Decorations

Our house was a bustle of activity over the holidays.  Our last guest left early yesterday morning and now the house seems quiet and empty...even more so as we take down the Christmas decorations.

We don't do a lot of outdoor decorating...just wreaths and bows here and there.  But I do love to drive around and enjoy the outdoor decorations at other houses.  I cannot believe the number of inflatable decorations that one can buy these days.  When the stores open for after-Christmas sales, the inflatables are grabbed up quickly.  We even saw one in which Santa was on a ladder and a little puppy had pulled down his pants as he climbed up.  (Boxers for Santa, by the way.)  But there are still people who put out lots of light displays and those are the ones I love best.

Our daughter loves the outdoor decorations as much as I do, so we drove around aimlessly looking at houses.  One in particular drew our attention.

The gecko takes time off his regular job.

 The yard was filled with figures and lights.

 Elmo greeted us but we didn't tickle him.

 And a pink pig dresses up with reindeer antlers.

We saw the display in daylight.  Of course, we drove back that evening to see everything in lights.

 We were not disappointed.

I love decorations that people have in their yards year round.  I have seen cement figures of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and all sorts of animals.  The most popular around here seem to be the two frogs sitting beneath the umbrella, the little boy and girl kissing platonically, and a fair number of little boys peeing.  While I might not want all of these things in my yard, I just love the fact that other people do.  Art is truly in the eye of the beholder and people might look at the things we have in our yard and vow they would never put that in their own yards.  I like that.



I wish we were all as tolerant of other people's beliefs as we are of their taste in art.

Fridays are Golden

Here we are.  It's almost Christmas at our house.  The past two Christmases have been a bit muted to say the least.  But all is well this year and we are so looking forward to the big day.  We always do a lot of decorating which, by the way, is ever so much easier when you are retired and don't have to do it all in one weekend.  One of my favorite decorations is a lovely Santa, complete with toys for good little girls and boys.

There is an interesting little story about this Santa.  My husband bought it in Sarasota, FL where he was attending a conference.  He asked the store owner to ship it to his office since it was a surprise for me.  A few weeks later, a very large box arrived at his office.  The package was actually two boxes taped together.  When my husband pulled off the top box he was totally surprised to see that the bottom box was not as tall as the Santa.  When he pulled it off foam peanuts flew all over his office and especially all over his wool suit.  He called his adminstrative assistant to help and after she stopped laughing, they managed to gather up all the peanuts.  The assistant loved to tell everyone this story about her boss.

I just love him.

 He has such a kind face.

Lucy is reminding me that Fridays are supposed to be all about her.  Well, and a little bit about Ellie.

Her Royal Highness!

 When you are the Princess you can rest your head anywhere you wish.

 This is Lucy's version of silent night.

I am having my children here for the holidays.  So I will not be posting until after 2012.  So whatever you are celebrating, or even if you are not celebrating anything except the coming of another year I hope you and your family and loved ones have a wonderful week.

STAY SAFE, HUG YOUR LOVED ONES, AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE BEST NEW YEAR EVER!

Gratuitous Cards and Gifts

I can understand when circumstances preclude sending Christmas cards.  We sent none in 2009.  And I suppose it would be fine to send ecards if a person is otherwise not able to mail cards.  But this year I have received several ecards from people I know to be perfectly able to sign and address cards.  They always get caught by my spam blocker and I simply hit "silently discard."  Am I being unreasonable?  Perhaps so.  Except in rare circumstances I believe people should decide whether or not to send cards.  And if they decide to send cards they should send real cards.

I feel much the same way about gratuitous gifts.  Everyone has acquaintances with whom you have exchanged gifts.  There comes a time when the relationship has changed, either by moving away or moving on.  When that happens and the gifts are more of a burden, then it's time to stop the exchange.  One of our relatives sent us Hickory Farms packages for several years.  What's the problem with that?  We lived in Wisconsin at the time, home of some of the best and freshest cheese around.

The best Christmas gifts are those that clearly indicate that the person knows you and has selected a gift that is right for you.  So it is with one of my best friends.  When she last visited us, she thoroughly enjoyed watching my husband suddenly rise from his seat and fly out the door to attack a squirrel with his super-duper water gun.  Yes, my husband hates those beady-eyed little monsters as much as I do.

When her Christmas package arrived yesterday, she had included a perfect gift for my husband.

Perfect

Although my friend indicated that my husband need not wear it, he will.  In fact, he will wear it to Wild Birds Unlimited to pick up another "squirrel proof" bird feeder.  It gets pretty chilly running out on the deck in the midst of winter.  And of course he cannot take time to close the door or the squirrel will be gone.

When will we learn to stop exchanging gifts when it becomes a chore rather than a pleasure?  I can assure you with confidence that my friend had almost as much fun sending this gift as my husband did in receiving it.  And that is how it should be.



[Totally unrelated note:  If you are a fan of NPRs "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me," or a fan of Neil Gaiman you need to turn to BBC America Friday night at 8:00 pm (EST).  The show will be televised with Neil Gaiman as the special guest.]

Christmas Collection Part Three

I may have mentioned that we have a lot of the Byers Carolers.  Fortunately we have them spread over the house so they are not overwhelming.

These are the street vendors, including Molly Malone and her kitty.  I think my favorite is the organ grinder with his little monkey holding a cup.  My dear husband made a slip of the tongue one year and called him the "monkey grinder."  In our family we remember things like that for a long time.  Perhaps it is because he seldom makes such a misstatement so we have to rely on the few he does.  Not a Christmas goes by without mention of the monkey grinder, usually more than once.

These are the villagers, including the lamplighter.  The nurse figure was the first Caroler that we had, a gift from our son.

 Once again I am posting a photograph that someone sent me and I cannot credit.  But I think it does emphasize that Christmas is a time of peace,  misinterpreted as piece.

Well dear readers, I wore my lucky Packer shirt.  My son and his wife ate tacos at halftime for the fourteenth week in a row.  But somebody dropped the ball and the Green Bay Packers lost their first game yesterday.  Actually, more than one person dropped the ball.  Unfortunately they were playing on the field and couldn't hold on to Aaron Rodgers passes that hit them in the numbers.  So, Suz, you can relax.  The shirt is in the dirty clothes.  I'm hoping that washing it will restore the good luck for the next game.

Local Culture Cannot Trump the Constitution

Here in the "Bible Belt" many schools do not follow the letter of the law.  Over the holidays there are frequently religious Christmas themes in the work children do.  Recently in a nearby county, the public elementary school participated in "Operation Christmas Child."  This project is run by Samaritan's Purse, led by Franklin Graham (son of famous evangelist Billy Graham).  Is that a problem?  Probably not.  The problem you see, was that each first and second grade child in this public school was given a little fill-in-the-blank questionaire to include in the box of little gifts.  The questions in this project included the following:

I love Jesus because_____________________________________________

An employee of the school sent an email to a friend.  The friend forwarded the email to everyone in his contact list.  Can you see where this is going?  Yes, the recipients and bloggers lit up the Internet with discussions about First Admendment rights.  Of course the word eventually got to the members of the school board and the principal sent out an automated voice message to all parents.  He indicated that the project was undertaken to give the students an opportunity to experience the joy of giving.  He said that he did not receive a single complaint about the Jesus question from any parent.  He did, however apologize and said the school will look more closely at documents to make certain they do not include any religious matter.

We had some First Ammendment problems here in Transylvania County two or three years ago.  It seems the school board and the County Commisioners both included an opening prayer in their meetings.  A concerned parent went to the school and county leaders stating that invoking the name of Jesus Christ to look upon the public meeting was not only offensive to non-Christians; it was also against the law.  The man was "blown off" by both boards so he called the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).  An ACLU attorney called the boards and explained that the practice of Christian prayer could not be part of a public meeting and indicated that the ACLU was prepared to bring legal action if necessary.  So the boards reluctantly agreed to eliminate the prayers as part of the meetings.  The Chairman of the school board made a statement to the press.  She said that the prayers were not limited to one religion but that all religions were represented, including Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians and Episcopalians.  [Does that send a message to all us Catholics, Mormons, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Agnostics, etc.?]  One of the other members said something to the effect that if the ACLU was not going to permit the liberty of bringing Jesus Christ to the meetings then it did not support Americans or their liberties.

BTW:  Generally speaking, the reason many folks in western NC do not always recognize Catholics among the Christians is their mistaken belief that we "worship Mary."  My daughter was the only Catholic in her first grade class.  Upon learning that we were Catholic, her teacher asked me if it was all right for her to join the other children in praying just before going to lunch.  I told her that was fine with us and then bit my tongue to prevent me from adding, "But it's not all right with the Supreme Court."  Until we moved to Wisconsin, my children participated in Christmas programs at public school, including Christmas carols and the Nativity.  In Wisconsin, the program was "Winter Sing" and did not include any religious songs.

For the record, we do celebrate Advent and the religious meaning of Christmas.  We do have several Nativity sets around our house.  But our secular decorations far outweigh the religious ones.  Because this is my house, we can do what we please.  And I, for one, am glad that no public school first-grade child should feel uncomfortable because his or her parents are not of a particular religious (or non-religious) belief.

One of my favorite Santas, cradling some dolls he just made for the good little boys and girls.

There are folks who are surprised to find that I am Roman Catholic.  It's especially hard for those who knew me in my younger years to be Southern Baptist.  I think their surprise comes with the fact that I am vehemently pro-choice, I support birth control of all kinds, I strongly support marriage of same sex persons and I respect people of all faiths and non-believers as well.  I am just as furious as you are that the Bishops of the Church who turned a blind eye to child molestation by some priests were never held accountable.  I am definitely a cafeteria Catholic and pick and choose what I wish to believe.  Is this being hypocritical?  I think not.  The only religious dogma I could support without question would be the Church of NCMountainwoman.  Otherwise I can choose which parts of the church I will support and which parts I will cast aside.  I did the same when I was a Southern Baptist.

Always Check the Box

Regular readers may recall that Christmas last year was far from normal at our house.  We had a player who sustained major injuries in early December before the tree was up.

During our thirty-nine-year marriage, a live Christmas Tree always graced our home.  Always a big tree...as large as the room would allow.  Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without a huge tree.  We found out last year that isn't actually true.  Because I could not obtain and decorate a large tree by myself, I purchased a seven-foot artificial tree and decorated it.  And you know what?  It wasn't such a bad little tree as Linus would have said.

As nice as the tree was, I never dreamed my husband would suggest that we get a larger artificial tree for this year.  This from the man who loved going out to the tree farm, selecting the perfect tree and spending hours decorating it.  I was delighted, since I remembered the awful un-decorating process...the way the room looked when the tree was finally out the door and the struggle to get the tree on top of the SUV to take it to the lake.  And the mess all over the floor and on the porch and down the steps.

So this year, my husband ordered a tree in a box.

The tree sat in the box for several weeks.

We decided to decorate the tree on Friday, December 3.  We moved all the furniture and opened the box.  The metal tree stand looked "funny."  It would not open.  Closer examination revealed that the tree stand was not only broken, it was warped.  The opening was oval.  Just as you can't put a square peg in a round hole, you cannot put a round pole in an oval one.

There was a disclaimer with the tree advising us to call the manufacturer, not the store from which the tree was purchased.  I called them.  I waited and waited and waited until I finally reached a human voice.
Did you send in the warranty card?
No, I just now opened the box.
Send us the warranty card and we will send a new stand.
No, your warranty does not depend upon whether or not I have sent the card.  Perhaps I could speak with your supervisor.

The supervisor agreed that honoring the warranty did not depend upon sending the card.
Can you give me the UPC number on the box?
After much scrambling I found the number and gave it to her.
We will send you a new stand.  You will get it in 7-10 days.
Seven to ten days?  Can't you get it here sooner than that?
Not unless you pay an additional $90.00 for shipping.
Ninety dollars?  I should pay another ninety dollars to obtain a replacement for your faulty product?
Well, otherwise you can wait the week to ten days.
Perhaps I could speak with your supervisor.

The supervisor confirmed that no one in the company could waive the ninety-dollar charge.  I told him I would not pay another ninety dollars and asked that they send the new stand.  I asked if he could give me a tracking number.  He explained that it wouldn't be available until Monday and I should call then.  They would use my telephone number to find the tracking information.
[TIME SPENT ON PHONE:  about 40 minutes.]

We decided to put the smaller tree in the empty space until the new stand arrived.  At least we would have a lighted Christmas Tree there and wouldn't have to rearrange the furniture again.

I called on Monday, provided the appropriate history of my problem and asked for a tracking number.
I'll need some more information.
I was told you could use my telephone number.  Can't you just pull up the information on the computer?
I don't have a computer.
You answer the customer service line and you don't have a computer?
I take it down on paper and take it to the supervisor who can look it up.  I'll call you back.

She calls me back to say they have no record of my call on Friday, so we complete the process again.  When I called to check for a tracking number on Tuesday, we WENT THROUGH THE SAME PROCESS AGAIN!!!

On Thursday we came home to find that UPS had delivered the tree stand.  We put up the tree on Friday and it looks lovely.  On  Saturday, UPS delivered another tree stand.  Since I talked with five different people, I'm wondering just how many tree stands we might receive.

Here's the tree, up and decorated.  You'll need to click to see much of anything.

One thing I learned from this experience.  ALWAYS check any boxes you receive WHEN you receive them.  Also, just because a company doesn't appear to have a clue about customer service, they may actually come through for you.

Fridays are Golden

I've decided to change the header often this month to show you some of my favorite Christmas decorations.  My husband gave me this Santa with dolls many years ago.  At the time and in our circumstances then, it was quite an extravant gift.  The detail is amazing and every time I look at it, I am reminded of those days when money was so tight.  It makes me realize once again that we had just as much fun and joy at Christmas back then as we do now.  Love and family make the season...not money or status.

If you watch the weather reports you know that the Southeast is in a deep freeze.  Our temperatures have been twenty-five degrees below normal for this time of year.  It's rare to awaken to ten degree weather around here.

The Golden Girls think the weather is just about perfect.  They love their walks in the cold morning air and are full of energy when they are outside.  When they come back in, they are content to lie around and snooze.

Lucy has just plopped down, once again pushing Ellie under the chair.  She looks so innocent, doesn't she?

Lucy sometimes curls up like a little puppy.  When she is like that she looks more like a one-year-old than the five-year-old that she reallly is.

Both dogs love their plush beds.

Lucy always manages to look relaxed and comfortable.

The Christmas season brings happiness and sorrow even to non-Christians.  We remember those loved ones we have lost and grieve anew for them.  There are so many reminders of them mixed in with our memories of Christmas.  The preparations and planning often overtake us and we may begin to dread the approaching holiday with so many things left to do.

We often become so caught up in the stress of the season that we lose our happiness for a while.  Hawthorne said it well:
"Happiness is a butterfly, which, when pursued is always just beyond your grasp but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you."

And so you need to sit down quietly away from the stress of planning the perfect Christmas.  Take yourself away from all those things.  They truly are not important.  Then, perhaps happiness like the butterfly might alight upon you.

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND, EVERONE!

Fridays are Golden

HAVE A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!




Our first artificial Christmas tree works just fine for us. The star atop the tree was made by our son when he was in kindergarten. It has always been on the tree, but never as a tree topper.



The tree is just fine, and this has been a wonderful Christmas morning. We are so grateful for our many blessings, far too numerous to count.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EACH OF YOU!!!

Fridays are Even More Golden

With a big "Thank You" to the powers that be, and an even bigger "Thank You" for all your kind words and thoughts, we are all safely home. The emergency over, we are looking to a rather long but complete recovery. The girls love their pet sitter, but they are delighted to have the whole family together again.

With kitchen stools to protect the injured player, the Golden Girls come as close as they can to get some affection and give support.





Lucy quickly established herself under the footrest of the recliner. She considers this her own little den.




I don't care so much for these light-weight covers. Would you put the quilt back?

Thanks, I'll lie here and make certain everyone is safe.

Yes, Lucy. I can see how alert and protective you are.

And lookee here! It's snowing! Dang...I was FINALLY going to get my hair cut today!

So we approach a rather different Christmas this year. For the first time we will have an artificial tree which is still in a box in the garage. Too many gifts were ordered Online. But you know what? After an unbelievable year of surprising and totally unexpected health problems we are all just fine. We look forward to having our children home and it will be (as always) the best Christmas ever. And the daylight hours begin to increase on Tuesday morning!

WHATEVER HOLIDAY YOU ARE CELEBRATING, I HOPE IT IS A WONDERFUL ONE. KEEP A LOVING SPIRIT AND THINK KINDLY OF YOUR FELLOW MAN.

Fridays are Golden

We finally had a respite from the rain. A good opportunity to do some outdoor holiday decorating. The Golden Girls are delighted when we are with them in the front yard and they can be off lead. During colder weather we don't spend a lot of time sitting in the yard, so they usually walk through on their way to a walk and don't get to investigate anything.

Lucy investigates the sleds on the front porch. My husband's childhood Flexible Flyers are decorated with red bows. Both the short one and the long one were obviously much used and much loved. We hung a pair of ice skates on them in Wisconsin, but that seems a bit out of place here in NC. Given their ages they qualify as antiques. (How scary is that?)

Ellie is always more careful investigating new things. She approaches more cautiously. Lucy is already bored with the sleds since they don't do anything for her, so she turns away to await the next adventure.

Ellie catches the scent of some animal who passed by during the night. She is quite attuned to smells and we call her our scent hound.

In a rare moment of quiet, Lucy sits and smiles for the camera. Lucy is very active and retains a lot of puppy qualities. Sometimes that is really cute; sometimes not so cute. She's four years old now and apparently has no plan to grow up.

As we prepare to go indoors, Lucy turns and smiles as if to say, "Oh, don't you just love the holidays!"

Oh, yes dear Lucy. We do indeed love the holidays...the religious and the secular. We love the decorations, the music, the food, and the warm glowing holiday feelings.

I hope that you will enjoy whatever holiday you celebrate this month. Keep in mind that there are many opportunities for you to help those in need both here and abroad. I hope you will take advantage of them and give as much as you can.

Have a wondeful weekend and don't stress out. It will all get done so take a little time each day to sit with the beverage of your choice and just contemplate upon how fortunate you are. And enjoy that holiday feeling.

Fridays are Golden

As soon as the coffee is brewed and the muffins and coffee cake are ready on Christmas morning, we gather around the table to peek into our Christmas stockings. Everyone has a Christmas cracker, so we first pop the crackers, put on the silly paper hats, and play with the little toys while we take turns reading the corny jokes and riddles.

The Christmas stockings always contain a new ornament for each person. The other items are candy, cookies, and little gadgets and toys. Yes, five professional people sit around the table in paper hats playing with little toys. This year my husband's hat was purple, which he thought was quite appropriate for his "royal" status in the house. [NO, you will never see a picture of this sight. I'll leave that to your imagination.]

My stocking had a little wind-up frog. Our Golden girls were quite interested in him. I put him on the cocktail table so they could get a better look.


Surprisingly, Ellie was the first one to check out the little frog. She was very interested in his dance and the clicking noise.

Lucy watched from a distance until the little guy ran out of steam and fell over on his side. She seemed surprised that he had stopped moving, so she ran over to get a closer look.

The frog did not hold their interest for very long. Ellie went over to one of the beds while we opened our gifts. She doesn't like all the paper rattling and noises of delight. Lucy, of course, wanted to share the bed Ellie was in, but the chair had been left too near. Not deterred by something like a chair, Lucy plopped down on the bed and put her head on the chair rung. Silly little thing.

Our family finds great delight in the smallest of things. But our greatest delight is in our love for each other, and for our wonderful dogs. It has been such a blessing to have everyone together over the holidays. I hope you find happiness in small things as well. It makes life so much easier that way.

Have a wonderful and safe weekend, this first weekend of 2009!

Even More Decorations

While it would take more than a month to show you all of our decorations, this will be the concluding post. We decorate just about every inch of our house and truly enjoy all the decorations.



This is another favorite Santa. He has several lovely dolls in his arms, each quite detailed.

This Santa is flying through the sky with a little friend hanging on.

This Santa reminds me of Moses. He is standing next to a lovely little tree that lights up and plays music as well. Why do all of them play "We wish you a Merry Christmas," one of my least favorites?

Several Santas decorate the top of the large display cabinet in the great room.

I must admit...I am not fond of nutcrackers. I've always thought they were a little creepy looking. But then, I'm not fond of clowns either. These are Jacob Marley and Ebenezer Scrooge.

I actually do like this one. It is Tchaikovsky, holding some figures from the Nutcracker Suite.

It's New Year's Eve. I'm glad we are back in Eastern Time where New Year's comes at midnight. In the Midwest, the Big Apple ball drops at 11:00! We won't do much celebrating. But we will definitely raise a glass to toast our friends and neighbors, including those blogger friends we have come to love.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

More Carolers

We have carolers all over the place at Christmas. Starting with a gift from my son several years ago, we have added them until we probably have enough. I am amazed at how many of them there are.

These represent the street vendors of old England. The fishmonger is my favorite. She stands behind her cart and I can almost hear her yell, "Cockles and mussels, alive alive oh." The kitten beside her has a fish in his mouth. My husband's favorite is the organ grinder with his little monkey and tin cup. Once he was mistakenly referred to as the "monkey grinder," at term which brings us a laugh every year when we put these carolers out.

These carolers are true carolers, in that they are singing carols in the street. The clock above them is my favorite of all the many clocks we own. It is a rosewood schoolhouse clock. I love to imagine the children in the one-room school anxiously watching this clock each afternoon.

A closer look at the singers, shows the nurse on the left with her white uniform and navy blue cape. This was the gift from my son that started our collection.

So thank you, son, for this great Christmas tradition. It has added a lot to our Christmases over the years.

Hope all of you are still enjoying the season as much as we are. Tomorrow will be New Year's Eve! Imagine...it will soon be 2009.

Carolers

As I mentioned in a previous post, "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens is a favorite Christmas tradition at our house. Before the days of VCRs and DVDs, it was a read-aloud story. Now it has become a movie-watching event. As collectors of Beyer's Carolers, we were delighted when they released carolers based on our favorite Christmas story.


Jacob Marley appears to Scrooge on Christmas Eve:

The Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge happier Christmases when his employer Fezziwig gave parties for the employees. Here Mr. and Mrs. Fezziwig dance a jig:

The Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge to the Cratchit home to see the Cratchits and Tiny Tim:

The most-feared Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come silently guides Scrooge to glimpse into the future.

If you still have guests, I hope you are enjoying them as much as we are. Today the sun is shining brightly for the first time in a couple of weeks. We are still in a severe drought category and are entering our third consecutive year of drought. We are hoping the winter rains will replenish our piece of earth. I hope you are safe and happy whatever the weather.

In the words of Tiny Tim, "God bless us. Everyone."