Old Times

I bought a feather tree today!

I brought some of my mom's old ornaments home last year; not many, because I incorporated most of them into gift display bottles, one for me and the others for my cousins who always helped my mom with her Christmas decorations. I had three of the old 1950s glass ornaments left, plus a red plastic boot, two plastic Santas, and four snowmen. Then I had a couple of ornaments I had made when I was younger, which my mom always included on her tree. I wanted some way to display them, and they really didn't fit on our tree (physically, not theme-wise or anything).

I remembered that about a year ago I had parked in downtown Marietta one day and walked around to the various stores. "Way back when" the stores had been for shoes and clothing, or hardware, and had included banks and other businesses. Now they are selling antiques or food or are little boutiques and specialty stores. I had visited one antiques store where the woman sold various size feather trees in a back room.

Anyway, after paying a holiday visit to the hobby shop, we came home by downtown and just providentially found someone pulling out of a parking space. Downtown was mobbed, because in the square they had a Santa Claus and there were several dozen children in line to see him. Later we did walk around the park and absorb a nice draft of Christmas spirit, but first we walked down to the store I remembered.

Apparently she has quit having a feather tree area (it's taken over by rugs), but she had one feather tree left! I brought it home and decorated it with Mom's old ornaments, two homemade ornaments someone had given me, and the gilded walnuts I had made back when we were first married and our tree wasn't as full of ornaments.

It doesn't quite look antique, but it looks like a feather tree should, decorated simply with treasured ornaments. At some point I'll probably make or buy a bead garland for it, maybe an antique-y-type star for the top.