Unpacking Memories

Christmas is coming…

It’s cold outside. Really. Cold. (At least for Alabama.) And this early December visit from Old Man Winter has put me in the holiday spirit. Christmas is only a couple of weeks away and our tree is up, but we haven’t decorated it yet. The ornaments are in boxes, stacked by the fireplace, just waiting to be freed from their wrappings and hung on the tree.

Handmade holiday

Each one holds a special place in my heart – particularly the ones I made. There’s the “Roll Tide” ornament I stitched the summer my Daddy was in and out of the hospital so much. That was an extraordinarily stressful time in my life and I worked the whole piece in basketweave – because it’s all I could manage.

Then, there’s the little snowman I bought at a small shop in the mountains of North Carolina when Rebekah was just a toddler. If I’m remembering right, it was the first painted canvas I ever stitched. And when I look at him now, it’s reeeaaaallllly obvious (teehee). You might remember me telling you about him – he has an orange halo around his nose because I didn’t know to stitch the lightest colors first.

Of course, there are others, too. Some from vacation destinations (I always try to buy a “souvenir canvas” to remind me of the places I’ve been), and some that I just thought were really pretty. We won’t talk about all the canvases I have stashed away, just waiting to be worked, will we?  😉

And, finally, there are the tiny little cross-stitched ornaments that I made the summer after Rick and I married. Those are my absolute favorites. They’ve adorned our tree every year for the past 34 years. They’re not fancy. They’re just simple designs worked on Aida cloth, and they’re framed in little gold plastic frames from the craft store, but they are my treasures.

Tiny treasures

Each one will will kindle a memory as it’s fastened onto the tree. And then, after we’ve hung the last one, we can sit back with a cup of hot chocolate and reminisce about our life together as each tiny treasure sparkles and twirls amongst the twinkle lights.

Yes…I think it’s going to be an exceptionally good night.

I’d love to hear about your favorite handmade holiday memory, too, so please share it with me in the comments box below. I read every single one of your notes and they always make me smile. 🙂

Ellen Johnson