Variations on a theme

Holiday village scenes are an old tradition. Isn't this a neat old photo?

We usually had a small village under the tree when I was young, and my own family has set up a village since Nick and Dave were little. Buildings and accessories have been added each year, and it outgrew "under the tree" status a long time ago.

This year, Tony and I set up a new arrangement of buildings and landmarks. We put it up last week so Nick and Dave could see it when they were here. This is only about a third of the stuff we have, but we edited a lot because we were trying for a special scene. Come along for a tour of Bear Valley!

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Our town is in the dining room below the staircase, on the buffet and treadle sewing machine (that's been relocated because of the Christmas tree in the living room).

First we see my Mom, enjoying the birds and squirrels. Note the carport that we added to the front of her building, which is really there: convenient to load and unload walkers, wheel chairs, etc.

Up at the corner from her residence is The Village -- a microcosm of our real tourist village :) First, an ice-skating rink across the street from Paoli's, everyone's favorite Italian restaurant.

Next, the main village street. In addition to Paoli's, we've included our movie theater; Chad's Bar (where the bikers really congregate -- some night life going on there!); Teddy Bear Resturant, another favorite local diner complete with newspaper machines lined up along the curb; and finally Santa (who has a nice little red shed in real life), and the horse guy. Our real horse guy is on the corner almost every day. He has two carriages, and you can hire him for a ride around The Village. His daughter assists. Very often he has a goat or two there also, and sometimes traffic is held up for the horses and goats. I think it's amusing to live in a town that has goats on the corner!

Next, at the end of the main street is the gas station. Dave made that little gas pump looooong ago.

Travelling along the Boulevard, we come next to Snow Summit and Bear Mountain, our two local ski resorts. See Nick, Dave and Jessica snowboarding? See the (haha) BIG BEAR at the top of the mountain?

Here and in real life, my Dad's little place is nestled at the base of Snow Summit. Here he's off his porch, feeding his blue jays. Note the hardware store next door. It really is up at the corner from him, and he's in there practically every day. Good place for old geezers to congregate!

Continuing along the Boulevard, we come next to our real shopping area (as opposed to The Village, which is mainly touristy shops). K-Mart and Stater's grocery are valley hot spots!

Half a mile up the road behind Stater's is our house! Note: a front porch like the one we're enjoying so much; gazebo filled with firewood; apple trees we planted this autumn; birch tree in yard with a gathering of squirrels; my good old car; and Tony, Jess, Elvis and me greeting you out in front.

Behind our new house, (and in real life another half a mile up the road from here) is our old chalet-style house. We put it behind because it's in the past. Also parked there is the truck Nick used to have, and a coyote trotting along the road.

The final scene shows St. Joseph's church, our local parish, and of course a manger, the meaning of Christmas.

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We finished an easy puzzle last night while watching football -- not coincidentally, another holiday village! Popcorn and hot chocolate were involved, too, a nice evening.

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