Sunday, December 27, 2009

Something Old and Something New

After twenty-five years of Hawaiian life, my parents recently relocated from the North Shore of Oahu to the Middle of Nowhere Utah.
Sea Shell Wreath
As I prepared to vacate Brooklyn I packed my warmest clothes and made sure that I hadn't forgotten leggings and scarves. I laughed/cried when I got to unpacking at my parent's place and realized I'd absent mindedly packed not one, but two bathing suits. Old habits die hard.

I quickly busied myself poking around the joint, making sure that things were put "just so". After all, just because it's a new location doesn't mean that things should change. (This is where I start singing Fiddler on the Roof's 'Tradition! TRADITION!')

New: This "woodland upstairs tree". My mom was set on two trees this year! Witness our first major 'Hawaiian Christmas' violation. I can safely bet you that no one in Hawaii decked the halls with two trees this year....

New: ALL of these Ornaments! What? New Ornaments? This is not adhering to protocol. Ornaments can be given as gifts or purchased to commemorate important life milestones. They can be bought on vacations and picked up in small doses at after Christmas sales. They are NOT supposed to be bought in bulk to fit a theme!

But... this tree is pretty cute. I kind of do adore those funky little owls. You know I'm prone to loving you know who?
Up Stairs Tree
Old: The teddy bear snow on the windows saved my mom from my skepticism. I was totally afraid she'd shirk this very important tradition. Growing up in a snowless existence makes fake snow on the windows vital to creating the perfect holiday vibe. I was worried that with all the powder on the ground outside this vital bit of decor would go the way of the Dodo. How could I have ever questioned her? Oh. Wait. I know How:

New: This Downstairs Blue Spruce Christmas tree.
Ahwuah? A blue Christmas tree? It is pokey and sharp and unlike the Douglass Furs and Palm Tree Christmases that I was raised on. I paced around it, suspicious like a cat.
Downstairs Tree
I poked around and slowly located all the important things that make for a perfect Christmastime.

Several Ice Cream Angels polka-dot this suspicious spruce. This may come as a heart-attack inducing shock, but I wasn't always wicked cool. As a seventh grader I became obsessed with making these ice cream spoon angels. Their little wooden bodies are crocheted into proper holiday get-ups. I turned a pretty fair little business selling them at the Blaisdell Craft Fair. Mom saved just the right amount of them to bedeck the tree forevermore. Their little mouth-less faces have been a Christmas constant ever since.

Ice Cream Spoon Angel
This Maneki Neko is a good luck cat. It's important that he's prowling in the branches. He brings a great New Year.
Cat Luck
This Santa Icicle is one of my very favorite pieces to put on the tree. I like his crystal blue eyes and his snowy beard. There is part of me that secretly loves and the way he can stab people into being nice with his pointed stare and facial hair shiv. Hmm... right about now I'm loving the way this blue tree showcases the ornaments....
Santa Icicle
This chubby little mermaid speaks directly to my well documented obsession. It reminds me of perfect Christmas days by land and by sea.
Mermaid
This rainbow block was my first ornament way back in 1982. How could my parents know this Mary Blair-esque decoration would so perfectly speak to my design aesthetic decades later? It's one of my top five favorites on our overflowing tree.
Baby Block
I think I was eight when this ornament was wrapped in the brightest candy cane red wrapping paper and labeled with my name. It might have melted my brain. I'd never seen anything so perfectly beautiful.
Pegasus
Ever since it's been my "magic glass flying pony."
Never mind that it is not glass, it's some form of iridescent plastic. Forget that it's a Pegasus and not a pony, its title has stuck. I remember thinking it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

Its presence on the new/odd/strangely alluring tree reminds me that The Christmas Spirit can transform things. So I might be in a snowy Utah Valley instead of frolicking on the beach of my youth, but my family is here and the ground is white and we're warm and lucky to have each other. I hope your holiday was family and fun and fabulous, on that note, Mele Kalikimaka and a Hauli Makahiki Hou!

15 comments:

)en said...

aww, meleikinahewfgubh to you too!

i love the magic glass flying pony. It reminds me of the small ceramic pegasus figurine i bought for my mother for christmas. She kindly put it in the "special things" showcase cupboard in the corner of the living room. What a prized possession.

Beth L said...

WOW.
I am with you about the acceptable origins of ornaments. But I suppose that a new set of rules is an order when suddenly moving to THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE UTAH - I have to tell you I had a complete cartoon reaction when reading this. Silly "boing" noises and eyes bugging out and hovering mid-air and everything. Seriously.
Thanks for sharing the ornaments of your childhood - THIS is what makes Christmas, magic glass flying ponies and ice-cream spoon angels and everything.
And I think from now on you will always have to pack 2 swimsuits when visiting Utah in the frozen dead of winter - seems like some kind of tradition to me...

Anonymous said...

buy carisoprodol medicamento carisoprodol 350 mg - buy carisoprodol usa

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol cod fedex high does tramadol make you - tramadol withdrawal flu

Anonymous said...

cialis online buy cialis next day delivery - buy cialis germany

Anonymous said...

cheap cialis online ho comprato cialis online - cialis online united states

Anonymous said...

buy klonopin online klonopin dosage maximum - ok take 2mg klonopin

Anonymous said...

buy klonopin online klonopin withdrawal side effects - klonopin vs alcohol

Anonymous said...

learn how to buy tramdadol tramadol hydrochloride 50mg uses - buy tramadol online overnight usa

Anonymous said...

http://www.integrativeonc.org/adminsio/buyklonopinonline/#1735 green klonopin side effects - klonopin dosage day

Anonymous said...

http://buytramadolonlinecool.com/#61458 tramadol overdose how long - tramadol 50mg

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol without rx tramadol depression - is it illegal to purchase tramadol online

Anonymous said...

buy klonopin online klonopin withdrawal no appetite - 5 mg klonopin high

bradmaddox said...

The Best Lol n Troll Network with the Name of Lols Gag... Troll Images, Prank Peoples, Funny Peoples, funny planet, funny facts, funny cartoons, funny movies pics, iphone funny, funny jokes, Prank Images, Fail Pictures, Epic Pictures, Lols and Gags, Lol Pictures, Funny Pictures, Lol is the Laugh out of Laugh where you can Fun Unlimited and Laughing Unlimited.
LolsGag.Com

ryan james said...

Make Money Online is very easy now, In Internet system we have now best earning system without any work, Just Invest some Money into your Business and Make Perfect Life time Earnings with this Business.
Join Now for Make Perfect Business and Earn Money online from home.
www.hotfxearnings.com

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails