OH COME LET US ADORE HIM

This summer we went through our German Nativity set pieces and realized that something was going wrong.  Many of the pieces were just dissolving and there was no evidence of why or where the plaster composition was falling off - just gone!  We then paid a visit to the Doll Doctor who worked on our set.  This set was give to us from my husband's Mother.  It is from the German family that adopted her as a baby and we imagine it is over 100 years old.

The set is fairly extensive - it even has waxed paper Palm Trees.  I think there are 20 pieces beside the creche itself.

We visited Bethlehem in 1999.  My Mother In Law paid for her 2 sons and their wives to go.  I remember visiting The Church of the Holy Nativity which overshadows the place where it is believed that Jesus was born.   

I love the story of Mary:
Matthew 1:20b-21   ......the angel of the Lord appeared unto him (Joseph) in a dream, saying, Joseph thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS:  for he shall save his people from their sins.

the story of the shepherds:
Luke 2:8-12
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon the, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you; You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

the story of the wise men:
Matthew 2:1-2
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews?  for we have seen his star in he east, and are come to worship him.

Vs 11  And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him:  and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold and frankincense, and myrrh.

I hope you will take a few moments during the Christmas Season to reflect on what Christmas is all about!  

THE 55th ANNUAL GEORGETOWN STREET MARKET

This last weekend I got to do some very special things.  Working for years I never got to attend special events - especially at Christmas when retail is busy.  This weekend I got to attend the Rue de Noel Paris Street Market in Denver and the 55th Annual Georgetown Street Market in Georgetown, Colorado.  I have wanted to get to attend these for years and since we will be moving to Missouri next year - this was my last chance!

Out of respect to the artists and crafters, I did not take any photos in the market but I can tell you I saw many darling things.  Many of the booths were a mix of vintage and new and retro items.  I got a really cute winter hat you will see me wearing in a photo below.  I was really impressed with this market.

Does anyone recognize this car?  We had heard years ago that they only get the car out during this event known as the 55th Annual Christmas Market.  This our first time to see the car.

This is the car that appears in the 1986 movie "The Christmas Gift" that John Denver did in Georgetown, Colorado.   I have posted on this blog before about my love for the little town of Georgetown which is nestled in a valley up in the mountains on the way to Vail. This is the Busy Bee Cab which picked up John Denver in the movie.  Right as we were looking at the car, a friend and former customer of mine came up and offered to take our photo.  I am wearing a coat that was my Mom's from the 1950's-60's.

As you can see the little town was a busy place:

The next thing we did was took a tour of this old hotel.  In the movie it a hotel which is overseen by Aunt Henny and her brother Bud (his cab).  I had never been inside the old hotel before so we took a tour and we checked out room #6 where John Denver stayed (in the movie). The actress who plays Aunt Henny was in White Christmas and Little Women.  You may remember the wealthy old aunt who left Jo her large mansion which could be used for a school.

We were getting hungry so we stopped by the Dusty Rose Tea Room but they were full for the day.  We certainly understood as we had no reservation but just happened by.

After enjoying some more of the sites we started back to our car feeling like we had already had a wonderful time.

As we were going to our car we noticed a building with chandliers shinning through the windows.  It had a tiny sign on the side of the building so my husband went to "investigate".

My husband motioned to me to come on in!

Once we got inside, we were told the Ladies from Grace Episcopal Church were serving Afternoon Tea as a fund raiser and had an opening with a prior cancellation that we could fill.  We were so excited to sit in this historic building and have Afternoon Tea!  The building (on the left)was very charming and so were the ladies (below right).  They took our photo too!  If you live in the Denver area - they will repeat this next Saturday and Sunday and have just a few openings on Saturday - Contact Grace Episcopal Church of Georgetown for reservations.

The homes in Georgetown are very Victorian and the one below left was in the movie as Susan McMillans home.  The waterfall is actually on the way out of town at Idaho Springs. 

I hope you enjoyed our little tour.

USING FRESH GREENERY

If you are on a budget you might be amazed at what you can create for just a few dollars!  I went out in my green belt this week and cut a black plastic garbage bag full of greenery from 4 different types of conifers.  Because I already had the base and cones and fabric, this really cost me nothing.  The red plaid fabric for a bow were from an old throw which had moth holes in it. (I already used them last year and I save the large California pine cones each year too)

I cut my greenery for the wreath about 8" - 10" long and wired 4 different pieces together first with fine wire. Put the longest in the back of course.  It does take a lot - I think I had around 24 bunches. Later I attached these with thick bailing wire and tightened them to the center of the wire form.  The wire forms come in different sizes and I used a 20" form which I save from year to year. By the way, my wreath wasn't perfectly shaped.  You know, some sides were fuller and some too skinny so after I hung it up, I stuck in extra bunches to "shape it up".  I also stuck in the grape vine pieces at the end.  The vintage wooden sleigh just has some 12" long pieces of greenery that are wired together in the middle.

While I was out getting the greenery, it began to snow lightly!

I see ice skates in almost every antique mall I go in.  Most of them are inexpensive too!

Really, there is something lovely about using fresh

 things and people can smell it as they enter your house.  Have a great weekend!

DECKING THE HALLS

We have had a lovely bit of snow every day now

 for several days and I have to say it sure is pretty!

I have had so much fun pulling out my Christmas decor.  You know how it works - you find something you bought at the end of or after the season last year and tucked away.  Such as the case when I found some red plaid wool afghans and a red roses Sadler teapot that I thought would be sweet for Christmas.

I love my Nicol Sayre angels.

After baking some fruitcakes a few days ago, I made a list

 of other recipes I aspire to bake.  It has been

 cold outside so what a great time to bake!

We promised ourselves we would be more "sensible" this year when picking out our white fir Christmas tree.  Last year we were out of control and bought way to big a tree but after getting this one home it still seemed bigger than we thought too.  The height was right but it was way to wide.

I hope you are enjoying the season so far.

  This is my weekly blog party and I would love to have you join in and link at the bottom.  The party is about anything related to tea time, cottage home or garden!

These photos below were last night after dark:

A SNOWY DAY IN COLORADO SPRINGS

Today was a snowy day and very cold.  I enjoyed

 watching the birds come and go

 to the bird feeder outside the kitchen window:

We try to keep our feeder full!

Have a great weekend!
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