A Plate Piled High with Questions
After finally getting the snowblower to work again this morning, The Husband danced a jig. What a big pile of snow we got this week! Almost threatened to do in our holiday plans, but we persevered. I hope all of you enjoyed a bit of a holiday in honor of gift-getting day. Questions this week come to us from oldwoodchair. Thanks Terry!
1. I am lucky in that I have several Christmas tree ornaments from my childhood and also from my husband’s childhood…stuff that we have fond memories of hanging on the those big old trees of our youth, and we treasure them all and proudly display them every Christmas. Do you have any decorations from when you were young? If not, what’s your “style” for your tree?….What do you decorate it with?
2. This is the time for giving extra to those that are without. If you had $10,000 that you MUST give away to one charity, which would it be, and why that one out of so many?
3. When you were a kid, did you visit Santa and sit on his lap? And what did you ask him for? (And did you get what you asked for?)
4. This is not so much a question as an opinion on the character of Santa’s reindeer. You know how the Rudolph song goes – “all of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names…” etc. They never let him play games, made fun of him, psychologically tortured him … all because he was “different.” But then when the big guy saw his value, all of a sudden the other reindeer loved him and they accepted him and thought he was great and shouted gleefully about him. Well, aren’t they just nasty little self-serving little reindeer? Sure, now that he got the big promotion and is Santa’s lead reindeer, they all of sudden think he’s great? And if you were Rudolph, wouldn’t you have just told them to go blow at that point? Is it just me that is bothered by those reindeer attitudes?
5. What is your all-time favorite Christmas cookie? Mine is the reliable old sugar cookie cut-outs with frosting and colored sugars. We make santas, angels, trees, diamonds, and candy canes. One Christmas we made them in the shape of dog bones…not everyone we gave them to understood our sense of humor, but we thought it was hysterical.
emorris said:
In the first sentence of the first paragraph, the phrase “The Husband” is capitalized. This is not a proper noun, nor at the beginning of a sentence. Therefore, both words should be lowercase. Seeing such blatant disregard for grammar on this otherwise wonderful site makes me want to never return.
December 29th, 2008 at 3:01 pm #
oldwoodchair said:
Actually, I believe that is his real name, am I correct in that, Cheryl? Sometimes, when men get married, their names are officially changed to identify their new life-position. My husband’s name was changed to The Old Man many years ago. Mine, in turn, was changed to The Old Ball & Chain. And so it goes….
owc
December 29th, 2008 at 7:17 pm #
Alex Tallitsch said:
My name was altered to “That Guy” a long time ago.
1. I have tons of awesome ornaments. Some antique ones from my elders, things from my childhood, and a collection of felt ornaments as well. We go through everything every year with the usual “those are cools” or the “I like that ones” with great anticipation. We are straight up ornaments, lights, and red ribbon. Simplicity.
2. I would donate the money to an organization devoted to sending people that may have taken the road less travelled-back to school.
3. I did visit Santa, but the biggest thing was always going to talk to “Bruce the Spruce” at what was it..Penny’s maybe?
4. Reindeer have always traditionally been kind of two-faced. This really never surprised me.
5. We hand paint sugar cookies every year. We make icing with lemon juice and powdered sugar. Then, we take out a bunch of paint brushes in various sizes and go to town. We usually try to paint the “people” cookies into the same likenesses of ourselves or our family. I always make a Packer guy too.
December 30th, 2008 at 7:36 am #
timothyp said:
1. I have not had a Christmas tree in the house since I left my parent’s home …. 35 years ago. My older sister collected Presidential ornaments, all gold plated. Impressive collection.
2. I would not give it to a charity that pays salaries because that would take a portion of that money away from its’ intended target. I’d purchase 10K worth the food and deliver it to a food pantry like Neighbor’s Place or Salvation Army.
3. No.
4. I actually found Rudolph to be a bit flashy and an attention seeker. He thought he was so cool with his nose that lit up like some freaked out game of Operation. It was all show business for this mutant reindeer, never gave an interview or autograph, probably lived in some pimped out stable in a North Pole suburb and demanded his own song and television special. He was the Terrell Owens of sleigh pulling.
5. Pfeffernüsse.
December 30th, 2008 at 12:47 pm #
oldwoodchair said:
Alex: I believe Bruce was at H.C.Prange…what is now the Graebel building, across from the YMCA. They always had those cool “scene” moving decorations in the windows…Mrs. Santa taking cookies out of the oven, elve decorating a tree, etc. But Bruce was the best!
timothyp: I have to disagree about Rudolph. I think he overcame great adversity living among a group of peers who made him feel like an outcast. Even his parents were ashamed of that which made him different…they tried to hide his specialness! If not for his great moral fortitude and gentle nature, he could have become terribly psychologically damaged and turned into one of those renegade reindeer running around the North Pole in a reindeer hoodie stealing Christmas cookies, smashing jingle bells, and head-butting elves. Or he could have chosen to file a harrasment suit against the Santa corporation and bring the entire enterprise to its knees…Rudolph could literally own the North Pole now and Claus and those other demented reindeer could be working for him.
But just my opinion….
owc
December 30th, 2008 at 10:51 pm #
sparkler said:
1. I have several ornaments from my childhood that were either made by me or given to me by relatives. I use them, but not all of them every year. I change my style from year to year depending on what great ornaments I find over time and how festive I feel.
2. I would give all of the money to the Northcentral Technical College to help fund more programs there so that there are more local opportunities to better oneself. The UW system does not offer enough here in town so we might as well support what we have. Two-year degree programs are more realistic than four-year programs for many people. Besides, to get four-year programs at UWMC would be nearly impossible. They don’t have the facilities, the faculty, or the room for expansion.
3. I don’t remember visiting Santa, although there are probably a couple pictures to the contrary. I think it only happened a few times when I was very young. My parents did have me write out a list for Santa, and I rarely got what was on it, so I thought it was pretty pointless and stopped after a while.
4. That sounds a lot like what is most commonly called “sheep”; those who cannot think for themselves and shun anything new or different. Yes, if you dissect the song, it is more about the casting out of Rudolph than his accomplishment of gaining everyone’s acceptance by having to go above and beyond to prove himself first. Are his friends now lifelong, or are they fair-weather friends? What happens if he has a cold and his shiny nose grows dull? Is he once again cast out of the inner circle? There is a good point there with respect to backstabbing and peoples’ (ahem), I mean reindeers’, true intentions.
5. I love all sorts of cookies! I have recently discovered that I especially like spritz! ?
December 31st, 2008 at 9:36 am #