Christmas 2015 playlist

The Hub and I went to dinner and a movie for New Year's Eve. It was delightful all the way around. One of the best parts was the long haul we had to make because we parked on the wrong end of the theatre. When it is 20 degrees outside and the Oklahoma wind is sweeping down the plain, taking the curving path around the inside of a mammoth facility doesn't seem so bad. Especially when certain fantastic Christmas music is being played in stereo along the corridors.I say all of this sincerely.
For the unexpected jaunt allowed me to hear some of my favorite carols one last time this year AND it prompted me to begin a list for next season of my favorite Christmas songs.
I wanted a playlist several times this year but did not have (or make) the time to do one. I am going to remedy this before I pack away the Christmas cds (something I plan to start on tomorrow.)
So there you have it, a silver lining to yet another cloud. and soon, a play list, too.


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Goodbye; Hello

In a couple of hours, we say goodbye to 2014.  It held a lot of promise as it waited in the wings for 2013 to step off stage to make way for it. It has fulfilled much of what I'd hoped for. Most, even.
There have been ups and downs but even the downs are looking up. God is Faithful; He was in 2014 and He will be in 2015. I leave you with the sweet face below and one of my favorite blessings:

Do not look forward in fear to the changes in life;
rather, look to them with full hope that as they arise,
God, whose very own you are,
will lead you safely through all things;
and when you cannot stand it,
God will carry you in His arms.

Do not fear what may happen tomorrow;
the same understanding Father who cares for
you today will take care of you then and every day.

He will either shield you from suffering
or will give you unfailing strength to bear it.
Be at peace,
and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.

Amen.

holly days

I did not know it was going to snow two days after Christmas. I was surprised to look out the window, then, and see snow on the holly bushes outside.

In the breakfast room, my grandbaby was watching it snow with one of the dogs.

Her Aunt was cozy and warm in study, reading a new book. Eventually she would fall asleep with her self appointed guard dog at attention.

Above is what it looked like outside in the backyard. the photo to the left was taken just a few hours before...

a spot of tea

Goodbye to middle earth (kind of)

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Miss Emma's Emporium

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Christmas scrapbooks

I am pretty happy about one thing I was able to do this Christmas.

I made scrapbooks for some really important people.

God Bless Christmas

I have always thought of Christmas as a good time; a kind, forgiving, generous, pleasant time; a time when men and women seem to open their hearts freely, and so I say, God bless Christmas!

Savoring the last bits of the holiday

There only small bits of the holiday left to savor but I am not deterred. The time and scents and treats and images I will savor as long as I can.

I will make the most of them and to quote Dickens: I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.


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The third day after Christmas

We spent most of the weekend after Christmas propped up watching movies with head colds. Or maybe it is: with head colds, propped up watching movies. In any event, the grandbaby stayed over and played with new toys. We had fun, though stuffy and snuffy and sniffy (we could not decide which to call it!) Snow still lay on the ground so we stayed in and warm. We wrote some thank you notes for gifts. What could have been a miserable time turned out to be a fun one.
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A fabulous women wreath

We made the wreath above several years ago from various ornaments my baby daughter collected over the years. As we were making it, a theme developed in my mind. All of the women are strong, determined, women with senses of humor and tenacity. Much like my youngest daughter.  I think it is as fabulous as she and the women depicted on the ornaments that hang from it.
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Making a list, checking it twice (for next year!)

I've already blogged about trifle.
But there are some other things I'd like to include on my to do list for next Christmas.

snow tubing
making burlap stockings for my baby sister
have Christmas duvets finished that I started two years ago.



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Tannenbaum

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O Christmas Tree

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An o'possum walking across my grave

My sisters think I have rather lost my mind. I should not have sent them the picture of my grave marker but I did.
It seemed like a reasonable thing to do when I did it..
I was at the cemetery where my paternal grandparents and my dad are buried. I had gone there to put new flowers in the urns on either side of their headstone. I noticed that the markers adjacent to their final resting places were askew and that their markings had faded. The markers were placed by my Grandmother after Daddy and Papaw died to create a family plot of sorts, so that those of us who wanted to could be buried there, near them. I called first dibs for my spot way back when. Both my sisters were appalled and accused me of being morbid.
I can't help it if I like to plan ahead.
Besides, when someone uses the old adage "an o'possum walked across my grave" to explain why they've shivered, I always wonder there the possum is walking. In my case, I really want to know.
So much so, that I remarked the plots and then went to see the County Commissioner's secretary to make sure the plots were properly recorded.
Then I sent my sisters a picture of the newly marked slabs of stone so they would know it was all taken care of.
That part maybe I should not have done. I am blaming it, at least in part, on the possum.

Let me tell you one more...

My paternal grandpa, who was about equal parts Scotch-Irish and Native American could spin a yarn. As a child and an adolescent, I hardly stood still for one, much less one more. As an adult, I wish I had listened to all of them. Often. Like, over and over.
So many of them, I can't remember the details of.
My grandmother wrote hers down. We  have them, scattered through books and journals that someday I hope to combine to create a book.
Someone gave me a book recently called "Scrapbooking your Life" that contains instructions on how to add photos and other memorabilia. Her story(ies) should be easy enough to preserve.
Grandpa's= not so much.
It occurs to me, though, as I write this, that while I do have my Grandmother's fondness for writing, I also have my Grandfather's bent for telling humorous stories. Hence, this blog...

Well rounded

I like it that our grandbaby can go from ballet class to the ballfield in the same hour and do well in both places. She can be ruff and tumble. She can be dainty and prissy.
I like options and have seen by this point in my life that the more skills and abilities one fosters the more options are available.
I'm hopeful that her opportunities and options, throughout her life, will be wide open.

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Seventeen

This is number seventeen. The reason she gives for choosing that particular number still has me amused. That said, I completely understand for reasons I will explain in a bit. The song "I love Rock and Roll" was what she and her dance group  performed to. She owned, upon being asked, that her favorite line  from the song was the one sung "I knew she must have been about seventeen." She further explained she mostly liked the line because she liked the movements that went with it in the routine. To her, or so she said, the choice of that number for her softball uniform was a no-brainer. As I said, I completely understand, those several others who heard her explanation seemed puzzled. Some days, it seems to me that half my brain activity are connected to song lyrics. Some days, it might actually be more than half. It seems logical to my grandbaby and to me, then, that song lyrics are as good a thing to use for numbers and names and passwords as any other than. Maybe even a better way.

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Party girl

Once upon a time there was a little girl who loved parties. She also loved  Christmas. and she loved her Granddad. A lot.
One Saturday in December, all of that came together when she was invited to attend her Granddad's work Christmas party.
Her grandmother dressed her in a red dress and put a big red bow in her hair so that she would match the red clogs she wanted to wear.


For much of the party, she sat on laps. Her granddad's. Her grandmother's. That of a county commissioner and the commissioner's husband. They took selfies.
She pulled a very loose tooth. Barbecue was on the menu and the little girl also loved barbecue, especially ribs. But she did not want to swallow a tooth while gnawing on a rib bone.


The grandmother put the tooth in an empty water bottle so it would not get lost. The granddad threw the water bottle away thinking it was trash.
The tooth fairy came any way. To the grandparent's house, since that is where the little girl spend the night that night.

Granddad held Rudolph for the little girl while she held a bunny in a stocking given to her by her aunt.


Santa came and gave the little girl (and all the other children at the party) a brown paper sack with an apple, an orange, peppermints and other candy inside.


The little girl thought it was all delicious and shared with her granddad, even though he threw her tooth away. It was an accident after all.

There were a lot of awards presented and speeches made after dinner. The little girl got bored because some of the speakers "talked long." She was quick to point out that the "long" talkers did not include her Granddad. Still, she found ways to entertain herself and was most well behaved. Because after all, it was Christmas time.
oh, and she lived happily everafter.

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Christmas card pix

I've often wondered what photos would look like, if we could see the photos, of folks getting ready for their annual Christmas card photo.
If you've ever wondered the same, I can show you what ours looked like this year.  The idea of including  the two dogs that live in my house and my husband's hound who lives outside was my idea. My daughter also had her own pooch in our photo. And her fiance. So there was me. the hub. two daughters. one fiance. three maltipoos. a blonde lab. oh, and a grandbaby. especially, a grandbaby.
There was some obvious chaos. The dogs were not as cooperative as I would have liked but in the end, for most part, did ok.
The people all did quite well. My eldest daughter insisted on a blanket to cover the casts she is still wearing. Everyone chose their own outfits this time out, which certainly helped the flow of things.
The end result, we were all pretty happy with. It is the last photo in this line up.

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