Christmas Memories

One night I was looking through our Christmas pictures from the past years. I so enjoy seeing s n o w! Here in Central Asia we get it after New Year, if we are lucky!

I will share pictures from the time before Central Asia, bCA!

The first picture is from our very first apartment as a married couple. We had one bedroom, spacey bathroom, and a good sized living room with a kitchen in one end. Kitchenette, I guess. For Christmas we put a string of lights around the living room/kitchenette windows, and the traditional triangle light.

Here is some kind of Christmas craft going on. I did not have my own sewing machine then, but I could borrow (or rent...don't remember) one from the apartment cooperation. As you can see, I have to have a cup of tea with me at all times... Now I am feeling nostalgic about the start shaped golden plate...It is back in Finland, carefully wrapped in packing materials. But I do have the two crocheted angels here! I bought them in one of the handicraft shops in the city and I still like them a lot. The green envelopes are for our Christmas cards....the table is unpainted...we painted it very light creamy yellow later. I like the curtains a lot...deep colors, but I just love them for Christmas!

This is from our second apartment. In this one we had a very cute and nice little kitchen. This time we have a golden star with lights in the window...also very traditional in Finland. I put our Christmas cards on the window, and there is some kind of light system going on in the balcony. There is also a bird feeder out there. We would fill it, full of hope, and about three birds would come daily to eat. No matter what we tried...sun flower seeds, other kinds of seeds, pure fat, fat and nuts, nuts and seeds, special seeds, special fat'n nuts sandwich...the birds just would not come. Except these three. Even though you can see the forest starting very near to our house, I think it was not close enough for the wild birds.

There is a fun story going with the blue curtains. I was shopping with my mom and sister in a big department store. We would wander through everything, somewhat together but still going our separate ways every now and then. I was browsing through the materials, and then I saw this material. It had different shades of blue and aqua, some green, and then this adorable curly flower vine thing going up and down. It even had touch of glittering gold here and there, but you cannot see it in this dim picture. It looked a bit Indian, but was not too foreign and wild. It was one of the prettiest material I have ever seen, still is! I wanted to buy it...but the price... Anyway, I wandered somewhere else, and then my mom came to me. 'I saw one really beautiful material out there, just come and tell me what do you think' she said. I followed her, and she walked directly to this blue dream material! We had fun and complimented each other for our great taste! My sister actually did not like the material! I did not buy it on that trip, but some time later my husband stopped in there just to pick up enough for my kitchen curtains. And my mom has this material in her house too!

Speaking of which...we spent all the Christmases in my parents house...This is an ice lantern with a candle inside. It is also a very popular decoration during winter time in Finland. They are easy to make and really beautiful on those dark days and nights.

And this is my moms Christmas window in the kitchen. We have had the paper birds as long as I can remember, and they move from place to place in the house each year. They look really pretty around a 'sheaf' on the wall. People keep some sheaves for winter feeding of the birds, and if you take some ears of wheat and tie them together, you can hang it on the wall and arrange the birds around it. Another corn of wheat and bird thing hanging on the window...and again this traditional triangle light...this one with seven candles...a red Mexican Flame Leaf. We always have lots of flowers for Christmas.

Oh, the memories...that is one of the best parts of Christmas...and now we are making the memories for our children!