Tuesday 4 O Christmas Tree

 Tuesday 4

♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ O Christmas Tree. ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬


Tuesday 4 wishes you a very Merry Christmas and a Chanukah Sameach. (Happy Hanukkah)

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4..

Let's talk about Christmas this week.

1. Martin Luther is credited with the beginning of the Christmas tree but even older tradition says it is the representation of the Tree of Life.. a fruit bearing evergreen. What does your tree look like this year. Would you post a photo or describe it for us?

Our tree is a collection of many precious memories of Christmases in the past. There are so many different ornaments on there that have been collected throughout the 53 years of our marriage that I can't even begin to describe them all. They each have a story to tell, and I've shared pictures in the past of various ones.  And then, as you already know, the past few years we reinstated the tradition of putting the train and village under the tree that our boys had when they were little. It holds many memories as well.

 
2. What other Christmas decorations are up around your house? Which rooms get them?

I just wrote about this a few days ago HERE, in this post of Christmas Vignettes.  Mostly our living room/dining room combo and the kitchen get the decorations. I might scatter a few other little things here and there, like special Christmas towels in the guest bathroom, or something different in the guest bedroom, but this year I haven't really done that yet. The guest bedroom usually becomes gift wrapping central, and so packages get put in there to await their turn to be wrapped...but right now I'm so far behind there aren't even any packages waiting to be wrapped.  It will happen, but I'm moving slower than usual this year. That flu bug set me back a couple of weeks. (at least I have an excuse this year! LOL). 

  Now, yesterday I told you about a lovely gift I received from my sister in law, to be used as a decoration right now.  And then today we were surprised to receive not one but two packages via UPS from LLBean! I was not expecting anything as I know I had not ordered anything from them, but when I smelled the boxes I knew right away what they were, and the boxes actually said they were perishable and to open right away, and so I did, and this is what they were:

Beautiful fresh spruce fir centerpieces sent to us from our dear daughter in law and grandson and his fiance' in Maine!!  One centerpiece is intended for our son Benton and wife Rose, and the other is for us. We get to pick which one we want. I will let Benton and Rose choose first when they come over to see them. I am just tickled pink over this as we don't get to smell that fresh piney scent here with an artificial tree, and to know these came all the way fresh from Maine, where our family lives, (and where we once lived too) makes them extra special indeed.

They even came equipped with the candles...the red one is a battery operated candle, and the white tapers are real candles, which I love to use.  Anyway, I will be delighted with either one...they are both so beautiful! Such a thoughtful gift.  (P.S. Benton came over and picked out the one with the white candles. Rose was at work, so she didn't have a say in the matter, but I am certain she will be pleased either way.)

3. Do the people in your neighborhood decorate their homes for Christmas? Does your town?

Yes, I am noticing more and lights going up around our community. We haven't gone out yet for a ride to see them all, but will do so sometime before Christmas.  Our town has decorated the town hall and the Red Caboose at the park. I just talked hubby into taking a quick ride into town to see those lights. Here they are:

I thought the lights would be a little better at the caboose, but it is what it is. Small town U.S.A.

A Christmas tree in the caboose park, and Santa and his reindeer across the street at the town hall.

Around the block we saw this house decorated and decided to drive by. I guess I was in motion when I snapped this picture, but it's kind of cool:

Same with this one:

But here is what it really looked like:

Pretty nice!  We didn't go out and about looking any further tonight. Maybe later this week we will drive through some residential areas and see more lights.

4. How hospitable are you during the holidays? Could you improve or are your hands full enough this time of year?

In years past we did a lot more entertaining than we do now. When my husband was an active minister we would have Christmas parties at our house at least two different nights in December or two different weekends so that the people of the church could come. They would sign up for which night they wanted to come since space was limited. It was usually a pot luck finger food kind of party, and we would have a White Elephant Gift exchange, which was always fun. At our last house before this one we had a lot more space for entertaining, and I was in better shape for doing more, so we would host big family/friend dinners during the holidays.  Now we are more limited in space and energy, so we don't do so much as before. I miss having a lot of people over, however, and now that we finished the floors I would love to invite some people over while the house is still decorated. I just need to take the plunge and schedule it.  Although my spirit is willing, my flesh is weak. It seems a shame to do all this decorating and have no one come to enjoy it!  But we do enjoy it ourselves...I love the lights and love to light up every corner of the house.  It reminds us that "Jesus is the Light of the World"...and that is a big reason why we celebrate Christmas with so many lights! 

 

"Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 

“I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, 

but have the light of life.”

John 8:12

As a side note, I wanted to include this link HERE, to a previous post written in 2019, in honor and memory of our friend Toni Taddeo, who left this world for heaven's glory on December 14, 2019.  There is one of her precious poems included there, written just one day before she died.  I think you will have a better understanding of why we do this Tuesday 4 Meme in memory of Toni when you read that.  Our thanks to Annie at Cottage by the Sea, who puts these questions together each week, carrying on Toni's legacy for us here in blogland.  This is definitely more than just an online group of people answering random questions...we are a kind of family with a special bond of blessing.  So glad to be a part of this family.  

So now let's go over to the Tuesday 4 linkup and see who else has something to share today!  Thank you for joining in!