Today is the last installment of my Christmas Décor Tour… Let’s check out my latest additions…
My Literary Tree was an inspired idea based on my own personal reading challenge/goals for the last two years. Each ornament represents a book I have read (not all books make the tree). I have typed and printed a list which details which book each ornament represents and a quote from the book. I made the tree topper, the garland and a few of the ornaments. Here is a closer look at some of the ornaments:
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
“Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swamps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists.. it is real.. it is possible.. it’s yours.”
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
“Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.”
(Another quote from this classic covers the fact that that is indeed a Blue Jay, not a Mockingbird: “Atticus said to Jem one day, “I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it. “Your father’s right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corn cribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us.
That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”)
Animal Farm by George Orwell
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
“Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”
Jaws by Peter Benchley
“You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
“Are you carrying the fire?”
(from TreehouseIllustrator)
Lord of the Rings (trilogy), & The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.”
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
“All human wisdom is contained in these two words—wait and hope.”
Longmire (series) by Craig Johnson
“I should protect and cherish the young, the old, and the infirm, because at some point I would be all of these things before my own journey ended.” The Dark Horse
The Godfather by Mario Puzo
“A man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.”
(from Lucky Dog Printing)
American Sniper by Chris Kyle
“The thing we all had in common wasn’t muscle; it was the will to do whatever it takes.”
The Holy Bible
“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. You will find me when you seek me, if you look for me in earnest.” Jeremiah 29:11-13
(from FredArndtArtworks)
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
“And I asked myself about the present: how wide it was, how deep it was,
how much was mine to keep.”
Good Call by Jase Robertson
Blessed, Blessed…Blessed by Missy Robertson
Happy, Happy, Happy; unPHILtered by Phil Robertson
Si-cology 101 by Si Robertson
“Our founding fathers started this country and built it on God and His Word, and this country sure would be a better place to live and raise our children if we still followed their ideals and beliefs.” Happy, Happy, Happy
If I Stay; Where She Went by Gayle Forman
“Sometimes you make choices in life and sometimes choices make you.” If I Stay
The last part of this tour brings us back to the reason for the season. This nativity scene is very special to me. It was a 25th birthday gift from my parents; it is all the way from Hawaii. It is made of Tapa cloth, which is made from the inner bark of the Mulberry tree (the bark is beaten with a club until the pulp expands making layered sheets of cloth).
Every tiny detail of this gift is beautiful!
“Merry Christmas to all…”
[…] More The Prince by Niccolo Machiaveli All of them are worth reading (they all earned a spot on my Literary Tree). Word to the wise- make sure your copy of Paradise Lost has an appendix of notes to help you when […]