Bright Sunny Color

Continuing our look at various Winterscapes, we look at a pair of bright sunny images with color worthy of a summer day. Surrounded, of course, by wintry cold!
More winterscapes in the next post.

Winter Wonderland

Winter hit Chicago with its first slap in the face recently . . . not the fist it might use on us later, but a brisk slap . . . and it sent me into the files for some of my favorite Winter Wonderland shots. I call them Winterscapes.
The nature of the winterscape, featuring snow, generates lots of monochromatic shots or at least shots of the limited palette. Grayscale often works well. But the enterprising photographer will also find lots of color to feature in the work.
More winterscapes in the next post.

Gregorian Santa

Several years ago I decided to put some sports collector cards for sale on eBay during the month of November. Hoping to sell the cards for say $50-$100 overall, I was pleasantly surprised to find that one Magic Johnson card in Michigan State uniform and one Walter Payton card had greater value than I though. The total for the sale was over $700. My thought was to buy something that would be memorable and that would become a family heirloom. Since we love Christmas decorations so much, I went looking.
Quite soon, I discovered Fitz & Floyd's Gregorian Santa, saw a sale price at Carson's, and brought him home. Majestic, festive, and classy, he brightened the dining room enough that I went back and added the reindeer and two candle sconces.
Every November we bring out the decorations and are amazed once again at the beauty of this representation. The windfall of the card sale has become permanant in our family.
The next post will take up a different topic.

Kitchen Decs

The kitchen is often the center of family and guest activities, and we have a kitchen tree as well. Small and on the counter-top, it has food-related ornaments. Surrounding that tree are four cookie cutters, two gingerbread girls and two gingerbread boys, to represent our four grandchildren. Only one of the four is clearly visible in this view.
Above the sink we have a greenhouse bay window and that is filled in December with a small Snow Village scene. A home, a church, a toy store and a traffic jam of people -- along with Santa -- are all present.
Our favorite decoration is ready for the next post.

Inside the Door

The welcome feeling inside the door, where guests arrive to hang their coats and get a warm wintry drink, has a tree of its own and a decorative table display of a typical Christmas family scene. Garland drapes the handrails and the festive atmosphere is established early.
Two more rooms to look at in upcoming posts.

Dickens & Crackers

Over the years, the collections change and the displays change as well, but we have had Nutcrackers for many years and a Dickens Village for about ten years. Now they are both above the 50" television in the family room, the Village on a wide shelf above the television and the crackers up across the bridge with their heads brushing the ceiling.
Santa Claus centers the crackers, flanked by Uncle Sam and Harry Truman on our right and by Mark Twain and a European immigrant on our left. Gepetto, Pinocchio, another toy maker and several guards are also present.
In the Village, Scrooge's home is to our left next to a nice Victorian Home, a town square, a Chocolate Shop, and the offices of Scrooge & Marley. Most of the figures are Victorian ladies and gentlemen and shop keepers, but several Scrooge representations are included. The young Scrooge is to the left with Christmas Past, a huge Christmas Present fills the center with Cratchit & Tim and the prize turkey, and the right includes the frightened Scrooge with Christmas Yet to Come.
By the way, the new film of CHRISTMAS CAROL in 3D is excellent. I still like George C. Scott in the 1984 version best, but this new film is well worth seeing.

More Mickey

A closeup of a Mickey ornament featuring the traditional ears, and another Mickey item in the room: Mickey and Minnie looking at a list of the gift-receiving good little boys and girls: Gianna, Carolyn, Joey and Bobby. Mickey moves when the grandchildren are around (and when we plug him in!)