Sleepy Saturday....

It has been such a lazy day. I got up, let the pup out, then sat on my butt for a few hours, drinking coffee, watching wee one play with her millions of polly pockets, and singing Christmas carols with her. It has been a fun morning. I made a huge crock pot of cabbage soup and have the yeast rolls thawing. It just seemed like a perfect dinner for a cloudy, dreary day. I have to enjoy them when I can here in the sunshine state! It's in the mid 50's as well, which is a nice change.

I have my shopping 99.9% finished. It really wasn't so bad....I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. Of course, my $30 worth of Christmas cards are sitting here on my desk, un-addressed, un-stamped and un-signed. Why do I do that? I put in a Christmas cd this morning and memories of my childhood came flooding back. It's amazing how a song or a smell can take you back to a time so long ago.

So, with that in mind, here is my list of things that remind me of Christmas as a child:

Any Christmas song by Bert Kampfert, Mitch Miller or Gene Autry....my dad would play these albums throughout the season and sing along to them. He would be decorating the tree with the "big" lights, and my favorite strand that was shaped like little packages.

The smell of cherry/almond pipe tobacco and crisp winter air....if I catch a wiff of this I immediatley think of my dad and his pipe. I used to love watching him light it, and the sound it would make as he puffed as it lit. Sometimes, if I begged hard enough, he would take a little puff and blow the smoke into my face....I just loved the smell!

The first bite of a russian teacake (or mexican wedding cake) cookie....these were always my favorite cookies. And it was inevitable that every year in my haste to wolf one down, I would inhale the powdered sugar and have a coughing fit that lasted 10 minutes.

Little candles shaped like snowmen/santa/trees....I can remember so vividly standing in the living room of our first house (I must have been 5 or so), and unpacking the decorations. We had this little set of candles that I just loved. They were so cute....and given to us by a family friend named "Buzz". (I don't know why I remember that!) There was a santa, snowman, tree and, I think, a reindeer. I loved those.

That certain "church dinner" smell....I can't quite explain this one, but ever so often I'll smell it and it reminds me of the Christmas dinners we would have in the basement of the Presbyterian church in Hessville. It is a very distinctive smell....like comfort, love, coffee, and roast beef. I just remember sitting as all the adults would drink their coffee and talk. The ladies would all have beautiful dresses on and sparkling jewlery, while the men were dressed in suits and ties. I would usually have a dress with the obligatory pair of "scratchy tights" that I hated with a passion.

A chocolate-iced cake donut and pint sized cardboard carton of milk....preferrably luke warm....this reminds me of the annual Christmas parties that my father's company would host. When you walked in you would first get in line to sit on Santa's lap or in my case, stand a safe distance away and cling to my father's hand. You were given a stocking that was made of plastic netting (remember those?) and would have smarties, various hard candies, and usually a paddle ball, candy cane, activity pad and those things you write on with the red plastic pencil (that you would always lose five minutes later). From there we would get into lines, according to age, and recieve a gift. You could choose between two different gifts (a music box and a radio-with FM!!!!). After that, you got in the long line and waited to get your donut and milk, and would sit at long tables with kids you didn't know, comparing gifts and trying to open the stockings. My sister's and I loved those parties. I think that the last one I went to was in 6th grade and I got a tennis racket.

I could go on forever, remembering....but right now I have to go stir the soup. Happy Saturday!