Under the Tree (Part 1)

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Michael has this thing for model trains. He loved them as a little boy, and he still loves them now that he's a bigger boy. But for most of our married life we've lived in very small spaces, that really weren't roomy enough for even a small model train set-up. He always wanted a train around the Christmas tree, but we generally had a table-top size tree -- again, not spacious enough for a train.

But now that we're living in a bigger place, and have a bigger tree with lots of room around it, he's started accumulating train stuff to play with. A couple of years ago, he got a Polar Express train set, I think (at first) mostly because that's one of my favorite Christmas movies (he's learned to like it too, I believe, after some resistance at first). And last year, he acquired the house to go with the train. (You'll notice that the train is a lovely shade of blue.)

The convertible is one of this year's additions, and just slightly out of place in the snowy landscape -- the driver must be a real outdoor enthusiast.

Also this year, he's added some figures -- including Santa -- and a little Santa's workshop structure. Very cute. And (I think because I'm such a fan of the Back to the Future movies) a time machine in a DeLorean! I'm not sure how that fits in with the Christmas theme, but it's one of my favorite parts of the set-up. Now we just need tiny Marty and Doc Brown figures to make it complete.

Christmas Time is Here!

Every year I sign up for Holidailies in December, fully intending to update the blog regularly with a bunch of fascinating holiday posts. Of course, it never works out that way. And this year, here we are already five days into the month and I've posted exactly... nothing. It's not that I'm lazy.... Well, actually it is that I'm lazy. Mostly, anyway. But busy, too.

But I didn't want to let another day go by without putting up some sort of holiday post. So, here's a shot of the hubby putting the Christmas wreath on the front door...

...and another of said wreath after he got it all adjusted.

So there we are -- holiday post numero uno.  Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Season's Greetings! And more to come!

Wordless Wednesday: Fairy Garden

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Saturday Snapshot: Bastrop Fires

If you don't live in Texas, you might not know about the fires that have been raging in Bastrop County, just east of Austin this last week. Around 4600 acres have been burned, and nearly 50 "home-like structures" destroyed. So far, it hasn't been as bad as the 2011 fire which lasted two months and destroyed over a thousand homes -- and I guess that's something to be thankful for. But it's still been a terrible time for the folks who live over there. The fire was extensive enough to send smoke billowing into Austin earlier this week, and we could see it in the distance, even though we live pretty far west of the city. This was the view from our front porch on Wednesday afternoon:

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Those aren't ordinary clouds on the horizon -- it's smoke over Austin in the distance. And it hung around all evening:

The fire-fighters say they think the fires are about 40% under control now, but a lot of people are still displaced and wondering if they'll have homes to return to. And with the extra-dry conditions we're having this fall, more fires are still a possibility.  I can't believe I'm saying this, but -- pray for rain.

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