My first Christmas Tree

       This is a picture of me and my first Christmas tree.   When I was growing up, my family celebrated both Christmas and Hanukkah, but I never had a Christmas tree until I moved in with Chris.   We have had a live tree every year since.

More handmade Christmas cards

When my daughter Megan was in elementary school, I started to make our family’s Christmas cards, using her drawings and paintings.

T his one I think is my favorite, and it is also one of the earliest cards.

Here is our card from her senior year in high school .

This abstract card was from a couple years ago.

Sadly, this era has come to an end, as Megan is so busy.   This year’s card will feature a photo taken by yours truly.   A new era begins.

Hand Made Christmas Cards

When I was growing up, one of our family holiday traditions centered around the production of our family’s Christmas card.  The were designed and silk screened by my mom.

The card always featured my older sister Rosemary and I, and what we were up to.   It was truly quite a process, to get those cards printed every year.

First, my mom would create a template for each of the different colors used.   When it was time to begin the printing, the silk screen would be set up in the basement of our home.

Each color was printed during a seperate session.   Every card would have to be positioned exacty, so the colors of the final print would line up correctly.   My dad would pour the paint onto the screen, my mom would squeegee it across, then my sister and I would set them all out to dry on the ping pong table.

My mom started making these christmas cards when my sister was a baby, and continued until I went off to college.

Workin’ The Craft Show

Saturday, Megan and I spent the whole day together, selling her beautiful pottery, at a Christmas craft show.

We were there from seven in the morning, (two hours for set up) until four in the afternoon.

This show is at a neighborhood church, so we run into a lot of people we know there.

The best part of it for me is spending time with my daughter!

The Clam Bake

Every year, Sperry Road has an annual clam bake.   This is the road my husband lived on, when he was growing up.   His mom still lives there.   We have attended this clam bake together every year since the late 1970’s, although Chris remembers going to it as a young child in the 1960’s.   It takes place across the street from his mom’s house on a piece of land that is rented out to The Geauga Bowmen Archery Club, and the property is owned by the family that lives next to the archery range.

This picture was taken at a weird angle by my son Ben, who I think was trying to be artistic.   The back of the head to the left is my husband Chris, That’s me in the middle, and on the right is sombody who I’m not going to name because I want Margaret to guess who it is!   By the way Margaret, he says hi to you and Miles & suggested that I use his photo for weird object friday, but I decided that I didn’t want to wait that long!

Here is another photo of our mystery man, along with Chris.   These two have been friends for 50 years!   Click HERE Margaret for another clue, but I know you don’t really need it.

My grandmother Irma’s needlepoint

I didn’t get to know my grandmother very well.   I was only four years old when she died.   When I was growing up, this needlepoint that she stitched hung over my parents’ bed.   It is now in our bedroom, along with artwork that was done by both my mother and my daughter.

Out to Lunch

Megan and I had lunch today at one of our favorite restaurants.   I have blogged about Corky and Lenny’s before.   You can click HERE for a second look.   We both ordered smoked white fish sandwiches, which is a change from our usual bagels, lox and cream cheese.

Megan ordered a chocolate Phosphate.   What is that you ask?   It’s a carbonated drink made by mixing chocolate syrup and club soda.

Then we went to an upscale shopping mall called Eaton Square, where the outside flower arrangements and topiary trees are a bit over the top.   Here is Megan on a bench that resembles an old boat looking out to sea. (The parking lot really.)

The flowers are really pretty here and this shopping center has our favorite grocery store, which is called Trader Joe’s.

I was at work last night at The Fairmount Center when Susan Gray Bé, who is the art director gave me a wonderdul present.   It was a print of a portrait that she did of my daughter Megan.

My favorite Vase

      As a child, this little vase was always my favorite.   I don’t know anything about its history, was it always mine, or did it belong to my mom first?   It’s hard not having her here to ask.   I do know that I remember it being in my bedroom as a child, filled with summer flowers from my mom’s garden.  These days, I have to google all the flowers I put in any vase, just to make sure they are not poisenous, because my cat Rikki will eat anything.