Tuesday, December 19, 2006

A Christmas meme


Okay, this picture is a couple weeks old, the tree has just been put up and it looks kind of bare without presents, etc. And I really should take a picture of it in the dark (using a tripod) with only the lights on the tree providing illumination (the flash wshes things out). With this meme, I needed picture of my Christmas tree, even if eventhing looks a bit faded.

I've seen this around, but picked it up from Nanners and Noodles.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? How about a Hot Buttered Rum? Of if someone else is making them, a Tom Collins?

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? When I was a kid, he was lazy and didn’t wrap them, but since I had kids, he wraps all but the large ones.

3. Colored lights on tree/house? White lights, I grew up in a house with colored lights and rebelled. (of course, it was pretty bold of my parents to have colored lights in a white neighborhood--I didn't say this was a politically correct meme)

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Haven’t be able to find any up here which is why, I suspect, Yankees are bad kisses. Once when I was younger and living in North Carolina, I went out in the swamps and climbed a tree and cut out a whole bundle of mistoe to give to a girlfriend, the bunch of it was probably three feet in diameter with a peck of berries.

5. When do you put your decorations up? I start the weekend after Thanksgiving and still haven't finished which means some won't get put up this year which will only make them more dear next year.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Crab dip.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: My grandparents gave me a Kodak camera when I was nine. I had to coach them outside for a picture. It was the last picture taken of my grandfather; he died of emphysema early that January. I haven’t seen that picture in decades, but would give about anything to have it. I can still see it, there are slightly off to the side and a bit tilted, standing in front of the holly bushes that grew on each side of the stoop up to their porch, with arms around each other.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I learned this about the time my brother was born and was told that if I ruined it for him, it’d be all over and I’d really would get ash and coal, so I decided to keep believing. I stopped believing a few years ago after going to the World of Coca-Cola in Las Vegas and realized that the Santa we know and love is a trademark of a soft-drink company. That did it, I refuse to believe in a trademark.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? As a kid, I got to open one on Christmas eve, usually right before going to the Candlelight Service at church. The same tradition continues with my daughter.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Standing on a chair, I string lights, then standing on the floor while my daughter stands on a chair, we hang ornaments. It's generally the two of us decorating the tree, but this year we had our Korean exhange student who got into the act.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it, but looks like we’re having global warning, no white Christmas expected here.

12. Can you ice skate? Define skate. I can get around the rink without falling, but not good enough to play hockey (that’s for you Pergo) Now skiing, that I can do!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? My first bike. I was seven.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Celebrating Christ's brith and remembering the reason for the holiday.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? My mother’s rum balls, which are pretty dang good for a lady who is a devout teetotaller!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Candlelight worship services on Christmas Eve, as for something around the house, it's the Morvarian star hanging out on the porch.

17. What tops your tree? As a kid, a star; now, an angel. Have you heard the story about how the angel got perched on top of the… oh, forget it. That

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Giving (unless it’s a really good gift).

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? “What Child is This” to the tune Greensleeves. Or maybe George Winston’s piano solo of the “Carol of the Bells” on his December album.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? How about so-so. I’ll take chocolate anytime over candy canes.

17 comments:

  1. 1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Not really a fan of either. How about hot orange juice.

    2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? I never knew this was an option. They've always been wrapped.

    3. Colored lights on tree/house? I grew up in a poor colored household but now I use red and white.

    4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope but I've seen it when further down south.

    5. When do you put your decorations up? Normally we start the weekend after Thanksgiving.

    6. What is your favorite holiday dish? My family always has a tradition of fixing a huge breakfast and inviting over neighbors and landlords. We usually eat all the things we rarely ate during the rest of the year like mounds of bacon, biscuits and gravy, fried eggs, hashbrown, etc. (I grew up in a cereal household)

    7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Always trying to wait up for Santa to see him just once and never quite succeeding.

    8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Probably when I was seven or eight and found the same wrapping paper used to wrap the gifts from Santa upstairs in the storage room. Like Sage, I kept on believing for my brother's sake.

    9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Never.

    10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? I'm tall so no chair is needed. Lights go on first, then garlands, then ornaments and finally tensil. This year we forgot the tensil when we ran out of energy and decided to nap by the fire first.

    11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it but haven't had enough to even make a snowman for a couple of years now.

    12. Can you ice skate? Not very well. The ponds only freeze over smoothly once a decade which is not frequent enough to better oneself on skates.

    13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I remember getting this electrical set that came with a board and all these wires with instructions on how to make anything froma burglar alarm (i.e. mom alarm on the bedroom door) to a radio. What I would give to have that one back from where ever it is now.

    14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Celebrating Christ's birth and family.

    15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? My grandmother's oreo desert or my mom's sugar cookies.

    16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Lately it has been burning CRP ground as a family.

    17. What tops your tree? As a kid, a tinfoil and cardboard star that I made in school. Now we have an angel.

    18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Giving. I have a hard time thinking of things that I want for Christmas.

    19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? "Grandma Got Ran Over By a Raindeer"

    20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? I still think I have some leftover from last year.

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  2. Hey-I protest on #4- yankees are great kissers, we just don't need the excuse of mistletoe to do it!

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  3. I had to stop at #4 just to leave a comment. Thankfully, Anonymous already has. Perhaps, Sage, you should have a 'Take A Number' sign and have female Yankees line up to prove you wrong. You've been around the block so you must've kissed a Yankee once. Don't let that one bad experience color all of us. :-x

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  4. Ed, I love your answer to #3, sounds like a line out of the movie, "The Jerk" with Steve Martin

    Anonymous, sorry, but this is a political incorrect blog. Besides, I make it a point never to kiss those who kiss pumphandles in winter.

    Murf, I knew that you'd have something to say about #4 (last year I wrote about mistletoe and essentially recycled that line from there). Yes, in my time, I did date a few yankees. Sometime I should write about taking Paula from NJ home to meet the folks...

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  5. Ooh...that sounds like a good story.

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  6. I was thinking of "The Jerk" when I wrote that line so it wasn't a coincidence.

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  7. coqito-Puerto Rican egg nog
    Love both giving and receiving

    I will take chocolate also

    Can't really answer the Christmas questions

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  8. I've been checking out your tree...again I say...MORE LIGHTS. I'm envious of the fact that you have it in front of the window. Must be nice to not have a dog that would jump out of that big, wide front window of yours. *sigh*

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  9. I really hope you find that picture of your grandfather. I can only imagine what that would mean to you.

    Rum balls....mmmmmm....

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  10. murf, I always like throwing out teasers (remind me of that situation when I run out of things to write about)

    Ed, I'd wondered if you had that in mind... Good tie in

    Pia, I've never thought of Puerto Rico being a big egg nog place--I'm not much of a mixed drink person 'cept for hot butter rums after hard skiing (recently I was introduced to Tom Collins)

    Actually Murf, that window looks out back (through a porch). There are no big front windows here, and the other end of the room has a fireplace. You can see the tree from the front through side windows

    Deana, I don't think it'll show up. It disappeared around the time of my grandmother's death (someone was going to get copies of it) and that was the summer I graduated from high school.

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  11. Is that a train set around the tree? very cool!

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  12. Very nice and I can't wait to do this tomorrow.

    have a great rest of week!

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  13. I like this meme, so maybe I'll do it for one of those days when I have nothing to post (like tomorrow...LOL)

    #3.....funny!
    #4.....I don't doubt it. I see huge balls of mistletoe nearly everyday.

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  14. Spectacular tree Sage! And in front of a lovely window and curtains. Mucho props to Mrs. Sage, I'm assuming. Plus you even have a train set. Simply a wonderful tree.

    Happy Xmas! Merry New Year! And have a wonderful holiday season!

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  15. love the me me answers lol esp the coloured lights lmbo, anyhoo just a quickie to say have a very merry christmas to you and yours from us and ours.
    xx
    shona

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  16. Diane, yes, I always have a train there. My daughter and I re-worked the board the tracks are on this year and put glitter in the paint so that it sparkles like snow.

    Kontan and Kenju, I'll drop by to see your answers.

    V, decorating is my department!

    Murf, I'm sure you will.

    Happy, ya'll have a Merry Christmas down there! I suppose in Australia, you catch Santa on his "down hill run."

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