It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Ben is decorated with his little Christmas bow - it's very small but tasteful. Mrs. Paws, his mobile groomer, came today to give him his Christmas clip. She has a van which is fully equipped to bathe and clip him and he's in and out in just over an hour. The less trauma the better. He always gives her such a nice welcome, then all of a sudden he realizes exactly who she is and his little tail goes down and he starts shaking. Getting groomed isn't one of his favourite things.

The house is finally decorated too. I love this collection of nutcrackers. They are all from Germany and all were gifts to Leo from one of his suppliers. I always really appreciated these gifts - more so than the wine (which I don't drink) or the booze (which I rarely drink). Back in the days when there was a lot more graft given out, this company always gave these nutcrackers and I have always treasured them. When Ben was a puppy, he used to love to take the chimney sweep's brush - he never chewed it, he just wanted to play with it.

The tree is up and here is my baby admiring it He always seems to have evil eyes in pictures - I'm sure my camera has an adjustment for that, but since I'm electronically challenged, I don't have a clue how to use it. It took me six months to figure out how to delete more than one image at a time.

This is another favourite Christmas decoration which was made by a very talented lady in her 70s. Every tiny detail was handmade - all the goodies in the basket, the doll's coat and hat, the toys and presents in the sleigh. She has way more patience than I'd ever hope to have.

This is my group of Santas - and not a red suited one in the bunch! Actually, I do have an authentic red Santa which I've had since I was a child. He has a rubber face, hands and feet and a beautiful red velvet coat and furry beard - probably circa 1960. He does, however, have one slight problem - his arms are open wide because at one time he held a large shock absorber. Yes, a shock absorber - he was a promotional Santa for some shock absorber company. The shock absorber is long gone, but the Santa remains. He'd probably fetch a pretty penny on Ebay but I wouldn't part with him for the world as my Dad gave him to me.