Endings, and Beginnings

I am reminded, as this year closes, of the words of the poet Susan Coolidge:

Every day is a fresh beginning,

Listen, my soul, to the glad refrain,

And spite of old sorrow, and older sinning,

And troubles forecasted, and possible pain,

Take heart with the day, and begin again.

It is a time of endings and beginnings, as we look back at what has passed in the last year and consider what faces us in the new. It is a time when we can say, "Enough of that," and set our sights on a new path. It is also a time when we store away in memory the best the year brought to us, to be brought out and savored when we need a boost.

It is also a time to look at what we resolved to accomplish in the past year--what actually happened and what still waits. Or perhaps the priorites changed and what once seemed important has fallen from the list.

In Germany, I have read, there is a custom of visiting those with whom one has quarreled and all of the past disagreements are mutally forgiven and forgotten. In this country, we need such a healing ceremony after the rifts of the political wars. I could use some of that custom in my own life too, to melt away some hard feelings. Couldn't we all, for that matter?

These thoughts float in my mind as we prepare for the annual bonfire. I cook food; the men gather wood and heap it up. The weather will be cold, the ground snowy when we gather at the fire to see the year out and welcome the new. Just before midnight, we will follow our custom of tossing bits of paper into the fire. On the paper are the problems and troubles of many people, sent to us by email and messages. Each paper lightens someone's burden, or such is my hope. As the smoke drift skyward, I will see the ashes of sorrows, pain and worry disappear into the clean fresh air of a new day, a new year.

So it is each New Year's Day; we begin with high heads and confidence. Life may beat us down as we trudge through the days, until finally we drop our cares again at the holidays and look with renewed hope. Somehow the thought of that cycle is comforting--no matter how bad things may be, there is yet one more year to look forward to, one more chance to get it right, and one more opportunity to celebrate this strange journey we call life.

Take heart, and begin again.

 

 

Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

The New Year's Bonfire

Greetings, friends!

Once again we are having our New Year's bonfire, and inviting any and all to send their troubles to be burned in our fire on New Year's Eve so that the new year cvan be started with a lighter load and happier heart. I believe this makes the 12th year for our fire, although I really can't remember exactly when we started the tradition. My grandchildren look forward tossing in the troubles every year, sending each to the flames with a thought and a prayer for the sender.

So please send your troubles along; if you prefer, you can simply send a message saying "burn this" and it will be done. Messages can be sent as a comment on this post or as email to me at susannaholstein@yahoo.com

 

Please feel free to share this invitation to your friends and family.

 

If you are looking for ideas to celebrate the New Year, check out my past posts on the topic by clicking here.

 

Blessings to you all and my wishes that yours will be a peace-filled and trouble-free holiday season.

 

Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Vintage Thursday: Recent Finds

The holidays are a time to bring out the pretty dishes and enjoy their beauty. I am one of those who enjoys using vintage dishes every day but there are still some pieces that only come out for special occasions; not because I am afraid to use them but because there are foods we serve at those times that make good use of these dishes.

For example, this Kromex hors d'ourvres lazy susan. I wonder if this was a must-have in the 40's and 50's? I know that I have found it perfect for our gatherings. When I bought it, the lid to the center dish was missing but I was lucky enough to find a replacement at a local flea market. Knowing what the lid looked like came from eBay searching to identify another chrome lid I got in an auction lot. It too was the lid for a Kromex center bowl, but of a different type than mine. By searching for that one, I learned what the one I needed looked like and spotted it a few months later.

The dish rests on a chrome pedestal that is a turntable. The plate is a solid piece divided into sections. Similar lazy susans have several separate dishes that fit onto a tray turntable and around the center bowl. I like to use mine for crudites and pickles, but it could also work for cookies, nuts and candy, or a cheese ball and crackers.

I found this stainless pitcher last month. It has a simple style that fits right in at my table and it never needs polishing, unlike the silver one I have. Cold beverages make it bead up frostily on the outside which I think is really an appetizing look. Easy to clean, easy to use make this a great piece for everyday use. I like to serve our homemade cider from it. The diamond-point goblets were a gift fro my sister Theresa a few years ago and they add a real sparkle to our table.

I showed this photo of the new-to-me punch bowl yesterday. Don't you love the way the cups hang on the bowl? eBay can be a great place for good deals--if the shipping charges don't break the bank. I could not believe I actually won this set! It is complete with even its original ladle. I may have to make a grape punch in it just to highlight its purple and white loveliness.The square red glass plate with the cheese ball that is barely visible to the left of the photo was a gift from another sister (Julie). It finds a lot of use when we have company. The plate came with its own bead-decorated spreader.

Another eBay find is this ruby ball pitcher. Again, I got lucky because all the others I saw were far too expensive once shipping was factored in. Should I decide to sell this one I will still be able to make a good profit because for some reason I was the only bidder and the shipping was reasonable. As a seller, I have learned that shipping charges can be a major drawback to selling. I have begun selling at flat rates and while I lose some money on shipping some items, I gain it back on others--and the shipping for all is still very reasonable.

This isn't a dish, certainly! But it was an auction find that really pleased me. I've been looking for a nativity set that was like the one I remembered from my childhood. Imagine my delight when this one showed up at the auction and I got it for $3.00, complete with the stable. I will be keeping this set for a long, long time.

I meant to post this photo from my booth last week but missed it. I put together a blue/green glass display to highlight the beauty of these colors at the holidays. I do not think many pieces sold but I sure did like the look of my display anyway!

The little table ths display is on sold this week. We found it in the old log cabin we took down two years ago, the cabin we're using to add on to our house. Larry fixed one leg of the table that had started to rot from being stored on the ground in the cabin. We considered keeping it but just had no place to put it, so it's off to a new life in a new home. I believe the table is fairly old, and it is handmade.

I found these square pedestal dishes at the Antique Mall of Marietta where I have one of my booths. The price was certainly right--and the booth's owner showed me that the two pieces can be stacked for an eye-stopping centerpiece. These were made by L.E. Smith.

Those are a few finds for this week. I cannot wait to show you our most recent acquisitions, but I will have to put that off until they are moved, and that will not happen until we see some better weather.




Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Christmas Memories

This was one of those Christmases that moved leisurely--no rush, no bustle of many visitors, no chaos. No snow either, just gray and cloudy and threatening rain that did eventually arrive. But it was a good day, full of the small pleasures of the season, like smiling grandchildren around the table.

Our morning started with our usual tea and coffee, this time in the log room by the fire. We opened our gifts from each other, then got dressed and started cooking. Larry made breakfast--eggs and sausage and grits and toast, a good country breakfast for a good start to the day.

I put the turkey in the oven around eleven, planning for a 2:30 dinner time. I learned how to make a fool-proof turkey from, of all people, my husband. This is what he taught me: clean the bird and place on a rack in a roasting pan. Add about a quart of water to the pan, and add 4 bay leaves, a cup up onion and the giblets. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and roast for the recommended time per pound. I remove the foil about an hour before the bird is due to come out of the oven so that it turns a lovely brown. I don't make stuffing because we don't need the calories and it lenghtens cooking time--by the time the stuffing is done, the bird may be overcooked and dry. The turkey comes out perfect, moist and full of flavor every time, and it's so easy.

Derek and his family came over and the girls helped me get dinner on the table. I love the kids at this age. Teens are amazing to talk to and they are great helpers too. 

Before dinner we had my "famous" eggnog (famous in this family only), a cheese ball and crackers and a tray of raw veggies and pickles. I used the vintage punch bowl I found on eBay recently. I'm not really into amethyst glass but I think this set is just elegant. It was made by Hazel Atlas in the 40's. I will probably sell this set later on but it certainly added an elegance to my eggnog.

Our dinner was the turkey along with wild rice, mushroom gravy, mixed garden vegetables, cheesy broccoli, rolls, cranberry sauce in pear halves on a bed of lettuce, cider, apple and pumpkin pies. Good coffee rounded out the day's feasting.

After dinner was quiet time. Larry cleaned up the kitchen with help from the kids (blessings on all of them!) then watched a movie while some of us worked a jigsaw puzzle, read or napped.

In the evening after our company left, what did I do? Stayed up until midnight to finish the puzzle, of course. I cannot seem to learn to just do a little at a time on them!

That was our day. How was yours?

Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

On the Edge of Christmas

It's quiet at my house this early Christmas Eve morning. Just me and my cat Charlie are awake--she because she's a cat and this is her time of day, me because a sore throat woke me up and demanded hot tea. So here I am by the fire, catching up on Facebook, watching the morning creep in, and planning my day.

We've been in the Christmas spirit the past few days. Saturday was shopping day. This year we shopped for each other, something we haven't done in years. Nothing big--the goal was small gifts, and they all had to be wrapped. Usually we're so busy getting gifts for other people that we didn't buy for each other. We had so much already, we figured, and the budget could only stand so much. But this year there will be only the two of us Christmas morning--for the past 26 years our youngest son has been with us but he's in California now and the airfare home is way outrageous during the holidays.  So who would be here for us to watch open presents, which is my favorite Christmas morning activity? Just us. That meant getting something under the tree to unwrap!

Yesterday was company. We cleaned up the house, finally got the pine boughs hung outside (I cannot believe it took us so long to get this done--usually it's the first thing I do after Thanksgiving),

and I gathered a winter bouquet for the table. Then I fixed dinner--nothing fancy, just a big pot of venison chili, crudites and a chocolate cake. My hubby's twin sister and her husband were our guests and we had a really nice visit.

That cake--I tried something my sister Theresa did. Instead of frosting between the layers, I used my homemade berry preserves. My. Word. That was delicious, and looked and tasted like some special recipe. The cake was devil's food, and the frosting on top was cream cheese frosting. I left the sides of the cake plain. Simple and so elegant looking.

Today is another day of cooking--pies, maybe some cookies. The house will smell wonderful, the carols will be playing and if the weatherman is right we might see a few snow flurries this evening to dress up the little bits of snow left from last Friday's storm.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Have a very merry and bright day, my friends.


Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Silent Night: The Story of the Song

One of our most beautiful carols started life in a remote mountain church in the dark of midnight, with only a guitar accompaniment and two voices singing. Yet it found its way into the world to become one of the most well-known and treasured song of this season.

The song was written by Joseph Mohr almost 200 years ago, in 1816 while he was a young priest in Austria. Mohr was transferred the following year to St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf and on Christmas Eve he asked Franz Gruber to compose a guitar melody for the poem he had written. Gruber complied and the two men performed the song for the midnight service on Christmas Eve.  The men called it simply Tyrolean Folk Song.

Why did Mohr ask specifically for a guitar melody? Some speculate that it was because the organ was out of order. There is a legend that the bellows had been chewed by a mouse, creating holes that allowed the air to escape. Without the bellows, the organ's mighty voice was silenced so Mohr, being the new priest and desparate for something musical on Christmas Eve, had the poem set to music. There is no verification of that legend, but it is true that the organ, as with many organs in those days, required constant repair.

Perhaps Mohr just wanted a guitar melody he could play in church because he loved to play guitar. It is a fact that a master organ builder who had repaired the organ many times happened to hear the hymn being sung and obtained a copy which he took home with him to the Ziller Valley region.  At the time there were two families of traveling singers (like the Von Trapp family in Sound of Music) in the Ziller Valley. They heard the song and added it to their performances. They changed a few notes here and there and the song became the one we know today, but it was still written and sung in German.

In 1839 the Rainer Family came to America and the song was first performed here in New York City; by this time its title had been changed to Stille Nacht. It was eventually translated into English in 1859 by John Freeman Young, and included in his book CAROLS FOR CHRISTMAS TIDE, with the title Silent Night.

For many years it was assumed that the music for Silent Night was composed by one of the famous composers of the time (Beethoven, Haydn, or Mozart). Franz Gruber wrote to the emperor claiming that he had written the music but his claim was ignored. The controversy over the composer was put to rest almost 180 years later in 1995 when a manuscript in Mohr’s handwriting was found, with notes that he wrote the lyrics and that Franz Gruber wrote the melody.

Whatever the reasons behind its composition, the song resonated then and still resonates today with singers and listeners everywhere. It's peacful, awe-filled words strike to the very heart of the Christmas season and transport us all to that silent night over 2000 years ago.

Silent Night

Silent night! Holy night!
All is calm, all is bright,
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child!
Holy Infant, so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace!
Sleep in heavenly peace!

Silent night! Holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight!
Glories stream from Heaven afar,
Heavenly Hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Saviour, is born!
Christ, the Saviour, is born!

Silent night! Holy night!
Son of God, loves pure light
Radiant beams from Thy Holy Face
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy Birth!
Jesus, Lord, at Thy Birth!

 

 

Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Jingling, and Wondering, All the Way

He was rebellious young man who defied his father, became a sailor , mined gold...and ended up finding fame as the composer of one of our most loved Christmas songs.

 

Born in 1822 in Medford, Massachusetts to a minister and his wife, James Pierpoint ran away from home at 14. His parents were abolitionists but he did not share their views. He wandered the world, working as a sailor on the Pacific Ocean and mining gold in California before eventually returning to Medford, marrying and becoming a father. When his wife passed away in 1853 he left New England and moved to Savannah, Georgia where he spent the remainder of his life. He served in the Confederate Army and is buried in Savannah, his adopted home.

So when did he write his song about sleigh bells, horses and snow? Scholars have never been able to pinpoint the exact date. Savannah claims the song was written there as a nostalgic remembrance of his youth, and certainly it was copyrighted in 1857 while Pierpoint was living in Savannah. But other records point to an earlier date and say that Pierpoint played the song in the 1840’s for a church gathering in Medford. Both Medford and Savannah have erected signs claiming the song was written in their town. To me, it seems odd that Pierpoint would have written a song about snow and sleighbells while living in the sunny south which he had come to love.

Pierpoint himself claimed he wrote the song for a Thanksgiving service, not for Christmas. According to the story, his father asked him to compose something to be used for the service on Thanksgiving Day. No inspiration struck until Pierpoint looked out the window and saw young people playing in the snow. Fact or fiction? Who knows? It’s just one more part of the mystery of the origins of “dashing all the way."

Do you know all the verses? Here they are:

Dashing through the snow
In a one horse open sleigh
O'er the fields we go
Laughing all the way
Bells on bob tails ring
Making spirits bright
What fun it is to laugh and sing
A sleighing song tonight

Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh

A day or two ago
I thought I'd take a ride
And soon Miss Fanny Bright
Was seated by my side
The horse was lean and lank
Misfortune seemed his lot
We got into a drifted bank
And then we got upsot

Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh yeah

Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh

 Not one word about Christmas, Jesus' birth, Santa, Christmas trees or any of the things we normally associate with the holiday. And yet, doesn't singing it get you in the spirit of the season? So thank you, Mr. Pierpoint, for the smiles and laughter your song has brought to so many generations.

Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Up on the Housetop: An Early School Memory and a History

This cheerful little carol is the first song I remember learning in school. My school was a new, small Catholic school, and we were taught by nuns in one large room of the Benedictine convent at Linton Hall, Virginia. I believe there were 7 children in my first-grade class and 14 in the kindergarten class. That was the whole school. The next year second grade was added, but there was no kindergarten, just first and second grades.

 

The room in which we had classes must have been used for a theater of sorts because there was a stage with dark red velvet curtains at the end of the room. Usually our backs were to this stage, but we used it for music class, and it was our performance space for our first ever Christmas program. Now that I think about it, isn't it funny that a secular tune like Up on the Housetop should have been included in the program? I remember that we also sang Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, but that may have been the second year.

 

Both of these little tunes are thought to have been composed by the same man, Benjamin Hanby. Hanby was born in Rushville, Ohio in 1833 and later moved to Westerville, Ohio. He was the son of a minister and joined his father’s activities with the underground railroad; their home was actually a stop on the railroad. While helping the runaway slaves who passed through their home Hanby composed My Darling Nellie Gray, which he said was based on a story told to him by one of the slaves.

 It is believed that he composed Up on the Housetop in the 1850’s or 1860’s and it is possible that it pre-dates Jingle Bells as the first secular American carol since Jingle Bells was copyrighted in 1857 (and Jingle Bells, you may have noticed, contains not one single Christmas reference-but that's another story). Some scholars believe that Hanby was inspired by the idea of the sleigh landing on the rooftop from The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore, who was the first to suggest the rooftop landing and chimney approach to Santa’s visits in his poem published in 1832. Hanby’s song, however, was the first to focus on Santa Claus and was first titled “Santa Claus.”

Hanby may also have composed Jolly Old St. Nicholas, which is stylistically very close to Up on the Housetop. Authorship of this carol has never been established, however, as no original notes or manuscripts of the song have ever been found.

Mr. Hanby died in 1867 of tuberculosis; he was still a very young man yet he contributed at least two songs to the American tradition with Up on the Housetop and My Darling Nellie Gray. His home in Westerville,Ohio is preserved as a museum with many of the family’s original furnishings, and original manuscripts of Nellie Gray can be seen there.

Here are the lyrics to Up on the Housetop:

Up on the housetop reindeer pause,
Out jumps good old Santa Claus.
Down thru the chimney with lots of toys,
All for the little ones, Christmas joys.

Chorus
Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go.
Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go!
Up on the housetop, click, click, click.
Down thru the chimney with good Saint Nick.

First comes the stocking of little Nell;
Oh, dear Santa, fill it well;
Give her a dolly that laughs and cries,
One that will open and shut her eyes.

Chorus

Next comes the stocking of little Will
Oh, just see what a glorious fill
Here is a hammer, And lots of tacks
Also a ball, And a whip that cracks.

Chorus

This is a variation of the third verse:

Look in the stocking of little Bill;
Oh, just see that glorious fill!
Here is a hammer and lots of tacks,
a whistle and a ball and a set of jacks.

And just in case you don't remember this carol, here's a link to one version of it, sung by one of the most famous cowboy singers, Gene Autry.

 

Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Boxing It Up

It's clean-out time! I felt much better yesterday and got into cleaning out closets, sorting through some stuff I had been planning to sell on eBay, and just generally trying to make more space in this little house.

I ended up with about 10 boxes of varying sizes and contents, all ready to take to the consignment auction Thursday (is that tomorrow? I believe it is! Where did the week go?). I am learning what will sell, what won't and what isn't worth the trouble. I winced more than once as I put something in a box, because I will be losing money on some of it and I hate that. But I've learned some leassons in buying and that's a good thing.

Here's a peek into some of the boxes, and why these things are heading to consignment.

Did you know you can take stuff like this to the auction? This box has heat patches we've had for 5 years and never used, two bottles of Calcium pills, one unopened because I couldn't swallow the huge tablets, bottles of lotion that has a scent I don't like, and so on. It was good to clean out the medicine cabinet of all this stuff. Lesson learned: don't toss it--I can make at least a little money back on these kinds of items. Cleaning stuff sells well too, and I've actually bought boxes of partially used cleaning supplies that were great finds. I am hoping someone will think this box is a great find too.

Chipped, mis-matched dishes are just not worth dealing with. If they're chipped they won't sell, and although sometimes a single piece or two of a pattern will sell, chances are it takes more time to list than it's worth. There's a lace tablecloth in here too--it has a hole that could be mended, but I don't need it, and mended items won't sell either. Lesson learned: be bolder when sorting auction finds, and be more careful about looking for chips and cracks--and avoid the "I think I have the match to that somewhere" game.

I don't mind using mis-matched stemware--in fact, I love the variety! But I had way too many wineglasses and some had to go, so this is the resulting losers. I hate to see them go, but really, 25 wineglasses? If I have that much company I'll buy the plastic ones or hit the Goodwill for some to use and then re-donate. Lesson learned: too much is well, just too much. I can use the space for other things.

Linens sell well, but these are odd pieces that don't match, and a pair of curtains I bought at a yard sale thinking I'd use them. That was 3 years ago. Out they go. The basket is full of scarves I bought to sell. They don't sell all that well unless they're silk or designer labeled or signed. And they have to be ironed. Yuck. Lesson learned: I don't much like to iron.

I thought I could fix this clock. It's kinda cool, handmade in the shape of West Virginia, with a WV roadmap for the face. But. I tried and tried to remove the little box with the workings in it and I could not get it loose. Then I'd also have to buy a replacement for it.  Is it worth the trouble? Not to me. Lesson learned: don't buy things that need to be fixed unless I really do intend to do it.

Holiday items I've never used and a plethora of old kitchen knives and utensils that aren't vintage, or aren't in good enough condition to re-sell. My kitchen drawers are much easier to open and I can find things now! Lesson learned: harden my heart and clear it out. I still have a lot of Christmas items to sort. After the holidays, that will be the task waiting for me. It will be boxed and stored to be sold next fall.

That's just a few of the boxes on the way out the door. I still have more sorting to do, but there will be other auctions. No need to do it all at once, even though I am itching to get this job finished. Right now it's time to get back to listing on eBay, and then this afternoon, a little baking and perhaps a trip to Ravenswood to restock my booth. There have been some good sales there lately and I have some holes on my shelves. While I love extra space at home, extra space in the booth is best filled up!



Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Soup for the Sick

It's time to make soup. I caught some kind of bug, so I made my I'm-sick-and-I-want-comfort-food-soup. It's really just chicken noodle but when I'm not feeling well, tea, soft boiled eggs, oranges and chicken noodle soup are the foods I can stomache.

Here's my chicken noodle soup recipe (this time, anyway. It changes from one time to another.)

2 quarts of water
3 chicken bouillon cubes or 3 cups of chicken broth
3 stalks of chopped celery
1 cup of chopped carrots
1 or 2 onions, chopped (I used 2 medium)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
herbs of your choice, to your taste. I used rosemary and marjarom.
1-2 cloves of chopped garlic
dash or two of hot sauce
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
1-2 cups of cooked chicken, cubed
12 ounces of egg noodles

Put everything except the noodles in the pot in the order listed, turning the heat on as soon as you have the water in the pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the noodles and cook until they are done, about 10 minutes.

This makes enough to get me through, and there's usually enough for Larry as well. He doesn't even need to be sick to like it!


Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

This Year's Tree

It's a small tree, and it's not a real tree this year. We bought a pre-lighted one at the auction last week for just a few dollars and Larry was delighted--he would not have to cut and drag a tree after all! I prefer a live one, but for the price, well....

So, no live tree but a very pretty little one. We trimmed it with almost all vintage balls along with a few that are special to me for all kinds of reasons.

Like this one made by my mother

and this one given to my by my youn friend Anastasia (and made by her Greek grandmother)

Then there's the heart-shaped one brought back from Germany by my son Derek

 

and a picture ornament of our youngest son Tommy on his first Christmas, given to me by his babysitter

 



and this red one with my name on it, made by me when I was a child (and one of the few things that survived my childhood!)

 

One was given to me by a family for whom I told stories one Christmas

 

 

and a cute teapot-shaped one was given to me by my youngest sister, Julie

 

 

and there are a few from the huge collection my parents gathered through the years

 

and a candy cane made for me by the Adult Basic Education students when I was manager of my first branch library, at Clendenin, West Virginia

 

So many ornaments, so many memories. And so much fun to see them again and find just the right place to hang them.

 

 

 

Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Quiet

I was up early this morning. Being up in a quiet house as morning wakes has a feeling all its own. The fire burns gently, keeping out the chill, and the lights are golden and dim. There is no sound except what I make myself--the rattle of the kettle, the sush of water running, the clink of china as I make my tea. A scratching at the door tells me Charlie the cat wants to come in; she's looking for her morning milk.

I like this time of day, although usually Larry is up as well so the sounds are more numerous. He doesn't notice; he's starting his day and getting busy. When I am alone in the morning, I move softly, trying to make as little disturbance as possible, relishing the peace before the day's onslaught of what must be done.

Being sick is no fun (I have caught some nasty sinus/throat infection) and a restless night of fever coming and going means this will be a slow day. I'll be a good girl and take my meds, drink lots of liquids and be a couch muffin (can't be a potato, I'm too soft!). Maybe if I feel well enough later we'll put the decorations on our tree. Or not. At least I have had this quiet, slow morning; the rest of the day will be better for it.

Day begins to break and Larry is up now. Coffee making commences along with lots of other noises. Conversation enters. The day has begun.

Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Vintage Thursday: Ravenswood Booth

I made a few changes at Ravenswood lately, and have made more after I took these photos, so I'll post more next week. Here's a quick peek:

Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.