Holiday Memories

Yikes - Thanksgiving has come and gone already.  As usual the family and some friends came to my house.   I LOVE cooking the Thanksgiving meal.  It gets hectic when it's time to serve but I still love it.  This year I cooked a 22 lb turkey that I got for free by shopping at Tom Thumb.  I am so very traditional.  I make Pepperidge Farm stuffing - the same that my mother and mother-in-law used to make and probably my grandmother.  I also make mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, green beans almondine, creamed onions and dinner rolls.  My mom always makes the pumpkin pies - the same way she has been making them since I was little.  This meal has not changed in the last 20 years that I have been cooking it!  Nothing fancy for us and that's the way we all like it.  I remember going to my grandparents house in Nutley, NJ for Thanksgiving every year along with my aunt and uncle and 2 cousins.  I am an only child and those cousins were the closest I had to a brother and sister.  I can visualize sitting at their dining room table eating just about the same meal that I just described.  One of the best parts was jumping into the newly raked piles of leaves in their front yard.  And the smell of burning leaves which you were allowed to do back then. 

The day after Thanksgiving is reserved for Christmas decorating.   Years ago my husband discovered a good sized empty space behind a bathroom, behind my closet and under our stairs (poor planning by the builder).  He cut a hole in my closet and put in a door and that is where we store all our Christmas trees and decorations.  The only drawback is that most of my clothes and shoes have to be removed and put on the bed until we can return the empty boxes back into the closet.  If I want to go to bed that night all the decorating has to be done in one day.  Around New Years we do the same thing but in reverse.

I see so many beautiful trees and decor ideas in magazines and on-line.  But my house?  How could it be anything but traditional!!  I have a large tree in my formal living room (aka play room for the grandkids).  I have some beautiful ornaments but the most treasured ones are the old ones.  I have the girls' first ornaments from 1976 and 1979 and ornaments that were given to us by our parents in the early years.  When I was little my grandmother put cute little ornaments on my gift packages.  I still have them.  Until a few years ago I still put them on my tree but since they are so old recently they have stayed in their container. 

I have a slim tree in my family room.  It is mainly decdorated with unbreakable ornaments.  The kids are old enough now that they don't touch the tree but I am very attached to the ornaments and will probably use them forever.

On the mantle in the family room I have a nativity set that Rich made for his mother when we were first married.  I remember finding the instructions in either Woman's Day or Family Circle Magazine.  He cut them out and carved them by hand.  She loved that set and kept it in her living room all year round.

When Rich was little his mother took him Christmas shopping in a local drug store in Orange, NJ that was owned by a family friend.  Rich picked out these figures and asked the owner how much they cost.  He asked Rich how much he had and was told 5 cents.  He said that was exactly what they cost and Rich purchased them for his mom.  I know, it sounds like a Leave It To Beaver story but trust me, I heard that story every year that his parents were alive!  His mom was SO proud of them and I still display them (on a high shelf!).  Notice that they spell the word Noel.

Rich's parents had a small stuffed Santa that was displayed in their living room window every year.  Unfortunately the sun came in that window and it is very faded (light orange now) but I still display it.

When I was growing up I had my favorite Aunt Betty.  She was one of my father's two sisters.  She loved to spoil me!  Two of my favorite Christmas items came from her when I was little.  The first is a large stuffed Santa.  After doing some research I discovered he was the Coco Cola Santa.   He has two left hands and is actually worth quite a bit these days.  Not that I will every part with him!  The second is a metal mechanical Santa bank.  He worked until just a few years ago.  I was very little when she gave these to me so they are over 50 years old!

When I was little I remember getting my parents up very early in the morning to open my presents.  I always got what I wanted and still believed in Santa until I was 12.  For some reason my favorite toy was a large chord organ which I enjoyed playing.  Not sure why since I have no musical talent!  After that we would go to see my Aunt Betty and Grandma O'Connor then on to my Aunt Eileen and Uncle Herm Ferber's house to see my cousins Donny and Terry.  Thanks to Facebook I have been in touch with Don whom I haven't seen in over 40 years!  After that we went to Grandma and Grampa Wills with my Aunt Marge and Uncle Ken and cousins Kathy and Kenny.  The best memory I have is the three of us in the front corner of the living room under the tree tearing open our presents in record time.  Unfortunately I don't remember exactly what most of those presents were except that Kenny always got Erector Sets.  Memory is a funny thing!

I have tried to keep traditions alive in my family.  When my girls were little I made them needlepoint stockings.  They still get filled every year.  I LOVE Christmas.  My favorite part is finding just the right presents for everyone and seeing the surprised looks on their faces every year.  I feel so blessed to still have my mom around for the holidays (91 years old).  She will spend the night with us and partake in all the festivities.  Including a prime rib dinner on Christmas Day.  She is like a little kid this time of year!

I wish happy memories and traditions for all my friends!

Remembering Birthdays

Daphne's birthday party yesterday had me looking back at all the grand kid's birthdays.  It's amazing how fast they grow and how much they change from year to year.

Lacie has grown up to be quite a little lady.  Her first 2 parties were at our house with lots of friends and family.  Lacie's 3rd birthday party was at their house in Keller.  Her fourth party was held at Emler Swim School where she learned to swim.  Jenn actually won that party by having one of their stickers on her car.  Sadly that was the last year Rich's mom Florence was alive.  The fifth party was back at our house.  By the time she was six it was time for "outside" parties with friends from school.  That year the party was held at the gymnastic school that where she had lessons.  Party 7 was at a bowling alley and the eighth was held at bounce house venue.  This year her ninth party was at the clubhouse in their neighborhood in Rhome.  Jennifer made most of the cakes shown.  Not sure where she got that talent from but she is great at it!

On October 24, 2006 Gabbie, Grant and Georgia came into our lives.  Raising triplets is no easy feat.  Coordinating birthday parties for 3 little ones is a real challenge!  Jenn has made all their cakes and  made sure that along with one big cake for the party goers, each of the little ones had their own individual cake.  They will be turning 5 next month and I understand Jenn is planning 3 separate themes and 3 separate parties.  That will require an entire blog if she can pull it off!

Daphne was born on September 25, 2009 on the same day as Cindy's birthday.  She has definitely been our little "bonus baby".  Due to difficulties she lives with Jennifer,  James and the other kids.  She had her party with that family yesterday and will have another on her actual birthday with Cindy.  Jenn made both of these cakes.

As a proud grandma I will continue to look forward to their birthday parties and taking and comparing all the pictures. 

Trip to God's Country

Last week we embarked on an 8 day road trip to Colorado.  We spent the first night in Raton, New Mexico then continued on the next day to Colorado Springs, Colorado.   On the way we stopped in to see Bishop's Castle to check on the progress since the last visit a number of years ago.  There were a lot of changes.  The castle has been build by one man (one crazy man - Google it - very interesting).  We also stopped to see the bridge over Royal Gorge.  We spent 2 nights in Colorado Springs to ease us into the altitude we would encounter in Breckenridge for the remainder of the week.  We had been to Colorado Springs before so we only repeated  a few sightseeing places.  We debated about taking the cog railway to the top of Pike's Peak but better judgement prevailed.  We had driven it once (well, I only made to partway to the top stopping at the visitor center).  After that I don't know why I even had the fleeting thought that I would be able to take the train.  Just call me "chicken".  We did go back to Garden of the Gods and Manitou Springs. 

We left Colorado Springs for a 2-1/2 hour drive to Breckenridge.  Imagine our surprise when we spotted snow still on the mountantops!  We arrived at our destination for 4 nights - Marriott Mountain Lodge - using our vacation club points.  As usual we were completely satisfied with the accommodations.  We had a living room with a sofa and an extra bed, a king size bedroom, full kitchen, dining area and 2 bathrooms.  Below are pictures of part of it.  The grounds were beautiful, including a lake and views of the ski runs.  It rained the first day on and off but we were rewarded in the morning with the brightest rainbow I have ever seen!

We packed and wore winter clothes on more than on occasion.  Quite a change from our Texas summer.  The altitude was hard to get used to and we each had one bad day.  But it didn't stop us from getting around.  Here are a few pictures of the town of Breckenridge. 

The one place I really wanted to see was the Red Rock Amphitheater in Marrison, Colorado.  It didn't dissappoint!  The pictures tell the story!

On the way back we made a short side trip through Vail.  It's definately on our radar for a future trip.  It looks a lot like a European village. 

We had a great trip but it is always good to get back home.  I guess we will stay put until our cruise early next year.  Unless we get a bug for a last-minute trip in the fall. 

Aruba - One Happy Island

On Monday, June 20 we flew to our timeshare in Aruba for a week in Paradise.  On Tuesday, Jennifer, James and Lacie joined us for the week.  But not without incident.  That morning Dallas had torrential rains which caused them to have a horrible drive to the airport then a two hour delay on the ground.  Luckily they had a long layover in Charlotte and were still able to make their connection.  We planned this trip a year ago and they were desperate to get there.  Jennifer's best friend and her 2 kids stayed with the triplets and Daphne.  They did great and yes, she is still her best friend!

Our timeshare is wonderful!  We bought it through Marriott Vacation Club 5 years ago -this is the second time we have been there.   We have the ability to use it or trade it for a choice of 2500 other places worldwide (not all Marriott).  We love the flexibility but always look forward to getting back to Aruba.  Our villa is 2 bedrooms, living room, dining room, a full size kitchen and laundry.  Here is the view from our room.  The lazy river pool is the best part.

The first day Lacie really wanted to find shells.  The northwestern side of the island is the start of the wild side of the island where she had great success in shelling. 

No day is complete without a swim in the lazy river.  There are iguanas and lizzards everywhere!  They don't hurt you and rarely dive into the pool (but we have seen them do that).  After a few days Lacie was brave enough to feed them flowers right out of her hand.

The nightly entertainment is the sunset.  Some days are better than others but always fun to watch. Although my favorite nightime entertainment is the casino at the Marriott hotel.  We got there twice and the second night Rich won $200 in a quarter slot and I won $40.  We actually came home with more money than I took to lose.  Not always the case!  My system is to decide how much I am willing to lose, divide that up into one sealed envelope for every day and when that envelope's money is gone we leave.  Works well.  I just want to have a few hours of entertainment without losing it all as soon as I walk through the door.  Penny slots are good for that!

Thursdays was hair braiding at the pool.  She still has them.



Friday we did the drive of the northern side of the island.  It is nothing but dirt roads through the desert and very people - mainly Jeep tours.  The water is very rough with no beach, just rocky cliffs.  We drive there every time we are in Aruba.  Part way through on top of a hill is a small church.  This time we got there just as the school tours arrived.  There is also an abandoned gold mine.  Of course Jenn and Lacie had to find the wild donkey and fed it an apple.

We ended up at Baby Beach, a really good snorkeling spot.  The others went snorkeling 3 or 4 times but I had to pass on the spots where it was too hard for these old knees to get to the water.  We have one underwater camera and one camera mask and they got some good pictures.  Here are a few prior to Rich color-correcting them.

Saturday we ventured to downtown Oranjestad.  There are great outdoor local vendor stalls on one side of the road and fancy expensive shops on the other.  I prefer the locals!  We ate lunch upstairs at Iguana Joe's, something else we do every time we are there. 

From there we drove to the northern end of the island again, this time going through the national park.  We were pleasantly surprised this year to find a paved road - big improvement!  There is a reastaurant, a gift shop and most important a restroom right in the middle of the desert.  Past that are some caves (I don't do caves!) and the sea.  A small windmill farm is also a new addition.  Since there are constant gale force winds on the whole island at all times I can't believe they haven't thought of that before this.

Lacie looks like she in an angel in the spotlight but it is a natural skylight in the cave.

Here are some assorted pictures in no particular order. 

The last night we ate at our favorite restaurant on the beach.  It was a great way to top off a wonder vacation. 

Tuesday we all left for the airport.  We made a stop at the butterfly farm on the way.

Of course no vacation is complete without travelling problems and this one was no different.  We came home on American originally scheduled to leave at 2:00.  Never left until after 3.  That left us 20 minutes to make our connection in Miami.  Luckily that plane had lavatory problems and were just boarding when we got to the gate.  We got home fine.  Jenn and family were supposed to leave on US Airways at 4:45.  That flight was delayed until 7:00 but no one was notified until after all other flights to the states had already left!  Of course they would not make their connection in Charlotte but they were promised a hotel voucher when they arrived.  That never happened and they had to spend the night in the airport - with a nine year old!  Luckily she was able to sleep.  They got on the flight at 7:00 am and finally made it home.  Boy were their other kids glad to see them!!

Retirement is great!  If we are not on a trip we are planning one.  Next stop - a road trip to Breckenridge Colorado later this year.  A cruise to the Bahamas next year then a return to trip to Aruba with good friends next spring are also scheduled.  That still leaves us lots of other options of timeshare time and/or points to have more trips next year.   Bon Voyage!!