Close encounter of the Santa Kind

Sometimes you make plans and things happen to make them change. The result can be either disappointment or wonder , and happilly such came to pass yesterday and the result was wonder . We had made plans for hubby do fulfill his singing commitments, get the tires replaced on the car, go out for a late lunch/early dinner and then go see a great light display. Singing and the car went as planned, and we headed out a little earlier than planned. Son suggested we go look at the Goodwill store to see if we could find anything good. Seemed like a good idea, so we went. I was feeling a little down after writing yesterday's entry about the Santas, and perhaps looking around there would bring a smile to my face. Even though the reasons we are not putting them up this year are good ones , I still miss them. It does not feel like Christmas without them watching over us from the bookshelves.

So we strolled around, looking for things. I decided to look for a coat or other clothes, found none, and decided to stroll over to the housewares section. A nagging feeling told me to look close. There were candles, crockpots, coffee makers, dishes , and low and behold, on the back of one shelf, 15 International Santas, still in the box, waiting for someone to buy. 10 of them I did not have in my collection, 1 I had lost the box for , and so I bought 11 of them. It felt like I had won the lottery !

Wren Boy( Ireland), St Basil (Greece) Pancho Navidad ( Mexico),Father Christmas ( South Korea) and Dyed Moroz (Siberia)

The Star Man ( Poland) Santa Claus (North Pole) Mrs Father Christmas (Ireland) Jouluvana (Estonia) Santa Claus (Malaysia) and Pere Noel ( French Canada)

Because our bookcases are filled with P:ointsettias this year, I decided to place these guys on the table with our Advent Candles
The good did not end here. We headed off to the place we chose for dinner, only to find a long line waiting to be served, so we changed plans. We went to a small Mom and Pop resturant that we had not been to in a couple of years, only to discover that they now have a low carb menu . I was thrilled ! The food was good, I stayed on program , and then we headed out in search of lights. Unfortunately we were out of the area for the planned display, so we went in search of others . I am discovering my camera likes to be very finicky about night time shots, and all was able to capture without a lot of blurry edges was this house

No matter- it is still early in the season. I am still so totally jazzed that I found more Santas on St Nicholas Day and discovered a new low carb option ! I think it's a sign that the man with the red suit still delivers !