Kicking off the Christmas season…

For the first time in a few years, we spent Thanksgiving in San Francisco. So, we took advantage of the relaxing long weekend to put up our Christmas tree and decorate the house.

We decided to move the tree into the living room this year, because we had placed a wine cabinet in the old tree spot. One very nice side effect was that the new location provides a view of the tree from the entry stairwell. Now, we have nearly 360-degree viewing of the tree…which is a good thing, because we seem to add several new ornaments each year.

Anyhow…here is the assembly…including action shots of Jeff with ornament-hanging action grip.

I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the new ornaments this year. We added a Virginia Tech ornament…which is extra special after the Hokies big win over UVA today. Kim sent us a beautiful glass ball made with ash from Mount St. Helens. A sample of some Dutch Royal Delft, and a German nut cracker from our trip. Our annual White House ornament…this year celebrating the White House wedding of Grover Cleveland. And a few new Christmas fairies, which have become an annual favorite for Jeff.

The result is this massive table of ornaments. Each one with a fantastic story. A flood of memories as we unwrap and hang each one.