Thirteen Thursday #9
1. I can never write, type, or say “number 9” without thinking of the Beatles song of the same name.
2. I remember when there were no malls.
3. When my son, Josh, was 5 years old, a few days after Christmas, he said, “Santa’s still watching us, right?”
4. Growing up, I knew from the start that Department Store Santas were not the real Santa. My older sister and brother figured it out by noticing that the boots were not real (a piece of black plastic that ties over shoes). We called those kinds of Santas “Santa’s helpers.”
5. “I Wish I had a River I could Skate Away on…” by Joni Mitchell was my favorite Christmas song when I lived near Houston, Texas, and was missing winter and my New England home state of Massachusetts.
6. Neil Young was on Saturday Night Live last week, which reminded me of the time I was at the Pine Tavern Restaurant in Floyd and somebody pointed out Neil Young’s younger brother who was eating there.
7. When I was a girl I had a sled that I named Betsy. One summer I got nostalgic for it, and so I took it out of the cellar as though I was freeing it from a dungeon prison.
8. We do a Yankee Swap at our yearly neighborhood open house Christmas Eve party. When we started the tradition, we asked guests to bring recycled gifts, but now they bring joke gifts and one or two special or more expensive gifts to stir things up. Some people call the “Yankee Swap” a “Dirty Santa” or a “White Elephant.”
9. My husband hunts for most of our meat. Right now there are two deer hanging by our woodshed. I wanted to post a photo of my husband and the young man he is mentoring next to the deer on my blog, but I was afraid it would gross some people out.
10. Venison in our freezer and wood in our woodshed feels like money in the bank to me. I prefer wild venison over factory farmed meat and meat that’s been injected with growth hormones and antibiotics.
11. Yesterday I visited my good friend from Blacksburg who is moving to a retirement community the first of the year. Her new place is pretty small, and so she’s getting rid of lots of stuff. While making plans over the phone in the morning with me, she said, “And don’t give me any Christmas presents. You’re only allowed to take gifts from my house this year.”
12. On the way to Blacksburg I noticed about 6 homemade signs that had been posted up and down Route 8. They said, “ANNIE, YOU AND THE CHILDREN COME TO OUR HOUSE. LOVE, ALBERT.”
13. We heat our home entirely with wood. Occasionally, about 3 times a year, our bedroom is so cold that I sleep with a hat on. When I do, I always think of the line from the poem “The Night Before Christmas,” “…And Mamma in her kerchief and I in my cap had just settled down for a long winter’s nap…” As a girl, I thought it was weird that adults would be taking a nap, and even weirder that they slept in a kerchief or a cap, but now I understand.
Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night… Go wish Leanne a Merry Christmas, the hostess of Thursday Thirteen. She explains more about the 13 phenomena and keeps a list of participants at her site. My other 13 Thursdays can be seen here.
December 22nd, 2005 9:14 am
Hi Colleen!
My dad is an avid hunter so venison and I get along real well! Yummy!
My mom saw Neil Young on the other night too, and now she can’t get him out of her mind!!! AWE !!!
I love your blog!
Merry Christmas! God bless!
Take care
December 22nd, 2005 9:49 am
I can relate to your #13. Our house is heated with radiators (we have a natural gas boiler in the basement), but they are not original to our house. The people who sold us the house had to replace all of the original radiators because they were damaged beyond repair, and though they did a great job of finding and restoring the replacements, the one in our bedroom is just a tad too small for the room. On top of that, there’s no insulation above our bedroom (yet), so we’ve taken to putting a box fan in front of the radiator to move the heat into the room a little more before we go to sleep. Flannel sheets, a feather duvet, and a few extra blankets are the norm in our bedroom. I usually don’t need a hat to sleep, but I do wear socks to bed because my feet are always cold.
December 22nd, 2005 10:02 am
HA! It gets very cold in our room too, with the woodstove, & would you believe I never thought to put on a hat?!
December 22nd, 2005 10:39 am
I remember when the town near where I grew up got a mall… it was all the rage! Now malls drive me nuts… Thank goodness for Amazon.
We heat with a woodstove too, but have a furnace that kicks on when the temp gets too low (overnight). My hubby rushes to reload the stove…
Merry Christmas to you, Colleen.
December 22nd, 2005 11:18 am
I spoke of a White Elephant Party in my Thursday Thirteen today, too! Funny! It sounds like it gets horribly cold there Colleen…Brrrrrr.
December 22nd, 2005 11:24 am
I like venison as well. And I always tell my Boy Scouts to wear a stocking cap when we camp in the Winter.
My 13 is @ http://www.20six.co.uk/Enigma
Merry Christmas!
December 22nd, 2005 12:00 pm
Merry Christmas! I have had venison once and absolutely loved it! Much better than factory farmed meat. 🙂
I have my 13 up.
December 22nd, 2005 12:05 pm
Last night it wasn’t quite a hat night, but by morning (as the stove went out) it was. When I really need to warm up, I take a hot bath, a couple times a day if need be (rarely).
Although it can at times get cold, we get great warming breaks in the weather all through the winter, unlike my New England Massachusetts home town. And the beauty is that we have practically no heating bill. We live pretty simply to avoid much the pressure of having to consistently make big incomes and spending little time at home.
PS My son’s home for Christmas and we’re all going to see Narnia today, so I’ll do most of my blog visiting tonight.
December 22nd, 2005 12:11 pm
Happy Thursday 13!
I like the fact that you named your sled. That’s too cute. We used to name our parents cars. LOL.
December 22nd, 2005 1:50 pm
I do the same thing with #9. I love the homemade signs. And yes, Santa is still watching 😉
My 13 are up.
December 22nd, 2005 2:16 pm
Hi Col, Yes, I remember the fake boots on the Santa’s. Along with that, I was clued in by the tags on our morning gifts – they always had the same penmanship as ma’s. Wishing I could eat a little venison by your toasty wood stove (ours is churning too). And lately I’ve been sleeping with socks on…something I NEVER thought I’d do. It does keep me warm though! Merry Christmas to you and Joe.
December 22nd, 2005 3:43 pm
I like 12 best. And re: deer pic. Good call.
December 22nd, 2005 3:44 pm
I don’t know who did Santa’s handwriting. It was neither of my parents. I should ask which aunt wrote it. Santa’s wrapping paper was always the expensive kind, not like my parents usually got. The lengths parents go, huh.
December 22nd, 2005 3:47 pm
Wow, number 12 is so mysterious. I wonder who Annie is.
My Thirteen are up!
December 22nd, 2005 7:05 pm
I’ve slept in thermals, coats, hats, glove-liners, two pairs of wool socks — first when I was paying for oil, then when I was living in a place where the indoor winter temperature ranged from 52-60 degrees.
My old department used to have Yankee Swaps and for all I know still does. I had told a friend about it and she planned one for her Christmas party. Turned out everybody brought incense (including me)!
December 22nd, 2005 7:09 pm
I couldn’t sleep in your house then, Colleen. I feel deprived without my electric mattress pad. If I had to try and sleep in a house so cold I needed a cap – I am sure I wouldn’t be able to sleep. Oh, well. (I am sure you’re glad I won’t be coming to stay!) Merry Christmas!
December 22nd, 2005 10:24 pm
I like to sleep with my head cold and my feat warm. The last winter in Mississippi I tried to save as much as possible and cut the heat down to 50 most of the time. Just put on more clothes in the day and did use an electric blanket at night. It just heated me not the whole house.
Let us know how Narnia is.
December 22nd, 2005 11:37 pm
Merry Christmas, Colleen. (I have a son named Josh,too!)
December 22nd, 2005 11:39 pm
Merry Christmas Colleen!
I would really like to know the story behind the Annie and Albert sign.
December 23rd, 2005 1:43 am
These are so fun. First of all…I envy your rural life. Next…the friend who said you can only take gifts from her house reminds me of how messed up Christmas has become. Too many gifts becomes a burden, clutter.
December 23rd, 2005 3:27 am
never realized you lived so close to houston.. I’m close to houston..
December 23rd, 2005 4:13 am
Merry Xmas to you and your family! I will do the 13’s again after the holidays.
December 23rd, 2005 10:35 am
Merry Christmas! A venison roast for the holidays sounds yummy!
December 23rd, 2005 3:10 pm
The vivid recollections you have of your childhood make me so green!
I am one of those who would be sensitive to the deer pics. In my mind I know that hunting is as intended, but in my heart I see Bambi, and Bambi’s mom, and Bambi’s dad. Blame Disney, I say. 😉
Have a wonderful Christmas, Colleen!!
xoxoxo
December 23rd, 2005 6:56 pm
I have never had Venison and have always wanted to try it. I had a roommate once that promised me some but, never carried it out.
December 28th, 2005 11:09 am
I remember when the mall in my town was an apple orchard…I miss it so! And I love that Joni Mitchell song, too 🙂
December 23rd, 2010 10:19 am
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