The Sherlock Holmes Tree

For the first time in 25 years I’ve put up my Sherlock Holmes tree. When I was married to my first husband, we had a large house with a guest room that was done in a Sherlock Holmes theme. Among the things in that room was my miniature re-creation of Holmes’s sitting room at 221B Baker Street, on top of which, every December, I would erect a small tree, and cover it with Sherlock Holmes theme ornaments.

I always enjoyed that tree, and was amazed at how many Sherlock Holmes ornaments I had. When the word got out that I liked Sherlock, people would make me, or scour the earth for, Sherlock Holmes ornaments to add. So, this tree has a lot of history to it.

 It felt so good to put it up this year. The house I lived in with Mr. O-P was too small to have a place for it. So, for the time we spent at that house, the ornaments, and my miniature Baker Street were stored away. It did good things to my soul to get everything out this year. And, as long as I am in an upright position, that Sherlock Holmes tree is going to go up every year.

In fact, I already have plans to make some ornaments of my own to add to the tree next year, and share with others of like mind.

The Sherlock Holmes ornaments are easy to recognize, although some ornaments may not make obvious sense to those who don't know the Sherlock Holmes stories well.

The red bicycle, for example, is to represent The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist.

The goose represents the lone Christmas story in the canon The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle.

The old man (who is really Ebenezer Scrooge), reminded me so much of Sherlock playing the old bookseller in The Adventure of the Empty House, that I had to take it off of my Dickens tree and put him on my Sherlock tree. I like him here.

I don't as yet have a hound of the Baskervilles, but I do have a pipe (though not a calabash), and I need to add a Persian slipper. This tree is going to grow in years to come, not in size but in volume.

 For those of you who are as passionate about things as I am about Sherlock, you might consider having your own themed tree. They’re a lot of fun to put together, and always draw lots of comments and interest from family and friends.

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What Does your Christmas Tree Say about You?

It's time to put up the Christmas tree again and, is it just me, or did those months roll around really quickly? It seems like only yesterday that I was planting seeds and waiting with great anticipation to see them sprout. 

As I was getting out the ornaments and other holiday tree embellishments, I was struck by how much the decorated tree has become such a representation of my life and interests. This made me wonder just what trees say about the people who decorate them.

Family is very important to me.

 I am a lover of travel.

I'm a reader of mysteries and avid fan of Sherlock Holmes.

I'm a bit of an Anglophile.
A fan of mail art and decorative stamps, I also like Charles Dickens and “A Christmas Carol.”

I love music, used to be a brass player, and majored in music for a while.

I love the pomp and circumstance surrounding the English hunt.

A new addition last year, I had to pay homage to “Downton Abbey.”

The next time you are decorating your tree, stand back and take a good look. What does your tree say about you? Let me know in a comment below.

  

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Friday Frenzy

O Tannenbaum

 Once the bathroom was decorated I was on my way. I'll be entertaining on dual levels this year, which can make things a bit of a challenge, but for the most part, most of the action will be here in the great room. Thank goodness the tree is now up. This picture below made me laugh. It's a terrible picture, I know, this dreary weather makes photography a bit of a challenge, but what makes this photo so funny is that I accidentally captured the image on the television. Look at the poor guy on the floor. That is exactly how I feel!

The tree skirt made me a bit teary this morning. It was made by my mother back in the seventies when she, my aunt, and I were having our holiday bazaars. 

It still looks as bright and beautiful as it did then, and my mother (woman of the tiny stitches), sewed everything by hand. 

The ornaments on the tree are a mishmash of things that reflect my life over the years. 

Our travels. 

 The kids. 

My lifelong interest in mysteries and Sherlock Holmes. 

 My love of Charles Dickens, 19th century Britain and all things English. 

There are a lot of ornaments on this tree representing "A Christmas Carol," all of which are special because I loved the book, and my number two son played Scrooge in a high school presentation for which he won an award.

 The little houses perch on tree lights to give them illumination. 

I have even framed some British postcards that are enlargements of a series of stamps that bear images of scenes from the book.

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Seasonal Sundays

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Rosemary for Christmas

Here’s a quick holiday decorating tip that will liven up your table, add a touch of festiveness to the buffet, and is perfectly usable when the holidays are over and you’re struggling to find a place to store everything.  Head to Lowe’s and get yourself a little rosemary plant that has been conically shaped to resemble a Christmas tree.  Pick up a package of bows from Michael’s that are now drastically reduced to such an extent that you’ll be paying under a dollar for a set of 12, grab some red berries from off of your wreath, out of your yard (or the neighbor’s yard under cover of darkness – unless, of course, you have a very vigilant Neighborhood Watch), and add a small string of LED lights.  You will have a lovely little living tree that smells wonderful, and its portability will brighten any dark corner in your house.  After the holidays, keep it in a very sunny spot and water it weekly.  With any luck you’ll have a wonderful herb plant to sink into your garden come spring where you will be rewarded again and again with fresh rosemary whenever you need it.  How cute is this?

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Tutorial Tips & Tidbits

Oh, Christmas Tree

My mother made me this ornament the year my first child was born.  It is her own design and sewn entirely by hand.

For the past 16 years my husband and I have occupied our Century Home, now boasting age 119.  Each of those 16 years, every spring, like clockwork, the organizer of the Summer Century Home Tour has appeared on our doorstep asking if we'd like to put our house on tour.  Every year our answer has always been the same.  No.  The thought of readying our half-acre yard that by mid-summer bursts with herbs, vegetables, and colorful blossoms, but looks rather bleak in June, not to mention cleaning and sprucing up the interior after a rather slothful winter seemed daunting.  "Ask us for the holiday tour," I'd call after her as she dejectedly descended our front steps.  My reasoning was that this would only require a cleaning of the interior, the placement of our holiday decorations, and that would be that.

So, the day after Thanksgiving, when my husband and I were delirious from exhaustion, the organizer of the Holiday Historical House Tour showed up at our door asking us if we'd like to participate.  Before I could stop the words from coming out of my mouth I'd said "yes."  We had a little over two weeks to prepare.  Initially this sounded like a lot of time.  It wasn't.  Cleaning and decorating takes time.  Lots of time.  Finding the decorations takes even more time.  If not for my son who gave up his day off and another free afternoon to the cause, we'd never have made it.

As a consequence, I did no cooking.  We ate out, or scrounged in the freezer, sometimes warming the food, other times just popping it out of its container and licking it like a beef-flavored Popsicle.  I'll be back later in the week with recipes, and tomorrow with my table setting, but for today I'd thought you might enjoy seeing some the ornaments that grace our tree.

When my boys were small Christmas was always dazzling.  I went to great lengths to transform the house into a holiday wonderland.  Each of our nine rooms had its own tree, each with a different theme.  Life and age has since caught up with me, so now each  tree is represented on the main tree in the living room.  This ornament featuring Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim was a part of the "Christmas Carol" tree, full of Dickens ornaments. Interestingly enough my youngest son gave an award-winning performance of Scrooge in his High School play.  I like to think this tree helped influence him.

I doubt there are many trees in the city of St. Louis that don't feature some form of Cardinal to pay homage to their favorite team. The sheet music behind represents our extensive musical background.

I collect an ornament from every place we visit.  This one of the St. Augustine Lighthouse is a pleasant reminder of a fun trip with friends.

This lovely ornament was a gift from my friend, Marilyn.  She rubber-stamped the top piece, cut it out and affixed it to a glass ball filled with a crystal snow-like substance.  She mailed it to me in a small Christmas tin filled with red and green excelsior.  The tin was NOT in a box, just taped shut and a label and postage attached directly to the tin.  It's always fun getting mail from Marilyn!

A lifelong lover of mysteries, this is but one of about two dozen ornaments that used to adorn the Sherlock tree in the Sherlock theme guest room.
 

Thanks for your visit.  What ornaments will grace your tree this year?
"I am sharing my holiday home decor for the chance to win prizes from The SITS Girls and Great Cleaners."

This post is linked to:Seasonal Sunday