Quirkie second half of December

I don't know how else to say it. When people say "I hope you had a nice Christmas" I am not sure what to say. Yes, James and I had a nice Christmas ... but not what we had expected.

Before things had got quirky I had taken photos to show the progress of Advent decorations. The first thing usually to go up is our Hartensteiner Advent star. This is probably 47 years old. It is made in my father's hometown Hartenstein. My parents always had one and they saw to it that I wasn't without one when I had moved to the USA. Well, you probably have seen it in every December blog.

December can't start without Advent calendars. On the 1st of December James and I start taking turns turning that day's lace Chrismons. So much fun every year. It does not get old.

Advent time doesn't mean you have to have all the decorations up on the first day. It means you have all this time to prepare for Christmas. So, trees went up one after the other. 

1 of 3: this is my Chrismon tree. It's place is usually in the sunroom. All the Chrismons I have ever designed are on it in both sizes. So sorry you can't really see what it looks like. Day and Night!

Oh yes, my Christmas cactus tries to steal the show very early.

The second tree is so very German. Ha-ha, I totally forgot the German (looking) lights this year but it is ok. All the ornaments are straw ornaments. I have so many memories as a child using real straw to make our own ornaments. And they were so very pretty. 

The one I call the family memory tree is smaller this year. Downsizing. The tree is smaller and not all fit on any longer. But the most important still do. And it takes a while to think of all of it and put them on. This decorating is not work, it is fun.

On the end of the table I left some ornaments the boys could put on. They were supposed to be with us two days with one night in-between in the week before Christmas when they were out of school and their parents had to work. They are still laying on the end of that table.

Covid happened. Wade tested positive Monday the 19th. Family of 5 quarantined. Sarah was worried about us and told us we could not have the children. Parents worked at home. 

James and I kept making it Christmassy for us. 

Christmas greetings were arriving and filling up the "over the door card display". 

Ah, my favorite: all the many nativities from all over the world from our travels. So interesting how people in different countries see the Holy Family.

Another workshop on a Saturday. Every year all who want to learn to make this year's Chrismon can come and join us. We learn by using the larger beads to make the ornament which is designed for church trees. When we are done we all march into church and hang what we made onto the tree in the sanctuary. It is always so much fun. Every year the tree gets a little fuller. 

One of our great neighbors had shared information with us about a Chrismon walk at the catholic church. Of course we were interested. On Tuesday 20th we went to check it out. It was a bitterly cold day. It took us a while to find it. 

We found the path which lead around the lake.

There were 5 of these signs posted. Three of them had Q signs on them to scan and watch a video.

It was a very short path but at the end was the grotto with two trees decorated with Chrismons obviously made by children. Really cute ... if it had not been so very cold.

Heilig Abend, Christmas Eve, Sarah thought they were pretty much out of quarantine. The weather was not as bad as the forecast had sounded earlier. We decided to go to the 5 pm service. We asked Sarah whether we could pick up the boys but she said that she would come with them. James and I were delighted. Just to make everybody comfortable all 6 of us wore masks. 

It was a family service with the children's sermon on the steps. We are happy that the boys always seem to enjoy coming to church. Owen has always something to say to Fr. Lee.

Sunday morning early (December 25) very early I received a text from Sarah that she was positive. She sounded so disappointed. Oh, that covid!

Since I was scheduled to be teller and we could not be with the boys to see what Santa had brought to them,we decided to go to the service at 10 am and do what I was scheduled for. It is never a very much attended service but it was good for us.

We went straight from the service to the children to drop off our gifts. We stayed in front of the door which felt odd. Sarah insisted of giving us a large cooling bag with some of the food she had bought and prepared for the Christmas meal. Gosh, what strange times.

So, we had a late Christmas lunch with food from Sarah's bag. I had made the mistake to put Wade's cheesestraws on the table too. Those are so good and they really could be my downfall.

Voids were filled with calls with Helen in Nashville and family in England and Germany. No matter what, life is good. And as my mother used to say: it could be so much worse.