Memories, Memories, Memories

 It will soon be Christmas.  The day after Thanksgiving is often the day the Christmas decorations come out of storage--especially for us and for many of our neighbors.  Unwrapping these decorations brings back so many memories.  A number of the tree decorations are ones that were in my home growing up.

This Santa is made of something similar to plastic.  It had been on the tree when my mother was a child.

These snowmen are copies of ones that decorated our house when I was a teen.  After John and I married, my mom knit a set for me.

I think this tree was made in the 1930s or 40s.  I remember it in our home when I was a child.  At some point, I know my dad sprayed it with green paint to renew the color.  It has also been rewired so we didn't have a fire.

                                    

This Santa came filled with candy canes, probably as a gift when I was very young.

More modern Santas also decorate our home.  We bought this one because John loves trains.

When we lived in Granby in the Colorado mountains, we fell in love with skiing.  This ornament celebrates that activity.

Some of our ornaments first graced the home of other people.  We bought some of them in antique stores.

Our numerous Santas are arranged on the coffee table.  John carved the  five figures in the center front. 

We also have a number of nativity scenes.

I made this scene when I was working in the pottery studio.

This is a nativity puzzle.  Both John and I made these in the wood shop at our resort.

We have had trees of various sizes and shapes over the years.  We bought our first artificial tree in 1975 when we moved to Castle Rock the week before Christmas.  I seem to remember the only decorations were bows made of heavy red yarn.

There were large trees for larger living rooms and a very small tree for Christmases spent in an RV.  Since moving to our small home in Arizona, we have one just under 3 feet high.  The ornaments are quite small.

This is the tree in our Arizona home.

We have lived in three states and numerous homes over the 56 years of our marriage.  Christmas helps us think back on so many of our good times as a couple and a family.

One year when we were traveling a great amount of the time, we returned to find a broken pipe flooding our home in the Denver area.   Many things stored in the basement, including the many books in the library there, were destroyed.  Thankfully, some of the Christmas decorations were saved.  And after we recovered emotionally, we enjoyed shopping for new ones.

 

So Many Memories

It's that time of year again, time to put up the Christmas decorations.  For us, and probably for many of you, it is also a time to rejoice over a lot of good memories.  The decorations on our little tree bring back memories of Christmases past.  We talk about where the ornaments came from.  Some belonged to my mother, some remind us of why we bought them--like the small US Marine in dress blues, bought when Doug went into the Marine Corps.  There is a Santa in running gear to remind us of when we both ran for exercise.  The Santa wearing a priest's color brings back the many years John served as a priest in Colorado churches and here in Arizona

We have been traveling in our RV since 1988 and some of the ornaments were purchased as souvenirs of places we've been.  Even one from England--obviously we didn't get there in our RV. We have a canoe and a lighthouse from the Maritime Provinces of Canada and 4 small RV trailers recalling our mode of travel.

I collected Santas for years.  One of these I had as a child, 2 belonged to my mother, 4 are Santas John carved and others were purchased on our travels or at garage sales.

These 4 snowmen were made--or dressed--by my mother.  They represent John, me, Doug and Eric.

I also have a small collection of nativity scenes. This year is has been joined by this great scene that John carved over the past couple of years. We set it up in front of our house here in Arizona.

Oh, the Memories

We visited the RV and Motorhome Hall of Fame and Museum this week. It recalled so many of our early family memories. Early in our marriage, we went on a couple of trips with John's parents in their Airstream trailer. It was fun, though a little cramped. On one trip, John's brother Tim was also there. On the other, two of our nieces, Kim and Tina, came along. The trailer only had beds for 4 people.

We were tent campers for years, after our two sons were born. then we bought a van. It didn't have a kitchen or other RV amenities, but we could and did sleep in it a few times. This Starcraft reminded us of those times.

Next, we bought a Coleman pop-up tent trailer. Today, our son Eric owns it. Before that purchase, we borrowed John's sister Cindy's tent trailer for a trip to the east coast. It wasn't much different from either of these.

Cindy's did have a little better interior than this, to be sure.

The first home we bought was a 12 x 60 mobile home. The interior of this 8 x 42 "house trailer" reminded us of that. It also recalls Lucy and Desi's RV.

The museum had even older RVs.  The Covered Wagon unit was built in 1929, the first production RV in the country.  The company was the largest trailer manufacturer in the 1930s.

Look at these interiors. Today's RVs are certainly more comfortable and attractive.

This unit looks more like a railroad car than an RV--it has a rear platform.

This one has a trunk on the rear end.

This is called the Mae West, built to convince the performer to sign on with a movie producer.

Early RVs, including John's family's Airstream, had gas lanterns with mantles.

And look at this stove.

What's old is new again. We regularly see teardrop trailers in state parks and some commercial campgrounds. They were made in the early years of RVs, as well.

This museum visit brought back so many memories.  After all, camping and RVs are all about making memories, aren't they? 

Making Memories

In addition to visiting Doug in the hospital (he is recovering right on schedule but still has a long way to go), we have been making memories with our granddaughters, Rachal and Sami. We rarely get to spend time with them, so this is a real treat.

We watched them feed the goats next door.



And climb on the rock in their front yard.



We attended a Girl Scout Bridging Ceremony, where Sami bridged from Daisy Scout to Brownie Scout.



After receiving a flower, she walked across the bridge to this new level of scouting.



Saturday we drove to the Atlantic Ocean, first testing the water at Hampton Beach (brrrr).



Then on to Odiorne Point State Park, where one beach was very rocky--not good for getting to the water.



But another was much better, with gravel and sand that were easy to walk on.



The girls waded out, inching a little further each time.



They loved sitting in the water and letting the waves hit them. (Double click to see the movie.)



Of course, there was a stop on the playground.



John has been getting his kitty fix with their cat, Lady.





Sunday we went for a walk around a nearby pond. For a while, John, Rachal and Sami ran. Perhaps soon they can join us on our 3-mile jogs.



This is a the result of John taking a picture of Nana taking a picture of Rachal taking a picture.



The pond was mirror smooth, making for great reflections.



We ended the outing with lunch at Burger King. The desserts the girls were eating looked absolutely lucious!



Can you ask for better memories?