The Violin….

Both of our girls took music lessons when they were young.  Our oldest took piano lessons from a woman in our church.  She took them for about a year and then she stopped.  I can’t remember why exactly, but I know there was no drama when the lessons ended.  Our youngest was given a second-hand

Twelve Days of Christmas….

The Christmas after hubby graduated from college, and two and half years after he retired from the military (yes, he finished a four-year course in 2.5 years.  I am married to a highly intelligent go-getter.  Wonder what he is doing with me?) , hubby came in from work bearing a beautifully wrapped gift and a card. I

It was 1966…

Christmas 1966 was a Christmas that will never be forgotten.  I was 11.  My life had forever changed three months before.  My family’s life had been forever altered three months before.  September 27th, 1966 my Mother died after a battle with pancreatic cancer.  She was in her early 40’s. Christmas came with the same gusto

My Name is Suzie Smart…

As a child, Christmas was such an exciting time.  Our gifts at Christmas were pretty much the same each year.  My sisters and I always got a new doll, up until we were in middle school.  We got new pajamas, if any photos were taken the p.j.’s looked good in them.  We got the necessities, socks,

The Angel….

When Hubby and I were first married, we were young and poor.  We had enough to do things, to eat, pay bills, but there was not much extra leftover.  We were married almost a year when our first Christmas came around. Hubby was stationed at a command that had access to some land and the

Not a Creature was stirring…

It is the quiet of the evening after a day of Thanksgiving.  The house is silent except for the ticking of the clock in the dining room and the rumble of the train on the tracks a mile or so from the house. I sit here wanting to get up and start to put away

Advent….

Christmas is one month from today.  Basically, four weeks.  I was raised in the Catholic church.  I went to a parochial school.  I loved when we got to the season of Advent. Our school had an advent wreath.  It was located by the school office and it was on a lever system that raised and lowered

When he was 17, it was a very good year…

42 years ago, I had a carefully wrapped navy blue scarf and a plastic road-runner statue ready to give to my boyfriend.  He was 17 and we had dated for nine weeks.  I was so excited to give him his gifts.  The scarf was the best polyester knit material I could find with my babysitting

For Lack of a Clever Title….

When I start a post, I wait until I have a title and then I go ahead.  Sitting here, I realized, I have nothing…  absolutely nothing for a title. I have spent this morning reading blogs and actually working in the yard.  Yesterday is was 80 degrees out.  To me, that is ridiculous weather for