Monday, November 30, 2009

Our Happy Yule Tree 2009

Our Yule Tree is nearly completely decorated (I still need to add my collection of red cardinal ornaments to it). I'm really sad how the photographs do not convey the true glowing ambiance of it. (This tree literally glows PINK in the most comforting and unique way, with its exclusively pink lights and pink or silver bulbs but the flash makes the tree look terribly ghetto red; sorry about that -- photos diminish the wonder of this work of art).


Beyond not being able to share the true beauty of this tree; I hope some sense of magic is able to emanate from photos. I've exerted quite a deal of effort collecting vintage elves and such for that goal.
I learned, from my daughter-in-law Skye, when she stayed with us last year, that having an artificial tree totally works in our household with two cats. I hadn't decorated a tree for more than ten years because the felines had always climbed our live trees, destroyed ornaments and risked their own well-being by getting tangled in the tinsel. [I also didn't want to do anything to support the whole Christmas materialism-consumerism idea but after years of processing the whole winter holiday phenomena I now feel I can have a Yule tree, honoring my own spiritual and environmental-responsible beliefs]. Putting a tree together is a very artsy thing to do {it's therapeutic even} as the decorator works with texture, color, and depth; arranging ornaments until they work well together, in balance.

The cats are absolutely NOT drawn to this artificial tree . . . so the Yule tree is BACK! {Hurrah!}
Richest wintry blessings and comfortable warmth to you now and always (from our home to yours).

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Gotta Love Fremont {Thanksgiving 2009}

Doug and I decided to spend Thanksgiving down in Fremont today (Fremont, if you don't know, is located on the northern part of Seattle, WA). Imagine my surprise when I saw this temporary placement of a huge statue featuring Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, Russian Communist. Note: Neither Doug nor I wanted to POSE with this statue. Meanwhile, it seems a resident of Issaquah, WA, saw this bronze art tipped over in Russia and he mortgaged his home to bring it to our state. It's now for sale by the family that survives him. . .

[Double-click any photo to see it up close.]
This next photo makes me want to say "eat your heart out New York." Instead of piling our garbage in the streets, we designate our real estate in alley ways for for collecting recyclable materials as well as trash.
I was thrilled when I saw this very personable work of art -- a plethera of vintage chairs tied to a tree.
If a tree in my yard should ever break -- I'm going to turn it into a mushroom just like this one (below)
Finally, as we were leaving Fremont and drove through Ballard, we saw THIS mushroom. See how large it is (use the street lamp for scale)