At work yesterday we were talking about the ‘olden days’ – you know when the Christmas Tree and ornaments appeared in the store after Thanksgiving ? I then mentioned our lake friends the Carey’s, whose pater familius is a natural Irishman and how , when they go home to the Christmas season, it starts with Christmas and goes into the New Year for a few weeks. I’m thinking this suits me more than mushing Thanksgiving seamlessly into Christmas – thanksgiving almost disappears any more and that is one of my personal favorite holidays – next to Cinco De Mayo… (tequila always trumps hours of cooking…)
none the less, as a victim of the “Halloween marks the beginning of the Christmas season mentality”, I created a Christmas Painting this year. Notice the serious influence of winter….

And then there is the ‘not winter ‘ version of the Christmas Paintings … (they are Christmas paintings only because they are intended to be purchased as Christmas Gifts)
