Claire spent this Christmas in Victoria with Julie's family.
Together with Julie's parents, her brother and his wife,
they had a very special guest, Julie's Nana who is 102.
I am so glad Claire has this as her heritage and family tradition.
Jeremy and Julie included us by streaming videos so we could see
Claire open her gifts live.
What a happy occasion this was for the whole family.
Traveling away from home is always a compromise.
I have friends who love their annual traditions so much, they could
never travel away from home at Christmas time.
Since my Mom passed away in 2000 it has never been the same for me.
So we made new traditions.
What I do miss most of all, is my sweet little Claire.
Happiness is knowing that Jeremy and Julie have
started their own tradition with Claire.
This year they will go to Julie's parents in Victoria to celebrate Christmas.
Julie's Grandma is 102. It will be wonderful for both of them to see each other again.
I am so glad Claire has that in her DNA.
Claire and I made up these Christmas cards on my last visit to see her.
We used my iPad, combined with the
"Martha Stewart Craft Studio" app.
She loves the glitter.
You can't go wrong with
simple and sweet Christmas decorations.
Here are a few I have in my craft room.
Since it is pouring outside, it's a good time to get back into
my craftroom and craft.
I took out some of my Christmas stuff and set it up in the library.
In the craft room I'm busy making a few more bracelets to take along.
I get heavy water color paper,
cut them into a 6x4 size,
then send my vintage postcard photos thru the printer.
I made
"Mary riding a Burro"
as a Christmas card in 1981.
I have loved crafting for a long long time.
The weather has been so unpredictable.
We have always been away the month of November,
it is an interesting transition month.
We have had days of rain, wind and overcast conditions,
interspersed with a day or two of glorious sunshine.
It's a good thing to have lots of things to do.
I am very glad we have an adventure ahead of us
that promises lots of sunny days.
Connecting with all my brothers and sisters,
face time with friends and the
best gift ever, seeing Claire open our gift to her on Christmas Eve.
Priceless!
Seeing photos of Alexander in Australia
with his Christmas tree.
A late afternoon hike in the desert.
A photo of the
snowman my brother Harry built.
Dagmar
