As Seen In Town

I’ve shown you much of the sweet, little town of Leavenworth, Washington and I’m sure you can imagine the magic and fun you can find there.  There were little things here and there that caught my eye and I want to share some of them with you before we leave this winter wonderland. A sign near the door of one of the shops made us laugh. No, I didn’t put a leash on my sweetheart!Glimpses in shop windows made us stop often.A stop at The Gingerbread Factory was a delight for the senses – the aromas were incredible and the delights to the eyes and the taste even better!Beside the door – a pretty wreath. . .And the sign on the door made us smile. One of the gals who waited on us told us a man once actually opened the door and rolled in!  They hadn’t seen anything quite like it before – and no one has done that since then.Would you believe I left this yellow truck behind?  I keep thinking about it – and I wonder if it’s still there!Nutcrackers are everywhere around town.  There’s even a Nutcracker Museum but it was closed during the days we were there.  The windows of the museum had the most amazing, ancient nutcrackers on display.  This fellow who stood inside a little mall was almost as tall as me!

The Festhalle – the Community Center – is where many events are held.

A welcome, in German, awaits guests.The architecture is seen all around the area – even in some of the churches.Snowflakes ‘fall’ inside one of the little malls.After dark, the lighted windows come alive.  At the nutcracker shop, nutcrackers of all kinds, in all sizes and styles, stand watch through the night.I fell in love with this little baker man with his gingerbread house and gingerbread man and nutcracker cookies when I first saw him in the window.  I went back again to hold him and look and dream of bringing him home to my kitchen.  But it was not to be – he was a ‘designer’ nutcracker with a price to match.
Meanwhile, down the street at my favorite shop. . .Santa’s elf is sound asleep after a busy day. . .While Old St. Nick stands watch beside Swedish Candoliers of all kinds.Lighted snowflakes decorate all of the lamp posts throughout town, along the main highway through town and across the bridge that leads into town.In the middle of all the lights and festivities, our country’s flag shining in the night touched my heart.  It brought me back to reality – the freedom we have is one of the most precious gifts anyone could give us!  At Christmas time and every day.

Village Lights

I shared a bit about our recent trip to Leavenworth, Washington – but there is more to see.  The little Bavarian-style village is such a whimsical, magical place during the daytime with shops and decorations and friendly people everywhere.

When you see the buildings and many of the homes you have the feeling that you have been transported high into the Swiss Alps!
There are lights on every building – over four hundred thousand lights were installed by the city and there’s no telling how many the merchants and homeowners put up before we arrived.  It’s certainly obvious that they knew we were coming!  The lights are fairly obvious during the daylight hours but with every minute closer to sundown it’s as if someone is scurrying around and turning them on – and turning them all up!At dusk the lights began to show up and I thought it was wonderful.  Little did I know what was about to happen!It got better as time moved along.  The lights on the big tree at the corner of the park had hardly shone up during the day – now it was as if they suddenly had begun to shine.  All of the trees around the park were wrapped with thousands of lights.And from the gazebo in the middle of the park speakers played Christmas music that could be heard all around the downtown streets.

I couldn’t imagine that it would get any better. . .But it did!  We went back after dinner – after the shops had closed and darkness wrapped around the town. It hid the mountains and wrapped us in a world of enchantment.Images that warmed my heart and held me captive in their beauty seemed to call out to me.  A local inn was wrapped in tiny lights of blue and whiteSome trees were encased in bits of color. . .Others had limbs all wrapped in white.

 

It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Everywhere we went. . .

And when the bells rang

The carols that we sang

Were right within our hearts.

(with apologies to Meredith Wilson )

Christmas Every Day

Last week I shared that my sweetheart and I – and my cousin and her hubby – were off on an adventure.  A long-dreamed-of adventure.  And we weren’t disappointed.  Not one little bit.  While we hoped for snow and a sleigh ride, that didn’t happen.  But we were happy – much too happy to mind.  And that is reason to go back again sometime when snow is on the ground.  We commented often that things were exactly the way God had planned them for us.  How could we complain?Leavenworth, Washington is a little town at the base of the Cascade Mountains – literally, as you can see in these photos.  The photo below was taken from the balcony just outside our room.  The air was brisk and chilly but the sun was shining on the day we headed home. 
Everywhere we went we felt the excitement of the holiday season.  The little Bavarian-style town had certainly dressed up in all of its best – just for us!

While I loved looking in all of the shops, this one was definitely my favorite.
Inside were two floors of absolute Christmas-Heaven!  Just about anything your heart could desire could be found there – and more.  I could have stayed all day.  I did go back more than once!
In the center of the store – this tree – in a magic-sort-of-way had snow falling from the top.  Look close.  You can see it!And flying through the ‘sky’ – would you believe, it’s Santa?
Everywhere you looked there were ornaments. . .And decorations. . .And lights. . .

And signs. . .
And things to hang on your walls. . .
Or to stand on your floor.The view from upstairs seemed to capture the attention of most everyone who ventured up there.  Looking down – there he was again!The view of the little ‘snow’ tree from above was as fascinating as from below!  See the snow in the air around the top?  It falls into the big, gold ‘pan’ below and is cycled back up to the top.  No matter where you stood to watch it, there was always someone else watching it, too.As I walked through this place that seemed like a dream, I told my sweetheart that I need a bigger house!  Imagine the decorating I could do!No matter what time of year we return to this sweet, little town I know I’ll find my way to this shop.  You see, it’s open every day of the year, with a few exceptions like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day!

Tomorrow – the lights of Leavenworth!

A Dream-Come-True Kind Of Trip

My sweetheart and I are leaving town very early this morning.  We are on our way to a sweet, little village on the eastern slopes of the Washington State Cascade Mountains.  This is a dream come true for me – something I have hoped to do but never thought it would be this year.  Or any year soon.  God provided in a way we can still hardly believe and we know it’s a special gift from Him to us.  My cousin and her hubby are going, too.  This is something we four have talked about – now it’s for real!

Leavenworth, Washington is a small Bavarian-style village that attracts thousands of people each year.  There are festivals and activities throughout the year.  We hope this will be the first of many visits to join the fun.  You can read more about our destination here.  We have tickets to a harp and vocal Christmas concert with Bronn and Katherine Journey.  Bronn is an acclaimed harpist whose music I have loved for several years.  And we hope to take a sleigh ride, if there is enough snow, and enjoy the shops and dining and all the sights and sounds of this little town.

We won’t be gone long and when I return I will tell you all about it!  Oh, there will be so much to tell.