INA'S CHRISTMAS MEMORIES, 1937 (DAY 5)

So, we’ll have lots of Christmas, and we hope you will, too. Ina, 1932

The circuit minister, Reverend Shandling, would not deliver a sermon at church until Sunday, the 26^th, and Ina was grateful that it would fall to their church to receive him and hear a real Christmas sermon. She jotted a little reminder to herself to send a Christmas card to Mr. and Mrs. Shandling right away, inviting them to dinner following the service.

At Sunday school today, Ina had presented the lesson, a pre-Christmas scriptural topic on the Old Testament prophecies of the birth of Christ. Several of the women – the congregation was mostly women now – mentioned that they found Ina’s insights inspirational. Since it was still early in the month, they sang just one Christmas carol, “O, Little Town of Bethlehem.”

REAL TIME UPDATE:

Mike and I went to the farm today, the same place where Ina and Jack lived back in the day. As I bustled around the kitchen, I imagined that I could see Ina and Shirley baking cookies. They paid no attention to me. 

We took stuff up there and brought things back. He had his list; I had mine. I gathered Christmas decorations, bedding, solar lights, and a few things from the pantry. Hmmm. Doesn’t sound like much but it filled a large laundry basket and a crate. We made a trip to the attic for a wreath and my collection of battery-operated candles. (I love my battery-operated candles!)

It was cold – 32 degrees – with sun and clouds. We saw no snow except on the distant Clearwater Mountains. The forecast is for rain / snow tonight. The beautiful shades of fall are gone now and the landscape is what I call colorless. Our fields will be planted in the spring. The sun is low in the sky now, making photography difficult, but I tried. KW