er...

half-done!  i miscounted, so there's a half line i have to frog..  you know how it is... you feel so disheartened when it happens!  anyway, i'm not overly bothered though i am behind (way behind!) schedule.  i told my mom "Christmas", what i forgot to say was "2012"!  lol  i will finish this tomorrow, for sure, and show a start on another square.

so we finally brought out the tree - no fresh pine here, alas!  it is our old tree, foreshortened - it used to be a foot taller, but when we moved somehow 2 sections disappeared and a year since moving we have not found them.  also missing are some cute prism ornaments that we bought at Borders Singapore.  i am not sure if this is the store that closed, same as many of the US ones - has it? i remember my first visit, to the one in Torrance/Del Amo.. and i remember being so overwhelmed that even after a half day parked in the store, not being able to choose any books at all!  that was when i first heard the term "the paralysis of infinite choice" and boy was that apt!

anyway, back to the ornaments.. we have saved (or we saved) many ornaments throughout the years, as it was always our (my mom's and my) thing to shop at the different bazaars, way back from when i was in high school.. and that was, oh, 25 years ago!  the only bazaars then were Casa y Jardin by the Catholic Women's Club, and the odd Rotary or Zonta and the FOB bazaar by MM, and the International Bazaar that the embassies used to take part in.  now they are a dime a dozen, and the quality of goods.. meh.   lol   we bought a lot of our ornaments in Casa y Jardin and FOB.  anyway, here are some of them:

this was my brother's ornament

and another brother's ornament.

and my other brother's.  i think little toy soldier used to have dangly legs but they have since been lost to time.

a favorite star.  we had several felt ornaments with embroidery on them.  my ornament was a little dutch girl made of felt. she had a pink overskirt and a green apron, and a white cap a little bit like "the Flying Nun". she's missing - i think she may have got thrown away because 3 or 4 years ago, i washed her cap.. disaster! she came unglued - literally!  there's also a quilted angel ornament but it was too dark so i will have to take another picture later.

a partridge, i'm guessing 

a little pig

a wreath

another star

some teddies.  the white one i bought from Bloomingdale's in LA, with some chocolates, for my dad.  the other 2 teddy bears are for my nephew and niece.  no Bloomie's pedigree for them, unfortunately.

the little horse isn't actually part of our Christmas decor, but it's Christmas-y, and i wanted to show it because it's at least 35 years old.  The pig in jester costume is part of our regular decor.  somehow things popped up with our move - i don't remember the brown bear but there it is!

and last...

my ornament!  ta-daaa!  isn't it beautiful?  it's flanked by 2 button wreaths which my nephew and niece made.