My wife and I decorated for Christmas today, which used to be something I didn't look forward to, but today I do, because it means I get to have a train upstairs for about six weeks.

I kept it simple this year.

I set up a nativity set on the mantle. This year I resisted the temptation to put the Magi across the room, as I normally do--after all, on Christmas night they were just beginning their journey.

The tree is very simple--lights, an angel on top, and a few plain ornaments.

I put a simple loop of Lionel Fastrack around the tree and put a few ceramic buildings--mostly Dept. 56 but one is a knockoff--in the center to look like a village--a church, two stores, and three houses. It took about 20 minutes to set up. I'd like to do something more elaborate but I don't have the time this year.

My ultimate goal is to make a two-piece platform out of extruded foam insulation. Then I can run wires through it for lighting, glue down some track, store it in two pieces in the off-season, and setup will involve hooking up a transformer, plugging the two halves together, and placing the buildings over the lights. It may be years before I can do it.

I spent a fair bit of time reconditioning trains this afternoon. I haven't so much as run a train since summer, when I was taken for a scammer in Redding, California who was posing as a disabled Gulf War 2 vet.

It was nice to spend a little time running trains again. I can't let a bad experience ruin it for me. Interestingly enough, our Lab mix, Angel, was content to just sit with me and watch the train. Last year she growled and chased after it. Today, the only growl was the motor and solenoid in the vintage Marx locomotive I was running.

That nativity set is bugging me. I think I need to go move the Magi further away.