An Ornament Favorite: Day 7

The advent candle of peace was lighted at church today.

Ornament Tales: Day 6

Tonight's ornaments are two that I bought...but not at the same time. We had a little gift shop in our mall in Tullahoma and at Christmas time they carried ornaments of all kinds. I fell in love with the larger wooden Danish ornament and really wanted it for our tree, but it was more than I wanted to spend so...when I found the small sizr of the same ornament I decided that would do on our tree, but still really liked the larger ornament better. You will see a lot of bells on my tree due to the fact that I have a bell collection so it made sense (to me, at least) to extend that bell collection onto the tree! Now, on to the rest of the story about the Danish ornaments! After Christmas all the ornaments in that gift shop were on half price and the larger pair of bells hadn't been purchased and that ornament was still amongst the unsold ones. I wisked that one up and it has joined it's smaller twin on our tree ever since. I know that I bought this ornament when living at our former Tullahoma home... so it has hung on our tree for more than 40 years. And, I still really like both ornaments! Today was a special day for Esther and Patrick. A group of ladies at our church gave a super special shower for them. We had such a good time and Esther and Patrick are more set to start housekeeping! Melany, Alex, and Brooke joined us for the party. This afternoon I have been attending my virtual cross stitch retreat. I have been enjoying it, I have been able to talk with stitchers from the United States and around the world...around the world = Australia, Mexico, Canada, England, and probably more, those are the places I remember. I have also got to listen in on four or five needlework designers and listen to them answer questions that we could type to them. Last night I did what they call "speed dating!" You enter and tap that you are ready to join and they put with another stitcher and you talk to them for five minutes and then that "window" closes and they pair you with someone else. That was fun. I will probably enter what they call a "stitching room" and join several others in that "room" and then have what resembles a zoom meeting and we talk with one another and stitch. I have worked on finishing ornamaents and have also stitched for a while on a sampler. It is amazing to me how easy it is to get to know people who have a common interest with you! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Ornament Tales: Day 5

Tonight's ornaments feature cardinals and it was hard to choose which ones to post as I have quite a few cardinals on the tree. There a several reasons that I love cardinals...love their red color...looks so Christmasy on the tree! I haven't always lived where cardinals lived in abundance...like they do in TN. So when I lived in AZ and California, it was always special to see one. But cardinals were really important to Woody! He was a BIG fan of the St. Louis Cardinal baseball team...so cardinals took on an even more important meaning for our family! And, now that Woody is gone from us I think about the saying: "When Cardinals appear a loved one is near." So now I think of that saying and feel closer to Woody when I see cardinals. I am stitching a sampler at the moment that has that saying on it. Last year I stitched a cardinal on each of the ornaments that I gave to family members as a memory of Woody. I am having computer problems...it is not saving what I am typing...hoping that will change! I am in the midst of an online cross stitch event. I have had fun chatting with stitchers from all over the country and one from Mexico...so far. This will go on all weekend and I'm enjoying sitting and talking to fellow cross stitchers. To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! 'Tis the season! I'm posting this while the posting is good!!!

Ornament Tales:Day 4

Last night I mentioned that some ornaments on the tree reflect interests that our family has. Tonight's barn ornaments were given to me due to my interest in taking photos of barns. These remind of the many pleasant hours spent with Marie in the driver's seat and Carolyn and I along for the ride. The green pastel barn, Melany and family gave me a few Christmases back. And, Marie gave me the gingerbread barn. I have other barns on the tree, too. I guess 'tis the season to hang barns on my Christmas tree! I have reallly been busy today. I got my second group of Christmas cards out to be picked up by the mail carrier today. And, I just barely got them out there before he came by...my timing was perfect today! My next undertaking of the day was working on the Christmas ornaments that I stitched for a good part of the year. Today I pieced other fabric to the stitched ornament and now have 15 ornament fronts all ready to have a back cut and then stitched together and then turned. It is my goal to have the little pillow ornaments all ready to stuff during my cross stitching Zoom event that starts tomorrow. That job took all afternoon. I will cut out the backs while I watch my shows, Matlock and Elsbeth, this evening. Busy, busy times! After all, 'tis the season! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Ornament Tales: Day 3

Tonight's tale is one about my life, from childhood to now. Church has always been an important part of my life. These ornaments represent two of the three churches that i have been a part of. The gold ornament is my childhood to marriage church. This is the church Woody and I got married in. It's the First United Methodist Church in Glendale, AZ. This ornament was made for the church's 100th anniversary in 1994. This ornament has looked like the top photo since Mother gave it to me. Yesterday on Facebook my childhood friend posted a picture of her ornament that looks just like mine and she stated that she had designed this orhament for the centennial. Then I noticed that hers wasn't flat...I had never thought to bend the thin bands around the ornament...so it is like a new ornament on the tree after 20 years of it hanging flat! I can thank Randi for letting me know a little more about the tale of this orhament! The bottom photo shows an ornament that I just happened upon this ornament at an antique store. I couldn't resis getting it. I don't know when this was produced, as this was the first that I knew of it, when I found it. It can't be too old, as it shows the fountain in the park across the street from the sanctuary. I am glad to have both of these ornaments on my Christmas tree of memories. I like having things on the tree that represent our life and interests. More tales to come! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! 'Tis the season!I just looked at the photos...sorry about the blur on the middle one...I took it this morning and then hadn't looked at it. You can tell about me bending the pieces to make it 3-D.

Ornament Tales: Day 2

Tonight's ornaments are early Hallmark ornaments. I would say that theye are mid 70s...these look a bit different than today's very detailed Hallmark ornaments...I would say that the price of these ornaments is a lot different than today's also! The card ornament was sent to us from my Aunt Lois and Uncle Don...the little felt/yarn ornament is also from them. Melany and Nathan also got a type of this felt ornament from them the same year we got ours. Theirs are now in their possession. I just think that it is intersting as to how the Hallmark ornaments have evolved over the years. I don't think that the little choir boy is even marked as Hallmark. I'm sure that the card is marked on the back as Hallmark cards are. Today has been a busy 2nd day of December. I worked this morning getting the outside Fall decorations brought back inside and then put out the Christmas/Winter decorations...I don't do much outside...pillows on the rockers and glider and a wreath on the door, a doormat and a yard flag...oh, and, a snowman on one of the tables. While I was doing that I got a package containing new cushions for my glider rocker in the family room. I started getting the chair dusted and polished, but had to quit as I had a haircut appointment at noon and then I headed straight to the church as Donna and I had plans to work in the library. We got out Christmas books to display in the windows and on the top of the shelf for the children. Both this morning and afternoon, I worked on getting Thanksgiving foods ready to go in the freezer. I froze some gravy so it will be ready when I want to make enchiladas next. I also cut up and froze turkey so it is all ready for a casserole or two...perhaps Turkey Olé or Turkey Crunch...both recipes my Mother shared with us years ago. I washed the Fall pillow covers so they will be ready for next Fall. Then I wrestled with getting the chair cushions onto my chair...these are the heaviest cushions that I have ever seen/felt. They are supposed to be such that they won't flatten...I don't think that they will! The hardest was getting the chair back cushion tied on and getting adjusted to the right height since its weight was pulling it down. I think that I have gotten them positioned correctly now. I am pretty tired...but I would really like to go baste around Joy's hem. I got it pinned up last night before I went to bed. It is amazing how long it takes to baste around just one skirt! I need to get these done so the girls can come over and see if they are right or need to be adjusted more. Time is ticking away for this wedding...just three weeks from Saturday. Oh, my! I have a very busy weekend which includes a needlework event online. I am wanting to get the ornaments sewn up so I can stuff them while I am watching and/or visiting with stitchers. But time seems to be getting away from me. I also want to finish my cards and get my packages ready to mail to AZ and AL. All I can say to all this is: 'TIS THE SEASON! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Ornament Tales: Day 1

I have decided to share ornament stories during the month of December. I spent time this morning photographing some of the ornaments that I plan to tell about during the month. I decided to go waaaaay back with tonight's ornament tale...to our first Christmas. Mother and Daddy gave us this ornament our first Christmas...so Christmas 1969...55 years this eggshell ornament has survived...it even survived the year that the tree fell over. I think of it as a snowy Christmas Eve with people going to church for a candlelight service. It has hung on our Christmas trees in five homes and two states, First Tennessee and then California and then back to Tennessee. It is one of three ornaments made out of an eggshell that hang on my tree. It became a tradition in our families to exchange ornaments each year. My family in Arizona would send me ornaments and I would send them ornaments. That tradition continues to this day...the reason that I keep busy stitching ornaments for gifts and one of the reasons that I have so many ornaments! They also sent Melany and Nathan ornaments each year...but those ornaments have moved to their trees. So tonight's tale helps you understand how I have come to have so many ornaments on my tree...and...many others than family have added to my growing collection! Today has been busy. I managed to get the hem turned up on Abigail's bridesmaid's dress and got it basted. So it is ready for her to try it on again with the boots that she plans to wear for the wedding. I'm planning to get started doing the same to Joy's this evening. It's a long way around these skirts! I also started trying to get all my Thanksgiving cooking, which was done on Saturday under control...started getting it portioned out to put some in the freezer. First I ot the broth out and put it in freezer bags and then used the rest to make turkey and rice soup...some of which I plan to freeze also. I squeezed some leftover lemons and froze that juice, also. Lots going on to make a mess in the kitchen. I am about to run the dishwasher after I eat a bite of supper. I'm late eating because of Furnace Room Prayer Meeting. I guess we are settling in for a night of rain. It started to mist a little just asa I got to church, but was raining by the time we came out and I am hearing a nice gentle rain now. I'm glad that I am in and will be in till I go for a haircut tomorrow and then go to work in the library after that. Our overnight low is supposed to be 35 and tomorrow's high is supposed to be 38...brrrrr! But it was colder last night over night it got down to 25 and I think that we have more of those low temps ahead of us. I'm glad that I have plenty to do staying at home...I prefer home to going out when it is so cold! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! 'Tis the season!