle in it. I loved the box so I saved it. The ornament on top was from a student when I was working in special Education. So that is pie safe. It has been a fun place to decorate and every year it is different. I seem to never do the same thing twice.

This mosaic is the top of a dresser we have in the living room. The wall hanging was hand woven on a loom by my godmother. The same loom you saw in my Crafts blog if you have followed that one. We got it the first Christmas we were married. Then the following year when I made the crocheted snowflakes while I was pregnant I added one to the top of the tree on this banner. This display is mostly swedish things. The apple tree on the left is from Sweden. My parents gave that to us one year. In front of that is the gnome we bought in Lindsborg. The same artist who did one of the nativity sets I posted earlier. Then I have the red Swedish candle holders. I also have the Swedish Angel chimes. I needed candles for that and was able to find some at our local Scandanavian shop. The little tree on the right I usually use for minature easter ornaments. This year I put the red and white swedish ornaments and the square plastic canvas ornaments my mother made one year.

The top of my linen press has a snowman theme. The taller two are coffee cans wrapped in batting. A teacher I worked with had them and decorated the classroom with them. She no longer wanted them and asked if I wanted them. Sure, I'll take them. That was in 1991. I have had them out nearly every year since then. The one in the middle I believe was a gift. The ones on the left and the right are from Hallmark. The one on the right was a gift from a secret pal a couple of years ago. I went and got the one on the left this year when I realized I needed it to balance out the display. I don't know if you can see it to well, but on the shelf are three Avon bottles I have kept since I emptied them of Sweet Honesty. And the two wooden dolls are from Finland. They used to belong to my godmother who was Finnish. The little stocking are made from felt. I bought them at a Christmas Bazaar when my kids were still in elementary school. They had candy canes in them originally. Now I like to hang them somewhere. This year on this shelf works well.

There you have it, the rest of my Christmas things for this year. Not everything is out and no big tree for my ornaments. Maybe next year. I have to work today, hopefully only 4 hours. But we have suddenly had a big jump in admissions. The hospitals are probably trying to move anybody they can before the holidays into rehab facilities, so we have been swamped all of a sudden. I am worried whether they have kept me to 4 hours today. But a couple of other therapists of volunteered to work tomorrow so I get tomorrow off. I was originally going to work 4 hours tomorrow too. A surprise gift, getting the day off. Medicare does not take a holiday, therapy goes on, especially for those who just recently got admitted. However, I will have to work an 8 hour day on Friday when I am normally a 6.5 hour per day person. Busy, busy!

Tonight we will go to Christmas Eve service at church. And then in the last few years we have been driving around to look at lights on our way home. So we will probably do that again tonight. A new tradition we have is to be on the phone with our daughter as we open each other's gifts. But hers to us have not gotten here yet. But ours to her has. Also we open our stocking gifts while we are on the phone. This year she works at the hotel tonight and then she works again tomorrow. So the hotel is providing her with a room, so she does not have to go back home and then turn around again to come back to work. The plan is for her to call and wake us up when she gets off work,( there is a 2 hour time difference). Then we will open gifts together, she will bring hers with her to work, then she will hit the sack for some sleep before going back on the job later on Christmas Day. Doing this is the closest we can do to being together without actually being together. Maybe by next year we will have a webcam and can actually see each other open gifts. Now that would be fun! Plus if our son gets one, then we can watch our granddaughter open gifts too. Wouldn't that be cool!?!

I wish all of my new and wonderful blog friends a very Merry Christmas with your loved ones. Or has merry as you can get. I know for some of our blog friends, getting through the holidays is difficult every year and especially difficult this year. My thoughts and prayers are with those having a difficult time. I pray that those friends will be comforted knowing we are thinking of them. I am especially thinking of Sweetie who recently lost her beloved Pap and also of Stacey of A Lamb in the Field who last I heard was with her mother. One more I am thinking about is Susan of Sweetpea Sue's Cottage. I hope to hear from Susan soon too.

Thank you so much to all my followers and all the others who leave sweet comments. You all have enriched my life so much. I always wake up in the morning eager to see what every one is up to. And eager after work to check in again. You have brought tears as I cry with you and smiles as I laugh with you. Thank you again. And now I really need to go and get on with my Christmas Eve day. Merry Christmas everyone!!