that will make a great memory for him, Lee
"Tiger Lily" > wrote in message
...
> On 12/20/2011 1:36 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
>> > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> we haven't decorated much over the years, again too poor when younger
>>> and
>>> always away, now the cats prevent most decorations as i am a paranoid
>>> cat
>>> person, Lee
>>
>> My mother was soooo angry with me when I got my first apartment and my
>> first
>> tree. There was a place in North Seattle called Chubby and Tubby. Not
>> sure
>> if they are still there or not. They sold any tree (real, cut) for
>> $5.00.
>> To get a good one you had to get there early and fight the other
>> customers
>> for it. I got a huge one! Not only tall but big around. And I was able
>> to
>> fully decorated it. It did help that was working at K Mart at the time
>> and
>> put in charge of the Trim A Tree department. One year they made me dress
>> as
>> an elf. I can't say that I liked that part too well. But I did have the
>> advantage of finding all the best ornaments and decorations and
>> squirreling
>> them away until they went on sale. I also bought a few really nice and
>> expensive ones from the now defunct Frederick and Nelson's and Wights. I
>> still buy at least two ornaments from Wights each year for Angela. I
>> have
>> an empty ornament storage chest just waiting for when she moves out. She
>> can take the ones she wants. She collects the ballerina ones and we also
>> have a lot of cats and other animals.
>>
>> When my mom saw my tree she flipped out! Said a 19 year old shouldn't
>> have
>> a fully decorated tree. She even complained to my brother about it. I
>> couldn't really understand why she was so upset. Especially since the
>> majority of the ornaments on that tree cost me something like 50 to 99
>> cents
>> per box. And in those days I was making something like $4 an hour.
>> There
>> were also a lot of cheap candy canes on that tree and things that I made.
>> I've made a lot of craft things over the years. I also had strands of
>> popcorn and cranberries.
>>
>> However in looking through magazines like The Good Old Days, it would
>> appear
>> that in the 40's and 50's people just didn't have fully decorated trees.
>> Perhaps they could only afford say one string of lights or one box of
>> ornaments and not even one every year!
>>
>> I'm sure if she were to see all the ornaments we have now, she would flip
>> out. Over the years I got rid of all of the plain balls save for a few
>> of
>> the hand blown glass ones that are see through. They remind me of
>> fishing
>> floats. I only saved my favorite ones and got rid of all the rest. When
>> we
>> do put up the tree it is a mish mash of things but it is all things that
>> we
>> like.
>>
>> I can't say that I am much into those matchy matchy trees. That's the
>> kind
>> my parents used to put up after I was an adult. Their ornaments were all
>> silver and red and two different styles. That to me has no personality.
>
>
> I need to ditch a bunch of Christmas decorations............... fortuntely
> teenlet is closing in on 18
>
>
>
> i'll cull and sort and i'll share the antiques from his Great Grandmother
> with him as 'gifts' for Christmas when he's on his own
>
> :/
>
> they all grow older!
>
> kate
>