When Wishes Come True For You: 2014

My mother just hit another milestone in her life - turning 80! We always do a theme party for such big birthday events. I thought of the idea of doing "Great Expectations". My parent's home already has the feel of that time period so all we needed to do was to set up the table scene and add the overgrown leaves and vines. The story goes that a girl was jilted on her wedding day. She never recovered from being left at the alter by her beau, and so she left the table set, wedding cake and all, in preparation for the big celebration that day. She went somewhat mad over the years. She raised her sister's child, and so she instilled in her the trait of never giving your heart away. I know, a kind of doom and gloom theme for a birthday party! But as it goes, we liked the look of the theme, and since my mom is a writer herself, and this is a classic, we decided to go along with it anyway. Below are some pictures of my mother and the decorations. Maybe you will take away some inspiration for your own themed party! (There were mice added to the cake as in the original story, overturned glasses, and we added old book pages to the floor in place of leaves.) Most of the vines were real, taken from my parent's backyard. We baked the cakes ourselves). You can find old things to use at yard sales and thrift stores. In the typewriter was an excerpt from the book. We used dried and artificial flowers on the table and cake.

HOW MANY OF THESE SEASONAL THINGS BRING BACK MEMORIES TO YOU? HOW MANY MORE CAN YOU ADD?

MY CHILDHOOD WAS IN KENTUCKY BUT MY TEEN YEARS, AND ON, WERE IN SOUTH FLORIDA, SO THE SEASONS WEREN'T QUITE THE SAME HERE. ALSO THINGS OF SEASONS PAST DON'T ALWAYS STAY THE SAME - SOME REMAIN , OTHER'S HAVE NOT. BUT MEMORIES, THEY LAST A LIFETIME. I'M THANKFUL FOR THE SIMPLE THINGS IN LIFE.
(Note: thank you to the people who posted these pictures on the web - credit to the original posters given)

THE SEASONS BRING

Buzzing bees, big shade trees, fresh tomatoes on the vine

front porch chats, summer breeze, honey suckle, dandelion wine

but all these things they cannot last

for summer fades and becomes the past

For fall is coming in the air, leaves are falling everywhere

pumpkins, gourds, and sweater nights, apple cider and Halloween frights

but even this moves on...and so...

winter comes...that's how it goes

Drifts of snow and flurries fly, gray becomes the winter sky

mittens, sleds, warm apple pie

but even winter cannot hold

the warming air moves on the cold

For on to spring and what it brings, blooms and buds, the robin's sing

but even all these things spring brings

it finally bring us back at last, to summer days as we hold fast

before these days become the past

Susan DiSessa

WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER, FALL

WINTER

sleigh bells, the smell of pine, picking out a Christmas tree, hot soup, fruit cake, icicles hanging from the roof, snow angels, boots, crackling fires, exchanging valentines, bundling up, heaters, snuggling under the covers, eggnog and brandy, wooly hats, scarves and gloves, Christmas time, hot cocoa, snow flurries and snow drifts, holiday flavored coffee, ice skating, blankets, fuzzy slippers, building a snowman, poinsettias, sledding, holiday shopping, peppermint sticks, cold sleet against your face, shoveling snow, snow tires and rock salt, Christmas decorations strung up, snow ice cream and snow ball fights

SPRING

butterflies, buds and blooms, gentle breezes, flying kites, Easter time, new born animals, busy insects, the buzzing of a bumble bee, birds singing, daffodils and tulips, blades of fresh green grass sprouting, opening up the windows, rain showers, how good the sun feels on your face, spring cleaning, spring planting, bare branches with sprouts of blooms and green, new Easter outfits which consisted of, for girls - frilly dresses, patent leather shoes with frilly socks, short white gloves, new purse, sometimes a hat and oftentimes, a spring coat. For boys - a new suit or fresh shirt, bow tie, or tie, new or polished up dress shoes, and sometimes a hat, Maypole dance

SUMMER

the shade of a big tree, the tinkling sound of a spoon stirring a glass of iced tea, sno-cones and popsicles, the sound of the ice cream truck, playing in the sprinklers or garden hose, swimming, the ole swimming hole, tubing, vacations, the smell of a barbeque, catching fireflies, honey suckle, firecrackers, The Fourth Of July, summer camp or camping outdoors, picking blackberries, watermelon, afternoon thunderstorms, boating, fishing, fresh vegetables from the garden, the smell of a fresh cut lawn, baseball games, ice cold drinks, making chains of clover, dripping an ice cube on you, late night games of hide and seek, the sea shore, wading in a mountain stream, drive-in movies, churning homemade ice cream, eating fresh tomatoes from the vine, the smell of wild spearmint growing in the yard, summer vines, tree houses, outdoor tea parties, picnics, running barefoot, the slam of the screen door, the hum of a fan, sunburns and sun tans, fresh Georgia peaches, riding with the top down, cutoffs and midriffs, Vacation Bible School, Summer revivals, a trip to Coney Island, re-runs on TV, playing outside till the street lights came on, chirping sound of crickets, sweet corn on the cob, dandelions, sitting on the front stoop or the front porch, Kool-aid stands

FALL

pumpkins, campfires, roasting marshmallows, making smores, pumpkin pie, roasted chestnuts, Halloween, colored leaves, Thanksgiving, sweaters, crisp cool air, apples, cranberries, apple cider, crunchy leaves, the smell of a fire in the air, Indian corn, fresh homemade apple cake, cinnamon sticks, gathering walnuts, hiking, football, scarecrows, finding your way through a corn maze, hayrides, new school clothes and saddle shoes or loafers, making new school friends, fall festivals, new TV shows, elections, back to school, quilts, candy corn