Saturday, December 7, 2013

Christmas Advent Calendar Countdown ~ Clump 2!


Hello from the deep freeze!

It is sunny, white, and cold here
in pale blue sky Colorado.



Late Afternoon Light on Snow 




Here are the next few photos in my
Christmas Advent Calendar Countdown:


Twenty days to go:  December 5, 2013:

The subzero weather in Colorado
reminded me of a photo from a long time ago.

Santa and sidekick arrive at Dad's school.
No reindeer or sleigh ~ 
they came by bush plane.


Santa Arrives in Lansdowne House,
Outside My Father's School
December 1960



Nineteen days to go:  December 6, 2013:

This is my favorite Christmas decoration.
Our niece Deirdre made it for us
when she was a first grader in Parker, Colorado.

She is now all grown up,
and she works for the IMF in Washington, DC.





Eighteen days to go:  December 7, 2013:

Christmas in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, 1963 ~
My heart misses those long ago days 
when we five and my parents were together.


Mom with Me, Barbie, Bertie, Donnie, and Roy




One thing I've realized in recent days, 
as I mull over what I love most about Christmas,
is that Christmas music is a must for me.

Here is a song that has been around for decades,
but I just discovered two days ago!
I fell in love with it immediately!

I hope that you enjoy it too!



Source:  You Tube ~ cornbreadobrien

Lyrics Link

30 comments:

  1. That is sure an interesting sidekick lol
    And not a bad pick
    Heard it a time or two
    At my zoo

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    1. Hey Pat! I hope you're doing well today and enjoying what is left of the weekend! Take care!

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  2. What fun to see the pictures from Christmases past. I enjoy Christmas music and sappy Christmas movies. Mr. Dreamy has holed up in the office as I enjoy all that is available to me on Netflix. I actually listen to the movies, more than watch them.
    Thanks for all of the support on my art site. I am really enjoying the process - even though it makes my head hurt with all of the new concepts I am reading about. Your comments are so welcome :-))

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    1. Thanks Dreaming! I so get that head hurt with a lot of new information! I'm playing all our Christmas CDs over and over. Poor E-P! I do love all the old Christmas photos ~ they grow more precious with each passing year! Take care! I felt sorry for us and the cold, until I talked to my family in Calgary! I don't miss that cold!

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  3. I got such a laugh at that photo of Santa. My sister and I are trying to figure out who that is beside him...an elf? Love your Christmas memories. It's fun to look back, isn't it? It looks really cold in Colorado today.

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    1. Hi Peggy. I think it's a clown. A commanding officer from a USA Radar Base in Armstrong, Ontario had flown in with Santa and his clown? bringing gifts for the Indian children at Dad's Indian school. At that time the USA had radar bases across Canada because of the fear of Soviet missiles attacking the US by flying over the Canadian Arctic. The Dew line ! Distant Early Warning line. It is fun to look back at old photos, but it's a little bittersweet, because I miss all the family and friends I have lost over the years ~ especially my parents. But that's part of life! Stay warm. We were just looking at the snow in the Philly-Detroit football game. Yikes. Poor Broncos and Tennessee are going to be cold! Gotta run, the kickoff is coming! Stay warm!

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  4. OK, where is Bertie now? I thought there was 3 girls + Roy (the poor guy with all the sisters).....LOL

    1963 Wolfville ~~~ still fresh in mind too.......thanks for that I needed that!

    Ron

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    1. Hee! Hee! Bertie is the baby girl of the family ~ Roberta Anne! But we have always called her Bert or Bertie. Okay, so maybe we called her Bert the Squirt a lot! Five kiddos: me, Roy, Donnie (Donalda), Barb or Barbie, and Bertie! Hope that helps!

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    2. Tremendously!!

      Winks, now go over to gmail and read those 2750 emails!

      LOL

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    3. I want to cry! But I'm laughing too hard!

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  5. Working your way through all the Christmas stuff I see!
    That family shot is precious! Look at that old /new hockey game!! We had one of those back then!
    Your living room reminds me of Ron's mother's place in Wolfville. You are having WAY too much fun already Louise! Enjoy!

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    1. Hey, where was your home in Wolfville?

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    2. We had a lot of fun with that hockey game, Jim! My family was always big on playing games ~ still are! Still very cold here ~ I've hardly been out of the house. We've had subzero (Fahrenheit) temperatures for six nights and part of each day now. I'm gaining on things which always lifts my spirits! Just warm up please! I hope you are having a great Monday!

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    3. Hey Ms SD! We lived on Gaspereaux Avenue across from the graveyard. Google says 84 Gaspereaux ~ I'm not sure. But it's a small mauve house with a refrigerator on the porch and a silver car in the driveway to the left. Google is scary good with street views! That little house actually had three small bedrooms!

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    4. 84 Gaspereau belonged to a school chum named Caroline Smith at one point, perhaps before you moved in. The building in back was a general store. I used to buy penny candy there. I've wandered through that cemetery so many times across the street!
      Ron

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    5. How cool is that! We played in the graveyard a lot. Once Roy and Barb got Donnie up in a tree near an open grave. A funeral procession came in, and Roy and Barb hightailed it out of the tree leaving Donnie stranded. She couldn't get down and had to sit silently in the tree until the service was over. As I understand it, Barb and Roy were hiding behind some headstones laughing their heads off ~ silently of course! I still laugh when I think about that! My family was so bad!

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    6. What a loverly bunch of coconuts!!!!!

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  6. never knew Santa had a side-kick

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    1. I'm sure the Ojibwa children were quite confused about the whole thing. Dad terrified them trying to explain Halloween by mentioning the windigo! At least Santa wasn't as scary!

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  7. You know what caught my eye in your 1963 family photo? That daschund dog ornament on top of the TV. Did it have tiny mugs on it for liqueurs? If it did -- my auntie had one of those too!

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    1. OMG! It did! I haven't thought about that in forever! I hope that you're finally starting to warm up! Have a good one!

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  8. I love that 1963 photo! Those old images are what I cherish most when I think about these holidays. Is that a hockey game to the right of the photo? I remember that from when I was a kid!

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    1. Hey Martha! Yes it is a hockey game! Jim (Ocean Breezes) had one too! We had a lot of fun games with that! Like you, I cherish those photos. Have a great start to your week!

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  9. I just popped over from the Optimistic Existentialist blog. I love the photos.
    Rick, your latest follower.

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    1. Thanks for the kind words, Rick! I enjoy OE's blog a lot. I popped over to your blog and became a follower too! I'm amazed at all the talented people I'm finding through blogs! I'm looking forward to enjoying yours!

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  10. I love your photos. A sweet and heartwarming post.

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    1. Thank you, Linda! I hope your week has gotten off to a great beginning!

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  11. Hey Fundy - Santa and his Side kick arriving at Landsdownhouse is one of my strongest memories from up North! and of course I love the family photo from Wolfville - I believe we lived on Gasperaue Avenue - I think I splet it wrong :)
    Cheers,
    Barb

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    1. Hey Barb! Yes we lived on Gaspereaux ~ right across from the graveyard. I still laugh thinking about Donnie stuck up in a tree while a funeral was going on. You and Roy were so bad! LOLOL! Stay warm! Poor you ~ I bet you had to go out in the cold and dark like Terry ~ probably colder and darker!

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  12. Oh I loved this blog! Family pictures are just wonderful & the reindeer ornament is a wonderful memory. I have to tell you that I find the word verification at the end of your blog very hard to read - having had 3 eye surgeries that have left me partially blind in one eye. I end up spending too much time trying to figure it out so I haven't been dropping in very often. Still think about you though & glad to know all is well!

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Thank you for your comments! I appreciate them very much.