Vintage Christmas Ornaments

We didn't realize, until a couple of years ago, that we collected vintage Christmas along with all the other collections.  We opened up the Holiday closet one day and it was full from top to bottom.  It was at that moment that we realized we had gotten "hooked" on Christmas, too.

It is hard to say what is our favorite but we do enjoying finding World War 2 ornaments with their original hangers.  Since war production had a monopoly on metals Christmas ornaments had to be hung with paper hangers.  This one is unusual.

These were made of light cardboard and painted silver.

You pinched the end of the hanger and slipped it into the ornament.

That was one way to get it on the tree.

We get most excited when we find the ornaments with the cardboard caps with string hangers though.  So many people replaced the hangers with metal ones after the war.  So we always thrilled to find them all together.

Merry Christmas!

Mid December Afternoon.

It has been an unusual December here in Oregon.  The weather, at least at the beach, has been beautiful.  Crisp sunny days, no clouds, no rain, no wind which is very unusual, indeed.

Yesterday I had to drive to Salem to go to the dentist.  I didn't want to make the trip.  Along the way I  started noticing bright spots of color among the bare trees.

I had to pull over and investigate.  What I was observing were apples left on their trees even though the leaves had dropped.  It provided such a sharp contrast.

By this time of year we normally have had strong enough storms that everything is blown away.  Literally!  But not this year.

I was struck by the stark beauty of it all.

They almost looked like Christmas ornaments.  There were probably 12 or 13 trees I noticed and wanted to photograph but traffic (log trucks) prohibited me from pulling over for them all.

I realized I was fortunate on this day.  The weather pattern is changing so these images are all that will remain of those beautiful spots I was so fortunate to see.

I was reminded, if only for a few hours, that it isn't about where I end up necessarily on my journeys. But it is really about noticing the beauty and lessons, along my path, that are gifted to me when I take the time to notice.

Happy Holidays Everyone.

Christmas is fast approaching

And we have been very derelict in maintaing our blog.  I just wanted to share this wonderful folk art reindeer that Dan brought home a couple of nights ago.  I love the originality, the creativity and the rust!  It must be shared.  Enjoy the Holidays and step outside the norm and enjoy the Holidays for the love, the art and for friends and family.