Sunday, December 21, 2008

Favorite Ornament Meme

****Carolina Cannonball over at The Crescat, a most talented and very funny lady, tagged me for the favorite ornament meme. Unfortunately, this year we will not have a tree. The storage shed is so completely snowed in that retrieving our tree and other decorations is impossible. I was quite depressed about this turn of events and so my hubby dug out two little table top trees from a snow drift by the wood pile and, at least for this year, those will have to be my Christmas trees.

***My "special" ornaments are packed in a trunk in the house. Today I was able to decorate one of the little trees with a few things and put out my Nativity. That seemed to slow my heart down to a steady 70 or so beats a minute.

**** I'm sure most of you, knowing what an intelligent and cultured lady I am, would have me pegged for some Faberge type, high end, work-of-art ornament. *Sorry to flood your bathroom, but the Christmas tree is not complete until the "poodles" go up. *I've had these three critters for at least 35 years and until someone came along and informed me otherwise, they were always "the poodles."

****About 15 years ago someone came over and I was pointing out my "poodles" with their sweet little faces.

****She glanced at them and turned to me and said, "those aren't poodles, they're lambs.

****" Whaaaat? *No, no, they're poodles."

****"Sorry, they're lambs!"

****It's not that I don't like lambs; I love lambs. *I just always thought they were poodles. *Did it also mean that any number of people, out of charity, kept this knowledge from me whilst rolling their eyes behind my back? *I'll never know and they will always be "the poodles" to me.

This would have to be hubbies favorite. It's a moose poking his head through a wreath. Maybe I should name it Sarah in honor of Sarah Palin. She likes moose's, too!****Also in my trunk is my favorite Nativity. *The figures are old ones that once belonged to my Dad. *They were purchased at Woolworth's over 60 years ago. *For you younguns out there, Woolworth's was the last great five and dime. *A trip to Woolworth's in downtown St. Paul for Christmas shopping was a must for little kids.


****The figures were all made in Italy, hand-painted, and are really quite beautiful. *The main figures are the only ones remaining, although I see pieces on ebay from time to time.


****The poor little pink angel is not recovering from a two day drunk. *I just haven't figured out exactly how I'm going to attach her to the mirror. *This is not the usual place for the Nativity and a push pin was not going to work on the mirror.


****The crib is empty until after vigil Mass on Christmas Eve. I did bring the baby Jesus out of hiding so you could see Him. Just imagine; a little baby born in lowly circumstances will become the Saviour of the world.








****The gold wise men were all made by my Mom not too long before she died. They were really the last things she did before she became too ill with terminal cancer to do much of anything. We had just moved to Sedona, AZ, and she attended a class to make these. They are paper mache, yarn, trim, and fabric that has been soaked in glue and plaster and draped on a wire form. My Mom didn't think she was very artistic but these figures tell a different story.



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This is worth a read. Hat tip to my friend "Robert Kumpel" at St. John's Valdosta


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7 comments:

Packrat said...

Since we are "almost neighbors", I hope it is okay to follow your post.

The wise men are beautiful, as are the pieces from Woolworths. Your mother made the wise men? WOW!

Oh, as to the "poodles" - I can certainly see why you would think that's what they were (are?). (Please don't grade the sentence structure.)

We aren't putting up a tree this year, either. We don't have as much snow as you do, but we have had the cold temperatures. Also, I really don't want our ornaments destroyed by our Taz-like 5 month old kitten.

We did dare to put the Navity on the mantel, because the kitten hasn't been up there - yet.

Adrienne said...

Pack - I've had kittens like that. Thankfully the two cats we now have are pretty mellow.

This has been some weird Idaho weather. We are completely snowed in again and are praying that Anderson Excavating can dig us out again tomorrow afternoon.

belinda said...

Oh, Adrienne, I just love those poodles on your christmas tree!! ;)

Packrat said...

Guess you were supposed to read my mind in the 1st comment. Our Christmas tree is also in a shed that none of us are anxious to shovel to.

I do hope that you are dug out soon. It is kind of scary knowing that you can't get anywhere.

We received more snow last night, and it is snowing. I'm worried about my daughter and another girl from here that are traveling home from Moscow together.

The weather here is actually normal. It just hasn't been normal for the past several years, so it is very hard to take. We were spoiled.

Anonymous said...

They look like poodles to me also.

Adrienne said...

Thank you Tara. I feel much better now.

irene said...

(1) The Nativity articles are lovely -- part of the wonderful legacy of St. Francis.

(2) Yes, mass is a sacrifice. But it also is a celebration. One ought to remember that the coin has two sides.