Frosted Ornament

We don't do a ton of decorating in our current house -- which is actually quite a relief. Just enough for holiday spirit without wearing us down to our last nerve. And by "us", I mean "me".

We have exactly five of these frosted ornaments left. They're beautiful, but fragile.

Big Sky

Visited the "End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center" today (FREE admission on July 4th. And I do love FREE.). Nothing like learning about the Oregon Trail on Independence Day to make you feel good about white men running rampant across North America laying waste to nature in pursuit of wealth. (Note the sarcasm.)

On a positive note, I suppose the Oregon Trail holds some personal symbolism in that we made our own cross-country trip to Oregon last fall in pursuit of our dreams. Just didn't kill any buffalo ("tetonka") along the way.

So anyway, I couldn't stop thinking today of this old 1952 Kirk Douglas movie I'd seen as a kid (no, I wasn't alive in 1952) called "The Big Sky". Turns out the movie has nothing to do with the Oregon Trail. Has some quirky quotes that I remember though.

Hope you had a happy fourth!

Dreams Come True

Okay, so I'll eat my words. I was dreaming of a green Christmas here in the northwest and we actually got a white one. It snowed in Portland on Christmas! I remember every Christmas as a kid wishing that it would snow, so today's blanket of white was nostalgic and happy.

The Holly and the Ivy

Would you believe I've never seen real holly? Not until I noticed how many of our neighbors have it growing right in their front yard.

Christmas Kickoff

Turkey Day's over--let the Christmas festivities begin! I love poppin' on a favorite Christmas CD, opening boxes of decorations, and getting into a relaxed, creative flow. Now if only someone would invent a strand of Christmas lights that would automatically eject any burnt out bulbs and replace them without my intervention.