| Through the Windowpane |
Christmas Past and Present~Part TwoThis year, Eric helped Robert set our tree in the not so sturdy tree stand. “We need a new one of these next year,” he said. I was kind of kicking myself because I saw a tree stand last summer at a garage sale for a couple of bucks. It wasn’t new, but a relic from the past with nostalgic scenes of children sledding downhill in aqua blue and red snowsuits. I saw one valued at $100.00 in a Christmas magazine. For the next five minutes or so, Robert maneuvered and twisted the screw holders into the rough bark of the trunk until the tree appeared to be straight from everyone’s vantage point. He secured the end of a light strand around the top of the tree. Then Elizabeth and Anna marched around the tree, pushing lights into the branches in time to Christmas music coming from our newly purchased record player.A few weeks ago, I won a phonograph on Ebay that plays 33’s, 45’s, and 78’s. We needed a new record player because last summer, our old portable Magnavox (purchased for $8.00 at the Goodwill), began to make a loud buzzing sound in the speakers. One record that I really enjoy is a Music Box Medley of Christmas Songs, faithfully reproduced from music boxes to modern records. The bell-like quality of the music boxes evokes a feeling of childlike wonderment and joy as you listen to Adeste Fidales and Hark the Harold Angels sing. It’s a very festive old-world sound that you just don’t hear anymore. Another one of my favorites is the Longines Symphonette Recording Society’s, “Christmas at the Fireside” series. I've managed to pick up a couple of these sets over the years. There’s no copyright on them, but they’re very nostalgic and sound like they’re from the 1950’s. Packaged in an aqua blue box, with a Currier and Ives scenes on the front, they’re soothing to listen to (none of this pulsating boompah-chix music that you run across on the holiday radio stations the week before Thanksgiving (another issue entirely). If you ever find these records at a thrift or antique shop, snatch ‘em up. They’re really fun to listen to, especially if you were born in the 50’s. After the lights were strung, we were ready to hang the ornaments, but we didn’t have any hangers. Robert said he looked right at them in the store and thought, we need ornament hangers, but he forgot to buy them. Anna and Elizabeth were really disappointed that we couldn't hang ornaments on the tree, so I decided to take Eric to the grocery store and let him run in and get some. Robert said we wouldn’t be able to do that. “Why?” we asked? Well, for the first time since we've lived on the farm, he backed his truck into the fifth bay of the garage so that he wouldn’t have clean it off when he left early in the morning for work. I bet that was a wonderful feeling, pulling out of the garage into a raging snowstorm. It was 11 o'clock the next morning when he finally got home (Robert works from 4:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on Fridays), after stopping at Wal-Mart in the height of the snowstorm to pick up hangers. Last year, before we had a chance to put the ornaments away, Buttercup (one of the clumsiest cats we’ve ever had), knocked the box over in the laundry room before I could take them out to the garage. We lost quite a few from that mishap. Then, thinking I’d be smart, I stored them in my bedroom closet, safe out of harms way. But our inquisitive pet raccoon climbed up my clothes to go exploring and knocked it over not once, but twice. I was able to save most of the ornaments as they slid down the wall, buffeted by my clothes, but I didn’t catch them all. So I was surprised this morning, while hanging them on the tree, that they covered it as well as they did. We filled the up-lifted branches with a few new red glass balls, and it’s really quite lovely. Last year, not only did the ornaments get broken, but our nativity was damaged as well, because – you guessed it – it was in the closet, too. I tried buying some replacement pieces off of Ebay, but missed the auctions. I still haven’t had the courage to get the boxes down to see how bad the damage is, and whether baby Jesus survived or not – I don’t think I want to know! 
1:21 AM - Dec. 13, 2006 - post comment
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 Jill Novak shares from her heart and the pages of her journal about God's faithfulness through life's everyday teachable moments.Jill encourages families to write and draw from life. She and her husband Robert have been married 28 years and are the parents of five children. Together her family has founded Remembrance Press, publishers of The Pebbly Brook Farm Series: Character Building Stories for Boys and Girls, Becoming Gods Naturalist, The Gift of Family Writing, and The Girlhood Home Companion. Home View my profile Archives Email Me   Categories Nature Journal Making Snowflakes On Gossamer Thread Drawing Hollyhocks Basic Supply List for Nature Journaling My Nature Journal - Swamp Milk Weed Becoming God's Naturalist - Make a Nature Specimen Library SketchBook Summer School - Write and Draw from life! Basic Supply list for nature journaling From My Nature Journal Blogging Dueling Bloggers Are you a words of Encouragement blogger? are you a physical touch blogger? Are you a Quality time blogger? Are you a gift giving blogger? Uninspired Know you audience Spiritual diary He Touched me! Art Road trip to Tasha's - part Three Road trip to Tasha's - part two Road trip to Tasha's - part one Drawing From life - Figure Drawing and the Homeschooler What if we threw away those coloring books? Growing Future Authors and Illustrators Growing Authors and Illustrators - Part 1 Journaling With childeren Writng with little childeren - shared journal entries, shared fun! Help childeren of all ages journal there life stories Family Two Letters The Gift of Words Putting your pen to paper Homeschooling Mommy take good care of your self, you belong to me significance Journaling For such a time as this Upon the white log-in with the lord Truth is Stranger then fiction Links The Gift of Family Writing The Girlhood Home Companion  The Pebbly Brook Farm Journal  Recent Entries - A Delightful and Profitable Way to Pass a Dreary Winters Day - A New Tradition - Over the River and Through the Wood to Sarah's - The Challenges and Disadvantages of Homeschooling - Gods Creation and The Tools of the Trade - Milkweed Monday - Drawing Hollyhocks - This Pile of Stuff on the Floor - Annas Amazing Discovery or How to Draw a Toad - Nature Journaling Interview - HSB's Promo Friends TOSPUBLISHER Tami tn3jcarter ByHisGraceInColorado parkwaymom EmptyNestMom spunkyjunior Academy252 BlogBoy WritingTips leebenvic Cornflower Mariel mom26kidz creativehsmom SBadgley DreweLlyn MaggieHogan DandelionSeeds Lilacs grownathome TEACHmagazine homeschoolhelp gracefuljourney Stacy EclecticBibliophile LittleEblingsAcademy KerriHopkins TammyC Bioluminescence elljazz joymommy Boltbabe cynthiarobin COMamabear mrskbrook gottsegnet Galatians69 Cre8iveMom MyChildrenAndMe Melkhi Juliestew Joyfulhrt iluvtheland Dell mctenpenny mistresninos Redeemed JoelKing BarbaraS dolphindancer quietcajun BooksandBairns dumspirospero mycrazylife ElCloud akabain JewelSea JeanaG Rebeca REInvestor deedeeuk Hagertroops7 Beverly Margaret MyLittleWomen Louscrew MorningLight rjdjohn316 Jocelyndixon SuperAngel JacqueDixonSoulRestES annointed kurjian4school theheartofthehome ExperimentalKid kcomom 4evrHischild homesweethomeschooler lolly01 InkTraveler PennyRaine tiredmom belovedbooks 4kiddos4me SongOfTheSagebrush YoungManInTraining SincerelyAmanda momma9x PricelessPurity mariah debbiecorley nancysnook moreofhim ChristineRead stampalot lahbluebonnet srostollan BreezyTulip RaspberryPixieMuffin |
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