new, used, & memories between

it's interesting for me to think about what (if anything) the boys will recall fondly as Christmas memories from their childhood.  there are certain decorations i put out every year, like the strand of colored lights (which, long ago, adorned my dorm room) that i run across the den mantle and wind up and along the built-in pine bookshelf to the right of the fireplace.  i love the multi-colored glow against the honey-hued knotted pine.  their stockings, which my mom bought when the boys were little, starting the tradition of adding baubles (fancy buttons, really) each year (until they finally had no interest in doing this).  she embroidered their names on the top edge and added jingle bells, just like the Christmas stockings my own grandmother made for her grandchildren.  or the little odds-and-ends i hang from doorknobs and random nails around the house.  small treasures from fancy packages or garage sales, someone else's used memories made new again.

one year, my parents gave us a creche set with a variety of figures and animals.  for several years running, Joseph liked ordering and re-ordering these characters in some internal narrative of appeal or function or who-knows-what.  i honestly don't recall anymore how one of the wisemen lost the toes of his left foot during all of this rearranging.  he either fell or was used to play a little impromptu soccer game with the shepherds.

i enjoy a little kitsch in my life.  who knew?  i have decided to just embrace this and consider it a loving nod to my very kitschy grandmother.  (i come by it naturally, you see.)  usually, i find kitsch at garage sales.  like this sweet plastic ring of holly leaves & berries.  what's not to love?  how convenient that i found a candle to match!

you can, also, find great new kitsch.  like this oh-so-sparkly wreath.  i tried it on the front door this year & decided it would blind my neighbors, so i found one of the random nails in our house (random nails were inherited from our previous owner, whom i suspect of great kitsch) & hung it with glee.  isn't it delightful?  not everyone seems to think so.

perhaps my favorite (though that is a tough call) bit of Christmas kitsch is my snowman light.  this little fellow is snowman numero dos, as the original guy was shattered at some point.  i, once again, cannot precisely recall how that happened, but his little bubbly light broke and he stopped bubbling and, really, was a bit of a hazard at that point.  this started an epic search for a new snowman light...and, finally!, i found one that met my stringent requirements.  no bubbles, but one can only be so picky.  he makes me inordinately happy.  (i have opted not to inform him that he is perched precariously atop a graham cracker & a square of chocolate, about to be s'mored.)

it's also about the food.  well, only if others are generous, as i am not a candy-making, cookie-baking (okay, occasionally), or ooey-gooey-cinnamon bun-creating kind of gal.  so, thanks, friends!  they are delicious!

i bought a Really Big carton of 1/2&1/2 to see me through the holidays (a bit like a vegetarian making an exception for pepperoni pizza).  but almond milk does not a good coffee make.

mmmmmm....a little coffee with my cream & sugar.

i am realizing that next year i need to get some of the snailmail addresses of my e-friends (who are all former in-the-flesh friends but are from long ago or far away or, maybe, both).  i really enjoyed sending out cards again (after a few years of a festive holiday email - or is that an oxymoron?) and love watching the return cards filling up the mantel in our living room.  smiling faces, good news, and ink signatures...hooray!

there are some things that are around all year that just become more....beautiful....in the twinkling lights and when accompanied by 99.5 the all-Christmas all-the-time radio station.

like the scarves piled up on the chair at my desk.

so, thirty percent of the lights on the Christmas tree (the middle strand) have gone dark.  this occurred several days ago, and i'm kind of getting used to it.  hubby has checked every single bulb and secured all connections to no avail.  guess we could buy more and wrap them on top of everything, but that just makes me squeamish.  as if the ornaments might suffocate or something.  does anyone anywhere ever put ornaments on first, then lights?  it just goes against everything i know and hold dear.  so, dark it shall remain.

lastly...

on this, the very first day of winter vacation, it snowed!

i completed my Christmas shopping, too.

life is good.

& so are the memories.