Winter/Christmas Memories

 

Winter/Christmas Memories

Tuesday & Thursday December 2022 on Facebook

1 December 2022: We were living in O’Fallon Illinois, 4 to 7 years old, living in a trailer with only heater in front room. I remember being really cold one night and took my blanket and curled up by heater and slept. 

6 Dec: Still in O’Fallon, one of my Christmas jobs was putting the cards on the card holder. It was an outline of the reindeer pulling Santa in his sleigh with rods hanging down with ‘clips’ to hold the cards. When mom died, it was passed down to one of my nephew or nieces. I kind of wish now I’d kept it. 

8 Dec: Moving on to Denver. We had snow in October. Too cold for me to wear costume I wanted for Halloween. That is the only costume I remember. I tried to learn to ski. After a morning on bunny hill my brother took me on a ride to big and long slope. I would make one or two turns and fall down. Finally was too tired and too wet to try more. My brother took my skis and poles down while I started walking down just inside tree line. He came back up and carried me down on his back. 

13 Dec: Moving on to Orlando. I got a big girls bike the first year we were there. The furnace was under the floor and there was a grate in floor. One could not walk over the grate quietly. That first year I slept in like 2 hour blocks Christmas Eve. I kept walking out to check if Santa had come and what new gifts were there. Somehow my parents got the bike out while I was sleeping. Yes, I was old enough to know who Santa was, but was young enough for it all to still be kinda magical. 

15 Dec: Germany, we went to US Military Recreation resort in Garmish each Christmas. Introduced to a silver artificial tree – so we had one in our rooms. I ice skated. Brother skied. Smaller number of presents due to the trips. We toured around a little. Saw where the Passion Play was put on every 10 years. There was a ski jump competition that we went to. We had seats close to the end of the ramp. It was awesome watching them fly through the air.

20 Dec: Grand Forks North Dakota. Our driveway was in line with a little side street…straight shot for the North wind to bring snow and hit our garage and stop. The driveway would fill up quickly with snow. Cars needed to have a heater for the engine block. You would see the plug hanging out in front of car radiator. Our Base House was a duplex split level. The snow would pile up to part way cover up bedroom windows on the upper level. The great plains wind was terrible, nothing could stop it, no matter how many layers one wore. Had to ride a bus to attend school in town. During winter we would wait in garage at the bus stop. Our across the street neighbor was a B52 pilot, a snowcat that came to take him to work got stuck once in all the snow. Strangely the wind was such that the highway between the base and town was usually clear of snow. Now black ice was totally a problem. In three years never had any road problems in family car or the school bus.

22 Dec: Thursday 22 December Winter memories is out of chronological order. One of my best Christmas times was eight years ago. Eight years ago, a friend's daughter got married on 23 December, a friend I had yet to meet in person. I was invited but didn't have enough money to cover all the travel expenses. A friend gave me some money to cover what I couldn't. It was a great trip. I was accepted and adopted as a family member of wedding party. I was semi-official photographer for the rehearsal. They took me around to see pretty Christmas lights. Lent me earrings that I thought I had forgotten to pack - which turned out to just be buried in pocket of backpack and found when got home. It was a great time. So grateful to all for the wonderful memories. David Buchanan, Kathie Spitz, Amanda Tiffany Spitz

27 Dec: Back to when lived in Grand Forks - One of my father’s coworkers raised standard poodles. They had an unexpected litter, one of parents wasn’t registered or they were not same color, so puppies were less expensive and being in ND before computers made it harder for them to sell the puppies out of the local area. We got a black one that might turn silver as grew. She only got a little silver around her mouth. She loved the snow. We let her wool grow out for winter, almost looked like a bear cub. We’d bring her inside and have to use hair dryer on her to get all the snow out of her fur. Being black she didn’t get lost in the snow. 

29 Dec: 2022 Year in review short version: Took a flying sight seeing trip with Sherri Aguayo to celebrate 50 years since I enlisted in USAF. One photo trip to Ruby Beach and then the Tree of Life. Attended a few plays at Sequim High School - Emma, Frozen Jr, Clue, and White Christmas - and spring choral concert of high school groups. Had snow in January, February, and April. Peter and Carol Christensen visited from California. Had an ambulance ride to ER. Got a smart watch with a fall detector. Attended Irrigation and Lavender Festivals here in Sequim. Went to Forks for Sasquatch Days and then again for 4 July celebration. The yard wood chips and gravel were both refreshed. Attended the Fly-In at Fairchild Airport and the Clallam county fair in Port Angeles. Exciting times when the tank on master bathroom toilet cracked and leaked. Sold some TShirts, cleared out most of Star Trek paperback books. Attended for the last time a full weekend of Forever Twilight in Forks. Christine Bentley-Johnston joined me in the fun. Jim Johnston enjoyed other sight seeing times. First snow of season was 7 November. Snowed again on 18 December, larger amount but not enough to still be around for Christmas. Thanks to those that helped with the work and shared the fun - Dylan Sanders, Dave & Cindy Kelm with the yard work, Janell Heintz helped until decided needed ambulance, Josh Tax replaced toilet. This is the last Thursday Winter/Christmas post.