Thank you for finding That Old House amidst the chaos of the Internet. We are delighted that you are here.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Howard Meets Mabel, and Dinosaurs Visit Bethlehem

It's coming on dusk this cloudy Sunday afternoon.
Our Christmas lights are gone from the fence and the grape arbor, but I
asked Howard to leave the lights and pine roping around the front door.

For a little while.
C'mon in, take a look around.

Inside That Old House, it is still Epiphany, and the Three Wisemen are visiting Bethlehem.
So is a Dinosaur.
Yes, we know that humans and dinosaurs did not roam the Earth at the same time,
but with the Lord -- for whom time and space are all laid out as one -- anything is possible.

A few years ago, Anne fashioned a model dinosaur for her sister Alida, who was beginning to study
for a Ph.D. in Philosophy in California.  Anne glued all the little fiddly wood bits together,
and then covered the Dinosaur with philosophical quotes.  Dozens of them.
She added an academic stole and a mortarboard for good measure.

I'm not sure who first put the Quotasaurus in the Creche -- it might have been me --
but it's a fixture now.  Until it finally goes to live with its rightful owner.

********************************
On Saturday, Howard removed the lights and ornaments
from the Fraser Fir Christmas tree in the sunroom.
Dion supervised.
This tree held up remarkably well, stayed perky all through the season,
and shed very few needles even as it was being dragged out the door to its doom.

It is still sad to see a beloved Christmas tree tossed to the curb.
I hope its evergreen friends who are still planted aren't taunting it.

So . . . 
this is why I wanted the door lights to stay up, and lit, just a little while longer.
I didn't have any pictures of the whole house.

Once again, I tied up the Christmas tree trimmings with red ribbon, and used that instead of a wreath
on the front door.  Because wreaths cost money, and I am (sometimes) thrifty.

The people who sold us That Old House live behind us now, in a bigger house they had built.
I still think ours is the Queen, even if only because of her age.
She does need her shutters back, though, doesn't she?

I dragged my poor husband all over creation today, buying old furniture to sell,
and a corner cupboard to use for display, for my booth at Somerville Center Antiques.
Howard is Mr. Patience, thank goodness.
He stayed calm when meeting Mabel, the giant German Shepherd, at one house way up in the hills;
Mabel didn't take kindly to strangers, let's just leave it at that.
(From the sound of her deep voice, I think ol' Mabel may have a bit of a hormone problem.)

Plus, that corner cupboard for the booth had to be carried down 3 staircases.  Or was it four?

That's it for today!  Nothing exciting.  Just a little slice of life at That Old House,
where Christmas is getting tucked back into its boxes, and we are ready for the rest of Winter.
Not.

Resolution?  Keep following the Star, with or without a Dinosaur at my side.  -- Cass

15 comments:

  1. The 94 year old father of our Sunday School Teacher was a missionary, and had also been a seminary professor. When he taught us the book of Job, he said he definitely believed that Job lived along with the dinosaurs. Read it with that perspective. He surely convinced me!

    ReplyDelete
  2. We have the craziest eclectic Nativity that you ever saw...probably. I went through a phase of several years of having to buy each lone piece of a Nativity set that I saw at Thrift Stores and Antique Stores. I just couldn't leave them there all alone. There are 5 baby Jesus (one brown), and several Mary's and Josephs...so on and so on. I don't put my proper ones out anymore, just that one. It feels welcoming to everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well, just when I think I have seen every possible animal in a nativity, you top it! Love it- I think that should be an aftermarket product for ALL nativity sets....title on the package could be- With God ALL things are possible. Should we give it a go? Split the profits?;>)

    The front of your house looks beautiful. I took down all the rest of the Christmas stuff today but left our outside garlands up along our porch and the outside wreaths. I might tackle those tomorrow....we'll see.

    Hope you have a great night- xo Diana

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cass,
    That Old House certainly looks lovely in all her glory of whiteness! It will be good to get the shutters back up, too.
    The idea of using the tree trimmings to make a swag instead of a wreath is perfect. If we had a real tree.....
    Have a wonderful week!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your house is so pretty. is that the big previous owner in the back? I could see why you'd leave the greenery and lights around the door ... your new camera is doing a good job!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Quote-asaurus! Love it, I enjoy your wit so much.

    Discarded Christmas trees at the side of the road have always made me want to cry. It used to be (a long, long time ago....) that most trees left at the curb still wore their tinsel (this was way before garland, but definitely after Quote-asaurus!) Somehow that sight is just so sad!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sometimes those "slice of life" posts are the best. Good luck with the antiques booth. Cheers,
    Kat

    ReplyDelete
  8. Howard is wonderful to take down the tree. I am afraid to say ours is up but we have been transporting CC off to college and everything is disrupted. I will play catch up later, way later.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The Great Dane and I are all about ecumenism - with a family like ours it's a given that we'll all blend/celebrate together...but a dinosaur in Bethlehem, well, that was news to me. What a relief to get the background story.
    Brave Howard!
    Beautiful house, with naked eyes - she says she needs her shutters!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ahh yes That Old House is certainly the queen! Her age,and her nooks and crannies make her so. :)

    So glad to see you back to posting Cass, I have missed your blogs over the holidays.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I too think it sad to see the Christmas trees on the curbs. A part of me wants to take them home, and re-decorate them. I guess that's one for the books.Richard from My Old Historic House.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Well I love the addition of the quoteasaurus! (What a cool gift that was too!) It's very "Man Ray" in adding that off kilter element of quirk. *winks* It is sad to see the Christmas trees at the curb...Another reminder that the Christmas season is over *sighs* Maybe they'll be made into wood chips for the garden? I've got my fingers crossed for that kind of recycling. Vanna

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Our county takes all the discarded Christmas trees, chips them, and they are used as mulch at the communal veggie gardens, or are added to the compost heaps. So while they never get their "bling" back, they do go on to be very useful!
      Cass

      Delete
  13. I like to decorate my house with what I call my 'winter' decorations. The dreariness of the season needs all the help it can get, right?
    I look forward to seeing all the goodies you put in your booth. That corner cabinet must be a beauty to carry it down that many flights of stairs!!

    You're right...keep following the Star and all will be well. ;)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting That Old House; it's always exciting to find new comments -- they are treasured! Because of increasing spam, I have reluctantly eliminated "Anonymous" commenting. Legitimate anonymous commenters, please forgive me! You might try using "Open ID" instead. Blogger's spam software worked for a good long time, but, sadly, no longer.