Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Champagne For FARfetched

FAR, my friend, this one's for you!

It was another long night tonight, when work overwhelmed my 'free time' again, after yet another frigid day with more snow ... and more snow and an ice storm are in the forecast for Thursday as well. It doesn't look like we'll get above freezing again anytime soon, either ... This feels like January already! Looks like the long harsh winter has settled in for good now....

Of course there's a story behind why I dedicate this to FARfetched. You see, he has a favorite six-pack ornament that he tries to hang on the tree every year, only to have it plucked off by his wife or daughter, no matter how many times he puts it back on. Personally, I think that's a bit mean, because we consider Christmas ornaments a form of personal expression that we exhume from storage every year for the holidays to enjoy during this brief season. Lord knows, we have enough oddities to cover several trees and we enjoy reveling in their kitschy glory! After all, for us that's a big part of the fun we have decorating the tree. Thus this little number to officially initiate the ornament blogging season here at Urban Oasis.

I bought several of these Champagne Fountains a few years ago at a Seasonal Concepts store at the bargain price of one dollar ... It was a totally coincidental find, given that we were on the hunt for English Christmas Crackers (World Market was sold out!), so I ventured into a store I would normally avoid because of its foo-foo merchandise and outrageous prices. But lo and behold, I found these on clearance and just had to buy several to give as fun gifts and keep one for us. I usually post this one on New Year's Eve --when I spring for a bottle of the really good French stuff-- but I'm posting it early this year in solidarity with FAR, in honor of his constantly disappearing six-pack ornament.

Yes, it's kitschy, but that's why we love it ... you'll see more in the coming days (yes, I have a Pink Flamingo ornament too, lol) and I'll post these when I get some spare moments late at night before I go to bed. I could probably do this well into January, but I'll spare my readers that much and try to feature several at a time. While I was toiling away tonight, Fernymoss took a ton of shots of the tree and ornaments, so I've got plenty to work with, bless his heart. He took a lot in ambient lighting (the flash really doesn't do justice to shiny stuff) and many turned out really well. So if you are an afficionado of offbeat (as well as traditional) ornaments, keep checking back from now until Christmas. And if you also have odd, but personal, favorites, please let me know in the comments ... We love to hear about the oddities other people feel compelled to put on the tree for reasons sentimental or other!

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love it!!! That would be perfect for my tree.

But I don't think we're going to do ornery-ments this year. Moonya (our little runtten) just can't help herself when it comes to the tree. We awoke again to the tree haven been Moonya molested. She's actually breaking it.

This is a cat who will climb a glass shower door!

She'll try to climb the walls if she even thinks there's a hairy spider to kill. Most of them are just figments of her imagination.

I found a little sock monkey ornament this year. I always seem to buy one new one each year.

See ya from Portland, the land of ice and snow this week. NO SCHOOL all week for the kidlets.

(((IVG & FERNY)))

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

I've been seeing a lot of drink-related ornaments lately, several different Martini glasses, etc.
Banning a favorite ornament is just wrong! I not only allow my spouse to hang his StarTrek ornaments on the tree, I encourage him to plug them in. He loved the communicator ornament I got him for his birthday. Okay, I admit, I like pushing the button on it & hearing William Shatner's voice.

boran2 said...

I really like that ornament, IVG. I hope that Far gets to read your post.

Gail said...

Hi there...the tree looks spectacular and fun! We have a most unusual Christmas tree ourselves...{I'll post its photo when I get my camera charged up! You will love it!) so we support adding the fav ornament to one's tree. It's Christmas!

Gail

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Janet,
Can't say I blame you with an ornery kitty around just itching to make mischief, but that's too bad you guys can't really do it up the way you want. Maybe when she gets older she'll mend her ways? (Remember, I have very little experience with cats due to allergy problems.) I don't know what you're putting in her food, but you might want to leave that special ingredient out, lol.

Sock monkey eh? Now that's one I haven't seen! After seeing Keith O report tonight on all the shoe throwing going on, I mentioned that maybe we should get an unbreakable shoe ornament we could toss at each other, lol. (BTW did you see the Code Pink gals in front of the White House today throwing shoes at a Bush effigy?)

We had another 3" of snow yesterday and tomorrow we supposed to get even more snow, sleet and ice, so it ain't pretty out this way right now. Guaranteed white Christmas whether we want it or not!

Take care, hon, we send big hugs right back to you!

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi MMD,
There are a lot of alcohol related ornaments out there for sure! We also have a wine bottle and a Margarita ornament, but no martini glass ... will have to look for one of those!

Glad you agree that ornament banning is wrong, though I'm sure there's something out there that would push my buttons, but I haven't found it yet.

Star Trek ornaments sound fun! I'm not so sure though about hearing Shatner all the time ... though a Bones one that says, "But Jim, I'm a Dr., not a *fill in the blank* !

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi B2,
Glad you liked this one! I'm sure FAR will wander by sometime soon ... after all the lucky sucker has to take a 2 wk staycation from work ... I could use one of those right about now!

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Gail,
Thanks, but you haven't even seen it fully decked out yet! I'll be curious to see what yours is like, so do put a post up for all your eager admirers to view....

We've got lots of other cool ornaments to post soon when I can scrape together the time to post them. Today was another 13.5 hr day ... not sure how much longer I can (or if) keep this up, *sigh.*

Roses and Lilacs said...

I think it's a very nice decoration. And that is a lovely shot of your tree. The colors and reflections are beautiful.
Marnie

Larry Kollar said...

Gosh, thanks IVG! I love it. And the Star Trek ornaments? WANT!!!! If I could have Star Trek ornaments, I wouldn't bother with the six-pack!

Long couple of days here, way too much time in the chicken houses, but I did get the opportunity to bang up a cold frame for the gardening next spring. Pictures on the blog.

Thanks again, pal.

Shady Gardener said...

Whether your tree is fully decked or not, the photo is gorgeous! :-) Looks like a Christmas Card! (Say, did you ever finish your calendar?)

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Marnie,
Thanks ... it really does pick up the light and just glow, don't you think? I'm hoping to get some more ornament blogging done this weekend, so stop back!

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

FAR, I was hoping this would give you a chuckle ... glad you liked! I dare you to have Mrs. Fetched read this post, hehe.

Google Star Trek Ornaments ... I just did and there's a ton out there to be had, though some are very pricey ($475?! too rich for my blood)

Long week here my friend ... I totaled up my hours tonight and I hit 81.5 tonight, and that doesn't even count tomorrow! I am refusing to work again this weekend because I really need some rest and time to attend to my stuff ... you know like finishing shopping? After all, there are certain things you just can't get from Amazon, lol. Luckily all my stuff from them has already arrived so I've got some wrapping to do!

I'll check out the cold frame soon...

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Shady,
There will be more soon, probably this weekend ... I've just been so busy at work I haven't had the energy or time to get to them yet.

*Sigh,* you did have to mention the calendar, eh? I was afraid someone would, so better you than anybody else. Here's the thing: a while back the file I saved disappeared mysteriously from my computer, so we're going to have to redo it. November slipped away from us due to busyness, and then the dogs... just too much *stuff.*

We do intend to do it, though completion will probably not happen until sometime in January so it will be late. My thinking is to compensate, we'll just add another couple of months to stretch it out a bit. How does that sound?

Shady Gardener said...

IVG, I'm sorry I'm so far behind in my reading. We just returned home Saturday night... And I'm Very Sorry about your calendar. A good thing is that you have your previous experiences behind you, so once you get going again, perhaps it won't be as tedious? You'll get it done. I know it. And it will be wonderful. :-)

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Shady,
No worries about being "behind!" I'm woefully behind myself due to work and the holiday rush.

We will get the calendar going, if a bit late arriving.... I'll keep quiet about it until it happens just so I don't jinx it!