Christmas Memories

This past year Beverly at How Sweet the Sound hosted a Circle Journal that 10 of us participated in.  We each chose a theme for our book which then traveled all over the country for 10 months.  Beverly’s theme was Christmas Past and we each created two pages in her book of our own Christmas memories. I’ll have to show you my completed book another day.  I saved the pages I did last summer in her book to share at Christmastime. That shushing Santa is actually an envelope and I wrote down my memories and tucked them in there.  At this time of year I still get homesick for the McAllen of the ‘50s.

That picture below of Main St is the actual Main St in the ‘60s and the drawings are just some of things I loved. 

So this is what I wrote…..

Christmas Past
Traveling far back into Christmas Past I thought about my  favorite parts of the holidays.  We didn't have stockings and we had our "tree" on Christmas Eve.  No, the  excitement for me was the town

itself- especially Main St.   When the giant evergreen swags were strung up from building to building spanning the street that signaled Christmas was coming.  My sister and I played our 45 record of Gene Autry's "Rudolf" endlessly. We had a cardboard nativity set that we put up every year and I always got the honor of putting it together. The most I remember about our tree was putting on those heavy, heavy icicles.  Sears moved out on the Highway in a new building  and a whole section devoted to kids would appear - Toyland. And that's where you'd go to see Santa who was located near the Candy counter.  At school we'd have our classroom party and  everyone must have shopped at the same place because I think we all got those "books" of Lifesavers!  And the Methodist church always had a live nativity with real donkeys, cows and people.  It was amazing. On Christmas Eve - the longest day of the year - as soon as it turned dark we'd pile in the Plymouth to go look at lights. Amazingly Santa would come while we were gone. My dad always forgot his cigarettes on Christmas Eve  and would have to go back in the house to get them.  It was awful - his memory seemed okay the rest of the year and you’d think he would have been more careful because what if Santa came and we were still there? He'd just pass us by I was certain. All was well when we got back home, however.  My sis and I got matching dolls. I remember a red scooter and a little rocking chair at one time or another. 

My favorite memories, however,  were the years my dad worked at the Palace Theater.  The last show wouldn't let out until after 11 p.m. and if we were good...my mother would let us go with her to pick him up.  We'd go early and drive by the fire station. Holy Cow! The reindeer on the mezzanine rocked back and forth, back and forth while real bells jingled. Honestly, you could stare at them for hours! Then we'd park on Main St and window shop.  I could run a whole block ahead and I had  all of Main St to myself.  Every store front was decorated with trees and gifts and velvet mechanical Santas that would slowly turn and wave.  The wonders of technology right in front of me.  It was like my own private street and I owned all the stores and everything in them!  Sometimes we'd pick our favorite item in every single window display - that was a fascinating game until my sister and I wanted the same thing and we'd argue over who had imaginary ownership. And then I'd look up and my Dad, leaning out his projectionist window high above the marquee, would wave at us.  Time to go.

"Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart... filled it, too, with a melody that would last forever." --

Bess Streeter Aldrich

from 1950s Nancy!

I’m joining Beverly for Pink Saturday today.

My December To Remember

In case anyone noticed I’ve been in absentia on my blog just about all of December. I can’t really count the Porch post I recycled from 3 years ago and let me tell you – this house had no decorations up until last Saturday.  And even then only the living room got a tree with a few decorations from the craft heap pulled into service.  I’ll be happy when March rolls around and I have just one tree to undecorate! Noooo – just kidding – I always take it down by Valentine’s Day!  Anyway. I’m going to recount the past 20 days in pictures! Yes – I just knew you’d be excited to spend the weekend before Christmas looking at my December! NOT.

I almost forgot that we did a little Christmas decorating at Oodles.  Yawn…do you think it needs more brown? I put some pink in just to rebel.  Really it’s so out of place I need to find that tussie a nice pink home.

That same week we decorated the trees at church. The other decorator and I somehow mixed up our days so I was on my own decorating the trees and windows. Actually it was nice and peaceful spending the day in church all by myself.

Jeff came later and swagged the choir loft and I swagged the windows.  It’s a pretty church so it just doesn’t need a lot.

I finished my pages for The Itty Bitty Book Club.  So anxious to get this book back in the mail.

I
We couldn’t neglect the sports world and had quite a few basketball games to attend…

and the Football Banquet for my dearly loved Cedar Ridge Raiders…especially that one giving me the “serious” look.

And I crafted making memory rings

and more memory rings.

Now this has become about my favorite Christmas “event” to attend.  Vespers at St. Martins in Austin hosts the choirs of Texas Lutheran College.  Their voices are truly beautiful as is St Martins at Christmas.

This year they ended with “Still Still Still” which has to be my favorite carol/hymn.  The choir surrounds the church and it is just beyond beautiful with voices from every direction.  So peaceful.

Later that week was our Bunco club’s Christmas party – we invite all the subs from the past year and do a gift exchange after 9 rounds of bunco.  They look like nice Lutheran ladies but trust me – they’re all three sheets to the wind.  hahaha

We do a gift exchange so I made a box for my gift – I liked it better than the gift I put in it.

This year my older son and his family will be spending Christmas in snowy Illinois so last Sunday night we all got together for some family time.  I’d heard about the drive through light display in Round Rock.  I heard it was fabulous and just knew that my less than enthusiastic family would love it once they got to experience it.  There were soo many cars that the 1/2 hour drive through the park actually took an hour.  And guess what – it seemed like THREE! Let’s just say they were…uh…mediocre. Here’s my grandsons enjoying them.  They love having their pictures taken!

We came back and had gumbo and gave them their gifts.  I tried to set the timer so I could take a family picture and that didn’t work out for me.  So I said let me just take one of them.  They love me taking their picture….jerks.  But they’re my jerks and I love them all to pieces.

So that’s how my December has gone so far.  I haven’t a clue what Beverly has planned for Pink Saturday but I’m linking this tome anyway.  Merry Christmas  bloggy buds – I hope all your dreams come true!  xo Nancy

Joining My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday.

Christmas Porch For Pink Saturday

Of course I don’t have my porch done for Christmas yet!  This is from several years ago.

I clumped three trees together

next to the porch couch!

Go see Beverly who hosts Pink Saturday but first look at my Blog Shop sale below!

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My Crafty Little Blog Shop!  I thought I’d join Beverly’s new endeavor also today.

I made Tussie Mussies for our antique store.

A whopping   15”  it’s made with a vintage cake plaque and bird candle holder from the ‘50s and would be a perfect birthday gift for any Pinkie!

Embellished with a lollie made from an old French book, a mercury glass ornament, old lace and seam binding.

$30 + shipping. I can invoice you through paypal.

Thanksgiving 2012

My Thanksgiving is a blur.  Really – every picture I took was blurry!

My grandsons…abide! They’re showing me “gang” poses to send to Aunt Buckeye Jude!  How that got started I have no idea.

Why do they rush to get out of my pictures?  Does that happen to you guys? They act like I’m the Paparazzi!

My only non burry picture – the turkey.  This one is not going anywhere… isn’t it a beauty?  It’s cousin Turkey Two was outside being boiled in oil so everyone would have leftovers for Friday! Thank you, Jeffy for thinking of that!

My son, Jeff fried the turkey and it was the best turkey we’ve ever ever had. Everyone was busy in the kitchen with their respective jobs.  

We all squeezed around the table and my little grandson Q said grace and I was completely overwhelmed with gratitude that we were able to be together.  Do you ever have those moments you wish could last forever?.

And meanwhile under the table were Lillie and Iris.  No one cares at our house…it just adds!

After dinner it was time for football and naps.  Here are my two little turkeys once again trying to avoid the camera.

I hope your day was full of blessings…as mine was.  Are you shopping or decorating this weekend? Not me.  We plan to do a little bit of decorating at Oodles and the rest is open.  My shopping is pretty much an online trip! 

Thanks to Beverly for hosting Pink Saturday. xoxo Nancy

Soup Kitchen

What am I doing this weekend.  Making a big pot of soup to  share with my two favorite sisters – Barbara and Judy.  Not my sisters by blood but my sisters by my good fortune.

Here’s a start on the table.

Using my Four Seasons dishes and some teal glasses.

I’ve been making these for our store and maybe for Beverly’s BlogshoP.  Did you read about that? I think it’s a great opportunity for all us.

These are huge Tussies – about 15”.  I’m making some birthday and Christmas ones and people love them for gifts.

Here’s to a wonderful Thanksgiving for all of us.  I’ll be with my family and that is my greatest blessing.   In this picture I think they are grateful for Longhorn and Buckeye football and naps. I’m just happy to have them all under one roof!

xoxo Nancy

Joining Pink Saturday blogs today. Check it out!

Harmony

 

So what are we doing this weekend?  Well, it’s bittersweet for me – my grandson’s last football game.  I could care less about watching pro football and I do love the Longhorns, but nothing has ever compared in football speak to watching Texas high school football when you have a kid on the team. 

They started out strong but had a lot of injuries this season – but they never gave up and I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of this team in the coming years.

 

These kids are the future and you know what? After the election the most promising and comforting words came from my grandson. He gave me hope for the future.

As for me – I’m going to sit back and reflect..  I found this little passage from J. Frank Dobie. 

“Here I am living on a soil that my people have been living and working and dying on for more than a hundred years—the soil, as it happens, of Texas. My roots go down into this soil as deep as mesquite roots go. This soil has nourished me as the banks of the lovely Guadalupe River nourish cypress trees, as the Brazos bottoms nourish the wild peach, as the gentle slopes of East Texas nourish the sweet-smelling pines, as the barren, rocky ridges along the Pecos nourish the daggered lechuguilla. I am at home here, and I want not only to know about my home land, I want to live intelligently on it. I want certain data that will enable me to accommodate myself to it. Knowledge helps sympathy to achieve harmony.”

Hoping for harmony….xoxo Nancy

I’m joining Beverly’s Pink Saturday today.

Pinkageaddon

 

I think this is a great – a local support group of younger women facing breast cancer.  One of their members – Mommyunlocked - wrote this post and I agree – sometimes the pink ribbon becomes about the “pink” and the message gets forgotten – it’s worth reading.

That being said – Beverly’s Pink Saturday bloggers are all about the Pink all year long.  It’s nice looking at the world through our pink/rose colored glasses sometime!

Have a great week – xoxo Nancy

Fall Foliage for Pink Saturday

What about that misleading title?  I have no fall foliage to show you so my foliage will have to be indoor color!  We closed our antique store, The Roost, in Round Rock and will reopen next month in The Austin Antique Mall.  This round shelf unit was in there so instead of storing it I put it in the living room and it’s not leaving!

I love being able to put so much stuff on it since I don’t have many other places to display Halloween decorations.

And I can hang stuff on them!  Here’s one of the pumpkins that I made a few years ago. I sewed a million for a church bazaar.

This is my older grandson when he was two – my little Buzz Lightyear.

And here’s my younger grandson.  He started a new school and comes to our house after school several times a week and it’s wonderful being able to spend more time with him.

This is what  I replaced my pie safe with.  Those silhouettes are my mother and dad and my two grandsons and are about my favorite things.

And just so you know – we do have some fall foliage in Texas…just not my yard!

I hope these Maples never find their way back home!

Have a great weekend and stop by Beverly’s Pink Saturday for a look at more fall foliage.