We had our first snow last week! It came down so fast during the first hour, it seemed like we would get the 1-3 inches predicted by the local weathermen. My sister lives about 150 miles north of us and they were supposed to get 3-5 inches. They ended up with over 10 inches!!! The snow was so wet and heavy, it snapped the power lines, leaving 9000 without power for many long, cold hours. Kathy and her family finally had the power restored 26 hours after it first went out!
We, on the other hand, were much luckier. The snow tapered off after that first couple of hours, leaving us with about 1 1/2 - 2 inches of the wet stuff. It was beautiful, though, like a Christmas snow. The flakes were about the size of a quarter!
The first 3 photos are taken from our porch, looking across to the old high school gymnasium. See how fast and heavy the snow was coming down?! In the last one, I'm trying to capture the size of the flakes.
Here are some pins I found on Pinterest, featuring...SNOW!
Here's Vaughn Monroe singing "Let It Snow." You might remember a slightly different version of this song on the first DIE HARD with Bruce Willis. Don't forget to pause my music listed at the bottom, before listening to this!
Sharing this with Bunny Jean's Bunny Hop Wednesday
I've chosen "Here Comes Santa Claus" by the Disney Gang especially for my great-nephew, GAGE! He LOVES Mickey Mouse! Hope you enjoy it!
Here are some really cool images of Santa! Found these on Pinterest - spend hours pouring over page after page of beautiful pins! It is so VERY addictive!
It's been awhile since I've posted here. Will have to get back into it, Christmas is just around the corner!!!
First off, I have to say a SUPER BIG THANK YOU to Natasha in Oz!!! I won her giveaway last week of a scrapbooking program, My Memories Suite version 2! I was so amazed, I had to re-read her email to me several times. I even check out her blog, 5 Minutes Just for Me.
This Sunday is Patriot's Day here in America, and also the 10th (yes, it's been 10 years!) anniversary of the attacks on our country: The World Trade Center (Twin Towers), Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon.
This song, SOME GAVE ALL, is about all the people who gave their lives since September 11th, 2001. Maybe you know someone who perished in one of the three attacks. My deepest sympathies go out to all of you!
Flight 93 hit home for me, literally. Shanksville is only about 15 miles from where my mother and all her family grew up. My Aunt Sally and her family still lived there at the time. Believe me, I was worried about them and their safety.
I'm so deeply sorry for the lives lost on Flight 93, but so deeply grateful for their courage and patriotism in giving their lives so the hijackers could not fulfill their objective of crashing the plane into the Capitol or the White House!
I'll never forget the story of Todd Beemer and his heroic statement of "let's roll" before he and his fellow selfless passengers charged the cockpit of Flight 93!
Good Sunday morning everyone! Can you believe this is the last day of July? The year is going by so quickly!
Have you been over to Natasha's blog, 5 Minutes Just for Me, lately? You can join in with us for Sunday Song each week, posting your favorite songs! It's such a great idea, brings a little calm to a normally hectic life.
One of my very favorite pieces of music, especially at Christmastime (either December or July!) is the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies!" I hope you enjoy this rendition!
Late last year I joined Natasha at "5 Minutes Just for Me" and her Sunday Songparty. She's celebrating Christmas in July this year, and since she lives in Australia, it does make sense! Snow and cold go with Christmas!
Here's one of my favorite (favourite) Christmas songs, The Carol of the Bells, one I could listen to repeatedly. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir sound like Angels, singing praises to our Lord and Saviour in Heaven! I hope you enjoy it, too!
Pop on over to Natasha's "5 Minutes Just for Me" and join us in our favourite songs this Sunday!
Welcome to the last Sunday Song for this year! Sunday Song will return next year, so please check Natasha's blog for more info.
Mary, Did You Know has got to be my very favorite song, especially at Christmastime!
I was originally going to post the version sung by Kenny Rogers and Wynonna Judd. I love both of their voices - it's the first song on my playlist (which you'll have to pause to hear this one). The visuals on this offering are so much more moving and more clearly represent Christ's unselfish love and sacrifice for us, that I had to present it to you instead!
If you listen carefully to the lyrics, you can see and feel Christ's Love for all mankind.
He came to Earth to save you and me. I know I am unworthy of such a gift of His sacrifice, but so very thankful!!!
Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water? Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters? Did you know that your Baby Boy has come to make you new? This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.
Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man? Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand? Did you know that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod? When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?
Mary did you know.. Ooo Ooo Ooo
The blind will see. The deaf will hear. The dead will live again. The lame will leap. The dumb will speak The praises of The Lamb.
Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation? Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy will one day rule the nations? Did you know that your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect Lamb? The sleeping Child you're holding is the Great, I Am.
Memories of the Christmas Tree are many! I've shown you what my Grandma's tree looked like in 1952 in the previous post, but here it is again.
Grandma Good's at Christmas 1952
It was small and sat on a table (lovingly made by her dad) next to her "pie-annie."
(Grandma Good with a young relative back in the early 1950s.)
The piano was a player piano, also, with lots and lots of perforated rolls of music waiting to be heard! I loved to hear her play it and sing all the beautiful Christmas songs.
Grandma sang in the Listie Brethern Church choir, so the piano bench was filled with hymnals for practice.
The only photo I could find online was of a Methodist Hymnal.
source for all music related photos in this post: Photobucket.com
There was a lever, under the keyboard to the right if I remember correctly, that switched the piano from normal to player. The three buttons below also had something to do with it in player mode, but...that was a long time ago! <smile>
The treadles were retractable and hidden behind the sliding panel above the foot pedals.
The mechanism was hidden behind sliding panels above the keyboard. Somehow, you loaded the music roll onto a spindle and threaded the paper onto an empty roll.
Grandma kept these music rolls stored in the old Victrola upstairs in the master bedroom (out of reach of little, destructive hand!).
She was the kindest Grandma you'd ever want, but she wasn't stupid! ;)
This old black and white photo is of my sister, Kathy, Christmas 1960. It was taken at our other Grandma's home in Morgantown, Indiana. Grandma Hilda had the silvery aluminum tree and color wheel as seen in the background.
Here's a picture of one of Mom's creations, also taken Christmas 1960. She always took such pains to make the tree perfect. Each icicle was laid on the pine needles (yes - real pine needles!) with great care, one by one! It seemed to take hours and hours before we could turn out the living room lights and see her final masterpiece! But, it was always worth the wait.
My 1st grade artwork is displayed above the piano. I remember making the lantern to the far right. It was supposed to be like stained glass, with red cellophane in the panes of the lantern. I think I still have that one and the church window, second from left.
Anyway, our Christmas trees went from natural pines, to a fake white snow-flocked tree with green ornaments and color wheel in the late 1960s. The white tree was pretty, but never seemed the same as a real tree. The smell of a real pine always takes me back to my earliest childhood memories of Christmas.
When I left home, my first tree was a 7 foot real pine tree. It was purchased on Christmas Eve, and decorated with my homemade bead-studded ornaments, lots of lights, and covered in angel hair. I, too, labored for hours, trying to perfect my first Christmas tree. The angel hair diffused the glow of the lights, making everything look magical! Not bad for my first attempt at decorating.
The following year, and every year since, I've had an artificial Christmas tree. Each year, however, the same effort to achieve perfection goes into the decorating.
This photo was taken a few years ago. A lot of the ornaments are handmade by me, some by my sister. Some are traditional Christmas balls in all colors, some glass-blown from a really cool shop in Nashville, Indiana, some Hummels. Others are handmade cookie cutter felt ornaments, hand painted wooden ornaments, ornaments given to us as gifts from friends. The garlands are stranded red, gold, and silver beads and thread spools covered in homespun fabric separated by wooden beads strung on jute twine. The lights are both large and mini, with one of the mini light strands programmable to set different moods. Mesmerizing!
I don't even try to put icicles on our trees for two reason: 1. I could never have the patience to put each strand on, one by one, as Mom did, and 2. we have cats!
Missy
Boots, our gentle giant
Susie, Missy's sister
Our newest addition, Coy-Coy (originally McCoy)
Kirk (James T.)
and Bailey, our oldest (10 1/2 years old)
The sparkle is too much of a temptation for them! It's difficult enough to keep them away from the ornaments! LOL!
