Christmas has come and gone and it was a good one.  A very quiet day spent with my wife and the cats.  Lots of good food last night.  The turkey, if I may modestly say so, was superb – the juciest I’ve ever cooked. 

We both got some very nice presents and every one was thoughtfully chosen.  Not a throwaway or regifting candidate in the bunch!

As you can imagine, finding the perfect present for an aviation nut is not hard to do.  No, there weren’t any tickets for the A-380 but I’m more than happy with what I did receive.

Jan got me this gorgeous desk clock and my friend Jim got me the model of the 767-300ER that he flies for Zoom Airlines.  Both are great and unique additions to my collection.

Speaking of unique, Jan blew me away with this one.  Probably from the early 50′s, an ashtray stand with a DC3 on top.  The picture doesn’t do it nearly enough justice.  The delicate glass globe on the bottom has an art-deco look, the centre section has 2 ashtrays and 2 match holders with incredible detail in the shelf and the plane itself is lit from within.

Jan and her elfs went through a lot of searching to find this and you could have knocked me over with a feather when I opened it.  Of course I had a suspicion that she would get me something to go into my collection but I would never guessed that she’d find something this rare and beautiful.  I’ve seen a few similar items on eBay but nothing to compare to this.  In perfect condition, it will definitely have a place of honour.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.  Canadians are flocking to the malls today but we’re just taking another day to relax, get a few chores done and extend the Christmas feeling by one more day.  Tomorrow, we’ll sharpen the elbows and venture off to get a few things.