Christmas Traditions, and These are the Days of Our Lives...

I'm surprised Days of Our Lives has weathered the demise of the soap opera, but it's been around for a long time. It was mom's favorite. When I lived in Phoenix, before the advent of VCR's, mom had to work when the show aired. She convinced me to watch it for her and call her with the highlights once or twice a week. It was a connection with mom, and I became a fan of the show.

I haven't watched it for many years now, but while switching channels today, I inadvertently came across the end of todays episode. At Christmastime, they have a tradition on the show where they decorate the tree with special ornaments. The family members names are on each of the ornaments. It brought back a flood of memories of my mom, and made me think about the importance of traditions in families.

We still hang stockings by our fireplace, and every Christmas I have certain ornaments I love to decorate with, because it has become part of our holiday tradition. I have several given to me by my mom and my grandparents that are special to me, I have one with my dad's name written on it, some gathered over the years such as "Our First Christmas Together" which we purchased the year PJ and I were married, an angel given to me by my in-laws, ornaments I bought when our boys were born, and so many others. This year we had a tiny tree, and many of our ornaments are in storage, but I managed to put a lot of my favorites on our little tree. There's a special feeling I get from following our family traditions. I think they're important, and they definitely give me joy.  I hope each of you celebrated your holiday with traditions special to you, and I hope you had a Merry Christmas!

The Very Changeable November...

I'm a November baby, which adds to my love of this month, to this time of year. I have the fake fire crackling on the TV, accompanied by the soft background music of piano and cello.

My husband is preparing a Sunday brunch, well lunch really, because we slept in after a late night. We stayed up to watch BSU play in the 9 degree, freezing cold. It felt good to be curled up on the sofa in front of the television, while seeing the frosty breath of the players and the loyal fans who attended. It was also nice to see them pull from behind and win the game!

The arctic blast stole the last bit of autumn weather this week. We got a lot of snow, almost 10 inches, and it's been so cold. It's funny to see leaves still on the trees, but covered with snow and ice. They were so beautiful, but are now brown and scraggy looking, and under the snow are the leaves we hadn't gotten raked up yet. That's going to be a soggy mess when everything melts.

Even as I'm typing this, I still love autumn in all it's varied forms! When I step outside, the cold is bracing and the world is white and lovely. There is more than frost on the pumpkin, there's a layer of snow. It all looks beautiful to me. November is one of the most changeable months. It varies from year to year. It's full of surprises, which makes me happy to call it my birthday month!

Burning Leaves...

Vintage Autumn Print

November is filled with so many memories. One of my fondest is raking up piles of oak leaves. My sister and I would have fun jumping in the leaves, while grandpa continued to rake under the birch, the crab apple, and the willows, then he would take them, one wheelbarrow load at a time, and roll them out to the burn barrels. I still love the smell of burning leaves during autumn. That aroma is much more rare where I live now, as my little town has grown so large. The fields have been replaced with houses and shopping centers, and there are restrictions on burning in city limits. I may have to toss a couple leaves on the barbecue, and see if the smell still evokes the same feelings.

© 11NOV2014 ajj