This is the centerpiece Cindy arranged this year. It has a large glass plate that belonged to her Aunt B. She took care of Cindy after her parents died when Cindy was but eight. The three jello molds were from Cindy's mom. She has a bag of them and we even use them on rare occasions. The candle is on a small plate we gave my mother on her 90th birthday. The cloth was given to Cindy by a close friend's mother that reflects her Swedish heritage. So, bits and pieces of others and far away places find their way to our table at Christmas. And we value the memories they hold.
Camping in the Tree /
Our granddaughter, Ellary, saw the trailer ornament on the right in Michaels and "had to get it for granddad." So she did! Then a couple of days ago a package arrived from Florida containing the one on the left. It was from our friends, camping and otherwise, Janet and Rusty. (Who are also experts on Walmart overnights!) So I set them up on an appropriate background and...
There will be a different photo in a few days. Stay tuned.
Day Six of Twelve /
This is our newest Christmas tree ornament. (More about gift ornaments later.) It was given to us by a dear friend who is a history buff. It is one of a series by the White House Historical Association. Here is why it is a fire truck. "The ornament honors 31st U.S. President Herbert Hoover and is inspired by the fire engines that responded to the 1929 Christmas Eve fire at the White House and the toy trucks presented to children by the Hoovers the following Christmas." The next year President Hoover gave out toy fire trucks to the children. Thanks, Becky.
Day Five of Twelve /
This is a new photo of an old ornament. It and the snowman were purchased by my aunt who traveled in the early 1950's to Nova Scotia. It was a much more arduous trip back then in a 1951 Chevy. These were hand-carved and were sold by the side of the road. I don't know anything else about them but that they have endured for nearly 70 years and are hung up each Christmas..
"Remember the days of long ago; think about the generations past." Deuteronomy 32:7 NLT
Day Four of Twelve /
This wreath is sans chill but includes cotton along with traditional elements. Cotton is grown just a bit south of WIlliamsburg on the other side of the James River toward Suffolk and Surry. It is cool to see the fields just before they have been picked on bright moonlit nights. Some say the blues were birthed on the cotton and tobacco plantations, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_the_blues). If you had lost a sheep it might even be a blue Christmas without ewe
One last Colonial Williamsburg door.
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Day Three of Twelve /
This is an over-the-door decoration, transom in another time. You can see wheat, dried flowers, pears and the ubiquitous chili in the photo. And you can be sure there is an angry partridge somewhere.
Day Two of Twelve /
OK, so yesterday the post was on a door and I found some obscure carol to attach it to, "Here We Come A-wassailing." Today I was going to post a line from a carol done by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and then I came to mu senses. Or at least a temporary restraint.
This is a section of another wreath at Colonial Williamsburg with orange rind, lichen, pine cones, pomagranates and Ret Hot Chili Peppers who sang "Deck the Hall" poorly. Not the decor the song. .
"We are not daily beggars that beg from door to door" /
One of the many door decorations in Colonial Williamsburg. All natural defines the category.
And the line is from what Christmas song?
"Under the boardwalk, down by the sea....." /
Sign at Ocean City Maryland leading to... ."the Boardwalk (boardwalk)". For those of you who will hear that reverberating in your head most of the day, my apologies.
We will chase that song out and and replace it with a carol starting on the 12 Days of Christmas tomorrow.
Birch and Ferns /
Along the Gale River, near Franconia in New Hampshire. We camped nearby and walked along the river for a couple of miles. It was a beautiful afternoon and the colors were nice. We passed a sign, rough and simple in the middle of the woods that said the first ski jump in the US was constructed here by high school students in the 1930s.
Single, Simple, Fresh /
"Can all your worries add a single moment to your life" Matthew 6:27 NLT
Marble Gash /
Just a short walk from the World War II Memorial brings you to the Vietnam Memorial. It is a marble vee set into the earth that reflects everyone as they look at it. There are more than 50,000 names on the memorial. There are also two statues as part of the memorial added later. One is for the nurses who served and another represents the common solider.
Resolve /
On December 8th 1941 FDR gave his short "Day of Infamy" speech and Congress declared war on Japan. On December 9th Roosevelt outlined a more comprehensive view of the new war and reasons for the actions taken so far. The US was attacked on several fronts in the Pacific and FDR knew that conflict in Europe will follow suit against Germany and its allies. This is another perspective of the World War II Memorial in Washington DC. The flag is at half mast because I visited on September 11.
FDR's speech can be read here: http://docs.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/120941.HTML
Cost /
There are many ways to understand the cost of war. The one that I expect most people would first think of is the human cost in lives lost and dreams forever stilled. For WWII the cost was very high. The United States bore only a small portion of that cost but it was still significant. The wall at the World War II Memorial has a gold star representing every 100 soldiers killed in battle. It is sobering to sit in front of the stars reflected in the pool in front of it and be humbled by those who made that sacrifice. Which brings another cost to the war, that of letting the sacrifice mean less than it should by allowing the freedom and the values that drove these soldiers into battle to be lost. That makes the cost too high.
Seventy-five Years Ago /
On an otherwise quiet ordinary Sunday morning Japan attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor. America had entered the war. The World War II Memorial in DC is one of the newer of the National Park's many sites in the District.
This is looking toward the Pacific theater side of the mirrored memorial and is taken from the Atlantic side. Battles are etched in the granite and there are two towers, one on each end with striking sculptures inside.
Let's Take a Tour, Last Stop /
If you are a Five Star General you to can fly this flag on your personal putting green. And it leads into the next couple of days of posts.
Let's Take a Tour, 5 /
This was my favorite part of the house. It was also the oldest portion. This was President Eisenhower's study and where he would meet dignitaries invited to his farm. People including Premier Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union, President Charles de Gaulle of France, Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Britain, and Governor Ronald Reagan of California. He also had a desk in the hallway just outside this room for his office while this room was where he recovered from the heart attack he had while serving as president.
The study is in this stone portion of the house
Let's Take A Tour, 4 /
Today we are presenting a quiz.
Question one, please choose which bedroom is the General's and which one is his wife Mamie's. You have only ten minutes. Good Luck. You may answer in the comment section. There may be prizes?
Bedroom A
Bedroom B
Let's Take a Tour, 3 /
This is the room they spent their time in and where they entertained close friends. Ike painted in this room and the television at the end of the room (to the left of the photo but not in the photo) was most often on. In fact, the Eisenhowers usually took their meals in this room eating off TV trays. If you are not old enough to know what a TV tray is google 1950 TV tray images. They were cheap, metal, flimsy and prone to not being completely snapped together and so would occasionally fall apart when loaded with you food. The were particularly prone to do that on major holidays. Or maybe that was just my experience!
Let's Take a Tour, 2 /
This is the formal living area. The guide told us it was not heavily used but the First Lady loved the round chair and liked to sit "and pick" at the piano. The marble fireplace was installed in the remodel and it actually came from the White House. A long discarded piece that became the focal point of the room. The blinds are tightly drawn over the whole house to keep the sun from fading the fabrics.
