A Christmas of Memories and Love

I really didn’t know what to expect from this Christmas. I wanted it to be as normal as possible but of course, it wasn’t. An important part of our family, Walter, husband, father, grandfather, brother, friend, pun master, was not here to celebrate with us this year. He loved Christmas and his sense of humor and childlike excitement made it fun. How were we ever to recapture that which was now lost to us?

Despite the melancholy memories of Christmas past that crossed our minds from time to time, we were able to be surrounded by love for each other. This year there were more hugs of reassurance, to remind us “we are still a family”. This year we added to our circle some new friends and acquaintances that felt like a new family. Rather than isolate ourselves, we tried to be inclusive. We felt the love and caring for one another.

We enjoyed the childlike excitement of our grandkids, ages 2 and 4 that was contagious and charming. We played Candyland and Shutes and Ladders, as well as the adult strategic games we have enjoyed in the past.

When the day was over and the giftwrap discarded, we discovered that we still had one more present to give. The day after Christmas, there was a piano dedication for our church in memory of my late husband and his family, who were charter members of the church. It was filled with wonderful hymns, a very practical and encouraging message by the pastor, and a special music by our son and pianist that summed up all that we had experienced that weekend.

Hanging of the Greens

And the pastor announced, “Next week, we will be decorating the church”. All of a sudden my mind flashes back 35 years ago to the Annual “Hanging of the Greens”. Same church, … some of the same people. Instead of the energetic youthful spirits of teenagers, there are energetic senior men climbing ladders to put up Christmas lights and a Christmas angel on top of the tree, and gentle senior women hanging handcrafted ornaments on the branches. There are garlands of green and red flowers wrapped around banisters and pillars near pews. The greenery may not necessarily have that fresh pine and douglas firs smell of old, but the effect was one of beauty and joy. As teens, we used to climb into the Red Van of one of our fellow youth and raid the Christmas tree lots for discarded greenery from trimmed trees. A nighttime Christmas scene was also being built by the Vietnamese church members who now share the church facilities.

I cannot recall when this tradition started, but I remember participating in it with my young friends. In fact, it may be one of the first fun events that drew me to return to this lovely church where I gave my life to follow Christ as my Savior and that gave me a special meaning to celebrate His birth. It was a lovely time and 35 years later was no different. There was much joy and laughter mixed in with some melancholy memories of church members laid to rest or those who have moved on. Of course, I could not help but think about my Walter and how he loved this time of year. 

 Isn’t it amazing?! It made me realize that life will go on and so will Christmas until every day will be celebrated of the Lord’s coming. Emmanuel, God is with US.

Christmas Anticipation

As Christmas gets closer this person must reflect on the life situation and think that this Christmas is very different! Of course, there’s my husband’s weakened condition. He used to be able to put up our outside Christmas lights. Now, we have to figure it out ourselves. We’re still looking for the outlets to plug the manger display into. Only two more days to go……Perhaps the neighbors won’t notice the unlit lights and admire the manger scene during the day. The beautiful angel that hung above the manger last year with her trumpet will have to shine during the day hours.

Christmas shopping is not very fun or thoughtful this year. Gift cards seem to be the easy thing to do. Thank goodness for the variety of gift cards available at the one-stop grocery store. I cannot imagine having the time to go from place to place to get gift cards. My time has been spent shuffling my husband from Dr to Dr and treatment to treatment, caring for him at home, and working to make up some missed time off, etc. His energy level is non-existent and this is not a cheery time for him.

We decided it would be too difficult for him to travel to other people’s houses for Christmas, so this year we are having a small breakfast with just the single sons’ and sister-in-law, and a few family over for Christmas dinner. My sister-in-law and son’s have been helping me clean house and get ready.

As a double whammy, my two youngest single sons’ are starting to pack up their stuff to move into their own home. That is, once escrow closes. We are crossing our fingers for Dec. 24. I am starting to have that tug of heart as my youngest son leaves the nest. We will truly be “empty nesters” when that happens. I know it is an important right of passage that all parents raise their children to become…..independent, self-supporting, responsible human beings making a life for themselves. I feel somewhat mollified that I will be able to see my youngest son every day, as we work together.

As this grieving process is initiated, I find myself barely able to think about a whole spare bedroom to put my fiber/yarn collection into. Suddenly my house is become too big for us. I'm sure I am the envy of every fiberholic out there.

Nevertheless, God has been good. He has brought us through another year. I have a lot to be thankful for. I feel blessed each day. God gives me a ray of sunshine to reflect of the goodness he brings to me and my family. It is the little things that are the best…..my husband pain-free, my son’s wisdom at work, my grandchild’s smile, a kind word of encouragement from friends and family. I am blessed.

Recovery

It’s amazing how much effort we put into preparing for Christmas when all of a sudden the day is spent. Everything is over. You collapse in a heap of fatigue and satisfaction and wonder…..it is really over?

This past month has been a flurry of shopping, decorating, cooking, and knitting feverishly to finish those last minute gifts. It was nice to have a few days off before Christmas to prepare at my leisure. The results were quite nice….

Our tree….

My table….
My mother made this beautiful flower arrangement at her class.

The stockings were hung by the chimney…..

The day was glorious, filled with people and good conversation. The weather also cooperated by holding off the rain while we went of a photo scavenger hunt around town.

The weather being cold and rainy has inspired me to make simple knitwear again. I’ve been thinking about my stash and how I can use it up. Hats have been on my needles. They are quick and can be as simple or elaborate as you want them. I trade off between the two. One is complicated and the other is simple. This gives me the quick gratification of finishing something as well as the challenge of working towards a great looking cap for someone. One of the hats I made was Coronet Hat, a simple cable hat. It turned out great except that I had to graft the ends together in kitchener stitich, which is not my favorite stitch. The hat looks great.

This is a Koolhaas hat in progress...

I’ve also acquired an obsession in making the Calorimetry head bands. I’ve wore my red one all week. I’ve given some for Christmas Presents. They knit up in about an hour, depending on whether you are using bulky or thinner yarn and needles. If using wool, they are warm and smooth back your hair without hiding it in a full hat.

As the year winds down I’m feeling the need to clear out things I don’t use. Perhaps another New Year’s resolution in the making……..

A Glorious Family Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas day! A lot of fun and food from dawn to dusk. I managed to cook breakfast and dinner for about 15.
A summary of the days activities:

7:30 All my sons and friend, grandchild and her mom, came over to open stockings. A very happy time. Grandaughter, 16 mo toddled about, opening her gifts and pulling the ornaments off the tree. She’s loosing her baby fat from all her non-stop activity.

9:00 Breakfast buffet cooked: Menu Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Potatoes Obrien, French toast, Muffins, Juices, Coffee and Egg Nog. Everything was very yummy.

10:00 We opened our tree presents. Youngest son plays Santa Claus passing out presents. Knitted gifts fit recipients perfectly. We vegetated and enjoyed our presents for a few hours. My son gave me a great book, The Field Guide to Knitting and I also received two Zimmerman DVD’s The Knitting Workshop and Knitting Around. My new Ipod nano will allow me to see videos as well as audio podcasts. Below are some knitted Christmas presents I made for friends and family.



This year my husband planned a "12 days of Christmas" treasure hunt for my middle son. He had to search for a DVD clue that lead to a clue. On the 12th day he found his Christmas present. It was fun watching him look for all the clues.
The other night while I was dozing off I decided to listen the Lime & Violet Holiday Podcasts. The music was hilarious. I laughed all the way to dreamland. If you haven’t heard it, you must check it out. It is 50 min and hilarious Christmas music to knit by.

1:00 We had six of us break up into two teams of 3 for the Christmas Scavenger hunt. We had to take pictures of as many landmarks and items within the city, on a list, within one hour and be back to the house. This was a lot of fun. Each team had a member familiar with the city. One was the driver, one was the navigator and one was the picture taker. What a sight to see this 50+ old lady run up the street taking pictures of street signs and Christmas lawn decorations. Although, it was a lot of fun, I kept hoping the house owners would not sic their dogs on me taking pictures. We reviewed the pictures to validate the items on the list and our team won by two items. Our prize was a beautiful gift basket filled with gift cards to the movies and restaurants, assorted candies, nuts and limeaid drinks, which was donated by family members.

4:30 Dinner buffet of honey-baked ham, seasoned potatoes, vegetable, fruit, rolls and assorted desserts, candies and cookies. Greatgrandparents arrived, and uncle and girl friend arrived to share in dinner. After dinner we sang Christams Carols and my middle son played a special Christmas solo on piano. More presents opened and dessert and goodies were yummy.













10:00 This grandma is very tired and ready to collapse. It was a good family day. I count my blessings and God’s goodness that we can share Christmas together.

What’s next? Planning for the New Year’s Knitting resolutions……stay tuned.

The Feeling of Christmas

This year the feeling of Christmas is different. Everything around seems to add to the excitement and feeling of Christmas. I wonder how and why it is different this year as compared with others. Here’s my list of reasons that may have contributed to the feeling of Christmas.

Department stores started putting out Christmas merchandize before Halloween this year. This is earlier than ever before. This definitely got people thinking of Christmas shopping early this year.

The local radio stations started playing Christmas music before Thanksgiving. What a joy to hear “I’m dreaming of a White Christmas” in November. I never get tired of hearing Christmas music all year.

Tragedy always seems to foster hope and giving. Southern California was devastated with humongous fires in the fall and the community stepped right up to help. Although loss is hard to take, I think perhaps that sometimes God uses (allows for) tragedy to get our minds and hearts on the right track. Instead of selfish self-centeredness, we offer compassion and giving. Isn’t this the real meaning of Christmas? Just as the innkeeper gave housing to Mary and Joseph in time of need, so we, too, can give in different ways.

Starting with Thanksgiving the weather has turned colder and stayed rather crisp. The feeling of winter, of bundling up in warm sweater and hats, makes it feel like Christmas. It’s been snowing in the mountains. We’ve had some very needed rain, hoping to relieve the drought we are experiencing across the nation.

Listening to the knitting pod casts talk about starting Christmas knitting in July started me thinking what I could make as presents this year. It did seem ridiculously early to be knitting warm things when the temperature is over 100 degrees, at least here in California. But what the heck, let’s distress your life. Why put off tomorrow, what you can do today?

And oh my gosh! What interesting new projects ideas where available, especially with the introduction of Ravelry. Creative minds can now support each other. We had some online help and advice at the touch of a keyboard. What a miracle of miracles for us isolated knitters. We will never be lonely again.

My family is much more involved in Christmas preparations. We have opened our home to whoever needs a place to go for Christmas. We are having my son’s friend come on Christmas. We have invited my brother’s girlfriend’s 18-yr old daughter join us too. We are making Christmas stockings. My middle son is planning a Christmas Scavenger Hunt and preparing a large gift basket for the winners. My youngest son is extremely happy to have an income to buy and give meaningful Christmas presents this year. My husband is making a Christmas treasure hunt with clues for a special member of the family. And I have knitted so many things to give as special gifts this year.

Finally, I am just extremely grateful to see all this Christmas excitement flow through our family with love and admiration. Thank you God for a special family. My hope is that you will experience the same “Glow of Christmas”, which may last all year round.