CHRISTMOOSE ROOM, A HISTORY

 You could say this room (computer room ten months of the year) is a microscopic example of the Butterfly Effect.  It all started in 1999.  On my Cycle Montana ride I kept seeing road signs warning of Moose Crossings.  In a whole week of cycling, not only did I not see a moose, I saw zero wildlife, not even a rabbit.  Lots of great scenery, just no animals.  At the end, on my way out of the Glacier National Park gift shop, I spied a small stuffed moose and purchased it as a memento of the ride.  His name is Moose, and he is affixed to my Camelbak which I use on long rides.

At the time, I was riding with the Georgetown Cyclopaths and (brag) designed a jersey for the group.  It still gets rave reviews, by the way.  Anyhow, my ever imaginative wife did an iron-on transfer of this jersey onto a doll's shirt and Voilá! Moose matched the other riders.  But it didn't stop there.  She and her friend, Judy Peterson, did more shopping for doll clothes and found a jogging outfit, so Moose also has cold weather gear, and a raincoat (he also has a passport for when he went to France).  Judy found a moose neck warmer and for Christmas gifted me a moose door stop.  They were out of control, couldn't help themselves.  Then my daughter and sister got into the act.

And so the Christmoose Room came to fruition.  There was enough that I could call it a theme room.  But various moose stuff kept arriving.  Friends who stopped by at Christmas added to the collection for the next year.  A few years ago I called a moratorium.  There is still room to hang stuff, but the desk is getting crowded.  As of today, 12/1/2020 Moose has his own ugly sweater.  

I did a short video and posted it to my Flickr account.  Feel free to see it, and any of my other pictures. https://www.flickr.com/photos/acyclistpublishing/  For those not wishing to check out the video, I've put a few pictures here.  Unfortunately, unlike my Christmas Tree ornaments and the spreadsheet I keep of when and from whom we received them,  I cannot attribute all of the decorations, but I'll list the ones I can remember

From Judy Peterson: neck warming moose, door stop, tree topper.

From daughter: Hal and Holly Moose, and book, the other two moose books,  moose calendar (all 12 pictures are loaded on the digital photo frame), advice from a moose card, and the moose to the left of the Christmoose tree which is a pooping moose (load it with brown jelly beans and lift its tail and they drop out one by one).  Also insulated coffee mug.  The paper angel I believe was made when she was in junior high.

From my sister: the moose mobile, large moose in the chair,  towels, hand lotion dispenser, box with moose which held the moose tree ornament seen upper center on the tree, music box in front of the pooping moose, possibly the snow globe.  Same year, she also gave me the same insulated coffee mug.

From Kurt and Nic: the wine holder (which is holding a Moose Drool beer bottle brought from Montana by Marilane), the silver moose on the tree skirt (which was supposed to go on my car window but was re-purposed).

From grandson Anthony, one of the moose tree ornaments and the orange moose.

From Amy Gelfand (cycling buddy and the person who designed my Acyclistpublishing website): plush moose reclining on the coaster holder on the desk.  

The King of the Forest ornament and the shot glass came from our visit to Sweden.  The white moose ornament is Lennox, but that's all I can remember of it.  I did the moose mouse pad.