The Old Folks Home

[Wisher1000]

I remember we had one of those aluminum trees inside for a while, then on the front patio for a few years. I wish (there I go again) that I had that tree now!

I have several vivid Christmas memories. One time, when I was about seven, I was playing Santa and handing out the presents, one for my sister, one for mom, one for my brother, another one for mom, on and on until there were several gifts at the feet of each person in the room (which was a lot of people.) Everyone was opening gifts and ooooing and ahhhing over what they got, except me. I was trying really hard to be brave and gracious and happy for everyone else. Eventually, my dad looked at me and said, "Lisa, where are your gifts?" I looked at him, kind of shrugged, and my eyes welled up. He snapped his head around and looked at my mother and practically yelled, "SUG, Where are Lisa's presents?" My mom looked confused for a second then jumped up and ran to the back of the house. She came back with several large plastic bags of toys, clothes, art supplies, and books, all unwrapped. She had hidden them and forgotten to wrap them! I was so relieved I burst out crying, For a good 45 minutes, I thought I must have been really bad.

 

[Arielle]

Is that... green grass?

We've gotten at least half an inch of ice, now. But we still have power

I was able to finish up BF's moms other throw pillow that she wanted and I started two potholders for her out of the scraps. I unfortunately don't have the potholder stuffing, but everything else is sewn and ready for them to be stuffed, quilted and then bound. And then gifted.

BF did get me a new sewing machine for Christmas, not the one I wanted but a much nicer one. I can't wait to start using it.

A new machine? He is a keeper!!

Quote: We always had real trees-- I do remember my father hanging the lights on the outside spruce-- the big bulbs of many colors. Christmas is not Christmas without those lights. Santa would knock on the front door and pass out presents on Christmas eve. IT all ended when the parents divorced. Christmas was never the same again. Of course now with my kids we do fun things and have a big dinner on the fancy china and drink bubbly, of the sparkling cider type on Christmas eve. Usually turkey for Christmas eve, then a roast beef on Christmas Day.

I remember we had one of those aluminum trees inside for a while, then on the front patio for a few years. I wish (there I go again) that I had that tree now!

I have several vivid Christmas memories. One time, when I was about seven, I was playing Santa and handing out the presents, one for my sister, one for mom, one for my brother, another one for mom, on and on until there were several gifts at the feet of each person in the room (which was a lot of people.) Everyone was opening gifts and ooooing and ahhhing over what they got, except me. I was trying really hard to be brave and gracious and happy for everyone else. Eventually, my dad looked at me and said, "Lisa, where are your gifts?" I looked at him, kind of shrugged, and my eyes welled up. He snapped his head around and looked at my mother and practically yelled, "SUG, Where are Lisa's presents?" My mom looked confused for a second then jumped up and ran to the back of the house. She came back with several large plastic bags of toys, clothes, art supplies, and books, all unwrapped. She had hidden them and forgotten to wrap them! I was so relieved I burst out crying, For a good 45 minutes, I thought I must have been really bad.

OH Dear-- that clearly is still a vivid memory.

 

[Cynthia12]

Miley who?

 

[gryeyes]

Ok, who remembers those awful Christmas trees of the sixties???

My mom had to have every one and I HATED them!
First was the silver aluminum tree that you had to light up with the flood light shining on it and of course you had to have the spinning disk with the yellow red and blue cellophane so the tree would change color. The thing looked to me like a giant tv antenna gone berserk!
Next came the real trees that were "flocked". Remember those? They were sprayed so thick with some kind of foam you could barely tell there was n actual tree under there! When you tried to decorate the thing the foam would either fall off or stick to everything. Oh, and of course , my oh so traditional mother just HAD to have the pink one!!! Nothing said Christmas like this thing that looked like a huge lump of cotton candy standing in the corner and smelled like a new car seat.

Oh well, sigh. Looks like I am just too old for this bunch of old folks. Maybe we need a thread for us older old folks
Hmmmm, not a bad idea!!!
Now all I have to do is figure out how to move this to a new thread

No, no, no, no! I had almost exactly the same childhood Christmas tree situations! Well, sans the pink, flocked tree - no way my dad would have allowed pink flocking. I was chuckling as I read the bit about the color wheel - that was with us more than a few years. <I><*shuddering*></I>

I think there might be some folks actually spending quality (or other) time with Holiday Happenings or Preparations. I know many of 'em will surface a page/section of posts or two later tho chime in on this very same experience.

Either that or a few of us have had ......hmmmmmmm...... Really different experiences in our Old Folkish youth.

 

[scottcaddy]

I remember we had one of those aluminum trees inside for a while, then on the front patio for a few years. I wish (there I go again) that I had that tree now!

I have several vivid Christmas memories. One time, when I was about seven, I was playing Santa and handing out the presents, one for my sister, one for mom, one for my brother, another one for mom, on and on until there were several gifts at the feet of each person in the room (which was a lot of people.) Everyone was opening gifts and ooooing and ahhhing over what they got, except me. I was trying really hard to be brave and gracious and happy for everyone else. Eventually, my dad looked at me and said, "Lisa, where are your gifts?" I looked at him, kind of shrugged, and my eyes welled up. He snapped his head around and looked at my mother and practically yelled, "SUG, Where are Lisa's presents?" My mom looked confused for a second then jumped up and ran to the back of the house. She came back with several large plastic bags of toys, clothes, art supplies, and books, all unwrapped. She had hidden them and forgotten to wrap them! I was so relieved I burst out crying, For a good 45 minutes, I thought I must have been really bad.

Scott

 

[superchemicalgirl]

We always had a real tree, too (except we also had those horrid porcelain handmade doohickeys with the lights attached to the ends), and one year my dad read in the paper to use a recipe instead of regular water for the tree to drink because it was better for the tree and would last longer. I don't recall exactly what the recipe is/was but it required light caro syrup to be boiled with some water, and some other eye of newt items added. Well my dad did all this, poured it into the base, and then put the tree there. The next day the tree looked downright dreadful. Apparently the directions didn't say to LET IT COOL before adding the tree. My dad boiled our tree.

He still insisted on using that recipe (cooled down) for a number of years after that. I never saw a difference in the tree and use regular water in mine.



I've got to go out and brave my driveway and the roads to go to work. I was up early this morning and have spread 2 buckets of sand/salt and a half a bag of rock salt on the top part of the driveway. I am not looking forward to this drive in.

 

[dsqard]

There are turkeys living in the woods next to my coop. I hear them when I rake the run. I don't know how many are out there but it sounds like more than a few. A flock? A gaggle?

A group of turkeys is called a rafter. Oh the silly bits of information that refuse to leave your head

We never had a flocked tree that I remember but I do remember having a color wheel. What it was originally for I don't know. We always had a real tree while I was growing up and when my kids were very little. After I met DH, he wouldn't allow a real tree in the house. His parents used to own a glass shop and he used to work for them. He said he had to replace glass on too many houses that had fires from Christmas trees to have a real one in the house. I can respect that. I miss the smell of a real tree but our fake one is pretty

 

[IttyBiddyRedHen]

Quote:

 

[chickisoup]

There are turkeys living in the woods next to my coop. I hear them when I rake the run. I don't know how many are out there but it sounds like more than a few. A flock? A gaggle?

A group of turkeys is called a rafter. Oh the silly bits of information that refuse to leave your head We never had a flocked tree that I remember but I do remember having a color wheel. What it was originally for I don't know. We always had a real tree while I was growing up and when my kids were very little. After I met DH, he wouldn't allow a real tree in the house. His parents used to own a glass shop and he used to work for them. He said he had to replace glass on too many houses that had fires from Christmas trees to have a real one in the house. I can respect that. I miss the smell of a real tree but our fake one is pretty

Beautiful tree!!! I was just the opposite with my children when they were growing up. I refused to get an artificial tree even if I had to drag the thing home on foot by myself (which did happen!) They were not going to have one of those horrible fake things from my childhood. I didn't mention we actually also had one of the first green plastic trees that looked about as much like the real thing as the aluminum one!!!

 

[Cynthia12]

A group of turkeys is called a rafter. Oh the silly bits of information that refuse to leave your head

We never had a flocked tree that I remember but I do remember having a color wheel. What it was originally for I don't know. We always had a real tree while I was growing up and when my kids were very little. After I met DH, he wouldn't allow a real tree in the house. His parents used to own a glass shop and he used to work for them. He said he had to replace glass on too many houses that had fires from Christmas trees to have a real one in the house. I can respect that. I miss the smell of a real tree but our fake one is pretty

Oh that's pretty DIDI...I had a real big tree back in the 80's..very tall. We are using a very small tree the last couple of years. But we like it, I put a lot of color on it, and things the grandchildren would like.