"There once was a velveteen rabbit, ..."

and in the beginning he was really splendid."


Thus opens my favorite story of all time.  I CANNOT read it aloud, nor to myself, without crying.

Maybe "The Velveteen Rabbit" started my personal "Christmas creep." Margery Williams opens the story on on that very day:  "On Christmas morning, when he sat wedged in the top of the boy's stocking, with a sprig of holly between his paws, the effect was charming."

The first time I recall hearing this story was when my mom read it to me for a bedtime story. I was maybe seven or eight-- too old and capable of a reader for a story-- but she was reading to me.  I craved the attention.  The story was included in a two-volume treasury of children's stories & verse that had been given to me by my Babchu.

I cried as she read it; I cried because the little rabbit was ignored, then he was adored; I cried because he was real, yet no one else noticed; I cried because it looked as if he was to meet his demise, but he was transformed beyond that merest of existences.

I cried because I had my own "little rabbit" who was so very shoddily loved-to-bits, and if I ever lost her, I would be devastated.

I cried because I often felt un-real.

I was teased A LOT as a kid.  Sometimes I even felt unloved.  At my lowest, an angel would remind me who did love me and would miss me.  And knowing that I was REAL at least to one, that would get me through.

In college, during another low time, Tara sent me a Christmas present from Target: a plush Velveteen Rabbit, in a stocking with a sprig of holly between his paws.  David Jorgensen's illustrated version of "The Velveteen Rabbit" had just come out in 1990, and the story was captivating a new generation of parents and kids.  But I was just a lost 20-something unsuccessfully drifting through college;  Tara was just one of my best friends who wanted me to know I was loved and missed--- here's a cute from our favorite department store!

Oh, how cute he was!  When I was shopping at the Hallmark in downtown Auburn, I noticed that another artist, "Flavia" had her own take on the tale.  I bought her book, and an ornament of the rabbit wrapped in a quilt, the base stating, "Love makes you Real."

That's how it started.  I thumbed through bargain racks and used selections.  I found that many people had illustrated the story over the years.  Sometimes they edited it for younger readers.  Sometimes they updated the setting for the times.  Always, the message of the Skin Horse was the same.  Always, the little rabbit looked so eager to share love.

I collect versions of "The Velveteen Rabbit."  I find them "in the wild" to bring home.  (Again, none of this scrolling through eBay for me.)   I have 25 different printings of the story, a few A/V versions, three plush (not including my precious rabbit,) three figurines, and an assortment of ephemera-- the newest being programs and photos from Academy of Academics and Art's own version of "The Velveteen Rabbit."  (Wish I had a show shirt.)

"The Velveteen Rabbit" remind me that love does make us real.  At Christmastime, we Christians are reminded that Love Became Man, and real like us.

A Glass to the Season

I finally received my mom's china cabinet.  (Because she finally got her bigger one.)  This year, I can show off my grandmother's Noritaki china and my Arby's glassware.

Going to Arby's was a treat when I was a kid.  We didn't have one in Warner Robins; the nearest was in Macon.  Roast beef sandwiches with Arby's sauce, potato cakes, Jamocha shakes... yumm!  When Arby's started offering a glass-with-beverage-purchase, my mom made sure we got a set of the Saturday Evening Post ones, and the Coca-Cola ones.

Years and years later, while I lived in Auburn, Arby's started their Holly Berries series.  I fell in love.  As my budget would permit, I would buy that year's offering.  My collecting stopped when I moved in with my parents after college.  I don't think they had Arby's in Chicago.  Not that I had anywhere to show off my glassware.  By the time I was back on my own, Arby's was on to their Winter Scene pattern.  I was not interested.

I am, luckily, a thrift-store addict.  This is the time of year they haul out their Christmas donations, and I can usually find some more pieces for no more than the dollar they originally cost.  I'm attempting to acquire at least eight of each piece:  goblet, goblet with bow, contoured tumbler, tapered tumbler, parfait glass.  These are the ones I know of.  I thought there might have been a Irish coffee cup, but I could be mistaken.  I do have ONE coffee mug, but that might have been a limited market item.

Today I washed and stowed this season's purchases: eleven goblets with bows, one tapered tumbler.  I've passed on additional parfaits and goblets; I already have about ten of each.  I'm still on the look-out for five more tapered tumblers and four more contoured.  Yes, I could buy them on-line, but where's the fun in that?  Some people hunt with guns.  I hunt with $1s.

I find these beautiful--  the bright red & green, the dainty pattern scale, the subtle gold rim.    They make me happy.  Libby Glassware, who designed and produced them for Arby's, created several other "holly" style patterns for glass and ceramic; those patterns are in the same hue families, with similar art stylings.  Maybe after I complete my Arby-ware, I'll add in some cousin serving pieces, as well.

A toast, anytime, to Christmas joy.

Let's Call this Day 1

Hello, Bloggersville!!!


Yesterday was Sunday, November 22, 2015, and the last Sunday in Liturgical Cycle B 2015. Designated "The Feast of Christ the King," we wrap up the Church year.  For most Americans, who rarely attend daily Mass, the next time they come to church, it'll be a new year (Cycle C, 2016) and the First Sunday of Advent.  The "countdown" to Christmas will begin.

I'll have to admit, I'm becoming one of those people who "really like" Christmas.

I got excited way back in April when I got my Hallmark Dreambook for this year's ornaments.

I don't know when I started becoming one of those people.  Don't know how far it will go.  I'm certain that Carlos will put a stop to me when I reach his limits.  (We still de-decorate sometime between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday.)  But as I go there, I know I'll have plenty of good company.  (His mom feels the same way about Christmas.)

Maybe I've always been this way.  Maybe, as a middle-aged mom, I'm comfortable being me.  Or maybe I'm appreciating the wonder & joy of the season like I did when I was a kid.

Whenever, whatever, wherever, whyever and how,
I LIKE IT!


(Oooo, DLG just brought in the mail.  More stuff from Hallmark!  "Festive Snowflake Candy Dish"-- gotta' get it!  And the December Event circular with my bonuses!!!  "A Little Jingle" ornament!  Must get this one, too!!)



(I'm hopeless.)