Christmas, Lake Almanor, 2012

It is so hard to believe a year has past since I put out the Christmas decorations last year.  It gets simpler every year, do less and less I guess. 

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I remember with the Rancho Bernardo house I would start right after Halloween and need at least one grandchild to help me.  But then I had the big fake tree, and decorated it all Victorian.  I still have a lot of those decorations. 

Tomorrow will be 16 years since Richard passed--time has gone so fast but it has been so lonely without him.  Yesterday I was reading the history of Richard's great grandfather Dudley Leavitt and so many women were left widows.  It seemed too many men died much too young.  I am still trying to understand why.

The first Christmas (1996) I was with the Pulsiphers and I have seen movies and I am looking very sad and overwhelmed by it all. 

 The second Christmas I remember I decorated the small apartment I was in (part of Jimmy's house) with lots of Christmas lights and way too many decorations for such a small place.  But it was very cozy and at James and Camber's Christmas party for their office one of the children went back to my apartment with me and we played games and read Christmas stories with just the Christmas lights on and when her parents came to get her she did not want to go home.  It was very warm and full of Christmas in that little room.

Tonight I will enjoy looking at my two Christmas books of past Christmases with Richard and John and the rest of the family.  We started the book in 1960 when John was just a baby and I haven't missed a Christmas yet!  Oops I see I missed 1961!  I will have to look back and see what pix I have from that year.