Christmas Eve - Morning Walk

Well I'm trying to get back into some semblence of shape so I don't die when Beth & I undertake our winter Traditional Cresh..Ok I get it!! snow camping trip. We want to spend a few days in the William O. Douglas Wilderness in February sometime.

So off I went on my four mile loop down to the waterfront through Old Town and back up the hill to the house.

Interesting to see the variety of Christmas Decorations from the traditional to the not so traditional.

Sponge Bob Square Pants & Frosty....Hmm??

Some of my fondest childhood memories are around Christmas, like most people I suppose. I grew up in a little villiage (Vaterstetten) 16 kilometers east of Munich in Bavaria. The tradition there was that we didn't see the tree until Christmas Eve when my parents and grandparents invited us into the living room with the sound of a little silver bell.

We would walk into the site of a Christmas tree almost ablaze with bee's wax candles which my grandfather would scurry to snuff out in about 10 minutes before he burned the house down. To this day I can smell the burning bee's wax mixed in with the smell of cinniman and the rest of it comming out of the pot of mulled wine.

After getting our presents and some dinner it was off to midnight service at the local church. Getting there was the most fun. We would do a procession through the crunchy cold snow. The only light was from the candles and the air was so crisp it almost hurt breathing it in with the faint smoke of incense comming from the front of the procession. Once we arrived to the cold church where men and women sat on different sides we had a hour or so of carols and finished with a, in those days, latin mass. Different times for sure.

So this morning I finished my walk in the warm wind and "Oregon Mist" rain of the Washington State experiencing the interesting varied decorations of a diverse community. Very differerent than my childhood but equally interesting and rewarding.

I had two more pictures but it won't let me upload them for some reason, I'll edit this post once I figure it out.

PEACE!!