The Fireplace and Mantle

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie!  We have a lot of very special Christmas items surrounding our fireplace; I thought I'd share a little bit about those with you today.

The first thing you might notice is the perfect angels sitting on the hearth.

Maggie and me - being very, very good!

Right next to Maggie are Mom's Belgian sabots - wooden shoes left out for Saint Nicolas to fill on December 6th, Saint Nicolas Day!  We are supposed to put carrots or hay or other treats in there the night of the 5th for St. Nicolas' horse - and then he might give us special toys or small treats!  We haven't put anything in there yet - you know -- it could be too much temptation for someone.

Anyway, hanging under the mantle is a Nativity quilt that Mom made:

She couldn't find a pattern she really liked, so she winged that one.  That's how Mom does things.

Let's have a look at the mantle itself!  It's full of angels and Nativity type items!

On the far left is a shepherd with his flock.  That and the music box of carolers you can just see on the far right Mom and Dad bought in Germany.  The music box plays "Stille Nacht". I'm told that if it was from here in the States, it would play "Silent Night" instead. (Ha roo woo roo!)

The Shepherd spinny-thing turns when you light the candles. Or at least it's supposed to, but there's a chance it got a bit "stuck" once upon a time and the blades caught on fire ... so the candles are mostly for show now. Enough said about that!

Here is the small crèche:

Mom and Dad bought that in the Belgian town they lived in, Soignies, in their favorite shop - La Parapette.  There is a good chance Mom dropped a lot of francs there.  A real good chance!

The pottery angels are from right here in the Flint Hills of Kansas!  Other angels up there were all made by friends of Mom's and given to her!  The small Christmas tree has a star at the top that was also given to Mom - it is a small Nativity scene carved from Olive Wood; it is from Jerusalem!

"I think that's a wrap, isn't it, Cam?  Let's grab some carrots for St. Nicolas' horse!"
"Yummm... carrots!  I mean ... let's wait until tomorrow night!"

Yeah.  Best to wait.  We have to keep that "perfect angels" thing going!

I hope you're all enjoying the Christmas holidays as much as we are!

Cammie!