My latest mantel village and its accompanying story celebrate their seventh anniversary this year, and no one is more surprised by that than I am. I hadn't intended to write so many chapters for so many years -- but it turns out that after arranging my little tin figures around my little cardboard houses, their stories just beg to be told. The funny thing is, the village arrangement comes first and the story grows from that. Isn't that backwards? I'm a writer; I should know the answer to that. In any case ... enjoy!
Visitors to my Christmas mantels quickly realize that I am seriously in love with the pre-WW II cardboard Christmas houses that so captivated Americans then and now. I don't own many of those houses because my mantel won't hold many -- and a good thing, too, because it seems a little silly to have to take out a second mortgage to buy a house made out of cardboard. Although a couple of the houses I have are rare, most of them are common. All of them are charming.
NOTE: This pictorial eBook contains large images and is designed to be viewed on an actual tablet, such as an Android based tablet or an iPad with the Nook App installed. Viewing it on a tablet will allow the images to be enlarged and explored. It is not appropriate for viewing on a PC with Adobe Digital Editions software.
The best way to view this pictorial eBook is in landscape mode with two columns displayed. In a two column display the images are quite small initially, but can be expanded to full screen size by tapping or clicking on them. I recommend that you download Season One first, which is free, to make sure that this type of eBook works well on your eReader.
The Village Has an Election
Albert Pittman has had a good long run as mayor of the village. He has enjoyed the job, and the citizens have appreciated the job he's been doing. The village has become a little less sleepy in the past few years, and all because of the Mayor's drive and ambition. There was that Grand Parade for everyone to see; there is an upgraded hospital for everyone to use; there are lavish balls for everyone -- well, the upper crust, anyway -- to enjoy. All in all, a satisfied electorate had planned to vote Mayor Pittman right back into office.
But the mayor has another, greater ambition: he has become a candidate for the United States Senate. A village mayor leapfrogging into the United States Senate? The very notion has a few villagers snickering, but most are enthusiastic. Albert Pittman can do anything he sets his mind to, they say, especially with his wife's wealth behind him. What an honor for a small village to produce a senator of the United States of America! Why, before you knew it, he could be the President of the United States of America!
