So if you have been at my booth at the One of a Kind Show in the last couple of days, you may have run into this guy: He has been manning the booth in my absence. BLESS HIS HEART! (aka WHAT A SUCKER!) I left early yesterday, AND came in late this morning. I know you imagine I was doing this: But no....here's why. 1. It was nice and slow at my One of a Kind Show booth. 2. I wanted to decorate our house with Christmas stuff! Yup, for the first time in 3 years I am feeling a bit of the holiday spirit - and that's even WITHOUT egg nog! So, I dug out all the outdoor stuff, that hasn't seen the light of day in a long time, As I unburied it, I almost forgot there were a number of new additions: Please note - this is a work in progress - the ;lighting still needs to be fixed up a bit - but you get the idea!!! These deer are actually NEW to my front yard! They moved here a couple years ago from London! My Dad made them, and so when he passed, I insisted they come home with me. THIS was my Dad and Mom's house in 2012..... As you can see, it was a LOT! Yup. My dad (and sister) made and painted a LOT of stuff!!! It wasn't always so crazy. When I was a kid, it was just lights.....but then once retirement and the grandkids came along.....it became a real big deal for my folks. I knew it was Christmas when his lawn display went up! When I would call them from Toronto, I would always ask "how much of the penguins are covered?" And we would talk about the snowfall! (Londoners get a whole lot more snow than we do in T.O.!) I still remember vividly how I felt when I drove up to the house and saw the whole Christmas menagerie, and all the lights up! It was WONDERFUL!!!! Sadly, all good things must end. This is the 3rd Christmas with the house I grew up in sold, and my Dad gone. When he passed, many parts of his Christmas display went too. They were in very bad shape after 2 decades of canadian winters. Truthfully looking at these pictures both fills my heart with love, and a stings a bit from sadness. I still remember that I would go down in late November to help Dad take all the animals down from the garage attic. We would carefully assemble the deer and then put them into formation. Dad would spend much of the time grumbling that "this is the last year I am doing this".....he would complain while we worked, and it was kinda funny! I KNEW that next year we would find ourselves assembling Santa into his sleigh again! When we would finish, we would light it all up, then celebrate with a peppermint boozy drink. I KNOW he loved how it looked, and he was proud that their house was one of the nicest in the cull-de-sac!
These are the best kind of memories, the lasting ones. So this year, for the first time in a few years I decided to do my best to honour his 'over-the-top' decorating! I come by it honestly! A few minutes in, I was complaining about how much work it was....and how I was never doing it again! Then I started laughing to myself at how much like my Dad I can be sometimes!! But now that it is "done", I look forward to looking out my window and seeing the deer, and judging the snowfall by the penguins, and remembering the good times of Christmas past.....oh and having a peppermint boozy drink for my Dad!! And now.....back to the OOAK to sell my wares! I hope you enjoyed that little story! And to all a good nite!
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MY BLOG - YOUR INBOX:AuthorRob is a professional artist, lover of vintage stuff, part time smart @ss and compulsive pancake eater! Archives
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