Artist BARBEL AMOS

Barbel Amos is a native of Berlin, Germany.  Her watercolors, drawings and etchings are in collections in the United States and Europe.  She has a website that sells her work in prints, stationery, cards and more.  https://barbel-amos.pixels.com/shop/prints

I came across her art work by accident, and find myself really liking her Old World Father Christmases.   

Old World Father Christmas

Christmas Woodland Series #2

Christmas Woodland Series #3

Christmas Woodland Series #1

Christmas Woodland Series

Christmas Woodland Series #4

Father Christmas

We have Father Christmas, St. Nicholas, Santa Claus, and a total of 124 names for the man who bestows tangible blessings upon us. Different countries have different names for this man, yet, he represents the gold standard of goodness and generosity to all.

Years back I devotedly bought boxes of Christmas cards, to the tune of 125.  It was me who sat at the kitchen table and signed, wrote personal messages on the cards, and wrote the addresses on the envelopes.  This was after a full-day's work at the office.  Went to the post office to purchase postage stamps, licked them, applied and mailed them.  I don't do that anymore. As times changed, so did I.  Christmas cards are beautiful, and they are wonderful to receive.  My heart and hat go out to those who continue this annual personal communication.  I gave up writing a  Christmas letter, too.

What I love about Christmas cards is the beautiful pictures of winter and the holiday season.  Instead of discarding them, one of my dresser drawers is devoted to cards and stationery.  The front page of each card is cut off with scissors, and I reuse those beautiful pictures as gift tags, or even as Christmas cards.  That drawer is kinda like the kitchen cupboard devoted to cookbooks.  Rarely opened.  When I want to try a new recipe, my fingers find their way to Pinterest.  Either I print the recipe or take my laptop in the kitchen with me.  

Man alive, my mind travels back to our Christmases past, when both families were still intact and everyone was present.  With us not having kids, and our families bought presents for everyone, we got the short end of the stick, for sure.  But, we made our fun by taking a day to go shopping, probably eating lunch at Red Lobster, visiting Barnes & Noble and just being together.  Never ever did I return a gift that was given to me.  That would've been so against my moral compass.  Today's society is like an antonym to our Christmases then.  My favorite Christmas memories involve silliness, cool whip pranks, and $1 themed gift exchanges.  There's not enough silly these days.....I'd probably get locked up for doing some of the things I did back then!

Last night it snowed just enough to fill the cracks in the parking lot.  Just cannot get the snow I cross my fingers for.  Well, little Buffy will be arriving any minute.  She's staying with us from 8 to 4, a one-day injection of puppy love.  That should hold me over until the week after Christmas, when she'll stay for one week.  Lord, am I going to spoil her.