Merry Christmas!

Well the sleigh made it to The Craftsman B&B in Pacific City. The skies were clear last night so his flight should have been pretty smooth in the Northwest.

Hopefully our new chimney didn't slow him down. Today is a double day for the Salt & Pepper collection. We have the loaded sleigh,

and the unloaded sleigh.

Now that Santa is all done with his year long job, he's back at the North Pole with his lovely wife.

They are singing Christmas Carole's for the last time.

Next for Santa is some sunscreen, board shorts and a well deserved vacation to the tropics.

We hope you have had a great Christmas with your family and friends and as we look forward to the new year, we hope to see you in our still tiny beach town.

Is more, better?

That's a good question. Let's debate: I an a more, simple is better kind of guy. You can tell by how I did the interiors of The Craftsman B&B, the original "no lace, no doilies" B&B.

Form follows function. Ever hear that before? It means make something work, easy to use, first, then design in nice aesthetics. Michael Graves in the master of this in our era. He is the father of post-modern design.

Of course the Craftsman movement did it pretty well. I've written a lot about this in past blogs, but quickly, they ditched the ornate machine made Victorian "decoration" for simple hand made arts.

The Shakers had it almost all correct. Make useful items with your hands and your heart. Function and multi-use above all else. The celibacy part of their religion was a mistake.

But sometimes more is better. Automobiles are a great example of this. The first car I drove didn't come with a radio. Now, any car I buy must have: heated seats, dual climate control, Xenon headlights and an auto-tinting rear view mirror. 10 years ago, it was rare, now almost all cars have them, even micro cars.

Now let's talk about Christmas. I like a few gifts. I grew up on getting socks and underwear for gifts and Santa brought us toys. Seven people in the family and we were done opening presents in an hour. Plain and simple. Then I meet Laura, the first few Christmas' were insane. I thought it took all day to open presents, that was until the grand kids showed up, then it actually did take all day. Which is better?

Now we get to today's salt and pepper shakers.

Is more better? These came from Neiman Marcus. Known for being over the top, these fit the bill. Let's break the design down. First, they are S&P's. OK, simple right? Nutcrackers, very Christmas'y. But let's look a little harder, they also snow globes. Now I like a good snow globe. I have one depicting the car roll over scene in the movie Fargo. So we have nutcrackers in a snow globe that are also S&P's from Neiman Marcus. I'd have to say more is not better!

Play in the snow?

A lot of people like to play in the snow, animals and snowmen too. With the threat of snow in the coast range tonight, I thought these snowmen playing would get you in the mood.

They look like they know how to have fun. Me, not a big fan of the snow. I grew up in the stuff and I made the best of it when I was a kid. We would get blizzards every year and the snow was so light and dry, the wind would clear open spaces and cover the house with drifts. Yes, snow up to the eaves of the house! Thirty feet away from the house, no snow. We lived near a park, so when we got these drifts, it would bury the houses that faced the park. The neighborhood kids would build snow forts and an inter-network of tunnels. We would work all day and throw snowballs at the passing cars. Our mom's were pretty resourceful as well, we would wear bread bags on our feet and tuck our pants inside of them to keep dry. Years later, I discovered gaiters in a mountaineering store.

From skiing most weekends in Colorado to living at the beach. I got to say, I love the weather at the beach here in Pacific City, even though it's hailing right now. The local weather forecasters always give you the snow level. When we lived near Portland, we were at 600 feet, so if Portland got snow, we got snow. Tonight they say it will be around 1,500 feet. So when you are sick of the snow and cold, come visit us at The Craftsman B&B, we are at 18 feet.

Hey, it's the shortest day of the year. Happy solstice, and axial tilt. Still time for me to send your Christmas wishes with a Craftsman B&B Gift Certificate.

Miseltoe and Christmas Sweaters

So Mickey and Minni Mouse are getting into the Christmas spirit under the mistletoe. According to a custom of Christmas cheer, any two people who meet under a hanging of mistletoe are obliged to kiss. The custom is of Scandinavian origin.

Mickey is all embarrassed, 'cause he just got kissed or that he is wearing a Christmas sweater and a Santa hat.

We have all seen crazy Christmas sweaters, what's their origin? I'm guessing it's from grandmas wanting to be cruel to their grand kids once a year. They're always nice, so this gesture may seem nice, but it's not. Just go to a Goodwill store. They have a section just for Christmas sweaters, no joke! Here is a blog about the ugly sweater style. There is even an online store that's all about the ugly sweater.

As you have seen in the past posts, I have a salt and pepper collection and have been blogging about it, just like this blog. I photographed the collection in one day to have a consistent look to the photos. Someone else had the same idea, but for his Christmas Sweater Collection. His collection includes sweatshirts, vests and turtlenecks too. More sweater choices for your closet are here.

Have you been to a sweater party? We have, that's how we found out about the Goodwill aisle.

We know you have a crazy Christmas Sweater, let's make it pay. From now until December 30th, The Craftsman B&B will give you a 20% discount on a nights stay. All you have to do is mention this blog and show up for breakfast wearing, you guessed it, a Christmas Sweater! Just like our S&P collection, the uglier, the better.

How's your list?

Santa must be pretty close to getting his list together. He has time to play with the reindeer, well this kind of looks like a moose.

If you have your holiday lists mostly checked off, you should reward yourself with a visit to Pacific City and The Craftsman B&B.

Our cold snap seems to be over and a nice little storm blew in during the night. Storm watching season is on. The surf has been pretty good as well.

So before the crazy of the season take you into its grasp, take a break and revive your spirits for the next round of the family get together and holiday parties. If Santa can play around, you can too.

Snowman Saftey, sort of!

We have had a few clear skied nights in Pacific City over the last few days. With the moon around it's full stage, the nights have been bright. One thing I learned growing up in Denver is that clear skies equal cold temperatures. Our first freeze was a few days ago and the dahlias are the first to show it. I cut the grass the other day and parts still had the morning frost.

As we are in for a cold snap around the Northwest, it's a warmer cold snap at the beach. I'm still only wearing a hoodie, last time I wore a "winter" coat was 1983, when I moved away from Denver.

Santa and the Snowman must have the same tailor, or stylist, as they are in similar outfits with this set of Salt & Peppers.

That's not the only good news for travelers wanting to visit Pacific City and stay at The Craftsman B&B. With the air temperature as low as it's been, it makes the water that much warmer. It's not often that the air temps are lower than the water temps. So all you surfers need to get out here, catch a wave and warm up in the water. The downside, as always, is putting on a wet wetsuit is still one of the worse experiences ever, so I'll dry your suits in our heated garage.

So come on out this weekend, surf or just watch the sunset, it's awesome when it's this clear. Watch the crab boats at night from the beach and attend our town's Christmas Tree lighting tonight at 6:30 PM.

Christmas Season

The Christmas season is here. Mot people like to start the day after Thanksgiving. That's OK, but I like to wait 'til December. The Christmas tree is up at The Craftsman B&B and the house is nearly all decorated.

Here is the first of the S&P's for the season. All the holiday S&P's are out, normally they are not part of the collection during the year. They are hanging out with the snowmen Laura has been collecting on the banquette in the dining room.

I will add the garlands to the house when: A) we get a good wind storm that blows branches out of trees, or B) before Laura returns from a week in Hong Kong.

So if you don't feel like decorating your house but want to spend some time in one that is, come pay us a visit this holiday season. Still no lace, no doilies.