It's beginning to look a lot like. . .

Here it is! The most wonderful time of the year kids! So get out your sleds, wrap up in scarves, sip some nog, deck your halls, bake the cookies, and hum some cheery tunes. I'll admit, I am an unabashed Christmas lover (bet you didn't guess that!). I get a bit glum about the gross commercialization and cheezification of certain aspects. . . but those little burrs in my saddle are pretty overwhelmed by my deep and abiding love for the magic of this time of year, the starlit snowy nights, the sweet carols, the being with loved ones, the smell of pine, the making of gifts, expressions of love, and most of all remembering the nativity. On my mission Christmas was the very best, I loved nothing more than spontaneous caroling on the doorstep, sharing Luke 2, and focusing on the birth of that blessed babe (I'm listening to Silent Night right now, I think its having its affect on my subject matter). I'm sure I'll have more musings, recipes, etc. to share on this little blog o' mine, but for now, a few little Christmas gems that came early:
1. When I was cleaning out my grandmother's house this summer, I came across this plastic bag filled with matchbooks/boxes from hotels all over the place. . .Switzerland, Mexico, Hawaii, Utah, England, etc. And on each matchbook in my dear grandmother's neat script is written the date they stayed there, who was there, who they were visiting, etc. A little portable travel log if you will. This is exactly the sort of thing my grandma is so good at, meticulous keeping track and documenting. The other day when lighting some candles I found this little gem I remember this trip so well. We went to San Francisco just before Christmas, and we got new Teddy Bears, saw the Nutcracker, and A Christmas Carol, went to China town, etc. Then we went to Monterey, where we visited the aquarium and where I got lost alone in a hall filled with tanks of octopi. Somehow seeing this little matchbook brought it all back to me, a little ghost of Christmas past.
2. A few weeks ago I was poking around in the basement of our old house, looking for plastic sheeting to put over the windows to save every bit of precious heat we can. I didn't find them. But I did find these lovely 'nativity in a wine glass' decorations. I can just see some beehived Relief Society sisters using liquor glasses for a whole new brand of holiday cheer.
3. On Monday a few friends and I had some Japanese food, and then took a walk down Center St. here in P-town looking at the annual display of
'candy windows'. Its a competition of sorts between the local merchants to make a window display that's sugar from start to finish. There were some pretty snazzy ones, pretty ingenious in some cases, and to top it all off the first big flakes began to flutter down as we strolled along surrounded by the light wrapped trees. How can you not love it?