Merry Christmas from Red Bell Farm!

For all of you out there who are dreaming of a white Christmas, here's one from Red Bell Farm!

"May your days be merry and bright,

And may all your Christmases be white!"

Merry Christmas from Red Bell Farm!

Atop the Tree

I read Tongue in Cheek every day. Corey is a wonderful storyteller and her blog is always a fun read. This week she asked people to comment on her blog entry telling her what sits atop their Christmas tree; she randomly picked 5 comments and the winners will receive a red French beret! Alas, I didn't win a beret, but I did have a load of fun reading about other people's Christmas trees! Many readers have stars, angels, and bows as tree toppers; a few have more 'unique' things, like a bird's nest, American flags, snowflakes, a coil of pearls that looks like white grapes, a crown, a snakeskin (really!), C3PO from Star Wars, and feathers. One woman doesn't put up a tree; she hangs a 12-string guitar on the wall and decorates it with garland, lights and ornaments! This lovely Provencal dove from my favorite ceramist, Edith Fidler, is atop my tree this year. It blends nicely with my postcards from all over the world and ornaments purchased when I travel. What sits atop your tree this year? I'd love to know!

Christmas Joy

"We don't remember days; we remember moments."


Cesare Pavese


Like the moment you open the back door and find the tall box left by the UPS man...











"The future is plump with promise."

Maya Angelou



Waiting, waiting for the future while plump buds drink and drink and drink....

" Before me, may it be delightful.
Behind me, may it be delightful.
Around me, may it be delightful.
Below me, may it be delightful.
Above me, may it be delightful.
All, may it be delightful." Navajo blessing






Thank you, Walt and Debbie, for my delightful Christmas tulips! My kitchen feels alive and blessed.

Christmas Angels

No surprise, I guess, that yesterday's CD was full of photos! I'm thrilled. This is the photo that Trav and Becky used for their Christmas card. I actually took it at La Jolla in October when we were all in San Diego.

This one of Marley and Parker is also on their card...

There isn't a better gift in the world for a grandmother than pictures of her 'angels!'

Favorite Things

One of my favorite things about Christmas (besides the carols, beautiful store windows, twinkly lights, sentimental tree ornaments, fudge, Christmas cookies...oh heck, there's not much about Christmas that I don't like!) is going to the mailbox and finding real mail...love those Christmas cards. But when I find a box from Montana, I feel especially blessed! In Becky's box to me, I found a new favorite Christmas tree ornament...








beautiful notecards with art by a local Yellowstone artist, Lynn Chan...











artwork by Parker (I think it's purple snow)....






a lovely and mysterious red satin bag to open later...

and this...a gift to make a grandmother's heart sing! Come back tomorrow to see what treasures it holds!





PS...Becky just called. I'm supposed to open the red bag now! She's got 'a theme going,' she says. You don't have to tell me twice to open a Christmas gift early!

The Final Obsession

What do strings of iridescent beads, tiny white lights, silk poinsettias, and Versailles have in common? They are all decorations on the small, artificial Christmas tree in my bedroom. Versailles is represented by postcards that I purchased there during my 2007 visit. See, I told you I was obsessed with cards this Christmas! Versailles took my breath away; it was over-the-top luxurious, opulent and beautiful. While I took many interior photos of the Palace, the postcards show it off the best.

Okay, I promise...no more Christmas decorations! But, I do want to share with you that I really was at Versailles. I took this photo of myself in one of the mirrors in the famous Hall of Mirrors. Last year I visited with a woman who is a huge traveller. She always takes a photo of her own feet at her travel destination to prove that yes, she really was there! Do you take photos of yourself when you travel?

Obsessed

I confess. I've become obsessed with cards this Christmas. No, not Christmas cards...postcards and business cards. It all started with my postcard Christmas tree. Suddenly, every card I've ever collected became fuel for my imagination. I remembered the business cards I collected from my trips to France. Mickey got me started with that; she asks for a business card at every restaurant she visits and tucks them into her travel notebook for future trips. I became a collector as well, but usually because cards from French businesses are so pretty and unusual. And now these pretty and unusual cards decorate another small Christmas tree in my entry hall. The one you see here with the different colored squares? that's from a tea shop in Paris and those are all labels from Kusmi tea which the shop features. The blue one with the mountain...that one is from l'Oustal, the B & B I stayed at in Montsegur. Restaurants represented in this photo are La Fregate, Le Christine, La Rotisserie d'en face, and L'Epi dupin..all in Paris. If I page thru my travel journal, I can tell you what I ate at each one!

The green and yellow card is from E. Dehillerin, a virtual paradise in Paris for serious cooks. Lined floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall with every kind of cooking gadget, pot, pan, dish, bowl, utensil you can imagine, this store is a treasure trove of goodies. The only problem is this: remember if you buy it, you have to either carry it home in your suitcase or have it shipped. You might think twice before you get carried away and purchase those lovely and colorful enamel-covered cast iron pots by Le Creuset! The card that is a picture of a pretty Lot village is from Lou Bolat, a delightful terraced restaurant perched on the hillside in St. Cirq Lapopie. I ate there twice; yummy both times.

Tiny red lights and gold bead chains complete the look of my memory-filled Christmas tree. But wait...I'm not done yet! Come back again for another card tree.

The Postcard Tree

I adore postcards! I love to send them, I love to receive them, and I love to buy them just to keep. When I travel, I frequently buy postcards of interior spaces where photos are prohibited. The postcard is always a better picture than I could take anyway. I can't bear to throw away postcards that I get from friends and family which means I have quite a few tucked away in drawers. What to do with all these mementos? Decorate the Christmas tree with them, of course! My big tree in the living room is full of beautiful cards from national parks, trips to New Hampshire, Las Vegas, Hawaii, South Carolina, and Disneyworld. I've hung cards from Vienna, Mexico, British Columbia, Thailand, France, Spain, and Lithuania. If you've sent me a postcard in the last few years....it's hanging on my tree!

There's always room for one more, tho....so don't forget me when you travel in 2010. Your postcard could end up on next year's tree!

What do you do with your old postcards??

What I Did on My Christmas Vacation...

I didn't exactly take a Christmas vacation, although I did take the day after Christmas off (expected of all managers since we are 'non-essential to patient care'...ouch!). Starting around Thanksgiving I began to feel a little blue that I hadn't planned anything exciting for the 4-day weekend...no family for Christmas, no trip to some warm and sunny clime. Those Hallmark commercials always get to me...maybe I should have tried to fly to Montana to be with Travis? Once the holiday got a bit closer, though, and I saw horror stories on the news of cancelled flights, horrendous weather, and travellers stranded for DAYS...I knew I made the right decision once again to stay home. So, Christmas was quiet. I opened a few gifts, made real oyster stew for Christmas Eve dinner and enjoyed a peaceful holiday.

One of my best...ever...gifts came from my brother, Jim. It's a wonderful picture book called "Natural Affinities" and features two of my favorites artists, Georgia O'Keeffe (pictured here) and Ansel Adams. It contains 3 rather lengthy essays comparing and contrasting their work, but the bulk of the book is pictures of some of the most famous and also least seen works by both. I've been to the Georgia O'Keeffe art museum in Santa Fe and have seen a lot of her work. Many of the works featured in this book, however, are in private collections and not often viewed by others. They are spectacular. Although I don't always understand O'Keeffe's paintings, I find them intriguing. Reading about her life only added to my fascination with her as both an artist and a woman.

More tomorrow on Ansel Adams....

Preparing for Christmas

This month's issue of France Today contains a very informative article about santons. It brought to mind my santons. My Provencal 'people' are busy preparing for Christmas. It's none too early for these citizens to begin readying for the Christ Child's arrival. Both Monsieur le Chef and the Monsieur le Boulanger (the baker) are waiting for Madame who brings miel and lavandre. La chevre and la poule will contribute valuable ingredients for the Christmas feast, while le moulin will help grind the wheat for Christmas bread. The people will be busy the next few days. Come back again and meet others in the village who will welcome Baby Jesus and His family soon.