Our album of Christmas photos

Album of Christmas greetings.  College roommate Dora and her family

 Our project of looking at an album every evening is moving rather slowly.  We're not doing them in any order--so Thursday evening we did our September 2015 trip in Spain--Madrid, Cordoba, Granada, Murcia, etc.  Then last night we did the album of friends made over the years who sent photos with their Christmas cards. If we have earlier photos such as high school friends for both of us—Dick Green and Duke Low for Bob, and JoElla, Sylvia and Lynne for me—I’ve included those too. But I noticed that there were no photos after 2008. So today I got down the box of Christmas letters I save (I have trouble throwing away the printed/written word) and pulled out the photos, writing on them which I should have been doing long ago and matching up to the letters.

So I also spent some time rereading the letters, but not as much as I thought I would. My eyes would sort of glaze over and soon the trips to Europe from Nelson Potter, Jr. and the grandchildren from Lakeside neighbors who were were 3 in 2008 and 10 in 2016, and the career changes of Marie Peterson’s son, the move to Colorado or Florida, and the pets who died since the last letter, and weddings of children and grandchildren and how they said good-bye to grandma, and the obituaries of the Crabbs all started to bunch together. It’s stirred up the memory of Mom and I going through all the letters and cards in 1983 that Grandma Bessie saved, reading them once, and then disposing of them or returning them to sender. Then I did it for Mom’s letters and cards in 2000 after her death, taking home all the letters (about 40 years) I’d written to them. So. . . I will probably shred the letters now to save my daughter that job.  I knew the people who had sent cards and letters to my mother and grandmother.  If I can’t bring myself to re-read the letters of friends who were fine in 2008 and now have Alzheimer’s Disease and don’t know their own kids, I’m sure I’m doing my daughter a favor by giving them a proper, respectful burial now.

The prompt today from Tweetspeak, a poetry site, was "Things Invisible." Those letters and cards were invisible in the guest room closet, stored on the top shelf in a green basket. I didn't have to think about them.

Things Invisible Poetry Prompt from Tweetspeak
Old Christmas letters, cards and photos.
The basket was in the closet for years.
Invisible since placed there.
Visible only when I added more.
Then things became invisible again.

I took it down from the top shelf.
Sneezed a little from the dust.
Struggled past the seasonal clothes,
ornament boxes waiting for next year,
Wrapping paper, sacks, and ribbons.

Sisters, brothers, aunts, and parents.
College roommates, business partners,
Lakeside neighbors, cruising colleagues,
In-laws, cousins once or twice removed.
Nieces, nephews, her cats and his dogs.

Babies born now twenty eight,
Businesses launched now closed.
Pintos and spaniels at Rainbow Bridge.
Career changes, tenure, promotion,
Divorces, weddings, and Alzheimer’s.

Trains across the Canadian Rockies,
Ships around Alaska’s glaciers,
Log cabin in the Wisconsin woods,
Hiking and biking through Arizona.
RV parks in Florida, cello concerts in Michigan.

A fall off a step at his son’s home,
Hospice now for sister Barbara,
Chemo recovery, tests are good.
How long has it been since we saw you,
Let’s get together after New Year.

My old bones pause on the step ladder,
Old memories folded together.
Blending 2016, 2010,
1987, thirty years.
Things become invisible again.

Christmas is over--putting things away

Hand made from 40 years ago, wreath and tree

Birds made by Mom for the kids

Lazzy Bear reading through the x-mas cards

Old table cloth used again--maybe 40 years old?

The tree is back in the attic and the decorations are put away.  I still need to wash the table cloth and pack away and go through the Christmas cards and letters in the cardboard mailbox.  Lazzy Bear is from 1986, and he's holding up well.

Christmas 2016 recap

We served communion at UALC Lytham 10:30 service--really a good crowd--great sermon by Jeff Morlock and then home to prepare dinner. While things bubbled and cooked, the family was enjoying "A Christmas Story" in the living room.  They've all seen it so many times, they were speaking the lines. I put out some snacks in the kitchen, like the Harry and David box Rick and Kate sent of cookies, popcorn and candy, some crackers and cream cheese, plus a new cereal I found--Rice Chex with dark chocolate mixed in which makes a nice snack.

 It was probably the largest ham I've ever fixed. Phil donated it. I did find the right glaze recipe by checking my blog when I couldn't find one.  Just real maple syrup with about a generous teaspoon of mustard.  I basted it about 3 times, but it was so large, Phoebe had to help, and Mark had to lift it out of the oven.  The the rest of dinner was potato salad, tossed salad, vegetable casserole, green beans, sugar free apple pie, home made pickles from my Mom's recipe, olives, garlic bread, corn muffins, and wine using my gingerbread boy plates.  I won't do that vegetable casserole again--although everyone tried it, there was a lot left over and no one offered to take any home.  We have so much ham left over, it will take months to use it up--even after sending half of it plus the bone home with Phoebe (we're hoping for some of her delicious bean soup for cold January nights).

We received so many nice gifts.  Big surprise for me was a necklace I wasn't expecting.  We got gift cards to our favorite Friday night date spot Rusty Bucket, my favorite brand of Merle Norman foundation and a lovely Coach leather clutch bag which can be used with a strap. I don't like big, bulky bags, but this is just the perfect size.  I got a lovely, cozy robe, and subscription to my favorite magazine and a book from my TBR list;  Bob got a huge umbrella since he claims he gets wet under these lady types and his box of goodies for watching bowl games. He got two books, one as a trial for a new mystery series, plus Megan Kelly's new bio and YakTraxs for walking in the winter plus a knit facial ski mask.  The Levi's I got him fit well, he's already using the new billfold, but the hat has to go back to Kohl's.  We both got underwear, but we deserved it.

Merry Christmas 2016, same hair style I had in 1946

Ready for dinner, tonight and tomorrow

We're having a casual Christmas Eve dinner before church. So I decided to set the table in the kitchen and then also set the table in the dining room for tomorrow. It will be a little cramped, but I can put all the food on the counter.  I have two sets of Christmas dishes and am using them both.  Unfortunately, they don't have serving pieces, so I have to do a work around. This Paul McCobb mid-century modern set was our original dining room table (has 2 leaves) with a matching china cabinet, and we purchased it in 1964 when we had a very small dining room (house on White St. in Champaign, IL). The house originally had a very large dining room, and we built a wall down the middle to make two rooms.  When I say "we," you know who did the work. In the mid-90s this set resided for awhile in our daughter's home until she bought a dining room set.  Recently I checked on buying two additional chairs thinking I'd move it back to the dining room, but it appears it is now the most expensive furniture in the house.  Two additional chairs would be about $3,000. All the tree lights, inside and out, are ready.

Oh dear. . .

We're each giving the other some basics this year.