Gingerbread Town

I am a bit under the weather with the respiratory virus going around town, but yesterday we did take a day trip to the southern tip of Phoenix, making a stop at Ikea and the cafe at the Wild Horse Casino.  We wandered around inside and discovered their very nice Gingerbread Town display.  Here are two photos and the wish to my followers for a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season.

Early Christmas at the Tucson Mall

It wasn't in our plans to visit the Tucson Mall this weekend, but with the extended rains we were getting antsy to walk and so we went on Saturday.  I knew the decorations would be "up" and decided ahead of time to just go with the early "ho-ho-hos" even though, for me, the Season begins after Thanksgiving.  I have no plans to be anywhere near shopping next weekend, and then we have our anniversary (39 years) and Mark's dad's birthday (91 years) the next weekend....  So, just on the whim of the day, I did some holiday shopping as well and enjoyed myself.  As long as Mark can find a place to sit with his phone and do emails and texting, he doesn't complain but he is no shopper as our son is--and Aron and I had many good times at the Tucson Mall, lo, these three decades. 

Here are two photos by Mark that capture the Santa's Village scene from the second floor, and "just the tree" in at the west end of the first floor.  There were many shoppers, lots of families and kiddies (little girls with lavendar bows in their hair, boys riding on the "Safari animals" in front of JCP). 
It's not Times Square or even a town square, but in Tucson, it's good enough.