Family Stories on the Branches of the Christmas Tree

Twinkling and dancing on the branches of our fragrant Christmas tree is a collage of family memories and stories.  Present moments spent gazing at the tree are the warp for a weft of these memories and stories; they endlessly weave together a warm blanket with infinite possibilities.

 

Marion's Macaroni Angel, a gift in the early '80's, brings a flood of memories of family escapades, among them, skiing, camping, dancing, making apple pies and perogies, Thanksgivings and New Year's Eves. 

 

Before finishing his university degree, our son filled his backpack and for six months explored Europe - he returned with four beautiful Christmas balls, one for each of us.  They always remind me of his love for adventure and drama and of his free and loving spirit.

 

Sherry's gift acknowledges our mutual passion for the antics of Airedales - do you have a few hours for our Airedale stories?

 

While in Sweden comparing BC and Swedish forestry practices (big story here), I found glass socks for the Christmas tree at one of the incredible glass factories in Southern Sweden.  On the right is an ornament made by my life-long friend, Jean.  We met on a ferry leaving Salt Spring Island and then turned up in the same grade five classroom at Sir Richard McBride Elementary School, New Westminster.

 

Our good friends added three golden ornaments to our tree the year that Mary looked after our three while I took on a small teaching assignment to relieve French specialist, Paddy Mackie, from teaching English in his retirement year.  Our family times offer lots of laughs and memories.

 

This is but one of the many trains on our tree - everyone knows that we are a train family!  Oh, the adventures with our train man!

 

Over the years, my loving sister has filled our home with Christmas snowmen!  We have a lifetime of wonderful memories.





 

When we had five cats, ornaments at the lower levels were not safe; my Mom came to the rescue with her knitted socks and felt skates.  I am flooded with memories of my creative and loving Mom and of life with our cats, Suzy, Collagea, Butterscotch, Mindy and Clea.

 

 

The son of our good friends, the Routledges, added a momentum of the millennium to our tree.  It provokes many fond memories of Margaret and Jack, their son and his family and of the year 2000.

 

Symbolically, our daughter and our friend, Diny, add angels to our tree.

 

(Just a Taste)