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08 December 2008

Creativity of December 8

Took a few days off...had to go and get the girls and both ended up in ER on separate nights for separate ailments. I've been spending quality time with my granddog, Katie, who has doggie Alzheimer's. I baby her to eat, take her out for long follows(she gets in a mood where I think she is trying to run away from herself and all she wants to do is walk fast like she has somewhere to go so I just follow her and turn her around when she gets in a corner) and when she finally gets tired, carry her upstairs, wrap her in my fleece blanket and hold her until she quits shaking and goes into a peaceful sleep and then hold her some more because I love holding sleeping babies, be they human or canine.

Friday afternoon I went down to our utility room that has our washer and dryer and wrapped Kathy's Christmas presents(she hates to wrap and I love to) while doing a load of towels. I could have stayed down there forever! Like I had my own little Santa workshop with paper, boxes, tape and ribbons. The dryer was the perfect height for a table so I just stood and wrapped for a couple of hours and I still have more to do. Lots of time to think and remember which leads me to

Christmas Memory #5

I smile every time I think of my mom wrapping Christmas presents. I don't think I ever knew anyone who had such joy choosing presents for people and wrapping them. Mom was a "floor wrapper"...the middle of our carpeted living room was her workspace. She had all the necessary equipment....cellophane tape(none of this Scotch Magic tape for her), her silver scissors with the black handles, boxes of assorted sizes, her black pen that stayed by her wherever she was in case she might need to make a list or a note and spools of ribbons. She was so precise in her wrapping....I'm surprised she didn't use a ruler to measure the paper! She could put a box on the paper, size it up and cut the paper to the perfect size to wrap it without having to trim extra paper! There were no stick-on bows for this woman! She used curling ribbon, usually in two colors to match the paper she was using and after she wrapped each box with ribbon with the preciseness of a butcher wrapping up meat, she took her scissors, opened them up and tightly ran them down the length of the ribbon she was holding and ZAP! It curled right up with the perfect amount of spring. She would then make a separate bow out of the ribbon and tie it to the curled up streamers of the package. Then in her neat upper case printing she would write out the tag To: and From: Luke, Margaret and Vanessa Gail. ALWAYS my middle name...like there was two Vanessas in the family? She usually wrapped at night while watching TV. The days I came home from school and saw her wrapping paraphenaglia in the floor I knew she had been wrapping my presents. She always passed it off as having to "wrap a couple of more I found in the closet" but she didn't fool me for one minute.

I swore I would NEVER curl ribbon because it was too hard and I would ALWAYS use the stick on bows. The last two years, however, I find that is not working for me and that I can curl ribbon and make it look just like Mom's...

9 comments:

Laura ~Peach~ said...

COOL... I dont much care for wrapping pressents.... my kids (MARTHA JEAN) claims that I do NOT do a good job and I use too much tape but my favorite memory is a couple years ago... MIKE had gone out by himself bought gifts and wrapped them in brown butcher paper and DUCT tape! Yes I do believe I married a redneck LOL.
Love n hugs
Hope the girls are all right and I love to cuddle critters too!

Alice said...

I love your Christmas memories, Ness! My mom is just like you and your mom. She is a perfect gift wrapper. And she does real bows. And usually some garnishments, too. Thanks for continuing to share your memories. I hope the girls (and mom) are well!!

Michelle said...

I wrap and hubby puts the bows and ribbons on. He is so artistic about it.

Unknown said...

ness...sorry to hear of the trips to the ER, but loved the walk down memory lane!

~AirmanMom returning to her blog...

Tonjia said...

I am in awe of anyone who is a good present wrapper. I am not, I am a wrapping simpleton.

I have even resorted to gift bags in the past! LOL

Tracy said...

Sounds like you are the perfect Grandma to "baby Katie"!
Loved the Christmas memory-the part about using your middle name-love it! My grandma always put our gifts to us with our first and middle names. My sister's middle name is Gail also-Lisa Gail.
I received your Christmas card Saturday. Thank you.
Tracy

Debbie said...

I love reading your Christmas memories. I don't have any of those, as my childhood was a not so good one, but reading yours, I put myself in them, and forget I can't remember mine. Thanks for sharing your life with us.

I am sorry about the ER visits. Hope all is OK.

I know that little dog loves his human grandmother as much as you love your fury grandchild. Dogs are such blessings, aren't they?

God Bless~
Debbie

Mary Ellen said...

I LOVE a beautifully wrapped gift! I, too, sit on the living room floor to wrap (sometimes it's Christmas Eve, but still...)

Putting the FUN in DysFUNctional said...

Curling ribbon is fun! I wrap on the bed, and I am a messy wrapper. They're just going to rip it off anyway!