Thursday Thirteen - 137 - 13 of My Mom's Christmas Ornaments

My husband and I are roomies with my mom. We have our own apartment downstairs, but I spend part of each day with Mom upstairs on the main floor, so all of her Christmas decorations fill my Christmas with fun. Here is just a peek at her ornament collection.


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This is Mom's Christmas CD holder, otherwise known in a previous life as my Great-Grandpa Meuse's toolbox, which he made for himself.


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This figurine is known as Angela Angel, whom my sister and I named when we were kids. She used to stand in a snow scene Mom set up which we always referred to as Santa in Fairyland. Mom received this angel when she was 14 from a neighbour of her Uncle Benny's in Halifax. Mom lived in Sydney, Cape Breton at the time, and used to come down to Halifax to stay with her grandparents and aunts and uncles.


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These are the Candy Cane Kids, also given to Mom from that same neighbouring family. They were also part of the Santa in Fairyland set-up. Mom recently had them repaired by a man in Truro who does excellent ceramic repairs.


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This little angel was a gift from Mom's friends Charlotte and Yvon when she used to live in Yarmouth. I love the little lantern, which swings.


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This Santa comes from Virginia and used to belong to my mom's sister, my Aunt Sheila. Mom inherited it when Sheila passed away. My aunt was a certified Christmas freak like me. There could never be too much Christmas for her.


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This is Mom's Christmas stocking which she made from recycled material - fabric she collected from used clothing store garments.


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This is an oversized clear glass ball with silvered texture that Mom bought for herself last year at Winners. She's rather enamored with it.


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These three angels each have their own origin. The tall clear one at the back Mom found in Michigan, where we lived when I was very young and where we still have family and friends. We visit there as often as we can. The middle one Mom found here in Nova Scotia. And the little resin one in the front was actually Gram's, given to her by my step mom, Doris when Gram was in the hospital.


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These three embroidered velvet hearts were given to Mom by my husband and me a few years ago. We found them at Winners.


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Mom calls this carved stone piece The Green Women. She bought it a little over 10 years ago, on one of her trips to Ontario when my sister and I lived in Toronto. We took her for a day trip to Niagra-on-the-Lake and she found it there. She sometimes puts a candle in the centre, but at Christmas she fills the center with ball ornaments.


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This ceramic Father Christmas was made for Mom by her Yarmouth friend, Carolyn. That's a picture of Mom when she was a little girl to the right.


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This is a crystal lamp shade Mom found either at Frenchy's, Value Village or the Salvation Army - she can't remember which. She just fills it like a bowl with glass ball ornaments.


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This is a little stuffed cotton print Santa that always gets hung on a lamp cord or lampshade. And his jingle bells ring.

Adelle Laudan says Most of my decorations are from years gone by.

Toni says I *love* the toolbox CD holder and the nostalgia of it.

Journeywoman says I like the 3 women.

Wordless Wednesday - 130

Apprentice Writer says Smiles all around! She looks very cute.

Brooke says I miss dancing and watching dancing.. how lucky you are...

Julia @ Easy Eco To Go says It looks like they had a great time!

Through the Opera Glasses - 40 - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

Everyone has a favorite Christmas song. For my husband Brad, it's Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Darlene Love.


















This song is from the classic album A Christmas Gift For You, written and produced by the legendary current felon Phil Spector.

What's your favorite Christmas song?




Akelamalu says Mine's 'White Christmas'!

Carrie says Mine is O Holy Night.

Dorothy says If I had to pick just one it would be Joy to the World.

Poetry Train Monday - 131 - He Would Find Me in Testament, Virginia

Heading towards Christmas - woo hoo! 10 days till Christmas Eve!! - here's my found poem which I've reworked from a passage by Jack Kerouac.

I'm currently reading On the Road for the Dewey Reading Challenge.


















He Would Find Me in Testament, Virginia

At Christmas 1948
My aunt and I
Went down to visit my brother
In Virginia, laden with presents

I had been writing to Dean
Dean said he was coming East again
I told him if so
He would find me in Testament, Virginia
Between Christmas and New Year's

I had been spending a quiet Christmas
In the country

A mud-spattered '49 Hudson
Drew up in front of the house
A weary young fellow
Muscular and ragged in a T-shirt
Came to the porch
Rang the bell
I opened the door

It was Dean
Dean had come

All the way from San Francisco
To my brother Rocco's door
"But how did you get here so fast?"
"Ah, man, that Hudson goes!"

In the car
I could see two figures sleeping

Big tall Ed Dunkel
Dean's sweet first wife, Mary Lou

Dunkel worked on the railroad
He and Dean had just been laid off

Mary Lou was the only girl
Dean had ever loved
He'd been living with Camille
Became the father
Of a cute little girl
Amy

Saw a '49 Hudson for sale
Rushed to the bank
Dean calmed Camille's fears
Said, "Sal has pleaded and begged with me
Begged me to come and get him
It is absolutely necessary
But we won't go into
All these explanations"

He zoomed into Denver
Ran and found Mary Lou

They had ten hours of wild lovemaking
I had been spending a quiet Christmas
In the country

Dean pleaded and begged
At her knees
For the joy of her being

She understood Dean
She stroked his hair
She knew he was mad

They arrived at my brother's door
They had not eaten for thirty hours
Except for candy
And cheese crackers

My sister-in-law made a spread
The three battered travellers
Sat down to eat
Southerners
Don't like madness
Not Dean's kind

I saw the Christmas tree
The presents

The madness of Dean
Had bloomed into a
Weird flower

He and I and Mary Lou and Dunkel
Left the house
For a brief spin-the-Hudson
For the first time we were alone
Could talk about anything we wanted

He bought cigarettes
He seemed to be doing everything
At the same time
A shaking of the head
Up and down, sideways
Jerky, vigorous hands
Quick walking, sitting, crossing the legs
Uncrossing, getting up
Rubbing the hands, hitching his pants
Looking up, sudden slitting of the eyes
To see everywhere

And all the time
He was grabbing me
Grabbing me by the ribs
And talking, talking

It was very cold in Testament
They'd had an unseasonable snow

I had listened to the talk
Of the relatives
My aunt and I
Had visited my brother
Laden with presents

Dean stood
In the long bleak main street
That runs along the railroad
Clad in nothing
But a T-shirt and low-hanging pants
The belt unbuckled

His laugh was maniacal
It started low
And ended high

We got in the car
And flew back
To my brother's house

I had been spending a quiet Christmas
In the country
I realized
When we got back into the house
When I saw the Christmas tree
When I saw the presents
When I smelled the roasting turkey
When I listened to the talk of the relatives

Now the bug was on me again
And the bug's name was Dean Moriarty

And I was off on another spurt
Around the road

- Jack Kerouac, 1955

For more poetry, Ride the Poetry Train!

Thomma Lyn Grindstaff says So evocative. I'm going to have to read On the Road. I think I'd love it.

Akelamalu says I so enjoyed that Julia, thankyou. x

Thursday Thirteen - 136 - 13 of My Favorite Christmas Tree Ornaments

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This is one of the first Christmas ornaments I ever bought for myself. I love her as much today as the first time she took my breath away when I saw her in the store over at Halifax Shopping Center.


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You will see a rather strong ballet theme among my Christmas ornaments. This Sugar Plum Fairy was another of the first ornaments I bought for myself when I worked my first job at the Halifax Simpson's in the Candy and Pastry department. I found her over at the competition, Eaton's. Simpson's and Eaton's are now things of the past, but those memories come along with this ballerina when she comes out of her wrapping.


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These two ornaments come from Toronto, where I lived in my 20's and midway into my 30's. I bought the Christmas Fairy with gift money from my brother-in-law, Jeff, and I bought the Mouse King at the Ballet Boutique at the theatre where I used to work, during one of the runs of The Nutcracker.


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This is one of a motherlode of gorgeous ornaments my husband Brad spoiled me with, several Christmases ago. He got them at Crabtree & Evelyn, which used to be a favorite store to gaze into, though I was incredibly allergic to the fragrance in the stores themselves.


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This is a stuffed Snowman from Raymond Briggs' animated special which my sister gave me. We love The Snowman.

Beside him is another little snowman from my Best Friend Forever, Connie.


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This is one of a trio of glass birds given to me when I worked as a live-in nanny in Toronto for the woman who became my dear friend Donna.


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This Waltz of the Flowers ballerina was sent to me by my mother-in-law in a Toronto-to-Halifax Christmas postal delivery.


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This is one of my early, just-moved-to-Toronto ornaments. Pierrots and Harlequins are big faves of mine, and I need a Harlequin for Act One from The Nutcracker, when Drosselmeyer winds up his toys for the children's party.

He's hanging out with a Christmas version of Raggedy Anne and Andy, which is actually a keychain I bought at the dollar store where I worked when we lived in Yarmouth for a few years. And beside him is the Charlie-in-the-Box from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Brad and I stumbled onto a whole set of these collectible figures at Winners here in Halifax a few years ago, for a totally crazy price.


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This is a clear Ice ballerina from the Snow Kingdom whom Clara meets following the battle between the Nutcracker Prince and the Mouse King. Mom gave her to me for my first Yarmouth Christmas, when I was missing my job at the ballet so terribly. Beside her is a silver ballerina I bought a few years ago to be another dancer from the Snow Kingdom.


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This golden ballerina was part of a set along with the silver dancer. She's from the Sugar Plum Fairy's kingdom. The Snowflake Fairy is from the Snow Kingdom part of The Nutcracker - I found her at Park Lane in Halifax a few years ago. As you can see, my Christmas is completely entwined with The Nutcracker.


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I have a few Nutcracker decorations which aren't for the tree. I bought this wooden Nutcracker early on, before my move to Toronto. But of course he came there with me. The egg was an anniversary present to me from Brad, and stands in for the beautiful Faberge egg set in The National Ballet of Canada's version which can be seen at the Four Seasons Centre in Toronto. The Gingerbread Lady is part of a salt & pepper shaker set my mother-in-law was selling at an outdoor antiques market in Ontario. When I obviously loved it, she took it off the table and gave it to me.


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Of course, for me Christmas is also tied to the Rankin Bass TV specials from my childhood, like Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, featuring Fred Astaire's Special Delivery man.


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I also love blown glass ornaments like this seahorse I bought last year at Historic Properties in Halifax.

Every year I buy myself a new ornament - sometimes two. Not everything makes it onto the tree because I'd need half a dozen trees for every ornament to make it onto a branch. That might be in my future. Who knows?

My mom's tree is up and decorated upstairs, and Brad and I will get our tree up this weekend. All of these shots were taken of last year's tree. Is yours up? And what is your own favorite ornament?

Janet says Love the bird! I have a few of those, too :-)

Journeywoman says Love the Fred Astaire one.

Adelle Laudan says When I suggested we get a set of matching decorations next year, my girls gasped in horror lol

Wordless Wednesday - 129

Brooke says We don't have lights up yet and with all the rain (and freezing slush snow) I doubt we will put any up.

Dawn says It looks like you guys are getting ready for the holidays! I hope that it was a lot of fun.

Jayaycee says My sisters and I live so far apart. You're lucky to have this memory together!

Through the Opera Glasses - 39 - White Christmas

My sister has been staying with us for the past week while she's had her allergy needle from the clinic in Fall River. This is not your ordinary needle or allergy treatment. The allergy shots require her to keep everything in her environment as allergen-free as possible, which used to mean a week spent by herself at her house, eating a very restricted diet, not reading newspapers or magazines, no contact with animals, etc., etc.

But she sold her house since her last needle, and needed a place to crash during this treatment, so home again, home again, jiggety jig she came. It's been fun. Especially tonight, when we watched White Christmas with Mom in front of the newly-put-up Christmas tree.













This is one of those films I'd never seen until tonight.

Believe it.

It was so much fun to watch it with my mom and sister. We love musicals. We loved the costumes by Edith Head, loved the music by Irving Berlin, loved the dancing, loved Danny Kaye (a big favorite of my mom) and loved Bing's lovely voice.













Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen

If you haven't seen it before, why not take a breather from all the hubbub and watch this 1954 Hollywood musical? And if you've enjoyed it before, here's a reminder to rent it or pull it off your DVD shelf and settle in.





Ailurophile says Great to see that you enjoyed the film. Hoping also that your sister's allergy remains subsided.

Akelamalu says That's one of my all time favourite films!

Wylie Kinson says I used to watch it with my mom every year.