Wow the storms were something else last night. I woke up about 2am convinced it was the rapture. Nate txt me about 10am and said the same thing! Thankfully all are safe here.
Kath and I left at 10am and headed to Smicksburg. We spent about two hours looking in the shops (although sparse) and enjoying the Christmas displays. There was a new store called The Shop in Smicksburg. Mostly vintage items. We enjoyed looking at everything, and so many items brought back memories – especially things that Dad had. The owner shared that the facility was originally a John Deere dealership that her father owned. They were able to keep the family legacy going by turning it into a Mercantile. It was a delightful store with unique and interesting items. I bought a beautiful snowflake ornament.
(Primitive Peddler store)
We also stopped at Donna’s store – Smicksburg Country Store – and bought cheese and double dipped chocolate covered peanuts. One of my favorite things! I’ll share them with Nate.
Colleen’s home was beautiful. Exactly what a perfect Christmas farmhouse should be! So many vintage decorations – and every inch of the house was transformed to be Christmas. I took a few pictures but didn’t do it justice. We spent several hours stirring up memories. Of all things, we ended up talking about unsolved murders in our neighborhoods! The wind was so fierce that eventually the power went off. It could have been Halloween instead of Christmas! We were smart enough to switch gears and shared our favorite gifts and memories of Christmases past. It was so fun to have Aunt Joan and Uncle Clifford with us, putting a touching and additional layer to our nostalgia.
Gail, Karen O
(Seated) Aunt Joan, Uncle Clifford, Holly
Gwen was the only one who could not attend. She had been ill (NOT COVID) and couldn’t be there. Get well quickly, Gwen! We love and miss you!
Some of our favorite gifts were baby dolls, ice skates, wagons, earrings, aquarium – and all of our favorite memories were about sharing time and activities with family and friends. Such rich blessings to be sharing with precious family!
Dinner was lasagna, salad, garlic bread, fruit, Jello-pretzel salad, chocolate lasagna, brownies, pretzels, M&M’s, cookies, two kinds of crunchy snacks… It’s a wonder we all didn’t waddle out the door. Everything was delicious. Thankfully they had a generator so after the short dark bump in the road we had lights and heat and the oven worked, so all was well. What a wonderful evening. The drive home was windy but dry and traffic was light. Answered prayer for safe travels and special people.
Memory book – December 11: Were you ever in a church or school Christmas or Holiday pageant? “At Davis School I was always in the Christmas plays. From first grade up to 8th grade. My sister Hazel & I sang a song together one year. We had Christmas plays when I attended the Church of God. They were fun. Russel Wilson was our pastor and we liked him very much. He was drafted into the army in WWII.”
On this day in 1932 it was the coldest day ever in San Francisco – 27* – with snow. In 1980 Magnum P.I. with Tom Selleck premiered. Brenda Lee – singer – was born in 1944; Joseph Mohr (wrote the words to Silent Night) was born in 1792, and George Mason, American statesman, was born in 1725. We think he had a crush on Susan… My cousin Mark has a birthday today – Happy birthday, Mark! And my niece Hannah celebrated today as well. She was signed up to run a half marathon but it was cancelled because of bad weather – but Happy Birthday, Hannah! Hope you had a great day no matter what you did!
TOMORROW December 12 is:
Tomorrow is also the church Christmas dinner and program. I think once I get through that the rest of the month will be smooth! God bless….
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