Shiny AND Brite!

Yesterday when Jessie and I were going through the Christmas things I found this battered little canoe and the Chinese couple who have been riding into the New Year in it for a very long time on all of my Christmas trees. The lady of the couple needed her face glued back on which I did, and I told Jessie, "I'm not ready to give these up."

I am not sure where I got either the canoe or the couple but I think that possibly a boyfriend from long ago gave me the canoe and my first mother-in-law gave me the man and woman. I could be so wrong about that. 

Today I was searching around in a closet looking for a charging device and I found it but it's not what I wanted. I also found the packaging for my iPod, the paper work and packaging for many iPhones and AirPods, some lovely little gifty items, and two strings of tiny battery-run lights.

I threw away some of the Apple product packaging and I am going to wrap up the sweet little gift items and give them as Christmas presents, and the lights...well, they inspired me to get my tiny Norfolk Island pine off the front porch where it's been in its pot since last Christmas. Or was it the Christmas before? 
Who knows? Not me. 
It was one I got at Publix, of course. That I do know. 

And then I decorated it. 

It is perfect in my opinion. 

It is small but it is mighty. 

And then, because I was absolutely burbling and bubbling with the Christmas spirit, I decided to put up the little manger I've had since Hank and May were little. 

In family tradition, I picked a few magnolia branches to frame it and also, I put Buddha in there too because that is what we do. Many, many years ago, Hank went and got that little Buddha off a mantelpiece and put him behind the Baby Jesus. 
Again- perfect. 

I always imagine that Buddha with his happy grin is saying to the assembled creatures whether human or four-legged or angelic, "I'm god! You're god! We're all god!" 

On my FB memories yesterday I saw that some years ago I had posted a picture of this same arrangement and my now deceased and brilliant and funnier-than-we'll-ever-be friend, B-Boy (aka Brian Everhart), had commented something like, "Mary, I say this in the most respectful and spiritual way- I think that Buddha is back there asking the eternal question- "WHO'S YOUR DADDY?" 

So putting out these two things have made me happy which is a little surprising but it's true. And actually, not so surprising. I love Christmas ornaments. I keep many of them up all year long. Forever. 

Here we have a entire collection of vintage Shiny Brite ornaments that belonged to Mr. Moon's family. And those star lights over the door? I honestly cannot tell you how many years they have twinkled and changed color there, permanently plugged in. 

Oh my goodness! In the box that the manger was stored in, there was a different string of battery-operated lights that I love but the case that the batteries go in was totally broken and messed up so I couldn't use them. But Mr. Moon has made them work with scotch tape and I could not be more delighted. 

It's sort of like a rock concert and sort of like Mexico. 

Rock on, Buddha, Mary, Joseph, donkey, and cow! (I think that's a cow.) 

Felice Navidad, y'all. 

Love...Ms. Moon