My Life, my photography, my passions
Christmas is full of traditions and this one is no exception. My Mother used to bake this same Swedish Tea Ring at Christmas time for my God Mother. It had been almost 40 years since I had my last one. My fiancee’s Mother baked this one and it instantly brought me back. It was just as delicious as it looks.
Merry Christmas everyone!! My fiancee and I don’t get our picture taken very often so, when holiday opportunities arise, I take advantage of the camera friendly opportunities. We drove four hours Christmas day to spend with Randy’s parents in Palisade Nebraska, located in the southwestern part of the state, only 30 minutes from Colorado. Three days of good food and a house filled with Christmas memories.
His Mother decorates her tree just like mine, with vintage ornaments and stories. Every corner of the house was decorated and there were just too many photo opportunities for my 365 project, so the extras are posted on my Flickr account.
The tradition in our house is to open presents on Christmas Eve, 12:01 am to be exact. Long story, and since I have so many pictures to update on my 365 project it can wait until another time. Another tradition is the Santa Hat. In order to open a present you have to wear the Santa Hat. It gets passed around and one person at a time opens a present while everyone watches.
This is my daughter, modeling the Santa hat, her new snowflake necklace, and a wonderful Christmas smile.
If this vintage Santa looks like he was singed by a smoky fire, he was, a long time ago in the early 1970’s. This Santa lived in Warehouse Point Connecticut in my God Mother’s house. Granny (Alice) Turcotte was a wonderful women and starting in her 50’s took in foster kids that few others had the patience and love to give. Each had either a mental or physical challenge. Some stayed a few days, or weeks, others stayed their entire lives.
One night her collie, Lollipop, started barking. A fire had been started in a trash can in the upstairs bathroom by one of the kids playing with matches. Smoke quickly filled the two story house. Lollipop went to each of the bedrooms and woke everyone up. She literally saved their lives. I was quite young at the time and I remember Christmas was held downstairs that year while the upstairs was being remodeled.
This vintage Santa survived the fire and Granny Turcotte said the the soot on his beard served as reminder of the miracle that year that God was watching out for his children. Santa sits out at my house to remind me of Granny Turcotte, her faith, and the unselfish love she showed toward others. I miss her and wish I could spend a Sunday afternoon at her house again.
Moving to another section of my Christmas tree brings me to another memory. When I was about 10 years old, my Mother and I sat at the kitchen table and assembled wooden ornaments together. We then proceeded to paint and add glitter.
The result was about a dozen ornaments crafted with love, that have been passed down and grace my tree every year.It was the beginning of my journey into crafts and creating Christmas memories.
