The Holiday Spirit

The train that used to be a feature of the holidays at the downtown Jones Store now lives at Union Station for the holidays. My great nephews are the two furthest back on the train.

Trainville

A small part of the elaborate train village set up in Union Station for the holidays.

Island of Misfit Toys

This is from the infamous Falmouth Street display, which has become much more dilapidated over the years. A closer look below shows some of the toys.

Floating Tree

Each year, I am amazed by and yet fearful of this hanging tree at Crown Center that appears to float above the crowd.

The Perfect Cup

Ahhh. A mug from Tavern on the Green (it had the nerve to be closed by the time we got to it) filled with chicory coffee from Cafe du Monde (brought back from New Orleans by Stacy). Great way to start a day. Stacy and Hayden worked their magic to get the mug.

Wallflower

I love this whimsical wallflower Howard gave me for Christmas. Look carefully at all the petals and adornments. And you gotta love the saying: Sorry. I can't hear you over the sound of how awesome I am.

Merry Christmas to All ...

... and to all a good night.

There Should Be Room for Mary & Joseph

... since this is a Holy Inn. Perhaps Holiday Inn decided it would be OK to leave the lights out for now.

Impending Crash

Hayden pretended to be crashing into me while we were skating at Crown Center. Festive time on the ice. Good to know I can still skate.

Snowman Cheese

My cheeseball, which began separating after awhile, looking a bit like something out of Calvin & Hobbes. Yummy though.

My Personal Trainer

I want a give a shout out to my Fitbit, who has taken me from about 4,000 steps a day to an average of 17,400.

Collector Tree

A friend of ours has three trees in his home but this is the grand dame. It has more than 1,000 ornaments and takes three days to decorate.

Sinfully Delicious

These cake drops by Slice Custom Cakes are picturesque and extremely edible.

Purple Mania

Pregame warm up at the Sprint Center. The K-State nation took over the Sprint Center last night to watch the Wildcats beat Alabama. Fun night.

Scoop Your Poop

"She had servants. We have you to rely onyou to clean up after your pets."

An elegant sign for saying to keep your dog poop off their lawn.

Blue Man

We enjoyed Blue Man Group last night at the Music Hall. It was a gift for Howard for his birthday from the three of us. The evening included dinner in the Power & Light District. Great night.

On the Big Screen

We saw White Christmas at AMC Mainstreet last night on the big screen. Fun (except for the part where they started the wrong movie - Miracle on 34th Street - first).

Candy Cane Columns

I like the use of columns for holiday cheer.

Oh, the Irony

Note the cardboxes atop the dumpster waiting for trash pickup when a recycling container for cardboard sits just to the left. Sending a mixed message, I'd say.

The Stockings Were Hung

A friend of ours made these unique stockings.

Off Duty Inflatables

What do holiday inflatables do in their off hours? Take a nap.

Toyland

The toy section of the Cross-Lines Christmas store.

Eddie

A premier member of my Santa collection - Eddie Walker.

Leaving for the Winter

If you recall, an alien landed in this spot in March that became a summer home. Apparently they have packed up and left for the winter. I love that the homeowner has no idea about the scenario I have concocted about this bird bath.

Nutcracker Aglow

All Aboard

The Katy Flyer sign in Union Station shows many familiar stops.

Custom Decorative Lighting

Syd has decided on a new way of arranging the stairway garland - so that it illuminates her.

Fairy Princess Extraordinaire

My niece, Frances, as a Fairy Princess at the Kansas City Museum.

Wizards of Winter

Fabulous light show to the music of Transiberian Orchestra. Used to be in a front yard but had to be moved to Prairie Village municipal grounds because of the crowds.

Santa on Board

How Much Is Too Much?

The Red Baron

flies again.

Self Decorating

This tree hangs its own Christmas ornaments.

Leave A Note on the Car

or just use the whole pad of sticky notes.

Holiday on Skates

Crown Center Ice Terrace.

Mayor's Christmas Tree

and my favorite elves.

Light the Night

It's Turkey Time

A tribute to the turkey master, my dad. Happy Thanksgiving.

Meter Replacement

Our new meter, or rather the left part of the meter is new. Kansas Gas Service notified us Friday that we would be without gas on Saturday because they were replacing our meter. They said they would come inside and relight the furnace and water heater and check the lines when they finished. Since we were going to be gone all day, we would have to call them to come out after we got home that evening. Good news was they were so fast they did it before we left. Painless routine maintenance.

Looking from the Leaves

This scary thing was staring up at me in the dawn light on my walk. Rather startling.

Carnegie Library

Built in Parsons, KS, in 1909. Andrew Carnegie offered interested towns enough cash to build a library and in return, the town had to agree to provide an amount equal to 10 percent of that gift each year for upkeep, utilities and books. Carnegie built more than 2,800 free libraries. He did not require the libraries to be named after him although many were.

Jobs I Don't Want

especially in the gale force winds we've had the past few days.

Do You Pay Any Attention ...

to the plaques on random things in parks? This one is dedicated to parents of a neighbor - In memory of Jim and Jan Akers, parents of neighbor Jim Akers, Jr. Presented as a gift from Friends at Shibuya Kogyo Co., Ltd. Kanazawa, Japan. Must be an interesting explanation for this.

Face of Autumn

Random strange yard decor.

Topeka Icon

This sign over the Jayhawk Towers Hotel in Topeka always takes me back to my days paging in the Kansas Legislature with my dad. We stayed there.

Pole Wrap

Seems they might have let this landscape feature get out of hand.

Creative Expression

What exactly this is about, I'm not sure. The Humpty Dumpty looking fellow says Famous Potatoes on him.

Shopkeepers

These two were on duty in the Wild Bird Center in Corinth Square early before the store opened.