And so it begins

                                                    Have a wonderful holiday, friends.

Taking a few days off and heading 'up north' 

where its expected to snow! 

Let me just say again how wonderful the holidays are 

when you're retired!

See you in 2021.

 

What a doll!

 

Dolls play a huge part of my memories of childhood Christmases.

 

While I could only find documentation of 3 Christmases,

I barely remember one in which a doll was NOT underneath the tree for me.

Madam Alexander dolls, in particular, were my favorites.

Their faces held such appeal.

Luckily, one survived and now represents all the others in absentia.

She held up better than I did, that's for sure.

Of course, I haven't spent much of life in a trunk in the basement.

Maybe that would have helped.

Too late now!

And the bad bangs that also were part of every Christmas...

lets not talk about it.

A sleigh of Santas

 Do you know that there's no agreed upon collective noun for a grouping of Santas?

 

I see no reason why it shouldn't be a 'sleigh' of Santas,

and not hearing any objections,

I'm going with it.

Santa is the focus of the week,

at least in my house.

I thought I'd share images of a smattering of the ones who live here.

 

They come in all sizes,

made from different materials 

and their expressions are all unique.

I have Santa ornaments from my childhood,

generally made from hard plastic;

but its the 'free standing' ones I've collected over the years,

the ones that have seen my boys grow up

that I love the most.

No, it's NOT in your mind;

this deer is definitely judging you -

and finding you lacking.

 

 

This "eye roll" Santa is a favorite.

I get it, you're tired of pulling the damn sled...

maybe despite his obvious age, he should be called the teenage Santa.

This year is just so different; 

I hope that however you're preparing for the holiday,

you find yourself surrounded with sounds and sights that are beloved;

especially if you can't be with those you love.

I used to think I decorated for Christmas beacuse I had children,

and now a grandson,

or because I worked in pediatrics.

I've come to realize that I decorate for myself.

 

Every Santa I put out brings back memories -

of where I was when I found him

and who I was with.

Family and friends are all around me -

their laughter echoing in my head,

even while I'm alone in the house. 

 

While I might not always be able to haul bins up from the basement

to have such an extensive collection on display,

 I'll try to commemorate the holiday with a few; 

just enough of the trappings 

that I can conjecture up the joy they bring me today.

Memories

 As you know if you've been reading this blog for any length of time,

 I've been a single parent for decades; 

which means I am now grand-parenting solo as well.

The most difficult part of that reality is that when I'm enjoying time with my grandson,

there's no one around to 'document' or capture that time.

As a result, when I die, there will be very little evidence of our time together.

 

I don't think I'm being morbid ...

with Covid and so many people my age dying -

from all sorts of ailments -

it's hard to deny that the possibility isn't closer than I'd like.

I adored my great grandmother.

She was the person who had the greatest influence on my life  -

which is remarkable since she died when I was 10.

I have ONE picture of us together;

one cherished image that evokes so many positive memories for me.

Selfishly, I want Sam to have an image with the potential 

to mean as much to him,

if his reality is that I'm important to him too.

I know I am, at this point in his life.

So, as a Christmas present to myself,

I asked a professional photographer to take pictures of us 

on a 'regular' day together...

no dressy, uncomfortable clothes,

no special activities;

just us

at Nanny's house. 

 

Yes, it's Christmas -

yes, Sammy and I love my Christmas decorations,

but, other than that, it was a normal day of me watching him for the day.

And I LOVED the result.

And, yes, we spend a
lot of time reading.

And playing with Oreo;

being a typical standard poodle, she's a love sponge.

She also follows Sam everywhere.

It was a great experience which I wholeheartedly recommend

to all my friends!

 

I used Fresh Art Photography.

Give Jodi a call; you won't be disappointed.
 

Home for the holidays

 I collect 'Christmas' all year long.

It's not unusual for me to find wonderful treasures "off season"

but, occasionally, I find one in the midst of all the Christmas 'hoopla'.

One such find this year 

was a hand carved Father Christmas with a wild goose.

There was just something about the look on his face

that I found very tender and dear.

 

 I looked forward to having him join my shelf of other carved Santas

for years to come.

 

I especially loved that it was signed by the artist.

As I usually do with a signed piece, 

I started checking 'on line' to see what I could find out about the artist.

 

Unfortunately what I found was an obituary.

 I was moved to see that the artist died on the day I found his Santa.

 It was then I knew that he was never meant to be 'mine'.

I was merely the conduit.

 

In the obituary, it noted how much he loved to spend time with his grandchildren.

Since that's MY favorite past time as well, I knew we were kindred spirits.

 

I've written to his family and asked which family member I should send the Santa to.

I have, no doubt, that Father Christmas and the Goose 

will be a treasured memento of a

beloved father, grandfather and/or great grandfather.

 

Father Christmas might have made it 3 hours south of where he was created,

but he was never meant to stay here.

 

Being 'home' for Christmas is what it's all about.

 

Scenes from a holiday cottage

 It's Christmas at the cottage.

And I couldn't be happier.

Someone asked me if I even decorated my tiny bathroom.

What a question -

of course!

I've even found time to check out an antique store or two -

masked and socially distanced, of course -

and for playgrounds and night walks with my favorite elf.

Have I mentioned how great retirement is at Christmastime?