Day Three Hundred Fifty Six 2013

Christmas - that magic blanket that wraps itself about us, that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance.  It may weave a spell of nostalgia.  Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer, but always it will be a day of remembrance - a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved.                                      ~Augusta E. Rundel



Hope you don’t mind seeing more pictures of Christmas tree ornaments. Our tree is just about the only decoration we have in the house this year. I never get tired of looking at it [well, until December 26, maybe] because I love the way the lights reflect on the ornaments. [That’s my gratuitous Christmas selfie wishing you a Merry Christmas.]

Day Three Hundred Fifty Three 2013

Every day after school, grandson Elijah looks for the elf on the shelf at my house. I told him the elf was hiding today. Elijah looked in all the nooks and crannies and cabinets.

He finally found the elf sitting under the Christmas tree. You have to look closely to find him.

He was holding one of the icicles from the tree [probably the closest thing to a weapon this thing will ever be allowed to have].

Elijah was dressed like an elf, too. His class Christmas party was today [that’s what I call it; I’m not sure what the school calls it these days]. They got to wear their comfy jammies, eat treats, play games, watch a movie [Polar Express] and decorate these neat elf hats. And they also got bells to wear around their necks [after school, I’m sure]. Tomorrow is a two hour day, then the kiddos and teachers are free until next year. Good times as the big day draws nearer. Six days!

Day Three Hundred Fifty Two 2013

Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.                          
~Laura Ingalls Wilder

Day Three Hundred Fifty One 2013

O CHRISTMAS TREE

We finally decorated our Christmas tree.

See?  [this late date must be a record for us]

Day Three Hundred Forty Five 2013

Neil cut down our tree today at the Christmas tree farm. Looking forward to the decked out version sitting in our living room. Stay tuned.

Day Three Hundred Fifty Eight 2012

Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.
~Laura Ingalls Wilder

Day Three Hundred Forty Nine 2012

Grandson Knox does not like balloons and keeps a safe distance when Grandpa tries to get him to see how much fun they really are.

Still skeptical about the balloon, Knox decides going near it is just not worth the risk. (This fear stems from his birthday a couple of weeks ago when one popped beside him and scared him half to death.) He’s been pretty good about the Christmas tree. He wants to touch, of course, but knows he’s not supposed to, so he’ll steer around it. Most of the time.

Day Three Hundred Forty Six 2012

Grand daughter Shelby was all decked out today, looking like Christmas, in her candy cane socks, red T, and snow white boots. She is beautiful, inside and out.

Grandson Elijah got in on the photo action and struck a pose. He cracks me up, makes me laugh at least once a day. He was freaked out again by our version of elf on the shelf (see previous post). The elf had mysteriously moved. Creep-worthy to a six year old. Fun for Granny and Grandpa.

Day Three Hundred Forty Four 2012

IT’S TIME TO DECORATE THE CHRISTMAS TREE!

Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind.
~Mary Ellen Chase

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Day Three Hundred Thirty 2012

Neil and I headed out to the local Christmas tree farm this afternoon, as we usually do the weekend after turkey day. The moon was rising and the sun was setting and the window for tree choosing was rapidly closing. So we set a new record and tagged the second tree that caught our attention before God turned out the lights. This white pine is the chosen one. It’s about nine feet tall. We like it. I think we work better with a deadline looming, so we may wait until sundown again this time next year to tree pick. (Lord willing, of course)

Day Three Hundred Fifty Three 2011

"Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home!"   
~~Charles Dickens

Day Three Hundred Forty Nine 2011

The Christmas tree finally got decorated last night. Our brief flirtation with LED Christmas lights ended in a parting of the ways. Back to the store they go and good riddance. Talk about a dim bulb! I’d rather be merry and bright. It is Christmas time after all. Today, my grandpeeps Shelby and Elijah donned their reindeer antlers for me and posed for a picture in front of the tree. Elijah helped me unpack the nutcrackers. He loves those things and got them all set up.  Neil and I are beginning to check off items on the wish lists. So it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Day Three Hundred Forty Seven 2011

Neil and I cut our Christmas tree today at the tree farm. Neil did the actual cutting. I stood there and watched. It’s an eight, maybe nine foot white pine, not too fat, not too skinny. We bought some new big white LED lights for the tree this year. I’m not a big fan of LED lights, but we thought we’d shake things up a bit. The tree now stands in our living room, waiting to be adorned. Neil is the official stringer of lights. He’d rather be doing anything else, like sticking sharp objects into his eyeballs, so stay tuned. This could take a while.

Day Three Hundred Forty Five 2010

Greetings, Earthlings, from Planet Christmas!

Day Three Hundred Forty Three 2010

O Christmas Tree! We finally finished decorating our Christmas tree this afternoon. We were really happy with the way it turned out--proud, you might say. I'm sure you've heard that pride goes before a fall. Well, Neil and I were scooting the tree out of the middle of the room toward the window. We were pulling it slowly by the tree stand when it started to tip over. We were both on the floor on either side of the tree. There was nothing we could do but watch it fall--seemingly in slow motion--and crash onto the little table that sits beside the couch. It could have been a whole lot worse. We have a lot of blown glass ornaments and, amazingly, only one got smashed. Two, if you count our glass tree topper which was pretty much obliterated. About twenty ornaments fell off, plus the icicles we had just finished placing with such care. The rest of it pretty much fell back into place when we got the tree upright again. But we've had to do a lot of rearranging and redecorating. Oh, and of course, the tree stand was full of water....Luckily, I took this picture of it before the fall. It won't be the same. But no one will be able to tell it but us. A fallen Christmas tree is a first for us. Far as we're concerned, it will be the last. Oh yes.

Day Three Hundred Thirty Two 2010

Neil and I trekked out to the Christmas tree farm today in search of a Christmas tree. This literally was the first tree we saw and we both liked it a lot. It's a Fraser fir, which is a departure for us from the white pine we usually cut. You can see Neil standing behind the tree. He's 5'8", so that gives you a good idea how tall this tree is. We have a 9.5 foot ceiling in our living room. I just hope we don't have to cut the top of the tree off. That would just be sad. We're thinking of stringing the vintage fat colored lights this time, but we may look into the LED versions, which I know just won't be the same. Stay tuned.

Day Three Hundred Fifty Three

Holiday This And That

Hope everyone who got snow is snug and warm tonight.

Day Three Hundred Forty Nine

Christmastime Is Here

Headless self-portrait in a silver ball

Christmas glow

Elijah deer needs some Crazy Glue

Shelby the red-nosed grand daughter deer

Eddie Kitty likes to sleep under the tree

He also likes to play with the tree
It's beginning to look a whole lot like Christmas!

Day Three Hundred Forty Seven

Good Cheer