Life's Laundry

STS #10

More ornaments from my Children's Santa Tree:

This Santa is wooden and has his legs and arms (and accessories) attached by wires.  He has several brothers that hang on our tree along with him. I like these ornaments because, unless pulled apart completely, they aren't breakable.  They're perfect for small hands and touching.

This one, on the other hand, is not for small hands and lots of touching.  This Santa is a partner to Miss Ginger.  He's glass and his body and arms/legs hang from the inside of the head/hat. He sits near the top of the tree.

Speaking of trees and all that sparkles........we had a bit of a snafu yesterday.  I plugged in our huge family tree and turned on the lights....sparks flew from the cord and when I looked to see what was happening - flames began coming from the switch.  I immediately stepped on the flames and snatched the plug from the outlet.  It scared the bejeebies out of me. I'm thankful that the area was cleared out enough that it didn't catch anything on fire.

No more lights on our tree until that cord is replaced.  B is going to try and find another one today. I hope it will be easy to find because I'd be terribly dissapointed to not have any working lights on our main tree.

But....I'd be a darn bit more than dissapointed with a house fire due to faulty light wiring.

So far there are only seven blogs that are participating in Operation Spread the Sparkle.  I hope more will join.  There's still time.

STS #9 Ho! Ho! Ho!

When we last met, I was sharing sparkles from my "Children's Santa Tree" positioned on the landing at the top of the staircase.

Here are a few more of the Santa Buddies.....

I never have been able to figure out what Santa is holding in his left hand.....perhaps a cheese croissant to go along with his java that he's holding in his right hand?  Or perhaps an eternal ice pack......You'd need some if you're going to sit on the sun.

I nicknamed this ornament "Mister Jingle" because both his legs and his right arm are jingle bells.  He is glass and very heavy. Sometimes, if the light is just right, you can see his image on the facing wall because of the way that the light shines.

STS #8

Oh My Goodness.  The days are flying by faster and faster.

Whis weekend I want to share ornaments from the tree at the top of my stairs..... I call it "The Children's Santa Tree."  It has ornaments for kids and all kinds of Santa ornaments.

Here's a few for this morning:

This is "Miss Ginger", the lady of the tree. Its difficult to tell from the picture but she is similar to a piece of stained glass.  The legs and arms and body are all connected underneath the head piece.  The all move when the ornament moves.  Shepretty much keeps all the men of the tree straight and behaving.  I guess the threat of her hitting them over the head with her rolling pin was enough to stop the nighttime shananigans.

This Santa looks like an enormous piece of candy......but you can't eat him :)  Well, I guess you could but what would it do to your waistline, LOL

Ahh....this Santa is more than 35 years old.  He's made of silk and stands about 4 or 5 inches tall.  He was an ornament that came on a package when I was a little girl.  I remember my father's sisters (who all live in Germany) used to send carepackages to us when we were little.  This Santa came on one of those packages. You can probably see that he's been overindulging a bit through the years....his belt won't even buckle anymore :)

If you'd like to participate in Operation Spread the Sparkle or just learn more, click here.

STS #7 From My Sister

Last week I shared ornaments from my mom's tree that my sister made.

Today I share the ones that are on my tree.

It isn't too late for you to participate in Operation "Spread The Sparkle."  I hope you'll share at least one ornament or decoration from your house/area.

STS #6 Missing An Eye - But Still Loved

M made this a few years back (perhaps the same year that I did the Santa's Workshop) and I think he is so cute.  His eye got lost last year and I need to replace it - perhaps I'll do it this year.

He's made from a tongue depressor stick, some movable eyes, some ribbon and a piece of felt cut for his hat. The rest of the decoration is just paint.  This is a great project for kids.  Tip:  Spray paint the stick before decorating it.

STS #5

I thought since I had shared so many ornaments from my mom's tree that I might share what the entire tree looks like. 

Now you know.

It's Like a Party

Hope your weekend was fabulous and that you got a lot accomplished, even if it was only to rest and recharge. There are several new post after this one - so be sure to scan on down.

For those of you just joining us, or those who are returning after a time away - here's your invitation to join us in Operation "Spread The Sparkle."

Just think of it as a festive party that you don't have to dress up, clean up, or put out expense for.....

Join me in Operation "Spread The Sparkle"

1. In the comment section of this blog that you are reading now - leave a comment that you accept the invitation to participate along with the address to your own blog so readers will know how to find you.
2. Email [email protected] with your blog address and announcement of participation in Operation "Spread The Sparkle."
3. Announce your participation in Operation "Spread The Sparkle" on your own blog. Be sure and include the link to the blog where you received the invitation for "Spread The Sparkle."
4. Invite others to join in "Spread The Sparkle" by including this snipit of instructions on your blog (just copy and paste into an entry on your blog).
5. Snap some shots of your decorations, favorite ornaments, anything that sparkles and has something to do with the holidays.
6. Share the photo(s) on your blog. You can do as few as one or more than one hundred.
7. Including a story or tale is not required.
8. You may include decorations from your area that do not belong to your home - just be sure to tell where they are from (city/area).
9. Share as many as you can between now and January 5Th (the official end of Christmas)
10. Keep track of how many sparkles you actually share and leave your total in the comments section on lifeslaundry.blogs.com

Some people have expressed concern that they have to have "sparkly" ornaments - not true.  Just share some special ornament(s) that you have.  You aren't even required to share a story if you don't have the inclination/time.  It doesn't matter how old/new the ornaments are either.  I'd love to see your tree, any decorations that you have in your home/apartment/dorm/hole in the wall/etc. I know that I'm not the only one too.

The bottom line is that I'd just like for you to participate :)

Now get to sparkling!

STS #4 - Shine & Shimmer

Today's sparkles come from my house and not my mom's.

Here's one that is pretty and whose wings are made of MotherOfPearl.

I love how the light hits her from each and every angle.  She has 7 sisters that adorn our tree.

This ornament has a special place in my heart because it was the favor at our wedding.  We have a dozen of these on our tree as do about 70 other people who took one home with them from our reception.  They're just crystal snowflakes and the arms will rotate.  Every year when I unpack these beautiful shimmering snowflakes, I think of that wonderful day when I married my hubby and all the friends and family that were there to celebrate our union with us.

I couldn't resist sharing this ornament.  In September of 2003, J and I visited my dear friend that lives in New York. The day we ventured into the city is when I purchased this ornament. Not only does it sparkle and glitter but it holds a special place in my heart just like she does.  When we vacationed in NY this past summer, she came to the city to spend the day with us.  This is her first Christmas without her daddy  and hope love will light the way for her this year.

And this ornament is the last of the shine and shimmer for today.  I made this ornament sometime in my very early teens, perhaps even as young as 9 or 10.  Each of those sequins has a bead and a straight pin - which makes for a lovely ornament but some really sore fingers.  I still have this gold one and a red one on my tree after all these years.

I hope you'll consider participating in Operation Spread the Sparkle.  I'd love to see some of your ornaments and decorations that are special to you.

To learn more about Spreading the Sparkle, click here.

STS - Precious Memories

Today's ornaments again come from my mom's tree.  The sparkle comes from the love that my mom has for these ornaments, for they were either owned or handcrafted by my late sister.  I know these ornaments hold a special place in my mom's heart and there's a melancholy that looms when she places them on her tree each year.

My sister possessed an incredible talent for crosstitching.....everything from large wall hangings (which I have one) to tiny treasures like the ornaments below.

 

And then there's this ornament below, which belonged to her.  I believe it was one that my mom took from her house after she died.  I remember the year that my sister got this ornament.  It was my A's first Christmas....and everyone got a special ornament that year from my sister.  This was the one that she got for herself.

When I look at images like this and think about the memories of when these ornaments came to belong to our family, I'm flooded with emotions of all kinds. 

Mostly I think about how, even after all this time, I still long to have her here to experience a holiday season.  I imagine what it would be like with her, how our relationship might be, what we would talk about, I think about her child(ren) and what they would be like, how we would all fill my mom's house with noise and laughter and mayhem during our family gathering.  I think about how it would be for my mom to have more than seven grandchildren filling up her lap and her heart.  I think about how it would be for my sister to see how my oldest daughter has turned out - how she's at UGA and about to finish up her first quarter. I'd love for her to see how beautiful all three of my daughters are and experience how much of a sense of humor M has.  She never got to meet M - or perhaps she did and I just wasn't aware of it - because she died 7 weeks before M was born. I'd love for her to see our new home and what we've done with it, I'd love for her to be able to tease me about marrying my highschool band director.....but I know that she'd be happy that I've moved away from my previous life and into something so loving and joy-producing.

Recently Karla shared with us the ornaments that she hung in Ava's memory - and my heart tingled with grief and empathy at what she is going through.  As beautiful as these ornaments are and as special of places that they hold - they will never be able to replace the person that they represent.  All we have are the ornaments and the precious memories that sparkle in our hearts. And they do sparkle.....love lights the way.

If you haven't accepted the invitation to participate in Operation Spread the Sparkle - I hope you will.  It isn't that complicated and you aren't committing your first born...you're just sharing some ornaments or decorations from your home or area and spreading the sparkle. So far only two people have agreed to participate....I hope we'll have more soon.

To learn more about Operation Spread the Sparkle, click here.

STS - Children's Ornaments from Mom's Tree

Mom's love to collect ornaments that their children made and mine is no exception.

Here are some of my favorites from my mom's tree:

This is my favorite children's ornament on my mom's tree.  M made this the year that she was in kindergarten.  It's just 3 popsicle sticks glued in a triangle with two eyes and a red nose added to make Rudolph.  After all these years  -  this is still my favorite.

For more information or to participate in Operation Spread The Sparkle, click here.