Seven Quick Takes-Vol. IX

This week's Quick Takes are going to be focused mainly on my Christmas tree and some favourite decorations. Here's the tree:

1. This ornament is one of my favourites. I have 2 of them. I love monkeys, they have always been my favourite animal. I adore sock monkeys.

2. I love, love, love Willow Tree figurines. I have 11 of the figurines, and one plaque. One Christmas, my in-laws got this ornament for me as part of my Christmas gift. It's now one of my favourites.

3. This ornament is the only one I have that is from my grandmother. She made these for her grandkids one year for Christmas. My grandmother passed away in 2003, not having met either of my children. I was in my first trimester with DD when she passed away. We had just told everyone our news  before she passed away. This ornament reminds me of her.

4. This ornament is one that is representative of where my husband the engineer proposed to me, 14 years ago this coming March. The place is Officer's Square in downtown Fredericton. This ornament was made by Aitkens Pewter, pewtersmiths who are in Fredericton. I love their things!

5. This ornament is one that was made by a New Brunswick artist, Catherine Karnes Munn. She painted prints of various famous period houses and sites, mostly in New Brunswick, but also around the Maritime provinces. This one is of Green Gables, in Cavendish PEI, the home of fictional character, Anne of Green Gables (among my favourite fiction books, by Lucy Maud Montgomery). My husband the engineer and I honeymooned in PEI, and yes, we did go to Green Gables in Cavendish. I have absolutely no photographs of that part of our honeymoon. The film didn't advance through my camera (back in the dark ages), even though the counter kept counting...and thus I had no photos of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery's birthplace, and a few other favourite spots in PEI.

6. This ornament, really isn't a Christmas ornament, per se. My Mom crocheted these hats for pew markers for our wedding. We were married in August of 1999. It was so humid that August. I don't know how the starch held for these, but they did. I gave some of the pew markers away to close friends and family, and kept 3 for myself, two of which hang on our Christmas tree. I love these. Our wedding colours were burgundy and white.

7. This final ornament is very special to me. My Grade One teacher gave us out little ornaments at Christmastime. This was always a special ornament to me because, not only did my Grade One teacher give me that, and she was one of my favourite teachers, but, my dad passed away the 23rd of December that same year. When I was little, I always felt close to my dad when I hung this on the tree, and it reminded me of him, and of my Grade One teacher.

Those are my Quick Takes. For more, go over to Jen's!