Saturday, December 25, 2010

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

 
 Somehow or other, it came just the same!

Welcome, Christmas, bring your cheer.
Cheer to all Whos far and near.
Christmas Day is in our grasp
so long as we have hands to clasp.
Christmas Day will always be
Just as long as we have we.
Welcome, Christmas, while we stand
Heart to heart,... and hand in hand.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY !

Either 1955 or 1956.

This Christmas



and Christmas some time ago...
the tree in "Donught Park"/

Remembering snow.... I took this one Christmas while I lived in Boston.


I loved seeing this snowman in the courtyard of Trinity Church.
 Normally this (Copley Square) is a very busy place.



Ida Lupino spanks Santa Claus.
Wait.
WHAT?






Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas Countdown : 01

Just when you think everything's coming together... any hope or thought of enjoying this time of year has gone now. I had a very disturbing conversation last night with my landlord. With all the cutbacks in hours at work, I had sought help from several social service agencies to catch up on my rent. While I have kept my promises of what I would give him (and when), last night I learned that some of the help promised has not shown up. Things are at a breaking point.

Possible new place to live - great art on the wall!


Relocating means making new friends!



This was my Christmas Card some years back - when I could still afford them, that is.
Merry fuckin' Christmas Everybody.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Christmas Countdown : 03

I'm busy decorating the tree! So today's post is just more holiday ephemera.









Check out that window!











Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Christmas Countdown : 04

Last night I managed to put the lights on the tree. I use those old light sets, the ones with bigger bulbs. The "new" sets, with the little tiny lights are just not for me - yet. The part of the old lights I would miss most are the twinkle bulbs. Sad to say, they are getting few and far between now. I haven't been able to find replacements for several years. The miniature lights (when they first came out we used to call them "Japanese lights") don't blink individually - whole strands flick on and off.

I do get a bit particular about my trees. There has to be a balance of colors and then ... oh, it just goes on and on. I like big old trees, which go all the way up to the ceiling. It's what we used to have when I was a kid and we lived with Uncle Bob and Aunt Loraine in what had been my grandfather's house.


I've got to be about 7 in this pic. Evidently, I was modeling the jacket which I had just  received as a gift.

After Dad built his own house, he went for smaller trees. He built a platform for the tree which we'd cover in brick patterned paper. Then he went a little crazy about it all. When we bought a tree, he would look for extra branches lying around. If the tree wasn't symmetrical, he'd drill a hole where a branch should be, and insert one of the extras. Sometimes he'd just move an existing branch an inch or two. It was my duty to decorate the tree and arrange the presents.

Jayne Mansfield decorates a tree

...and arranges the presents.

Except for one year when I was renting a room from a Jewish woman, I have always managed to have a Christmas tree. You know, several really good and nice things have happened to me this year. And, of course, a lot of crap. This year has been especially full of crap. Having these trees over the years has been a sign of victory over my circumstances. But even with the good stuff and my little phyric victory this year, I still an not feeling it. Christmas I mean. It's like I'm just going thru the motions now. Maybe finishing the tree will help.

Bela Lugosi on the right, Ed Wood on the left (unless he's in drag in the center?)

Paulette Goddard

Carole Lombard

Monday, December 20, 2010

Christmas Countdown : 05

Jesus Christ. How did it get to be December 20th? I still haven't been able to recapture those few minutes of Christmas spirit. One of the problems has been my lack of vehicular transport. I haven't been able to get out and about and see how folks have been lighting up their homes. One of the reasons I love this time of year is for the sheer outrageous conspicuous vulgarity of things. For instance:



Both of the above have officially been nominated to be in the Griswold collection.
But then there are the displays which just go way over the top:


 




Okay, I've got a tree still waiting for its first decorations.
Before I go, just a few more :