Sharing

It's the tree's fault - really - it's all the tree's fault!!

I was sitting here this morning sipping my first cup of coffee - just waking up - brain not quite in gear - and I realized I was staring at the Christmas tree.  It's really nothing special - smallish - lights and decorations collected over the years......... and while I stared mindlessly at / into the tree - memories started pouring back........... memories of Christmases long long ago.................

I remembered how much my father loved Christmas - oh he was worst than a kid when it came to Christmas.   He was the one who created my Christmas memories - I honestly don't remember my Mom being so excited or caught up in the season. 

I remember 

* my dad dragging in the REAL Christmas tree and putting it in the basement to thaw

* my dad was in charge of putting the lights on - my Mom and I put the decorations on and my Mom put the silvery tinsel icicles on - one at a time.

* that first night of the TREE  - we ate supper in the living room on TV tables with all the lights off except the twinkling tree lights with Christmas music playing in the background 

* my dad driving us all around after dark to see all the decorations our neighbours had put up - and there was always Christmas music playing on the radio in the car.

* my dad taking me down to Oglivy's (a posh store downtown) that had the most amazing Christmas windows -  animated forest creatures decorating their trees - baking cookies.  It felt like we stood there for hours watching - it was magical !!

* Christmas morning we always went to church - leaving the gifts to open after - but my dad would always let me chose one gift to open first............. 

*Christmas dinner was always at my grandmother's - in the basement on a HUGE make shift table of plywood with saw horse legs to accommodate the whole family of 14 and the poinsettia table cloth AND I always got to have ginger ale in a wine glass

* my dad lying under the Christmas tree with my eldest daughter (who had to have been 3 or 4) and his asking her if she could see the Christmas fairies dancing in the branches - and she could!!

* the first Christmas without my dad - and realizing that year after my youngest (who was 4 year ) declared "Santa was dead" -  that the magic of Christmas (if it was ever gonna visit our house again) was up to me

* in the years after I built gingerbread villages or gingerbread trains with  my kids - we made apple print wrapping paper - we made decorations - we wrote Santa long lists and went to visit him the week before Christmas.

* we drove around our neighbourhood to see all the decorations with taped Christmas music playing in the car

*  and then the magic slowly disappeared for a while - until - eldest grandson arrived - and once again the magic returned.

Yup Christmas is really about family and memories and warm fuzzy feelings of "peace on earth and goodwill to men" 

What memories do you have?  Share with me - here on The Journey - let's do this journey through the season together..................

 

Challenge

My photography class is down to the last 3 classes.  So far I have enjoyed it and found it  moderately challenging.  On one of the class photo shoots my teacher told me she found that I had a "creative spark" and she didn't want to put limits on it.

She said I was drawn to linear shapes and she wanted to let me run with that.  In my head I poohed poohed that - after all I had taken a pot of yellow mums at the cemetery hadn't I?? 

But then I went back and looked at my "pot of yellow mums"

and there it was clear as day (when I really looked at it ) nice neat rows and lines. 

Then we went to Portsmouth Harbour, and I was NOT going to take pictures of lines and shapes - I'd show her!!!!  But even concentrating on NOT taking shapes and lines I still took..............

Well this last assignment has got me stumped.  We are to select 4 qualities (such as soft - linear - mystery etc) and take 3 different shots for each quality!!   Usually I have taken the pictures long before the assignment was due. 

Not this time.  I have only completed one quality "soft" - I am not worried about linear as it would seem I can knock those out without even thinking about it................ 

This is what I have for "soft" ( and please note - these pictures are not edited in anyway - I just tweaked the settings - though I did add a nylon stocking over the lens for the middle picture.

 

I have one mystery pic....................

and that's it............... class is tonite ............... hopefully she won't have time to get to my assignment... which will give me another week to get it completed............. fingers crossed.

Grinch

I thought that perhaps over the next few days / weeks - I would post pictures of decorations around here.... give you a little insight into my decorating/photography skills and how well my Christmas spirit is holding up (or not)

W would tell you that my Christmas spirit was pretty rocky this weekend.  I seemed to do a lot of crying.  I was trying to decorate the house.  This has been a special family event for about 10 years now.  The grandkids would come over - decorate granny's house, bake/make gingerbread cookies/houses/ do crafts - just spend a fun day with granny (and W of course) giving me a good dose of the Christmas spirit.

This year there were no grandkids.  W tried (god how he tried) to organise with youngest daughter to get the boys here for a weekend.  BUT I put my foot down.  I just felt it was too much driving for a couple of hours and I just didn't feel prepared to have them... didn't have any idea where I was gonna put stuff............ didn't feel much like making gingerbread anything....... AND this past weekend was really the only weekend that would work.  (it all made sense to me!)

So I set about to do it by myself.  I didn't even put Christmas music on - or find some soppy Christmas movie to watch while I decorated.  I just opened boxes and dragged stuff up.  And felt sad.  And cried.  And I kept saying to myself (it became almost a mantra) "the first Christmas is always the worst - next year will be better" 

Anyway................ getting back to the opening paragraph about posting pictures...... Last week I bought W an early Christmas present.  He had seen it in the Hallmark store and I could tell he loved it - it is - after all - his Christmas hero!   I bought him the "Grumpy in the Fridge Grinch"  

He says things like "I have no time for HO HO HO so take your food and GO GO GO"  and "Be gone with you please - there's no room for you at all - this fridge is already two sizes too small" .... well you get the idea!!

W loved it !!!  

And now he (being the Fridge Grinch - not W!) sits in our fridge - making rude comments every time I open the door.  

It's all part of Christmas - right??? Scrooges and Grinches and giggles..............     

Sunday Sentiments

Are you ready???????????

 

Believe it or not - tomorrow is the 1st of December.  W hasn't let me turn on any lights - or really put up any decorations cause it isn't the 1st of December.  ( There may be some method to his madness - I am now chomping at the bit to get the lights on and the decorations up!!)

Anyway................

In the past, on the 1st of December, I have decorated The Journey for the season and tried (operative word being TRIED) to write an entry every day from the 1st to the 24th.

So ............... my question to you (my readers) are you ready??

It's time to start the CELEBRATIONS!