Christmas Memories

I'm a minimalist. I like a few decorations, larger art work on the walls, and not a lot of clutter everywhere. One friend, when visiting my home for the second time, asked where's all your stuff. We don't have a lot on purpose. The "fullest" room in our house is my studio and even there, I tuck things behind doors and in drawers. SO...

... while I enjoy Christmas and especially the meaning of the season, traditions, and getting together with family and friends, suddenly adding a lot of decor items to my house can make me feel quite agitated so I'm careful to limit them. These ones have come to mean a lot over the years.




The wreath is made with evergreen garland wrapped thickly around a wicker frame. It has three porcelain looking angels and a collection of bows and beads. We have one on the front door and one on the side door and I gave one to my daughter a few years ago. I made them so they would be thick and full with pretty (IMHO) ornaments rather than some of those tacky ones you can buy. Isn't that always the case for us creatives? We can do "that" better.

When I bring out the Christmas decorations, I put away our regular ones except for this clock. We're so used to checking for the time that it has to stay. It looks fabulous with our Santa and tree. When the kids were younger, we would go to the Christmas tree farm, hunt for our tree, cut it down, and drag it home and we had a neighbour who would dress up as Santa Clause and deliver a gift on Christmas morning. These ornaments bring back those memories for me.




The dish is empty right now. Normally it's full of Ice chocolates with brightly colored foil coverings. I'll pick up some of those but not until I also pick up some GFDF chocolates for me. The only store I know of that carries them was closed yesterday. Later this week. The dish was a gift from one of the best bosses I've ever worked for. Since I was self employed for twenty years, you know it's quite old.

The decor pillow in the background is one of many that I made that year for my friends. The tree is decorated felt and on the back there is a little pocket for a scent package. LOVED the star buttons and tassel.

Our daughter was born on the 21st of December. She'll be 23 in a few weeks. We got this bear the year she was born. It plays a whole bunch of Christmas carols. When they were younger, you'd find the kids sitting on the couch, bear to ear, listening along. It's amazing that we've only changed the battery once.




Christmas bunny arrived a couple years later in 1989 when we had our first son. I took a workshop at a local craft store, made one for his nursery, and made this one for Christmas. The few times I've tried to leave her tucked in a box, one or the other of the kids always insists that I get Christmas bunny out. I must be getting old and sentimental because now I can't imagine leaving her in the box.

I love angels. This is my absolute favourite. It was bought at the first school craft fair that I went to with my daughter. She was four, just about to turn five. It's made from paper ribbon. Whoever made her did an amazing job.

As often happens when you enjoy something, people buy it for you. That doesn't always work the way you'd like. Instead of getting angels that you love, you get the angels that they love. These two are lovely. The one above has buttons all over her dress and hat. My friend definitely picked it with me in mind.

And this one was made by another friend. It's VERY special when you're creative that someone spends time making something for you. She even stamped the paper for the gift and wrote out music for the carol sheets.

I started quilting in 1984 with two quilts for my nephews and then one for my daughter in 1986. After that, I must have gone through a period of Christmas projects. The stockings are made with Seminole piecing and are for our children with the last one on the right for our son-in-law whose name is also Kyle.

Jessica and Kyle are not coming home for Christmas this year. It's the first time she's not been here and the first time in five years that he won't be here. I really think it's completely unfair for two of my children to not come home for the first time on the same year. I'm going to find this difficult. Last year I decorated the tree for the first time without Jessica and totally lost it - crying and upset. I didn't do that when she went to first day of school, moved out, got married, or moved to another city but the tree did me in.

The quilt makes me smile. My style of working is so vastly different now. I don't do any traditional piecing and all of my textile paintings are "stitched to death". This one is definitely a earlier piece.

The dishes come out for a month. They're a mish-match of items. The two latte mugs were gifts. The five mugs I picked up when the kids were smaller. I couldn't afford the whole set of dishes at that time. The dessert plates are for our Christmas morning cinnamon buns (another gluten laden thing I'm going to have to come up with a substitute for). We bought a sixth plate when Kyle joined us five years ago. There are eight dinner plates because I hosted a Christmas luncheon for a ladies group I was a part of several years ago. We'll use these every day for December and then back in the box they go. By then, I'll be totally frustrated with them taking up that surface. Right now, they're fun.

Over the years, I've baked all kinds of things but the one that everybody loves is butter tarts. I made about sixty regular ones yesterday with wheat flour and butter and...

... my friend Francine helped me make these GFDF ones using vegan shortening, vegan butter, and rice flour. She bakes. I have no idea. I buy the other shells. After watching her, maybe I could do it. She was surprised that they were totally yummy. I was thrilled.

Earlier I'd been thinking about the years that I baked butter tarts for my friend Darrel who has since passed away and with my girlfriend Kelly. I could hear her voice telling me to put less raisins in, that the "juice" was the best part. We've been out of touch for years and I don't know why. She's never replied to any of my queries. I miss her very much. It was good to bake with Francine and make a new memory.

The boys don't want to decorate any more. They just want the house decorated EXCEPT... for these trees. My youngest son - Kyle - thinks of these as his trees. I left them on the table and when he got home from school, he puffed them up and placed them in the nativity scene, which is not where I would have put them but over the years I have learned that it's not all about me. It's about building memories. In a few weeks, we'll decorate the tree with some more family traditions. It's good.

This morning, I'm taking Kyle for some blood tests and then to a doctor's appointment and then to school. After that, I'll stop at Arts & Crafts for a bit and then I've been invited for coffee to a new friend's home. She has carefully read me the ingredient list of the baked item she wants to make. How sweet. It'll be fun. Tonight is more knitting. I'm about 3" from the end of the last toque. I'll have to decide what else I'm going to make.

Talk tomorrow - Myrna

Grateful - Christmas memories and friend who bake