Abbeville Christmas time.

 This year's "Parade of Homes" Christmas tour in Abbeville SC was excellent.

 My Sweet Husband and I rode took a ride in this lovely vehicle.

The stables have just been restored. They will be used for all sorts of events.

This fine pair pulled our carriage.

One of Abbeville's citizens.

 Here is another. What a pile of fluff!

 All the buildings on town square have been repainted this year.

Don't they look great?

 Christmas and toy trains go together.

This one is big enough for the kids to ride on.

They also had civil war reenacters, plenty of people in period costumes and

lots of tasty treats.

As they say,

Y'all come back now.

Cheers,

Kat

100th post! Christmas in Abbeville SC

As the title says, this is my 100Th post. Thank you to everyone who comes back for more. The semester is almost over and I have had to do a lot of school work in this last week. Do you know anyone who isn't busy this time of year? We took a break yesterday and spent the afternoon in Abbeville SC. This is one of the many beautiful homes that line the streets of this little town.

Every year on the first Saturday in December, Abbeville steps back in time to the Civil war era. Abbeville claims to be where the Civil war began and where it ended. Reenactors dress the part and can be seen all over. There are carriage rides.

The day was mild with temperatures in the 40's (4 to 9 degrees Celsius). I have a friend in Denmark who is missing the sunshine, this picture is for her.

Another of the amazing homes in Abbeville. This is one of my favorites.

Decorations are everywhere and everyone is in a good mood. Six houses were open for tours. No photos inside please. Most of the houses posted here were not open this year, but this one has been in the past.

Big front porches or wrap around are almost a requirement in this lovely little town.

Santa was here early.

The sky threatened from time to time and the wind was chilly, but it was still a lovely day.

I found a bush full of these blooms.

A preview, our decorations are not up yet. This little sweetie posed for me last year.

Abbeville Christmas

This is Jack and Bud. We met them in Abbeville SC last weekend. Each year the first Saturday of December is set aside for Abbeville's Christmas celebration. Abbeville was an important part of the Civil war. According to some locals, it was the Confederacy was born here, and died here.
The old part of town gets all dressed up and many of the locals come in period costumes. (Some businesses offer discounts to people who dress appropriately to encourage it.) Jack and Bud were kind enough (for a small fee) to give us a ride. The carriage is quite comfortable but a little chilly. The horses were friendly and so was the driver.
The lanterns were for sale in one of several local antique shops we visited. The flower is a Camilla. They look a bit like roses, but have no scent. This particular bush is the size of a tree. It was quite

cold and most of the flowers had faded but I could not resist this one.
The Burt-Stark Mansion is a beautiful old Southern house where Jefferson Davis stayed at the end of the war. It is open for tours and on this Saturday, it was free after 3:00.
Reenacters were camped on the grounds, they even had a very convincing Jefferson Davis. At one point they staged a running battle up to the steps, complete with cannon fire. We joked about the fact that it might be safer not to talk, (I don't have a Southern accent). Accent or not everyone we met was friendly.

There are quite a few lovely old houses in Abbeville and a beautiful church. Usually they open some of the private residents for tours to raise money for charity during the Christmas

festivities. This weekend they didn't. I hope they

do next year.
The Christmas village was on display in the Chamber of Commerce office. The starry sky affect was achieved simply by hanging twinkle lights behind blue cloth with a few tiny holes in it. The effect in person is quite magical.

The last two photos are of my place. I still think it is one of the prettiest places around. The second is moonrise as seen from my side porch. The first is sunset over my summer kitchen a few nights ago. Hope you enjoy.

Kat