Tuesday, December 22, 2009

CHRISTMAS PAST and MY WISH TO YOU

I had a wonderful start to my day and it gave me energy so I decided to go Christmas shopping and leave the baking till tomorrow…that’s a good thing though because if the cookies are there I’ll eat them….it was a very snowy day just perfect for Christmas shopping.
I bought the makings for a really easy recipe my friend and also my sister in-law gave me….they’re Pecan Turtles made with the tiny square pretzels, a Rolo candy and a whole pecan….just put one Rolo on each pretzel, heat in oven till the chocolate/caramel gets soft, about 5 minutes and then press a whole pecan in the top….Just that easy.
My sister in-law brought some for my Open House and they were gobbled up immediately.

My shopping is finished but I just have a few stocking stuffers to purchase. This year we’re having an extra guest join us for our festivities. Our granddaughter is bringing her boyfriend so it was shopping for someone new this year and to have a new face at the dining room table – oh, and to fill another stocking!
What a wonderful year I have had with my blog. I have found friends in all of you and I so enjoy our chats on our blogs.
Some of you I have talked to on the phone, some I’ve even met in person, others I have kept in contact with through e-mails. To each and everyone of you….my friends…. please stay safe and warm and have the merriest Christmas ever.
As I promised this morning I said I would scan pictures of our previous years Christmas Trees.
 
I’m missing some years – quite possibly they are on discs that I have packed away. Since the digital camera I don’t get my pictures developed into hard copy pictures…they are all on the computer and then I burn them to a disc.

Now mind you …. as I look back on the pictures they are rather pathetic looking. Seems we progress through the years and wonder just what the heck we saw in our decorating…I loved it at the time….but now looking back…not so good!!!  I still laugh at what I thought was ‘pretty’ But I still hope you enjoy the changes over the years.
1967 – we moved from an old rental house to a NEW duplex! 1967
1969 we moved from the duplex to an adorable 2 story Cape Cod very similar to the one we are living in now. We had two trees this year, one in the living room and this one in the dining room.
1969
1971 still in the Cape Cod
1971

1975 we are now in our new home! 1975

This is the opposite end of the living room….why I thought this looked good is beyond me!

1975 1

 1976 – still in the new house
1976

1978 – the last year in Janesville in our new home before we got transferred to Burlington
1978 1

Same year - 1978….yet another attempt at red and white…how sad! 1978 2

1979 our first Christmas in our Cape Cod in Burlington where we now reside1979 1
Same year…opposite end of room….doesn’t look like this now does it? The dark paneling is painted and the bookcases and fireplace have been faced and are deep brick red…remember the pictures I’ve posted before? I posted one after this one so you can see the difference
1979 2

Fireplace

1980
1980

1981 1981
1983 – we took a 2 week trip to Florida over the Christmas/New Year holiday with 28 other relatives -  each family had their own condo which were owned by another cousin – I do think we had most of the condos rented that holiday. So this was our pitiful tree and gifts. My gosh how outdated this room is now!1983 Florida
 1984….now this tree we cut fresh one week before Christmas – wait till you see the next picture
1984 2
This is all that’s left of it by Christmas Eve day!!!
As you walked through the room you could hear the needles dropping.
It sounded like rain and never stopped till the branches were bare.
We cut what was left of it off and Doug carried the dead carcass outside!
So we made the best of it, propped it up and threw some tinsel on it and walla…a mini-tree.

1984 1
And….we also had a fresh one in our family room but it stayed nice and crisp the whole time. 
1984 3
1986 we bought our first imitation tree….back in 1999 we purchased our German Twig Tree and gave this one to our son Dan
.
1986

1992 – like I said….the other years are on discs and  packed away
1992 



































1993
1993 2

1993 1
1995 1995
2000, our second year with the German Twig Tree which we still are using2000 
 2001 2001
2003
2003 1

 2005 2005
My little German Twig Tree
2005 mini tree
 

2007 Den 4
2008 
Tree1

I know this post was so long but I just thought it would be fun to do…I love looking at my old pictures and I hope you did too.


Karen

45 comments:

  1. Oh Karen, what fun! You've come a long way, baby! The red and white mantle decorations had me laughing out loud, and so did the tree that lost it's needles. Wonder if you'll laugh at the 2009 tree sometime? I can't imagine it. Have a wonderful holiday, sweet friend.

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  2. LOL, thanks so much lakeeffect! I so hate some of the pictures but they are what they are! lol

    Karen

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  3. Omgosh! what great memories! love all the pics of the trees!

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  4. I love all the pictures. Thanks for sharing your collection of pictures.

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  5. I loved it! What a great post. I really enjoyed visiting your past and seeing how much your home has changed! I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas.

    Donna

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  6. LOL!!! I love looking at old pictures and seeing the changes from year to year. Sometimes I wonder what planet I lived on!! Thanks for the laugh and have a wonderful Christmas!!!!

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  7. In some of the pictures the TV really dates it doesn't it? how funny! So many things change yet stay the same.

    Merry Christmas to you and your's!
    Janet

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  8. Karen,
    Loved seeing your trees from past Christmases. It's funny how what we thought looked so good at the time...now looks out of date. But Janet is right...so many things change yet stay the same.
    Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
    ~Cindy~

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  9. Hi Karen!
    My fourteen year old son was sitting by my side while enjoying your photos. He said "no way, is that huge box thing a t.v?" I had to laugh!! I told him those consoles were all the rage in the day!!
    Have a safe and wonderful Christmas and a happy, healthy, prosperous New Year!!!
    ~Kim

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  10. Isn't it fun to look back! Just looking at those old tv's takes me back. I can't believe how bad that tree ended up after only a week - wow!
    I have a german twig tree too, and I love it.
    Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

    Karen

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  11. Love all the trees. Thanks for sharing.

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  12. Oh what a fun post Karen! I'll have to go through mine now and get a good chuckle!
    I especially loved the 'bare' tree photo! hehehe!

    Merry Christmas Karen!
    Terry

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  13. Oh my gosh, Karen...that took me right back to our Christmases every year! That was wonderful. Even our angel topper was the same except ours had blue hair ( my son has it now..he asked for it!). I think we were pretty good when it came to decorating during those times...it was the style then. Thanks for the wonderful trip down memory lane.

    I have kept Darron in my prayers every night.

    May the spirit of Christmas surround you and your family. Happy Holidays to all!

    Susannah

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  14. Love your picutres. We also had a tree that rained and had to take it down Christmas Day. I have three twig trees. They are just beautiful. Thanks for sharing. I really enjoy your blog. Geri

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  15. Thanks for the trip down your memory lane....1967 was the year I was born. It was great to see them all. I promise not to laugh...well I really can't...I only have oranges on my tree and a robin that Brennan made...oh and lights.

    It has been great getting to know you. Have a great Christmas with your family and the boyfriend. xxxRobby

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  16. Hi Karen. Thanks for taking the time to post pics of all your trees. I love looking at old Christmas pictures. The only thing missing is what you were wearing and your latest hair style. LOL! I can't believe how that poor tree lost most of it's needles.

    Have a Merry Christmas!
    Donna

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  17. Kathy, that was really fun! I need to dig my old pics out too. The transformation of your room with the fireplace is amazing and I remember way back when it was done. It is still one of my all-time favorite re-dos!

    I laughed so hard about the tree losing all the needles! That is too funny! It sure made a cute little tree after your hubby cut it!
    Merry Christmas!

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  18. Karen.....that was so much fun looking at those photos. To tell the truth you could have been using some of mine! We were doing the same decorating at the the same time. My favorites are the "dead" tree and the big 'ole console TV!
    It had a nice big space to decorate on top of it, didn't it? LOL
    So glad I found your blog this past year.
    Merry Christmas!
    Linda/simplycountryseasons

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  19. Wow...look how far you have come. Isn't it funny to look back at what we thought looked so good at the time and wonder what was I thinking??! Thanks for the pics and have a very Merry Christmas!
    ~Melissa~

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  20. Love the pics of Christmas past, I look back on mine and wonder what i was thinking too!
    Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas.

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  21. I just loved all the pictures! Thank you for sharing the pics & all those past years! How wonderful it must have been for you to see them also. Merry Christmas to you & may you & your family have a very safe, healthy, & Happy New year!
    Blessings~Kim

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  22. Loved the Christmas tree tour... what fun. I wish I had taken pic's of our tree every year!

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  23. I think we all at some time look back on old photos and wonder what were we thinking...lol..It's a great time to go back and look how things has changed over the years and anticipate whats ahead...
    Wishing you a Blessed Christmas and Happy New Year..

    Trena

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  24. So interesting. I think we all have those. Our daughter just cringes when she sees some of her by the tree. The televisons of that era were all the rage.

    I laughed out loud at the story of the tree that lost all of the needles.

    My daughter and her hubby are on their way to your town as I write this to visit his family for Christmas.

    Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

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  25. Karen...I've so enjoyed looking through your photos.What great momentos.May you have many more.Happy Christmas!Lynne

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  26. Karen,
    I loved looking back at your past Christmas trees. My how our tastes change, lol.
    May you and your family have a very Merry Christmas.
    Hugs,
    Pam

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  27. I enjoyed looking at your trees from years past Karen!!! I love looking at the old photos too. I can remember the trees we had when I was a kid. My dad would go out in our woods and cut the tree..... a real Charlie Brown tree with just a few branches.

    Merry Christmas!!!

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  28. Karen, thanks for showing your historic trees! It is fun to reflect on past holidays and how things have changed! It has been fun. Not sure that I am that organized that I could do that. LOL! Happy Holidays to you and your family, and thanks for sharing!
    Jayne

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  29. YOUR SHARED MEMORIES ARE PRECIOUS,,, ITS SUCH FUN TO LOOK BACK AND HAVE OUR WONDERFUL MEMORIES... I WISH YOU AND YOURS A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A JOYFUL ~ BLESSED NEW YEAR..MY VERY BEST TO YOU, B

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  30. Fantastic post, Karen! I LOVED seeing your trees through the years! I know mine have changed alot.....we really loved those icycles at one point, didn't we? :)

    Your shedding tree was funny! The only year we ever had a real tree was our first Christmas and I picked needles out of my carpet for an entire year.

    Merry Christmas Karen! I hope you and your family make lots of wonderful memories together!

    Hugs,
    Tammy

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  31. Loved seeing all your trees Karen. What wonderfully memories. It's fun to look back and see how much our tastes have changed.
    Merry Christmas!
    Kim

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  32. What a beautiful photo-story!!!!
    Karen, I wish you and your family a blessed Christmas and a fabulous 2010!!!
    See you on CS Forum!
    Laura

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  33. Yes,I agrees, that was so much FUN, Karen...
    I have looked back over the years too and all I can say is THANK GOODNESS my taste has changed! hehe!

    I wanted to pop over here quick to wish you and your family a VERY Merry Christmas!
    May you ALL be blessed this holiday season and beyond!


    MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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  34. HO HO HO MERRY CHRISTMAS KAREN

    SANTA

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  35. Love the pictures of Christmas past! Isn't it funny how one's taste changes? Of course, at the time, I'm sure everything was perfect. Have a very Merry Christmas, Karen!

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  36. Oh Karen - that was so much fun!!! We all have "evolved" with the times - wonder what our trees will look like in 2222 !!! Hope your holidays are Merry & Bright! Judy

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  37. Oh Karen!! This was FUN!! What a great post!! Some of those trees look just like our trees growing up! So fun traveling through time! Thank you! Merry Christmas!! ~Sarah~

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  38. Wow. This was great. I loved seeing all of your pictures. That is almost as good as seeing our different hairstyles over the years. I hope you had a very blessed Christmas.

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  39. Karen, I LOVED seeing your pictures!!! It was fun seeing how your decorating style has evolved as well. What a delight! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!!! Hugs~ Rachel

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  40. Karen, I enjoyed so much your pic's. I hope that you had a wonderful Merry Christmas with your family. Hugs, Evelyn

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  41. Oh Karen!!!
    This post was so wonderful!!!
    I loved traveling back in time with you!!
    I loved seeing your home transformations through the years!!!
    Thanks so much for sharing this with us.
    It was so much fun!!!
    Tam

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  42. The real scary thing would be to look at our old clothes and hair-dos from those years!

    Doreen
    www.PriviesAndPrims.etsy.com

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  43. Karen ~~ Thank You that was so much fun..and a lot of work for you. I too had a good laugh at the console TV I had the same model that I antiqued "green". lol I thought it was the Best.
    All of your pics took me down memory lane.
    Hope your Christmas was Wonderful &
    Wishing You & Yours a Healthy
    Happy New Year.
    Hugs ~ Connie xox

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  44. That was one of the best posts ever! I felt like we were sitting at your kitchen table and you were showing me all your old photos! I had a great time!
    Holiday Blessings,
    Beth

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  45. I just discovered your blog and thoroughly enjoyed the trip down the memory lane of your Christmas trees. I can totally relate since I was newly married at about the same time. This makes me want to delve into my photos and compose a similar montage!

    Happy New Year

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So glad you came to visit - feel free to leave a comment.
I will try and answer as many as I can - maybe not immediately but I will get to you!

Karen