Glass Moon

This came out less luminous than I had hoped, but it's still a cool photograph of a moon ornament we have. 

Moon Ornament

I forget when this Moon was aquired.  I want to say the late nineties, probably in the Portland Galleria Building.

Above it and to the right is a porcelain dove -- which I'm thinking is about a decade older.

Bishop Mouse

Bishop Mouse was bought in the seventy's, I think, from a gift cart at the Church of the Good Samaritan in Corvallis.

I've always liked the purple robes, and there's something friendly about a bishop who is also a mouse.

As Bishop Mouse is an animal, relatively dog-proof, and child-friendly, it's usually found on the lower boughs of the tree.

Silent Fright

My sister hates this angel.  I'm not sure why.  I think it frightens her.

I, of course, always loved this particular angel, and for decades made sure that she was always ensconced at the very top of the tree.  I liked her because she was angel that wasn't too cute, or saccharine, or blonde-and-blue-eyed.  I liked her because she seemed like she was beautiful without being pretty.  I liked her because of the small silver star on her brow, which made her a kind of Tolkien character.

We still have this angel, and she still is near the top of the tree, but she's been supplanted by a big star bought on sale at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Christmas Tree Moon

 One of the traditions in our family is finding a new ornament in one's stocking.  From that point on, it becomes part of a constellation of things that are "yours," and which you're expected to put on the family tree.  There's a group of instruments, of mice, of banners, and a bunch of commemorative globes. 

For a while, I was getting lunar-themed ornaments, and one year, I got this moon decoration.   I like the blue color on it, and the face is a little more friendly than some of the other moons'.  It's also one of the more photogenic ornaments less likely to confuse my camera's auto-focus.

Bishop of Bling?

One of the things I do each holiday season is attempt to photograph Christmas Tree ornaments. My camera is great, but the tree lights confuse the auto-focus, as does any reflection off of metal. So, I have taken a lot of shots that came out blurry (thank goodness my camera is digital).

This year, I made this visual discovery. In the foreground is a bishop mouse that's been in the family since the 1970's.  I've always liked the bishop mouse, probably because it's wearing a purple cassock. Fast forward to a few years ago, when I saw a shopping-cart ornament, and knew that I had to add it to the collection we put on the tree.  Put them together, and suddenly you've got The Bishop of Bling.

Sadly, this year, I couldn't find the Holy Christmas Tarantula (with red and green ribbons) among the boxes of decorations.