| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| frannie |
Posted - Nov 16 2009 : 10:35:37 AM
ever since i had the cancer, i have seen the world just a little differently. this in many ways feels like my first thanksgiving, and my first christmas, but of course at 59 years old i have been there, done that many times.........
but today i really am feeling so nostalgic about my childhood christmas.
my dad
was carpenter, and mom could sew anything, so at christmas time almost all our gifts were homemade.
before the christmas season even began a huge tarp would go up across the third stall in the garage which was really my dads workshop. most nights as a child i went to sleep with the high pitched whirring sound of the table saw, and even to this day that sound brings a smile to my face.
anyway, at christmas dad, aka santa, would fashion doll houses and doll furniture and little wooden kitchens for me and my sister.
it would all take place behind the giant tarp, and i dont ever remember being successful at sneaking a peak behind that "curtain". inside, santa's helper, my mom would be creating doll clothes out of all types of fabrics. i remeber one year we got a little ironing board, that dad made and mom created the ironing board cover.
what i dont remember, surprisingly enough, is one single store bought present. i know that we received some because we made a trip every year to the playhouse toy store in the rice university area and mom and dad would follow us around and then some of those items would magically appear under the tree. ,,,,,but i do not remember any of those toys,,,,,,,,i only remeber, homemade toy beds with handmade mattress, and pillows and sheets. and all those beautiful doll clothes.
love
frannie in texas
home of "green"crafts,
where no scrap is left behind
(http://abunnystale.wordpress.com/)
www.angeltree.etsy.com |
| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| frannie |
Posted - Nov 23 2009 : 7:12:48 PM
these are exactly the kind of memories that i love to hear about.
denise your vanity sounds wonderful and your moms creative nature sounds wonderful too. i think what our children will remember too is just the special times, maybe not so much the elaborate store bought presents, at least i hope so.
ready to hear more.
also, laurie, i was raised in galveston county, and unless i am wrong i think alvin is in galveston county. or at least it is very close to my home town of la marque. have you been in alvin very long?
love
frannie in texas
home of "green"crafts,
where no scrap is left behind
(http://abunnystale.wordpress.com/)
www.angeltree.etsy.com |
| levisgrammy |
Posted - Nov 22 2009 : 06:23:12 AM
Frannie,
What beautiful memories. Thanks for sharing and helping to us to pull out some of our childhood memories too!
When I was about eight yrs old my mom made me a vanity and stool for my bedroom. It was little and I think it was actually my sisters to start with. She is 13 yrs older than me so I believe the vanity had been stored some where for a time. Any way, my mom sewed a sweet little skirt for it, it had a border of roses and it was white around the top and gradually turned to pink. There were two arms in the front that opened up so I could sit at it. It has little rose and rosebud decals. I think not to long ago I ran across a picture of it somewhere. I loved that little thing and kept it in my room until I was a teenager. I remember having a little bottle of perfume sitting on it and it had a little drawer behind the arms. I don't remember if I kept anything in there. I know money was tight when I was young but I'm grateful my mom was very talented and always made things extra special for us. My dad used to get up at 5 every morning to go to work and on Christmas morning he was no different. He would come in and wake me up and tell me he thought Santa had come and we should go downstairs and see. There were lots of other special times but I just thought I would share these.
Hugs. I'm glad to see you here again.
God is good....all the time.
Denise
www.torisgram.etsy.com |
| laurzgot |
Posted - Nov 21 2009 : 8:06:49 PM
Frannie, Just love the pic of your dad. And what great memories of your chilhood Christmases. I think that it is wonderful that you all got handmade presents. My mom used to sew alot and now I've been sewing for fifty years and love making gifts for my children and granddaughter at Christmas time or any time. As a child we always had wonderful Christmases.
Hugs,
Laurie
suburban countrygirl at heart |
| frannie |
Posted - Nov 21 2009 : 12:24:36 PM
thanks so much for responding to my post and also sharing your memeories.
i love hearing how much you loved the decorations, alee.
hope more of you will share your memories as well.
love
frannie in texas
home of "green"crafts,
where no scrap is left behind
(http://abunnystale.wordpress.com/)
www.angeltree.etsy.com |
| jpbluesky |
Posted - Nov 21 2009 : 05:43:35 AM
HOw blessed you were (and are) to have had such good memories. It must have been so exciting to see the tarp go up! That is a great story.
Farmgirl Sister # 31
www.blueskyjeannie.blogspot.com
Psalm 51: 10-13 |
| therusticcottage |
Posted - Nov 21 2009 : 12:57:17 AM
Frannie - what a lovely picture and wonderful story!! Glad to see you on here again. You've been missed!
Handmade Soap, Lotion Bars & More! http://therusticcottage.etsy.com
The Rustic Cottage Blog http://therusticcottage.blogspot.com
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| electricdunce |
Posted - Nov 17 2009 : 1:07:55 PM
No wonder you make so many lovely things, runs in the family. It is wonderful to read about your childhood Christmases, and I'm so glad you are doing well. Your bunnies are so fabulous...
Karin
Farmgirl Sister #153
"Give me shelter from the storm" - Bob Dylan
http://moodranch.blogspot.com
http://domesticnonsense.etsy.com |
| Marcy |
Posted - Nov 17 2009 : 06:09:47 AM
Frannie,
Thank you so very much for sharing your wonderful memories with us. There is no better story then one that comes from the heart. I am so very grateful that you are feeling good enough to be back on here with us.
Farmgirl #170
Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give...Eleanor Roosevelt
http://marcysworldofcreativity.blogspot.com/ |
| Alee |
Posted - Nov 16 2009 : 9:13:13 PM
What a great memory!
What I really remember about my childhood Christmases isn't about the toys at all- It's about decorating the tree. We would every year go down to the boy scouts tree sale and pick out the biggest densest tree in the lot. Dad would some how get it onto our van and tie it down. We would sing Christmas Carols and go home to decorate. While dad got the tree set up, mom and us girls would dig out the boxes and boxes of Christmas decorations. Each of us girls had a box but the real fun lay in the box that was old and taped together. It comes from my great grandmother who saved it from where her husband worked. Her husband was a miner and it is an old dynamite box!!
Inside that box there were blue teardrops from my parent's first christmas together, little story books to hang on the tree, nestled class bells that came in groups of three and were so delicate it looked like they would break if you breathed on them too hard.
Mom and Dad would get the tree perfectly straight and wrap light string after light string up the tree. Dad would hand lights on the house and we would put out the house decorations like our little Santa village and a vintage sleigh with little reindeer pulling it.
We all would decorate the tree, making sure there were no bare spots.
Then every morning for a good part of a month I would wake up (I was an early riser) and go and just bask in the quiet glow the tree. It was so beautiful each year and had an almost magic quality to it. I love the patterns the lights will throw onto the walls and ceiling from glowing through pine needles and the aroma of a fresh pine tree.
I was always heart broken when we had to say goodbye to the tree and put everything away until next year.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
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| tea_lady_tammy |
Posted - Nov 16 2009 : 6:02:19 PM
Such beautiful memories to share with us. thank you for helping me look at my own treasured memories.
blessings
Tammy
Tea is like being in the stars with God.
http://breathsoffaith.blogspot.com |
| 1badmamawolf |
Posted - Nov 16 2009 : 4:09:39 PM
Hand made with all the love imaginable.........thanks for conjuring up so many wonderful memories for me........
I am glad you are feeling better, and I wish you peace.....
"Treat the earth well, it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children" |
| Farmtopia |
Posted - Nov 16 2009 : 3:23:54 PM
Hey Sweet Miss Frannie!! I haven't seen you in so long on here and I missed you! Such sweet memories, I'm sure everyone has great Christmas memories!! I also got your email, and tried to email you back, but I guess our emails still don't like each other :) Send an email again with your telephone number and I will CALL you!! BIG Hugs!! Zan
~*~Dream all you dreamers~*~
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| frannie |
Posted - Nov 16 2009 : 1:56:49 PM
thanks so much for answering my posts and also sharing your memories with me. oh, kristin i can just see you hearing those bells up in the sky. my mom eventually overdosed me on christmas, but really now i may be just as bad as her!
it does come so quickly though.
marly, i also think it does help us to just let the tears flow when they need to. jonni, my sister and i do have our dollhouses, i believe, but they have been played with. those dollhouses that we have now were really made for the grandchildren. do you see a doll house in violet maes future?
karen i too love the smell of sawdust, maybe that is why i ended up crafting with it?
marybeth , thanks for posting about your early christmas memories too, i hope others will also share what they remember. i bet that christmas ice cream was the best in the world. do you have ice cream in your family tradition for christmas, i think you should and you should tell about how your dad would bring home christmas ice cream. your dad was really trying hard to make a good life for his family, he must have loved you all very much.
sheila, texas hugs back at you too. thanks for all the well wishes you have sent, sheila.
love
frannie in texas
home of "green"crafts,
where no scrap is left behind
(http://abunnystale.wordpress.com/)
www.angeltree.etsy.com |
| Marybeth |
Posted - Nov 16 2009 : 12:14:02 PM
Wonderful memories Frannie. when I was little my Father was going to college and working nights but my Mother was a marvelous seamstress and so many magical things would appear beneath our tree. My Father worked nights at an Ice Cream Factory and would bring home lots of ice cream and specials at holiday time. He died soon after that so my memories are of him. MB
http://www.smallcityscenes.blogspot.com
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"Life may not be the party we hoped for...but while we are here we might as well dance!" |
| kristin sherrill |
Posted - Nov 16 2009 : 12:03:54 PM
What wonderful memories, Frannie. I have some good ones also. Like the time I was trying to stay awake on Christmas Eve and heard bells way up in the sky. I just knew it had to be Santa and all those reindeer. I loved Christmas aa a child. Not not so much. It seems to come SO fast now! Too much to do.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
| Nancy Gartenman |
Posted - Nov 16 2009 : 12:03:13 PM
Love that picture Frannie.
Nancy Jo
www.Nancy-Jo.blogspot.com |
| Bear5 |
Posted - Nov 16 2009 : 12:02:32 PM
Frannie:
Your post made me weep so sorrowfully. In a good way, I mean. The remembering brings such cleansing tears. I used to not let the tears fall, but found that when I do, I feel 100% better. I loved the pictures. Thanks for sharing.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
| FebruaryViolet |
Posted - Nov 16 2009 : 11:42:27 AM
I'm so happy to have a glimpse into your childhood, Frannie, and what a wonderful photo of your pop. I'm so sorry that you had to go through your illness, but look what you have been rewarded with--memories of a time that you had put away long ago. Do you or your sister still have your doll house(s)?
I have fond memories of my childhood Christmases, and I hope one to remember them as vividly and the memories are as poignant. What a wonderful gift you have been given this season, already!
Musings from our family in the Bluegrass http://sweetvioletmae.blogspot.com/ |
| pinkroses |
Posted - Nov 16 2009 : 11:25:52 AM
Those are really cherished memories
I am so glad you are better.
hugs sheila
www.ohkayteagirl2.blogspot.com
http;//www.sheilascreativewritings.blogspot.com |
| kpaints |
Posted - Nov 16 2009 : 11:23:29 AM
What wonderful memories you have!!!! And thanks so much for sharing the photo! I can almost picture you trying to peek in the garage at those treasures your parents were 'building' and the memories they were building!!! The smell of sawdust can be like stardust to a child's memory. Thanks for posting.
Find your joy and live it. http://cheneybaglady.blogspot.com/http://www.kpaints.etsy.com http://www.thevintagebaglady.etsy.com FG #377 |
