Christmas, Gifts of Vinyl, Obits, and---Of Course--Hockey

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve with friends of ours, as we have for many years. It is always a nice time and has become a tradition. On Christmas day, our youngest and her husband came for dinner and surprised us by telling us they were spending the night! That meant more to me than any gift I could have gotten--I wasn't expecting it.

As for gifts, K replaced the necklace I lost with a new one. This one is different, though. The old one was the Red Wings logo in all gold and it was about 1 3/4 inches wide. The new one is a round circle about 3/4 inches wide and it has the logo in gold embedded in black onyx. Very pretty! I'm just happy to have a Wings' necklace again. My good friend got me a porcelain doll that I have wanted for years--she is dressed in a sailor dress and has blonde hair, blue eyes, dimples, and the same name as our youngest. The part that is REALLY freaky about the whole thing: we have a picture of our youngest in a sailor dress--and it looks very much like the doll. A and her husband got me two vintage Eric Clapton albums in vinyl. I was THRILLED! Now I have to get some frames so I can hang them.

A told me a story that I found absolutely fascinating. She is really into genealogy and asks people about their ancestors whenever she can. One day she was talking with a man who had a very Finnish last name--we are 100% Finn--and she asked him the story of his family. His grandmother and her five children were set to sail to the United States to start a new life. They had their tickets and were all set to go, but at the last minute they had to cancel because two of the children couldn't get passports in time. They were quite distraught because they had to wait to continue with their plans. It turned out okay, though: the ship they were supposed to sail on was the Titanic. This was another time that the saying 'everything happens for a reason' was proven so true in a good way!

I read the obituaries in our local paper AND the paper from where we were raised, every day. I am not understanding what is going on with the writers of these things. Now, I am sure the writers are members of the deceased's family, but, REALLY, they are going over the top. Here are some things that have been written in recent obits: "His mother wrote “such a precious baby, such a loving child, such a wonderful man, and such a gift from God”." and "He was a constant source of inspiration to his children and a constant source of humor and love to his wife and friends" and "fell asleep in death" and "loved to read and had a natural curiosity and interest in learning anything new." Well, I think you get my drift. Now, I understand wanting to remember your loved one, but isn't that what the eulogy is for? Some of these obituaries go on for two--and sometimes more!--newspaper columns! (I don't mean to speak ill of the dead--it is the ones left behind that have to get a grip!) I have already said that I want a closed casket for my wake--NO ONE is going to stand over my body and say: "Doesn't she look good." "She looks just like she's sleeping." "They did such a nice job on her." (All of these things I have heard people say at wakes I have attended!) AND I also don't want anyone shedding any crocodile tears--if The Brother appears to be even a little sad, I will rise up from my coffin and tell him to stop being a hypocrite! And, thank goodness, I DON'T have a nickname. This is another one of the newest things that have been showing up in obits: adding someone's nickname to the listing. So, you will see "John 'Yucky' James Doe" listed. This past week, a man was listed with his nickname of 'Goofy.' Oh, well.

I received an email today inviting me to join the NHL Bloggers group. I am sure that whoever sent this to me has NEVER read my blog. I probably was found by some search engine because I DO blog about the Red Wings at times, but I don't think I am exactly what they are looking for. It made me chuckle, though.