No Glitter

The strong message this Christmas season was  no glitter . We weren't sure were were even going to get a tree this year. We thought maybe we'd try putting it in a different place this year, but there aren't many options. We definitely didn't want to climb up and down the ladder getting out all the glittery ornaments. In the end we went to the nursery that is practically next door so we nipped in, bought a small tree and were home all in about 15 minutes. We thought we would put it in the living room where more people would see it, but we I didn't like it there so we OilMan moved it to its usual place. 

With so many burned trees around us, a tree glittery with ornaments just didn't seem right, but I'm happy with the birds in their nests and the jewel tone ornaments. There is a star made of wood on top, but I couldn't deal with the light from the door, the star on the tree and the black speaker on the shelf behind it without cutting it out of the shot. It's pretty crooked anyway....

I have been having a conversation with Topsy Turvey about red cars. I noticed that she had one and told her that I did too (and a red stove). She replied with the perfect comment, "I LOVE my little red car - it was the sign I was no longer the Transporter in the family and could just whizz off ..." If you are interested, you can read the full exchange about red items here.

I always wanted an AGA cooker when we lived in Scotland, but knew it would never be practical in my California kitchen. She wanted a red AGA but  can't get it in that color...something to do with the content of the red enamel. My red stove was made by Bertazzoni in Maranello, Italy, the same town where Ferraris are made. The painted Bertazzoni models that are colored are painted in the Ferrari factory. My Italian friend calls it my "Ferrari stove". Like many Italian things, it is beautifully designed and somewhat temperamental to light, but if one is patient and methodical, it works perfectly. 

 We have visited the Ferrari plant. It wasn’t first on my list of places to go but grandson Will was very interested in cars in general and specifically fast cars so we went. There is also a museum and we found it all fascinating!