A Covid-19 Christmas – Part I

It’s fair to say that Christmas in the year 2020 is not the joyous occasion that it usually is.  Given the risks in travel, family gatherings, parties, dining out and shopping, it has been and continues to be prudent to just hunker down and stay safe.  I’m not proud to admit that for most of the past week that Tennessee has become one of leading states in the USA...based on the number of Covid-19 infections… Talk about kill joy!

Given the circumstances, it has become incumbent on each of us to find some rays of hope and joy in this ‘Debby Downer’ of a Holiday Season… We can’t let the Grinch steal Christmas!

Our Christmas cactus knows that it’s time to bloom!  The first photo shows it beginning to show its colors and in the second picture it is in its full glory.

Christmas cactus or ‘Schlumbergera’ consists of 6 to 9 species that are naturally found in the coastal mountains of southeastern Brazil.  In their natural habitat they grow on trees or rocks in habitats that are generally shady with high humidity.  Their popular names generally refer to their flowering season.  In the Northern Hemisphere they are called Christmas cactus, holiday cactus or Thanksgiving cactus.  In Brazil, they are referred to as ‘Flor de Maio’ (May Flower), which reflects the period in which they bloom in the Southern Hemisphere.  

One night this past week we took a drive through one of the Tellico Village neighborhoods in Loudon County Tennessee.  It was all about checking out the Christmas lights that folks have decorated with… We did learn that getting good photos of outdoor Christmas lights can be challenging!  

The first home shown above belongs to our friends Jodie and Morrie.  We'd stopped at their house to chat for a short time from the safety of our car...with masks on.  While we prefer more understated Christmas décor, some of the folks in this neighborhood were really over the top...a scene appreciated by many.

Thanks to a tip from Jodie and Morrie, our nighttime holiday drive ended at this big 40 feet tall Christmas tree that someone had gone all out to ensure that it was a spectacular sight!

Here’s another look at our little Christmas tree.  As shown below, some of the ornaments on the tree are quite special!

This ‘God's eye' is at least 30 – 35 years old… It was made for us by my mom while she was still artistically active.  Hopefully it will catch some truly positive wishes for 2021!

This silver and red beaded angel is our oldest ornament.  It has been passed down through my family…my great grandmother to my grandmother, then my mother and now it’s part of our Christmas décor.  It dates back to somewhere around the American Civil War.

This hand crafted rocking horse was created by our son David II…when he was 9 years old.  It is older than the dream catcher but in order to respect David’s sensitivity regarding his current age…enough revealed!

What?!!  Visitors during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic!  Is it Santa himself?  It’s hard to tell given the masks, but they identified themselves as our friends Linda and Norm.  Norm claimed he was smiling when Laurie took this photo…

It had been quite a long time since we were able to visit with any friends so this was a nice Christmas gift in itself!  We agreed that we are all looking forward to a time in 2021 when we can go out and dine together in a restaurant and visit ‘mask less’ in our homes.

In addition to their welcome presence…Linda and Norm did bring us some Holiday treats.  We gave them a couple dozen homemade molasses – ginger cookies and a coffee cake ring from Wolferman’s Gourmet. 

As for Norm and Linda's treats as shown above, we devoured those Cheryl’s Cookies within 36 hours of receipt!  The gourmet candied apples will be ‘gone’ by the time this post is published on my blog site…

A little more Christmas to follow...Part II...shortly after Christmas.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Stay Safe and Take Care, Big Daddy Dave and Laurie