Oh, Christmas tree... (Part 2... kind of)

While the outside of the home was cold and a light snow covered that which was already on the ground, I spent yesterday in the kitchen baking pumpkin cookies and making Beverly Nye's candy.  My husband was taking a tray of the cookies to the bookstore and a special box of them to a friend.  He has been working at the bookstore for his usual "end of the semester" week of work... every thing helps!

For awhile, I had Pandora Christmas music playing on the computer but decided I wanted to watch some of the old black and white Christmas episodes of TV shows I have in a DVD set (purchased at one time at Border's for less than $5.00 for a 4-DVD set).  I mostly listened (from the kitchen) to some very old holiday episodes of Petticoat Junction, Ozzie and Harriet, and a couple lesser known shows.

I always find it interesting to watch old shows and see how the culture has changed since they originally were broadcast.  On one episode, Harriet had a beautiful apron on the entire day and the guys wore suits to dinner!  My son has found it hard to believe there was still a dress code when his father attended the University as a freshmen.  :)

Here are just a few more pictures of my tree, it has always been difficult to get a picture which really shows how pretty it is.

In the midst of vintage and nostalgic ornaments, one must have some whimsy... and this ornament shows a guilty passion.  I thought it funny that Stephanie has one on her tree (the less Christmas-y ornament) which represents my son-in-law's enjoyment of coffee.

These are two of my favorites!  Stephanie was still in college when she and I went into a favorite store of mine to admire all the pretty things.  I thought these two beautiful (the picture does not do them justice) and while I was elsewhere shopping, she purchased them for me as my Christmas gift from her that year.

I may have mentioned before that my husband and daughter were at one time known in our home as Deviousness and Cloaker for the extreme measures they took in finding a Christmas gift for me together, hiding it, and then either wrapping it or making a game of having me find the gift in the house... or the garage... or the yard... sigh.  My husband has fond memories of their Christmas adventures.

There are a few ornaments such as this bear on the tree each year.  All were taken off of specially wrapped packages over the years, where I thought them so cute they deserved to reappear on the tree, all they needed was to slip a hook on them... very easy. 

I did something new this year that I really like.  We have only one actual wrapped gift under the tree (the large one on the left which is from the New England Contingent) and it looked a little bare.  So... I had all these pretty Christmas boxes which I store small decorations in during the year and instead of putting them back in their Rubbermaid containers, I put them under the tree.

I just love the way it looks and it shows off the beautiful boxes (all of which came from garage sales, thrift stores, etc.).  As for the snowman on the right, it is on a sleigh with another stuffed dog behind him and when you turn it on, it rocks and the snowman sings Sleigh Ride.  It was a gift from my sister, Bonnie, a few years ago.

I love it.  My husband does not... so we agree to let it sit under the tree if I don't turn it on.  I think he's afraid I might starting singing along with it and, well... you have not heard me sing... another sigh.