Show And Tell

Kelli at There Is No Place Like Home is hosting Show and Tell Friday. If you would like to join the fun, please visit Kelli's blog and leave a link to your post.

I've been waiting for this time of year to show off my collection of vintage New Years Eve noisemakers. I'm always on the lookout for them whenever I visit my favorite flea markets and antique places. Usually they are pretty inexpensive and in good condition since they are only used once a year. I love all the different designs and colors.

Here's a little bit of my collection, There are horns, rattles, bells, and ones that spin. I'm not sure how old they are. I think most of them are from the '50's and '60's, but I think a couple of them may be from the '40's:



These three are my favorites:



Uh oh-looks like someone has started celebrating a bit too early-better hide that catnip!




Thank you for looking at my Show and Tell and thank you Kelli for hosting.

Well another Christmas has come and gone. We had a nice one. Spent Christmas Eve at my Dad's home and Christmas Day at ours. Did a little baking during the day on Christmas Eve. Made this gingerbread tree and some Italian anise cookies:



And also M&M cookies and some gingerbread men and trees:



Now I'm just trying to get caught up on things like laundry, cleaning, and other fun activities. Seems I get this "urge to purge" every year around this time and I just start tossing lots of stuff. I spent a good part of yesteday sorting through papers and clothing and I barely made a dent in the clutter. I really need to keep on top of it better. I guess it's time to pay Fly Lady a visit.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas week with family and friends.

Christmas Craziness

What a crazy week it's been! I've been working every day since Tuesday, running around trying to get that last minute shopping done, plus doctor's appointments and other fun stuff. Still have a little baking and wrapping to do. I just finished baking a batch of M&M cookies and I made some gingerbread dough. I'll bake and decorate the gingerbread men tomorrow, for I know if I make them tonight they will end up with mean little faces, complete with fangs.

Yes, once again I find myself trying to achieve that perfect Norman Rockwell kind of Christmas, but I find myself turning into Norman Bates. I should know better, for it's not the perfect Christmases I remember, but the funny, not-so perfect ones. Like how every year my Father would bring home the most sorry looking Christmas tree he could find, you know the kind with no branches in the middle or in the back. The kind of tree that makes Charlie Brown's look like the one in Rockefeller Center. My Mother would get so mad, but somehow she managed to turn those trees into works of art. Now that's a Christmas miracle!

Then I remember the first Christmas with Carlos in our home and we finally had enough space for a large tree. I had decorated it so beautifully with all these delicate glass ornaments and I was so proud of that tree. Then I came home from work on Christmas Eve to find my pretty tree face down on the living room floor with several of the ornaments broken. Seems my beloved Sheltie, who is now in doggie heaven, managed to get caught in it and caused it to topple over. (I know this because I found a large clump of his fur in the tree.) I laugh about it now, and Archie even has a special place on our tree, featuring his collars and some of the ornaments he broke:



Then there are the little things that make me smile, like that house I drive by every day with all the decorations. The guy looks like he's hosting a winter carnival on his front lawn-he even has a small ferris wheel! Well Friday afternoon, him and his wife were outside dressed like Mr. and Mrs. Claus and waving to everyone. And their children were dressed like Santa's reindeer, in furry brown suits and antlers, and they were on all fours, lined up on the front steps. I wish I had my camera with me.

And then there are moments like these, in your own home:



My sweet dog Raven, had a seizure today, right in front of the Christmas tree. She seems okay now, but she is going to see the vet later this week, so we'll see. She is twelve, but I hope it's nothing serious.

So enjoy your Christmas, hope its a wonderful one that you'll always cherish.

Show And Tell

Kelli at There is No Place Like Home is the hostess of Show And Tell Friday. If you would like to join the fun and check out other great show and tells, please visit Kelli's blog.

My show and tell this week is my Nativity. It once belonged to my Grandmother, then my Mother, and it was passed on to me when I moved into my own apartment. I'm not sure how old it is, but I know it's over 50 years old. It's a bit chipped and worn because many little hands (and paws) have played with it through the years. My Mother always displayed it beneath our Christmas tree along with our gifts. I also do the same for He is the most special gift anyone can receive.



And here is our tree. These lights twinkle, so the photo looks a little blurry. Notice that black silhouette in the bottom left near the center? Yes, that's our kitty-he is so fascinated with that tree!




Thank you for stopping by and looking at my Show and Tell, and thank you Kelli, for hosting.

My "Festive" Holiday Table...

I just want to let Diana at Sunshine On My Shoulders know that she is not the only one with a messy table. In fact, both my dining room and master bedroom have been declared major disaster areas! Can you believe that I actually wrote out my Christmas cards on this very table last night?

Now to answer her question-"Where do you eat?" Well tonight we dined on snack tables in the living room. Who knows-we just may be eating Christmas dinner alfresco (outdoors) if I don't clean this mess up soon!

Carlos insisted I put that empty wine bottle on the table when I told him why I was taking this picture, but all that other stuff, including Santa, was just as you see it. I hope we don't get any surprise visitors.

Only One More Week!!

Just finished scribbling writing our Christmas cards, hopefully they will all reach their destinations on time. Finally got the tree up and decorated, will take some photos before the kitty cat has his way with it.

Well I officially joined the 50 and over club yesterday-in other words, I had a colonoscopy. Yikes!!! Actually the procedure itself is nothing-but the preparation the day before-well I'll spare you the details. I think you know what I mean.

Still have a little shopping to do and some wrapping and baking. And cleaning!!! So it will probably be just a few quickie posts for the next few days. Hope you're all enjoying the season.

Christmas Meme

Saw this Christmas Meme on Diana's blog and it sounded like a lot of fun, so here's mine:

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
It depends on the gift. Anything "boxy" gets wrapped. Large or odd-shaped gifts get bagged.

2. Real tree or artificial?
I love real trees, but I've been using an artificial tree for some time now, because the real ones dry out so quickly in our home. I usually hang some kind of pine wreath, so we can still have that real Christmas tree smell.

3. When do you put up the tree?
Our giant cat toy Christmas tree is going up this weekend. I will be housebound because we are expecting a nor'easter Saturday night and Sunday.

4. When do you take the tree down?
After January 6-Most people in my neighborhood celebrate the Epiphany.

5. Do you like eggnog?
I love it!! On Christmas morning, Carlos and I open our gifts to each other while having a cup of eggnog with a little Kahlua and some nutmeg sprinkled on top. (did I just hear someone say "Yuk!!"?)

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
A puppet theater, I think I was 9 or 10 years old. Our family kitty liked it too, for he often slept inside. He also starred in a few of our "productions".

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes, a very old one from Italy which once belonged to my Grandmother. It's chipped and worn, but I treasure it. I display it beneath our Christmas tree, just like my Grandmother and Mother once did.

8. Hardest person to buy for?
Carlos!!!!!

9. Easiest person to buy for?
My dog, Raven. (Hey, she's a fur-person!)

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
My high school sweetheart once gave me a sweater with two large circles in the front placed exactly you-know-where, along with a pair of spoon and fork earrings. Thank the Lord we broke up right before the following Christmas!

11. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards?
Snail mail.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
It's A Wonderful Life

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Usually in December, but sometimes I do a little before that.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
I have donated a few to charity.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
My family is Italian and on Christmas Eve we have the Feast of the Seven Fishes. There is plenty of shrimp, scallops, mussels marinara, calamari, linguine and clam sauce, flounder, and other seafood dishes. And of course, I love to eat all those yummy Christmas cookies.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
I've used colored ones for a long time, but this year I'm going to use clear ones that twinkle.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
O Come All Ye Faithful by anyone (even Twisted Sister!) I also love Christmas Canon by the Transiberian Orchestra.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Christmas Eve I spend with family (it's maybe 10 miles from here). Christmas Day I usually spend at home.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Dasher, Dancer, Comet and Blitzen. Donner, Cupid, Prancer, Vixen, and Rudolph.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Usually a star.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Christmas Eve I exchange gifts with my family. Christmas morning, Carlos and I open our gifts to each other.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
I really don't like those gigantic air blown Christmas decorations a lot of people have on their front lawns. Especially during the day when they are deflated. Does anyone else feel this way?

23. What I love most about Christmas?
The true Christmas spirit. It is such a magical time.

If you read this-you're tagged!! Let me know-I'd love to see your answers.