Christmas favorites part two

Christmas Eve morning and all through the house...

everyone is ready for Santa to arrive.

I believe.

I painted a whole bundle of these girls one year for gifts. I wish I had done more.
The morning sun was just coming up. I love this crazy chenille angel.
Leah made this cute ceramic snowman in her art class in middle school.
Stack a few old funnels and you get a great tree. We have a love for old rusty things.
And I love vintage glass ornaments.
Snowman angel!
Always on a window sill. Always happy.
And the stockings have been hung by the fireplace with care.
Merry Christmas to all!

I will be taking a little break from my blog to enjoy the rest of the season with my family. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and the start of a great new year!

a few Christmas favorites part one

It looks like Christmas around here. Last year, we had our tree up and decorated, but everything else was packed away. So, this year I unpacked things that were still wrapped and packed from the move. It was a little emotional unwrapping a certain little piece of Christmas that was always in the same spot in our old house. As I opened the paper, I would immediately see the place it always graced in our old house and could literally feel and hear the sounds of all our past Christmases. It was time to find a new way to display some of our favorite decorations.

Here are a few old favorites paired together for the first time.

This little nativity set was given to us when the kids were very small. It is a classic Avon Nativity. It was always on the little chest in front of our couch and it is there now too. It was always fun to see a new arrangement of these little figures each day after the kids had played with them. Sometimes, I would find the little sheep or Mary in the most unusual places around the house. Lots of little hands have loved this little Nativity.
Our tree is a very eclectic mix of ornaments. Most of them are handmade. Some by my sisters and Mom. Some by my kids and some by friends. And some by me.I love the mix of ornaments that we hang every year. There are many with a lot of memories. The little heart below is stitched with "Our first Christmas" under the house. It was our first ornament in our first home after we were married.
There are some that are stitched and glued and some that are molded and carved. We have some that have been given to us from my mother-in-law, that were once on their family tree.
We have some with photos. That little baby in the top left corner is me!
I think I love these the most.
Perfectly cute.
Made with love for Momma.
Glue, glitter, popsicle sticks, yarn and ribbon all combined with cute faces in school pictures. All proudly made and wrapped and hidden under the tree for me to open on Christmas morning. They were always my favorite little presents to open.
Teachers... these are the very best gifts you can ever have your students create.

three hundred and sixty five days

The Token

Can it be, this day has come.

My life has been packed above eighteen wheels.

We pull away from that life,

Only to pull into a new one.

We leave before those eighteen wheels,

Driving far away from that place I love.

It's shrinking, almost pocket sized,

Like a token to place in my heart forever.

I look back, only thinking of what's ahead.

We reach the mountains.

Winding through the pass,

Those thoughts seem to disappear.

Melting away with the snow.

I am the youngest, sitting in the back seat,

To experience life slightly after the others.

We approach desert country.

All of the snow has melted.

All my thoughts have dried up with my tears.

The desert was silent, haunting almost.

Red sand, contrasting blue skies.

The clouds billowed like thought bubbles,

Only empty.

There was nothing to say.

I was at peace,

The in-between.

We approach our destination,

The peace went away.

My thoughts were captured again,

Like light domes the city lights.

Where am I?

I can't tell you through any reference but a map.

You can argue though,

Once the eighteen wheeler arrives with all our belongings,

I can call it home.

But home comes with time,

And life comes with journey.

~ Leah

It has been one year ago today that we moved. As each of us say...in a way it doesn't seem like a year has past and yet it seems like a lot longer. Leah wrote this poem shortly after we moved for an assignment in her new english class. Just recently she read it at a poetry reading contest. I believe, sharing it here is a good way to mark our one year journey.

parade lights and snow

The memories of bundling the kids up in snow suits, boots, gloves, hats, and scarves to join all the other freezing people along the streets for the annual Colorado Christmas parade is still fresh in my mind. No bundling this year for the parade. We were able to wear light jackets...Arizona weather that day reached 80 degrees!
We went to the little town of Carefree and joined oodles of people lining the plaza streets. The sundial and soaring saguaro cactus made a great backdrop, along with the swaying beam of light and mountains in the background.
As we waited for the parade to begin and make its way towards us, we were entertained by some rather lively boys and their light saber swords. By the time the parade started, it was apparent that the toy vendor had sold plenty of her light-up goodies.
Rachel was entertained by the lights of the plaza and my camera. She did a great job taking almost all of these photos!
I was rather intrigued by this float. A large wire tree was constructed and then empty water bottles, with the labels removed, were hung with lights. The top was made from more bottles clustered in a star shape. As the float rambled by, the movement of the trailer kept the bottles dancing and shimmering, with their little twinkle lights reflecting off the shiny plastic. I thought this was such a fun idea using recycled material.
And then came this giant paper-mache Santa head. It glided towards us out of the darkness with it lighted hat.
It was pretty cool in kind of a creepy sort of way.
There were many floats all lit up with some elaborate decorated shapes. We were pretty impressed with the detail and amount of lights that some of the floats had on them. And some of the people on the floats were pretty colorful and enthusiastic.
Like this lady. She had green lighted tendrils in her hair. We have seen these light-up hair do's a few times lately. They must be all the rage.
And what an easy, clever addition to a light filled parade. Just load a couple of hot-air balloon baskets into the back of a pick-up and fire 'em up around every corner. It was a crowd pleaser for sure.
We got a kick out of this spastic reindeer "pulling" this Santa sleigh. Every time the guy driving would accelerate, the little reindeer would bobble all around. Of course, we all knew this wasn't the real Santa and his reindeer...
Because, this guy was just around the corner. Even though he held is arms up just like the fake one and had been cutting down on the cookies this past year, we waved back and shouted "Merry Christmas" right back to him.
After the parade we wandered over to where we heard there was snow. Even though it had been 80 that day, there was a big snow slide for the kids to sled down on saucers.
Wheeee! Please notice the kids and parents on the south side of the slide are wearing just their shirts and jeans, whereas those on the north side are wearing coats, hats and gloves. We all know it is colder the farther north you get and the spirit of participation is what makes it all worthwhile!
And...if you live in Arizona...
...you can have a snow slide at your next party. But if you are a little boy, say about 8, just don't try to make a snowball and throw it at the people sledding by. You will get scolded.

Wheeee!

on friendship and extended love

Our old boy Jackson

When we left Colorado, we left pieces of us behind. So many pieces. Bits and pieces.

A year ago we spent our last Thanksgiving in our old blue house, giving thanks to all the times we spent around our dining room table with my sister, brother-in-law and their two kids. Many holiday and un-holiday meals and great times were shared with their family and ours, watching our kids grow up. We knew that would be the last one, after twenty years, in that house. As they packed their car to leave and drive back across the mountain to their house, they lovingly packed two pieces of us with them. One a bit big, one a bit small, but the two bound together by their similar gold hair and a friendship that bridged the canine and feline world.

Our dog Jackson and our cat Fidgit. Both, not ever favorable to the Colorado heat and accustomed to the snowy winters, found themselves being adopted by this extension of our family. We feared the wild animals that we had been warned against (true enough)and the heat of the long summer, might be too much for these guys. So sadly, as I busied myself with the dishes, having said my tearful goodbye earlier, they were loaded into the back of a new car, headed out on their own journey.

We have never stopped thinking of them. We knew that the excitement and tender love from my niece and nephew given to these two furry boys would be large. What we didn't know is that it would extend to their close knit neighborhood. We got to skype over the computer a few times and see their silly faces. We heard the stories of Fidgit terrorizing the neighborhood. Country cat moves to the city suburbs! Most of the time, for me, I found it too painful to even ask about them, feeling a sense of abandonment on our part.

This past tuesday, we learned that Jackson had become very sick over the weekend. A visit to the vet found that he had cancer. A lymphoma that was spreading rapidly. By thursday he had gotten much worse. Our son, who is at college in a neighboring town, went to visit him thursday night. And then yesterday he died. Peacefully. My sister and her husband by his side. Saying goodbye to that big old dog who they welcomed into their home, to love that last year of his life was hard. And for us, so many miles away.

We will be ever grateful to Dave, Janet, Aida and Braden, for taking the two bits of our Colorado life and petting them, chasing them, walking them, feeding them and most of all loving them for us. We will be ever grateful to Jackson for his big 'ole friendly self and all the fun memories we have of him. And to Fidgit, who we know is now lonely for his sidekick, snack provider, cuddle pal and all around best friend...you're okay buddy. You still have two families that love you.

We have and we will still miss you Jackson.

Be happy in pet heaven with Racer, Casey and Reggie.

rdmypl8

As I was sitting in traffic the other night, on my way to an away basketball game, I was thinking about all the times I drove through snow storms to do the very same thing. Sometimes, my knuckles were as white as the snow, as I found myself gripping the steering wheel with every curve of the road through the mountain passes. On the particular night in the above photo, I eventually discovered that an accident had stopped the traffic while they were clearing it away. As I was inching along, I had plenty of time to reflect on how my drive to such sporting events is so different.

I no longer have to hope all day that the snowfall will wait until we got home and were safely tucked into our warm beds, before unleashing it's winter flurry. But, I do have to calculate a whole lot of extra time on to the drive to account for lots and lots of traffic.

I no longer have to worry about having a big coat in the car and extra water bottles, granola bars and warm gloves, in case I got stranded somewhere along the road. But, I do need to have my GPS device in case I get lost.

I no longer have to worry about an avalanche sliding down the mountain seconds before my car came around the curve in the road, keeping us stranded in Silverton for 4 hours. (true story). But, I do need to worry about remembering to turn on 101 east rather than west to find my way home.

I no longer have to worry about hitting a deer while going 15 miles per hour on a very snowy, icy mountain road. (That was the time that I was so nervous about my son riding home on a bus... in a blizzard, that I got a last minute babysitter for the girls and drove to the town he was in to watch the game and then bring him home myself.( Note:the bus did not hit a deer.) But, I do have to worry about the drivers that change lanes whether they look to see if my car is in their way or not.

I no longer have to worry about the snow and ice building up on the windshield wipers making it impossible for them to even work. But, I do have to sometimes wonder if a scorpion is in the car with me and will it start crawling up my leg while I'm sitting in traffic. Do rattlesnakes ever find their way into cars?

And one other thing about driving in all this traffic. I have plenty of time to figure out what all these personalized license plates say.(I believe some people call them vanity plates). There are a bunch around here. I'm not sure that I have ever seen so many cars with so many interesting things on their license plates. Solving the puzzle is sometimes easy but once in a while a little tricky. It's like playing Wheel of Fortune behind the wheel of my car. Wheel on wheels.

Except I just can't buy any vowels.

Note: did you figure out my vanity title? If I were to get a personalized plate maybe that is what I would put on it. Although, it has probably been used before.

two palm trees

I have mentioned before that these two palm trees were quickly becoming the most photographed spot in the yard. They are pretty grand and the sky behind them usually puts on a pretty nice display, especially at sundown. So, it goes without saying, since I love a good sunset, and I'm pretty much a creature of habit, I have a little collection of photos starring these two palms and the sky behind them. These were all taken on different days or evenings throughout the time that we have been here.

Just an average blue sky day.

And an average sunset.
A sunset with a little more drama.
Bring on the drums and the string section.
Now add the woodwinds... the concert is about to begin. This is an unedited photograph. We were having a huge rainstorm and I looked out the window because there was an interesting 'glow' in the sky. As I waited for a few minutes the glow turned to an amazing shock of gold. The rest of the sky behind me was very dark and erie looking.
Sometimes, the reflections are better than the actual sky itself.
I've tried many times to get the little sun spot that the lens of the camera produces at just the right angle.
Just perfect clouds and the trunk of another palm tree in the right hand foreground.
And the night sky with just the last hint of another day done.
I'm sure this spot will continue to be a favorite photo location. Right now, the owls are back and one of them is usually perched up in the top of one of these trees. Every night and sometimes the early morning they are up there "whooing" away.

Who doesn't love a good sunset?

it's december and you know what that means

It's time for lemons!

No more icicles hanging from the roof eaves when there are lemons hanging off tree branches. Who woulda thunk? Winter is the time for citrus in Arizona! I'm not sure that I will ever be able to turn my thinking around to the fact that winter is not about snow, frozen ground and steam coming off your breath when you walk outside. Although, it is colder now. The mornings have been in the 30's the last couple of days and the furnace is running with great gusto. But, when you look outside, it just doesn't seem like the right chapter in the book. Or, in this case, the right month on the calendar. It still reaches the high 50's in the afternoon and the sun feels pretty warm. I'm amused by all the parkas, stocking caps and even mittens that I have seen people wearing in the afternoons while running errands. I know they have to be a tiny bit uncomfortable while driving in their car with the sun shining through the windows. Those are the people with Arizona license plates. It's the people in the Minnesota and Illinois cars that tell the real story. They are still wearing shorts.

We also have a lime tree that was looking pretty abundant about the time that we hired the crew to do all the trimming out in front. They did a great job clearing out old growth, some dead cactus and making things look a little less cluttered. They even de-cluttered the lime tree.

This is one of the only limes that was left on the branches. Can you say tequila!

And here is one of two kumquats on a little kumquat tree. Yes, kumquats do grow on kumquat trees. I'm smart like that.

These I think are tangerines. I can't remember what the previous owner said they were. But that looks to be true.
So, maybe a new tradition will start this year for Christmas. Lemon Meringue pie perhaps?

There is one thing for sure. Holiday music is tops on the favorites list around these parts. Every morning we wake to a little Christmas tune on the radio. Every radio station that I flip to in the car seems to play at least on holiday song here or there. I found one station that "is your Christmas music station for the holidays" and has been playing continuous Christmas music since halloween. I guess when you don't have an outdoor visual reminder saying "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow"... then a good constant auditory sensation is what you need to remind you that "Santa Claus is coming to town". Don't get me wrong, I actually love holiday music and have quite a C.D. collection which my family looks forward to each year while decorating the tree.(!) But, I'm thinking this much, this early, just might sour the whole situation.

Like the lady at Whole Foods said to me the other day as she handed me my little container of salad... smiled and said..."Im going to be real tired of that music in about another week."

Maybe it is time for a tall glass of lemonade!