Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more! - Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Like probably most of us, I love Christmas! So much so that 2 of my top 5 favorite movies are It's a Wonderful Life, and The Bishop's Wife. One thing I've always wanted was a fireplace, and a great mantel to go with it, one that could be dressed up for Christmas...you know - another attempt to create an atmosphere that conjures those Christmases of my idyllic youth. Watching Bing Crosby and Andy Williams Christmas specials, and all those old movies always had a fireplace. That's part of the reason I was pushing to get as much done with the project as I could before the holidays. And it worked!
I sometimes think we expect too much of Christmas Day. We try to crowd into it the long arrears of kindliness and humanity of the whole year. As for me, I like to take my Christmas a little at a time, all through the year. And thus I drift along into the holidays – let them overtake me unexpectedly – waking up some fine morning and suddenly saying to myself: ‘Why, this is Christmas Day!’” ~ David Grayson
This is quite possibly the first Christmas mantel here at 173! I say possibly because there is some evidence that there may have been some form of fireplace here in what appears to be the 1940s or '50s:
So here we are in 2017, and this much I can say with absolute certainty - 173 has my very first Christmas mantel! A couple days before Christmas, I finished enough of the project to stop and put some things on the mantel.
Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. - Norman Vincent Peale