Archive by Author

A Thing to Remember

26 Feb

My Take

DIVoran Lites

Isaiah 40:31

Photo Credit:Pixabay

They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary: and they shall walk, and not faint.

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

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And Yet Another Cruise-Part 5

25 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Our stateroom was typical of most of the Disney ships…perhaps just a smidgen larger than the older ships.  But it has all the amenities that the other ships has.  Over the bed was a print of a scene from the movie Frozen.

Over the sleeper-sofa is a print from Frozen as well – Anna and Elsa.

There is always a TV in the room – and always with our stateroom number (6664) and our name on it.

We could watch TV movies, see where the ship is headed, the weather, the activities onboard, etc.  A wealth of information at our fingertips. 

The remainder of the room is much like all others – desk with built-in shelves and drawers, along with a small refrigerator. 

 Also the closet…two sides separated by shelves with a safe.

And the two separate “bathrooms” that we enjoy so much.  One side with the tub/shower (this one had a glass door rather than a shower curtain!  Yay) along with a sink, mirror, and glass shelves.

Separated by a wall is the other room – with the toilet, a sink, mirror, and glass shelves.

So easy for us both to get ready for the day with our own mirror and sink.  One of the greatest aspects of Disney ships!

We had a room with a veranda, but the weather was cool/windy enough that we didn’t have opportunity to take advantage of the veranda.  Shucks!

There are three main dining rooms/restaurants on each ship – excluding Palo and Remy, the high-end eateries that cost above the cost of the cruise.  One interesting thing about the Disney restaurants – the servers “follow” those eating at their assigned tables from restaurant-to-restaurant each night.  So you get to know your servers, and they get to know you and your eating habits.  For instance, we had been assigned table number 119.  We sat at table 119 in whatever restaurant we were assigned each night.  We also had the same table mates at each restaurant.

Our first night, we were assigned to eat at Arendelle, table 119.   Here is our table number in brass.

There is some of the “decorations” on that brass, that goes along with Frozen.  It is the same as that flower embroidered on the napkin.

 And here is the sign for Arendelle.

I think we sat “in the round” surrounding an elevated stage, for when we were eating, the performers were above us, and we were seated around the stage.  Interesting.

The second night we were at a more “formal” restaurant – Roy Disney 1923.  I neglected to get a picture of the sign for the restaurant, but here is a dinner plate and salt and pepper shakers with 1923 on them. 

 I tried to get a picture of our table number (119), but the lamp was not lit, so it’s difficult to see it.

Our third night was at World of Marvel restaurant. 

 Here is Fred holding up our table number. 

Since neither Fred nor I have seen any of the Marvel movies, this “interactive” restaurant was a bit of a disappointment to us.  Not the food nor the table mates nor the servers.  But there really wasn’t much “interactive” going on – not like Animator’s Palate on the older ships.  However, toward the end of the meal, Spiderman made his appearance – and the children loved it!  He would go to the table where there were children and strike a pose with the children so their parents could take a picture.  Cute.

The food is always good on a Disney ship…that’s something you can count on, and we always enjoy our meals.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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And Yet Another Cruise-4

18 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Another thing about Disney ships that I enjoy is all the tile mosaics on their walls.  I’ve always enjoyed the ones they did in the Cabanas (huge curved wall). 

Photo credit – Judy Wills

The ones on The Wish are just as wonderful.  This one of Cinderella and the Prince is quite large,

Photo credit – Judy Wills

while the two of Pinocchio are smaller but still amazing.

  • Photo Credit-Judy Wills
  • Photo credit – Judy Wills

And then there is this mosaic on the floor just before entering the Walt Disney Theatre

Photo credit – Judy Wills

There are some other things about the Disney ships that I enjoy.  Take a look at this light fixture in just an ordinary hall on The Wish.  Cinderella’s pumpkin coach and horses, along with stars.

Photo credit – Judy Wills

And here is an ordinary water fountain, trash bin, and towel dispenser…but decorated in something not-so-ordinary.  More of those “little things” that I enjoy so much.  This is up on deck 11, where the Marceline Market is, and the pool area, etc.  Sorry, I don’t remember what the “ff” stands for.

Photo credit – Judy Wills

One thing I have always enjoyed on any of the Disney ships is the carpet – there is always a neat design.  Sometimes it’s just “sea” life pictures.  But we found, on The Wish, it was more theme types…such as this Cinderella’s castle and coach.

Photo credit – Judy Wills

It was on a long carpet on the landing on our deck 6.  This castle is the center of the design.  This other design, which has the pumpkin carriage (look closely), was on the carpet on deck 6, as you step out of the elevator, and was the center of the design.

Photo credit – Judy Wills

The carpets on many of the Disney ships (especially the older ships), have a design that tells you whether you are going starboard or aft.  The carpet on The Wish didn’t seem to have that design – unless I just can’t see it!  This is the main design down the long hallways…pumpkin vines perhaps?

Photo credit  – Judy Wills

And these designs are a repeat in the pattern.  This first one has hidden pmpkin carriages in it (look closely again)

  • Photo credit for all three carpet photos – Judy Wills

The other two designs are just stars and flowers.  Quite unique and beautiful.

On deck 3, is a unique little watering-hole, that was inspired by the movie The Princess and the Frog.  It is called The Bayou.  It is a short little place, but has live entertainment during the evening hours.  It’s cute and looks inviting…if you are into that kind of thing.

  • Live entertainment in the evenings

Photo credit for all three photos – Judy Wills

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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And Yet Another Cruise-3

11 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

AND YET ANOTHER CRUISE – 3

One of the first thing one sees when first entering the ship is the Atrium.  The Atrium on The Wish is different from the other four older ships.  I remember – on the four older ships –  there was a “theme” on the carpet as well as the bronze near the curved staircase leading up to the upper deck. 

The Atrium on The Wish is different, in that there is a “stage” just as one walks in.

Picture credit – Judy Wills – The Wish Atrium

It’s in the space where there is usually an elevator on the four older ships. 

Photo credit – Judy Wills – the Atrium elevator on the Fantasy

In the Atrium on the Magic, the bronze is of Mickey Mouse as a boat helmsman.

Photo credit – Judy Wills  – Helmsman Mickey – on the Magic

On the Dream, the bronze is of Donald Duck as a sailor.

Photo credit – Judy Wills – Sailor Donald – on the Dream

On the Fantasy, the bronze is of Minnie Mouse, all decked out in her finery.  And the carpet (shown from above) shows the “peacock” effect on the carpet.

Photo credit – Judy Wills – on the Fantasy

Photo credit – Judy Wills – Atrium carpet on the Fantasy

On the Wonder, the bronze is of Ariel.         

Photo credit – Judy Wills – Ariel on the Wonder

The bronze on The Wish is of Cinderella and Lucifer, the cat.  I was not able to find a time where the Atrium and the bronze were empty of people enough to get a good picture of the bronze.  But this is a pretty good example of it.  While I didn’t get a picture “from above” on The Wish, here is a bit of a look at the carpet and tile in the Atrium – not much of a “theme” there that I could make out.

Photo credit – Judy Wills – on The Wish – Lucifer the cat trying to capture the mouse

Many of the older ships have beautiful chandeliers in the Atrium, some that remind me of Chihuly glass. 

Photo credit – Judy Wills – the Atrium chandelier on the Magic

 The chandelier on The Wish is no less beautiful, but very different.

Photo credit – Judy Wills – Atrium chandelier on The Wish

I really enjoy all the artwork that Disney puts on the walls of the ship.  On each staircase between decks, on the landings before the stairs turn, there is always some sort of Disney art.  And since there are 11 or 12 decks – that’s a LOT of artwork!  Therefore I won’t show any of it.  However, we found some of the following on The Wish that I found fascinating.  These two are in wood, and covered two entire walls and showcase Alice in Wonderland.

Photo credit – Judy Wills – The Wish

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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And Yet Another Cruise-2

4 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

We’ve been on the four older Disney ships many times, and were looking forward to sailing on the Disney Wish this time.  We had heard great things about it.  So let me just say …it is a COMPLETELY different ship than the others!  The Disney Wish, the Disney Treasure, and the Disney Adventure are the three newest ships in the Disney Cruise Line, and are in a different “class” from the four older ships.

We found that it’s the “little things” that make up the difference.  

        1.  The four older ships have the “Cabanas” on deck 11 – most cruise lines would call that the Lido deck.

Photo credit – Judy Wills

It is a buffet for all three meals each day.  On the Wish, it is called Marceline Market.  If you know Disney’s story, you know that his family lived in Marceline, Missouri for a while, and Walt loved that town.  The Cabanas has a “beach” feel to it.

The Cabanas – picture credit Judy Wills

Marceline Market has a lot of wood and separate areas for seating.

Marceline Market – picture credit Judy Wills

In the Cabanas, I can help myself to what I want to eat – in the Marceline Market, it is handed to me.  There is a lack of “freedom” there that is strange….not bad, just different.

            2.  All four of the older ships have similar three eateries – Animators Palate is on all four of the ships, and the Enchanted Garden is on at least two or three of the ships.  

Photo credit – Judy Wills

Photo credit – Judy Wills

There is usually a more “formal” restaurant, such as the Royal Court or RoyalPalace,

Photo credit – Judy Wills

 but it is different on each ship.  It is not as formal as Palo or Remy, which are the high-end restaurants whose cost is extra, but has the feel of “formal.”

            3.   On the older ships, on deck 11, there is the huge screen where there is constantly showing either a Disney movie, or something “Disney.”  That is the same on the Wish.  That is also the deck where the pool is, so one can sunbathe, swim, eat – whether snack or a full meal – and watch a movie all at the same time.

Photo credit – Judy Wills

On the older ships, whenever I wanted a soft-serve ice cream cone, I could just go and get it – as many as I wanted.  On the Wish, someone gets it for me and hands it to me.

Photo credit – Judy Wills

Again, the lack of “freedom” is there.  I guess I’m spoiled in that respect.  Fred suggested that it is a “health” or “cleanliness” issue.  I’ll go along with that.

Okay, I’ll stop whining now.  The Wish is a great ship, and we did enjoy our cruise.  The stateroom seems to be just a tiny bit larger than the ones on the older ships.  Not much, but enough to be apparent.  And we did have the split bathrooms again, so that was nice.

There were some fascinating things about Marceline Market – the “dividers” between the eating sections had glass cases that held such things as very antique toys, clocks, and one had a metronome in it.

Photo credit – Judy Wills

 Others had bakery goods – bread loaves, etc.  One had different types of cookware in it. 

Photo credit – Judy Wills

One off-shoot from the main eating area was a bit small, and held small round tables just for two people.  We never ate in there, but it looked cozy.

Photo credit – Judy Wills

We liked the place they arranged the glassware (actually plastic glasses) where we could grab a glass and get our own drinks from a machine.  Look closely in this picture and you will see the area half-filled with glasses.

Photo credit – Judy Wills

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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And Yet Another Cruise

28 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Recently, Fred and I took another cruise.  I really enjoy cruising.  I can’t really verbalize just why that is – is it because I grew up in a land-locked state?  Is it because I like the motion of the boat/ship in the water?  So many questions with so few answers.

I think the first time I was ever on a boat, it was a sailboat.  We were living on Tyndall AFB, Florida (Panama City) at the time, just preparing to move to another base.

Photo Credit Google Search

 We had spent an entire week cleaning the apartment we’d lived in for five years, and were exhausted. 

Photo Credit Judy Wills – our half of the duplex

A fellow worker in Fred’s unit had use of a sailboat for the owners, and had the permission of the owners to take it out any time he wanted.  So he took our family and two single men from the unit out our last day in town.  It was wonderful!  The sail was up, the wind was off the Gulf of Mexico, the sun was out – and there was no sound other than the wind and the waves.  Peaceful and quiet.  Just what we needed.  Our Janet was an adventurous little thing in those days, and she was allowed to “steer” the boat at one point.

It took a while for me to convince Fred to just try cruising.  His parents wanted to take a sea/land tour of Alaska, and wanted the family to go with them.  The cruising part was only for three days, but that was enough for Fred to realize that today’s cruising was not anything like the troop ship he was on when he was a teenager.

And so, once Fred was able to experience “cruising”’ – he fell in love with it as much as I had.  We have done some sailing with other cruise lines – Holland America (one of our favorites – especially the one to Alaska!) and Norwegian Cruise Line.  We sailed to Bermuda with Holland America for our 50th Wedding Anniversary, with both daughters and their families with us.  That was a great cruise!

However, we’ve discovered that our favorite cruise line is Disney.  A major decision is that there is no casino on board the ship!  No smoke-filled room one must walk through to get anywhere else on the ship!  Yay!  We like the fact that the children on board have activities that can keep them occupied nearly all day – and they love it!  Disney ships have two smokestacks.  Only one is actually a smokestack – the second one is built specifically for a place for the teenagers to be entertained.  Amazing!

This most recent cruise we were on was our 10th with the Disney Cruise Line. 

Photo credit Judy Wills – The Disney Wish

The fact it was our 10th Disney cruise kicks us up into a higher category of Disney travelers.  We get a few more “perks” from now on that we didn’t have before.  Just a few:  we can check-in quicker and earlier; we have a free meal in Palo – one of the high-end restaurants on the ship that we normally avoid because of the cost.  There are others, but I forget what they are at the moment.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Christmas is Coming-Part 8

21 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Even though Christmas has come and gone – as has the New Year celebration – I would like to continue describing my Christmas decorations – around the house, the neighborhood and our church building.

Finally, we come to the decorations at our church.   As I mentioned earlier, some of our church members were animators at Disney, and their ideas for decorating are magnificent!  Wait and see….

I’m not going to give dates on these pictures, just know that they have spread over quite a few years.

I’m not sure just where the church acquired this nativity scene, but it’s been used nearly every Christmas for a number of years.  It’s beautiful.

I asked why it looks “blue” in the picture, and she said it was probably the LED lights behind it.  In person, it is completely white.

We have two sound booths – both are decorated: 

The church has one other booth for one of our cameras that we use for live streaming the morning worship service.  They and the entrance doors are also decorated.

The committee also decorated the entrance to the building.  We have a covered entrance (really nice on rainy days!), and the supporting posts were decorated thusly:

They also placed large wreaths on the outside lights of the Sanctuary.

I really like this look for our Sanctuary building.

And so ends the “Christmas is Coming” saga.  I hope you’ve enjoyed this walk-through decorations for Christmas, as much as I’ve enjoyed posting it.  I hope your Christmas was as wonderful as ours, and Fred and I pray your 2024 will be pleasing both to you and to God.  We pray God’s guidance for you, and His great Love and Mercy to you.

~~~~~~~~~~The End~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Christmas is Coming-Part 7

14 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Even though Christmas has come and gone – as has the New Year celebration – I would like to continue describing my Christmas decorations – around the house, the neighborhood and our church building.

And now the neighborhood…we had quite a few who decorated outside this year.  Some were quite elaborate…some were not (like ours – simple).  But we enjoyed them all.

Fred and I took a walk all around Chalfont subdivision one evening, and here is the result.  I won’t comment about most of them.  See what you think.  Sorry I’m not a better photographer – some of these are rather blurry, but I think you can get a good vision of what was intended.

This is the entrance to Chalfont

Across the street from us.  He also puts up a winter “village” in his garage each year – for his grandchildren, he says.  I think he just enjoys doing it and having it to play with!  The train actually moves around, as do the skiers.

It’s quite a production, and he starts putting it up about Thanksgiving time.  Amazing!

This is one of my favorites.  It is gorgeous in the daylight, as well.

Three pictures of the same house.  I couldn’t get it all in, in one frame.

As you can see, our Chalfont was quite decorated for the Christmas holiday.  We thoroughly enjoyed our walk around the subdivision and seeing all the sights.  I hope you have enjoyed it, as well.

Next time will be decorations at our church.   As I mentioned earlier, some of our church members were animators at Disney, and their ideas for decorating are magnificent!  Wait and see….

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Christmas is Coming-Part 6

7 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Even though Christmas has come and gone – as has the New Year celebration – I would like to continue describing my Christmas decorations – around the house, the neighborhood and our church building.

Therefore:

Here is the kitchen counter, and the decorations I have there.  I have taken to attaching the Christmas cards we receive to the top counter.  We receive about 100 cards, and it’s difficult to find other places to put them.  I usually have a candle in either this snowflake holder or a swirl – either a red or green candle.  As for the “gingerbread” man – It was full of some kind of candy when given to us years ago, but now I have it full of red-hearts (hot cinnamon candies).  I think it makes a cute decoration.  

As for the white candle, it was made by a very good friend, and given to us one Christmas as a present.  Since our grandchildren (now adults) used to come to visit us at Christmas time, that white candle, wrapped in greenery, was always out.  And so our granddaughter came to associate Christmas at Granny and Grandpa’s house with that candle.

One year, I decided to just place the greenery around what I usually have in that spot.  When our granddaughter came in and saw that, she exclaimed:  “that’s just not right!  Where’s the white candle???”  So I put away the other item and got out the white candle.  And it’s been on the counter every Christmas since.

I guess the main item in the family room is the entertainment center.  Here’s a picture of the top of it, which is the only part of it decorated.

As you can see, I have used the gold tinsel garland to top it off.  The two trumpeting angels I purchased  a few years ago, and delight in them each year.  The center multi-colored pyramid I purchased while we were in Germany.  Many of the glass balls have broken through the years, and I have purchased others to take their place.  

On either side of the entertainment center are our two stereo speakers.  We purchased some candle holders while in Germany, which I treasure.  We put them out – with candles – every year.

Next to the entertainment center, is a bakers rack that I call a “birdcage” – don’t know why I call it that, just seems like one to me.  

In previous years, I wrapped greenery around it, but like this “candy cane” look much better.  The top shelf supports a Disney count-down “calendar” that we purchased from the Christmas store at Disney Springs a few years ago.  I try to change it out each morning.  The second shelf supports a figurine from the same place – just because I liked it.  the two Disney plates I purchased from a lady here in Hunter’s Creek who was selling them.  One is from 1997 and one from 1998.

Going down the hallway is this little gem.

Some years ago, when our daughter Janet was working for Disney, she gave us this set of Disney characters.  I always wanted some way to display them.  A man in our church is a master of wood working, and he made this shadow-box for me.  The figurine on top is of Mickey perched on top of his “house” as it was in Magic Kingdom years before, and was given to us by a good friend who worked with Disney.  Just a short garland on this one.

This little decoration tickles my fancy when I put it up.  I saw it in a magazine many years ago, and purchased it.  “Up On The Rooftop” comes out every Christmas, and I get a kick out of seeing it every year.

Next time I will post the decorations around our neighborhood.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Christmas is Coming-Part 5

31 Dec

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Well, Christmas is behind us, but the decorations are still up.  Fred likes to leave them up until January 6, or The Three Kings Day.  I don’t mind – it’s only one month each year, and we like the decorations.

Back to our living room/dining room…early on in our marriage, when we were poor, and I didn’t know how to decorate very well (not sure I do even now!), I went for “simple,” and would just lay or drape gold garlands across some of the furniture – like I’ve done here with our teak-wood sideboard:

and other places around the house, as will be shown in other pictures.

There is a “runner” on the sideboard above – we purchased that from a vendor in Rothenberg, Germany, on our Viking River Cruise in 2015.  She had a lovely little shop along the main street, and I liked this one.  We remember that shop and owner every Christmas when we put it out.

The next thing to see is our teak-wood dining room table.  I purchased the runners through the mail when we were living in Heidelberg, Germany in the early 1980’s.  They have held up nicely, and I use them every Christmas.  The pinecone wreath I purchased while we were living in Wiesbaden, and have used it ever since.  I really enjoy it.

This is how the room(s) look from the kitchen doorway:

In the short hallway between the living room/dining room and the kitchen is a short wall, where I hang a Disney Advent Calendar (regular calendar the rest of the year).

On the opposite wall, I hang these Christmas stockings (regularly baskets and greenery).

And now into the kitchen/family room/den area.

There is a short wall between the kitchen and the living room, where I hang this Santa figurine (usually German bells).

Opposite that wall, I have what I call a “green bakers rack.”   As you can see, I’ve added some gold garlands to each of the shelves.  The candle in the middle of the top shelf we purchased in Wiesbaden.  It has a topper that holds a wick that comes off and allows you to place a candle inside that can burn.

The middle shelf holds a figurine of the gate to Heidelberg, Germany.  Our daughter, Karen gave that to us many years ago, and we love it, since we lived in Heidelberg for three years.  There is a small electric bulb inside that I have kept lit all those years – and it has never burned out!

The lowest shelf holds a Lennox cathedral, given to us by my best friend quite a few years ago.  It also has a small electric bulb in it, but I only burn it during the evening hours.  The “angels” I purchased some time ago, and are “Hope” “Faith” and “Love.”

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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