The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    wws's picture

    Skating on Thin Ice

    By wws on Fri, 12/24/2010 - 7:32pm |

    As a small Christmas offering (suitable only for your stockings), I invite you to read my recollections of Christmas past among a family of well-intentioned perfectionists; you can read it here:

    http://wendystaebler.posterous.com/

    Merry Christmas, to you all.

    Comments

    Gentle memories. Merrie Christmas, Wendy S.

    by wabby on Fri, 12/24/2010 - 10:49pm

    Where were you in the cold climates?  I liked the memories, and your Camp Director mumsy; I had one, too. And spare decorating is easier, and gives time to focus on the love and sharing, as you say so well.

    I admit, though, that I love Christmas decorations; they're part of our heritage, both the ones remaining from my parents (and a few of their parents' ornmanents) plus the many things I made for our nuclear family.  I was teasing someone at my Posterous site that he would just hate my house in Christmas finery.  ;o)  I won't pretend that I ramped up decorations because of the kids, since I've always loved decorations with plenty of lights and sparkles and wreaths and whatnot, but when I grabbed some of the free-standing whimsical ones to show to our grandbabbies over the webcam the other day, they chortled gleefully and reached out to touch them.  I liked that.

    I hope your time with your son was wonderful, wws, and that he appreciated the Christmas you made for him.  ;o)


    by we are stardust on Sun, 12/26/2010 - 12:01pm

    Stardust: A little known fact is that Garrett County, located in the far western extremity of Maryland is part of the Appalachian chain, where several factors: the elevation (2400-3600 feet above sea level); the "upslope water effect;"  the "Alberta factor"; and nor'easter patterns -- coincide to produce remarkable amounts of snow per year. If you are interested, a graph showing its history of snowfall/accumulation is here:

    http://www.deepcreektimes.com/snowfall.asp

    And, if you are still interested, the penninsula I describe is called, not so poetically, in comparison to its beauty, "Turkey Neck Road," which can be seen on Google maps if you type in "Turkey Neck Road, Swanton, Maryland" and then zoom in until you can see the penninsula and the semi-circle on which the cottages are located/ clearly marked; our cottage faced west and had the site line axis to Holy Cross (naturally the Balttimore Catholic Diocese had the best land on the lake, but that is another story -- half comical, half sordid):

    http://maps.google.com/


    by wws on Sun, 12/26/2010 - 3:17pm

    I think those snowfall amounts outpace those here in SW Colorado!  Holy crow!  I will do the Google Earth; I love that software to pieces. 

    Another question: why pears and oranges and apples in the decorations, and are they fresh?  I watched a Christmas movie the other night, and the banisters were festooned with greens and the same fruits.  It made me wonder about it. 


    by we are stardust on Sun, 12/26/2010 - 5:02pm

    All fresh fruits, Stardust, with their wondrous smells, though at the end of the week it is true that they suffered from withering and fruit mange. Nonetheless, I did and still do applaud my 50's'60's mother for appreciating that which was real -- tree and fruit -- as compared to fake. But, oy -- the labor intensive quality of it all. 


    by wws on Sun, 12/26/2010 - 5:40pm

    All fresh fruits, Stardust, with their wondrous smells, though at the end of the week it is true that they suffered from withering and (shudder) fruit mange. Nonetheless, I did and still do applaud my 50's/'60's mother for appreciating, then, that which was real -- tree and fruit -- as compared to fake. (But, oy -- the labor intensive quality of it all.) 


    by wws on Sun, 12/26/2010 - 5:21pm

    Not to be an idiot, if that ship hasn't already sailed, how do you hang a pear?  An orange and and apple I get, but pears seem like they'd melt away...   ;o)  I'll bet it smelled yummmy.

    One other thing, wws?  Could you move that pear there over a couple inches to the right?


    by we are stardust on Sun, 12/26/2010 - 5:27pm

    They weren't hung; rather, my trepidation about being "impaled" was because they were skewered (on sharp bamboo shishkabab sticks) cut to the "appropriate" length to be inserted into the commingled mass of spruce branch/Spanish moss.

    "Could they be moved a couple inches to the right?" HA!!!!  LOL, if somewhat hysterically ....


    by wws on Sun, 12/26/2010 - 5:36pm