Photos from Nebraska

Well, it's 11:16 am on 12-21-12 and as far as I can see everybody's still here...no aliens yet, so I have time to write some more before I head to Canada.
Gary Morrison sent me some photos of his house from Lincoln, since I didn't have a chance to get any the other night because I was so late.  Here are some photos of Gary and Terry's beautiful House on Christmas Street in Lincoln, NE:

and here's a link Gary sent to the newspaper article about the concert

http://journalstar.com/lifestyles/misc/couple-adds-new-element-to-christmas-display---/article_435f20d0-0491-53e1-a9dd-e6f50d438520.html

Thank you, Gary! And thanks again for being my Knight in Shining Armor!!

Oh What a Day. December 20

I'm going to write about today right now and then get caught up on the past couple of days tomorrow.  Just  in case the aliens decide to come back and get me tomorrow I want to get everything down about today for posterity.
The day started off wonderfully at the Hudson(IL) Elementary School where I presented a Christmas concert for  a gym full of K-5 kids.  They were just great!  I got lots of hugs and high-fives after the show and once again, as I do at every concert, I felt blessed to be able to look into the eyes of children and sing.  Several of the kids had been to the show at Bobby Dicken's display last night and they expressed excitement at seeing me again.  Little by little I  winning people over with my music, which was one of the tour goals and it feels good to see it happening.
After the school show I had to say goodbye to my host family, the Dickens, and it was kind of sad, as it has been saying goodbye to everyone on this tour.  I correspond with folks for months, then by the time I get to their houses it is like we are old friends, and then I'm gone.  But hopefully these will just be the beginnings of new friendships, just as many new friendships began on the first HoCS tour two years ago.
For the past couple of days, since the van broke down, I have really been feeling down about the fact that, after the last concert on Sunday, I would have to turn right back around and drive back to Omaha to get the van, and I would probably not be home for Christmas.  Plus I had managed to pick up a few gifts along the way and they are still in the van!  I've been going over a million different possibilities for getting the van back, including picking Emma up in NYC on Sunday and doing the road trip with her. She's game for it, but it would mean she also would not be home for Christmas.
I talked with Philip about it this morning, and one of our ideas was to drop the rental off in NH and then one of us would fly back to Nebraska to drive the van back. He volunteered to do or but I don't want him to. I feel like it is my disaster and I would be too worried about him doing it. We ended the conversation with him agreeing to look into flights and me agreeing to find out how much extra it would cost to return the rental in NH.
Anyhow, I had been driving through torrential rain for a couple of hours when the thought occurred to me to check the forecast for Livonia, Michigan for this evening.  It said 100 percent chance of rain.  Well, I thought, "Perhaps  we ought to cancel, and if we do then I will drive back to Omaha now and be able to get the van and I can still make it to Toronto tomorrow. The van was supposed to be ready by five today."  I decided to call the Howse family and see what they thought. The display is done by 25-year old Timothy and his parents, but I was really torn because on one hand I wanted to be able to get the van, but on the other hand I didn't want to disappoint anybody.  However, there were two good reasons to cancel:  1) I can't have my equipment out in the rain and 2) people probably wouldn't come in the rain.
I spoke at length with Mr. Howse and explained that it might be smart to cancel. I didn't want to do it, but it would not be possible for me to perform in the rain.  He said they could set me up in the garage. I said that I wondered if people would still come, and he said he thought they would. Then I explained the whole situation to him about the van and all, and I told him I did not want to disappoint anyone and if he thought people would be there then I would still come. We left it that I would continue to head their way and we would all pray about it.
A little while later he called me back and said that some of their display equipment was not working because of the rain, and maybe that was a sign from God and we should cancel.   I felt bad and relieved at the same time, cause now I could go get the van.  But I offered to come back in the summer and either do a Christmas in July show at his house or a concert at their church, and then we said "goodbye" hung up.
I pulled off at the next exit to call the garage and ask if someone could meet me there after hours so I could pick up the van...this is something  they had offered to do  for me if I got back on Christmas Eve. Well lo and behold, the guy at the garage said it turned out it would not be ready today after all, and now we were looking at closing time tomorrow!! They said it was a giant job of work to get the old transmission out because of all the corrosion, etc., and something about it needing a new axle and so it wouldn’t be ready until tomorrow.  There would be no possible way I could pick it up on Friday, so I just sighed and said, “Okay” and it’s back to plan A, driving back on Sunday after the show in Nazareth, PA, or, possibly, returning the rental in NH and flying back.  Either way I would probably not be home for Christmas.

Sitting there in a gas station parking lot in the rain, I figured why not call Timothy Howse back and see if he wanted to go ahead with the concert anyway, and I’d just sing for whomever was there?   I made the call and we decided to go forward and play it by ear.

So I’m driving along, driving along, now listening to “Needful Things,” a Stephen King book which is narrated by the author himself. I read this book many years ago when it first came out, but I figured it would be a fun listen so I loaded it onto my iPod before I left.

Rain rain rain and high winds all along the route made driving tricky.  At one point I looked at the map and realized I would be driving right past the exit for Gary, IN, the birthplace of Michael Jackson.  I thought it might be cool to check out his childhood home if it were not too far off the beaten path,  so I got the address off the internet and checked it on the Garmin and it was really about five minutes from the exit, so I decided to do it.  Within a half hour I was standing in the rain outside of 2300 Jackson Street, a tiny little house…seriously, there couldn’t have been more than four rooms in that one story box…where the Jackson brothers were harrassed and beaten by their father into making music.  I was flooded with mixed emotions. I kept thinking about that poor little boy being terrorized by his father in this tiny little house, and what an incredible talent he had, and how he came from this little house to fame beyond imagination. I wondered what his life would have been like if his father hadn’t pushed his sons into superstardom, and if it was all worth it in the end, when he was so miserable he had to abuse drugs to sleep and ended up dying too young because of it.  We, the public, got the good end of the deal because we got to enjoy that incredible talent and have it enrich our lives for so long, but what must it have been like to be him?

Now, obviously, I’m in the camp that believes he was innocent of child abuse charges.  To me, he seemed like a child trapped in a man’s body, and I doubt he was capable of physical intimacy with anyone.  I think he was an innocent in a hard world.  I don’t know for sure, of course, but none of us do, do we?  I’ve always identified with him, and I was not one who laughed when he said he liked to climb a tree at Neverland and stay there for hours, making up songs. I have done things like that myself.  And, to be honest with you, the older I get the more I feel like I don’t have a lot of people my age I can relate to, because I still think like a child as well.  One of my happiest experiences was seeing him in concert at Madison Square Garden on 9-10-2001.  Experiencing that powerful talent and energy, and how it blew away the thousands of people in that arena, was mind-blowing.

But I digress. I only spent a little while in front of the house, lost in thought, and then it was time to move on.

Some time after I left Gary I got a call from Joe at the garage in Omaha, who seems like a genuinely nice guy. He said he hated to do this, but he had more bad news.  Ohhhhhhh.  It turns out the van needs some sort of new sensor thingy which can only be gotten new from Toyota, and which would add $375 to the bill, for a grand total of around four thousand bucks, chief!!   Arrrrgggghhhhhhhh!  And not only that, but the part cannot be had until WEDNESDAY!  On one hand, that’s a good thing. That means I am going to be home for Christmas for sure, but now I can’t get the van (with the presents in it)  til the middle of the week next week, and I’ve got some important stuff coming up at home.  The Saturday after Christmas is our first Epiphany Play rehearsal at St. Matthew’s, and I am the long-time director.  I can’t miss that!  And then on New Year’s Eve I’ve got a gig with my band, The Groovy Dudes, and we need to rehearse! But, as my husband is fond of saying, “one thing at a time,” so I got on the phone with Hertz to see what the charge would be to drop the rental off in NH, and then I would work on getting a cheapo flight back to Nebraska.

I think this is when my head officially cracked open and my brains began to spill out.  It turns out that it’s no mere $100 fee to drop the rental off in a different location.  It changes the entire rental agreement, bringing up the daily rate to TWICE what I paid.  So the total would be nearly SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS!!!!!!!!!  I almost drove off the road!  I’m already paying nearly $350 for the rental.  I expressed my horror to the woman on the phone and asked her if there was any way that figure could be lowered, and she said, “That’s the best I can do, Ma’am.”  I hung up.  I checked the rental agreement and saw that the rate for extra days was $35.99 a day.  I’m keeping the darned thing and driving it back to Nebraska the day after Christmas.  It will be a whirlwind trip because I have to be back for Saturday.  Philip might be able to get a couple of days off and do it with me, and that would be great! Fingers crossed for that.

Once the sun went down the traffic got even worse, and I did come upon a pile-up of about a dozen cars that had been cleared to the side of the road by the time I passed it.  I silently thanked God that I hadn’t been in it and said a quick prayer for those who were. I called the Howse’s and told them I would be a little late and they were anxiously awaiting my arrival.

I finally got there around 7:20 and Timothy and his group of helpers swiftly helped me unload and set up in the garage with the door open so that folks out in the street could hear the music. There weren’t a lot of people there…because of the rain…but it was a small, but mighty crowd.  You know, it doesn’t matter how tired I am or what kind of day it’s been…once I step in front of the audience I am where I was meant to be. That’s just how it is.  I come alive. Singing is such a joyful thing to do; I feel like I’m sharing the best part of me, and when people are smiling, singing along or moving to the music, that’s when I always thank God that I am able to do this and acknowledge that it completely comes from Him.  I know that I have no claim for the fact that I can make music; it was completely a gift, and I’m so so so so grateful that I got it, because it makes me so happy and it makes other people happy and when that’s going on I forget about dollar signs and broken vans and long driving stretches.  I’m just lost in the joy of what’s happening right then.  So let me take a minute right now to thank EVERYONE who has participated in this tour…whether you are a host, a concert attendee, or cheering me on from the sidelines…and especially my family, who has been calling and texting and lifting my spirits.  I know the meaning of “the wind beneath my wings” because of you, and I hope that in some small way what I have done has encouraged you or made you happy or made you laugh or even if it just made you laugh because you can’t believe what a crazy person I am out here doing this.

I think this particular concert was so sweet because I almost didn’t do it. But it seemed extra special to me. Almost the minute I started singing I knew why God wanted me there.   The people who were there were so enthusiastic and appreciative and when I thought that I almost missed this chance, well….I was really glad things worked out the way they did and I got to do it.

 I think it was one of the loudest “Rudolph” sing alongs of the tour. Or maybe that was just because of the four guys who were in the garage behind me, trying to stay out to the rain and singing loud!  During the instrumental break in “Santa Whatcha Got” I ran out into the driveway, grabbed Timothy by the hands and took him for a spin.  You should have seen the look on his face….pure surprise and happiness.  What a blast!  And as I was running back to the microphone I was thinking, “Thank God I had that gastric bypass surgery or I would never be able to sing after doing that”.

And I would be remiss if I did not mention the two young men who sang “Frosty.”  The first guy got up to do it, made it part of the way through and then was swiftly joined by another who came up to help him out. These were not children, but young adults, and it was wonderful and just sweet how one came to the other’s rescue so unabashedly.  They made a great singing team!

I want to note here that the Howse family is very adamant about the reason why they do a Christmas light synchronized program at their house. They are strong Christians and want to share the message of the birth of Jesus and what it meant to Humankind, and the narration between their songs and the elements are their display bear that out.  Decorators have all sorts of reasons for making major displays like this, and all of them are good reasons…bringing joy and happiness to strangers, shedding light in the darkness of the world, making memories for children, and, of course, celebrating the significance of the birth of Christ.  I know the message in their display is very important to the Howse’s, so that’s why I mention it here. I hope you get a chance to see it someday..it’s very beautifully done.

After the packing up we all went to Big Boy, a place I hadn’t been in years because there aren’t any in NH, and had a fun meal with lively conversation among the Howse parents, their four adult sons and a family friend.  It was great way to end the day, in the warm company of new friends.  God bless you, Howse family.  I hope I get to see you again some day soon.

 

Gary & Terry's "We Believe" Lights on 32nd Monday, Dec. 17

Monday started out different to begin with.  Once I finished working on my computer, after midnight, I lay down on my bed in the hotel room and could not get to sleep.  No matter what, I tossed and turned, thinking about the long drive to Nebraska the next day and hoping I would get there on time. Finally, I figured I may as well just leave, so in the middle of the night I got up and took off.
I drove for about an hour and then I got sleepy, so I pulled off into one of those many truck stops along the highway, locked the doors and caught some zzzzzzzs for about an hour. Then I drove for a couple more hours and did the same thing again. 
At some point I saw that I was near Peoria, IL and that struck a chord with me.  There is a favorite book among our family members called "Summer of Night," by Dan Simmons. All of us have read it and it's been passed along to several of Emma's friends.  It takes place in a little town in IL not far from Peoria, and I recalled seeing on Simmons' website that he based it on his hometown, his real friends and his childhood there.  So I looked it up and lo and behold, it was Brimfield, IL, and it was right off the highway along my way.  Well, now I had all kinds of extra time to kill, so I took the exit and spent a few hours exploring Brimfield.  It was GREAT.  Just as I had imagined!  I felt like I was IN the book!!  I stopped into the one big gas station/store/cafe in town and asked some old timers if they knew where the school had been that was featured in the book (it was torn down in 1960) and we got into a long conversation. They knew Dan Simmons and they knew a lot of the kids he hung out with, kids who were in the book. Ultimately my search led me to talking with Kevin, who is a main character in the book, and he was very nice.  For this bibliophile it was HEAVEN! 
After I'd seen and done everything and taken pictures of all the sites that were prominent in the book, I went on my merry way. I stopped for one more nap, and I was making good time, on track to arrive in Lincoln at 5:30 and go to my hotel and take a shower before the show, when my van BROKE DOWN on the highway in the middle of Omaha during RUSH HOUR. I quickly pulled over, and called AAA and my husband....and the upshot was that I survived, the van was towed to a repair shop, and Terry came and got me and brought me to the show which I began 45 minutes late (people stayed!!)
Gary was a genius. Once Terry left to come fetch me he put on a Santa suit with a full headpiece and went out and entertained the crowd!!  By the time I started the show, though, it was COLD out, and many people had to leave before I finished
Gary's display is charming and I especially loved singing The House on Christmas Street with it.  It's so much fun to see the people "ooh" and "ahh" when I do that, and it showcases the creativity of the homeowner.  It was a really pretty and tasteful display but unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of it in all the melee.
I was really depressed, but Gary and Terry and their friends and family were wonderful....Gary had decorated the inside of his garage so that I could sign autographs inside where it was a little warmer, and I sold some CDs and met some people and it was a nice evening, although inside I was freaking out, worrying about the van and hoping it would be just some little thing.
Gary took me to the hotel after we were all packed up, and I collapsed.  The next day, bright and early, I got a call from the garage telling me the transmission was SHOT.  Well, it's got 407,000+ miles on it, so I guess it was to be expected, but the thing is..I had that whole van looked over and inspected for road-worthiness before I left home and had over $3000 worth of work done on it, so I wasn't expecting any problems!!  This was a MAJOR DISASTER.
Once Philip calmed me down over the phone I called and got a rental, he called the garage and talked to them and they went ahead and ordered a used transmission, and I called Gary and he once again came and fetched me and brought me to the Hertz place in Omaha.  He was a knight in shining armor through this whole thing, ferrying me around and being very nice about it. THANK YOU SO MUCH GARY AND TERRY!
I got a Toyota Rav and went back to the garage to get some more stuff out of the van and took off once more, for Minnesota this time.  Of course I managed to leave my AC adapter in my van, so I couldn't charge my phone, but that's par for the course!  (If you recall, I left my car charger in the rental in Seattle!)

Well, now I have to get going to the Hudson Elementary School to put on a Christmas concert for the kids there, but thank you for keeping up with me on this great adventure and I'll try to get more caught up tonight.  Hey, I'm only a couple of shows behind right now!!

Oh....I probably WON'T be home for Christmas....cause now I gotta go back to Omaha after the last show and get the van!  :(

High Country Lights, Ennice NC December 15

Hoo Boy...I'm sitting here in my hotel suite in Bloomington, IL reflecting on the tour ...and thinking that I can't believe I have to drive all the way back to Omaha after the last show on Sunday night.  Why oh why did the  van have to break down at the farthest point at which I drove it???  Monday afternoon, just as I crossed over the border into Nebraska, it suddenly just lost power and I yanked it over to the breakdown lane as the full-fledged traffic of rush hour in Omaha zoomed by me. I was really scared somebody was gonna smash into me.  I called Philip, and then I called AAA while he called my hosts in Lincoln.  While I was still on the phone with AAA Terry jumped into her truck and headed to Omaha to pick me up.  I got to the show about 45 minutes late.....

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  I still have to tell you about William Bottomley's "High Country Lights" in Ennice, NC.  I went over to William's from Pilot Mountain and, as he had promised, it was the biggest event he's thrown yet.  Like with Larry and Rachel it was the third year I've visited William's display, which is at the Glade Creek Fire Department. These folks in North Carolina have become very special to me, and William is a particular hoot because he's just a "git 'er done" kinda guy and has a great sense of humor. He called me a week or so in advance just to tell me he'd have the Chik-Fil-A cow there because he knew I'd squeal over that prospect!  And he was right!

However,  by the time the day of his show came, I'd had a heavy heart all day with the shooting incident in CT in the back of my mind, as I'm sure it was for everyone.  It was hard to think about having fun while knowing so many were suffering. But I knew that there were people and children here, in this town, who were looking forward to my performance and this would be an opportunity for them to have fun together and enjoy each other on this winter night.    This year William had arranged for a full-fledged hot meal to be served, a live radio broadcast and Santa Claus....AND the Chik-fil-a COW to make an appearance!  And I am very grateful that this year William decided to move the stage indoors! It was nice and warm and I was able to wear my fancy dress AND that cow was outrageous..dancing with the kids and everyone was having fun.  I always encourage the parents to dance with their children when I perform "Santa Whatcha Got" and on this particular night I don't know, but, I could just feel that it was extra special when they did that. I've felt that every night since then.  Like maybe the parents are really aware of how precious each possible moment with their children is, so  even if they might not have felt like dancing in the street on a cold night they got up and had fun doing it anyway.  In the case of Ennice, they were dancing like crazy inside the firehouse.

William is one of the only decorators who has been able to get "The House on Christmas Street" played on his local radio station..and that's because the most popular station around is still locally owned and they are not slave to a national company's rules and regs.  I was interviewed by the deejay who did the live broadcast and he told me that the song is in the regular holiday rotation on the station and that is terrific!  Makes me think I need to approach the "mom and pop" stations all over the country and maybe I'd have better luck.  If you are reading this and you have a locally owned radio station in your vicinity that plays Christmas music  please let me know about it!

William took some great pictures at his event and posted them in an online album here, if you want to see them:
http://www.highcountrylights.com/picture-gallery/category/14-2012-christmas-celebration.html


Thank you William, my friend, for a terrific time and the chance to dance with a cow!

The next day in Anderson, Indian, I've already written about, so my next blog entry will continue th horror show that started when the van broke down on Monday, as I recounted earlier in this post. But right now I am seriously starting to fall asleep here at the computer and so much close for now.

I appreciate you reading this , your caring, and your prayers for me as I continue this journey. So far I have been to 27 states since laving on Nov. 24th!!

Good night...and more tomorrow!!

Larry & Rachel Charpiat's Pilot Mountain Christmas

I drove over the Blue Ridge Parkway to get to Pilot Mountain, and it was just a beautiful drive on a beautiful day.  The views were breathtaking.  I was happy to be going to see Larry and Rachel, who I first visited on the tour three years ago. We became fast friends that first time, and for the past two years I have stayed with them when I've gone to NC.  They treat me like family, and it's wonderful.
I talked about their display here last year, but just for a recap---they have three acres out in the country, but they get thousands of visitors every year.  One whole acre is a parking lot they had made for their visitors, and people come in and walk through two acres of Christmas lights and get free hot chocolate at the hot chocolate house.  They were actually featured in a magazine this year as one of NC's top holiday attractions!! They do not charge admission, although I'm sure they could and people would still come, but they do have donation cans around if people want to  drop money in to help defray their electric bill.
Larry and Rachel are a retired couple and they are just so perfect for each other. This display is a labor of love for both of them, and they both take pride in it and enjoy working on it together.  They live in a lovely, cozy home with their three kitty cats and lots of relatives and friends join them, especially on weekends, to help park cars, direct traffic and give out hot chocolate.
I guess it was because it was a Saturday night, but there were a TON of people who came to the concert and it was really great. The little children, the people dancing...another wild and crazy night!  Here's some video that Larry put together:
 http://youtu.be/zQ4JbtoLvtw





And here are some photos:

While I was at Larry and Rachel's a weird thing started happening with my van....it would not shift into Drive and then suddenly it would. So on the morning after the concert, after they treated me to a yummy breakfast, we went to Wal-Mart and got this "transmission fix" stuff and Larry put it in for me and it started working just fine. This Wal-Mart was also the only place I've ever seen an inflatable snowman dressed in a camo vest and carrying a shotgun. Weird. It was especially disconcerting in the light of the school shooting in CT.  I didn't like it.
I'm not going to get into a big debate about gun control here, but I would like to say that my prayers are with the families of the children and adults who were lost in the melee.  I can't imagine such horrible grief. I do believe the souls went straight in to the arms of Jesus, but that's probably cold comfort to the families who are so desperately missing their little ones.
Well, I digress.  I had a really great time at Larry and Rachel's and am so grateful for the friendship of these two wonderful and thoughtful and generous people.  And I hope I didn't get them hooked on Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars!  Even though they ARE delicious, aren't they, Larry and Rachel??

Friday, December 14, Part One: Mitford

One of my favorite book series' is the one Jan Karon wrote about the everyday life of an Episcopal priest in a small town in North Carolina called "Mitford."  I found out some time ago that "Mitford" was based on a real town where Karon lived called Blowing Rock.

The books make it sound like the loveliest place, where the locals meet for lunch at the humble Main Street Grill, the richest lady in town is an eccentric elderly woman who lives in a slightly run-down mansion on a hill, and one of the main characters is a young boy named Dooley who, when we first meet him, is a ragamuffin who has no manners and asks Fr. Tim where he can "take a dump."  The characters are every day people who call upon God for help and thank Him as easily as they breathe.  They are funny, deep and beautiful books and I cherish them, so when I saw that Blowing Rock was just a short side trip on my route between South Carolina and my destination, Pilot Mountain, North Carolina. 

A few days prior to my trip I called the Blowing Rock Historical Society to see if they had any information on Mitford related sites and they were so nice and were very happy to help me out, so I was very excited about the  visit.  

Boy, was I let down!!  The gentleman at the historical society was pleasant and helpful, and mentioned two things that were red flags right away. First, Jan Karon moved away from Blowing Rock a few years ago because, according to him, it got too crowded.  Second, the town has not held its annual "Mitford" festival in a couple of years.  He did not offer a reason. 

He handed me a sheet of paper which listed a few spots in town that were inspiration for places in the book.  I started at the church, which was lovely from the outside.

 
 But as I walked up the Main Street, it soon became clear to me that this was no "small town America".  Apparently, at some point since Karon wrote her books the town has become YUPPIFIED!!! (Cue the "da-da-dahhhh!") ominous music)

The shops were all clearly filled with expensive merchandise designed to appeal to the upscale tourist.  I walked into the Christmas shop in hopes of perhaps finding a pretty "Mitford" ornament for my tree.  I asked the lady there if they had such a thing and she literally wrinkled her nose and gave me an icy "no".  I went into several stores , in fact, and only managed to find one Mitford item... A leftover sweat shirt  from the last Mitford Days Festival, buried under a stack of tee shirts.  Not a Mitford postcard or key chain in sight. 

Two of the four places listed on the paper I was given no longer exist. Sonny's Grill, the inspiration for the Main Street Grill, was nowhere to be found. Instead, I found this:

Gag-a-rama!

Almost ready to blow out of Blowing Rock,  I decided to take a drive out to the Blue Ridge Parkway and the location of the mansion known as "Miss Sadie's house" to Karon's readers. At least here I was not disappointed. It looked exactly as I'd pictured it.

  While I was there I learned that the building was also used to film part of "The Green Mile".  See that glassed-in porch area over on the left?  That's where they filmed Tom Hanks as an old guy living in a nursing home.  The people who took this photo for me told me that the shack in which he kept the mouse, Mr. Jingles, at the end of the movie, was out in the woods behind the house, so I went off like a fool in my fancy boots looking for it down a mile and a half of trails that looked like this:

 I ended up tripping over a root and sprawling face first on the ground, and I sprained my poor big toe.  I hobbled out of there, never having found the shack, and off I went, blowing the clambake of Blowing Rock.

It was only a couple of hours before I would get to Pilot Mountain and the home of my good friends Larry and Rachel Charpiat....

December 13th, Mauldin, SC

Thursday morning began in a rush as I slept a little too late.  That room at the Celebration Hotel...well, it was more like an apartment and was very comfortable!  Calvin had told me the previous evening that he thought he understood that it was the "honeymoon suite". It probably was! It had two showers and a huge four poster bed.  I woke up sprawled across it diagonally, and missing Philip dearly. But I had a nearly nine-hour drive ahead of me, and I couldn't linger and enjoy the accommodations.
The drive was uneventful. "Odd Thomas" kept me entertained and the hours and miles passed swiftly.          I was really looking forward to seeing Tommy and Tony again. Tommy first invited me to the house last year and I recall my delight upon first seeing their bright, colorful and well organized display when I came around the corner in that darkened neighborhood.  Tommy and his friend Tony immediately charmed me, and, along with their folks, I made fast friends.  Like many of their decorating counterparts, they decorate the inside of their home as well... And I have to say they definitely win the prize for best indoor decorations. (I'll never say who's got the best outdoor display... They're all different and beautiful and unique, and I have been privileged to sing at each one and get to know their creators a little).
However, Tommy is the number one PartyLite distributor in the state...and possibly the country... And many of the indoor decorations, including some lovely Nativity sets, are PartyLite creations.  Just about every inch of their living space features something Christmassy, including a Christmas tree in the bathroom. I especially love the large framed paintings of Santa that adorn the walls.  It's easy to feel festive in this house.
I was just as delighted when I drove up this year. Actually I was more excited because I was coming back to see old friends.
The display outside is gigantic and takes up the front, side , and back yards. It's a walk through display, and visitors enter through the front, where they can get a hot chocolate and a bag of popcorn (yes, they have a carnival-style popper) and then walk down a magical path to the back and all around until they reach the front of the house again. It would be next to impossible to be able to get photographs of every corner of this display, but here are a few that I took:

There is a pathway that goes all around this tree, and the snowmen skating around it

one of the magical lighted pathways

I've never seen an inflatable mushroom at any display!

That's an inflatable Noah's Ark floating in the middle of their swimming pool!

Another magical path!

Tony, me and Tommy

Once again, Tommy and Tony served up a delicious meal for family and friends before the concert. Lemon chicken...yum!
I also enjoyed a little visit with their SEVEN Yorkies who were kept penned during the festivities! As we say in Maine, they are awful cunnin'!
After the show, I was gifted with a PartyLite candle melt warmer.  I can't wait to give it a special place in our home. And if that weren't enough, Tony met me the next morning at the hotel with three more surprise wrapped gifts for my family.  Overwhelming generosity!!
I have made so many wonderful friends through these Christmas tours, and I am truly blessed.  Tommy and Tony...I'm  so glad I met you.  I know that if we lived closer to each other we would hang out often and have a lot of fun.  Your display is magnificent and the care you put into every detail really shows.  I want you to know how much I appreciate your friendship and generosity. Merry Christmas!!