lots of flames. . .

We laugh and cry,
We work and play,
We help each other
Every day.
The world's a lovely
Place to be
Because we are
A family.


We didn't light any flaming ice cream balls or a birthday cake for that matter but if we would have there would have been lots of flames! Today's my birthday and I had a great day celebrating with a wake up call from Jayme and going out to dinner with Nathan & Jeff. I love my family!

Of course without giving away my age these 2 ads from magazines dated the month of my birth would have made for a great party! I could have gave my guests "the surprise of the season with dramatic Ice Cream Snowballs...velvety vanilla ice cream...crisp fresh coconut...holly leaves and berries of delicious icing - and a candle that actually lights. Six snowballs to a box - each with its own serving doily." Of course after eating that we could have washed it down with a little milk served out of a one quart snap cap container that would "pour our milk evenly without gushing".

Memories. . .

God has given us memories
that we may have roses in December.
(Anonymous)

I hope your Christmas was full of warm memories and fun times. We had a relaxing holiday filled with family, food and friends and the celebrating continues until next weekend.

Tonight, as I checked out the sunset like I do most everyday I noticed some unusual cloud formations - looks almost like tire tracks right above the horizon to me!

when morning dawned. . .

When morning dawned the sun shone bright,
And then rare beauty gleamed
Wherever sunlight beamed,
For countless gems flashed in the light -
The jewels of snow and ice.
The crystal light shone through the trees
From dainty pearls that hung
With great tenacity - and these
Were lovelier than mere words can portray.
(Annette May Jones)

With the shorter daylight hours of winter upon us the sun didn't rise this morning until 8 a.m. and what a beautiful site it was! We still have all the icicles from Thursday's freezing rain so I took the opportunity to take some more pictures before today's sunshine melted it all away. The sunlight reflecting the ice on the giant cottonwoods was truly "lovelier than mere words can portray".

Wintery weather. . .

Whether the weather be mild or whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold or whether the weather be hot,
We'll weather the weather whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not.
(kindergarten weather rhyme)

Today is the first day of winter and we have what us Minnesotans refer to as a "wintery mix" to show for it. Let's see...rain, drizzle, sleet & snow all on a December day...yup, I'd say that's winter alright!

Winter is the start of cold and flu season with all the sniffles and runny noses that accompany them. Of course, my garden visitors are no exception since they all welcomed winter with a runny nose. Smile - we'll have sunshine by the weekend.

Sing Noel. . .

Sing we all Noel, hear the music all around.
Sing we all Noel, let the joy resound.

Noel, noel, noel, let our voices rise
As we sing a song of praise and lift our music to the skies.
Noel, noel, noel, sing it loud and clear
So that all on earth may know our joy this season of the year.


You have to admit these little guys do look a little like they are singing "loud and clear". With only a few more days left until Christmas I am listening to all the Christmas CD's and they bring such a smile to my face, now if only I could carry a tune to sing along.
As you can see from previous posts, I love Christmas lights. This one is the new addition to the garden this year - after seeing one like it in Duluth last year I put the snowflakes on my "wish list" and Nathan & Jeff gave them to me for gifts.

May your Christmas be full of joy & light. . .

Do you see what I see . . .

Said the night wind to the little lamb,
"Do you see what I see?
Way up in the sky, little lamb,
Do you see what I see?
A star, a star, dancing in the night
With a tail as big as a kite,
With a tail as big as a kite."


















The squirrel was back again checking out my "Do you see what I see" flag before munching away half of a feeder of sunflower seeds and moving on. Where are those watch dogs?

Looking out the window at the squirrel I noticed this heart pattern on the frozen pond which must have been made by the wind & leaves. Nature makes for some beautiful sites to see!

Candy Cane Lane. . .

Here comes Santa Claus,
Here comes Santa Claus,
right down Candy Cane Lane

Wait -
maybe I should be quoting
"I'm dreaming of a White Christmas"


When I set up "candy cane lane" as a new addition to my outdoor Christmas decorations, I never imagined that they would not be sticking out of a blanket of white snow at this time of year. December has been very mild and things are looking pretty brown out there, but I'm not complaining. No snowy messes tracking in the house, no yucky roads to drive on and no bone chilling cold - but OK maybe a little white dusting for Christmas wouldn't be all that bad. . .

This pesky squirrel and all of his buddies are taking advantage of my Christmas spirit and raiding the bird feeders daily. If Santa's making his list and checking it twice I'd say they are definitely on the naughty not nice side of the list . . .they make such a huge mess, damage my feeders and scare away the songbirds. Gabi & Ruger need to spend less time in their warm bed and more time out hunting squirrels!

Precious memories. . .

Hang this on your
Christmas tree,
To remember how
I used to be.
To remind you of me
Now and then,
And bring fond memories
Back again.
(unknown author)







I'm a sentimental fool. . .I admit it! Yesterday, I spent almost 5 hours decorating my Christmas tree. Is it a perfect "decorator tree" like those in the stores and that's why it took so long? No, it's a lifetime of memories and each ornament takes me back to the person or place from where it came. Starting at the top is the angel (with star halo) that hung on my parents tree as I grew up. When I was 18 and moved into my first apartment my mother gave me that tree top for my first tree (as she had a new electric star, all the rage in 1975), I soon met & fell in love with Jeff and lo and behold his parents had the same angel (sans star) in their nativity set. We are now blessed to have both of them as precious memories of our parents and childhoods. More ornaments harking back to my childhood are the velvet toy soldier that my dad bought me on the way to visit my new baby niece born on Christmas Day, 1967. Behind it is a yarn pom pom ornament that my mom made in homemaker's club in the early 1970's all the more precious since she has been gone since 1977 and dad in 1998. There are the ornaments added from Jeff & my travels (wonderful souveniers from each vacation), the handmade ones I have crafted over the years, and the loving gifts from friends and family. A new tradition is the "pickle" which gets hidden among the branches and the lucky person to find it gets a sweet surprise but my favorite of all are the ones my kids made in their elementary years. There are two gingerbread cookie men crafted in Mrs. Seeman's kindergarten classes in 1984 & 1988, two laminated 2nd grade photos in hand colored ornaments from Mr. Runia's classes and the faded construction paper ornaments signed with early uneven printed handwriting. Each ornament is such a wonderful memory. . .5 hours went by just too quickly!
P.S. This year, Benjamin picked our biggest tree ever. . .in the stand it is 8 ft tall and almost 5 feet across!

the perfect tree. . .

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
O tree of green, unchanging.
Your boughs so green in summertime,
Do brave the snow of wintertime.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
O tree of green, unchanging.
(translation of the old German carol, O Tannenbaum)








With balmy temps of 40 degrees, no snow and only an hour to go before sunset, Benjamin, Jeff & I set out to find the perfect Christmas tree. This was Benjamin's 4th year of choosing our tree and he knows what he is doing. First, you spend a little time looking for wildlife & bird's nests in the trees and then you find the most "Charlie Brown" looking tree that you can find to see how Marsha reacts.








Finally he gets serious and checks for bare spots, straight trunks and height. It has to be over Jeff's head to qualify. He does ask our opinions but the final decision is always his.








This year he did the sawing and of course helps Jeff drag it back to the pickup. Now it's up to me to haul it in and decorate and invite Benjamin back over to show him how he picked out the most perfect tree ever and have him find the small pickle ornament we hide amongst the branches.

We are thankful to have such a fun and wonderful nephew in our lives.

It's beginning. . .

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Ev'rywhere you go;
Take a look in the five and ten glistening once again
With candy canes and silver lanes aglow.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Toys in ev'ry store
But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be
On your own front door.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Ev'rywhere you go;
There's a tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well,
The sturdy kind that doesn't mind the snow.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas;
Soon the bells will start,
And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart.
(one of my favorite Christmas carols)

It's beginning. . .not only to look a lot like Christmas but the wedding planning! I spent the last 3 days in Duluth with Jayme trying on wedding dresses and it was such a wonderful mother/daughter experience. It's true. . .you know when you try on "the one" as there are smiles all around the room (bride, mom, friends & consultants). It brought tears to Laurie, her future mother-in-law so I think we have confirmation that Jayme is going to be a beautiful bride!
I love Duluth at this time of year - it is a city full of lights with many areas decorated beautifully for the season. An annual excursion for us is this house on Park Point. She has a huge lot right on Lake Superior and has the whole yard covered in lights. You are invited to get out of your cars and walk around the "wonderland" on paths lit with candlelight in 5 gallon ice sculptures. She has many areas set up with themes and a lighted walkway to the beach, a firepit to warm yourself outside with and a warming house with a wall of windows to enjoy a cup of hot cider & cookies and a visit with her. She is a wonderful lady with lots of Christmas spirit and does this as her gift to the community and this year we also enjoyed visiting with her grandson/helper.

In this season of miracles, as her sign reads. . .Believe