May you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. You probably remember that Elizabeth and I moved to Columbia, Missouri in the second half of the year, to be more centrally-located in the country. We would like to share our home and its decorations this Christmas season.
We have placed garland above most doors and around some bookcases; this is Elizabeth's musical theatre book collection.
Looking back into the living room and Elizabeth's tree.
In our library are a few of Chris' pictures which we had framed.
Garland around the doorway into the kitchen.
The door to the garage is not forgotten! The corkboards on the wall contain California and Nevada municipal lapel pins, part of Elizabeth's pin collection.
The tree that Chris decorated in our library.
The Polar Express circles the tree in the library.
Our railway book collection and Elizabeth's railway photograph albums did not escape the garland treatment.
The Twelve Days of Christmas was hand-carved with a saw by Mrs. Sharon Tamblin, wife of Elizabeth's first boss in Victoria.
One of our Thomas Kindade paintings, "The River Queen", with a beautiful winter wall hanging.
Elizabeth's father, Kenneth Davidge, received a Gemmological Society of Great Britain Fellowship Diploma, as well as a Preliminary Gemmological Certicate on June 8th and 9th, 1951. Below is a picture of him at a Henry Birks & Sons Jewellers conference "Winning Together" and a picture of him in Otford, Kent in 1951. Below that is our Seasons Greeting wreath.
In the master bedroom is a Jeffrey Hartmann oil painting of the McCloud River Railroad at Hambone that he painted for Chris to commemorate his first trip aboard that railroad. Also pictured are our lanyards from various photo charters, conventions and conferences.
Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Roundhouse painting by Larry Fisher.
The above painting, plus metal signs of the London and North Eastern Railway and Across the Atlantic by White Star via the Southern Railway.
A Thomas Kinkade painting of Hyde Street and the Bay, San Francisco.
Garland around the master bathroom door, Chris' rock and roll pictures and the last Thomas Kinkade painting, "Sunset on Lamplight Lane". Below is the corkboard containing municipal lapel pins of British Columbia and Alberta.
Chris' awards for his Millionth Mile overall and on Amtrak, NRHS twenty-five year award, the Victoria, British Columbia Canadian Pacific Railway roundhouse aerial photograph and Elizabeth Street, New York. The pin boards contain Quebec municipal pins; there are over one thousand local governments in that Canadian province.
Pittsburgh Penguins Back-to-Back Champions and a few of Chris' favorite hockey players.
Garland encircles the pillars.
The Dickens Village of Department 56.
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Close-ups of the Department 56 buildings, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Buckingham Palace and Downton Abbey.
The Thomas Kinkade painting of London and Big Ben.
Our Lenox village on our mantle.
Close up of the buildings and figurines.
HO model trains on the hearth, a mixture of Canadian Pacific, Canadian National, Pacific Great Eastern and British Columbia Railway RDCs, Westcoast Express, Napa Valley Wine Train, the "Roald Amundsen" Presidential Car and others.
A Lehigh and Hudson River Railroad lantern that Chris received from Bill Wallace of Bananafish Tours.
A variety of china cups and saucers, including the commemorative china produced by the Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria for the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002.
Red Rose Tea porcelain figurines that a client gave Elizabeth when she worked at an investment company in West Seattle. These had been offered in boxes of tea since the 1950's; the figurines differed between America and Canada.
Trophies that Chris won over the years as a child and when he was an athletic coach, as well as Elizabeth's dancing trophies from her twelve years at Sinclair Academy of Dancing in Victoria.
Coca Cola truck and miscellaneous items.
A Snow Village piece of Department 56.
Table top Christmas decorations, along with our first two Christmas cards.
A Thomas Kinkade Christmas train.
The tree that Elizabeth decorated.
The Guenzler family picture and a couple of Elizabeth's special plates.
By the front door.
The wall nect to the front door and the Pittsburgh Penguins emblem through the years.
Pennsylvania Railroad wall hanging, Chessie Kitten and Daylight logo metal sign.
Looking into the guest bedroom.
Railroad plates above our front door.
Elizabeth's "N" gauge model trains. The top is the Micro-Trains 50 state boxcar series and the bottom is the Canadian province boxcar series, some of the Presidential boxcar series and miscellaneous locomotives and freight cars.
Elizabeth's cassette tape and compact disc collection of musical theatre cast recordings and film soundtracks, including many theatrical programs taped from BBC Radio 2. This collection started in 1985.
More framed photographs, a picture of Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, and other items.
My retirement gift from Heninger Elementary School, a Doctor Who Tardis and my Nevada Northern station photograph above my compact disc collection.
Chris' train clock from the Durango and Silverton Railroad.
Chris' tree as seen from the living room. The two of us wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
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