Christmas Memories

After more than a half century of Christmases, many of the individual memories have blurred. Time has a way of marching on leaving us to ponder where it has gone. I don't remember my first several Christmases, but mom wrote in my baby book that at "10 months, she didn't pay much attention to gifts, played with wrapping." I guess that is typical of toddlers.

Similar to ours

Christmas was always a beautiful time, a time of anticipation and wonder. It was Daddy's job to put up our, now vintage, silver Christmas tree and decorate it, and there was one special white ornament with colored flecks that I always wanted on the front where I could see it. 

Instead of lights on the tree, we had a light with a rotating plastic wheel with red, green, blue and gold sections that would shine on the tree, changing it colors. We had this for my first 12 years, and for a long time I didn't know anyone had anything different. We purchased our first fresh-cut tree  in 1972 for a cost of about $6, and I think it was a pine. Now most of the trees around here are Frasier Firs for about $30 and up (mostly up).

To this day my childhood stocking hangs on my mantle every year. As a kid, I could open the stocking gifts first thing Christmas morning, but everything else had to wait until after breakfast. Now the stockings are the last thing to open.

My most memorable Christmas was when I was 5 years old. That was the year that I had three Christmases, two of which were white. First, we packed up and drove to Maine where my mom was from and where her mother and two of her brothers still lived. The house was near the river and Daddy and I went sledding down the River Road, as we called it, coming to rest near the partially frozen river. Instead of over the river and through the woods, it was through the woods and down to the river. At least that is the way I remember it. 

Next we went to my other uncle's house in New Hampshire. There was more snow and sledding there too, and another Christmas celebration with more presents. When we returned home, I found still more presents that Santa had left while we were gone. I was a lucky girl that year.

One of my favorite adult memories was back in the mid 90s when I took hubby's pickup and my mom and I went Christmas tree shopping. We came back with two trees, and about $80 worth of new ornaments and decorations, and I have used those ever since (the ornaments, not the trees) 😉.

If you celebrate Christmas, what are some of your favorite memories or traditions? 





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I Hit A Milestone!

When I started Roses to Rainbows, I had no idea where it would go or how long I would blog, and here I am 8 years and 1,000 posts later. So what have I done for the last 8 years? Well, I have come to the computer 1,000 times, wrote for my audience (real or imagined) and pushed that orange "Publish" button. 

I have shared pictures of my family (mainly our cats), my vacations, yummy food and gorgeous sunsets. I have, in my humble opinion, created interesting characters in my fictional stories, many of whom show up regularly in blogging challenges. I have waxed poetic ranging from light banter to the dark reaches of tortured souls. Fortunately, I do not fall into the latter category.

When I first started blogging, I began a quote of the week series, giving my interpretation of each quote. They are not exactly weekly now, but I still post quotes and put in my two cents worth.

Did I plan on writing fiction? Nope! It wasn't until I found a site called Magpie Tales, and wrote that first post. I went on to write a number of stories and poems based on a picture prompt posted by the hostess. Unfortunately that site hasn't been active for the last year and a half.

I wrote flash fiction for the G-Man's weekly "Friday 55" series off and on for several years. He had a great site where everyone was invited to write whatever they wanted in exactly 55 words. That was fun and definitely challenging. Sadly, he passed away a few years ago. Not too long ago I lost another blogging buddy, Nicky, from We Work For Cheese. She hosted several of the blogging challenges, and we all had a blast reading each others posts during the "30 minus 2 days of writing" in February.

What is next for Roses to Rainbows? I don't know, but I still like putting a post together and tweaking it until I feel like it's the best I have to offer. Obviously some are better than others, and out of the 1,000 published posts, I would say there more than a few that have not yet been discovered, so feel free to dig into the archives (located on my sidebar). The virtual doors are always open, the coffee is hot and the wine is chilled.

I hope everyone has a peaceful and blessed Christmas season!


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Crab Cakes...Who Knew?

Would you believe it? Out of all my years of blogging and all the stories I've told and words of wisdom I have imparted, my review of the simple crab cake would take the prize as the most popular post ever on Roses to Rainbows. Who would have thunk it?

Phillips Crab Cakes are tasty and a still good value for the money. I am glad you all have enjoyed this review. It was not compensated and written just because we like the product. 

Seven years after posting the initial review, this post has had 35 views this November alone. Is everyone looking for crab cakes for the Holidays? If you are, you can read about those wonderful crab cakes here: Crab Cake Review.

If you have tried them, please let me know what you think.

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Christmas Bells

I share with you some Christmas cheer today from the snowy South!

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet, born in Maine on February 27, 1807 (he and I share a birthday). This is a quote from Longfellow's poem, Christmas Bells, which was the inspiration for the Christmas carol, I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day. You may click the link to read the entire poem.

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A Thankful Heart

Some thoughts for the season when emotions may be a little more intense. Take time to slow down and let go of the negative and embrace the positive. 

I wrote this as a Facebook post, and decided to expand it into a blog post. 

It seems that our holiday season is hurried and harried and oftentimes we find ourselves frustrated, short-tempered and on edge when we should be happy, relaxed and thankful. It is our culture of having and getting, giving and receiving the biggest and best of gifts, when it really should be about giving from the heart and being thankful for what we have. This goes back to what we learned earlier in the week from The Wisdom of the Doughnut.

Let us reflect on this a moment and then go forward with a different mindset and an open heart.

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