Dear Santa...

I was going through a box of old school stuff of my kids..... 

and came across their letters to Santa back in 1989! 

Adam was in 3rd grade, and Stephanie was in Kindergarten. I'm not sure if they did these in school or if I had a sneaky plan in mind, but if you promise not to tell them..... shhh.... I was Santa!!  I apparently tried to write with flourishes and make my letters nothing like I really wrote them. I can tell it was me, but I think they were fooled!

We always left milk and cookies for Santa (do you think he ever got tired of milk and cookies and just wanted a beer and peanuts instead?!!)  Of course, Santa had to eat it all and leave crumbs and traces of milk behind!

I love it that they each drew a picture of Santa -- 

Adam's is so skinny (he always drew skinny people for some reason) 

and notice the RED mustache and NO BEARD!

and Stephanie's is just a big head....

and hmmm,  no beard either!

I really cherish these Santa letters because the next year was the year of the...

BIG  QUESTION!

Adam told me he wanted to ask me something ..... and led me into the garage.....

He leaned against the car, me against the washing machine.  I knew this would be a BIG QUESTION. (And, frankly, it wasn't the BIG QUESTION I thought it would be! LOL!)

Big intake of breath. Serious looks.

So, Mom, tell me the truth   (uh-oh)

Is Santa real??

OK, quick thinking here -- but I knew the only thing to do was to come clean. This kid was SERIOUS.

So I launched into the "Santa isn't a real person, but is the spirit of giving" talk. That he's fun for everyone to be excited about.  etc, etc.

Adam seemed to take all this in pretty well -- and agreed that he wouldn't let on to Stephanie.

And then he said.....

So I guess it's the same for the TOOTH FAIRY and the EASTER BUNNY too.....

All gone, in one fell swoop......

~ sharing on Alphabe-Thursday where we are studying the letter D



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Special Santas ~ My Favorite Things

I have lots of Santas to be displayed at Christmastime, but two are very special ones.  They both belonged to a very dear aunt and I am so glad that I have them today.

  I remember this roly-poly one on display in her home every Christmas. She painted it and I remember asking why the fur on his hat was black. She said it was so that you could see it since it was right next to his beard. I guess that satisfied me, but when Noli asked the same thing she insisted that it should be white and "of course you can tell his beard from his hat!" Can you believe it -- so many years later, she asks the same question as I did!

As you can see, he has a very round tummy! He's heavy so I guess he must eat a lot of Christmas cookies! He's made of a solid plaster -- I imagine my aunt painted him back in the 40s or 50s. She would spiff him up and repaint where necessary every few years but I have left him as he was when she gave him to me. I don't want to paint over her art!

I was thrilled when she gave him to me after I had married! She knew how precious he was to me and now he brings back lovely memories of my aunt. 

This Santa, on the other hand, has been on a diet so he's not so chubby. The same aunt painted him in the 60s or early 70s and gave him to me sometime in the 80s.  At first I wasn't so wild about him but, over the years, have grown to love him. Sometimes I put Christmas cards in his bag, but lately I've let him hold some poinsettias. Maybe this year I'll put some tiny toys in his bag instead!

He has sparkly glitter on his fur, and I love his blue eyes and cute bald head! Oh yeah, questions from Noli on the bald head too!! 

And every year, Stephanie asks when I'm going to give him to her. Well, she'll just have to wait a while longer! But I'm glad she wants him, and the roly-poly Santa too... I imagine they will be passed down to Noli some day.

These two special Santas are usually the first decorations I put out -- they each have their own special place of honor  :)

This reminds me, I'd better get crackin' on the Christmas decor -- I still have all my fall/Thanksgiving pumpkins out! Nothing like being a lazy bones in the holiday decorating department!

Any other lazy bones out there? 


~ sharing at
Vintage Bliss Tuesdays 
Vintage Inspiration Party
What's It Wednesday
Share Your Cup Thursday



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Five Year Birthday ~ Remember When

I must confess, except for one, I simply don't remember my birthday parties from when I was a kid. Oh, I'm sure I had them, especially while in elementary school, but nope, don't remember them! Not too sure about Jr. High and High School either -- perhaps nobody really had birthday parties, just hung out and went somewhere. Who knows!

Anyway, the June challenge for the Blogging Business Artisans team on Etsy is about birthdays and is being brought to us by Ayla of Eyelah. Since my fifth birthday party is the only one I remember, that's the one I'm writing about!

And, since "Fifth" just happens to start with the letter F, I am handily linking to AlphabeThursday where we are studying the letter..... you got it!..... F!!!!

In my mind's eye, I can clearly see several pictures from that fifth birthday celebration -- unfortunately, I don't have the actual photos so I can't show you.... boo  :-(

Here's what I looked like at age five....

I look like I have a little round hat on my head, but that's really the severe part -- maybe there's a little ponytail hanging down! and check out the bangs.... what were they thinking?!!

Anyway, now think of that little girl with her cheeks all puffed out and one eyebrow raised. (My "I am so mad" look) 

And why am I so mad at my birthday party, you ask....

Because Johnny (who was supposed to be my boyfriend) BLEW OUT THE CANDLES ON MY CAKE! 

Unbelievable.

I can also clearly see the picture of Elaine -- my older next-door neighbor and paper doll nemesis (she insisted on cutting them out because she said I was too little and wouldn't do a good job... HA to her!). Elaine was leaning against my swing set, wearing a dress with lots of petticoats, and looking very bored. She was, after all, much older.... by a couple of years LOL!... and certainly couldn't be seen playing little kid games.

But I bet she ate the cake with the blown-out-not-by-me candles. Harrumph.

And then there was the picture of all the prettily wrapped birthday presents and one of me with a blindfold around my head playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Bet Elaine wished she had played that rousing game!! I wonder if I might have *accidentally* pinned the tail on Johnny. Heh heh.


~ linking my fifth birthday memories on AlphabeThursday where we are studying the letter F


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A Special Quilt

I have several quilts made by two aunts -- one my mother's sister and the other my father's sister. Aunt Annie (my father's sister) made this one.... and her sister (my Aunt Florence) left it to me in her will.

The pattern is called Sunbonnet Sue

The cute girls remind me of Holly Hobby!

I love this quilt with its hand embroidery on each Sunbonnet Sue and the different dresses which I know were from fabric left from sewing.

It's all hand quilted -- not a machine stitch on it.

It's really big -- here, it's on a king-size bed and has an overlap on the sides of one full row of Sunbonnet Sue's. When my daughter graduated to a twin bed, I used the quilt even though it was pretty big!

Now I have given it to that daughter (who is now 30) and she has put it on my granddaughter's bed. It's a double size bed so the quilt fits much better and makes a wonderful bedspread. Noli knows that she must keep it nice -- no food allowed!

Before I gave it to my daughter, I took pictures of each of the squares. I just couldn't let go of that quilt, or at least the memory of it!

It's a four generation quilt! Five if you count Oliver... 

Even though I miss looking at it, I'm thrilled that Noli loves it and that it's getting some good use. I have told her about my Aunt Annie and what a sweetheart she was. How she told me stories and showed me how to catch frogs in the backyard pond.... and then we had frog legs for dinner! Yes, it tasted like chicken!

I loved to visit my Aunt Annie and Aunt Florence (sisters, sharing a home). Aunt Annie always had a lap to sit in and stories to tell. Aunt Florence was a teacher and I remember going with her to school. They could both cook up a storm and it was fun eating different food.

There were two different times that we were visiting and I had come down with mumps one time and pink eye the other. I got to stay with Aunt Annie and Aunt Florence while my parents continued their vacation -- oh the fun! Sick or not, I had a great time! I remember the little girl from across the street looking in the screen door at me.... but I couldn't play with her because she had not had the mumps. But the next door neighbor boy had had them so I could play with him. But all he wanted to play was trucks. I wished I could have played with the little girl instead!


~ sharing the Sunbonnet Sue quilt over at Miss Jenny's for Alphabe-Thursday where we are studying the letter Q.
~ sharing at Grandma's Briefs for Grand Social


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Mr. Nobody

As I was thinking of what I could write about for the letter N, "Mr. Nobody" jumped into my head! Hmmm, where on earth was Mr. Nobody?

He's in a wonderful children's poetry book -- The Golden Book of Poetry, edited by Jane Werner and illustrated by Gertrude Elliott. This was my absolute favorite book as a child! It was kept at my aunt's house -- I had various toys and books there since I stayed with her a lot when I needed to be babysat or just to visit.

"MR. NOBODY"

Anonymous

I know a funny little man,

As quite as a mouse,

Who does the mischief that is done

In everybody's house!

There's no one ever sees his face,

And yet we all agree

That every plate we break was cracked

By Mr. Nobody.

Tis he who always tears out books,

Who leaves the door ajar,

He pulls the buttons from our shirts,

And scatters pins afar;

That squeaking door will always squeak,

For prithee, don't you see,

We leave the oiling to be done

By Mr. Nobody.

The finger marks upon the door

By none of us are made;

We never leave the blinds unclosed,

To let the curtains fade.

The ink we never spill; the boots

That lying round you see

Are not our boots, --- they all belong

To Mr. Nobody.

Hmmm, wonder why that particular poem jumped into my head? I just wonder.....

The book has all kinds of poems, short and long, familiar and not so much. Poems like "Little Orphant Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley (this one scared me with its chorus!)

"Er, the Gobble-uns 'll git you

Ef you

Don't

Watch 

Out!"

and "The Walrus and the Carpenter" by Lewis Carroll,

and this one also by the infamous Anonymous:

"I'M GLAD"

I'm glad the sky is painted blue,

And the earth is painted green,

With such a lot of nice fresh air

All sandwiched in between.

It has beautiful illustrations like this from "The Road to Raffydiddle" by Margaret Plew Meigs

It told about the "fiddler with his fiddle" and all the people who came to dance. I never tired of matching up the people in the poem with the people in the picture! Do you see the fiddler?

  

I'm so glad I kept this book! Even though it's falling apart now, it will always be a part of my childhood and visits with my aunt..... and Mr. Nobody!

sharing Mr. Nobody over at Miss Jenny's for Alphabe-Thursday where we are studying the letter N

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Moose, Meese and Moosie

According to the Urban Dictionary, the plural of moose is meese and I absolutely agree!

"The real plural of moose. Many people, including the dictionary and English teachers, will attempt to tell you that "meese" is not correct. However, please consider the following: 

One goose = goose 

One moose = moose 

Two+ goose = geese 

Two+ moose = meese? 

Yes, meese is grammatically correct. Don't let them fool you.

Look at that wild flock of meese!"

(source - Wikipedia)

mom and dad meese

(source - Wikipedia)

what could be cuter than a baby moosie?

or is that mooselet  :p

When I was little, I had an imaginary friend named Moosie. Moosie went everywhere with me and I carried him by his tail. His long tail. He looked like a monkey, but his name was Moosie. I know this because I drew a picture of Moosie and Me and Moosie was definitely quite monkey-ish. 

You'll just have to believe me on this -- I had the drawing in my buffet but for the life of me I cannot now find it. Of course, if you could see inside the drawers of my buffet, you would understand why I cannot find it.

In any case, on one our trips to Colorado we decided to pick up some moose memories and start a collection of sorts.

This is my favorite. He's made of glass and is on a wooden base 

that's covered in something to make it shiny

There was information on the artist in the shop where we bought it

and it explained his process....

but of course I don't have that anymore

This is neat -- an etched granite tile

A cute moose couple

and guess who picked it out?

Yup, hubby!

Couldn't be a trip to Vail without buying a mug!

This one is big, and great for hot chocolate...

lots of space for marshmallows!

Chocolate Mousse  :)

I cross stitched him a bunch of years ago

and he hangs in my kitchen

This cutie ice skater was a gift.

He comes out at Christmas and helps decorate

Last but not least, Moosie!

He's a Gund and is actually named Moosie on his tag!

He's also Oliver's love....

I have to watch very carefully if Mr. Oliver is around lest we have something going on that we don't want to talk about in mixed company, if you get my drift.  :D

So Moosie stays where Oliver can't get him.....

sharing my meese over at Miss Jenny's for Alphabe-Thursday where we are studying the letter M

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Lobsterama and a Movie

Today, my son is 33! In fact, as I am writing this, he is officially 33! Time-wise he was born at 10:15 in the morning :)

Look at that! Still wearing a bib!!

He sneaked into this world a little early -- I had not even had my tour of the delivery room and had not one iota of what to expect! What a wonderful experience though! All grown up now and doing what he loves to do -- working in the film industry, producing indie films, going to film festivals, partnering in a historic theater. A dream life! 

When he was in the third grade, they had career day and the kids were to dress up as what they wanted to be when they grew up....

His sign says "Actor"

I think he got that pretty close!

Last night we had our family celebration dinner at Lucile's, a fabulous restaurant in Ft. Worth. They were having Lobsterama so of course we all had lobster! 

I had never eaten a fresh Live Maine Lobster before -- lobster tails but never the whole shebang sitting on my plate! Boy, was it good!

We all had to indulge in a bit of dessert! 

I got a peach cobbler, with ice cream :)

Yum yum and more yum!

The guys got Cherries Jubiliee -- flambeed  and served with

three scoops of ice cream! 

They shared and then dipped their spoons into my peach cobbler!

He said he should have worn his lobster shirt!

Then we met up with my daughter (she couldn't go to the dinner) and went to the screening of Adam's latest movie -- it's film festival time in Ft. Worth! The film is called Bob Birdnow in the short form and the official (long) title is Bob Birdnow's Remarkable Tale of Human Survival and the Transcendence of Self.

Excellent. If you get a chance to see it when it airs, do so! It's about a man who is giving a motivational speech and has a melt-down in the process. Well acted and very emotional. Basically one man speaking, but he paints such a picture that you feel you are right there with him, experiencing his life as it happens. It actually began as a play, and became a movie.

Adam produced and was also assistant director on this movie.

Star... Barry Nash

So, Happy Birthday to Adam -- I got interrupted a few times while typing this and it's now past 12 noon --- I suppose I'm out of the delivery room now and am a real Mama!!


sharing the various blues at Blue Monday (even though that lobster's red!!)
and at GRAND Social


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Sea Shells by the Sea Shore -- a BBA Challenge

Each month the Blogging Business Artisans Etsy team has a challenge project with the theme given by the team members. July's theme was my idea (blush blush) and was to create something that was vacation related -- a vacation memory, something that represents a place visited, colors or scents associated with a special place, or even something funny that happened on a vacation.

With this in mind, I decided that I would finish a sea shell cross-stitch piece that I started years ago, but had never finished (the procrastinator in me is always lurking about.....)

The fabric is really more ivory in color -- I just couldn't get the background color right!

Aren't these colors pretty? Shells always seem to have the loveliest pinks!

I have always loved shells and have quite a few gathered from various places, but I had never done much with them. So when it came time to tear down the absolutely awful very outdated wallpaper that was in the hall bath when we moved in, I opted for a beach theme and used those shells! The bathroom fixtures are kind of an aqua blue and have always reminded me of the ocean. We painted the walls a lighter version of that aqua blue and the granite tile we selected reminds me of sand. So sea shells were a natural for decoration!

Knowing that I have a fondness for shells, my daughter painted this watercolor for me! I love the soft muted colors, especially the peachy pink. I like that she painted it in a style with softened edges and just the hint of a shell, like a fading memory. That blue background is perfect on the wall too -- just a bit darker!

She also gave me this shell shadow box (the shells are not real) and it lives on top of a white wall-hung cabinet in the bathroom. 

It's really cool with three-dimensional shells

I've got to get the cross-stitch framed, but this is sort of what it will look like in a white frame. (This frame is not the right size!)  I think it will be perfect alongside the watercolor! Since this is vertical and the shell watercolor is horizontal, I'll probably do a skinny cross-stitch to fill up the space -- I already have one in mind that has shells in a row! Now, if I can just get it finished before 2020!!

Now on to the vacation memory....

When I was a child, my family always visited the grandparents every summer -- one set in Alabama and the other in Florida. We often took a side trip and one year we spent a few days at a seaside cabin, maybe on the Gulf Coast. It could have even been on a river because, as I recall, it was fresh water! Anyway, I was somewhere between 8 and 10 and my older brother was with us. 

The cabin extended over the water and my brother and I were swimming and saw a flounder! I had never seen a flounder before and my brother told me how they have two eyes on one side of their flat body and that when they turned over, the eyes migrated to whatever side was up! Since he was older and wiser than me, I believed every word! Of course, now I know that a flounder is born with eyes on either side, but that one does migrate over to the chosen side that he turns onto.... but they STAY there, they don't move around the head every time the fish turns over as my brother wanted me to believe!

 

They're not a very pretty fish but they're great to eat!! 

It was a fun time doing something I had never done before, and to top it all off, I found finger paints in a cabinet... I'd never done that before either!!

Sharing with
Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound
Blue Monday at Smiling Sally's


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