Only 92 shopping days until...

Yep, the merchants are speeding up the calendar ever further, perhaps in anticipation of a lean yearend. In any event, on my last picture shopping excursion over to the WalMart West mall, it was already Solstice Shopping Time, which is one of the six merchandising seasons of the year. (The others: Hearts, Bunny Egg, Flags, Sun, and Harvest.) I found these upscale Santas at Tuesday Morning, which featured an entire aisle of Christmas decorating goodies.

The ornaments were quite pretty, too. And pricey. Those below, $17 a pop.

But, oh, I do like these medieval holiday cats! I might treat myself.

Still more seasonal items, including a handful declared as clearance merchandise.
'
JoAnn, down a few doors, was just revving up for the winter solstice; Autumn was still on display...

...while the WalMart fabric department had an excellent selection of Christmas prints. Of all the seasonal stuff I saw the other day, the yard goods makes the most sense; after all, if you plan on special holiday sewing projects, you need to work well ahead.

Even the CVS store has already allocated space for Christmas decorations: one side of an aisle. As for what ever happened to the Autumn Season (back-to-school/Halloween/Thanksgiving), I'm not quite sure. Perhaps they've mostly past in the merchandising universe.

A Gift of Links: In keeping with tonight's theme, here's a potpouri of interesting sites I've come across. First, a critter movie from Firefly Forest: bats cleaning out her humming bird feeders. More interesting critter pix from Quilted Dogs: subject, the jellyfish at the San Diego Aquarium. Perhaps you'd like to compare Arizona Then and Now ... read reviews of over 35 different Prescott restaurants ... wallow in 60s jukebox nostalgia ... or make prickly pear cobbler -- it's all yours for a simple click. Enjoy!

Valley of the lights

What a wonderful Christmas holiday! Another unexpected adventure -- a trip through the Valley of Lights over in PV. Invited by the same lady who did Christmas Eve. I had hoped to pay a visit with the dotter and GD, but Mom's illness, unfortunately, clobbered those best laid plans.

You'll have to bear with me -- I was shooting from a car (stopped, however, for most pictures), it was night and I had no tripod, so some photos, such as the classic toy soldier above, are composed of multiples of multiple lights!

The snowflakes through the front windshield worked very nicely. They were the upper part of a light tunnel above the roadway (below). In the distance, a Santa, reclining in the islands after a long night.

Yes, there were many traditional Christmas scenes, such as the visitation of the angel Gabriel to the three wise men.

But most were on the wrong side of the car, like this smear of poinsettas and candles.

So my best pictures were of the quirkier scenes rendered in lights. Such as Snoopy as the Red Baron -- and, in the background, the Energizer Bunny. As well as the dozer (below), which moved the "M" in Merry from one side to the other.

Plenty of wild west pictures. The old town, above, and a stagecoach, below.

Scenes from a rodeo, natch.

Even a desert coyote baying at the moon. The entire production is sponsored by the Prescott Valley Chamber of Commerce, with members sponsoring individual displays that range from a Cinderella castle with coach to a huge peace-on-earth dove and a Statue of Liberty. Lights are on from 6 p.m. to midnight through December 30.

Christmas notes from all over town

I guess that I'm more than somewhat weird. On the one hand, I celebrate Christmas, with a capital "C", not some vague "holidays" or "seasons". On the other hand, I'm pretty lazy about all the presumed "duties" that go along with the holiday, for example, all that shopping. In my book, if gifting isn't fun and a pleasure, it isn't worthwhile doing. And it's been years since I indulged in Christmas cookery.

There are many, many aspects of Christmas that I really enjoy. Family time, always. But also catching the artist in the act of decorating a store window. However, I must admit that as a scientific purist, I'm disturbed by all the 4- and 8-sided snowflakes I've seen this year (see below for example.)

And, of course, we have the trends. Biker Santas, for one. I saw the first one over at the True Value store in early November and the second on Ruth Street along with a lot of other blow-up figures...

...including Pooh characters that apparently the Disney folk have declared to be an official part of Christmas. Don't mind Pooh characters at Christmas, tho I really do object to the Disney commercialization!

Now here's the perfect gift package for a certain kind of guy (or woman, for that matter.) The Bro, who had a sports car fling during his younger years, truly admired this MG on display at the new Batterman's showroom on Gurley.

Of course, you would expect me to admire the new trend toward decking out one's ride for the holidays. Just surprised that I haven't seen more Christmas cars this year. Last year, there was a VW bug with strings of lights.

Nice angels next the gas log out at our city's little airport.

A collection of seasonal decorative objects at Samaritan Village ... and a invitation to to a holiday kiss in the lobby at Las Fuentes (below.)

Also at Samaritan Village, where my Mom is now staying, is a very traditional Christmas tree, complete to crocheted snow flake (6-sided, of course.) But then I have one friend who was complaining that there weren't any Western items for his yule tree. He had definitely not been over to Watters' annual Christmas tree display. Below is a perfect set of lights for him!

I kinda like the hat-on-a-hat decoration I spotted somewhere. Sounds somewhat like a Dr. Seuss idea.

And what could be more symbolic of Christmas and the spirit of giving than the traditional Salvation Army bell ringer over in front of Albertson's. I can think of just one thing: a traditional Salvation Army brass duo or trio belting out carols on a cold downtown corner in Chicago.

And Another: Turns out that Ronni, whose blog I introduced yesterday, has a husband who also blogs (as well as doing other techie things and flying airplanes). You can see what he has to say at The Flying Beagle.

Happy Thanksgiving -- turn on the Christmas lights

What more can I say -- Thanksgiving dinner with Mom and her tablemates is past. It's now officially Christmas, even though the worried merchants have long since opened up their boxes of Santas, reindeer, lights and other seasonal decorative paraphernalia . But let's pause a moment for a few more turkeys before we move on. And speaking of Thanksgiving, I should mention that my bro, over in Memphis visiting daughters & grandchillen, made four pumpkin pies for expected guests. Not bad for someone who's lived in Oz for at least 30 years now.

In the meantime, back to the birds. This turkey hen -- a real one, once -- was photographed at Koldoff's Arizona Gems & Beads last year; the lead-in turkey, also for real, was on display at the Drake Station antiquery on Iron Springs Road.

Believe me, I was tempted when I saw the fellow above at the Tru Value hardware store -- especially since harvest themed items had already gone on sale (also below) some two weeks ago.

But as I said at the beginning, it's now officially fitting and proper to turn on the Christmas lights, as represented by these snow flakes adorning most of the city street light poles. The big downtown lighting ceremony is scheduled for December 1, after my bro gets back from his family visit. In the meantime, enjoy these photos of the Square at night from last year, posted by Vision in Time.

Christmas at the Door: A Card for my Readers

It's all things Christmas over at my mother's building; while some residents with balconies have hung small light displays, most evidence of the season is inside. Almost every door, for example, has some holiday decoration, which makes the hallways quite cheerful.

Mom, always a very crafty lady, made this angel and the Santa at the front of her cart. They must be at least 40 years old!

What more can I say? Stroll the hallways, enjoy the seasonal touches -- and HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS! I'll possibly be Walking Prescott Monday night after the festivities and after I return from the high country. See you then.