Merry Christmas!

Anyone familiar with Buffalo Bill Cody?  He was quite a famous figure back in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  Among his other exploits (some good and some not-so-good) he was a Pony Express rider and a scout (aka spy) for the US Army.  He later became a showman, founding a Wild West show that he took throughout the US, Great Britain and Europe. 

Col. Cody and his wife, Louisa built a large Victorian near North Platte which has since been restored and made into a state historical park.  At Christmas, community groups and businesses come together to decorate the mansion, inside and out.  It's only open for a few magical evenings, but it's worth the trip to see.  Each (and every!) room is decorated in a different theme.  They serve hot cider and roasted chestnuts and offer rides around the grounds in a wagon drawn by a team of horses complete with tour guides Buffalo Bill and Louisa (okay, they might be actors, but work with me here).  

Here are a few highlights from the mansion this year:

 

 

 

Isn't it beautiful?  It really was a fun evening with my daughter and friends and I'm so glad we carved out a little bit of time to go.  And I'd never had a roasted chestnut before, so I can cross that off my bucket list now :)

I hope you find a few minutes to do something that makes you happy this holiday season!!  Merry Christmas!

Cross Stitch Christmas Treasures

If you aren't familiar with cross stitch, it's a type of embroidery where little X-shaped stitches are used to form a picture.  It is very time consuming, especially for very detailed work.  I have several special pieces that I bring out every Christmas, including a Santa picture my mom made for me.  That holly border?  It's not part of the matting - it's stitched into the picture.  It took thousands of tiny stitches and untold hours to stitch that border, the toys in Santa's sack and all of the shading in Santa's clothing.

She even stitched all of our names into the list Santa is holding - see mine?

 

Mom made stockings for each of my children.  My son's depicts Santa's workshop complete with tools and a Noah's Ark play set:

My daughter's stocking is every bit as detailed with lacy Victorian wallpaper and curtains in a room fit for a princess.  There are dolls and a dollhouse and stuffed animals having a tea party:

My stocking and my husband's stocking were stitched by my grandmother.  Mine is a nativity scene:

And my husband's is a snowy scene with holly and a horse-drawn sleigh:

Do you see why I can't wait to get our our Christmas stockings every year?  And just wait until I show you our Christmas quilts!!