Tag Archives: Christmas tree

Oh Christmas Tree How Hard to Find You Are.

15 Dec

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Our daughter arrived at our home in North Carolina from Florida yesterday to spend Christmas with us. Due to watching way too many Hallmark movies, she wanted to experience the fun of cutting a Christmas tree. Monday we set out to do that.

I did some research on Facebook and learned of an “honor” tree farm nearby. I relished the idea of being trusted to cut a tree and mail them a check.

The Facebook post warned the sign for the tree farm was small and easily overlooked but our daughter’s eagle eyes spotted the sign. Feeling adventurous, we drove down the rutted track passing ramshackle abandoned homes, rusting cars, even decrepit earth moving equipment.

When we reached the trees we climbed from the car, not feeling impressed. We walked several yards down a muddy and slippery path without seeing anything one would want to take home. This little tree was the best one we found.

Not to be deterred, I typed Christmas tree farm into our GPS and several popped up. Unfortunately, all but one were already closed for the season… really? On Hallmark movies one can always get a tree the week before Christmas and sometimes the man to go with it! I called the tree farm located an hour from us and they were not open but were making appointments. Yea. But… they were out of tree stands and so were the stores.

We gave up on the Christmas tree search and returned home to drink Holiday blend coffee and watch a Hallmark movie that didn’t have any Christmas tree story lines.

Image by Please Don’t sell My Artwork AS IS from Pixabay 

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  where we frequently host the best in up and coming authors.

My 2020 goal is to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media. You can visit Real Life Books and Media You Tube Channel if you would like to view some of the mini-videos I have created for our church, Gateway Community in Titusville, Fl.

Tags: ,

OUR FIRST REAL CHRISTMAS TREE

23 Dec

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Judy

                                                  

 Growing up, Christmas was really special to our family.  We usually stayed at home in Albuquerque, and my brother and I woke up to “Santa” and all the presents our parents, Grandmother, and Aunt Jessie had gotten for us.  We always had a tree, loaded with those huge lights in multi-colors.  Such neat memories.

So it came as a bit of a surprise to me that my new husband and I didn’t have room in our tiny apartment for a tree!  Of course, we were both working – and he was in school all day – and so there was hardly any reason to have a tree.  I did learn how to make a “tree” out of a magazine and spray-paint it with silver or green paint.  Add some tiny ornaments, and there it was.

 

And there were some Christmases that we went to visit our respective families, and we didn’t need to have a tree.  That “tradition” followed us through the early years with our daughters.  After we moved to Florida (Panama City/Tyndall AFB), we usually made the trip down to Titusville to spend the holiday itself with my brother and his family.  After a few days there, we would drive across the peninsula to Clearwater and spend a few more days with Fred’s parents in their retirement condo.

 

One year had been especially difficult and tiring for us.  I remember Fred making the statement that for five cents, he would stay home that year.  I handed him a nickel.  We stayed home that year.  We decided that, since we were staying home, we needed a tree for ourselves – and this time we would get a live tree!!  The girls were so very excited about that prospect.  We went tree hunting and brought home a lovely big tree.  It made our house smell wonderfully fresh and piney.  We put Christmas music on the stereo, and began decorating our first real Christmas tree!  We made cookies.  We bought or made presents for each other.  It was a lovely time together.

 

Christmas tree

At this time, Karen was 10 years old, and Janet was six.  One day, while I was sitting at the piano working on a piece of music, near the rocking chair, which was next to the tree, Karen was sitting in the rocking chair reading….her favorite past time.  All of a sudden she let out a scream and jumped out of the chair, flinging her book across the room!!  WHAT????

Apparently the wonderful tree we had purchased was home to a LOT of inch worms – and some of them had made their way onto the chair, and onto the book she was reading!  I then realized there was an inch worm on the piano, as well!!

WELL!!  That tree didn’t last much longer in OUR house, that’s for sure!!  It was out the door in no time!

I think Karen didn’t sit in that chair for a month after Christmas!!

At least it was a Christmas to remember.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tags: , , ,