Merry Christmas!

I'm being lazy this Christmas again, and I'm reposting my Christmas story. I'm hoping that everyone has a joyous Christmas and that the wonder and delight that I experienced as a kid will somehow come to all of you.

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When I was a kid, we would always come home to my Grandparent’s house for Christmas. My Grandparent’s house had been built in the 1850’s, and we were the newest generation coming together to celebrate our family and the holiday. All of my Aunts and Uncles and Cousins would converge to this one place so that three generations could spend the holiday together. We would usually be the last to arrive either on Christmas Eve or the day before. Back then I can remember my Grandmother, Mother and Aunts staying in the kitchen cooking and catching up. My Grandfather would always wait until all of us were there and then we would go out into the woods and pick the perfect Christmas Tree. The tree was always put in the parlor, in a corner with two windows. It would sit there all day without an ornament or tinsel until just the right moment. After one of my Grandmothers big wonderful suppers and when the kitchen was clean, my Grandmother would pull out all of the cherished decorations. Some ornaments were made in the late 1800’s and had been my great Grandparents. Once my Grandmother had all the boxes she had packed so carefully the year before opened, we children were allowed to start decorating the tree. The grown ups would sit and watch and direct our decorating. As a child this was the most magical part of Christmas for me. The smell of the tree, the familiar decorations, the tinsel and lights. The tree was never finished until Grandma gave her approval. Grandma always approved our childish endeavors to decorate and I can remember the tree always looked different in the morning. I always thought Santa came behind us to make it look better.

Well being a child we had to go to bed right after the tree was decorated. Being told Santa wouldn’t come to the house unless we were asleep was enough for us, but once my cousins and I bundled into the big bed all we could do is talk and wonder if we would get what we wish for. Grandma would come in a couple of times and do the Santa/sleep thing, but she would finally hit us with Mr. Wilson. He’s sort of the resident ghost of the house. I think I wrote about him some time back. Anyway that was enough for us. As I grew up and joined the ranks, I found out the adults would stay up late in the night wrapping presents and putting together toys.

Next morning guess who was up first? Yep we kids would be dragging all the grown ups out of bed. The door to the parlor was closed and we knew we couldn’t go in until everybody was up. Once everyone was up my oldest Aunt would always be the first to go in with all of us behind her. She was the presenter of the family. The adults would sit in chairs and the couches and we child would be on the floor around the tree. My Aunt would pick up one present at a time and call out whose it was. The anticipation sometimes was maddening, but it was so wonderful when your name was called. When it was something like a bicycle it was always saved until last and up until that time you thought Santa had forgotten about it. When just at the last it would be rolled in. When all the presents were opened my Grandmother, Mother and Aunts would start a big breakfast for all. We kids had no interest in eating at all, but the adults would get us away from whichever toy we were playing with and to the table. My Grandmother was such a wonderful cook that I think back and look at all the great meals I just wolfed down, but at that time it was THE TOYS!!!!

Every family creates their own traditions and every grown up remember those wonderful times of being young and the wonder and surprise. We still celebrate holidays at the old farmhouse, although no one lives there anymore. My Grandparents traditions run firmly in us and now my sister is the presenter of the family. We are now the adults staying up late into the night and the next morning sitting in the chairs and couches. I watch the newest generation and see the wonder and surprise in their young faces, and I remember.

This old house has seen my family through many good and bad times. I wished I knew more about the day to day lives of my ancestors, but I don’t. I do know that since the beginning, that one room, the parlor has celebrated Christmas and family for about 153 years. I hope that the future generations of our family will come there to celebrate and enjoy each other. It makes me feel good to know that past, present and future generations have and will enjoy Christmas in that house.

I hope everyone's holidays are the best this year!

Take care,

FM

X-mas Decorating

Everybody is getting ready for X-mas. My sil is in the living room putting up the X-mas tree and decorating right now. Since it will be her kids and grandkids that will fill up the house during X-mas, she likes to have the whole house done and decorated before they get here. I on the other hand remember when I was small and my grandmother would wait until all the children and grandchildren were there and we would all together do the decorating. I much more prefer the waiting until everyone is here mode.

I was telling a friend today about how much family traditions means to me. Anyone who has read my blog for awhile knows I preach traditions all the time. I was looking through some stuff of mine the other day and I came across my X-mas tree.

I have lived a fair amount of time on my own. So instead of buying a real or fake tree for myself, I decided to miniaturize the X-mas tree at least. I’ve had this tree probably going on 25 years now, and whenever I’m living by myself I’ll put this tree on my mantle piece or coffee table and that will be my decorating. I figure I’ve done a number of things by doing this. One, I’ve not killed a tree. Two, I’ve saved money by not spending a lot of decorations. And three, the most important, it’s the most damned slackerly thing I can think to do for decorating.

So all in all I’m keeping with my tradition of X-mas, and I’m keeping with my tradition of slacking. It amazes me sometimes how doing so little can feel so right some times.

Not The Best Post.

On the 10th I went and had those steroid shots for my back again. They never completely take away the back pain, but they do help for awhile. I talked to the doctor and he said a week or two just isn’t long enough for the relief I get from them and that if this last set of shots didn’t last longer that we would have to talk about some other form of treatment. At this point and time I’m almost open to any suggestion with the exception of surgery. For some reason back surgery really scares me. The last “other” treatment was when they gave me the steroid shots and microwaved some of the nerves in my back. Even when I broke the vertebrae in my back I don’t remember it hurting that bad. I basically told them that having that procedure done again was not in the picture. So I’d say from this latest round I’ve gotten about a 40-50% decrease in the pain and that’s a good thing. Now to see how long it lasts. That’s the big thing.

I had to re-schedule with my surgeon for my leg. That will be something that I’ll be happy to have done and soon. It will be so nice to be able to walk more than 20-30 yards without having to stop so my leg will stop hurting.

Well enough of the health doom and gloom. I’ve found out that this year we’re having X-mas night at the farmhouse. All sibling will have X-mas morning and brunch with their respective families, and we’ll all meet out at the farmhouse for X-mas supper. Instead of the traditional meal we’re going with off the wall stuff again. Last year I remember we had chili, stew, barbecue and all sorts of different things. Here at this house since it will be like T’giving, all of my brother’s kids, grandkids, friends and probably dogs will be here. So we’ll have the traditional food here and the off the wall things at the farmhouse. My sil keeps saying this will be our last X-mas in this house, but it doesn’t seem to effect me as it does her. You see, Fmom moved into this house about two years after I had already moved away from home. So as to two previous houses we lived in, I don’t have that familial feeling as I did from other houses we lived in.

I’m still house/trailer hunting, but still haven’t found anything in my price range or that will take pets. As I said before, it will be so nice to have a place of my own again. With the monthly bills my brother and sil pick up the electricity and I pay all the other monthly bills. It’s funny but I was noticing today that while they’re in the house they’ll have the heat up, but once they leave they turn it down. It’s almost like they forget that both George and I are still in the house. No big worry to me though. I just throw on more clothes and George has his fur. But I am looking forward to having my own place again.

Well I guess this is all I’ve got to say at the moment. It sounds all doom and gloom, and I’m thinking that might be some of the effects of the steroids. I really do hope it’s that, because I usually like to sound more upbeat and happy.

So I’ll bid all a good night and a happy w/e.

Take care

FM

The House.

As usual in this house, something has gone wrong again. Three weeks ago it was a sewer clog. Today it’s the heater isn’t working. I guess I’m looking at these things in a different light now. In about a month I have to be out of this house into another place. My siblings decided this house needs to be sold, so I’ve been calling around to some places in town. Most of the places in town are out of my price range even though they aren’t that expensive. The places that do have openings for some reason won’t take pets. As I told my siblings, I don’t care if I have to live out of the car, I’m not getting rid of George. Plus George has been a one-person dog all his life, and I know he wouldn’t put up with anyone else.

I’m sort of looking forward to moving. I’ve said before that I always enjoyed living by myself. One reason is that I don’t have to worry about finding stuff. What I mean is that since I’ve lived here, if I have a certain place that I put something so I’ll know it’s there when I want it again, it’s never there when I look for it again. For the cooks out there, I know in your kitchens you place your dishes and cookware in certain places and you know they are always there. When I first moved here I did most of the cooking. I set up the kitchen a couple of times where I knew where things were. Usually within two days the entire kitchen was re-arranged and it would take forever to find something. That applies for just about anything of mine that was outside of my room. Now most of you know how slackerly I am. I’ve always thought that when you know where everything is, you expend less energy looking for things and in my search for perfect slackdom that makes sense.

So with a new smaller place, I’ll know where everything is and since the place will be smaller I’ll even have less area I’ll have to walk to find things. Plus, Plus, Plus – If I rent a place I won’t have a lawn to worry about – WOO HOO!!!!!!!

Well I hope everyone is doing fine and staying warm.

Take care

FM