Earth Wonders - Photographer's Choice

Well, this week's challenge over at Ana's Earth Wonders is Photographer's Choice.






Here's my favorite photo from this Christmas - our daughter Tiffany and granddaughter Kaylee. 

I used the sketch option at PhotoFunia to create this awesome effect from the same photo.

Why not join in?




Take care and God Bless!

Prayer Request

I just found out my Dad was taken to the hospital today (from the nursing home) with pneumonia.  The doctor told my brother on a scale of 1-5, 5 being the worst, Dad's was a 5. 



James Hensley Logan, taken ca 1928.

 Please pray for my Dad, that if it be God's will to take him now, that he has an easy passage!  This has hit me harder than when Mom died about 6 weeks ago.  Dad was my friend, he taught me how to drive, we went to the library together, researched our family together, went to cemeteries together searching for our ancestors' final resting places.  We have the same, some say "warped," sense of humor. :)  My niece has it, also.



Dad on his 50th birthday 1977

 I know Dad's given up since Mom died.  They lived for each other, and without her, he has no purpose.



Mom and Dad at Grandma's in Pennsylvania 1968

 Thank you all!

Take care and God Bless!

Christmas Past - Mosaic Monday

Here are a few pictures we took Christmas 2005.  Doug's parents were showing us some of Florida near where they lived at that time.  These photos were taken at Lake Okeechobee.  You can see how low it was that year!  

Lake Okeechobee, Florida Christmas 2005 Joy and Doug in Christmas colors!

Sharing these with the Little Red House's Mosaic Monday.

Click Here to join in the fun!

Take care and God Bless!

ADVENT CALENDAR-CHRISTMAS AT SCHOOL

Boy, do I remember Christmas at School!!!

The first Christmas Pageant I remember was when I was in early elementary school, maybe second grade. 

Several of us girls were to be angels, so our moms had to sew a costume for each of us.  The teacher sent home precise directions on how the angel costume was to be made. 

 It was SUPPOSED to be long...down to the floor...ankle-length...below the knee, and white.  Well, mom hated to sew - with a passion!  She also didn't want to spend good money on fabric that could be used for other things, say like food, clothing, utilities, car payments, etc., etc., etc.! 


DO YOU SEE ANY SHORT GARMENTS HERE?
source: Dover Publications

So, she took an old sheet, which wasn't white, like an angel's clothing should be.  She didn't buy white sheets...she liked yellows, pinks, greens, blues.  Thank God she didn't like florals or stripes!!! 

I think that she used an old, pale (washed out), yellow sheet for my beautiful angel costume.  And, of course, it had to be done her way, so I ended up with a short, knee-length angel dress.  You can imagine the embarrassment I felt, especially when the teacher made such a big deal out of it.  I hoped I would never have to be in another pageant as long as I lived.

Well, so much for that!  In sixth grade, our class put on a pageant about "Christmas Around the World." I was drafted won the role of a Czechoslovakian mother with two children. 

I only had a six word line, easy enough to remember.  That wasn't the problem, though I was terrified at the prospect.  The problem was...I had to have a special COSTUME!!!  "Oh, please God, not another costume for my mom to have to make for me!!!", I prayed.  

I took the instructions home, handed them to mom, and ran!  I could hear her from upstairs, "Why do they always have to have something special?  I HATE sewing, and now I have to make her a skirt and apron for this Christmas play?!"

Every stitch was a chore, for both mom and me!  It's not that mom didn't know how to sew, or wasn't any good at it.  I don't know why she hated it so much, and didn't mind letting me know it. Maybe because she had to do it all by hand...no sewing machine.  The skirt was a beautiful long (yes, I think she learned how embarrassing it was for me the last time), turquoise-y blue wonder.  And, all she did was take a length of fabric, gather it at the waist, add the waistband, and hem it.  But, to me, it was beautiful! 

She wouldn't make the apron, though.  She bought a gorgeous sheer, red Christmas apron, trimmed in white lace instead.  I just recently gave that apron to my sister to hand down to her girls.  I wore these two garments, along with a white blouse, and a huge headscarf tied around my shoulders for a shawl.

I was scared to death of being front of people, afraid I'd forget that one, simple little line.  I can still remember, acting like I was working in the kitchen at a table, hearing loud footsteps off stage.  "That must be the children now!", I manage to squeak out.  The kids came into view, and we sang a Christmas song, probably something like Silent Night or Hark, The Herald Angels Sing.

Eighth grade I was in Choir.  Of course, the music department put on a Christmas Concert each year - go figure!  I had to have a long, black skirt and white blouse for this one.  The blouse was not a problem.  Mom asked my grandma if she had anything I could borrow for the concert.

Mom, Dad, and Grandma

Grandma had her mother's skirt from back in the 19-teens.


Grandma Jennie, her two daughters, and grandbaby around 1917.
This could have been the skirt I borrowed.

She let me borrow it, with the admonition to not ruin it. (Love my family!)

The concert was a hit!  One of the songs we sang was "Little Drummer Boy" and it's been one of my favorites ever since. 

On arriving home after the concert, I was getting out of the car and caught my heel in the hem of that ancient skirt.  It ripped and I could feel my heart sink to my feet.  Surprisingly, Mom didn't say much.  She managed to do a great job of repairing that tear, and Grandma never said a word to me, that I remember.

In high school, I was in concert choir and we did lots of plays and concerts, including Christmas.  None of these were really memorable, as I could sew my own clothing by now. 

I still was terrified of being in front of people, but enjoyed singing!  I was glad, though, to be in the alto section, on the back row! LOL!

XoXoXo

ADVENT CALENDAR - Our Christmas Tree through the years

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!

XoXoXo

CHRISTMAS PARTY BLOG HOP

The time has at last arrived! The Christmas Party Blog Hop begins today. 

Just follow this link to add your blog to our Christmas Party!  The fun is being hosted by Jessa at A Holiday Haven.  Love her blog!!! 

Now, on to the party!  If you're into retro or vintage, the following should give you some ideas! (OMG-Oh, my goodness!)

I thought I'd show you some of the Christmas photos of my family and me as we were growing up, once we left home, and the families that we have surrounding us now.

                         THE BEGINNING

Mom and Dad in upper left hand corner. 
This card was from Dad to Mom on
their 1st Christmas together.



Mom and Dad at Grandma's when
they were "courting."
This card was from Mom to Dad
that first year together.
Both scrapbook pages were made
by my very own talented sister, Kathy!



Christmastime at Grandma's,
tho' I wasn't born yet! How about
that black and white television??? 
This photo was taken 
Christmas 1952.
 Mom and Dad's wedding picture
is on top of the TV.

Presents all unwrapped! 
My Aunt Sally gave either Grandma
or Mom a copy of her graduation picture. 
Looks like bathrobes and watches
were the thing to get. 
Dad got a hunting knife (I wonder
if he ever got that bear that was
chasing him?),
and Mom got pens (she can write
a really mean letter!).

Next installment will feature...ME! 

You're gonna just love it!   ROFL!!!

XoXoXo