My Own Little Free Library

Perhaps you are familiar with the Little Free Library concept.  Or perhaps you are not.  But I love the idea of it - and I love all the Little Free Libraries I see in town - or I read about in the LA Times - or see on the website. There was one near Hannah's place in DC, and Theo and Ida loved stopping and getting a book.  There was one in their neighborhood in VA too - and I found a book I really enjoyed reading when I was there last summer.  The possibilities are endless.

Harry and Dawn have one - and I confess I have coveted it!  I guess I coveted it so well that they got the message and gave me my own Little Free Library for Christmas - Bonny was part of the gift too!

Now I am really excited to get it up and running - heaven knows I have plenty of books to spare!!  I have the spot picked out - and Harry is on board - I just need to nudge him in the direction of getting it set up so I can start playing Madame Librarian!!

I plan to set it up on the curb north of our driveway - it's a barren little spot, so I feel that a bench would be in order too.  I thought I had an old wrought iron bench behind the garage that could have been spruced up, but apparently in a fit of purging I got rid of it.

Oh well, now I'll just have to get a new one.

I also need to name my  Little Free Library - Harry and Dawn's is "The Lemon Avenue Library."  I'm thinking and brainstorming - suggestions are welcome.

Watch for updates!!

And stop by for a book if you're in town!

Endings - and new beginnings too!

Hannah and Rhoda flew back to Philly today - Harry and I dropped them off at LAX.  And I noted that I only flew with a small child once - when Harry and I brought Phoebe with us to LA in 1979 - when we were thinking about moving here.  Phoebe was 18 months old - and the plane was only half full so the stewardess suggested I let her run about in the back of the plane - and we were talking about a 2 1/2 hour flight!!  There are some things about children that I have just not experienced like my kids have!!

Hannah had Rhoda in a front pack, she had a backpack and a bag, and she was wheeling a bag that had Rhoda's car seat on top of it.  Wish I'd thought to bring a camera to take a photo - Hannah seemed fine with all of it too!  That just hasn't been in my list of life experiences!!  I try to get by with as little as possible whenever I approach an airport!

So I guess the holidays are really over now!  Everyone is gone, and I'm tackling the laundry.  (Of course, with as many people as we have had over the last 17 days, laundry has been a daily experience!)  I'm folding up the pack 'n play, stashing all the quilts and pillows, dismantling the hook on chair we use instead of a highchair, moving furniture back to its room of residence,  looking for the little odds and ends that will require a few packages to send back, and once again finding that there is always some Christmas item that escapes me - after Harry has put all the Christmas boxes in the rafters of the garage!

I feel melancholy - I always do - and even though my chore list is a mile long, I'm blogging instead of tackling it!!

I signed up to sub and that's supposed to start this week.  I need to go out to the Valley and take my mom to a doctor appointment.  I need to finish my Christmas cards.  I need to write my thank you notes.  And I'm still trying to bring order to the thousands of photos that have collected on my computer!!

Besides, we are going to DC in February for Theo's baptism.  Ara is turning 18 this month. Harry and Dawn are taking Eve to competition in Ft. Worth and we are tending the other kids. We have the Boston Marathon in April.  Eliza's baby is due in May.  And I have some plans hatching in my mind too!

There are things coming up. It won't be quiet for long!!

"Happy New Year, Happy New Year, may we all have a vision now and then, of a world where every neighbor is a friend. . ."

These are the people I love most in the world - there are certainly others I love dearly - like my parents and family - but these are the near and dear who gathered with us this holiday season for our annual celebration of Terrill Coolness!

And now they are mostly all gone home - Hannah and Rhoda are here for a few more days, but Hannah is off visiting with a girlfriend - and I'm taking down the tree - always a melancholy task!

This feeling, almost a feeling of loss, overtakes me each year - and I'm always surprised by the fact that it feels new every time!  A psychologist friend suggested I dive into the cleaning and de-cluttering this time of year seems to mandate - she says motion dispels these feelings quite effectively - and she's right - and soon enough I'm feeling excited about decorating for Valentine's day or finishing my Christmas cards or diving into a new book.

But meanwhile, I hanker to just gaze at the photos and start to plan for next year!

On the 25th day of Christmas,

Christmas comes and goes so quickly - when you are older anyway!!

Fortunately we keep celebrating until the New Year comes - and even sometimes beyond.

Excited for the arrivals beginning on Saturday!!

On the 24th day of Christmas,

it was Christmas Eve.  If I was really on the ball, I'd be able to find the 3 rather bad photos we have of our honeymoon in Santa Barbara.  But I'm not.  On the ball that is!

That was our first Christmas Eve - on our honeymoon in SB. It was a Sunday so we went to church.  We didn't tell people we were newlyweds - but maybe they guessed?  It seemed so other-worldly to introduce myself as Barbara Terrill!

Back in those days, nothing much was open on Sundays - we did find a dingy little restaurant for dinner - Harry asked the guy if I could have a child's plate because I didn't eat much then!  (He said okay.  I think we were the only customers in the place - times were different then!!)

It was beautiful though - blue skies, ocean breezes wafting in through our hotel window, falling asleep to the sound of the surf.  We truly wondered why we were going back to Provo!

But back to Provo we went, and then it was our 2nd Christmas Eve - in the house on 7th North.  And our first tree.  Happy times.

Christmas Eves have been happy times in our lives.

Tonight will be another one!

On the 23rd day of Christmas

is Joseph's Smith's birthday.  This photo has nothing to do with that - but it was taken after the family had gone to look at the lights at the temple.

We look for connections wherever we can.

And I was supposed to get a new scanner - which I did get - but my computer isn't "reading" it yet.

Why is it all so complex??

On the 22nd day of Christmas

Harry and Barb got married.  47 years ago.  A great day.  A great 47 years too.

On the 21st day of Christmas

Pretty sure that 47 years ago on the 21st day of Christmas - i.e. Dec. 21st - I was excited about getting married the next day!!

More photos - the same ones you see every year actually - will be forthcoming!

On the 20th day of Christmas

So this is maybe the late 90's?  We started having Clayton Family Christmas parties with whomever was around.  We drew names and exchanged gifts - Dad put his Santa hat on and passed them out.  We often had pizza and some talent numbers too.  Also started the pinata drill - how can you go wrong with a pinata full of candy and a baseball bat??

A nice bunch!!

On the 19th day of Christmas

Harry and I got married in December of 1967 - and getting married made me an aunt - and Scott - and his sister Karen - were the niece and nephew who did the honors for me.

And today is Scott's 51st birthday!

So happy day to you Scott - and thanks for the introduction to the wonderful world of "aunthood!"

On the 18th day of Christmas

The 18th day of December brings peace, and joy, and 7 decades for Harry to celebrate!!

On the 17th day of Christmas

Found another Messiah Sing Along photo.  I would guess 2008?  Eve looks like a 5 year old?

Anyway, it's a great part of Christmas in our family!!

On the 16th day of Christmas

Bonny and Bruce got married on the 15th,  but their reception was not until the 22nd - so the Christmas season continued to be full of wedding work - but it was spread out, so not as stressful as it might have been.

And it was nice to be continuing the celebration!

Although Noah was keenly disappointed to discover that the "party" we kept saying we were going to have was really not a party to his way of thinking!!

So he was delighted to leave and go to Andrew's for a sleepover - his idea of a party!

On the 15th day of Christmas

Bruce joined our family - a great day - and it's just been getting better all the time!

 

A perfect day for a wedding.

 

And a perfect photo to commemorate the occasion!

On the 14th day of Christmas

This looks like a holiday photo from the 60's - Ernie, Scott, Frances, Helen, and Grandmother Taylor.  This may even have been the year I met the family - while Harry was on his mission - this is how I remember everyone anyway!

 

 Christmas 1971 - the last time we came for Christmas - until we moved back to CA in 1979.

Mary Taylor came one year at Christmas - this is the early 80's - we still had the shutters!

There are lots of Christmas memories - not so many photos!

On the 13th day of Christmas

This was the family holiday photo in 1989 I'm thinking.  In 1990, Harry was away at school - so his hair was shorter!!

The little girls had matching dresses that I loved - hope they loved them too!

And Noah - sandals and white socks with his shirt, tie, and suspenders - what was I thinking??

This was the last family photo before in-laws joined our ranks.  And it's been fun watching the family grow and change over the years.

25 years ago - that's a long time!!

On the 12th day of Christmas

This photo is entitled in my files as "Cosmo at the Wedding!"  Don't you love it??

As I recall, he was a bit perplexed at the piles of presents in the living room as we sat with Bonny, Bruce, and lots of extended family of Bruce - and our family - to open the wedding gifts.

And, of course, the famous line, "Is this Christmas?" spoken by 5 year old Hannah!!

It was a wonderful time for our family - but it was a bit chaotic!!

On the 11th day of Christmas

Christmas 1998 found us renting a little place in Laguna - it was fun.  We have tried lots of locations for the yearly family gathering - we are a big group now, so we are somewhat spread out - that is, somebody stays with Harry and Dawn, somebody - maybe a couple of somebodies - stay at our house - and the "locals" drive back and forth.

I still dream about finding a wonderful spot that fits us all and is festive, bucolic - and cheap!

Will let you know when I find it!

On the 10th day of Christmas

It can be tough to get everyone in a big group together for a family photo.  We didn't do it often in our family - in fact, the only other whole group photos includes the ones taken at Lyn's missionary farewell and photos taken at Bill's wedding.

But Christmas 1971 found everyone home - in the months following, others would be heading off on missions, so we had to "seize the moment!"

And actually, Harry and I never again went down for Christmas.  We went in the summer instead, when I could stay longer.

And then we moved back to California.

It's still tough to get together for family photos!

On the 9th day of Christmas

When Harry and I chose December for our wedding, Frances came up to me and said, "How could you do this?"  She was sure it was the worst choice for a wedding month! 

It's not terribly convenient for those who are not the bride and groom - I've been the mother of the bride for two December weddings.  But it's really great for the bride and groom, so I really didn't mind!

You spend many years not really being able to celebrate your anniversary, but you can "celebrate" other times.  For several years, Harry and I would go to a hotel in Pasadena for our anniversary - and do all of our Christmas shopping!  It was a great little get away!

December birthdays have their issues too.  But December and Christmas and lights and festivities can be a wonderful backdrop for all kinds of things!