THE DUST WILL WAIT

The smell of fresh cut Fir.  Bing Crosby’s crooning on the turntable – probably his White Christmas LP special.  At church, the story of baby Jesus retold. This is the nostalgia of Christmas past.    I spent hours at the kitchen table turning the pages of the Sears catalogue.  Toys were circled with color crayon. The little frilly dresses were check marked and the page numbers memorized. It was an optimistic game, mom appreciated the quiet, and I never stopped dreaming… even though I knew that my small presents would never resemble anything close to these opulent choices. The week of the “big day” I would tag along behind my dad as he searched our twenty-seven acres for a suitable evergreen to grace our modest home.  Daddy was reluctant.  It was a waste of potential firewood or fencing.  To him Christmas was a nonsense holiday.  Even in the 1950’s there was commercialism and unreasonable expectations…not that any of my siblings hoped...

I don't remember how old our middle daughter was when she learned a Dutch song from an elementary school teacher at Christmas time. We didn't know what the words meant, but we enjoyed listening to her sing the verse as she skipped around the house that year. We sang many of the familiar holiday tunes in the car as we drove over the mountains that Christmas Eve to celebrate with family at my brother's house in Gig Harbor. We stopped to have lunch at a little restaurant when the road made us hungry and weary.  In passing, I noticed that the pretty young woman who took our dinner requests had an unusual accent.  However, we were distracted by our young daughters and entertaining them while we waited for our meal and hadn't chatted with her. It wasn't too long before the little song was forming once again on the lips of our little singer.  She sang it out clear and sweet: Sinterklaas, kapoentje Gooi wat in mijn schoentje, Breng wat in mijn laarsje, Dank je ...

Leavenworth Washington is a small village that has “reinvented” itself as the place to visit to get into the spirit of the season.  I was enchanted by this magnificent Percheron, Jackson, that took Santa on a tour and was also available for tourist’s rental as well. One hundred years ago there were lots of horses and wagons still carrying the majority of people on their journeys to and from town, as well as handling the freight and agricultural demands. My mama told me about riding to school on a buckboard behind a horse called Old Nell.  Grandma would take rocks heated on the old wood stove and place them in rags around mama and her siblings feet to keep them warm. Her other memories of the ride include a loud and effusive burst of gas escaping from the old mare every couple of clip clops.  Mama said that one day on the way to school she herself was guilty of a small aromatic ester.  Even in her early 70s my mama would blush when s...

Christmas Eve Morning we find ourselves once more in Portland, Oregon at our youngest daughter's house where I am using her strange little lap top.  The keyboard is made for miniature fingers and some of the buttons can do strange and improbable tasks.  If only one could make me 36 once more. I slept (not) to the stereo qualitity of two snoring men.  It is a small apartment and the things that happen in the apartment upstairs are no secret either.  Even Curlymop, the 5 year old granddaughter, was awake until 11 p.m. as the result of sipping someone's Thai Tea.  That could have been part of my wakeful problem, too.  I actually blamed it on the salad;  I crashed and burned on a whole chili that I misidentified as a dark peanut. When I did nod away, I dreamed that I didn't get any Christmas Cards.  That has been on my mind because I didn't send any this year, or for several years past.  It has to be very much like blogging.  If yo...

Our Christmas present this year.  A new driveway and sidewalk. Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays - whatever you celebrate. Blessings -- may they fall and surround each of you with love and joy. P a m e l a

Mamalang is today's Fun Monday hostess and is curious about our favorite Christmas Carols. Do any of you know The Wexford Carol ? It is one of my three favorites and I came upon it by accident when I was looking at You Tube selections. It is the first full song on the embedded video. The setting is the Julie Andrews 1987 Christmas Special . She would be my first choice to perform it for you, too! Now I really hit the Jackpot when I found this. The next song is the late John Denver singing What Child is This (tune Greensleeves.) Another favorite song from another favorite singer. This post is like one of the Ginsu Knife commercials, because, WAIT! There Is MORE! For only a few minutes longer you get to hear Placido Domingo performing Ave Maria ! It doesn't get much better than this. Had she asked for Christmas songs ...well, I love White Christmas (Bing Crosby), Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire (Nat King Cole), and It's a Holly Jolly Christmas (Burl Ives.) Oh...

Allow me to introduce Little Girl. She belongs to our daughter Amanda , who, along with all the others who lived in their apartment complex, received eviction notices for Christmas. You can read about it here . She and her family raced the clock to find an available apartment - and moved in just five days before Christmas. But - NO ROOM IN THE INN for pets at the new apartment. Strictly forbidden by the management. So, she adopted her two cats out; Baby went to Karmyn's house , and Little Girl arrived here late last night. Amanda hopes the cat move is temporary and that she will be able to reclaim her family sometime in the future. Meanwhile, Little Girl has only wandered out of her hiding place to use the cat box and Meow very loudly. I'm going to move Little Girl into my bedroom tonight and lock The Contessa in the family room. Our Contessa is spittin' and fluff-tailed over the new arrival.

DON'T FORGET TO CLICK HERE TO COMMENT!! Kelly, Passing the Torch, is one of my very first blogging friends. Last year, her company, Empowering Youth, Inc , sponsored a successful effort, Linking for Dollars , and raised $500 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital She's going to do it again! You can help. Empowering Youth will pay one dollar to St. Jude, just for posting this announcement. Want something easier? She will accept your comments until Christmas Day, up to a maximum donation of $500 — one dollar per comment . Details are here . Kelly says: Our hope is that during the season of giving, you’ll inspire others to give as well - either from their own wallets, or by linking to us so we reach our $500 goal. How many dollars will you inspire? Please spread the word! It doesn't get any better than thi s! Thanks Kelly, for letting us be a part of your Christmas giving.

1st hint: It is catch and release 2nd hint: This is something Susan in VA would hold with fear and trepidation Barngoddess guessed it. It's to catch spiders. But I have no plans to release those poor little house spiders outside into the freezing weather. That would be torture. The Spiderman super hero hubby will no longer be required to catch those 8-legged monsters. The hubby and I agreed not to share gifts for Christmas because we gave each other repairs on the garage door, the dryer, the water heater, and now my lovely hole in the head. (No. Insurance will be very careful what costs it covers on anything associated with aesthetics and extracted teeth. ) On Christmas Eve I opened this weird gift from the hubby. Do you know what it is? I laughed and inquired, "What the hey?" Finally I found a very small printed set of instructions. It is the hubby's way of saying he resigns his position and assigns his super powers over to me. I will be working on a name that will ...

This is The Christmas Tag of Joy from Marnie . She didn't provide a cheat sheet so I guess I will have to provide my own answers. I am under the microscope. Wiggling. (1) Hot Chocolate or Egg Nog? I'm not choosy. Whichever one you're pouring. (2) Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? I'm not sure. For years I've thought about hanging a "sold" tag around my neck and just lying around to find out if he wraps me. (3) Colored Lights on tree/house or white? On our tree Christmas Past, we have multi-colors. I've seen the total white effect and it is pretty, too. (4) Do you hang mistletoe? I have.. I didn't this year. That is because Vicki couldn't carry a shotgun and a ladder both. (5) When you do put up your decorations? I don't like to put up Christmas decorations. That means I have to take them down. Can I leave them up all year? That would solve two problems: taking them down this year and putting th...

Tuesday night dinner is often a brief encounter with the hubby at ARBYS. Usually he is heading home from a class he is teaching and I am on my way to Watercolor. Schools out, but Arby's still in. Tonight, as we sat and chatted over French Dip and Santa Fe Salad, I told the hubby that Karmyn had posted the story today about our 'Jammin' finding Santa Claus in July at a local Chinese Restaurant. His reminiscing smile beamed across the table but his words were interrupted by a 3 year old rocket that launched from the booth next to us and flew passed us at the speed of..... well... the speed of a 3-year old. Off he ran, around the condiment kiosk and directly to another booth where sat an elderly man with frosty white hair and beard. Beside the old gent sat a smiling lady in a odd knit cap and a kind face. The little guy spread his legs in a bold stance with his hands clasped behind his back. He looked directly into the eyes of the old white haired man, and with a...

My brother Mike loves to dress up as Santa each year and pass out gifts to good little boys and girls. He practices the HO HO HO and attempts to disguise his voice so that no one will know it is him. He's done an excellent job, too. One year when our middle daughter Jen was 4 or 5, she was beyond excited about Santa's visit. She clapped with delight and was so entranced that she couldn't even open the present that he handed her. Her eyes were glued to him as he waved goodbye, called out to his reindeer, and disappeared out the back door. It wasn't too long after that he quietly sneaked back in through a side door and rejoined the merrymaking. Our daughter, nervous from all the excitement, needed to use the "potty" and her grandma offered to take her. When they opened the bathroom door, there lie Santa's clothes in a heap on the floor. In his haste, my brother had forgotten them. Jen looked up at her grandma with eyes as big as saucers and a mouth draw...

Julie at Another Chance Ran ch is hosting the Blogging Chicks Carnival of Holiday Recipes on Sunday. Check it out - and send in your own traditional food as well. She didn't say it was open to everyone , but I should think all recipe favorites would be welcome. In the past 10 years I have started a new tradition on Christmas Eve. It has been popular not only with my own family, but friends like to stop by and have a bowl, too. Give me a call and I'll save you a seat! Here is my CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP. (And I don't remember where I got it) The ingredients are highlighted for your list writing convenience. 2 lbs chicken breast 6 cups chicken broth 2 cloves garlic 1 large onion (I use Sweet Onions) 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 whole bay leaf 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled 1/4 teaspoon salt Place the chicken, bay leaf, and broth in a soup pot and set on moderately high heat. The other ingredients can all be placed in a food processor and chopped up - then add i...

My very first thought when I saw the Blogging Chick Carnival theme was to suggest it would be easier to just skip the holidays altogether. The Holiday Blues is not a favorite music group or Christmas album at my house. It’s my dancing partner for the season and has been most of my life. There are probably a few armchair therapists as well as some licensed ones who might ask that as “mature” as I am, why I haven’t pursued the “cause and effect” and worked through the problem. ‘Tis a good question and maybe I’ll get back to you. Instead let’s talk about our 2005 Holiday season. Last year the hubby and I received an E-mail early on from one of my childhood ‘forever’ friends. She and her husband had been recruited by their church to spearhead a relief team in an earthquake ravaged region of Kashmir . They had lived in Pakistan for quite a few years with their three daughters; their knowledge of the culture and language made them the perfect choice for such an endeavo...

The carnival this week is about “Holidays made Easier.” Michele, the BC Guru says "Holidays are special. They are also stressful. Trying to decide what to buy for your Uncle Bill, Aunt Kate, Grandma, the postman, favorite daycare provider . . . Wondering who is eating where with whom? Is it your time to host Christmas dinner or New Years buffet? Divulge your inexpensive gift giving ideas or real time saving tips. If we share, we will all be blessed." and relaxed this holiday. This weeks host is Eileen aka Cybercelt at CoolAdzine. My entry is in the works but I don't think it's quite the advice on holiday "trimming" that you might be looking for. I'm sure some of the others will have some ideas that will help you get your holiday chicks all in a row.

The Christmas Tree that is headed to Washington D.C. stopped for an hour visit one block from my work place. I could see it through the window. The town had a festive little greeting and local kids brought their home-made ornaments to send along the way. The mayor gave a muffled speech, but I couldn't stop and listen because I only ran over to take a picture and a peak. When I peered into the back of the semi, the tree was wrapped up pretty tight for its trip and you could only see the very tip of the evergreen branches. It might be passing through your town or city. Wave!! Capitol Christmas Tree Arriving from Was hington State A 65-foot Pacific silver fir cut from the Olympic National Forest will serve as the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree. The tree, which was cut down Wednesday, will be taken on a festive road tour in Washington State before traveling to D.C. It will be decorated with more than 3,000 ornaments made by students in Washington State, and will have 10,000 li...

Only four of us showed up for watercolor class tonight. So, we didn't start the new landscape project - we drew and painted this old man who's already headed our way.... actually, he's here. There was Christmas stuff in the stores last week.