The picture to the left is the quilt that my cousin, Barb, sent to me.
She made it herself during her "glowing" period-- it seems pretty obvious
to me that she was glowing, don't you think?
For our 'Net Friends and Family:
All of the friends and family that we have mean so much to us-- thank you for being a part of our lives and being our friends and our family.
Merry Christmas!!
December 24, 2000
The picture to the left is the quilt that my cousin, Barb, sent to me.
She made it herself during her "glowing" period-- it seems pretty obvious
to me that she was glowing, don't you think?
This snowman is the tealight that my brother and his wife (Rich and Lorrie)
have sent to me-- Sue and Bill sent something that they brought back for
us from Brazil but Brian wouldn't let me open it upon its' arrival.
My sister, Nancy, is going to be in California and the Bay Area as of today
and, we will be seeing her for dinner on Tuesday evening-- she had, at
one time, asked me what we would like for a Christmas gift and I suggested
an ornament from Maine, where she lives. We'll have to see, eh?
December 18, 2000
Last
Christmas, Brian (who is mistaken to think that he is "Grinch") gave
me three ceramic keepsake boxes for one of my gifts. A Christmas
Tree, a Nutcracker, and Santa Claus. I think they're so cute and,
while I do leave them in the oak cabinets during the year, I thought I
should put them out at Christmas. Over the course of the week, they were
moved to the mantle on the fireplace.
Brian
thought it would be a good idea for me to post the pictures showing all
of the ornaments that I made this year. So, even though the pictures
were posted on my Musings,
here are again:
On Sunday, December 17, we went to the home of our friends, Pat & Nathan. They had just bought their Japanese pine tree and were having us and Pat's son and his family over to help decorate it. We have "helped" to decorate the tree with the kids before and had great fun. Last night was no exception!
Some
of the pictures are a little blurry but that's cuz kids move fast!!
Rob & Andrea's youngest, Carley, is 4 years old-- last time, she didn't climb on ladders but she does this year!! |
Their oldest son, Teddy (8), helped a lot as usual! |
Frankie, 6, is a constantly moving target! |
It was particularly difficult to catch Frankie not moving even when he was not moving! |
Teddy and reindeer-like Rob decorating the tree. |
Carley and Frankie were hamming it up quite a bit for Brian. |
Every now and then, Carley would let her dad help her but not because she needed it!! |
Joint efforts hung the ornaments in just the right spot!! |
Much concentration was required when choosing the right place for each ornament! |
The Crew: Nathan on the left, Andrea and Rob-- the tree was gorgeous when it was finished!! |
One of the little things that Pat gave me while we were there was an ornament, of course, from their trip to Paris: Santa Claus, as "King Kong", climbing the Eiffel Tower! It is sooo cute!!!
December 10, 2000
Contagious Stuff!!
I've mentioned a couple of times the cute young Indian couple who live next door to us. They've been married less than a year; she moved here after their marriage. He lived in Canada for six years and then moved to California so he's a little more acclimated to the culture and custom of Christmas. Sangeetha is a sweetie-- last weekend as I was putting up our tree, she came over in stages to see it as it was "being built" and after it was finished. She had told me that they were going to get a tree-- Prasad, her husband, has had Christmas trees before when he was in college but this would be her first.
The
other night, when I came home, Brian met me at the door and told me that
Sangeetha had come over and asked me to drop by for a quick visit when
I got home. Since I brought dinner home with me, I waited until after
we had eaten but then I went over to their apartment. Sangeetha opened
the door in a wide swing so I couldn't miss the Christmas tree they had
decorated! They have a beautiful Christmas tree!! Her face
was glowing as she told me the details of putting it up together and how
she was so excited to tell her parents about it. Its like seeing
a child at Christmas for the first time and, to a degree, since this is
her first Christmas, she is a child.
To Greet You at The Bilbreys' Door
This is the wreath that's hanging on our front door. I made this
one at the same time that I had made the one for my office but I only showed
you a picture of that one at that
time.
Hung by the Chimney with Care . . .
The other day, I found stockings for our chimney: Mine is Santa's
Workshop (on the right) and Brian's is, of course, the penguin playing
in Santa's Playland (on the left). Brian brought me the flowers
on Friday (12/8), after work. He purposely picked out a red/white
combination for Christmas!
Santa's Elves
A couple of Santa's Elves have sent their gifts a little early-- The Canadian
one sent a beautiful wreath and the other elf from North
Carolina, sent a Christmas Tree shaped ivy. Both are so beautiful!!
A
Christmas Puzzle for YOU to enjoy!
December 6, 2000
After
work tonight, Brian received a phone call from a local florist: Were
we available to receive a delivery? Why sure!! My
sister, her husband and kids (Karen, Ron, Faye Lynn and Matt, respectively)
sent us a beautiful Poinsettia plant!!
I
just spoke with Karen but forgot to confirm: I think they've sent us a
poinsettia plant for every year that Brian and I have been married!
Another wonderful and warm tradition for the holidays!!
Unbeknownst
to them, of course, the poinsettia looks perfectly beautiful and beautifully
perfect on the dining room table with the poinsettia table cloth!
(Brian took another picture of the center of the table cloth because he
thought he didn't get a good enough close-up the other night to show the
definition of the poinsettias in the pattern.)
WOW!! Are dining room is really looking great!!
By
the way, in the photo on the left in the paragraph just above, do you see
the ribbon hanging down? That's where we hang our Christmas cards
from friends and family. This ribbon is empty but there's another
one in the livingroom -- all cards receive a place of prominence in our
home!!
December 3, 2000
Christmas means . . .
Bears!!
Cute and Cuddly!! And then there are the friends of the bears: The
only Beanie Babies allowed in the house: A Snowman, A Reindeer, A Santa
Claus, TWO teddy bears (cuz they're really cute!) and, of course, A Penguin!!
Christmas means . . .
A beautiful table setting for when Special Friends come by for dinner,
snack, tea, coffee or anytime!!
Christmas means . . .
The
lavender ribbon, seen at the top of the tree, was my first travel ornament:
My mother brought it back for me from The Netherlands when she traveled
there after my father passed. The ribbon is attached to a beautiful
crystal bell and, after her passing, I would cry every year when I placed
the ornament on the tree. Now, I smile and remember my mother . .
. the pain goes away but the memories will live forever.
In
the middle of the tree, the beaded angel that I picked up in South Africa
watches over the Christmas motorcycle, below, and a cardinal above her.
Although
its a little blurry, you can see a few of the homemade and travel ornaments
in the bottom bit of the tree, too. And, oh, yes, that "open" space
under the tree has been filled with Brian's Christmas gifts!!
Over the course of the next few weeks, I'm going to keep track of things that are Christmas-related that we do to celebrate the Holidays. As those happenings occur, I'll write a bit here and try to post a picture or a symbol so that we have it to remember and share.
Copyright © 2000, Marcia L. Dykstra
