"The Moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave a luster of midday to objects below. When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer..."

"Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen! On. Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donner and Blitzen!"

~ A Visit From St. Nicholas, Clement Clark Moore, 1823

Photo: The Niagara Escarpment, West Hamilton. Taken last winter when we had snow ~ Lorna

With a hearty "Ho, ho, ho!" Santa calls out each name then off to the North Pole again. "A book for Susie, a comic for Sam." Santa smiles. "Bundles of fun.""In a land way up north ~ at the tip of the North Pole ~ there's a magical place where winter stays the whole year long. Elves upon elves zigzag their skis through the snow on their way to a very special house ~ the Toy Shop of Mr. and Mrs. S. Claus." "How was your trip, Santa? Merry Christmas!" Couldn't do it without Elf Mike!

~ Santa's Toy Shop, Walt Disney Classic Edition, 2000

THE AVRO ARROW
A PICTURE HISTORY ~ "When the magnificent new Avro Arrow fighter jet thundered into the sky over Malton, Ontario on a cold March morning in 1958, Canada became a world leader in the aviation industry. Less than a year later, the Arrow project was dead. What happened?
The story of the Avro Arrow has been told, retold, and analyzed so often it is fading into myth. This book brings the Arrow, and the people who made it, back to life through over 100 historical images cataloguing every step of the Arrow's development ~ and its shocking demise."
~ Local author, Lawrence Miller, James Lorimer & Company Ltd., 2011.

NEW ~ Autographed copies available at The Neat Little Bookshop $9.95 (Limited quantity)

J. D. Salinger (January 1919 ~ January 2010)

Holden Caulfield Watching Phoebe on the carousel ~ "I was so damn happy all of a sudden . I don't know why.It was just that she looked so damn nice, the way she kept going round and round, in her blue coat and all.God, I wish you could have been there." (Paperback edition courtesy of Lawrence Miller.) J. D. Salinger's novel, The Catcher in the Rye, has become an icon for teenage rebellion and adolescent confusion. The theme of the importance of family throughout the book perhaps contributes to the book's lasting attraction. Above hard cover: First published in Britain 1951 by Hamish Hamilton Ltd. 2nd impression 1955.

Reading of A Christmas Carol
at Cottonwood Mansion left most of us inquiring, "What is Smoking Bishop??" (Read by Rt. Rev. D. Ralph Bishop Spence ~ the casting by Catherine Stidsen.)
The drink is hot, spiced wine similar to wassail ~ something like a hot sangria, scented with oranges and infused with port.

Thank you Bishop Spence, Anglican Bishop of Niagara, retired, for your enlivened rendition of The Christmas Carol script. With thanks to Catherine Stidsen for photo.

At the very end of the beloved Charles Dickens holiday classic A Christmas Carol, a reformed Ebenezer Scrooge and his long-suffering employee Bob Cratchit share an oddly named libation:

"A Merry Christmas, Bob!" said Scrooge with an earnestness that could not be mistaken, as he clapped him on the back. "A merrier Christmas, Bob, my good fellow, than I have given you for many a year! I'll raise your salary, and endeavor to assist your struggling family, and we will discuss your affairs this very afternoon over a bowl of Smoking Bishop, Bob!" Source: CBC

Photo: Deanna and Jill Serving Guests

"Shortly after its publication 150 years ago, The Night Before Christmas spawned dozens of copiously illustrated hand- and paper-bound versions of its charming tale. And Santa lovers collected as many versions as possible. And the Jolly Old Elf, initially depicted by Thomas Nast, soon took on a more expansive life, which was merrily featured in companion volumes. Santa, in other words, was no longer fettered to his December 24th ride through the sky, but was illustrated at work with his elves, relaxing by the fire with Mrs. Claus, and even taking vacations in the South."
~ Country Living COUNTRY CHRISTMAS, Hearst Books, 1990. (Note: that would make it over 170 years ago.)
Santa artist: Florence Sarah Winship ~ only a few surviving pages of The Night Before Christmas. Circa: 40's (?)

Though miles separate us . . . (1928 Post Cards) Post Cards From The Past