Memories Now

In the midst of the Christmas festivities, I could totally relate to granddog, Lacey's feelings on the matter.  LOL.

Once the hustle and bustle of the season has come and gone, it's good to reflect back on all that took place.

That Christmas dinner that was carefully planned and prepared is now but a memory.  Happy to say that it was enjoyed by all.

The gifts that were thoughtfully chosen and now given will be enjoyed for years to come.

Taking time out for a photo was tolerated...

But, became much more tolerable when silliness was allowed.

Now that all is said and done, it occurs to me that some of my favorite moments were not captured in photos.  Perhaps one of the highlights for me was watching grandpa teach Jaxson how to play Monopoly as I cleaned up the dinner dishes.  The game went on for hours (or at least it seemed to) with Jaxson being the winner.  Naturally that was very exciting for him and he was looking for Monopoly players first thing the next morning.

The planning, prepping, shopping, baking, cleaning and decorating are behind us now leaving behind many memories.  I do hope that yours are good ones.

As I sit here typing up this post, it is dark and pouring rain.

It's supposed to go on all day.  Inside, the coffee is hot and the Christmas tree lights are lending the last warm glow for the season.  A most welcome sight on this dreary day.

Christmas Preparations and A Giant Shoe

In this week leading up to Christmas day, it feels good to know that the Christmas cards are on their way to friends and neighbors across the country.  Yes, I am one who still enjoys sending and receiving them.  I found this season's elf themed postage stamps to be particularly cute.

The gifts are wrapped and waiting.

Food gifts for the neighbors awaiting delivery.

I do believe that my preparations are complete.

Of course there will be some last minute cleaning and cooking, but for now it is nice to have time to enjoy the moments as they come.

Now, about that giant shoe ...

Friday night we attended a Holiday Tour of Historic Homes in a local town.  The home pictured above was built in 1798.  As you can imagine a lot of interesting history took place there.  I was fascinated by that, but what had the biggest impact was the furniture.  At first it just looked like very ornate antique furniture.  When the docent began pointing out the detail on each piece, I was thoroughly amazed.  Over sixty pieces of furniture all carved by hand by Tilden Stone, a relative of the homeowner.  Unfortunately there were no photos allowed in the homes.  If you are interested in seeing just a glimpse of his work I would direct you here.  Although it would be hard to appreciate the amazing detail in his work, you will get an idea what I am talking about.

Since I feel bad about talking about this furniture and not being able to show you exactly what I saw, I will tell you about another of his creations that I was able to photograph.

The giant shoe!!

On the grounds of this home, right outside the bedroom window of a little girl named Susan.  Well, at least she was a little girl when the shoe was constructed in 1945.  It was constructed by her great uncle Tilden Stone and her father. Apparently Susan loved dolls and owned many.  One day Tilden stated that she was just like the old woman in the shoe with all of her dolls.  He then created this shoe for her to play in.

It is constructed of concrete.

The "S" above the little door is for Susan.

While touring her bedroom which was filled with a beautiful hand carved canopy bed and furniture pieces made by great uncle Tilden, we were told that the shoe was placed where little Susan could see it from her bedroom window.  Susan is no longer living, but the shoe is apparently quite a landmark in this small town.  I did ask the docent if I could take a peek inside and she said "sure".

All decorated for Christmas.

🎄

Susan's younger brother and his wife are currently living in the house (not the shoe:).  I would guess him to be in his late 70s or early 80s.

At the end of the tour he showed us his collection of musical instruments collected from countries around the world.  He picked up and played several.  To conclude he told us that his Dad was very musical and best known for playing the saw blade.  He then proceeded to pick up a saw and play White Christmas on it.  Before this evening I would have never believed I could be moved to tears over hearing White Christmas on a saw.  But I could and I was.

Wishing you a joy-filled week,

Table For Two

It didn't take long to clean and chop up some fresh fruit.

I used what was on hand and elevated it a bit by serving it on a glass Christmas tree platter.

I assembled a cranberry chicken salad and served it on croissants.

Also made a loaf of spiced pumpkin bread which smelled so nice as it baked.

Pulled out the Christmas china and set a table for two.

On Friday I invited my sister-in-law to come for lunch.

It was a dark and gloomy day so I lit a candle and the Christmas tree lights.

Instant Warmth.

It seems every year when I'm done with the big job of decorating the house for Christmas I think I should invite people over.  Before I know it the month is almost over and I've only done the traditional family dinner.  Now I'm thinking small impromptu gatherings are a nice way to go.  I think I'll work on doing more of them.

🎄🎄🎄