Puff ... Revisited

Cleaning out closets and reorganizing cupboards is an annual tradition in our household. It seems that over the year it is all too easy to shove clutter into the closet under the stairs and forget about it for 12 months. And this year was no exception.

The other day my husband and I were busy sorting throw piles of scarves, hats and gloves; organizing the wrapping paper bins; and deciding what coats have been outgrown. While digging deep in the closet my husband pulled out his old guitar and began to tune it. We hadn't seen that thing for a while and it sparked some nostalgia in both of us.

The real excitement came when he began to play it for the kids. My daughter jumped up and down and begged for him to teach her how to play. My son's head bobbed to the beat as he giggled. Suddenly our home was filled with new found joy and music!

Yesterday I was drinking my morning tea when I heard the sound of strumming and the beat of a metronome coming from the family room. It was my daughter! There she sat strumming a guitar that was three sizes too big for her as her daddy patiently instructed how to properly hold a pick. My son lingered nearby, enjoying his sister's efforts.

My daughter carefully strums away - we just might have another guitar player in the family.

It has now become a bedtime tradition to have a song before going to sleep. Last night I put in a request for Puff the Magic Dragon as I so cherish the memories of my own dad playing that on his guitar for me as a child. My husband played while I sang, and the kids laid back and enjoyed the show. What a great way to start the new year!

Happy New Year everyone and have a very blessed 2010!

The Village

For years I have admired my in-law's Christmas display in their front window. Having collected the Charles Dickens Village over time, they now have quite a collection. Every year I look forward to seeing the arrangement of street lights, miniature trees and twinkling lights. I have longed to attend a service in the church on the hill and to walk along the cobblestone streets.

This year my daughter had the opportunity to see the village in all its glory. She too was enchanted by the glowing windows and tiny figurines. It is so idyllic, I wish I could live there from now until December 26th.

Fall On Your Knees

A favorite annual tradition. Family Christmas Tree Hunt 2009: Horizon Nursery

That Christmas feeling is finally here. It seems every year I wait for that moment where I surrender to the bliss of this wonderful season. It finally came yesterday as we were decorating our tree. Snow was falling outside, candy canes were being enjoyed, the kids were squealing with delight, and Bing Crosby was singing O Holy Night.

There is just something about that song that brings tears to my eyes - I get emotional while singing it at church or hearing it on the radio. I'm not the most charismatic person, but even I want to fall on my knees when I hear it. Especially as it goes:

'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth

My heart sinks in my chest when I hear these words.

It's so easy to forget why we celebrate Christmas. I admit to getting caught up in the fretting about shopping or making sure I get all of the "Christmasy" things checked off my list. Sometimes it takes a song like that to bring me back to the true meaning.

This year I have made plans to not stress. To be more relaxed about things like decorating the tree or finding the "perfect" gift for someone. I choose to focus on family, tradition and making time to fall on my knees.

Happy Little Jack-O-Lanterns

Despite being sick for the greater part of October, we finally did make it out to the pumpkin patch as a family. It is always a joy to watch the kids choose their pumpkins and run around in the corn maze.

Oh, how I love these happy little jack-o-lanterns of mine!

I chose these warty mini-pumpkins for my window boxes. Their bumpy texture makes me smile.

The splash of orange from the pumpkins is in perfect contrast to the dark purple-green of the coral bells. Our dog, Gracie, seems to agree.

Baby Day Spa

Sometimes it's hard to be a kid. You just need to wash the day away.

After I give my son a bath I like to give him a little "baby day spa". After getting him out of the tub, I wrap him up in a warm towel and lay him down on his changing table. Then I take some gentle baby lotion and massage his legs, feet and hands. He tries so hard not to let on that he likes it, but the smirk on his face says it all. You're never too old or too young to have a little pampering.

The Ghosts of Christmas Past

It is definitely beginning to look a lot like Christmas ... around our house anyway. This last weekend we decorated for the season, pulling out our favorite ornaments and illuminating our home with white twinkle lights. This year my daughter is starting to "get" Christmas and was so excited to get a tree she could hardly contain herself. She kept shouting "This is going to be the BEST Christmas EVER!"

We went to our favorite nursery to get our tree this year. Sure it is cheaper to buy a $5 permit to tromp out into the woods to find a tree, but as I have been sick with a sore throat and Fibromyalgia - and we have two kids with very short attention spans - it made more sense to go to a local place. Besides, it is tradition to get our photo taken by the nursery owner, in front of an inflatable Grinch!

Here are some photos of that tradition:

2008: Horizon Nursery

Our daughter is 4 1/2 years old and our son is 20 months old.

2007: Horizon Nursery

Our daughter was 3 1/2 and our son was only 8 months old - our son's first Christmas!

2005: Horizon Nursery

Our daughter was 19 months old.

2004: Horizon Nursery

Our daughter was 7 months old - her first Christmas!

Wow, I change my hair a lot! I don't have a photo for 2006, we went somewhere else that year and I was miserably pregnant with my son so unfortunately we didn't get a shot of our tree hunting.

This year we got a 10 foot noble fir. It is tall and skinny and it hold all of the ornaments we have collected over the years. I am always looking for fun ornaments to add every year, but my favorite will always be one from my childhood.

I know, it seems silly that I would like a bell with Cookie Monster on it so much. But I am sentimental and this goes way back to when I was very little girl. I always wrap it with extra special care and put it high up on the tree. I would be a bit devastated if anything happened to it.

And while there are many finer and more expensive Christmas decorations out there, I tend to cherish the Nativity scene I bought back in 2001. It was my third Christmas with my husband and we didn't have very much money. I went to Rite Aid and found THE most hideous Nativity scene imaginable. The skin tones were painted in bright orange and the cloaks on the people were in day glow colors. But, it was 50% off of $12.99. I couldn't resist that price! So I brought it home and repainted all of the figurines. Now my daughter plays with them as if they were dolls and it is fun to see her enjoying the set many years later.

Our cheap, but if I may say elegant looking, Nativity scene.

What are your favorite Christmas traditions?

Five Christmas Songs That I Love the Most

1. O Holy Night - Nat King Cole

Originally this song was a poem written by French poet Placide Cappeau. I love it not only because of the quiet and dramatic moments of the score, but the words are truly beautiful. With lyrics like''Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth." and "Fall on your knees! O, hear the angels' voices!" I can't help but be moved. It places emphasis on the birth of Jesus and the meaning of that miraculous event for sinners of the world. Nat King Cole's voice is smooth and sweet, making it my favorite song of the season.


2. Carol of the Bells - George Winston

I love this song when a choir performs it, but my favorite version is done in piano. George Winston is a pianist that I have had the privilege of seeing perform live. He is a staple in my household and this version of the Ukrainian Bell Carol is energetic and conjures us so many memories for me.


3. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee

This song is so much fun. I think I like it so much because it has that classic 1950s sound - it was recorded in 1958 - and just makes me want to dance. In fact as I listen to it in the car you might find me bopping along to it. It also makes me want to go ice skating for some inexplicable reason.


4. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Judy Garland

This song was introduced in the film Meet Me in St. Louis - a film I haven't actually seen. There is something comforting about hearing "Dorothy" singing a sentimental Christmas tune. Her voice is legend and in my opinion this is the best version of this song.


5. I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas - Bing Crosby

Bing Crosby is a Christmas must in our house. To me he sounds like Christmas. His voice is rich and comforting and it just makes me want to curl up by the fire and knit when I hear it. Of course this song is performed in the classic film, White Christmas, and epitomizes that old Christmas feeling.

Bing Crosby

Blog Fodder

The Fruits of All Hallow's Eve

We had a fun Halloween this year. The kids' costumes turned out well; we went trick-or-treating with great success in the candy department; and I managed to actually carve a pumpkin or two.

I made little pumpkin houses this year. It was fun gathering the sticks to make the window panes (my daughter helped).

As I was carving the pumpkins I started to feel adventurous and decided to keep the seeds to roast and enjoy as a snack. It was a lot of work separating the seeds from the mushy, orange guts and thoroughly washing them. It was nice to eat them when they were fresh from the oven, but the husks are like eating sawdust. I chose to peel off the husks and just eat the green seed inside which tasted pretty good. Then yesterday I was at the store and saw that I could have just bought the seeds in bulk and saved myself a lot of trouble. Oh well, I am still proud of my efforts!

Free Coffee for Voters

I did it, I voted. I feel a great sense of accomplishment by having done so. And now I will receive a little reward by going into my local Starbucks on November 4th and getting a free tall cup of coffee ... that is if I tell them "I voted". It is all a part of their V2V campaign to get people to have a voice in this election and make your community a better place to live. So, if the satisfaction of knowing you are exercising your rights to vote in this country isn't enough of an incentive, maybe a FREE cup of Starbucks brew is.

Lights Out, Little Cookies

Mother's Cookies is shutting down. That's right, no more pink and white Frosted Animal Cookies, and no more of my personal favorite: Taffy cookies. Now, while I don't buy many cookies from the store, I still feel a great sadness that this American tradition is no more. What do I do now if I want a Taffy cookie? Where do I go? Who do I turn to? Yesterday I was in the grocery store and saw that indeed there were only three types of Mother's Cookies left on the shelf and in very few quantities. Forget the Wall Street bailout, we need to bail out Mother's Cookies! I plan to buy one of the t-shirts shown above. I doubt it will fix the company's bankruptcy problems, but it may the only thing left of those beloved little confections.

Paws Under the Door

My son is so silly. He loves to come into my office when I am working and close the door. He then gets mad that it is closed but he can't open it himself. Today he was grunting and whining so that I would open it and then he erupted in a high pitched giggle. I looked to see what he thought was so funny and saw my cat's paws sticking out from underneath the door. The cat and my son then continued to play, touching each other's "paws" and this provided much entertainment for some time - times like these make me so glad we have all the billions of toys taking up precious real estate in our house.

Funny Farm

Fall brings out all kinds of instincts in me. I tend to want to nest, to bake, and to do craft projects. I love to be snuggled up in a blanket and sipping tea while visiting with loved ones or watching television. Every year around this time I always crave a certain movie to watch that makes me feel homey: Funny Farm with Chevy Chase.

I can't really explain why I desire to watch it every year, it's not particularly remarkable. It's about a sports writer from Manhattan who, along with his wife, buy a house in the country so he can write Great American Novel and they can start a family. Naturally, being a Chevy Chase movie things go terribly wrong - think National Lampoon's Vacation movies - and they discover the hardships of living in the small town of Red Bud. I am not a country girl, I am not a city girl either; but this movie makes me feel cozy. I love their little house, I love the property the house sits on, I love the gazebo in the middle of town. Yup, I am a sucker for that sort of thing: an idyllic existence. It makes me want to run a quaint inn in Vermont or something. Or at least stay in one.

This year I became somewhat fixated on trying to find this movie on DVD and buying it so I could watch it whenever I want. Boy was I glad that I found a new copy for $5.99 at Sam Goody; I didn't want to hash out twenty bucks for something filmed in 1988! I am pleased to say that I have already watched the movie while sitting on the couch, sipping hot tea and crocheting scarves.

In a month and a half I imagine I will be doing the same thing, but to a different movie with Chevy Chase: Christmas Vacation. A holiday classic!

The Great Pumpkin

It is an annual tradition for our family to go to the pumpkin patch. Four of the five years we have gone we go to a small, family owned farm not too far from where we live and I love to bring them our business. They are so friendly, they remember us year after year, and they have a good selection of gourds. Below are a few photos of our trips to the pumpkin patch since 2004:

2004: Cornelius Family Farm

Our daughter was just 5 months old, and a bit grumpy in this photo.

2005: Davis Family Farm

Our daughter was 17 months old. It was a lot cooler and greener at this patch.

2006: Cornelius Family Farm

Our daughter was almost 2 1/2 and was really getting into pumpkin hunting.

2006: Our family portrait. You can't tell in this photo, but we had a little pumpkin of our own on his way.

2007: Cornelius Family Farm

Our daughter was almost 3 1/2 and our son was 7 months old. I love how sweet they are here.

2007: Our family portrait. I love this shot; we used it in our Christmas cards last year.

2008: Cornelius Family Farm

Our daughter is almost 4 1/2 and our son is 19 months. Silly kids!

2008: Our family portrait. Toward the end of the day the kids got tired and crabby and the sun was intense. We don't plan to use this photo for our Christmas card this year!

Year after year we have good memories of our pumpkin hunts, and it is so fun to look back and see how our family has changed over time. I can hardly wait until next year ...