Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

A Visit to Santa

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daveandi1

When I was a child, Christmas wouldn’t have been Christmas without a trip to our local department store, Muirhead’s. Those were the days when there could actually be a locally owned department store. The Muirhead family designed the most magical Christmas display, complete with a trip on a train to visit Santa. It looked like we were in an igloo. Oh, it was pure heaven to all of us kids. To this day, I see childhood friends post pictures on Facebook like the ones I’m going to show you now. We all loved our trips to Muirheads. Sadly, by the time my sisters came around, Muirheads had discontinued their Santa Land. That’s why you see only my brother and me in these photos.

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Someone looks a little nervous. Dad’s keeping an eye on me.

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That’s better.

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Handsome Dad. Lovely Mom.

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And my dear, beautiful brother. I miss him.

Mom’s holding her glasses. So sweet.

My mom saved all these photos for me and I’m so grateful. I finally found a frame a few years ago that had a mat designed for 4 photos. This is one of my most treasured possessions.

Have a magical Christmas Eve.

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A Blue Christmas

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sunparakeet

sunlamp

sunmonty

sunrileydish

sunpiano

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sundollhouse

suntree

Yesterday was raw and windy and the cold seemed to penetrate my bones and heart. All day long, relentless wind, which always leaves me feeling edgy and restless. I watched old episodes of The Big Valley and The Rifleman, which I found strangely comforting.

I’m feeling blue. As the day draws nearer, the realization that Don and I are going to be apart on Christmas has finally hit me. Our Christmases are never elaborate, always simple. We are used to being away from our families on the holidays. My family is spread out all over the country. Don’s is out in California. And, though I missed them all terribly, I knew that I had our Christmas to look forward to. Our little nuclear family.

This year, everything is different. There is a place right in front of me where Riley should be resting. He isn’t here this Christmas. He should be. I miss him so very, very much.

We made this choice, Don and I, because the job opportunity was such a good and rewarding one. And I’ve stayed positive the whole time, becoming the cheerleader I never was in real life, saying ‘yes! you have to do this,’ downplaying the Christmas part of the whole thing. But it’s caught up with me. And I’m blue.

That’s where I am on a Sunday morning.

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A Favorite Thing #17 – Holiday Edition

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afavoritething

Ho! Ho! Ho! Welcome to A Favorite Thing – the Holiday Edition. I’m so glad you’re here and ready to share your favorite Holiday Thing with us. I know you are likely very busy at this time – just a few days before Christmas – so take some time over the next few days to visit everyone. And I do thank you for finding a bit of time to join in this week.

Let’s look at some highlights from last week.

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A Happy Gram shared her beautiful vintage church with us. Oh my. I remember these from my childhood and I must admit a wee bit of jealousy. It’s not becoming, I know, but look at this beauty! Gorgeous.

Pink mix Pyrex

Second Time Around Finds shared her Pink Pyrex with us. Sigh. I want to start a Pyrex collection and of course you know I would love some pink pyrex. These are beauties!

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Julie’s Little House shared the gorgeous decorations in her dining room. Lots of silver and purple, which I think is strikingly beautiful! Great job, Julie!

My favorite things for this Holiday edition have been mentioned before on this blog. Hint: Bottlebrush.

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Normally, these ornaments, and there about 10 of them, hang on our real tree. They are quite large and are always a striking addition to the smaller ornaments on the tree. This year, I have only a small white tree so I hung 3 of them on the chimney. These have to be my favorite Christmas ornaments. I just love them.

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I have to add these bottlebrush wreaths to the Favorites list. I got them at Big Lots a few years ago. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without them.

Okay. Now it’s your turn! Share your favorites with us!

You can link up anytime from this evening through Sunday. Make sure you enter the URL of your post. If you’re unsure how to do that, just click on your post title after you’ve published it and copy the information in your browser address window. Come back here, paste the URL into your link entry and there you go! If you have any problems, drop me an email and I’ll help you out. Please link back to this blog on your post. That way, those that read your post and are interested in reading more can do so.

One of my concerns about link parties is that the very reason for them has somewhat gone by the wayside. They’ve become so big and there are so many of them that many bloggers don’t take the time to visit any of the other participants. Link parties are a way to meet new bloggers and share with each other and the only way to do that is to visit each other. So, please, take some time to visit everyone over the next few days. No rush. Stop by, introduce yourself, and leave a comment. It’s the neighborly thing to do. It’s also nice if you leave a comment here, as well.

We’re taking the week between Christmas and New Year’s off. A Favorite Thing will be back during the first week of January. I wish you all the Merriest and Most Joyful of Christmases.

Have fun!

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Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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