Let There be Light!

I know that Christmas may seem all last week to you now, but, I still feel compelled to over share some more details about our Christmas vacation in Arizona. (I have mentioned that it's my favourite time of year, haven't I???) After dins on Christmas eve, we were hustled out the door and escorted to the 55th Street Christmas Light Show and Soup Supper. Okay. There wasn't actually a soup supper, but there's always next year!

[SIDEBAR STORY: When I was a kid, local churches in St. John's, Newfoundland would do "turkey teas" and "soup suppers" as fundraisers. I fondly recall my father arriving home from George Street United Church with a cardboard box full of "turkey tea suppers", in which cold cuts were piled up on a paper plate, along with an ice cream scoop of potato salad, and a frightening glob of green jello with bits of carrot floating in it.... etc. YOU get the picture.] In any event, there was no soup supper at the 55th Street Christmas Light Show, but there were a lot of lovely lights.

There were several clues that, no doubt about it, we were in America. First of all, who knew that Santa rode a quad?

Or that snowmen could be made from sagebrush?

And then, there were the sobering reminders of where we were.... (the sign on the left of the Christmas light display says "Support Our Troops")

But there were also whimsical reminders of December in other parts of the Northern Hemisphere, in which the weather outside can be frightful...

And there were even delightful little displays that involved mechanical components. This Santa snored and wiggled his toes.

But the REAL highlight of the night was getting to spend some time with Buddy the dog. Apparently, he LOVES this time of year in which he gets to be the centre of attention night after night, appearing in costume as a reindeer.

And you thought Rudolph was the star of the show!!