Object de Christmas

Seems I get a little nostalgic this time of year. I started thinkin' 'bout Christmas when I was a kid and the objects that made it special. I know your wondering what I mean by objects. Well...these objects represent a moment in time or person that represent Christmas. I'd never seen these objects other than at Christmas time and when they came out of hiding all year long, I just knew it was Christmas.

Ribbon candy....Never saw it other than the holidays, but my Grandparents had it in a candy dish on the coffee table. Piles of strips of color and swirls, I would sit on the floor and watch it as if I was waiting for it to do something. Even then I was interested in color and design. Didn't taste so good but boy, was it entertaining to me ~

Our Aluminum Christmas tree. At the time I was embarrassed of it. Everyone in the world had a "real" tree but not us...nooo, we had a tree made of Aluminum that shined and glared at us the whole holiday season. And not only did we have this tree of silver....we had a color wheel to boot.
So the tree turned blue or green or orange depending on what part of the wheel hit the tree just right. When my parents were away and left us kids alone with the poor tree, my brother and sister and I would turn off all the lights except the color wheel and pick it up, point it in our directions and perform a little song or light hearted drama....until I broke it by hitting it (accidentally) against the wall. Now...you can't find these Christmas wonders without paying an arm and a leg. Guess my parents were ahead of their time ~

Christmas Tamales. Although I've never made them per say, I've put them together numerous times. Being half Hispanic and living in Southern California traditionally you just had to make these wonderful little gems of savory goodness. I'd go to Tamale making parties. You show up with your apron, assigned to either the Masa making department or the chili making department or like me...the putting together (assembling) department. All the time gossiping, singing, drinking, dancing and laughing but most certainly having a wonderful time. And before you know it...you can smell the mouth watering little packet of heaven floating through the house.

Nuts and the Nut cracker. My Grandfather (fathers father) would sit in HIS recliner, floor lamp at his back, pipe stand on his right along side the TV guide and his bowl of nuts and the nutcracker on his left. I loved the smell of a good pipe tobacco and the image of him sitting there smoking his pipe, cracking the nuts and talking to us about the good old days when he used to own a bar in Michigan just puts a smile on my face. And just to add to this picturesque image...he had a full head of white hair, blazin' blue eyes and always wore a sweater vest ~

Christmas butter cookies in the traditional tin....need I say more?

Lincoln Logs. My Grandmother (mother's mother) had toys at her house for us grandkids just like I do for mine. Our favorite were the Lincoln Logs. We built sky scrappers with those puppies...well, it seemed like we did. We'd all be on the floor sprawled out and lounging about with the logs, adults in the kitchen talking (arguing) and we'd be in our own little world of Tarzan or Pioneer people or camping. And occacionally my Grandmother would add to her collection and never tell us until we'd open THE closet and spied the biggest haul of Lincoln Logs know to mankind. Christmas music playing in the background, Christmas tree ( a real one) sparking in the corner, tin of butter cookies calling my name on the dinning room table and the occasional whiff of a Tamale......ahhhh, Christmas ~ I'm Just Sayin'

Up in smoke

Tonight, during me and Erics nocturnal walks, we always pass a seemingly normal looking house one block over from our seemingly normal looking one. From my upstairs bedroom window you can actually see this house and the somewhat goings on with it. The garage door it seems is more open than closed and people are always in it. Moving about, sitting and talking and carrying on. When we walk by we always exchange pleasantries and we keep movin', but tonight was a different story. As usual we approach said house and notice the garage door closed...OK, it happens, but wait, what's this smell? Kinda potent yet sweet, enticing yet mysterious....OH YEAH!...it's pot! You could see a sliver of light from underneath the door and these people were toking it up. I have to tell ya, we hesitated a little bit because although I haven't smoked in about 30 years, with an exception of one time about 2 years ago (that's another blog entry)we stood there and took it in...As we continued our walk, we laughed and giggled and talked about our pot smoking days and the funny and strange situations arising from those events. For instance how my brother, who lived and still does in Hawaii, would actually send me marijuana...IN THE MAIL! And there I was, opening up the box like it was Christmas morning. Or the time we dumped laundry detergent into a friends fountain in there back yard and proceeded to decorate ourselves with foam. Oh yes, I could go on and on but I won't...not because I'm embarrassed ( i don't care) it's just that there are too many to write. I stopped smoking when I became pregnant with Meredith (she's 31) and honestly, I haven't missed it...till now. Why? Who knows, maybe it's because I could use a little relaxing and I'm not much of a alcohol drinker. Or perhaps I'm loosening up in my old age...I don't know, but what I do remember is the munchies and lord know I don't need that anymore. You ain't lived till you've tried to defrost frozen wieners and contemplated eating them frozen...lol In any case, if I ever need any I know where to go. All I need to do is look out my bedroom window and see smoke....I'm just sayin'

A Sweet Design

As a small child I was always drawn to design. The design of homes, cars, gadgets you name it...to me, it was all about the aesthetics and presentation. Which is why I couldn't wait to get to my grandparents house for the holidays..to view their Christmas candy dish which was always filled with the most beautifully designed candy ever.....Ribbon Candy!

I would hover over the dish and be mesmerized by the vivid colors and swirls. I only partook in the eating of this wondrous candy once as I found out I did not like the taste, but the images of the bright hues and circular shapes would stay with me to this day. I even have Christmas ornaments that are replicas of Ribbon Candy but made from glass. And when it's time to decorate the tree, I pull them out of their container very gingerly and hold them in my hands and still stare at them in wonder and tell my daughter the story of how excited I was to get to my grandparents house. It's the little things that bring back memories of childhood.

The Spirit of Music...

Sitting in the waiting area of Raquel's orthodontist listening to Christmas music got me to thinking about this type of music and how it relates to me or something from my past. First of all, this happened 3 days before Thanksgiving and believe me I actually thought about leaving the office and waiting outside. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas music... but at Christmas time....hello! It seems they start playing it earlier and earlier each year so with me, by the time Christmas gets here...I'm very over it.

Growing up in the mid 60s and beyond I basically grew up with the classics. ...you know, Nat king Cole, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams and all the rest. Every year my parents would turn on the reel to reel tape player and we would all listen to and sometimes sing along with these famous people. Oh! the memories of some Christmas's pass. Like the time my father was chasing my mom down the hallway with mistletoe. I think of that little incident when I hear Eartha Kit's, "Santa Baby" because that was playing at the time. I can't forget Johnny Mathis, "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"...it was my maternal grandmother's favorite and it was one of the very few times I actually heard her sing.

I have danced with Meredith and my squirrely grandsons to Jingle Bell Rock and danced like a Charlie Brown character with Raquel while listening to her Christmas tunes. As a teenager, I have managed to go Christmas caroling a few times although we never sang John and Yoko's, "Happy Christmas" being that is was that era. I have sang with girl scout troupes, horse riding clubs, old girlfriends at parties and I sing my brains out in the car. All the tunes that I put on my blog are either songs from my past growing up or songs that I either have or want. I love them all but my favorite one is, "Merry Christmas Darling" by the Carpenters. I don't know what gets into me when I hear this song but 99.9% of the time, I start to cry. I also think that the song "Let it snow" is romantic. I especially love the lyrics, "The fire is slowly dying, And, my dear, we're still good-bying"...sounds like a good make out session if you ask me...lol.

So, here's a few of my favs. Turn it up or turn it off, it's all up to you. Whether it's old and traditional and brings back memories or it's new and jazzy or even a novelty song, Christmas music just make things that much better. It brings us together in love, happiness and in spirit...and that's what counts....I'm just sayin'.