Ugly Cry

Every year someone gives a gift to mama

that results in an ugly cry.

This year the winner was Hannah,

with a memento of my four - four legged loves.

Gadget and Libbey came before the blog but have 

been mentioned of course.

Justice and Howie have been blog subjects 

since the first day. 

It's been hard with the granddogs here.

A constant reminder of what is missing.

The sounds of a dog jumping off a bed then

hitting the floor. Nails scrambling across the tile

as they make the sharp turn into the kitchen.

Doggie sighs as they settle down to sleep

in their chosen chairs.

Sounds of lapping at the water bowl. 

Even doggie farts, thank you David.

I miss it all until I ache.

One kid couple in Michigan since Sunday.

Other kid couple at his dad's today.

I'm going to watch movies and 

bake and eat cookies till I'm ill.

Merry Christmas to all

and may god help us next year.

I fear some more ugly cries.

Memory Tree

For many years I had two 

large gates in my hallway

covered with memorabilia,

 many of the pieces are gifts

 from blog friends. 

The majority from my very 

special friend Carole.

I sold the gates at my last sale 

and the pieces that hung on them

 sat in a box on my bedroom 

floor for over two months.

Today I remembered this skinny tree

 tucked away in a closet

and trimmed it out with anything 

from the box that would fit.

One small star light strand up the middle. 

There are keys from my dad, 

the first wishbone from my

first turkey with my husband, 

trinkets I made long ago, milagros, 

even a pocket watch.

The memories make me happy.

Good thoughts to help me sleep.

Counting the days till kids and grand-dogs arrive.

I'm grand-dog sitting David the talking husky.

 Good thing we spent the week

sleeping together at Thanksgiving so he 

won't be worried about his folks. I hope...

Not everyone can be here at the same time,

so a very patchwork holiday.

January may bring a very special gift for me.

It is not for sure just yet, but soon I may have

another best friend to share my life.

It arrives not in the manner I had planned,

but it is a gift out of love and friendship to me.

I am cautiously excited.

How is everything going for you?

Z

Christmas On The Porch

Twelve days of Christmas

My tables always have "quick removal" displays for dining

Reds appealed to me this year

Picks and House of Hatten collectibles

There is a light inside of the log cabin,

and red berries now on the greens.

I kept coming back after I snapped photos.

That stucco you see is the original rear of house.

View from the family room couch

That empty basket beneath the table

is now filled with greens and berries also.

As always, my decor is just loads of picks plunked

into existing decor. I remove nothing unless

 I need a little space.

This time I removed a pitcher of flowers 

from the table so I could lay down greens.

Merry Merry 

Z