Ornaments - Part 1

The tree is up! This year's tree has one major leg...well, branch...up on last year. That tree was a post-christmas clearance special. Total cost? $4.99. Yup. It was a $5 tree. And it was great. With just one little issue. It wasn't really straight. The bottom section was good, but then it started to lean. And when Christmas was over, the sad little Charlie Brown tree was retired. So this year we got one that doesn't try to mimic the curves of a candy cane.

Some people would expect a fancy tree because one of the residents of this house is a designer. Not so much. The joy and charm of Christmas is unpacking all of the ornaments collected over decades and across continents. Here are some of my favorites.

This was a gift from my grandparents in 1983. I was 5. I think that was before my sarcasm bone was fully developed. I am amazed it has lasted so long with no chips, scratches, or breaks. This is due to the long care provided by my mother. Thanks mom!

This one is my sister's. It makes me smile but also makes me sad. Because I had a matching brown haired girl with a green striped dress holding an ornament in her hand. And I haven't a clue where she went.

Minnie Mouse was gift one year from my cousin. I think it was right around the time I was taking culinary arts in school. She is holding a little decorated cake roll. The middle Wedgewood  I found last year. The urn shape seemed just right for my sis. And the santa? Well, that was a craft project one year. We were giving ornaments as Christmas gifts. Each of the little ceramic jumping toys was hand painted and glittered. Which is quite a bit of work when you have to paint one color, immediately sprinkle it with glitter, and then let it dry before you paint the next color. I think I worked on this guy for a couple of hours. It was a good deed I did for someone who might be related to me and sort of bit off more than she could chew by deciding to do about a dozen of these ornaments one day. I'm not ambitious enough to take on those projects most days. But I make a good little worker bee for those who do. I laughed when I unwrapped this santa on Christmas morning. All that work, and I got to keep the results.

What would a tree be without a freaky santa-elf-fairy? I don't know. Ours has two.

This might be one of my new favorites. I had a friend show me how to make these little hats with just some yarn and part of the cardboard tube from the middle of a roll of toilet paper. Thanks, Seej! We all love them.

People who travel internationally spend a lot of time in airports. And they find fun things there. This little girl is from Japan.

Is that a block of cheese? Yup! It's from Tillamook, Oregon.

These shells are from New Zealand. I love them, and they weren't technically ornaments. But I think if you can tie a string through it, then it deserves a place on the tree.

Speaking of non-ornaments...I decided Gnick the Gnome should be an honorary ornament. So he's chillin' out among the foliage.

Did you know that Corning ware you use in the kitchen is made in a place called Corning, New York? I've been there. They make other kinds of glass too. Like hand-blown orbs.

Shells are kind of an ocean thing. These angels are from Manila. I think.

This little elephant is from the market in Hawaii. I went there to celebrate my 30th birthday. Hawaii, not the market. The carvings caught my eye so he took a trip across the water to the mainland with me. On an unrelated note, I love this photo. I like the uplight from the bulb in the branch just below, and the mysterious air it gives the face of a carved pachyderm. The needles in the foreground give it an aura of an interrupted game of hide-and-seek. I found an app to doctor images on my iPhone (the camera I used for all these photos) and gave it a little more character. I'm a fan.