A Southern Christmas
Friday, December 12, 2008 at 11:44PM 
Let's take a wee break from YouTubes of O Holy Night, shall we, mah dears?
It's been warm and muggy here in the Midlands of South Carolina (yesterday I briefly used the central air conditioning), but nevertheless, as it does every single year, Christmas has come to our house.
Today a very sweet and talented Christian lady sent me an email and we got to chatting in cyberspace, as it were. She relayed that her family are under a great deal of stress this holiday season, with some life-changing decisions looming in their immediate future. She asked me to pray for her, as she admits to a tendency to indulge in worry.
"Longsuffering" is his middle name.
As usual I took the opportunity to impart special wisdom to my friend. I quote myself: "... don't worry about a thing! Remember that as long as you or one of your loved ones are not confined to a hospital bed or, worse yet, wearing a toe tag, it's all good."
So late this evening, in the interest of taking my own excellent advice, I decided not to type any more sworn testimony in this calendar day. I'm on schedule and it will all get done. I grabbed my camera and began taking pictures of things that remind me it's Christmas, a time to rejoice, not a time to worry or fret.
Here I share with you various images of our tree and what adorns it, some decorations, early gifts from Erica to me (a mug with a pithy message) and to Javier (a Christmas sweater), and of course Javier himself, humoring us for as long as it took to get the photos! "Longsuffering" is his middle name.
If you hover your mouse over each picture, a caption will appear!
If you click on any picture, it will take you to the album on Slide.
Merry Christmas, y'all!
Reader Comments (12)
You have some beautiful ornaments. Where did you get Captain Jack? My daughter would love that!
It's cruel of you to remind me of the warmth you are living in. It's 12 degrees here this morning!
Mari, I think I'd be tempted to never leave the house if it were 12 degrees outside! And you all are just getting started! When we lived in NW Indiana I liked the cold and snow until Christmas, but the day after that I quickly lost interest! Unfortunately there would be 3-4 months of cold and snow left, haha! We're supposed to have highs in the high 60s all week here ... nice, and easy on the heating bill!
Captain Jack is a Hallmark collector ornament! I got him at the Hallmark store last year. He is so cute, with so much detail, and the chest at his feet! I hope you can get one for your daughter.
Why am I not seeing any photos? I want to see photos! WHERE ARE THE PHOTOS!
@ JD ... ack! You can't see the photos? Try pasting this URL into your browser field:
http://www.slide.com/r/XJdumMjgxT9iMxorrjGcDAfN7KI8-7wX?previous_view=lt_embedded_url
At first I thought your dog (Javier) was an ornament. I haven't yet had any caffeine today...
@ Kev ... come to think of it, J. Longsuffering Weber IS ornaMENTAL (a combination of ornery and mental) in his own way! Not much bigger than some of my ornaments, either ...
Not had your caffeine yet? A trifle late in rising today, are we, Kev?
HA! Thanks for posting the link. NOW I can see them! I love all your beautiful ornaments (and of course Javier is the loveliest of them all!) We had to forego ornaments this year, because Prudence the Kitten would've made a huge mess of everything.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
JD, no ornaments? Only Prudence? That's a huge load for such a tiny kitten to carry! Better dress her in an extra-festive Christmas sweater to make up for it! BTW I have conveyed your kind compliment to Javier, who is even now wearing his sweater. He just kept right on licking his paws.
I love your Cap'n Jack ornament. Leave it to you to find one! And I can't believe your temperatures. We here in So. Calif are currently experiencing highs in the fifties! That's cold for us!
Keli, yes, it's holding pretty warm here and we are expecting it to last at least the week! Yesterday and today were a bit cooler but I think it's trending up. Make haste and obtain your own Captain Jack ornament while they last!
Your ornaments are very pretty. I really like the Erica's angel and the silver feather. Do you buy a new ornament to add to the tree every year or just when you find one you like?
Erin, how sweet of you to ask! Erica's angel is named that because the angel resembles her (Erica my daughter, that is!) ... we bought it several years ago sort of on a whim, mostly because of that resemblance and the fact that Erica and I saw her while out shopping together.
The silver feather was a gift to me from my mother on a November day four or five years back when we were shopping in some boutiques on Devine Street in Columbia. I love it because it is so big and glittery!
Many of my favorite ornaments have been gifts to me from special people, and I love to give ornaments as well! It's a gift you always know someone will use again and again.
To answer your question, I don't necessarily set out to buy an ornament each year (I haven't bought any this year and don't plan to), but usually I will see something that I "must" have, at some point during the year! My Captain Jack Sparrow Hallmark collectors' ornament, for example, was purchased nowhere near Christmas, and he never gets put away! He has a special place on a bookshelf year round. Aren't ornaments fun?