Author Topic: Holiday Memories Open House  (Read 58345 times)

ginny

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #160 on: December 13, 2010, 09:40:45 AM »


Holiday Memories - An  Open House for All of US!








What's the best Christmas or Holiday you can remember from back in the Good Ole Days? We hope you will come  right inside out of the cold and share those memories with us - beginning Dec.1   T'is the season to wax nostalgic about Christmas past - and all the  holidays you celebrate this time of year..


Every party needs MUSIC!  Let us know your Holiday favorites...we'll link them here for you. Remember this one?


What's a party without  GOODIES? Let's  fill this buffet table with your favorites!  What's your best  Holiday  recipe ever and  the story behind it? Do you still bake like you once did? Shall we have a contest for the OLDEST RECIPE?

 

And what's a gathering of BOOK LOVERS without Books? We all have our seasonal favorite STORIES and POEMS. What are yours?  Each week in December we'll focus on two of your favorites.  Do you remember these two?

 




ginny

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #161 on: December 13, 2010, 09:42:54 AM »

Ginny’s Christmas celebration at the grape “ranch”  is always a Christmas card!  Is it possible to bring a photo here, Ginny?

hahha, sure thing, not very scenic tho, just home snaps:

Going out to find the tree, Scott my oldest and John:


Ready to go with tree, John has just thrown "hay" (mown grass) all OVER the golf cart to his daddy's horror hahahaa




Getting the bottom straight at the tractor shelter:

Ho ho ho!


BarbStAubrey

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #162 on: December 13, 2010, 05:30:31 PM »
Look at them - Hurray  here we come!!! - Oh Ginny don't you just love it - don't know what makes us happier to see our grands getting such a kick out of life for the first time or seeing our children re-living - expressing their own joy as well as, seeing life anew through the eyes of their children and enjoying every minute of all of it - thanks for sharing

Well upside down on my day - started to feel windgy last evening and called Paul - not that he was delighted I was feeling low but they were glad for the postponement - seems Sally had to go out of town today - as a result she has Thursday off and wouldn't it be great if I would come on Thursday - thank goodness I called when I did - I must have eaten something because what a night and morning till about an hour ago -

Although cold today - only in the 50s - the sun was beating in the wall of windows of my bedroom - Yes, 9 feet of windows - I have to live as if I was outside - that low winter sun warming up the room helped - turned the heat up to 76 as I buried myself under two quilts wearing hiking socks and a flannel shirt on top of my PJ's  - finally warm enough so that I slept and now after a piece of toast I feel somewhat human again - we shall see - I hope this is the last of it.

Steph thanks for the recipe - the Beggars sound rich, almost fruit cake rich however the recipe sounds very do-able

And so Kiwilady you do have a Christmas swim - I am so conscious now of how often our holiday cards and ads, even the music and decorating tips are all about a Christmas with snow - are there special Christmas cards in New Zealand or in Australia that show a Christmas in summer weather?

Well back to the cold bleak weather as the Gloucester Choir sings "In the Bleak Midwinter" and here is a site with FABulous photos of the Gloucester Cathedral which was the film site for Harry Potter Gloucester Cathedral  

I just noticed when I attempted to pull this up using foxfire I had to hit the background picture with my cursor to get the series of wonderful photos of the Gloucester Cathedral - at first it appears as if there is only one photo and there are a whole series of interior and exterior views in rather large photos including a map showing the locations of all the old Cathedrals in Britain.
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

CallieOK

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #163 on: December 13, 2010, 06:34:08 PM »
I just got a neat phone call from my 13-year-old grandson.  His 7th grade English assignment is to write a short essay about a favorite cookie and include the recipe; extra credit will be given if samples are brought for sharing with the class. 

 Because he said he was going to write about having fun making cookies with me, I thought he would ask for my sugar cut-out cookie recipe.   But he wanted the one for Snickerdoodles.   
Then he said, "And, Gammy, I need it right now!"    I'll bet "Somebody" waited too long to do his homework and doesn't have time to make/chill/cut out/bake sugar cookies before tomorrow morning.  :D   The e-mail was on its way in about 5 minutes.
(I wonder if he'll include the fact that he always wore an apron when we were baking.   :))

I think this is a neat "just before Christmas" assignment.

salan

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #164 on: December 13, 2010, 07:02:04 PM »
Today in central TX started out cold---23 degrees.  However, it warmed up to 60 in the afternoon-Sunshine and no wind.  It was lovely!

I finished up my baking today.  I don't do nearly as much as I used to, but still take pleasure in the little that I do.  I made Pumpkin bread-yummy and my grandson loves it.  I also made pecan pie tarts (easy and so good), sausage balls, and choc. chip cookies for my son-in-law.  They are safely resting in my freezer out of temptation (although, frozen choc chip cookies are good).  I mailed a care package to my step grandson who is in the Air Force and stationed in Minot, ND.  Poor young man was born and raised in San Antonio and is about to freeze to death in ND.  Last year I sent him sub-zero coat and gloves,, etc.

Sally

ANNIE

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #165 on: December 13, 2010, 09:56:07 PM »
We also had lots of snow and were under a Class 1 Snow Alert which started sometime on Saturday and will be lifted by 11am on Tuesday.  We got some inches because it kept sprinkling for two days.  Quite a shock to wake in our bedroom yesterday as we have nothing on the windows while Mr A continues to paint and put up crown molding, to see a woods covered over with brand new snow.

Do try the Creme de Menthe bars, Barb, they are so good.  I make at least 4 batches every year.  They make great gifts in a new tin box.  My beauty operator awaits them every year.  As does my next door neighbor.
"No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth." Robert Southey

Steph

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #166 on: December 14, 2010, 06:39:58 AM »
 I always use light brown sugar in the Beggers.. You have to understand that when my husband could sneak them in, a lot of different types of candy, etc were in them. He loved to experiment when I was mixing the dough..He put all of the things to go into them in a bowl and then we would dump it in, so he loved chocolate and had all types. I loved the dates.. yum..
It is truly awfully cold for Florida just now. Wind, cold.. I live on a large lake and we had white caps all day yesterday. BRRR.
Stephanie and assorted corgi

Babi

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #167 on: December 14, 2010, 09:29:19 AM »
 That looks like a gorgeous tree, GINNY. And it's a pleasure to see John and Scott's smiling faces.

 "Windgy" is a new word for me, BARB. I like it; very expressive. And thanks for the Gloucester Cathedral link. It is so beautiful! I went to see the cathedral that was built at Coventry after the old one was bombed in the war. A very modern design. I love the old ones best.

 SALLY, I know your 'care' package will be most appreciated. I am convinced there is nothing these young men enjoy more than a package of goodies from home.
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

pedln

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #168 on: December 14, 2010, 09:44:18 AM »
Quote
Ginny your day with family sounded like a picture Christmas card

Earlier, in the third grade I fell in love with Kate Seredy's books - The Good Master, The Singing Tree and White Stag.

Barbara, what a lovey way to describe Ginny’s day.

Ah, Kate Seredy.  That brings back memories.  I was a little older than you when I first heard them.  Our 4th or 5 th grade teacher read them aloud to the class, a kind of listening treat at the end of the day.  Then, of course, we wanted to read them ourselves.  Jansci was the boy, I don’t remember the girl’s name.  I “met” Caddie Woodlawn, the most favorite of my childhood reading, that way too, in 4th grade.  I think my mother liked it as much as I did.

I hope that upper elementary and middle school teachers still read books to their classes – as a treat.

Just happened to catch  the Concordia College Christmas Concert on PBS last night.  I don’t always hear music as well as I would like, but this was delightful.  Then I had to search the college website and send it on to my high school junior granddaughter who’s considering majoring in music.  But BRRRRRRRRRRR.  It’s up there in Fargo/Moorhead.

Steph, I'm taking your Beggars recipe to Seattle.  I think our little Ruby would like to sneak things in, too.

ANNIE

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #169 on: December 14, 2010, 09:52:02 AM »
Steph,
A friend gave me that recipe, Beggars, but had a different name for it, Lizzies.  I make it every year and don't like to mess with the ingredients much.  I love the dates, like you!

When my kids were in the lower grades, their teacher read Madeline ?????? books that were their first syfy acquaintances.  They made a movie out of two of the first stories.  Her titles were:  A Wind At The Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet and ???????.  The kids loved those books.
"No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth." Robert Southey

pedln

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #170 on: December 14, 2010, 01:38:06 PM »
Madeline L'engle ??? --  something like that.

BarbStAubrey

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #171 on: December 14, 2010, 02:26:07 PM »
Ah yes, A Wrinkle in Time

This is an adult short story - it is not Christmas per se but it is a story that makes you think of the simple things in life that can make an enormous difference - it is a story of Faith and Hope and Love - I used to have it printed up and sent out as a token Christmas gift to everyone I knew before it was available again in book form - here it is translated from the French  
The Man Who Planted Trees

This is a day when simple would be lovely - much to do including emptying out the Frig - the cost of repairs is half the price of a new one and so I have a new energy star or whatever it is called - environmentally friendly - Frig being delivered this afternoon -

Plus it is a beautiful day and I want to get another of the quilts washed and dried in the sun - and then to top it off I have wildlife in the attic again - bouncing around up their having a party with a circus as entertainment all night long. They find the smallest cracks to get in and this time I see there is a small space where the gas line comes into the storage area in back of the garage where the hot water heater is located - I bet that is the new front door.

I get roof rats, squirrels and this past summer a family of raccoons - in the fall it was again a bird fly way - they come down the vent because the squirrels leave acorns up there and then they fly out through the side vent where one of the animals loosened the screening - only thing this October when a migrating group of vireos flew in for the night a couple got into the attic and then somehow ended up in my kitchen - I hate it when they get in the house flying around banging themselves silly trying to escape out a closed window.

Gotta go the delivery will be in less than an hour and the Frig is still not completely empty...

Nothing like the soprano voices of a young boys choir to lift our spirits here is
The Vienna Boys Choir singing In Dulci Jubilo
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

nlhome

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #172 on: December 14, 2010, 10:25:26 PM »
Ginny, loved the pictures. What a good looking tree.
For some reason, no one in our town is selling real trees this year, and with two snowy weekends in a row, we haven't been able to drive the 45 minutes or so to get one. This may be the year of the fake tree, out of desperation.

Joan P, I'm in southern Wisconsin. We had quite a bit of snow here, but nothing like further north or in Minnesota. And Bar, yes, in areas where snow is a winter-long presence, snow removal is a big deal. A city streets department that does a poor job, which happened in Madison, our state capital, last year, gets much criticism. This year their response to the last storm was termed "adequate." My little town does a good job, but the rural areas are very hilly and the roads can stay snow-covered for quite awhile. Salt and gravel are used, also.

And snow that comes by Thanksgiving may stay until the end of March. It can make for a long winter.

Which reminds me, has anyone read the Laura Ingalls Wilder books? I remember reading them, and I remember the stories of Christmas and how they might get snowed in.

Steph

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #173 on: December 15, 2010, 06:28:04 AM »
 My parents gave me the whole series of HoneyBunch..A perfectly poisonous little girl who was perfect.. Golden curls, obedients.. religious...sigh.. I think my mother kept hoping that someday her tomboy daughter who wanted to sleep woth her pony would change overnight.
Stephanie and assorted corgi

ginny

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #174 on: December 15, 2010, 08:36:11 AM »
Thank you, Barbara, how joyfully you write, and Pedln,  and Babi,  and nlhome, it turned out to be a gorgeous tree, had to cut it off twice actually and it's still 10 feet tall.  Did manage with difficulty to persuade my son it does not "belong" in the center of the room, that's a lot to decorate and that's not my strong suit.  At all! Talk about putting off Christmas cards! hahaha

I do wish I could decorate a Christmas tree. I am hopeless at it.  And it looks so easy in the stores. I guess I have not learned the "decorating principles" needed, they always look a MESS. In fact it looks better with nothing on it than when I get thru.

That is strange, nlhome, about the live trees,  I wonder why?  Perhaps it's a "green" issue? Our last experiment in planting a potted tree with roots  is growing in the front woods, I did not think it would make it when the children (years ago) planted it,  but it's a huge tree now and looks nothing like a Christmas tree, but rather just a woodland tree of strange boughs... I don't know what it IS  but it's still alive all these years later.



What wonderful recipes here and memories. And music. And Barbara, your Gloucester Cathedral has made me add the trip to Gloucester (2 hours by train from London) to my trip next summer, that's just incredibly stunning. LOOK at William the Conqueror's son there, the "loser," does it actually say that, who ended up outliving those who thought he was nothing. Love it.

Callie, what a sweet story of your grandson. So YOU are Gammy, too! I love that. Me too.

Nlhome, my father read the Laura Ingalls Wilder (sp I am sure) books to me, starting with A Little House in the Big  Woods, I loved them but never read them to my own children. I wonder why.

We had something really unusual happen yesterday. A Post Office small square box came  with a return address  unfamiliar to us, I figured it was one of my husband's former business associates. Upon opening it however we found a jar of jelly, and a Christmas card from one of our grape customers which said they so enjoyed jelly from our "cheerful" grapes this time of year they thought they would share it.  The envelope and card were decorated with hand drawings so that I do recognize the car depicted and the couple, they come and bring a picnic every year and enjoy the entire excursion and  day...you know what? That was a nice thing to do and surprisingly cheer giving. A young couple who move to a different drummer, I hope it's the wave of the future.

This would be,  I think, called a random act of kindness, and it sure made my day, so I thought I'd pass it on. It would be nice if we could do that here, wouldn't it, somehow. :)


Pass it on! ho ho ho




JoanP

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #175 on: December 15, 2010, 09:38:12 AM »
Ginny, the grape jelly was really a thoughtful gift- I'm determined to do one random act of kindness today - something that is not on my list.
 
What was I thinking having not one, but two babies during the ten days before Christmas~  not very good planning, was it?  Andrew's is #40 on Saturday - that means a party this weekend...we're planning a big surprise out in his little town three hours from where everyone lives - but we'll all be there.  Hopefully it will be a happy surprise for him.  It requires a lot of time spent sneaking everyone into town so that he doesn't spot familiar faces - or cars with out of town license plates...

It's a pleasure to come in at the end of a busy day to  read your posts, listen to the music, while I do.  This morning I'm here to borrow Steph's Beggars recipe for someone who requested it -
It makes me nervous to hear of all the baking and wrapping going on - mine will have to wait until next Monday. That's plenty of time, right?
In the meantime, I'll listen to the music and try to keep everything in perspective.  Tis the season...

But first - off  to Tyson's Corner Mall - still  shopping  for the perfect gift for my birthday "boy"...

Babi

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #176 on: December 15, 2010, 09:42:10 AM »
 One of my favorite munches for the holidays is really simple.  I stuff
celery with a mixture of cream cheese, chopped green olives and pecans.
I love it, but Valerie is allergic to celery so I usually reserve it as a treat
for myself at Christmas.  I think I'll take a plate of it to the outdoor
neighborhood party Friday evening. 
  My son Andy and his wife won't be here for Christmas, so they are
coming for a visit this weekend.  I wonder if I can find my old recipe for
buttermilk pie?  He loves that.
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

BarbStAubrey

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #177 on: December 15, 2010, 10:57:26 AM »
Joan a party – a 40th Birthday Party – and just before Christmas – how has that worked out all these years – my sister-in-law had her birthday the day after Christmas and so she legally changed it to Valentines Day  - a sure fired protection from worry if you will or not receive a Valentine remembrance,  ;)

Babi is your Buttermilk Pie like a Chess pie – the kind without pecans – I love Chess pie but have never had a Buttermilk Pie – please, when you find the recipe would you share it with us.

Ha ha Steph didn’t little girls in school who could pull off the fair, frail, flirtatious get all the attention - of course being that constrained with a mandate to be fickle your only weapon is poisonous - I used to joke with myself play-acting in my head with complete wonder and astonishment as I would observe the broad smiles and giggles if they were friendly or really alligators that would eat me up in a nanosecond.

Life is funny - of late I have noticed when I’m picking up groceries so many of my neighbors who were into that sorority sister competition when we were in our 30s and 40s and Austin was about a quarter of the size it is now so that it mattered - well now with age their presence is diminished and I find I am assisting them helping them find their keys, cars, husbands or the ketchup –

I realize how lucky I am - sure there is a lot in my life that could be blanketed if I would only not get such a headache when drinking too much - but there it is and so being fairly healthy, staying busy, often annoyed that folks think you are your age, I follow my mother's footsteps -  laugh - see the humor in everything - and so Ginny I am really only writing as my head speaks to me -  I guess we could be literary here and call it a stream of consciousness - said with a puffed up aplomb. ;)

Ah a bare Christmas trees - I did that one year - purchased three small trees - around 3 to 4 foot - they were all a tad different in height - no lights - no ornaments except a lovely sliver star on top of the tallest tree - placed close together near the patio door - and then a few days before Christmas I picked up the flats of pansies and pinks that I used to put out before the deer became so prolific - Among the flats of flowers [on cookie sheets hidden by the moss I collected on one of my walks] I placed the little statues from the old nativity set minus the stable. I smiled that year - loved it - the following year and every  year since decided to do away with a tree – Whole Foods always has lovely full large fir wreaths - I tie one with red ribbons to the bottom of the Chandelier in the dining area off the kitchen. Using various lengths of narrow red ribbon I hang the oldest of the ornaments - some from my mother's tree and some from my childhood tree - I gave most of the ornaments that we accumulated when the children were young to them for their tree.

Ginny we can only imagine your surprise and delight receiving the jelly – a surprise small gift like that becomes a gentle smile in our thoughts for the day doesn't it. In fact I am really thinking that is what life is all about - creating and reliving in our heads memories - because really, the jar of jelly was a nice thought but more it was the memory of those who sent it and the way they spend the day on the farm that fills out the small gift –

hmmm except Christmas gift giving seems to be a full blown hurrah – however, wouldn't it be nice to have a quiet gifting where we could recapture the memory tied by the gift. For that matter it does not even have to be an exciting or special day memory - just evoking a memory in our past by someone makes us feel we matter.

Hmmm maybe that is the benefit of random acts of kindness – the kindness either becomes a memory or evokes a past memory. I am back to - maybe that is all life is – memories. Come to think isn’t there a book something about we are the composite of civilization's stored memory…

This would not be a daily missive without the weather report - it looks like any minute it will rain - I want to blow all the acorns and  the Redbud leaves off the patio – better hustle it is easier if they are not wet.

Oh yes, I became so caught up in reacting to your all's posts that I nearly forgot - surprise of a different nature - the Frig was delivered and after they left opened the door - no door trays - tried to flag them as they were pulling out - so I quick called the delivery service who phoned them - no, there was nothing they missed - called Best Buy and 'David' [he remembered me because we enjoyed how his mom will not allow him to replace her 35 year old frig that of course I suggested was Avocado Green - he grinned and we were pals for life] well he had to go look and call me back - so on the computer I go to make sure of the number of door shelves and I also realized the plastic window for the butter area was missing - the upshot - the same refrigerator was on sale this week - David calls - asks if I can come by he will take them off another in the store and I should get the reduction since I purchased only last Friday –

Tra la - including tax refund I saved $54.38 all because the shelves were missing - I would never have known about the sale otherwise.
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

Janice

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #178 on: December 15, 2010, 01:16:34 PM »
I do so enjoy reading all of the posts. 

rosemarykaye

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #179 on: December 15, 2010, 01:52:18 PM »
Barb - your posts are always so interesting, and isn't it always wonderful to get a bargain?  The other day I had a coupon to get £2 off Fish hair products (which I had never even heard of before, but they seem to be a premium brand) - I then discovered that they were also on a "buy one get one free offer", so I ended up with 2 hair sprays for £1.37 - little things like that make my day (sad I know).

And Ginny, what a wonderful thing to receive that little gift from your customers - little things really do mean a lot.  i usually buy some shortbread for a friend I meet regularly for coffee, and the other day I hadn't bought any so I made her some.  it took all of about 10 minutes and she was over the moon with joy, wants the recipe so she can make some for her new man, etc.  And I only made it because I'd forgotten to buy some!

Steph - I still see those pretty, "little me" kind of girls at my daughters' schools, and it takes me back - nothing seems to change.  I always wonder why boys are so dim as to fall for it, but I think it must be because these girls appear to offer no threat - they are not "scary".  My elder daughter is always bemoaning the fact that she hasn't got a boyfriend, but she is quite feisty and opinionated (can't think where she gets that from  ;)) and at that age (15) most boys are either too scared to ask girls out at all, or go for the pseudo-dipsy ones who flutter their eyelashes and don't answer back.  I hope and believe that she will eventually meet a boy/man who can be her equal, as she would not really be happy with anything else, but at the moment I just want her to focus on school.

Incidentally, I can't stop myself from telling you that said daughter is in one tiny bit of a video that was made of the concert she sang at last week.  You can see it on

www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/2041069

She is the one with the green dress.

JoanP - I hope you have a fabulous party, how good of you all to do that for your son.  I  tried to have my babies in summer and ended up with November, February and April - the best laid plans, etc.  And as for all this baking and wrapping - it's certainly not yet happened in our house!  Loads of the things I intend to do never get done every year, and every year it all seems to be OK so this year I am determined not to panic.  The shops and the TV between them put so much pressure on us to have "the perfect Christmas" - many of the internet suppliers are refusing to deliver in Scotland because of the bad weather we have been having, and some of the comments that people have put on the BBC website about that are quite ridiculous - "My Christmas will be ruined if I don't get my (whatever it is)" - it makes me sad that people really think that their and their children's happiness depends on the delivery of the latest toy, DVD, etc.  The poor people working for courier companies are getting no end of flack, and I'm sure they are doing their best, often driving in horrible conditions on ungritted roads, etc.

Rosemary

BarbStAubrey

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #180 on: December 15, 2010, 03:20:57 PM »
Rosemary - the link only brought up a white page -  I put Christmas Concert in the search box and I think I found it - is that your beautiful daughter in the off the shoulder dark green gown singing in a clear soprano voice - Oh Rosemary  you must have been floating with pride and deep satisfaction that night - we are sometimes lucky enough to have a tears-to-the-eyes kind of awed experience because of our children and I bet that night was one of yours.

I do not know if this link is any better but this is the url/address on top of the page with the video of the Aberdeen Christmas Carol Concert - http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/2046019

The address seems to be the same as yours Rosemary - and so maybe we have to fiddle with it to get the video to upload.

P.S. a brief blink-and-you-missed-it-drizzle then the sun came out brilliantly - patio done - doors open again - in the 70s - now for wrapping...
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

kiwilady

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #181 on: December 15, 2010, 05:21:48 PM »
Our hot humid weather has turned to blustery winds and rain. Its dropped 10c inside from yesterdays temps. I feel cold! I hope we don't get a wet Christmas day.

This morning I had a hair cut. Thank goodness for a senior discount!

What a nice gift Ginny. I love grape jelly but have not had it for many years. My grandmother made all the jellies and I am too impatient to do all the straining etc which goes along with jelly making. Also its not economical any more for me to do jams and preserves as the fruits are so expensive. Our nearby orchards are all gone now swallowed up by the seemingly neverending sprawl which is Auckland.

This year I am a real grinch. I have the most naughty destructive pup. A tree would last 5 mins. Its like having a 14mth old kid that never grows up living in my house. My dog is into everything.
She even climbed up to my computer desk took my digital camera and I found her killing it on the floor! She has heaps of toys and long walks but delights in stealing stuff she knows is forbidden. This dog has cured me of ever wanting another puppy! So my house is devoid of tree this year. She is like a cat and will climb to get what she wants so nothing hanging from the walls either.



Carolyn

kiwilady

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #182 on: December 15, 2010, 05:24:57 PM »
Rosemary - this year I bought shortbread to send down to the kids. Its exactly the same recipe I make so I was happy to buy it. It was Christmas shortbread cut in the shape of a star. Nice big pieces in each pack. Normally I would make the shortbread.

Carolyn

salan

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #183 on: December 15, 2010, 06:38:21 PM »
My son-in-law will come pick me up Sun. and take me to Dallas for a week.  My birthday is Mon. (I'll be 68), and they will wine and dine me!  I will help him with the Christmas dinner (yes, he is the cook in their family--much to my daughter's delight!).  We will have turkey, cornbread dressing, cranberry relish, hot rolls, giblet gravy, fresh green beans and whatever sides any one requests,  probably mashed potatoes.  There will just be four of us, so we won't need much else.  When I was growing up my family always had turkey and ham, home made yeast rolls, giblet gravy, cornbread dressing, sweet potatoes, scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, broccoli/cauliflower with cheese sauce, fruit salad, and various other salads/veggies.  Desserts were pumpkin, pecan, mincemeat, cherry, and lemon merangue pies; as well as cookies and home made candies.

My mother loved to bake (especially pies).  She made the best pie crust in the world.  None of her daughters have been able to duplicate that.  She started a tradition of baking everyone's favorite pie for Christmas.. She had small pie tins that she used in baking pies for her grandchildren.  They loved getting their very own little pies.  I wonder what happened to those little pie tins???  Have to check and see if any of my sisters have them.

What is everyone's traditional Christmas dinner?
Sally

kiwilady

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #184 on: December 15, 2010, 07:35:49 PM »
Usually its a buffet. Food is mostly barbequed but we always have a ham and some roast chicken as well. This year is seafood on the barbie plus the usual ham and chicken. The kids like sausages done on the barbie. We have sliced Baguettes made into garlic bread, lots of different salads, such as pasta,potato, rice, beetroot, cucumber and a green salad. Hot baby potatos in butter parsley sauce. We generally eat outdoors too.

Desserts - English trifle always made by my youngest daughter in a truly enormous bowl. Pavlova decorated with fresh unadulterated whipped cream and either kiwifruit or strawberries. Fresh Fruit salad, Cheesecake  and tons of vanilla icecream also big bowls of fresh strawberries. We also have a hot Christmas pudding ( English traditional) for those who want traditional and serve it with icecream instead of hot custard as a concession to our climate. Hot fruit mince pies are served for morning and afternoon teas with our coffees.

Carolyn

Janice

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #185 on: December 15, 2010, 07:36:21 PM »
That food really is making my mouth water!  I usually make jam and juice with my grapes but this year I made Grape Must.  It is so good on pancakes and ice cream and toast.  We usually go to midnight mass, which now is earlier than that, then come home for ham sandwiches on homemade rolls.  Doesn't sound that great but it was delicious at my parent's house.  I make candy and cookies.  The easiest candy is the fudge balls.  Melt about 2 pounds of the bulk chocolate; whip half pint fresh cream; stir together until mixed well; let sit for about two hours until it sets.  Take a spoon full and roll it in your hands to make a ball and then roll in walnut pieces.  Let sit overnight, store in covered container.  My children and their families come on Christmas day now and we like to sing Christmas carols around the neighborhood if the weather permits.  I have a tree that isn't decorated yet because my two cats like to climb it and sit in the branches.  I wait until they get tired of that and then I decorate it.

Steph

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #186 on: December 16, 2010, 06:36:05 AM »
Everything is beginning to sound delicious. I go to my younger sons house for Christmas.. His wife ( I think) is doing roast beef..
Which she adores.. Not sure what else..
A random act.. Hmm. I would like to do that.. But my act yesterday.. I read in th e local paper about an older charity. Years ago, I met Mrs. Russell. Mrs. Russel took in babies and children who are hopelessly deformed, mentally and physically. She took money if you had some or nothing if you didnt. She never asked anyone, but the community has always supported her.. She has died and her children never run the home.They take no federal,state or local money. They run no fund drives.. But with our horrible economy, their donations are down 60%. A lady wrote an article in our local paper. I sat right down, wrote them a check and also emailed some of my friends that also knew her and what she did.. Russell Home for Atypical Children.. is in Orlando, Fl.. It is a wonderful place. Google it if you  like. I dont think it is a Random act, but I visited the home many times years ago and I would guarantee, that she did an angelic act since I cried the entire time I was in the house. They dont.. They laugh and sing and are so joyful all together. Amazing.
Stephanie and assorted corgi

nlhome

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #187 on: December 16, 2010, 07:52:57 AM »
What wonderful stories, especially the grape jelly.
We used to have grapes and made jelly. My husband also tried his hands at wine - what he called little time bombs that went off in the basement (he corked it too soon).

Several years ago in the fall we loaned a car to a couple whose truck broke down in our town. We met them at a restaurant when they came out to discover the big fluid leak - they had two dogs with them and were headed from one side of the state to another. They would have been stuck here for a couple of days while waiting for parts, and they knew someone my husband worked with, so we gave them our 2nd car to get home in. They brought it back with a full gas tank, thanks enough, but the following Christmas they brought us a huge basket of fresh fruit and home-canned jams and salsa, etc. That was so unexpected.

Last night was a dinner with 3 friends I have worked with over the years. The retired friend cooked a fabulous meal (much to much) and ended it with homemade cheesecake with lemon curd, coffee and then a tiny glass of chocolate wine. The best part was catching up on news and seeing her decorated house. She had more decorations on her dining room table than we have in our whole house.

The threatened snow did not materialize, which made the 30 mile trip more comfortable, but only the main highways are totally clear, side streets are "snow covered and slippery."

Babi

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #188 on: December 16, 2010, 09:02:50 AM »
Quote
helping them find their keys, cars, husbands or the ketchup –
 
 Love it, BARB!
 
 ROSEMARY, I was able to see your daughter from Barb's link. She's lovely,
and I note she is singing solo so she must be a fine singer as well.
Congratulations!

 KIWI, sounds like finding a dog trainer would be a really good investment.
The earlier the better, from what I hear watching 'Animal Planet'. Personally,
I find cats easier to live with but they do their damage, too.
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

BarbStAubrey

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #189 on: December 16, 2010, 09:40:59 AM »
 It really is Christmas in here - the most fabulous posts - I laughed out loud nlhome with the bombs in  your basement - we don't have basements in this part of the country so for us it is the tool room off the garage and our attempt was beer - at first - what is that - everyone runs - looks in astonishment at the mess - goes for the mops and rags and then the teasing jokes start - oh my...

Steph I don't know about you but I have found there are some folks in this world who take on a mission that is beyond my ability to even wrap my head around it - the gal here that just astonishes me runs Mary House where she takes in the homeless who are dying so they can die in a bed - she fights with the hospitals that kick them out after only a day and leaves them on the street near the homeless shelter - she fights with the doctors to get proper tests and meds - often because of her diligence they get better however just as often not. Several times the group of us who go down once a month to hear mass around the big table at Mary House chip in to get a separated family together for a final visit along with our other contributions.

So many when they become homeless the family brakes up in order to have a better chance of making it or, because someone in the family will take the children. It is easier for women to be approved for various  public assistance and so the husband goes it alone. Of course with no money and no address getting a job is almost impossible. They loose track of each other but we usually can track them down by calling various family members and then either we drive the family ourselves or chip in to pay for a bus or plane fare according to where they are located. But how she does this day after day, week after week on the average one dying every week is beyond me.

Two of the men where recovered stayed on and help her - no pay but room and board - and they transformed the front and back yards into lush gardens by finding wild plants and either transplanting them or collecting the seeds - they also found some nurseries have a clear out of dying plants at the end of the season and so they collect those and bring them back to life. This higgly piggly garden is full with bees, butterflies and birds - calming to those who can look from their bed and some sit in a chair in the middle of it all.

Salan, Kiwilady and Janice -  your Christmas dinner traditions are lush -

With a son-in-law in the kitchen I bet there is a great mix with everyone enjoying the day.. A birthday Salan - Happy Birthday - another Christmas time baby - what a Christmas gift you must have been to your parents when you were born - and your mom baking a special pie for each - amazing

Kiwilady your dog must be a bundle of energy - the menu sounds fascinating - pasta, potato, rice, beetroot, cucumber and a green salad - I imagined a  veggie salad that isn't but it would be interesting wouldn't it to skip the rice and add the other cut up veggies on top of greens - I do love eating out of doors and loved the warmer Christmases when we could drink our coffee on the patio. There is a freedom that lets the children scamper here and there and the adults can relax that the sound will be too much or something will be knocked over.

Janice returning from Mid-night Mass to Ham sandwiches on rolls brings back some joyous memories -   We not only did Advent but as a German family there were traditions that kept the season on a calendar - in our house and for my children as well - you went to bed on Christmas eve saying prayers around a candle put in the window to guide the Christ Child with no signs of Christmas except advent calendars and all the baskets of cookies and fruit cakes baked over the last 4 weeks - that night - after they were sleeping EVERYTHING was done - tree put up and decorated - packages wrapped - toys put together - wreathe on the front door and springs of something in all the windows - the creche put on its special table - the mental decorated and a fire laid. The table set for a special Christmas morning breakfast - and in the middle of all this [I was the oldest and one sister was only 2 and a half years  younger with a brother and sister who were 13 and 15 years younger - and so in my teens Mom and i went to mid-night Mass and returned to 'her' special treat all those years before I joined her of bacon, lettuce and tomato with mayonaise on rye bread.

Dad did the tree and then went to bed - he was German Lutheran so Mid-night Mass was not his way - with all this we were doing just as Mom did till 5: in the morning - we would just hit our pillows for maybe an hour and the children would call out 'Merry Christmas' - they knew not to leave their bed that special was Mom and Dad escorting us/them to the lite tree - Mom, and then I copied, thought to have everyone leave their shoe or my children left a boot at the foot of their bed that always contained a tangerine and a special German cookie 'Lebkuchen' that had a old fashioned paper Santa attached to the front of it - Mom knew they would hold the hunger pangs while the rest of the stocking was examined giving us at least another 45 minutes.

A big Breakfast was the special meal - with ambrosia and for my children there were always waffles topped with fresh strawberries and powdered sugar - all sorts of home made sweets like stollen and fried crullers. Lots of coffee - when I was little we had a simple slice of stollen and milk then 9:00 Mass then home to this long leasurly breakfast followed by a long nap - I wonder why?  - That night we always visited my mother's sister for a big party - My Aunt or my mother played the piano - my  uncle the violin and his brother or my one cousin played the accordion - all sorts of cold cuts to eat with kids running in and out. Over the next week everyone visited each other and all our gifts were on display under the tree that we showed each one as we looked at each gift received when we visited before any party started.

Since we did not have much family around when my children were young we did have a nice meal at night - usually a special cut of beef - sometimes a roast but mostly steaks. My daughter does these pinwheels - beef laid out with layers of Swiss cheese and spinach that is rolled and when it is very cold sliced into steaks.

Oh my look at the time - I have to scoot - cannot believe - I'm on my way to my son's ...

Babi just saw your post - no time though - glad it tickled you...

“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

JoanP

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #190 on: December 16, 2010, 12:16:34 PM »
Salan - is your birthday this coming Monday - the 20th?  My brother's birthday is the same day.  It could be worse.  I've a friend who was born on Christmas Day - (Noelle is her name :D)  We will have to plan a special celebration here for you on Monday!

Am loving the family stories - especially those of Christmas' past.  There is always something to which I can relate in your posts.  Barbara, the story of your mother -reminded me of those Christmases in which I got about the same amount of sleep.  I remember one Christmas I finished putting the final touches on  Christmas, brought in the presents, stuffed the stockings, etc. and exhausted, climbed the stairs to catch a few hours sleep.  There were my two youngest, dressed in their Christmas clothes - I remember those velour shirts to this day.  They had showered, and were waiting in their room, playing a game, waiting for the signal that it was time to come down.  It was about 4 am!  I had to warn them that Santa wasn't going to come until everyone was asleep in bed.  They jumped under the covers, completely dressed.

My father was French - the custom:  no tree up until Christmas Eve.  He would wait until we all got to bed and would then decorate the tree by himself, wrap and  decorate and then get to bed - probably just before we got up in the morning!  Then he would make us wait upstairs and he'd go down to check to see if Santa had come.  He'd turn on the tree lights for the first time and we'd come down the stairs quietly, in awe at the tree, the piles of gifts...never thinking of the effort it took for that man to do this all alone each Christmas.  That would come later...much later.  Maybe too much later...

Rosemary, your daughter sang O Holy Night like an angel!  Has she had voice training?  She sounded so professional!  The link is in the heading.  Can we see YOU in the audience?  Where were you sitting? 
  And Janice, the Fudge Balls are  in the recipe book in the heading now - It's good to have a few that can be put together quickly now that we are becoming more pressed for time.  Thank you!

We've had several suggestions for this week's short story.  Of course there is Dickens - Father Christmas himself!  Perhaps you would like to read "A Christmas Carol" - many of you read it every season -   He did write other Christmas stories as well - Here are two of them:

 What Christmas is as we Grow Older -  Dickens  
This one is very moving, and as you can imagine, he speaks much of loss as he describes Christmas past.  Maybe not for all of us right now.


The Poor Relation's Christmas -Dickens  Shall we try this one?  


ginny

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #191 on: December 16, 2010, 01:00:19 PM »
Jeepers I'm getting old. :) Sitting here bawling at Rosemarykay's daughter's concert, thank you for putting that link in the heading, Pearson.  I was not able to get it, and I bet I looked at 100 YouTube Aberdeen sites. What a wonderful discussion this is.

What a joy to come in here and see such sharing, I love the recipes, the menus!!, the memories, the every day happenings,  and the sharing of pictures,  too.  

I'm so glad you all liked the grape jelly story! I must tell them next fall (have already sent them a card).  And I love the resulting grape stories, especially!!

Janice, what is grape Must?

I LOVED the children's concert. Wasn't the orchestra made up of the young people wonderful? I could not help but,  even half a world away, feel grateful to those teachers, the orchestra leader and the chorale leader,  who are inspiring the children to do so much with their obvious talent.

IS that your daughter in the green singing O Holy Night, Rosemarykaye? If so what a talent, what a beautiful girl and voice. I know you are blown away by it all. I would be.  I let it load first and then blubbered through two watchings. :)

The first two songs are a score, which I recognize,  from one of the Christmas Carol movies, perhaps? I am not sure which one, the Finney one? That's the only movie I have ever seen that people exited the theater singing, they danced out on the sidewalk singing Thank you Very Much, from the same movie.  You never see it listed among the best Christmas Carol movies, but it was one of the best. Of course nobody beats Alistair Sim, tho George C Scott was good too. I watched Bill Murray's but it's not one of the best, despite the readers of Entertainment Magazine voting it in in last week's edition.

 That is a complicated arrangement and difficult for children,  I am sure,  but they carried it off beautifully.

Is this a combined choir or a special group of chosen singers,  Rosemary?  There seem to be all ages, and they are all good. My goodness how proud the parents must be. I must shut up before I start blubbering  again. hahaha



CallieOK

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #192 on: December 16, 2010, 01:14:17 PM »
What wonderful stories of family traditions.

I remember two Christmas "set-ups" when my children were young.
The first was the year my husband was on Sabbatical to do graduate work.  We and the two sons (ages 8 and 4) lived in a student apartment building.  There were several other families there for the same purpose and all of those children had found their presents - hard to hide in a three room apartment!   As Christmas neared, our older son looked sadder and sadder and we knew it was because he had hunted while we were doing errands and found nothing.  We had hidden them in the trunk of the car.
Imagine the look on his face on Christmas morning when the entire length of his grandparents' living room was covered with a Hot Wheels set up!!  

The second memory is of a later year when we were back in our home.  My husband and I both had a flu bug and spent a miserable Christmas Eve taking turns bringing in gifts (again from the trunk of the car) or lying on the couch.

Chrismas dinner that year was chicken soup and Jello.  

mabel1015j

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #193 on: December 16, 2010, 01:24:15 PM »
Here's a fun Gene Autry Christmas song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onGs1BaA7co

A more soulful Christmas song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itdNoGtPQ3I

And the most popular Christmas song of all, a wonderful version from the Temptations

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFc7STuQF0U

Jean

ginny

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #194 on: December 16, 2010, 01:38:06 PM »
oh and more wonderful music!!! Thank you Jean!

Pearson, I loved the story of your father's doing Christmas all Christmas Eve.

Callie, I love that story of your son who had hunted for his presents. Our children used to do the same thing and they deny it today but they would look among the wrapped presents to see whose was what. In desperation one year I took to using a number code  like a tag saying "to 1945748." The IDEA was one would be odd numbers or one would be even, and then when they caught on to that, every other one would be odd, and so on but I forgot the codes every Christmas and they would invariably open each other's presents to much hilarity. To this day I always  get from my youngest, one present  with a tag like  "to 284923473" hahahaa

OH youtube, youtube, what can't you find on YouTube (except us?). I found Albert Finney, from the movie, in fact you have TWO chances to see the Thank You Very Much song, here is the second time it's played, in the triumphant conclusion of the movie. If you watch to the end,  I think you can see why people exited dancing in the streets, but if you watch it as far as  the choirboys you can also see Rosemarykay's Aberdeen children's songs, too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_n-cf5YPHQ

Thank YOU all very much  for these super memories!

CallieOK

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #195 on: December 16, 2010, 02:18:33 PM »
Ginnie, I forgot to add that there had been big sales a week or so before Thanksgiving and all the kids in the apartments knew their parents had been shopping. 

Love your attempt at coding.  My dil says her mother always gave the three girls p.j's or nightgowns for Christmas - but never remembered who liked what.  So the sisters would ooh and ahh - and then go upstairs and trade.

Janice

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #196 on: December 16, 2010, 03:51:21 PM »
Oh I love all the music and the memories.  I had forgotten that my parents used to do all the Christmas on Christmas Eve.  What a job that must have been. 
Grape Must is made from the juice of fresh grapes and boiled into a syrup.
Here is a link I ran across on Google http://greekfood.about.com/od/doityourself/r/moustos.htm

rosemarykaye

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #197 on: December 16, 2010, 04:03:28 PM »
All of these childhood memories are wonderful.  Barb, I was fascinated by all your traditions, and also by your story about the lady who looks after homeless people; some people are so good.

When I was in my 20s, I used to spend Christmasses with my Irish friend at her father's farm in Co Waterford (deep south of the Irish Republic).  She is the oldest of 7, and nearly everyone used to come home for the holiday.  We would leave London on Slattery's coach - it started from somewhere behind Olympia (West London) and drove through the night down to Holyhead - in those days everyone (except us) smoked, the TV was on all night; we would arrive at the port in the early hours, and stagger off onto the boat - which was always already packed with people who had driven and arrived earlier.  I remember being quite shocked by the poverty of many of the Irish labourers returning home - one Christmas Eve we had to lie down on the floor because there were no seats left, and the man next to me had nothing but an old carrier bag and his dog, who lay down beside him.  Everyone was very friendly, most were very drunk, - when we disembarked at Dun Laoghaire in the early morning I remember a voice piping up "Ah, the smell of Ireland" - everyone was just so glad to be home.  We would have breakfast in an upstairs room in a pub, then continue our journey south to Dungarvan.

I remember that Marian, I and one of her sisters all used to sleep together in a big old feather bed because it was so cold.  In the morning we would hear Marian's father shouting at her brothers to get up and milk the cows - they, poor things (the brothers, that is!) would have to crawl out in the dark, whereas we just turned over and went back to sleep.  we spent much of the holiday visiting friends around the district - there were in those days some wonderfully eccentric characters, and to me it was all so different, and seemed to be what Christmas should be, rather than the uptight, miserable occasion it often was at home.

thank you everyone for your very kind comments about my daughter Anna.  yes, she has  formal training - she is a pupil at the Aberdeen City Music School and has singing lessons from a fantastic man who is also a singer himself.  I am ashamed to say that I was not at the concert!  It was originally intended to be an ensemble piece with several other singers - they were to do Britten's Ceremony of Carols, and Anna (who has sung that with the National Girls Choir of Scotland) said it was going to be awful and that I shouldn't bother going.  Just before the concert, all of the other people dropped out - mostly because of the weather - and the school director asked her if she would do it solo with Raymond (the lovely pianist), in which case she could choose her own repertoire.  By then I had no ticket and no-one to stay with Madeleine (who is only 12), so i didn't go - in my defence I can only say that I think i have been to almost every other concert she has done in the past 5-6 years!

The other choirs and orchestras in the concert are I think all from Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire schools.

rosemarykaye

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #198 on: December 16, 2010, 04:08:00 PM »
Carolyn, thank you for all the stories about your puppy - they really are most beneficial to me, as we keep thinking about getting another dog, and from time to time we think a puppy would be best as it would fit in better with our cats - but your tales have remined me exactly what it is like.  All that destruction and trouble - I don't think I could deal with that again!  I think once we have moved we may look at a rescue dog (provided it is OK with cats), or possibly a retired guide dog.

Good luck with yours.  Both of ours were nightmares but they came round in the end.  yesterday I had to take my neighbour to the vet with her very sick cat, who ended up having to be put to sleep - the cat was 19 and had had a good life, but it was still awful.

Rosemary

ANNIE

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Re: Holiday Memories Open House
« Reply #199 on: December 16, 2010, 09:30:29 PM »
Has anyone sent any of you this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS0C2CizbFA


Do enjoy and watch to the end.  Its lovely and funny!
"No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth." Robert Southey