The Memory Tree

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Happy Holidays!

The festive greetings seem louder this year and maybe they even mean more.

Bill and I once again managed to put the tree up and got it covered with memories. I am always so proud that each ornament carries its own story going back so many years.

There are the Hungarian hearts sold to me by a woman on a street in Budapest. It was my first trip to Hungary to see where my father was born.

And look at the smallest decorated glass globes! They are what are left of the very first ornaments we purchased 62 years ago when newly wed. We were so young and just starting our lives as adults.

I love the doggy memories too. One real ostrich egg has our pair of Golden Retrievers painted on, and another is of my brother’s Dalmation. The horses are there too – Martini and Lucy.

The list goes on and the finally the fully dressed tree each year is actually a biography of a family.

That is what Christmas is all about – Past, Present, and Future. So, I am wishing you, my family and friends, good health and happiness and more of the same and lots of great memories in days to come.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY NEW YEAR! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Advertisement

Read Full Post »

A Christmas Centerpiece

It was 2006 and my friend Janet was visiting Bill and me here in Virginia.  We were Christmas shopping at a lovely country store when she came upon some sparkly pomegranates and bought them all.

Always attempting to follow Janet’s lead for innovative decorating ideas, I wanted those poms too.  I had no idea what to do with them but  I was moaning and groaning anyway because the shop was all sold out.  “Oh well,” I thought, “I wonder what she will do with them as she decorates her home for the holidays.”

Much to my amazement, Janet gave me the ornaments and then went even further.  Using the poms, she devised a lovely centerpiece for my holiday table.  It is Christmas 2014 and I am still beyond grateful.

Of course I realize “it is more blessed to give than to receive,” but in some cases the recipient feels forever blessed for such signs as this beautiful gift of friendship.

I have re-constituted Janet’s Pomegranate Centerpiece every year since.  Janet may not be visiting this year, but our friend is definitely at our table.

 

 

Read Full Post »