The Tree

The last task in decorating our home for Christmas is putting up the tree. 

With all of the ornaments we have collected over the years, our tree may be groaning under the weight, and in fact, we have had to leave a few less meaningful ornaments in the boxes. 

 There are Santas on the tree, of course. 

 In recent years I have been collecting fruits and vegetables. Do you see the broccoli, the fruit basket and the green pepper? There are birds of many kinds. The grandfather clock is significant for the year we brought my mother's tall case clock home to live in our house. 

Left to right, find the avocado, orange slice, banana, hamburger, berries and the pea pod. I made the felt ornaments, like the bird here, many years ago, when we had very few ornaments, very young children, and not much discretionary cash. 

 Blueberries, eggplant and cherries. Lower down, a green house. 

 Garden faeries.

 Bees, birds, butterflies, and celery!

 Peacocks for Irene.

 Garden tools, melon, grapes, and cauliflower. A fireplace to commemorate our remodeling and adding a new fireplace in our family room.

 Here is vintage and precious - a little collection of ornaments made by our kids when they were very young: a walnut that has lost its glitter, an egg carton bell, baby food jar lids with stickers, a Styrofoam and glitter bell, a little felt drum, and to me, the best of all, Jake's stop sign. Writing was a new skill then, and he liked words and shapes.  On the back the design is his name, Jacob, in proper lower case letters, of course! 

 Oh, I see the pickle! Finding it means good luck!

 There are horses and pigs scattered everywhere on the tree, from the many years our kids collected them - horses for Jill and pigs for Jake. 

 A potato, turnip, and carrot.

 Krampus, just because. Mozart all the way from Salzburg, Austria, which gets us into the travel section of the tree: Vicksburg canon, Taliesin West/Frank Lloyd Wright designed metal bookmark, pottery roadrunner.

 Philadelphia City Hall, crown from the royal palace in Stockholm, Sweden and the flag from a shop in Norway, decorated egg shells from Austria, a Vermont covered bridge, a bell from Santorini, and so much more. 

 And under the tree, the Winnie-the-Pooh characters made by Tom's mother for our kids many years ago.