Yankeetown, Florida:

Summer in the south this year has been anything but pleasant. There hasn’t been much need to watch a weather forecast because it has consistently been in the low to mid nineties and humid with afternoon showers or thunderstorms almost every single day! (Storming as I type!) There’s tons of fun places to see and to eat and drink outdoors around here, but you won’t find any locals doing it in June, July or August.

My hubby loves to find unique and fun places to experience a casual waterside lunch within an hour or so drive, but lately, we find ourselves eating indoors with air conditioning. Yesterday we went to the Blackwater Grill and Bar on the Withlacoochee River located within a preserve area near the the Withlacoochee Bay on the Gulf Coast.

For any Elvis Presley fans that are reading this, there is a significance to this story. We drove on the actual location of his 1962 movie set for “Follow that Dream.”

It appears quite different today than it did back then because they trucked in 10 tons of white sand and created a pristine beach on Pumpkin Island next to the famous Bird Creek Bridge that really didn’t exist. It was just swampy with a lot of brush, much as it appears today. The bridge looks exactly the same (top left), just older and worn. (see movie photos below)

Elvis Presley stayed at the Port Paradise Hotel in Crystal River, which is still there and operating to this day. I find it funny that his Co star, Anne Helm, was never mentioned in the article that we read to find out all of the fun facts. Roger commented “Well, she wasn’t the star.” I guess some things haven’t changed. Without the girl, the boy could not have played his part and been famous, but she got barely a mention and probably a few pennies thrown her way for being part of the movie! It’s a privilege just standing near Elvis and you want paid too? (Sorry, my side of sarcasm is sometimes uncontrolled.) So out of curiosity, I looked. Elvis got a 5-picture deal and was paid $175,000 for the first 3 movies, and $200,000 for the last 2. I googled for far too long to try and find out what Anne Helm was paid and couldn’t find diddly-squat about her contract.

The restaurant we ate at was very nice and had a view of the river where boats can be found with mostly fisherman. There is a porch dining area that would have probably been bustling with locals, but not when it’s stanky hot in the 90’s with no breeze. The lunch menu was very reasonable and the food was good, but dinner and cocktails were a bit on the pricey side for casual dining. It is well hidden and quite the gem in the woods for the local crowd (dinner reservations are highly recommended.)

We drove thru the small town of Inglis to get there and I was intrigued by a sign that read “Historic Crackertown.” It has quite a history and the buildings were constructed of coral rock and mortar.

Here is something I never heard before today. In Florida, the term “Cracker’s” usually means a native person born and raised in Florida. In northern Florida in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, it had a negative meaning and people did not like it. (I would never entertain the idea of using that terminology in today’s world!) But in central Florida, you would find many cattleman and ranchers, much like today. They were once proud of the title as it referred to them cracking their whips as they rounded up their cattle. Their homes were even referred to as “cracker homes” and usually built in a specific design unique to Florida climate and geography. They were constructed of wood plank typically raised up off the ground and with screened porches due to mosquitos and ventilation.

We really enjoy the north central areas of Florida, as there is so much history, places to see and things to do. Of course, the weather breaks from the unbearable temperatures just about the time snowbird season kicks in. But hey, we started out that way almost ten years ago and we have made many friends from that period of our life, so no complaints here! (Can’t wait to see y’all!!)

I often refer to summer here as our winter. I spend much more time indoors doing the things my northern friends and family do after the holidays killing time until they can return to their outdoor activities in the spring. I crochet, write, and paint among my other daily activities during the summer. The difference is, I can get in my car and go anywhere I want with no worries. Just the touch of the air conditioning button and off I go! I love that we don’t own a snow blower, a snow shovel or winter coats, and it’s great to take a day trip (which I have dubbed as “day tripping”) and enjoy the sunshine without the cold. And once the colder weather sets in up north, we love life here in the south!

The only problem we deal with here quite often is missing our family, friends and favorite places, where we spent so much of our time when we lived up north. The loneliness can be annoying until our snowbird friends return in November, but we are managing. A two day trip to drive north is no longer considered a fun getaway. It’s more like a sore ass, cramps in your legs and extremely heavy traffic filled with endless hours of stress and anticipation. Are we there yet?! Then once you get there, you barely get any sleep, going from bed to bed in different hotels and places, packing and unpacking etc. etc. Oh wait! That sounds just like my career days and I really don’t miss living out of a suitcase! But that is my reality, or I can fly. I don’t like to fly much these days as I am just not a fan anymore of traveling by air with crazy, unpredictable or sick people. Our favorite way of traveling was Six Wheels Down! My bed, no packing and no strangers breathing down our necks.

So I have been spending a lot of time doing my favorite thing- painting!

I am working on a collection that will be ready in time for the gift-giving season that I hope you will like. The premise for the collection is based on the southern charm of our area evoking the holiday feeling. It will appeal to many folks who don’t see snow over the winter (perhaps a little frost now and then) and features the authenticity of our farms/ranches in the beautiful horse country in which we live. There is a story for these paintings, as one features an old barn that my husband and his Father built when he was a teenager. Another features my husband’s Grandfathers house that sat in the back hills of West Virginia. It is no longer standing, so it is based on photographs I’ve seen and my husbands memory.

That’s the only teaser I will give you for now, but I look forward to sharing my artworks with you soon! Enjoy what is left of your summer my northern friends and I look forward to our southern winter!

As a quick reminder to my readers:

The book I wrote (Painter of Shells) can be found by clicking on the menu button. There is an intro and then each entry is numbered from one – thirty.

For all of the Six Wheels Down entries for RVers, scroll to the bottom and they are accessible by clicking on the dates written back to February 2019.

A Bonus Memory made today on Christmas morning 2021:

There is a saying about “being on the same wave length” when two people are thinking about the same thing at the same time. I started writing about “Kodak Moments” and sharing Moments and Memories of my childhood during the Holidays on November 15th. I shared with my readers how my Dad took movies of us with and old Bell & Howell camera and we’d project them on a white screen in our living room for family entertainment. Little did I know that my little Sister Jolie was also thinking about those movies on the very same day I shared my blog.

I also shared this photo of the gift my little Sister sent to me from across the miles that stated “Open on Christmas.” I have stared at that box since the day it arrived early in December wondering what surprise lies under my tree just waiting for me to set it free. It was kind of heavy, but kind of squishy too. She knows how much I miss wearing matching jammies on Christmas morning like we used to do so long ago when I lived close to home. So perhaps it was jammies, but seemed kind of heavy??? I would wait patiently for Christmas morning as instructed to do.

Merry Christmas! Today was the big day. Both of my sisters sent me presents that were begging for me to open them. I almost opened one last night on Christmas Eve, as I was feeling a little down when I crawled into bed. We had a lovely evening with our friends and shared good conversations, great food, wine, and memories. But once they had left, and the quiet of the night settled in, I started thinking of my family before I turned out the lights of the tree and went to bed. We used to open our presents as adults on Christmas Eve so we could enjoy watching each other, and then packed the car up and headed to our own homes for Christmas morning. But there was no fun in doing that here because no one would see me open one anyway. So off to bed I went.

My husband and I wished each other Merry Christmas this morning and I had my coffee with a few homemade cookies. I stared at the boxes under the tree for just a little while longer. Finally, I was ready. I opened everything from my big Sister first and loved my surprises! I had only guessed one correctly (the Hallmark ornament pictured below). I could have never guessed the homemade mason jar candle (pictured below right), which is even more special that she made it and so pretty when it flickers! I texted her a picture and thanked her for all her thoughtful gifts! She won’t be home until tonight after traveling to her daughter’s house and Nephew’s dinner party, so she hadn’t opened my gift yet. I sipped my coffee a little more as we texted back and forth.

And then I couldn’t stand it another minute. I got the box cutter out and very carefully cut open the box from my little Sister. It was packed full of stuff with a card laying at the top of it. There was directions in the card and I found a pair of beautiful jammies, all sorts of delicious teas, gourmet chocolates, a pack of tissues, and three DVD’s numbered 1, 2, & 3.

I did exactly as I was instructed to do just a little before 9:30 am. I put on my new jammies (a perfect fit). I brewed a cup of Lady Grey tea, and had my chocolates and tissues right next to me. I placed DVD #1 in the player, sat back and looked up at the screen to see the picture (above right) pop up in front of my eyes. The very first red photo gave it all away in an instant.

On that very same day that I shared my blog back in November, Jolie had picked up these DVD’s. What she did was give me the most amazing and wonderful gift that you can possibly give. She brought my Mom and Dad back to life on the screen, and my entire family was there for me to enjoy! I could not believe my eyes! And then suddenly, they were filled with tears and more tears. Uncontrollable tears of joy were streaming down my face. All the stories that I have told you- my readers, all came back from the dead. Jolie resurrected all those old movies (even the cartoons!) and gave them life on the screen once more! I thought that box of old movies had probably disintegrated with time and were just a faded memory. But here I was on Christmas morning sitting in my chair watching my young Mother and Father alive and well. Then my big Sister Jayla. Then me, and finally, Jolie in her cast and her red radio flyer wagon! Jozeffy was playing his records on the picnic table while the rest of us were jumping and playing around in our backyard pool. It wasn’t just a memory anymore. It was real– all playing out right in front of my eyes. My perfect childhood- even my Aunt and Uncle’s first boat! It was happening in my living room as I cried.

They say “Memories are perhaps the best gift of all.” If this is true, my little Sister gave all of us the best gift of all this year. She brought the magic of Christmas back to life during a tough time in all of our lives.

I watched my Dad today turning a wrench on an old car. (If you read my book, you know he started out as a mechanic). I saw my Mom twirling my big sister around with such love in her eyes. I saw my Grandma and Grandpa, my cousins, my life! I was a baby today with a big bright smile. My big Sister was hugging me and kissing me. I saw myself kissing my little Sister Jolie gently on her forehead as she crawled across the floor dragging that body cast around like it was nothing. I was swinging next to my Mom today. I saw my parents young and in love like it was just yesterday. I saw them alive today!

Yes, memories are indeed one of the best gifts in life! That was the surprise that was waiting for me… laying in that box under the Christmas tree…

A special Thank you from the bottom of my heart to both of my Sisters for making Christmas special this year. I love you both and sent you a hug! XOXOXO

Christmas is a time of Firsts:

I can’t tell you enough how I love these pictures! My Dad is holding my Son during his first Christmas above. He was so young- just a little grey in the temples and always had pens in his chest pocket from work. My Grandma with her pretty white cardigan sweater on- holding my Son in his new Christmas jammies, including a stocking hat. My heart is flooded with love and emotions whenever I look at these photos.

Isn’t that what Christmas memories are all about? Flooding your heart with emotions and your mind runs rampant with all the good memories associated with celebrations and traditions of years gone by. It is sort of like a drug- Once you have achieved the greatest high, your search for that same feeling is un-ending. If you set the bar as high as it can go, you spend your whole life trying to achieve that same feeling for the rest of your life. This is why Christmas is never exactly the same as when you are a child for the rest of your life. You are addicted to Christmas!

Christmas is all about “firsts.” Your first memory of the magic of Christmas as a young child is the one that lives on in your heart forever: Santa Clause & opening presents, the glowing Christmas tree and decorations in your own home, driving around in your car with your Momma and Daddy mesmerized by the Christmas lights that adorn every house and every town, a church choir singing beautifully on Christmas Eve about the birth of Christ. Your first cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows made with love by your Mom is, as Hallmark says; “Christmas in a cup.”

As you turn into an adult, you probably experience your first adult Christmas party filled with laughter and good cheer (meaning alcohol and gift exchanges), and some were better than others. You attend your first Employer sponsored Holiday party and find out more about the people you work with. Like who can drink responsibly and who can’t. You find out who has happy hands and tries to cop a feel when he thinks no one is watching. You also learn why they call a toilet the “porcelain god” because you find yourself kneeling in front of it.

Then you celebrate your first Christmas with the one you love and marry. I actually married (the first time) right before Christmas and it was all so grand! (Until it wasn’t years later.) There is Baby’s first Christmas and usually everyone has an ornament to commemorate the occasion. This marks the beginning of what it means to carry on all the wonderful traditions that your Parents created especially for you. It means you get to re-live all the best times of your life with your own children now- a time when you can act like a big kid again and play Santa, but you get to drink adult Holiday beverages too! Finally, there’s a Grandchild’s first Christmas and you can supervise your own child repeating traditions (or the lack of.)

There is the first time you host a big Family Christmas and learn just how much your Mom and your Grandma worked their asses off creating all those memorable holiday feasts with bountiful cookies and desserts! Still, all was worth it and great times were had by all.

The worst first of any is going through a Christmas without a loved one or when a family member is very ill. Now you find out what sadness is like during a Holiday. The first one without Grandma. The first one divorced. The worst ever for me was the first one without my Mom. This is when you learn the true meaning of why people say “Christmas is not always a happy celebration,” because up until now, you didn’t understand how truly sad some people are during the Holidays. Now you get it. Now you learn more about giving than receiving. You have learned that Christmas has nothing to do with presents- it’s about spending quality time with the ones you love. If someone would have told you this when you were young and waiting for Santa to bring you your most desired toy, you could not have understood it as you do now. Try celebrating your first Christmas without employment or see someone lose their home to learn what the “true meaning of Christmas” is.

Now you’re at the point in life where you might have your first Christmas away from home by taking a trip with your immediate family. You might feel a little guilty for breaking tradition, but figure- what the hell, it’s my life. You might move to warmer climate as I have, and no longer live by family, so you start to create your own new traditions by going to the beach or to your favorite tiki bar!

Whatever you are doing and wherever you are doing it, just remember this; it is about the feeling you get at Christmas that was first set in stone when you were between 6 and 8 years old. For some of us, it is the best times in our lives. For others, it may be filled with loss or tragedy. But once you are an adult, it is what you make it! You can choose joy always over pain and sadness. You can surround yourself with happiness or misery (remember, misery loves company).

This year, We are having two of our best friends over for a traditional Italian dinner. We are not exchanging gifts. We are sharing precious time with each other. There will be laughter and great food! On Christmas morning, I have gifts to open from my two Sisters, and they have gifts from me. We share conversations and pictures of the cookies we made. Hopefully, I will hear from my Son.

So my wish for all of you is to have a very Merry Christmas and a healthy and Happy New Year! I ran out of time to share more Christmas stories with you because we took a last minute trip to an Island on the Gulf coast for a long weekend (perhaps a new Holiday tradition!) But I made my Christmas cookies, and now I am working on preparations for Christmas Eve dinner.

One last story from Christmas 1978:

My Dad wanted a filing cabinet one year and My Mom and I decided that we would buy him one. We had to figure out how to get it in the house and where to hide it. I am not sure how we carried it into the house, but we did with someone’s help! My Dad was at work, so the coast was clear. We cleaned out the back of my old closet by moving all the clothes to one side. I believe we had to remove the sliding doors to do it! Once we shimmied it into the back and to one side, we pushed the clothes all back in place so that it was not visible at first sight.

Now the fun part. On Christmas Eve, we sent my Dad on a scavenger hunt by giving him clues as to where he might find his gift. We had him looking everywhere, including in the basement. Just about the time he was exhausted from looking and laughing, he found a little gift wrapped on the window seal right behind his head the whole time. In that box was the keys to the filing cabinet drawers. He figured it out, but still didn’t know where the cabinet was! After much laughter, we finally gave him the clue that led him to my old closet (probably Jolie’s at this point), where he could barely see the cabinet through the clothes. He was so surprised and I captured the moment…

This is what Christmas memories are to me……

Best Christmas Ever:

We’ve all said it. Probably more than once. But the year I received my Kenner Easy Bake Oven definitely ranked up there with the best!

I loved being in the kitchen with my Mom and my Grandma learning to be a good little homemaker some day. Probably to the point that I drove them a bit crazy at times in the kitchen, but hey, I did turn out to be a good cook and baker too!

Once I saw this lightbulb heated oven advertised on TV (it was introduced in 1963, but I didn’t see it or get it until probably 1964 or 65) it was all I could think of! How cool it would be to actually bake on my own without my Mom having to help me. I was probably obsessed with it, and not even sure if I believed Santa or his helpers (Mom & Dad) put it under our tree. All I vividly remember was being so happy to get it that I cried! Of course, I was baking with it probably within the first hour of receiving it. The second big package I opened contained boxes of baking mixes like cakes and cookies. Oh what a sight to see!

Some of the other years have become a blur, but the Easy Bake Oven and the Kenner Give-a-Show Projector were two of the best toys I ever received in my younger days. We usually received clothes because we got what we needed more than what we wanted.

I shared a few experiences once I was old enough to be one of Santa’s helpers with Jolie’s kitchen set assembly, and when she received her life-sized doll. But there is one year as Santa’s helper that ranks right at the top for all time funniest Christmas Eves in our house ever.

For those that read my book (Painter of Shells), you would know that my little brother Jozef loved to rock to music more than anything else in the world. He had a teddy bear rocking chair (called The Bubba Chair) and eventually outgrew it and wore it out to it’s breaking point. He was an adorable toddler missing his chair terribly. So My Mom and Dad decided that Santa would bring him a rocking horse for Christmas that year so that he might stop missing the chair so much.

So on Christmas Eve, once Jozef was fast asleep dreaming of sugar plums and Santa- my Dad, Jayla, her boyfriend (future husband), and me, stepped into Mom and Dad’s bedroom to assemble the rocking horse so that Jozef would see it next to the Christmas tree on Christmas morning. It was a beautiful horse and the two men began assembly with Jayla reading out the directions. I mostly watched the process unfold and stayed out of the way. When it was time to place the horse into the stand, the four springs were very tight and caused some muffled laughter and giggling amongst us- trying not to wake Jozeffy in the bedroom across the hall. It was difficult, but they finally got it all done and we were ready to put him out by the tree. I checked to make sure Jozef was still in his bed asleep and gave the all clear.

They never realized until this very moment just how big the rocking horse was. The pretty horse almost looked to be smiling at us, but would not fit through the door no matter which way they turned him! More laughing ensued as I kept saying “shhhh” because we were in the hallway. We were uncontrollable at this point and my Mom came down the hall to see what all the commotion was, also reminding us that Jozef might hear us. (I may have heard a few more swear words that night!) I think the joke may have been that my Dad was ready to punch that smiley-faced horse right in the mouth (like a scene right out of Blazing Saddles!)

So the horse is practically stuck in the doorway now, but they managed to pull him back into the bedroom with the realization that they were going to have to remove the horse from the stand and lead him by himself out the door. The springs were not any easier getting them off than they were putting them on, but they finally succeeded in disconnecting the horse from its stand.

Now the mission was to get the stand somehow through the doorway. When all was said and done, my Dad basically had to disassemble the whole damn thing and rebuild it out by the tree! We all laughed so much about this for years to come that it became a classic tale of Santa and his helpers that built the misfit toy that was way too big to fit through any doorway. My Dad was probably pissed, but because we were all laughing and giggling, it became too hilarious and fun to get mad!

After all. there would be no funny story to tell had my Dad known from the very start not to assemble that rocking horse in the bedroom on Christmas Eve. I still remember how that horse just seemed to smile at us the whole time…There are pictures somewhere of that horse. Someday, I may see him again…

Jozef loved his horse! He mounted up and immediately started moving. Once he got into a rhythm, we thought he’d never stop! After Christmas, that horse sat in front of the living room picture window smiling for hours as our little brother rocked away. We would have to periodically check on him because he would rock so hard, that the horse seemed to crawl across the floor into other furniture! We’d push him back into place without him missing a beat! I think eventually, my Dad had to increase the rubber under the stand, because the rubber it came with just wasn’t strong enough to hold back the power of that crazy smiling horse!

One I am not proud of:

I don’t remember what age I was when by big sister spilled the beans that Mom and Dad were Santa Claus in plain clothes. I just know that I was really let down at first to know the only jolly “big guy” delivering the presents to our house was my Dad. At least I didn’t lay in bed at night worrying how Santa could get down a fake fireplace and chimney! pheew!!

My Mother never let the spirit of Santa Claus die in our house. It was important that we would “still believe” in the magic of Christmas to carry on the tradition for years to come, and with our own children and grandchildren some day. The spirit of Christmas lives on in each and every one of us. Besides, when my little Sister and Brother came along years later, I got to be one of Santa’s helpers too!

Handmade ornaments and decorations were also “a thing” in our house. My Grandmother started that tradition out of necessity, as she worked very hard to make ends meet, and Christmas was always a struggle for her financially. However, that didn’t diminish her love for the Holiday celebrations one iota!

The doorknob hanger (far right photo above) was made by my Grandma. My Mother used it (and anything else that had bells) when we were young children to get us to behave. How so, you might ask? Those two little bells were jingled by my Mom just out of our view every day whenever we were trying our darndest to get on the naughty list! She would then say to us “Did you hear that?” Our eyes as big as saucers because yes, we did. “That was one of Santa’s elves and he’s watching you! You better behave right this minute or he will tell Santa you were being bad!” Boy, did that work for a long time! And then it worked for my Son. And then it worked for the Grandchildren. It worked for every single child in our family! At least for awhile.

Once I found out my Mom and Dad were helping carry out the deeds of Santa Claus, I went straight to them with my pleas for desired gifts- some of which never came, but you never knew what you would get and what you wouldn’t. So here’s the story I’m not proud of…

Jayla found the hiding spot one year of the stash of presents that were to be delivered under the tree on Christmas Eve while we were sleeping. She then told me all about it and I had to go peak with her to see with my own eyes that she wasn’t lying to me. The items were already wrapped, so we tried to see thru the wrapping paper to figure out the treasure that laid within. No luck. So we eventually gave up before getting caught.

The long stocking hats with a tassel or ball on the end made their debut heavily in the late 60’s in our neighborhood, and I wanted one in the worst way! Our neighbor friends were already starting to get them. I begged my Mom and Dad for one, but it didn’t happen. She commented that maybe I would get one for Christmas and to stop yammering about it.

I returned several times to the stash in my Mom and Dad’s closet to sneak a peek when I could. One day, there was a new square box (not too big & not too small) on top of the stash. This one was not wrapped yet. Dare I peek inside to see? I did. And what to my wandering eyes should appear? A red, green & white stocking hat! I was so excited that I could not resist the temptation to take it out and try it on! My Mom had a full length mirror on the back of her door and I stood there admiring it and so full of joy! I felt like the luckiest kid on the block! Then I tucked it away and placed it back on the pile as if I were never there.

I thought about it every day. The weather was getting colder and we got some snow, and I dared to bring up the subject of how badly I wished I had a stocking hat to keep my head warm to my Mom. I pushed a little too far that morning and my Mother blurted out “Were you snooping around looking for your Christmas presents?” I tried with all my might not to look guilty as charged and answered “No.” My Mother responded with “if I find out you were snooping around, you won’t get anything but a big lump of coal this Christmas, so help me God!”

Boy, did I screw up! I’m pretty sure my Mother figured out I was snooping in her closet, in her bedroom, and then lied to her about it! That meant she might tell my Dad! Worse, as a Catholic girl, I had to confess that I lied to the priest when I went to confession! OMG! What have I done!

I lost sleep over that. I not only lied to my Mother, which I never did like that before, but I ruined one of the few surprises that I would have to open up on Christmas morning! I have never forgotten how bad it made me feel to lie and to ruin the surprise of it all- and have to act surprised in front of my parents on Christmas morning upon opening that gift. I learned that temptation can sometimes get the best of us and it was wrong. My Mother knew I peeked and she knew I struggled through it. She confronted me eventually and I promised not to ever do it again. I cried in my bedroom all alone over the whole thing.

I am awesome now at not peeking ever since that incident when I was very young. I can keep a secret very well. You better believe when my Sister’s send me a present now as adults, that gift will sit untouched until Christmas!!!

Those were the Days:

I don’t have many photos of my childhood in my possession, but I love these two pictures. I built a snowman in front of my childhood home in 1974. My Son (age 4) and I built a Papa Smurf snowman in 1982. I had no idea I would be such a young Mother when I built that snowman. It seems like just yesterday that my little Sister and Brother built that baby snowman in the background of my big guy, and just 4 years later, I was married and gave birth to a child of my own.

I think I was just about my Son’s age when my Dad first let me go with him and my big sister Jayla to pick out our family Christmas tree. Back in the 60’s, the only artificial tree I had ever seen was my Grandma’s aluminum tree that was lit by a color wheel alternating between 4 shades (blue, yellow, red & green.) She got tired of dealing with a live tree, and it also saved her money, as my Grandpa was deceased at a young age leaving my Grandma to survive on her own with a house payment. Remember, back then, women had it rough finding any decent job, let alone one that payed well enough to live on.

My Dad prided himself in teaching us to pick out a blue spruce or balsam pine Christmas tree that was big enough to cause my Mother to have a conniption when she saw it. It was hilarious to Jayla and I that my Mother would say a few bad words in Italian every year regarding the size of our tree, and my Dad felt like he had just earned an award! We still laugh about those outbursts to this day. The look on my Dad’s face was always priceless, as he appeared to be an innocent little boy that just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar! It was usually followed by the word “What?”

One year, in particular, we outdid ourselves. My Dad managed to get the monstrosity of a tree we all agreed on secured to the roof of our car and safely to our house. It took some doing with all hands on deck to get it off the car, but as it laid there in our yard, it occurred to my Dad that we may have a little problem getting it through our front door. I remember the hand saw became one of the only choices we had, as my Dad had to remove several large branches at the base in order to get it in the door. My Dad recruited some man power from, I believe, the next door neighbor, and there was a lot of tugging and pulling going on. It was a major relief when it came full force through the door and laid there on the floor. All eyes were on it, as if it were a whale that just burst through and laid there lifeless- consuming our living room floor. My Mother took the Lord’s name in vain that year out loud, as we had to rearrange all the furniture to accommodate the beast. I am sure she mentioned it during confession that week, and I’m sure she was forgiven. My parents rarely ever drank, but I believe that moment may have called for a shot and a beer with the neighbor, referred to as a boilermaker!

Usually, our trees went in front of the large picture window so that it could be proudly displayed for all to see driving past our house. Only this time, it was too obtrusive and seemed like it was literally in the middle of the room. So my parents opted for placement in the corner that year, so that we could actually walk through to the kitchen and see the television from the couch. It was beautifully lit with multi colored bulbs, silver and gold garland, large and small antique ornaments, and laden with tinsel. The top was still too tall for the angel and had to be chopped off for her to stand tall. I still remember how exciting it was every time someone walked in the door that year to see the look on their faces when they first set eyes on our tree.

Being that our parents were both musicians, our house was always filled with music, and Christmas was no exception. We would stack the record player with as many records as you could to play one after the other; Bing Crosby, Johnny Mathis, Nat King Cole, Barbara Streisand, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass- and Jayla’s and my favorite; Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride.” We would run around the house pretending to be reindeer as the crack of the whip sound came on!

My Dad’s favorite thing was listening to Christmas music in the living room with only the tree lights and various decorations lighting the room. My Mother would make us hot chocolate with marshmallows to sip on, as my Dad sipped on his coffee. Priceless memories that I hold very near to my heart. We all had our part in this family tradition and those live family Christmas trees were the centerpiece for the course of events.

My Dad died from complications brought on by dementia, but before I left for winter that year, my sisters and I put up a Fall tree to light up in his room (which they later decorated for Christmas.) My Dad would be able to enjoy a decorated tree in his room, as he loved to do. These were the last memories I have of us all together before my Dad’s passing away in January after these pictures were taken. My Brother was there also, but left before we took these photos. We laughed and enjoyed the moments and memories…

Thanksgiving has come and gone:

As a child, the best part of your life begins the day of your Thanksgiving celebration. Turkey, gravy, and stuffing was the best, followed by yummy deserts! The day after meant the Holiday Season was here and Christmas traditions could begin. Oh, what I wouldn’t give to have those days back. Sharing memories will have to do.

Christmas music started to play after Thanksgiving. There was no department store shopping for us way back when because most places were closed in our little town. We had a Lawson’s Party Foods (best chip dip EVER!), Isaly’s Dairy market (famous for chipped chopped ham and sky scraper ice cream cones), and a Gray Drug Store that was opened, if we were lucky. They were all within walking distance and most convenient.

Fall decorations slowly came down, and the cleaning began. My sister Jayla and I had assigned chores that had to be completed once all the fall things were packed up and put away. We had to dust, vacuum, scrub the kitchen and bathroom floors, and our daily duties of making our beds and cleaning our rooms. We each had our own rooms until Jolie came along.

When Jolie was born, Jayla and I shared a bed, as well as the bedroom. Jayla liked to pull the covers up tight around her neck and I liked my arms out over top of the covers. Sharing a bed with your sister is your first lesson in life about compromise. But one of my favorite memories of laying in bed together is of Christmas Eve. We would debate about Santa Claus getting into our house, how reindeer could fly, and if we had been good enough to get what we really wanted for Christmas. Would it be under the tree in the morning?

One time, while we were trying to fall asleep, we heard an unfamiliar noise. It seemed to come from the roof above us and we immediately stopped talking and listened. We were quiet as two little church mice. I looked at my big sister in the very dim room with only a small nightlight and asked “Was that Santa and his reindeer on our roof?” Jayla said “I don’t know, but I heard it too!” We laid there quietly and fantasized in our own little heads what it was that we heard that night, but we both heard it. The next morning bright and early, we peered out the door into the living room, and sure enough, there were bright colored packages under the tree! We just knew it was Santa that we heard last night. We just knew it!

After Thanksgiving, it was also that time of year when we couldn’t wait for it to snow. We loved to build a snowman or a fort, make snow angels, and throw snowballs at each other every chance we could get. We had a lot of neighbor friends in our age group that we’d play with all the time (still friends with them on Facebook even though there’s many miles between us all.) It was a really great neighborhood to grow up in and I am sure our parents were happy we occupied ourselves daily. Sometimes my Mom would yell for us to come in just so we could warm up our hands and feet and dry out our gloves and hats in front of the heater vents. We would beg to go back out, and eventually, round two would begin. Sometimes, we even got Mom to come out and help us build a snowman. I remember her going thru her sewing box to find us some buttons for the eyes and mouth. We also begged for a carrot nose, even though she probably needed it for cooking, but she always gave in to us for a snowman.

We had an old red barn behind our property used for various businesses back in the day. It had two ramp ways that were used as loading areas. One of the ramps was a bit more steep than the other. It made the best slide ever! Our neighbor directly across the street- her Father worked for Armor Foods and would bring home large heavy duty pieces of plastic from time to time. We would use a big piece of the plastic to sit on and slide down the ramp and all the way across the street (which was rarely traveled) and into the bushes! We would do this until the snow was compacted and turned very slippery (The ramps weren’t being used at the time, so no one cared. I’m pretty sure this activity would not happen in today’s world.) My Mother could see us out the back window across the yards and up on the hill by the old red barn. She was always worried we’d break our necks out there, but let us have the fun. Those were some of the best days of our lives.

Except for the occasional fight when Jayla would push me down into a large snowbank and I could hardly get up and out of it. I’d get snow in my little red boots and cry. Jayla taught me not to be such a cry baby and told me to stop or she wouldn’t play with me any more. So I usually stopped my crocodile tears and dealt with cold feet, but that was better than running home and being a tattle tale. If Jayla got in trouble, that meant we both couldn’t go out and play because my Mom wouldn’t let me wander around outside without my big sister, so I had to toughen up a bit and take the bad with the good.

I wouldn’t trade having a big sister for anything!

Last known live tree I had while living with my Mother-in-Law in 1979- my son’s 1st Christmas. There are many pictures of our family’s Christmas trees when we were young, but they are not in my possession.

A True and Funny Story:

The photo of my little sister Jolie above was taken in our kitchen around 1981. That is homemade pizza dough, but Mom would buy Prego sauce on many occasions to make them in a hurry for dinner.

I love this picture because we spent so much family time in this kitchen. I look around and see so many old fashioned things- the table and chairs, Tupperware; sugar container, measuring bowl, and salt and pepper shakers, an old glass pop bottle, and the wreath hanging on the wall was hand-made with red yarn. Also noted is the cheese. This was back in the days of no bags of shredded cheese. She used a cheese grater and I could almost taste this homemade pizza just looking at it! There’s also a pile of junk next to the stove. That is where my Mom would pile stuff up that needed to go down into the basement (you can see the pocket door to the far left.) My Dad would take it all down for Mom when he would go down to work on his bench and fix stuff. When you don’t have a garage, the basement is where everything goes to hide.

But the beauty of this picture is my little sister Jolie. If you read my book (Painter of Shells) you would know that my little sister was number 3 of 4 children and born with a hip deformity. From birth, she spent at least two years in body casts and leg braces. No one could guarantee my parents that her hip socket would develop and function as a normal hip joint, or that she would walk without a severe limp. So you could imagine how delighted we all were, that when all was said and done, she did indeed walk normal.

Jolie came along 8 years later than me, so a lot of my memories are from the 8 years of just Jayla and I. What I do remember best is Jolie’s first couple of years in the casts and her toddler years. Once I was a teenager, I didn’t spend as much time playing with her because we had a baby brother that came along and occupied her time.

Jolie loved to play house and take care of her baby dolls. One of her very first Christmas presents from Santa, once she was out of her cast and braces, was a kitchen set with stove, refrigerator and a working sink. Jolie had no idea how hard Santa had to work at getting it all put together and into our living room! If my Dad thought the fireplace was a challenge, he had no idea that he needed to be a rocket scientist, or that it would be a 3 man job assembling a play kitchen!

Our Uncle Frank (INO- In Name Only- not by blood) helped him assemble it in our basement, and I think Jayla’s boyfriend also. Then Santa had to hustle on Christmas Eve to quietly carry it all up the stairs and next to the tree. It was an ordeal, but a priceless memory to see her face on Christmas morning! She wanted to cook and do dishes right off the bat! Of course, after the week of Christmas, it all had to go back down in the basement for her to play with because we simply didn’t have enough space for everything in our living room and still see the TV. We shuffled things around in our house constantly! My Mom called everything we did “a three act play!”

I believe it was the following Christmas that Santa added a table and 4 chairs to her set. It also came complete with a play-date friend- a baby doll that stood taller than Jolie with beautiful strawberry blonde hair! It was hilarious to wake up and see the doll sitting on a chair at her table. Kind of freaky when we peeked out to see if Santa had come and two eyes were staring back at us!

I will share more Christmas stories after Thanksgiving, but here’s the part that still makes me laugh out loud:

I have been telling people for years how my little sister Jolie grew up to be a flute player (flautist) in our musical family. Once she was in high school, she played in the high school marching band, which was the best band in the tri-state area! She eventually joined the flag line and led the band out onto the football field with fantastic displays of flag twirling! She attended the same high school that Bernie Kosar played football at and I remember the first game opener that season! I went with my Mom and Dad to see Jolie twirl, but got a pretty good bang for my buck seeing Bernie throw his first touchdown pass after a sensational drive down the field! We were all up on our feet screaming! A night I won’t forget, and the rest is history with Kosar becoming the QB for the Cleveland Browns.

But my sister was just as famous, at least to me! She went on to play in the Macy’s Day Parade! Or so I THOUGHT! I recently found out when I spoke with her that the high school band was there indeed! BUT Jolie wasn’t able to make the trip to NYC with the band that year. O! M! G!! I have been telling people for years that my little sister marched in the Macy’s Parade! I remembered watching them on TV, but she was not there!

BUT, she did march in the famous Disney Christmas Parade, which is definitely something to write home about! I also thought her son made it to Macy’s, as he played trumpet in the same high school band years later. WRONG again! Her Son marched in the Mile Long Parade in Chicago, but not Macy’s either. The joke’s on me! I’ve always told people that my Sister and her Son marched in Macy’s. It really doesn’t matter, because what they both did was still amazing and exciting, but my memory is a little twisted!!

So to all the people that might remember me telling you about my Sister and her Son; it was NOT at Macy’s…LOL!

I shall return with many more Christmas stories, but have the Happiest Thanksgiving this year! I hope you are creating memories with your family or friends. If not, I hope you have many good memories of all the good times you once had. Watch a funny movie like “Planes Trains and Automobiles.” Laugh till you cry! Drink wine or sip brandy. No matter who you’re with or what you do, be grateful you’re alive and thankful for your good health! Thank someone for their friendship or reach out to someone alone. Enjoy the day and the food you eat. We are the lucky ones that have lived to tell our stories thus far…

Thanksgiving Traditions:

Turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied yams, creamed corn, green bean casserole, red spiced apple rings (because we didn’t love cranberry sauce), hot dinner rolls and lots of butter. We eliminated soup and salad over the years because no one cared to use the space in our bellies for ordinary foods. Italian wedding soup became a Christmas Eve tradition.

As young children, we woke up to the smell of delightful scents coming from our kitchen. My Mom would sauté chopped onions, celery, garlic and fresh parsley for the stuffing so it could cool before mixing it all up and stuffing the bird. She would use the top of a Tupperware cake storage container and the Tupperware bread storage container as large plastic bowls for the broken bread to dry out. She’d place them on top of the refrigerator so we couldn’t get at them. Why, you might ask? Jayla and I would sneak pieces and roll them between our fingers until they were little doughball snacks!

The sink was full of icy cold salt water with our turkey bathing in it. We’d have cereal for breakfast because Mom didn’t have time to fuss over anything special. We were able to be lazy because at 9:00am, she had the Macy’s Day Parade on the television to entertain us. She would come into the living room now and then to see some of her favorite performers and enjoy the large balloons. After we saw Santa end the parade, my Mom then ordered us to start moving and get cleaned up so we could get into some nice clothes before helping to prepare the living room for the big feast between 1:00 and 2:00 (the size of the turkey determined the time we ate).

My Dad would start things off by re-arranging the living room. He usually had to remove an end table or the coffee table or both. Our Dining table was a drop-leaf table usually residing under the side window and up against the wall. We would help my Dad move it into the center of the living room, and then the 2 sides were placed in their upward positions. Once the sides were up, we’d pull it apart to get 2 additional leaf sections that were stored in the back of our front entrance closet put into place. We then placed the appropriate sized padded top sections over the entire table. Once the table was in place, we got the honors to drape it with a large lacey tablecloth, and a clear vinyl went over the lacey one. My Grandma’s white milk glass candle holders were placed apart and centered in the middle with white tapered candles in them. My Dad would have to round up the dining room chairs scattered throughout the house. Beyond those six, he had several wooden folding chairs in the basement to allow for extra seating. Once everything was in place, we were all ready to set the table as soon as Mom gave us the green light. How exciting this all was every single year! It was like a special production of the symphony playing our favorite song!

By this time, my Dad had football games playing on TV (or we would beg him to hear Christmas albums on the stereo console record player!) My Grandmother would walk down the street to our house, always showing up early, to help my Mom with food preparations and to oversee our performance! She would be sure to keep us in line while Mom was busy during the occasional argument during this performance. The smell of turkey filled the entire house, and eventually, my Mom let us set the table with Grandma acting as the conductor of the symphony.

We got to use the special China plates trimmed in silver with a blue floral print and sparse green leaves. (Mom saved S&H Green Stamps to purchase our China.) Grandma would remove them from the highest shelves of our cupboards (before we had the china cabinet) and carefully hand them to us like a delicate flower. Mom usually bought Fall motif dinner napkins to use with our daily silverware (Grandma had the good Sterling Silver stuff). We used 2 sets of salt and pepper shakers, 2 butter dishes, a couple of ornate serving spoons, and of course, glasses (not all matching- and ours were plastic) for our pop or ice water. Once the candles were lit, we were ready for the food. We could hardly wait for that moment my Dad got to carve the turkey. He always gave us a tiny taste of it or the stuffing, and my Mom always gave “the look” of approval or disgust, depending on the bird being juicy & tender, or dry & tough. The foods were all placed on the table, the gravy boat was full, and finally the dinner rolls- sometimes forgotten and a little over done. (It kind of became a joke.) We said the blessing with hands held all around the table, and then it was time to mangia! That means eat in Italian!

The symphony ended approximately 20 – 25 minutes later. That’s how long it took to pass the dishes and fill our bellies with all the excellent tasting food on that table. ALL the work my Mom and Grandma did for a 20 minute splurge. But it was awesome! Now it was time for the adults to chat and relax while Jayla and I cleared the table. It was one of the few days of the year that we didn’t mind cleaning up. However, there was almost always an argument of who would wash and who would dry. But it always got done, and the china was returned high up on the top shelves awaiting the next round on Christmas Eve. Jayla would actually climb onto the counter top and I would hand her the china. Eventually, an adult would scream at us for doing so, as we were supposed to pile it up on the kitchen table. I don’t remember ever breaking anything. But then again, cows can fly.

Every year was just a little bit different as to who would be sharing this big dinner with us. Sometimes, we were very disappointed that we kids had to sit at the kitchen table, as the adults filled the formal dining table in the living room. But no matter who was there for dinner, or what table you were at, the crowd always grew for coffee, deserts, and Pokeno or various other card games. Our front door was like a revolving door every Holiday with people coming and going. (Years later when we were older, Mom nicknamed our house Grand Central Station.) All were welcome, and absolutely no one went home hungry. My Dad always had to undo his belt buckle, but somehow managed to have another round before the night was over.

The best part of all this was that all who entered our home had no idea how financially difficult it was for my Parents to provide this fabulous feast. We might have to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches the next week, but for one day, we were rich and fed everyone! I hear everyone complaining now about the prices of everything and inflation for this upcoming Holiday season. I guess some things never change, or the price gouging during these times just never stops. But my Mom and Dad never went to any food bank or Church for any help. My Dad worked over-time to make a few extra bucks and somehow managed to put out a spread for years!

My best memories of Thanksgiving are always about the great gathering of friends and family at our house and staying up later than usual. I remember one time that the Wizard of Oz was aired on or the night before Thanksgiving. I never could figure out what all the fuss was about when Dorothy stepped into Oz with flowers, trees, and the yellow brick road (and of course, the little people.) We didn’t have a color TV, so it was not as impressive until the day we watched it all unfold in color. We loved it either way!

The best part of the day was the visiting, the laughter, the reminiscing of days gone by, the games, and the anticipation of doing it all over again for Christmas. Only this time, presents would be involved….only if we stayed off the naughty list.

Jayla could sometimes push it a little too far for my comfort. (Laughing!!!)

A Series of Holiday Memories:

I am quite sure that me and my big sister Jayla drove our Mom crazy. Every year just before Thanksgiving, the anticipation of Christmas and all the festivities surrounding the Season filled our house to the brim. You did not bypass Thanksgiving and decorate early in those days, as many people do for one reason or another today. But that didn’t stop us from asking her if we could start decorating. We were like a broken record on repeat.

If we were really lucky and the weather was predicted to turn cold early, my Dad would sometimes put the outdoor lights up before Thanksgiving Day to avoid freezing his fingers to the bone. Jayla and I were thrilled because Daddy always let us help. (I’m quite sure we drove our Dad crazy too!) I don’t have any pictures of our house all decorated, but my Dad did take movies of it. Let me create a picture of it in your mind.

We had the large old-fashioned multicolored lightbulbs strung all the way up one side of the house, across the entire roofline, and down the other side. The two large windows in the front of the house (Mom & Dad’s bedroom, and the living room) had smaller multicolored twinkle lights all the way around each one. Candelabra lights of 3 (5 in the biggest front window) sat on each windowsill all the way around the house. The front door had twinkle lights around it with various door decorations hanging on it every year. Eventually, we started decorating the side windows, because more is better! We also lit the sidewalk leading from the driveway to the porch with large candy canes and two large lighted candles at the front entrance. As time went on, we added white twinkle lights to the large shrubs under the front windows. We pretty much lit up everything that you could string lights on without blowing a fuse! If it was cold outside, Mom would make us hot chocolate with marshmallows when we finally came in to warm us up.

Dad would suffer from dizzy spells from time to time, making it dangerous for him to be on a ladder. Jayla was still young, but not shy of heights, so my Dad agreed (after she hounded him half to death) to let her climb the ladder and string the lights. She didn’t care for all the up and down, as it was more time consuming. So she came up with a more efficient idea to string the lights up. She climbed up onto the roof, to my Dad’s dismay, and laid on her stomach with her head facing down towards the edge. It was a hip roof, so not as steep as a gable roof. My Mother nearly had a heart attack when she witnessed this display of courage and bravery, but Jayla would try anything once. I would help hold the lights from down below, and my Dad would feed them up to her. It was an awesome display of efficiency and so much quicker. She would just scoot along the rooftop’s edge on her belly placing hooks and lights and wallah!

Most of our indoor Christmas decorations were stored up in the cold attic of our house. The closet in the smallest bedroom is where the attic opening was with several built-in steps leading up to it. Even though my Mom said “no” to decorating yet, we would beg her to just let us start bringing some things down from the attic. You know, so they wouldn’t be so cold once we were ready to use them. (Any excuse we could come up with to start the process of decorating!) Perhaps we needed to check the bulbs that might be burned out so we could replace them before hand??? Sometimes- she would give in to us and let us bring some down and put them on the closet steps and floor.

By the way, there was this one time that Jayla almost put her foot thru the plastered ceiling! She tripped and stepped off the boards my Dad had up there to walk on and to store things on top of. She was fine, and so was the ceiling, but we were warned to be much more careful. Makes me think of the Chevy Chase attic scene in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation!” (Laughing)

We also drove my Mom and Dad crazy asking questions about Santa Claus. We did not have a fireplace and could not figure out how in the world he could come into our house without a chimney! So my Dad decided to buy a cardboard Fireplace with a chimney that reached up to the ceiling. I am sure there are pictures somewhere of this contraption that our parents tried to talk us into the idea that Santa could now enter our house without using the front door. I just don’t have any in my possession. (Perhaps Jolie has one.) It was red and white bricks with a black mantle and the chimney almost touched the ceiling. Putting it together was hilarious because the directions were like reading a book and cardboard pieces spread out everywhere! But somehow we managed. There was two logs in the fireplace with flames that lit up and flickered to look like fire by a small lightbulb with a slow rotating aluminum fan. It was the last and most difficult part of the assembly, and my Dad grew frustrated. I remember Jayla and I helped figure it out by looking at the pictures, and it was like my Dad hit the lottery! His girls were mechanically inclined and that made him so happy! Every year after that 1st time, it was Jayla and I that mastered putting it all together, and we were quite proud of it. However, we still couldn’t figure out how Santa could get his fat @ss down that cardboard chimney! My Mom came to the conclusion that it was magic! If she had told us that from the start, we would have never had that cute little fireplace and these wonderful memories…