On Christmas Eve morning I woke to snow coming down.
We got enough to mostly turn everything white.
I’m not sure when it stopped snowing as the carpenter arrived and we were busy doing tile work.
I had put all the presents under the tree as they came in.
I’d also hung the Christmas cards on the archway as they appeared.
My son looked out at dusk and saw this herd of deer up by the barn.
I spent the day working on tile or cleaning up from tile. I’d been invited for Christmas Eve dinner at the home of my friend’s partner. He creates the most amazing tableaus and decorations throughout his house each Christmas.
My friend picked me up and brought me home after.
When you step into his enclosed porch, this amazing tree and tableau greet you. He’s painted stars and planets and things on the ceiling, which is a dark blue. Then he hangs stars and decorations he’s made and some crystals from the ceiling. Around the tree are a series of Italian handmade angels.
But under the tree is the most fascinating part of all. There’s a working river and dozens of animals, birds, gnomes, elves, and other things. Many are handmade.
Between my shaky hands and crappy camera, I could not get a decent photo of the coolest part: a working waterwheel.
I tried with flash…
and without.
Another shot of the angels and ceiling detail.
With the flash…
The tree without flash…
Then you enter the house and find the most amazing decorations, on walls, the ceilings, on furniture, everywhere is something cool to examine.
Like this handmade antique candle with fins that spin from the heat. Colored polished stones, wooden figures, ceramic decor, just wonderful things to see.
This is an Advent calendar with beautiful scenes.
In front of it, the coffee table has candles and treats of all kinds. Off to the right is a wood stove, burning cozily.
The ceiling in this room has been covered in multi-sized dots of varying colors to accent the crystals, stars and decorations hung from it.
There’s another tree in this room covered with lights in fascinating shapes and loads of wonderful ornaments.
The tree with the flash, and you can see part of the ceiling.
Under the tree is a winterland tableau, with mirror waterscapes, fish and sea animals, and bears.
While he was finishing the dinner, I spent a lot of time enjoying all the things he’d set up. Then we sat down to an amazing dinner of roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes, peas, a salad of greens, pickled beets and cukes, and fresh rolls. He also made sautéed mushrooms.
Dessert was a special ice cream he gets from Cincinnati, peppermint stick. We spent the evening reminiscing about our childhoods, family histories, and I told “David” stories. At far later into the night than I realized, it was time to go home.
I finally got to bed around 11 PM, wicked late for me.
Christmas Day was going to be crazy because I’d not wrapped a single present, had a ton of food to make, and Tom and family were supposed to come. I hoped I would not wake up at 4AM as usual….