Revisiting

Tree ornament

A student found this mug after I told this joke to the class.  (We were singing "Land of the Silver Birch".  It fit.)  A guy goes to a psychiatrist, "I'm a teepee.  I'm a wigwam.  I'm a teepee. I'm a wigwam....."  Psychologist, "Calm down, sir.  You're two tents"

Tree ornament

Many years ago, Connie and I decided we would like to have our friends over for a Christmas get together.   Try as we could, with Christmas looming, and us both doing musicals at our schools, and the general busyness of the season, we could find no available dates. "We're so busy in December," Connie lamented.   "Maybe we should have our Christmas party in January."  And that was the start of our annual 'bring-the-gift-you-wish-you-didn't-get, post-Christmas Christmas Party and gift exchange."  Or, as Connie has referred to it, "Christmas Farrer style - late."  It is this coming weekend, and our Christmas decorations are still up in the house and yes, my outside Christmas lights too, but they haven't been lit since New Year's Eve.  At least I no longer need to try to keep a real tree alive for this long.  We went artificial years ago.

This Saturday, however, they will be ablaze in all their LED brilliance and accompanied by our boom-box blaring out one of my favourite Christmas CDs.  Hmmm... will it be my new Lady Antebellum, or Frank Sinatra, or Chicago, or Big Bass Christmas?  Hard decision.

(the flip side)

(the front side)

As I do every year, I have found myself reminiscing over the ornaments and gifts that students have given me over the years.  I am very grateful that so many were signed because, sadly, I did not write the students' names on them when I received them.  Poor planning on my part  :-(

Hand painted rock.

Ornament

Salt and pepper shakers

California Raisins (We had watched 'Claymation Christmas')

Always

Hippie candle (a gift after a long-haired hippie photo of me in my high school yearbook was brought in by a student) 

And it's a bass!

When classroom drummers would suck, I had to smack my music stand with a drum stick to keep a steady beat.  A student, from a class with exceptionally non-rhythmic drummers, made this for me.  It's 1" diameter and 18" long.

Cross stitch (needle point?) from a student and her mom.

Garfield -  a gift from a musical cast.  The guitar was a gift crafted later by a student

A full-size working bugle.  A present from band trip members.

Gift from the cast of the musical "Charlotte's Web"

I haven't.

I love you, too!