My Christmas Mantle

So Christmas is over, but I have a few things I'd like to share today.  The Design Team at Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps were asked to do a holiday post that could be about anything, so I decided to share my little "Christmas Mantle" and the story behind it:

We have a cat who thinks he's still a kitten (he's about a year and a half old), and he loves to climb trees and hang out in them, so I knew a Christmas tree was out of the question this year.  My friend Linda knew I was bummed about it, so she gave me this gorgeous garland to decorate with instead and I think it came out lovely!  I basically used my favorite ornaments and Christmasy things to decorate - that picture hanging up is actually a limited edition print of Independence Day at Goodale Park in 1965 in my town - Goodale Park is literally a stone's throw from my house, so it's cool that I have this picture hanging up (Jeremy's dad gave it to us).

But the most important part of my Christmas mantle is this guy:

This little guy was given to me by my buddy Meg the Christmas before she died (saying that still makes me feel like someone punched me in the stomach), that's a pic of her hanging off of his cute little antler.  This reindeer is my all-time most important Christmas decoration and always will be.  If you want to read about Meg, you can do it here but be warned, you might want to get some tissues.

I will forever be grateful to Meg for being a part of my life, and for introducing me to her mom Teresa, who has become a lifelong friend to me.  Cancer sucks, but it never wins.  We get to keep our memories and feel our loved ones spirits with us forever.  Merry Christmas.  Peace.