Dipsey's big night, Tommy's big night, Halloween, and guess who came to town?

Last Thursday night, Dipsey Doodle got inducted to the East Tennessee Writers Hall of Fame!

about time, imho... he's the best writer EVER.

There was a big, fancy dinner and about a million speeches from all the other inductees (congrats David Madden, RB Morris, Richard Marius and BIG CONGRATS to student award winner Rhonda Cowden! You're in good company!) and Rheta Grimsley Johnson was the keynote. Mr. Smith and I sat at the Pilot Oil table where I proceeded to swipe all of Mr. Pilot Oil's drink tickets (it's ok. He said I could).

here are my cute parents at the knoxville news sentinel table during supper

arty shot of dad's presentation!

The accolades kept a-comin' to the Venable-Smiths the next day too! Mr. Smith was the featured artist at Boyd Thomas Clothing in Maryville, Tenn. for the October Last Friday Art Walk! Here's their Web site. It was a lot of fun - usually at events I'm the one to go around to meet and greet and it was really neat that I got to be co-pilot that night and enjoy hearing everyone say such nice things about Tommy's artwork.

don't forget your beret! here's a shot of the store - i went shopping and got some new togs while tommy glad-handed.

well lookie here! it's me! on the right not the left, btw.

speaking of models - kristina sees her painting for the first time and strikes a pose!

lottie sue recognizes this comely muse immediately

i think she likes it!

here we are - the three muses! charity, faith and (uuuuuhhh... auntie megan, i'm on the phone! and you are EMBARRASSING ME) love

rowdy mowrer was the life of the party

shop proprietor, mr. bill womac. thanks so much all!

The next day was Halloween! AND a football game! Shawn and Marty picked us up to tailgate in style:

marty is an un-dead ut vampire and shawn is some... kinda... princess-ey, duchess-ey, chick who got bit by un-dead ut vampire marty! see the blood on her neck?

we ran into space ghost at the tailgate (tommy's fave in case you missed it. in fact, we've invested {and lost, thanks a lot stupid at&t} $40 in paying the guy who voices space ghost to leave the outgoing voice mail message on tommy's cell phone)

ki bumps into tina turner. she must be incognito, because tina kept insisting she was not tina, but just a woman with a funky wig. whatevs. you can't fool me, tina.

in case you were under a rock (or not in the knoxville vicinity) on saturday night, it unexpectedly rained cats. here are mr. smith and i huddling under our tent.

With the rain came the cold. We hadn't expected to stay for the game so we left just before kickoff. Seriously, it was kinda miserable.

see? even princess/duchess/soon-to-be-undead shawn got sad.

i didn't dress for the weather and am REALLY sad.

No worries, though! We had fun with our peeps on Saturday, went home, had hot showers, put on pjs, ordered pizza and watched UT win the game! Yea!

Next, Mr. Smith and I had the most wonderful visit from a gentleman from the North Pole! I'll give you a hint as to who he is: he sees you when you're sleeping, and knows when you're awake!

Any guesses? Anyone, anyone?

ho, ho, ho!

My father's mother (Grandmommy) started collecting Santa Clauses the first Christmas after my grandfather (Granddaddy) passed away; it was before I was born. They often dressed as Mr. and Mrs. Claus during the holidays and Granddaddy was, in fact, the Kringle who rode in the Knoxville City Santa Claus Parade. I guess in the days before shopping malls Santas were few and far between so he built a sled and ho-ho'ed to countless children in his front yard back in the day. (I still have people tell me they told Santa Granddaddy what was in their wish list for Christmas, no kidding).

I count myself as incredibly lucky - I got to know and have as active participants in my life both my grandmothers well into adulthood. When Grandmommy passed away in 2005, the family went through the incredibly sad task of going through her possessions. I wouldn't have it any other way, but as youngest grandchild I was pretty low in the pecking order on who got what. My one request was that I get her Santa Claus collection and all the aunts, uncles, and various cousins agreed I should be the one to carry on this particular tradition.

I like to think I carry it on in blazing style.

Now, this was a pretty sizable collection to begin with. I only allow myself one purchase a year (and it has to be something cool or unusual or special. I ain't going to Hallmark and buying a bunch of trash) but lots of my friend and family travel and bring me funky Santas and add them to my collection. It's so special to me, and I love it so much that I hate the fact that it spends so much time in Rubbermaid bins in the attic.

Being a grown-up is super fun on occasion because I get to make decisions for myself on what I eat for supper (occasionally it's a sundae), what I do in my free time (it's certainly not memorizing the multiplication tables), and when I put out my Christmas (as a child, I was so envious of families that put their trees out the day after Thanksgiving.)

Since I'm in charge of me now, I decided that anytime after Halloween is acceptable for putting out my Santas. It's now my Halloween/November 1 tradition. I have a very specific process for putting them out. Mr. Smith is a good sport and puts up with it. He knows how much it means to me!

first, we clean off the two bookshelves in the living and dining rooms.

yes, every time i do this i insist we quit reading so much. books are stinkin' heavy.

next we lug all the boxes out of the attic. there are a lot of them.

the big reveal! here they are! hi, guys! good to see you!

Packed on top is a photo of Granddaddy as Santa Claus in the Knoxville Christmas Parade. I find this and in it I have two documents that I ceremonially read and cry. One is a letter from the Parade Chair to Santa Claus which thanks Santa for being in the parade. It concludes with, "Regarding the rumor of your resemblance to Knoxvillian Sam Veneable (sic) he seems like a pretty decent fellow and I don't think it will harm your reputation," and invites Santa to come be part of the parade the next year.

The next item is an article my Dipsey wrote the Christmas after Grandmommy died - the first year I called the collection my own.

He did a real nice job, see?:

"Santa Claus is alive and well and turning frowns into smiles here in Knoxville.

I know this for a fact because I witnessed the transformation. It occurred a few nights ago when my daughter began unpacking her Santa Claus collection.

This marks the first Christmas Megan can claim the Santas as her own. Previously, they belonged to my mother. "Maw" started collecting them three decades ago. Ever since, this vast, varied gathering of Kringles has been an important part of our family's Christmas tradition.

The date of Maw's first acquisition, 1972, is important. That was the first Christmas after her husband died. It was her way of bringing Big Sam back to life during the holidays.

My father was Knoxville's official Santa Claus during much of the 1960s and early '70s. A college professor, school board member, coach and sports official 11 months a year, he morphed into the quintessential jolly ol' elf every December.

It was a role he relished.

Big Sam never "played" Santa Claus. Instead, he lived it to the very core of his being.

Whether he was riding on a float in the Christmas parade or entertaining underprivileged kids and servicemen's families or sitting in a sleigh in his own front yard, patiently listening to the dreams of children by the hundreds, here was an eye-twinkling, ho-hoing, no-padding-necessary incarnation of His Nickness himself.

My father and my mother were soul mates. Thirty years after the fact, I still wonder how she struggled through that first lonely Christmas without him.

Now it's our turn to struggle through the first one without her.

But the Santas will help. I can tell already.

You see, what started as one Claus has grown to 120-plus through the years. Maw purchased a few of them herself. But by far, most were given to her by family and friends. Every December, with fanfare and with tenderness, she arranged them on bookshelves at her home.

The Santas caught my daughter's eye early. From childhood on, she was mesmerized by them. She and Maw -- a.k.a. "Grandmommy" to Megan and the younger Venables -- had agreed they would be handed down to her some day.

That forlorn day arrived last April 15. A stroke. Maw was 90.

The collection went home to Georgia with Megan. It returned to Tennessee in November when she and her husband, Tommy, took new jobs in Knoxville.

"I dreaded the thought of putting them out," Megan told me. "I knew it would be awful. I figured I'd cry the whole time."

But a wondrous thing happened when she and Tommy broke into the boxes and started arranging Santa Clauses on the hutch in the dining room.

They began chuckling at the funny characters, faces and poses. They assigned silly names -- Skinny Claus, Burly Claus, Playboy Claus, Okra Claus, Bubba Claus -- to each individual in the set. And before you could say "on Dancer, on Prancer," there wasn't a teary eye in the house.

Well, of course not. You just can't be sad when Mr. and Mrs. Claus are watching."

photos and letters

Then, crazy fun!!!

see how much fun i'm having?

i unload all the santas, pack up all the books back in the santa boxes and lug them back upstairs. here is tommy clearing a path through the santas into the kitchen.

Then, I arrange them on the shelves! I'm not happy still with one shelf, but here's a look-see:

shelf one

shelf two

I have pictures, paintings, books, figurines, candles, snow globes, deeley-boppers, hot pads, vases, a weeble-wobble, salt and pepper shakers, cups, plates, tea sets, straws, sleighs and even a lighter. You name it, I probably got it. Anytime I go someplace new, I try to buy a Santa from the area (but only one a year!)

Here is the first Santa my Grandmommy got that started the collection:

the first addition and the last addition - he's wearing the mardi gras beads i bought in new orleans!

Two summers ago on our beach vacation in July, Tommy and I were sent to the grocery store on an errand. As we drove to the store we passed a rummage sale on the way. Driving about 45 MPH and 40 feet away, I glanced over and claimed I saw not just any Santa, but MY Santa in the lot of stuff for sale. I insisted we pull over on the way back to the house and look what I got for $7:

a steal of a deal. last weekend the girls requested i buy a back up pair of santa claus mardi gras beads since i'd just spend years trying to find a single strand. i did, and faux claus is sporting them now!

So, it's officially the Christmas season in the Smith household. In addition to keeping you informed about my every move in my mega-exciting life, every blog post I'm going to introduce you to another Santa! There's a lot, I'm telling you!

I know the anticipation must be killing you. If you can't stand it, come over and I'll show you the collection in person!

Allow me to be the first to wish you a Merry Christmas! Is it me, or do they just keep getting better?