I alluded to the fact that it was amazingly windy two weeks ago.   How amazingly windy?   Well, whoever keeps track of these things recorded a wind speed of 100 mph on the south end of town by the Army base.  We occasionally get winds of up to 60 mph, but this is pretty rare even.  So the big blow was a big deal, it even made the national news.

This is from my neighborhood, two large trees that went together, fortunately missing the house.   I have a lot of trees on my lot, and they are all still standing, this guy was not so lucky.

This tree is across the street from one of my friends.  It broke in half, again missing the house.   A pine tree my friend had planted in her back yard 35 years before also blew over.   But she is a resourceful sort, and she and the hubby reduced these to to a large pile of firewood.

There was also numerous semi trucks (lorries), fences and signs that blew over, and lots of roofs lost their shingles.  I had one tile come loose, which is not too bad, but I still haven’t fixed it.  The sad part is that now everyone’s insurance will go up, even though this was an uncommon event.   But we’ll just plant more trees and life will go on.

After four years of not having a tree, a faraway friend inspired me to put one up again (you know, that tradition thing).   Back when we had a rambunctious dog. I had decided on getting a small artificial tree (yes I decided on artificial because I don’t like to kill things) that I put on a table.   It can’t be knocked over by a careless tail, and I use all my favorite ornaments, with no plain glass balls allowed.   This collection started small and has been added to over the years.   When we used to travel to scientific conventions, L’s wife and I would always end up at a Christmas store, and some of these ornaments were purchased then.   Many of the others were bought at the after-Christmas sales because I hate to pay full retail price for anything.

These African beaded ornaments were purchased in San Antonio, near the Alamo.

The lion came from San Francisco, I don’t remember about the dog.

Every tree needs some birds flying around it, and what says “Christmas” as much as a parrot.   (You could really teach a parrot to say this).

The lizard was made in Africa and I can’t remember if M bought it there or if I got it from somewhere in the US.  I think the poison dart frog was purchased in Denver and the rest I got in town somewhere.

What is it about me and frogs?   This isn’t even all of my frog ornaments.   I guess I like frogs because they are funny and cheerful.

I don’t know about the mouse jester, but the humahumanukunukuapua’a was definitely bought in Hawai’i.

St. Nicholas belongs to the season, but I’m not so sure about the gargoyle, giraffe or Northern Pike. (Yes, they are part of Christmas too!)

But of all my ornaments, these are perhaps my very favorites.  Small plastic dinosaurs with adorable faces, and just the right touch of holiday spirit.   I have had these for about 30 years, and I purchased them right here in town.

Another somewhat weird tradition is the buying and wearing of Christmas pins.  My paternal grandmother loved to wear these, and so she would get one for Mom and sometimes me as well.  (I looked in my jewelry box, but I don’t still have any of these, I was too hip to wear these as a young woman).

This is a horrible picture I took with my new from this century phone that I don’t know how to use.  My friend said that it was her mother’s, so it is probably 40 years old or so.  They used to cost about a dollar, and there would be big displays of these in the shops.  They were sold in a little box, sitting on cotton wool so one could give them as gifts.

I always liked the more unusual sort of pin, and these were purchased at Christmas time.  I have another one of the lobster pins (somewhere), and I have the frog as a plastic toy as well as in this metal pin.  I have had these for years and still occasionally wear them.

This one is new and not really gaudy enough to be a Christmas pin.

Another frog pin, are we sensing a theme here?

This is my current favorite and I have been wearing it a lot lately.   It’s so cheerful and not a bit Christmassy.

But this is the best holiday thing to wear (not a pin).   It’s actually intended as a Christmas ornament, but I put it on a bit of cord and wear it as a necklace.  The dog in the picture is my previous dog (Chow and Golden Retriever), so this necklace is probably at least 15 years old.   Whenever I wear this, people will stop me and ask where they can get one just like it (all one needs a time machine to purchase this).