One Christmas when I was a child -- and only once -- certain family members gathered at the Gilbert homestead for a pre-Christmas party. I was three that Christmas, and yes, I remember it. I remember the doll I received. I immediately named her "Corny" for her bright yellow hair. I also received one of those animal books where each page represents an animal and by squeezing the page a noisemaker makes the appropriate animal sound. As I recall, it was reasonably lifelike. I remember that photos were taken of various family groupings.
Photo right, back row: My cousin, Shirley Jean Robinson Johnson, Dale Johnson holding their daughter, Patty; Grandma Ina is seated right of the tree, and Ethel Dobson Robinson sits next to her. My dad, Vance, s
its on the floor holding me with his sister Myrtle Dobson in the center of the photo. I can't help but wonder if the rug is the one the family gave Ina and Jack the Christmas of '36.Photo left is another posed grouping, and "posed" is right. Shirley Jean and my mother, Dorothy, seem to wax dramatic for the camera. "Now I have two girls -- one on each knee," said Dale. Myrtle, Grandma Ina, and Ethel com
plete the photo.Here's a photo of Ina with her granddaughter, me, and her great-granddaughter, Patty. Patty is two years older than I. I wonder if we couldn't have been prevailed upon to lighten up a bit for the sake of the camera.
December 24, 2009 -- same corner, different world.We've had our "tree," and Mike is watching SMU, his alma mater, play Nevada in the Hawaii Bowl as we wait for the "mystery pecan pie" to cool enough to eat.
Happy Christmas to all -- and to all a good night! KW
3 comments:
Your tree is beautiful! And do I spy Mike in new PJ's?
I like Dad's PJs (or robe?) too. Did someone manage to find a gift for the man who likes to pick his own presents?
Kathy, what did they do for lights at the farm? Was the house wired? When?
Mike's pajamas -- Not really new, although newer than most of Mike's wardrobe. I bought them at Penney's several years ago. They were on the clearance table at $7.50 and I thought that too reasonable to pass up. When I checked out, the cashier said, "Today is your lucky day," to which I replied, "Yes, it's a good deal." Then she said, "I mean you are going to pay $3.75 for these pajamas." It was half price clearance day.
Thanks for the comment on the tree. It is, of course, artificial. It's sad to go to that, but it enables us to have a tree with minimum fuss and worry.
And, there was no wiring here until we modernized. We had the house gutted for installation of wiring and insulation. Lighting was mainly by kerosene lanterns. The radio mentioned in Ina's letters ran off batteries.
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