Christmas

My Xmas Decorating

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This is as far as I got with decorating for Christmas this year. You can see my Xmas wreath, resting from all the activity. Also, the Raggedy Ann my Mother made me is guarding the Christmas tree, still safely in it’s box, all taped up with the tape I wrapped around it in the year 2000… something when I moved back to Ontario after the divorce. Maybe it’s a sign, or an omen or something like that. Maybe I’m just not meant to open that box till I have a real home to put a tree up in. Or maybe I will do it next year.

Festive Maiming from Rainy Pete

A meme from Rainy Pete’s blog . Why not?

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate. Actually, cold chocolate, warm chocolate, spiced chocolate… I’ll take it all.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa doesn’t wrap them, the deers kept snacking on the fancy paper and ribbons. Cost him a fortune in vet bills.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or clear? White or coloured, as long as there are a lot of them.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No.

5. When do you put your decorations up? In theory, on or after my birthday on December 19th.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding desserts)? The vegetables with fresh butter on them: carrots, potatoes, whatever… butter makes it better. Sometimes we have fresh baked buns and bread, cabbage rolls and those are really good too.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? My Aunt Sally playing the piano at Christmas with our tree all lit up and mostly everyone there.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don’t remember.

9. Do you open gifts on Christmas Eve? Yes! We always had a special present from Santa Claus which my Mom gave us to open on Xmas Eve. Oddly enough it was always new pajamas, took me a long time to really clue in on that one.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Lights, ornaments bought and home made and inherited, sometimes tinsel… on top is an angel which my Dad bought for our first Xmas tree a few days after I was born.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? It looks really pretty, especially when you come in from the cold and sit by a window with hot chocolate to warm up your hands.

12. Can you ice skate? I think I still could.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift as a kid? No.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Family and lots of lights and decorations.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? icebox cookies and assorted chocolates.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? The Christmas tree.

17. What tops your tree? An angel bought 42 years ago now.

18. Which do you prefer—giving or receiving? Giving by far. I don’t like shopping but I really life finding just the right thing for someone. I never make lists ahead, I just look around till something just right comes along.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? It used to be Silent Night. Not sure any more.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? I really like them on the Xmas tree.

21. Stockings? Or no Stockings? Stockings are fun. We always fill them with oranges and other snacks to keep kids busy while the adults are still waking up and making coffee on Christmas morning.

22. Do you like sledding? Yes. But I haven’t done it for many years.

23. Farthest you’ve traveled for Christmas day? From Toronto to Vancouver. Just for myself, alone.

24. Do you leave out cookies or carrots for when Santa comes? My sister did this year. I don’t have any kids.

25. What gets you into the holiday spirit? I’ll let you know if I get there again. It’s been a lot of years since I really felt excited about Christmas.

26. Does your wrapping colour coordinate? Never.

27. Favourite gift you’ve ever given? I have no idea.

28. Most fun holiday memory? Sitting under the Xmas tree with my Mom when we still lived in the house I grew up in. I remember we were the last two people awake. Around that time she had begun talking to me more like a friend than a kid and it was really great having conversations with my Mom about important/ real things.

29. Do you wrap your own gifts? Of course. But I don’t really wrap them anymore. The odd time I use those Xmas bags cause they can be carted around easily and don’t require tape and other extras.

Sparkly Christmas Things

hohoho-vi

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Pretty and lots to choose from the the site but it seems to be a promotional thing for an adult site so nearly half the content is smutty. (Just so you know should you go for a look).

I Found My Irish Guys for Christmas!!!

irishsnowmen


When I was last in Alliston I looked for the box that had my Christmas decorations, some which my Mom and I made when I was a kid. Some of them were from family members gone now and some were bought for me when I was a kid. I keep thinking of one angel which my Mom bought at least 25 years ago now. I couldn’t find that box though I know I brought it with me from Todd’s when I came back after the divorce. I hope it didn’t get left at the house in Ballantrae somehow. Anyway, I’ve been feeling pretty sad about it and trying not to think about any of it too much.

One thing I thought was in that box too were a pair of Irish snowmen which I bought myself from some fancy shop here in Toronto several years ago. I found them this afternoon! They were in a bag with some Xmas broches and pins I had too. So I am really happy to have found those guys. I bought them around the time my Grandmother died. She was Irish so they really were special to me. It seemed fate that I went into the shop that day and found them among tons of Christmas stuff. I had been thinking of them each time I thought about anything to do with Christmas this year. Now I have them.

I looked online to see if I could find them for sale online, with a good photo to share in the blog. I found one of them but not the others. I only bought two but I remember there had been a set of three at the shop, I couldn’t afford to get three of them so I had to pick two. Anyway, I found a fairly good picture so you can see them. Too bad it’s a black background and not entirely in focus. I will try to take a better photo once I get some space sorted out to put up the tree.

The Moulin Rouge Christmas Tree

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I went downtown to the Eatons Centre yesterday. Looked at a lot of the Christmas decorations for sale. It was pretty disappointing. A lot of that stuff isn’t any better quality than the Dollar Store. The Bay had a really nice display with fireplaces, red carpeting and so on. But there was not one thing I was really tempted to buy for my Xmas tree. Most of their stuff were those really fragile Xmas balls. Not a smart choice to sell in a store where most people are traveling by bus and subway for long distances. How many of those pretty, fancy balls make it home with them, in one piece? I did see a Christmas tree for sale there that was pretty unique. Would you buy a musky pink coloured Xmas tree?

The branches were kind of dry and scratchy like straw. I thought they would be softer. The colour was really nice but I’m not sure I’d want it for a Xmas tree. If you wanted to be really different it would be nice with white or ivory coloured ornaments and decorations. It would look exotic in all red decorations and ornaments.

Hmm… now I’m starting to like it. :)

Christmas Has Left the Building

poinsettiawspark


At what hour is Christmas over? I have no idea. It’s over for me. Kind of that deflated feeling, not quite as strong as getting out of bed in the morning and realizing the world has ended, civilization is gone and you’re the last one left. (It’s a fetish of mine, someday I’d like to test it out).

My nephew slept for about two hours last night, maybe. There were a bunch of adults yapping downstairs, a few drinks, a lot of really dumb stories exchanged and remembered. Isin’t it weird to be the adults? I still think about that. Kind of “wow, how did I get here?” My brother and sisters (4 of us) outnumbered the dates and inlaws so most of the stories were ours. I’ve been the inlaw before though, sort of stuck in the middle of someone else’s stories and traditions. Actually, it was nice not to be the odd one out for a short time.

I think we were a bit loud for Zack. He says he did fall asleep for awhile then. But, he came downstairs twice to check on the progress of Santa. I had told him about the Norad website and Santa was on his mind. It’s just this year (at the age of 10) that he is beginning to consider that Santa might not be real, he isn’t sure though, so he kept checking the web for the radar progress. Last time he asked me if Santa was real (when he was seven) I told him I believed in Christmas spirit and Santa was part of that. So he was good to go for awhile. This year his friends at school must be wearing off on him a bit more. Ten is old enough to shrug off Santa, but I hope he keeps something of it, the merry feeling and the faith.

In the morning the little girl, Roxanne, woke everyone up, not too early. I remember being up at 4:00 when we were kids, they had a late start getting up at 7:00, kids today!

Everyone is tired today, even Zack admitted he’s tired. I drove home in the afternoon and was beginning to fall asleep at the wheel along the way. No coffee stops open though I did find a gas station that didn’t require plastic only. I might have managed on fumes but I hate driving and worrying about the gas tank, there are enough other things to worry about with the car. Today it did pretty good, the weather was very wet, foggy and mild. A colder day would have been tougher. Last winter my brakes kept freezing. There’s nothing like driving a long and realizing that odd light on the dash is talking about your brakes and the fact that you might not have any. lol Brakes are such a nice feature on a car, I’ll be sure to request them on any future car I buy.

So, now I’m here. Christmas is done and it feels kind of deflated. But, tomorrow is Boxing Day. I’m thinking like Scarlet O’Hara, though I’m not going anywhere near a store till next week. :) I had my chocolate fix on Christmas Eve and again this morning. I also had my bacon and eggs fix too. Why does bacon smell so divine while cooking but never that great to actually eat?

It’s a bit silly but I’m a bit disappointed with my family about Christmas, it’s the same each year for uncountable years. But, I brought down something for almost everyone. I skipped my brother as I made the apron for his girlfriend (on top of what I already had for her). Anyway, out of the six people there, only Graham’s girlfriend gave me anything for Christmas. It’s kind of petty and I shouldn’t care but I do, a little. It’s not the reason why I give out presents myself.

If that were the case I’d long ago have stopped. They haven’t done a gift exchange since we were kids and even then they were not really interested in giving, more in getting. Still, I keep giving out presents cause it’s who I am and I enjoy having something special for everyone. It matters enough to me to keep doing it even though I feel kind of left out when I get nothing in return. I think they just don’t care. Only Sherry really seemed to enjoy the apron and coffee set I gave her. My sisters said thanks and put their gift aside, out of the way. Anyway, that’s why I never go out and rob the bank to pay for Christmas, there isn’t any point. I give gifts for my enjoyment, I don’t worry about meeting expectations of dollars spent or getting the perfect gift. I do it for me and likely I will keep doing it just the same, always till I’m dried up and gone. :)