Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

The God Winks this past week have been showing up almost daily…they are literally dropping right in front of me…like the last of the beautiful fall leaves.

The title photo is a sign I caught out of the corner my eye as I was cutting through some back neighborhoods to get on Central Avenue. I had slowed down for a stop sign…and on a corner lot in the midst of all the beauty of the last falling leaves…was this slanting sign…that made me slow down faster than usual and back up to take the picture of the sign.

“God’s got this”…Prior to the sighting…my  mind had been lost in thought about the adjustments everyone was having to make this “Covid” Christmas and how nothing seemed quite the same…

…I couldn’t help but think God had interceded in my day dreams to let me know to quit worrying about it all…He not only “Has this Christmas” He has it all…in His capable hands.

All we need to do is provide faith in Him and hope in the future… All will come to be…exactly as it should… in God’s time.

If that message wasn’t enough…I pulled into a gas station Monday morning before the early rains had fully dissipated…As I was going to put the hose back up…I glanced down. It was early morning and the fog and clouds consumed much of the sky…but what caught my attention…was just not a “lucky penny” showing up…but one that looked like it was in flames…shining brilliantly on a cold dreary overcast morning. (My burning bush 🙂 )

I gathered up the penny, still staring in amazement, and put it in my coin cup in the car. What a wonderful God Wink to pop up on such a dreary day…and what a wonderful “mystery” surrounding its pretty glow.

I believe God was trying to remind me…that His universe started in mystery and will end that way…and sometimes, on lucky days, we get a peek from Him into His world of eternal magic and amazement beyond our understanding.

All day yesterday I felt like something was about to happen…sort of a tingling feeling of anticipation…and sure enough the day was broken with two wonderful visits.

The first one came from Mike Lesko…he was dropping off a Christmas “surcie” from his wife Dee…and picking up a fun item I knew she would enjoy in exchange. (I told Mike to tell Dee that her humor is the best present she can give me…and she generously gives ‘it to me’ in the funniest ways…Dee, you are the gift girl to keep me from getting too serious occasionally!)

Now you know how much I love Christmas “Bubble” nightlights…dating back to my childhood Christmases…but look what only Dee could find…a Sammy the Red Cardinal bubble nightlight! 🙂

It was accompanied by the best smelling “gingerbread” candle…Thank you Lesko’s….so generous with your love.

My next visit came from my pastor Jeff Kackley…he called to ask if he could stop by…he had something for me. I could hardly wait to see what it would be…he was picking up his wife Mimi from the airport and they would stop on their way home.

So amid waves from the porch to the car Jeff came strolling across the front yard holding a star…a star made by Jeff himself. It took me a few minutes after he and Mimi left to realize why he had texted me asking my favorite color and Christmas carol.

Now I knew….We had talked about a little symbol to match the story that was taped this year…and we agreed that a star would be a good memoir. So now he was handing me his home-made “orange” (my favorite color) star backed with lyrics from “What Child is This?” (my favorite carol)

As I put it on the tree I breathed in an overwhelming sense of happiness for  generosity…faith…and hope…from people I adore….who are all going out to make this challenging Christmas the best one of all…the one that will be remembered for a long, long time.

So until tomorrow…

I now realize what all the God Winks have been trying to get me to see…that ““Peace on earth will come to stay when we live Christmas every day.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Obviously taking a photo of the Christmas Star with my iPhone wasn’t going to be too successful…I walked out on the golf course where other neighbors had gathered….they caught me up with the location and the other planets, bright moon, and stars shining…besides all the airplanes. (Maybe you could fly up to get a closer glimpse of the Christmas Star because it sure did seem that the planes were encircling where we were watching)

Speaking of a “Star” being born….today, December 23, is my son Walsh’s birthday. It is hard for me to realize that he is a husband and father to three adorable children. Time flies from “Kringle Dingle” birthday year after year.

My hope for you this year, however, Walsh…is that you have the best trip around the sun you have ever experienced…!!! 🙂

I love you Walsh…You were the best Christmas gift I ever got to bring home one special Christmas day in 1977.

*Walsh gets to share his birthday with his beloved Aunt Pap…two of the funniest members of the family…must have been born on a “funny” day! And mother’s birthday, the day before, had them always celebrating together for many years.

Honey called me last evening distressed over her daughter Ashley’s latest episode with Crohn’s disease. It is such a frustrating disease to live with… since it appears to “raise its ugly head” around holidays and celebrations.

Ashley has been in the hospital where her new doctors are conferring with her physicians from MUSC to try to get a clearer picture of what is going on and a plan for treatments.

Obviously it keeps the whole family concerned and saddened with Crohn’s  fickleness and terrible timing. I know Honey and her family would truly appreciate prayers for Ashley right now as she awaits further information.

So many challenges this Christmas but let’s all hold on to the light of hope…I will light an extra candle for Ashley and keep it burning throughout this Christmas…and one for Suzy as she, too, waits for more information…the toughest time…waiting.

Dear Reader:

If you are admiring an adorable little white chair in front of my computer desk (instead of my “borrowed” kitchen chair that I’ve been forced to use for over a year now)…you are an excellent observer….I am now sitting on “history” each time  I begin my blog post…a dining chair from the PINE FOREST INN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As Honey was leaving Summerville Saturday morning she called me and said she had a surprise for me…it was a dining chair from the Pine Forest Inn that she and Mike left for me on the porch. Mike also left some crabbing nets for Jake. I was beside myself with excitement and jubilation! (So was Jake when he saw the nets Sunday afternoon!)

THE PINE FOREST INN! I taught South Carolina and American history to my eighth graders but we always made time to do an unit on local history…Summerville History...and no one can do Summerville history without first mentioning the Pine Forest Inn. 

Honey is a direct descendant of one of its owners…her daddy “Mr. Salisbury”…an amazing self-made man!

I was in my car Saturday running errands when Honey called me about the chair…I thought she meant they had dropped it off on my porch…but when I excitedly drove in…there was nothing there. I was practically in tears.

I called Honey half-hysterical and said “I think somebody “done” stole my chair off the porch.” Honey laughed and reassured me it was on her porch. Whew! Relief flooded through me!

I retrieved it and came home to immediately take a picture of the chair in front of the Christmas Tree so I would always remember that out of this challenging Covid Christmas of 2020… I received an amazing piece of local history memorabilia.

Let me refresh the memory of some readers and introduce  new readers to the story behind the construction of the amazing Pine Forest Inn that housed Presidents, dignitaries, actors, musicians….a smorgasbord of the Who’s Who in America at the turn of the 20th century.

The story begins with a very important meeting that took place in Paris in 1889 involving a “Congress of Physicians“… specialists in respiratory disorders. They named Summerville, South Carolina as one of the “two places on the face of the earth” best suited for the treatment and cure of pulmonary disease.

“Overnight the bucolic little town of Summerville was hurled from relative obscurity into the world’s spotlight.” The Pine Forest Inn was originally owned by stockholders of the Summerville Hotel Company…but over the years it took to build this massive “Grande Dame of the Summerville Inns of the Golden Age“…it came under private ownership and was passed down from owner to owner….Honey’s father being the last owner.

The 22 acres surrounding the inn included a golf course, two lawn tennis courts, croquet grounds, an Amusement Hall that contained a bowling alley and billiard tables. There were over a 100 rocking chairs on the huge surrounding porch to enjoy…also there were 60 horses, plus ponies and goats available for children to be pulled in little wagons.

President Roosevelt visits the Pine Forest Inn

Now that it is almost Christmas I can only imagine the smell of fresh pine used in decorations throughout the hotel. Large fireplaces in the lobby and dining room crackled with log fires throughout the winter months. In fact almost every sleeping room contained an open fireplace which glowed with pine knot fires.

The cuisine was unequaled anywhere..first class chefs were hired along with German bakers. Fresh vegetables and salads came from the surrounding gardens, fresh meat and seafood were delivered daily by train from Charleston and New York markets. Dinner music was presented by live professional famous musicians for the dining guests.

I lucked up and found this Christmas dining menu cover from the Pine Forest Inn…unbelievably “grand”!

The menu consisted of…

*** I don’t know about you…but suddenly I am starving! 🙂

Sadly by 1915 the Pine Forest Inn had new competition from other hotels hoping to jump in on Summerville’s drawing card too. Then construction began new roads and interstates that by-passed travelers around our little “ville” and took them faster and more directly to Charleston.

In the mid 1930’s the Inn diminished in popularity and closed. It was reopened by T.W. Salisbury in 1939. During World War II the Inn housed officers and defense workers and after the war the Inn was transformed into the Adventure School- A progressive school before it’s time. The Adventure School had only one graduating class.

Honey still remembers as child (1960) hearing the inn being torn down since her father was afraid a fire would eventually take the empty edifice and he couldn’t bear that thought.

But Mr. Salisbury gave away foliage of every type found in the gardens, along with fireplace mantles and other pieces of furniture…to the local populace at the time…so today one can still find parts of this old inn in people’s homes and gardens.

And now I have a piece too…a planter for my garden and my priceless Christmas surprise…my little white chair. May it bring me wisdom and fill me with more stories to tell from past, present, and future.

Today only the remnants of the entrance to the Pine Forest Inn remain…leading  into Presidents Circle. One beautiful photo caught a rare snow in 2018 making this entrance even lovelier with its gas lights…and last year a new plaque was added to this old historic entrance.

So until tomorrow…

“If history were taught in the form of stories it would never be forgotten” Kipling

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

I have January 10 marked on my calendar…a Sunday to keep Eva Cate and Jake for a few hours while John and Mandy go to Effingham, SC (outside Florence) to  pick up the newest member of the family- a toy poodle named “Winnie” as in Pooh…except she is a little girl…Jake and Eva Cate named her and are so excited!

***Tigger got his name originally from Winnie the Pooh’s character friend too…so our love of Winnie the Pooh will continue! Happiness is…the Turner family has missed another canine family member to make their family whole.

While running errands yesterday I had to stop on Marion Avenue and take this picture of late fall/early winter in Summerville….breathtaking!

In memoriam….Happy Birthday to my mother born December 22, 1919….How fortunate I was to be born to this extraordinary woman who taught me more about courage and staying open to new possibilities than my mother.

Dear Reader:

Today is the shortest day of the year and if this were a football game…night would win because it would beat out the light…15 hours of darkness today. It appears that earth itself has turned away from the sun.

On the winter solstice many cultures believe in burning all kinds of lights to symbolize man’s refusal to be left in the dark. I decided to light lots of extra candles in my Happy Room.

I kept my good luck Clemson candles burning all night Saturday…it worked again…so why turn them off? 🙂

The flickering candles worked well all day since it was a dreary cool rainy day…one in which more light has been needed during the daylight hours, as well as, the early encroaching darkness of night.

Quinn Caldwell agrees that lighting more candles on the winter solstice is appropriate but on this day he argues we need to go a step further. (So I got my fireplace aglow with wood and light- title photo)

“On the longest night the world needs a larger and a wilder light than just candles.” 

Caldwell continues his story with this analogy….

” Once upon a time the shadows grew and the earth turned its face away from God…it needed a larger and wilder hope than ever before. And so God came to shine in the darkness through the birth of a tiny little baby aglow with renewed hope for this old world.

God knew we needed to set a fire of passion for healing, to set the depressed alight with the strength for one more day, to give people hope, to set a wildfire of repentance and a longing for justice gently overwhelming the whole world…to turn the earth back towards the sun…

…thus God came to blaze in the hearts of the people through His newborn Son.”

“Today we come to tell the world that the night will not win. And so we come, we who seek to follow the light, to shine the light on the world.”

“Let us always remember today to light a fire…to remind the world and ourselves that the shadows will not win.”

So until tomorrow…Come, God come, and shine through us. Amen.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Hopefully it will be our favorite night too since we have heard so much about the brightest sighting of the “Christmas Star”- Astronomers disagree on the association of the Christmas Star with the close proximity of Jupiter and Neptune…but no matter it will be whatever we want it to be. Astronomers say….

I went over to John and Mandy’s to take a few items for the festivities later this week…and took a Christmas puzzle for the children…I discovered kids whose minds work like Eva Cate’s with lego’s can “see” puzzle pieces’ connections much easier than the rest of us…But as I held the picture, Mandy helped Jake and Eva Cate just did her thing. A lot of fun!

We had a nice visit…Tommy and my grand dogs stopped by and we had a chance to catch up since the Thanksgiving holidays.

Then John drove us around to see the Christmas lights in their neighborhood….so festive and creative…really got me in the spirit. The Turners have snowflakes falling off the side of their home with lights…so pretty…at least we can pretend we are having a white Christmas!

I want to take a moment and thank all of you for your prayers for Suzy, Gin-g’s older sister. Amazing grace is found in prayer…the more prayers the more amazing the God Winks.

So proud of my Clemson Tigers…This morning Clemson woke up to a brand new banner flying over Death Valley…someone really believed we were going to win it appears. 🙂

Dear Reader:

This just might be the Christmas when we recognize that there is such a thing as “defiant decorations”…sounds really strange doesn’t it…but Quinn Caldwell explains it through his own personal experiences. Many of us will be able to relate.

In the Bible it is Joseph who is thinking that the future looks pretty bleak to him. His engagement is shattered by the news that Mary is pregnant (supposedly) by the Holy Spirit. Now that would be a tough pill to swallow for anyone but especially back in these times…unacceptable by society’s dictates.

What to do? Privately he decides the only course of action left is to call off the engagement quietly to avoid further humiliation to his betrothed and himself. He breathes a large sigh of relief…confident he has chosen the best route to follow, really the only, option left. Exhausted…he falls asleep.

But Joseph had underestimated God’s “Power of Persuasion.” That night an angel appears to him in a dream and announces…

” Joseph, Son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child she carries was conceived by the Holy Spirit.”

The next morning his feelings are again turned upside down…he believes the dream…but will anyone else?

In the end it would come down to two choices Joseph had to make…keep talking about his dream or become a man of action… an “Onward Christian Soldier.”

Even though there wasn’t an official Christmas (of course) at that time…it is the impetus for it and Joseph “is on track to have the worst Christmas yet.”

Most of us have not been spared a “bad” Christmas…either we have been sick, or a parent, child, or sibling is, or worse… a loved one dies around Christmas. These “Christmases” are quite memorable… but for the wrong reason and still terribly painful… never-the-less.

Quinn Caldwell discovered something new the year his father was dying over Christmas and passed away a couple of days later. He found solace doing something he had never considered before. Trimming the Christmas tree.

At that moment the Christmas tree was the “only beautiful thing in the middle of a wasteland.” That year, Caldwell admitted, every little glass ball he put on the tree felt like an act of defiance.

As he hung each ornament he felt like shouting “Take that misery” “Eat it addiction!” “Bite me cancer!” “Die…Death!”

Now while going through these really “bad” Christmases…we need to  understand that the first Christmas started just that way.

” It was born in defiance of all that stalks the world and tries to snuff its light.”

Caldwell suggests….“Today decorate something whether you feel like it or not. Let every candy cane be a raging firework against the dying of the light. Let every battered old ornament be the star that changes everything.

And if you can’t manage to decorate your whole house this year, if all you can manage is one decoration hanging on a house plant, let it be the best one you have. And tell despair it better watch its back.”

As much as I love my Christmas tree and certainly that is my dependable decoration “pick” to fight depression….it is actually the little iron-wrought candle holder on the front porch… inter-twined with ivy and a bright light …that would be my choice of one decoration this year.

The beautiful candle light symbolically snuffs out the darkness on the front porch each evening and brings me much comfort watching its flickering, simple beauty. (title photo)

So until tomorrow...”Oh God, some Christmases I just can’t even…but I know You can. Come God come…and bring Your Light back into my world.” Amen.

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

We had quite a brisk colder night Friday than I thought was predicted… I was afraid “Big Red” might be hurt…but “Big Red” welcomed me with a big smile yesterday morning and another bloom opening…with four more just about to get there. Think we are good until Christmas night before we see (or feel) another hard freeze and by then “Big Red” will have strutted his new red blooms for Christmas Day! He can retire inside.

A thick frost lay on the ground Saturday morning…my neighbor Vickie’s house and the empty lot next door was Beautiful!

Besides a special symbolic decoration, Gin-g’s family could use some prayers…her older sister, Suzy, was told a couple of days ago that the mystery behind months and months of diagnostic tests concluded she has pancreatic cancer.

Suzy has been through so much already…the family could really use the power of prayer right now to guide all of them through this new frontier of treatments she is about to undergo.

Thank you in advance for all your on-going prayers…you blog readers are the best…hands- down and none of us should ever underestimate its power…especially in numbers. Thank you!

Dear Reader:

Yesterday, December 18, I decided to look ‘back to the future’ and see what I wrote about on that date in past years…When I looked at the blog post from December 18, 2019…the story was about grandmothers in history…how we usually hear very little about them in historical biographies…but we secretly wish the historical figure, being researched, had one.

Don’t we all need someone who spoils us in our lives and aren’t grandparents usually the ones we go to for a little ‘extra loving’?

And if anyone needed some “extra loving” it was the Christ-Child…love that needed to be stored up for the challenging years ahead of Him.

Quinn Caldwell suggests this possibility (according to other ancient sources) and famous painters like Leonardo da Vinci (Title Painting)…all wanting a grandmother for Jesus too.

In this Advent Reading…Caldwell examines the possibility of such a grandmother playing a major role in Jesus’ upbringing. He explains:

“They say Mary’s parents were named Joachim and Anne. This isn’t anywhere in the Bible, but other ancient sources say so. Legend has it that they were deeply devoted to each other but were unhappy at their childlessness.

Then one day, an angel appeared to each of them separately and told them- guess what?- that they were going to have a baby. A popular theme for medieval paintings was their “huggy” meeting at the gates of Jerusalem, where they had each come running from opposite directions to tell the other what happened. 

*Another popular painting shows a wee Jesus sitting on Mary’s lap, who in turn is sitting on Anne’s lap. (See title painting)

I love St. Anne. No so much because I know anything about her, but because I love the idea of Jesus having a grandma. I bet she was always buying him too many presents. She probably let him stay up late when he spent the weekend at her house. I bet she never told him she couldn’t play with him right now because she was busy. I can totally see her rolling her eyes at Mary and Joseph’s uptight parenting.

“Mom, stop it! You’ll spoil him!” Mary would say.

“That’s the Grand-Messiah’s job” Anne would respond serenely as she sailed by with more cookies for the Savior.

“What am I going to do?” Mary would ask as they had coffee and watched him play. And Anne would put her arms around that big girl who would never stop being her baby, pull her close, and hold her tight. “You’re going to do what we all do; love him as hard as you can for as long as you can. No matter what!” 

……………………………………………………………………………………………

This Christmas our immediate family is praying no one gets sick before Christmas so we can have a much smaller but important gathering together. Nothing delights us grandparents more than watching our grandchildren delight in Christmas morning and the presents we brought. Just being witness to it all…is a grandparents’ Christmas present. Time will tell.

Especially these days with Ancestry.Com…we are all becoming more interested in our family’s genealogy and heritage.

Generational family is important to children…learning about their family tree…especially the birth of Jesus and His family tree…producing God’s children who inhabit every nook and cranny on Earth.

So until tomorrow…God thank you for grandparents who never stop being parents. Amen.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Yesterday was fun…lots of friends stopping by…mostly on the porch or a quick look inside my “Happy Room” at the decorations from the top of the steps…everyone was very “masked” up…but seeing people again driving up…in my yard…made my heart happy.

***K.C., Susan, Anne, and Lassie (a.k.a. Santa Claus) completed the round of gift exchanges. Ho Ho Ho Lassie…too cute!

Before we can have a Clemson Christmas…we have one more “snowball” fight today against Notre Dame. My hope and prayers are for safety above all else…and everyone giving it the best of their ability…feeling good about their personal efforts after the game.  Love you Tigers!

Dear Reader:

A “God Wink”  appeared out of nowhere yesterday to restore a lot of faith in the universe and the messages it sends to each of us individually…especially when we need to hear it tell us … “Don’t worry…everything will be alright.”

When Honey arrived yesterday morning to drop off the apple tree she told me she forgot and left the top piece…the pineapple…apparently at home…she would return later and “top ” it off after running errands.

The more she talked about the number of errands she had to run yesterday the more apparent it became that Santa’s Christmas Eve list paled in comparison.

Honey looked tired…she admitted that “Murphy’s Law” had about ‘done them in’ at the house Wednesday night. If something could go wrong…it did.

Today at 2:00 they are closing on their life-long Summerville home (with Tommy and Kaitlyn handling the final closing)…but before that could happen…a lot had to take place…the last of the furniture moved out and into the trailer. (It seemed to be more furniture than what they remembered…to their tired dismay.)

Honey said she had brought groceries for them to eat… so she went to put them in the refrigerator and to her disappointment…some workers had unplugged it…it was smelly and still had decaying food inside. Not what either wanted to face before they could rest and get something to eat…but they got it cleaned out and then realized the cable had been terminated so no channels were available…at least the ones worth watching.

They decided to hit it ‘early’ only to be awakened by the heater making strange noises…they realized every sound was magnified…because the house was basically empty…except for the bed they were sleeping in and some odd and end pieces of furniture. Neither slept well.

Honey told me she was so tired from lack of sleep that every time she looked at her list of things that had to be taken care of yesterday…the list grew longer.  It made her feel more tired.

Honey had only been gone a few minutes when the doorbell rang. A young man (UPS carrier) was standing on the porch. He wanted to talk to me about the “teeny tiny” package he was holding…it was something I had ordered way back in November… apparently from the date on the package he said…he just found it… caught behind a mat in the back of the truck that had prevented it from being seen.

He was very apologetic for the delay…I laughed and told him I couldn’t even remember what it was…so it couldn’t be that important and these things happen…Have a Merry Christmas! He looked terribly relieved.

Curiously I opened the small little package and realized that I was staring at a special gift I had ordered for Honey…knowing that the low country was their life in the past…and the mountains now would be their “forever” home.

It was a necklace that had mountains attached to the “chain.” I was so excited…it came on the perfect day….the last day I would see Honey before they left for the mountains. What a wonderful coincidence that the young carrier found it after all these months and returned it on this special day.

When Honey returned…I sat her down…and told her she had to rest long enough to listen to a story…because I just realized it was a “God Wink” story…(I had fixed her and Mike some sandwiches and chips to take with her home.)

I had, also, written the story out for her on a Christmas card…and then told her the message the universe sent her…and Mike. The necklace was attached to a cardboard with the message

“The Best View Comes After the Hardest Climb.”

I reassured Honey that moving is hard…no way to avoid it…but everything was going to work out…and her beloved mountain home was waiting on them to return back to it “forever.” (And their view from their deck overlooking Hendersonville is stellar!) The “Best” was yet to be! God works in mysterious ways.

Honey was quite moved…a beautiful way to end our Christmas exchange this year…an unforgettable memory.

So until tomorrow…..Honey and Mike…Go ‘move those mountains’ with your generosity, kindness,  amazing talents, faith and hope. The mountains are waiting your return. Merry Christmas!

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

Look what Honey left for me…an old antique planter from the famous Pine Forest Inn...I added a cabbage to it and put it by the garden gate. I am beyond excited having a piece of rich Summerville history to add to my garden!

***Mandy sent me this latest photo of Jake and now it is official...”All he wants for Christmas truly is his two front teeth!’ :)

I pulled in one of the pretty pink poinsettias that I thought might get injured by the cold temps last night and put it on the front table…forgot I had a candle in that window.

***While reading last night…I kept seeing a tiny flicker of light out of the corner of my eyes…and finally realized it was the candle light flowing through a space in the poinsettia…quite lovely!

Dear Reader:

Yesterday I told you that I received a wonderful package filled with ‘everything good about Danish Christmas customs.’ (A children’s book filled with Danish stories, a bag filled with angel labels and another with traditional Christmas hearts for the tree.)

It is an old Scandinavian tradition to make woven paper or felt hearts filled with candies or nuts to put on the Christmas tree. … Danes say it is the symbol of the heart of Christmas (love and respect) and was invented by Hans Christian Andersen in the late 19th Century.

The enduring stories of Hans Christian Andersen have long been staples of library story programs. His tales are widely read and enjoyed, with new picture book versions being published on a regular basis.

What isn’t as well-known is Andersen’s contribution
to the way Denmark celebrates Christmas, a contribution that goes beyond the written word.

In the early 1800s, Danish Christmas trees were largely decorated with items that could be eaten after they had been admired: kringle cookies, marzipan figures, and gingerbread men. Paper ornaments began to be used around the 1820s.

Then, in the mid-1860s, Andersen, who had by this time was well-established as a prolific and successful author of fairy tales, created a paper heart basket for his friend, Mathilde
Ørsted, by weaving two pieces of folded paper together.

This first heart did not include a handle, a feature which would be added later to make it possible to hang the woven
heart on the Christmas tree.

Some of the author’s paper hearts have survived and the oldest known version, a green and gold heart without a handle, can be found in The Hans Christian Andersen House Museum in Odense, Denmark.

In the 1870s, the heart basket Christmas ornament was fast becoming a new Christmas tradition.

Today, the Danish woven heart is a much-loved Christmas tree tradition that is enjoyed throughout Scandinavia. The craft has evolved from the simple classic red and white version into a variety of multi-colored designs and motifs and has become a respected art form. One day or evening is usually left in Danish homes (over the holidays) to make these hearts together as a family to place on their Christmas trees.

As early as kindergarten… students start learning to cut simple patterns for gifts for their families. The older the students, especially those with artistic talents…the more complex the now braided patterns display… using  diverse materials from nature.

It reminded me of the Gullah baskets our Gullah Club, consisting of  eighth graders, learned to make one year at Alston Middle School…The process definitely involves lots of patience and do-overs.

***Kevin and Rikki were involved in a teacher/administrative exchange program (many years ago now) and taught one semester at Summerville Elementary School.

Dr. Gene Sires, the principal at the time, brought furniture over for them so they could stay on my other side… soon after mother had gone to the Presbyterian Village.

I remember they went to the Christmas Eve Service with me and the family that year to listen to the story. So many sweet memories. I love that we are still in touch after all these years…their subsequent marriage and now two beautiful daughters!

So until tomorrow…Let’s all fill our hearts with love and respect for tradition this Christmas…including acceptance of others and unity among our fellow countrymen in the name of freedom and democracy.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Another alteration to the an annual tradition…Honey and Mike barely got out of the NC mountains yesterday morning to come to Summerville…they awoke to ice and snow…but they did it.

This year Honey and I met on the porch, exchanged gifts, and Honey took the Apple Tree platform  back to her house (for a couple of more days) to “build” it this year. Honey also made me a Sammy and Sammy nest from her kiln…adorable!

It adds on to my Sammy the Cardinal gifts over the years…I will try to add a few photos each day to show you the diversity of memoirs I have collected through so many of your Christmas gifts over the years. Here are a few for today’s photos. Love you Sammy and so does your fan club! “)

P.S. 4:00 p.m. – A black truck pulled up yesterday afternoon and Mike Burrell got out with more Christmas surcies…unbelievable! Will save them to open today…yesterday was  filled with “enoughs” to make me so happy. My heart is overflowing.

P.S.S.  To top off the cold rainy day here on a high note…Susan called and said she was running supper over to me…it was delicious…a yummy pasta dish and salad…just hit the spot…thank you so much Susan for the unexpected meal…I gulped it down. 🙂

***Look at Ady modeling…I had this coat, in my closet, for a long time…thinking it would fit someone in the family…older…but didn’t realize that Ady has shot up so much this year…and while she has room to grow in it…it looks adorable on her right now…she’s ready for winter!

Dear Reader:

“What Child Is This?” is my favorite Christmas carol… hands down…because of the creator’s original history- the story behind the story of this song- intertwined with my own family’s history.

The famous Christmas carol, penned in 1865 by English writer William Chatterton Dix on his “death bed” (he later recovered however), asks the question the shepherds probably asked the night of Jesus’ birth… “What child is this, who laid to rest, on Mary’s lap is sleeping?” and answers “This is Christ, the King”.

Sometimes out of the worst of times comes the most talented and remarkable works…in this case from an maritime  insurance agent into a gifted hymn writer. At the age of 29 Dix was struck with a near fatal illness and consequently suffered months confined to his bed.

During this time he became severely depressed. Yet it is from this dark period of bouts of hopelessness that many of our favorite hymns were created…including the most popular “What Child is This?”

Interspersed in his thoughtful lyrics, set to the tune of the medieval English song Greensleeves, are references to shepherds, angels, ox and donkey, incense, gold, and myrrh – familiar figures and objects in a traditional nativity scene (also called a crèche).

In 1223, St. Francis of Assisi was visiting the small village of Greccio, Italy.  As Christmas approached, he was struck with the idea of creating a scene to represent the birth of Christ for the people of the village.  This was a novel idea, and as such he requested and was granted permission from the pope to create the first nativity scene, to be displayed during Midnight Mass.

It was a live scene – real baby, real donkey, real hay.  According to his biographer, “St. Francis stood before the manger, full of devotion and piety, bathed in tears and radiant with joy.” 

The scene so moved the great monk that he could not bring himself to even utter the name of the Lord, instead referring to him repeatedly as the Babe of Bethlehem in his sermon that night – indeed, the whole village was moved to tears.

News of the spiritual outpouring reached the Vatican, and the tradition of the nativity scene was spread throughout Europe.

One Christmas our family went to spend the holidays with my father’s family (He had passed by then…) I remember “What Child is This?” started playing on the radio and Grandmother Barbour teared up and told me “That was your daddy’s favorite carol.”

On the way home that holiday I asked mother about it and she said Grandmother Barbour was right…it was daddy’s favorite. But it wasn’t until years later…that this ‘story behind the story’ was finally revealed to me by mother as she sat staring at a Christmas card she got from daddy during the war.

During WWII daddy was a radio operator with the 10th Photographic Reconnaissance Group (United Army Air Forces)…responsible for flying low into enemy territory to take recon photos of the enemy’s location and amounts of weapon installations construed along the western front.

At the end of 1943 and start of 1944…Daddy was sent to a radio school to learn all the new secret codes that would be needed in preparation for D-Day…only then no one knew exactly what this event completely entailed.

The secret operating school was half hidden under ground- a type of bunker…outside of London, which was still ensuing bombings on a regular basis…The radio school was located in a safer… more rural area, consisting of small towns and farming communities.

Even though daddy had Christmas Eve off...there was no where to go…still he wandered outside as the sun was setting and found a place to sit on a high mound looking down into a farming town below. The church bells were ringing …and in the cold silence of that evening he could hear Christmas carols being sung…one of which was “What Child is This?” 

Daddy told mother he was very homesick and yearning for home and her (they were engaged.) As the congregational voices sang from far off he began to dream of their marriage and life together…having a child and a home surrounded by family and friends.

It would all come true…but daddy would live less than a decade after marrying mother. Still…today when I hear that carol…I know that myself and my siblings are that “child” he so longed to have and hold on that long ago night… with mother by his side. It makes the song ever so special to me until I will be reunited with my father… who no doubt continues to watch over me…his “watch always keeping.” 

So until tomorrow…

What child is this
Who lay to rest
On Mary’s lap is sleeping
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
While shepherds watch are keeping

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Anne and I wore our masks and ate socially distanced- spaced out in my large den…Thus we were able to pull off our annual Christmas luncheon and gift exchange yesterday…along with her brother-in-law’s yummy Christmas cookies! At last…a ‘normal’ Christmas tradition.

Tucked away in the my mini-forest that separates my property from my neighbors…a pot of poinsettias left out last year are starting to turn red…soon they will be breathtakingily beautiful…natural poinsettias are beyond pretty.

***To my delight I received a gift of Danish stories from Honey’s and my Danish friends… Frida and Kevin Larsen yesterday by my mail carrier…along with their two beautiful daughters! They also sent me more Danish paper hearts (Danish tree decoration) to put on my tree…the others were looking a little tattered…so excited to have new ones! Merry Christmas Larsens!!!! Love you!

Dear Reader:

I can honestly say I have never wanted riches beyond my wildest imagination….I have just wanted enough money to pay my monthly bills with enough left over to save for a rainy day and buy items, occasionally, I know will put a smile on loved ones’ faces.

In other words…just enough to live on, a little security, a little “funny money” and I am content. I remember reading the horrific stories about what happens to lottery winners with millions in their pockets… It is not a good story and almost never has a good ending …Either the “winner” ends up in poverty again or is out-cast from family/friends for not giving their relatives supposedly enough of his/her winnings….broken families left in disarray.

I have always loved this “internet favorite” story (below) that has circulated for years now and re-surfaces every so often. Many of you will remember it too….so I will just give a quick summary but pay more attention to the “list” in the story.

A gentleman waiting on a plane overhears a very tearful good-bye between an older woman, apparently a mother, and her grown daughter at an airport. He is quite moved by the conversation between them…later the mother walks over to him and asks if he has ever told someone he loved good-bye knowing it is a final farewell? He shakes his head sadly and waits for the woman to continue.

He discovers she is dying and her daughter lives far away so the next time her daughter will see her will be at her funeral. The gentleman asks what she meant by the phrase she kept reminding her daughter to remember…something about just ‘giving enough.’

The older lady explains that this is a ritual that has been passed down in her family for a long time…she then precedes to tell it to him from memory.

“I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish enough “Hello’s” to get you through the final “Good-bye ..”

For many, this Christmas of 2020, will be a tough one…people have lost their jobs, come down with the coronavirus, subsequently lost their homes and/or rental apartments. For these people…”enough” would be simply food on the table and a roof over their heads and their family’s  for the holidays.

For many of us who give to those in need through  church drives, community drives, or national charity drives, it is obvious the number of needy has grown tremendously this year. Some times it feels almost overwhelming trying to decide how to disperse the money allotted we have to give.

But then we have to stop and think that the distribution of food and materials to the needy always starts with one person. If one person helps out one other person and another person helps someone out…this seemingly impossible mission is possible. It all starts with just one.

So until tomorrow…This Christmas…let us be aware of those around us in store  lines or parking lots who could use our help…a gift card for a grocery store or restaurant, gas station, or department store…remember…“I’ve seen and met angels wearing the disguise of ordinary people living ordinary lives…Be one for someone else!”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Here’s another COVID memorable Santa Claus picture….taken at the SC Aquarium Sunday with masks on everyone-Jake and Eva Cate…including Santa with eye glasses hanging over his mask. 🙂

The “reds” in the maples and pear trees take one’s breath away this Christmas…it is like nature is decorating for Christmas too! I took three photos of my Bradford Pear.

My front yard!

It arrived! Joan’s original artwork Christmas card came yesterday…the one I wait expectantly for each holiday! I was elated…an annual tradition I look forward to each year! (Though I must admit the painting did make me reflective of all our pet losses this year- the Turners got hit hard…Joan and W.T. lost two dogs and of course John, Mandy and family…their beloved Tigger.)

For Joan and W.T. …there’s just Mickey left from Lucy’s family now. So Joan decided to add three lights above Mickey in the decorations to represent the three beloved dogs that passed….Lola, Billy, and Tigger.

Jo and Colby dropped a Christmas present off for me yesterday…I was able to talk to them from the porch to their car…little Colby has grown up since she first came with grandmother Jo to see me about eight years ago. (See photo) Now she is a freshman at Clemson and loving it. Time does fly.

I received a garden apron from them with the wise message for all gardeners…”To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” Look who is modeling it for me! 🙂

*Jo and Colby also left two Christmas books filled with stories…which you, undoubtedly, will soon hear. 🙂 Thank you “Dynamic Duo”!

Yesterday I opened the porch door to another package on the porch…I assumed initially it was another gift I had ordered from Amazon…but to my surprise and delight…it was a framed photo from my cousin Marcia with me and Susan in it from their last visit a couple of years ago…We were “The Three Musketeers” growing up in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

*Marcia…I can’t think you enough for the memories…camps and overnight sleep-overs, Saturday night scary movies, etc…this photo means so much to me.

Isn’t this what Christmas is all about…memories?

Dear Reader:

When I came across this painting (using Norman Rockwell’s particular way of looking at the world) re-created by other artists…I had to smile.

It reminded me of Jake on his little ladder trimming my Christmas tree for the first time this year.

He was really into it…especially the candy canes…they were his favorites to put on the tree… because he didn’t need a hook…just put them on as is…he was the “Candy Cane Man” that Saturday.

He and Eva Cate also loved placing a “surcie” in each Advent compartment “car” of the Advent train because each “surcie” was a chocolate drop…When they finished they were rewarded with a chocolate Christmas “Kiss.”

Children are the best examples of always looking ahead…no matter what disappointment might have befallen earlier they always are excited at Christmas about new possibilities. Don’t we wish we could keep that child-like faith throughout our lives?

There are many scripture examples in the Bible that let us know God wants us to be always looking ahead for new possibilities in our lives…not looking backwards with regrets or resignation at the past.

Starting as early as the story of Sarah and Lot…we get example after example of why looking back with longing or regret in our lives is detrimental to fulfilling our personal destinies, lying ahead of us.

In the Genesis narrative the command was given, “Flee for your life! Do not look behind you, nor stop anywhere in the Plain; flee to the hills, lest you be swept away.” While fleeing, Lot’s wife turned to look back, and was turned into a pillar of salt.”

I remember learning this lesson one time at summer camp. Every camper had to participate in swimming try-outs on the first day of camp to see if we could swim in the deep end of the marked-off lake by ourselves. My two cousins were stronger swimmers than me…and we were all afraid that if I didn’t pass I would get separated from them and put in the “baby pool” part of the lake.

I remember the whole time I was trying out…swimming as hard as I could…my cousins were running ahead of me along the shore screaming…”Look ahead…see how close you are to the finish line…!” One of the swim coaches was also yelling...”Don’t look behind Becky or you will give up…just look ahead.” I made it. An early lesson on keeping one’s  eyes on the prize.

My little feat, of course, went largely unnoticed but it taught me a lesson that I carried for life….I think everyone’s hero, however, today in the professional field of swimming competition has to be Diana Nyad. Her story is beyond powerful.

Date: September 2, 2013

After hearing stories of this magnitude on the power of the human spirit…we can all get through this Christmas without feeling sorry for ourselves or families…we can turn it around to making it the most memorable Christmas of all…if we don’t look back to the past and compare.

This will probably be the Christmas children will remember to tell their children and grandchildren one day..they are looking at us for guidance…Let’s make it the best Christmas of all!

One way we can always remember this Christmas is to hang a mask or family masks on the tree…but don’t let that be the only thing hanging…the mask(s) should be mixed in among the ornaments…so years from now when we spot it …we will remember it had to be the “Covid” Christmas…the best one as we all closed in ranks together to make it special.

(Cindy Ashley saw this mask at Wild Birds Unlimited and presented me with my “Sammy the Cardinal” mask…don’t you love it? Thanks Cindy!!!)

So until tomorrow….

***

I didn’t mention this yesterday…but when I went to flip the Advent Train onto the other side…it started with the 13th…I decided to “sneak” a Hershey kiss, but to my dismay I forgot Jake told me he couldn’t put a “kiss” in the 13th door because it was missing a knob. (The curse of “13” reigns again! ) 🙂

It was true…I tried everything…but to no avail…so this sneaky old elf…”stole” one from another date (not telling which one) and enjoyed every melting moment of it. 🙂

Yesterday I went over to my neighbor Vickie’s backyard door to drop off a plate of pasta I had for lunch with way too many left-overs from the deli….Her back yard and decor took my breath away….look how pretty!

A magical, enchanted Christmas low country garden!

Mollie sent these photos from Magnolia Gardens where she took the children yesterday…perfect day to go…spring-like weather.