Red and Green: Begonia and Christmas Mice!

Our "Aunt Lue" begonia has heavy frost damage in front, but the part that is next to the warm house bricks is in bloom. "Aunt Lue" is from Bernie's great aunt Lue. Pieces of her begonia have been handed down for three generations, and live in three states now.

I love how the blooms look like little red hearts and the leaves have white dot, like little snowflakes. Very Christmas-y, don't you think?


And now...your attention please!

PRESENTING THE CHRISTMAS MICE!!!!!

Are they not the cutest? Wait till you hear how I got them.

Years ago in a part of San Diego known as Pt. Loma, there was a yearly home tour held at Christmas time. All Soul's Episcopal church had several homes decorated for the holidays, usually one tiny home, one grand estate, and one family friendly abode.

Part of the decorations were the craft items that the church ladies had created during the year. One year they created a small felt mouse, which they named "The Knight before Christmas." He wore a striped red flannel night shirt, and night cap, and carried what looked like a burning match. There was a small poem attached by a golden thread: ""Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, one creature was stirring, 'twas this little mouse".
That's him peeking out in the far back, in the stripes.
The mouse was bought by "Santa" and slipped into my stocking that year. The next year choir mice were added, and before you could say "Mice are nice" I had a mouse for every phase of my life, and a few extras.

See the grandma mouse holding the cookie sheet? Our kids used to spend the night with my folks before Christmas and bake cookies.

The blue plaid and green shawled mouse came from England.

There's the college graduate mouse, a golf mouse, and a ski mouse for hubby.

I'll be posting more of the mice daily. They really are worthy of their own portraits.

So between red and green in nature, and any additional millinery that has Christmas overtones, and the mice, count on lots of Christmas-y posts right through to the New Years.