The Gathering of the Elves

I've assembled my worker bees to help with the annual trimming of the tree ceremony.

Ahhh, but look who's doing most of the work.

And this one completely fell asleep on me below.  He must have had a rough day being retired and all  LOL

But of course they are there at the finish line, ready for dessert and hot chocolate.

Only teasing you two, don't be mad!  They really were a big help.  Our tree was minuscule this year, but I still managed to pack on all the kid's ornaments that they made or gave us over the years.

The plantings on the little wooden bench at my studio have really taken off, and even though it's the dead of winter my african daisy bloomed so bright.

The presents are starting to pile up, looks like someone is getting another guitar  :)

I picked up this great new addition to my decorations, this recycled paper tree made from old reclaimed music sheets. 

Our pretty bulbs and lights, unfortunately our strict homeowners association won't let us do much more.

And Jim's very special & lovely cashmere tree that he likes to put up every year, I decorate it with many of my  mother's handmade ornaments that she made when I was a youngster.  I also have added all the special ornaments that my stepdaughter Julie has given me from New York, as well as the leaf at the top that she found for me the night of my first gallery showing.  I saved it and coated it with some watered down acrylic paint and also applied a bit of text to help strengthen and preserve it.