These are the Christmas cards that I have sent out for the past five years:
Some have black envelopes and some are red, but it doesn’t matter because they aren’t full sized Christmas cards so I had to put them – card and colored envelopin a larger envelope.
Nobody ever said they exactly liked getting my Krampus cards so I changed things up a bit.
Last year I found some cards that featured Labradors, so I sent those out.
Around New years I started to get messages from some of the people I sent cards to.
They wanted to know if I was doing okay- and
why didn’t they get a Krampus card?
People. Just when you think you’ve got them figured out you learn you don’t.
I used to hate it when my Dad strung the lights on the Christmas tree because it took FOREVER and he wanted it done perfectly so we would sit in the living room with the ONE box of ornaments we were allowed to hang and watch him put up the lights and I remember thinking,
” I hate Christmas tree lights. ”
That all changed the year my Dad bought a couple of boxes of ” bubble lights ” and I was enchanted.
They looked like something that a Mad Scientist would hang on his tree so of course I asked if we could get MORE of these lights and my Dad was so happy that I wasn’t laying face down on the floor cursing Christmas Tree lights and the horse they rode in on that he actually did go out later and by some more.
I went on line to find a picture of vintage bubble lights and discovered they have an actual history that predates the time I first saw them by over 40 years.
My Great Grand Uncle had lost his wife and two of his three children in a house fire, so my Dad’s family were overly cautious when it came to most things electrical and in the case of older bubble lights they contained methylene chloride which is converted to carbon monoxide in the body, so I can see why they wouldn’t use them.
I mean, all regular light had to do was twitch and my Dad would toss the entire string.
Nowadays I use fancy LED lights and if you don’t think I still don’t touch the bulbs to make sure they’re not hot…you’d be wrong.
Sometimes though, I think it would be nice to string some bubble lights up for old times sake.
Did you know that the ancient Egyptians and the Greeks and Romans had Barber Shops and that these Barber shops were community centers where business and politics were discussed and barbers were considered highly skilled craftsmen? It’s true. Have you ever looked at a mummy? Their hair was styled to perfection in death.
Then we get to the Medieval Period and some barber, somewhere decided he could up sell by performing tooth extractions, minor surgeries and blood letting. I think alcohol and a ‘why the hell not’ attitude may have played a part in that particular business plan.
Things at Barber shops got back on track and one of the most notable examples- though it wasn’t a barber shop, was a salon owned my Marie Laveau.Marie Laveau, was the famous Voodoo Queen owned and operated her own beauty parlor that catered to the wealthy families of New Orleans.
In her position as a hairdresser to the wealthy, Marie came across all sorts of information from her clients and being among a lot of other things Marie was a skilled at politics and used that information to her advantage.
Photo: A.M. Moscoso
Barber shops, beauty salons- if you look at these places closely and you take your time you’re bound to learn more about people then how to curl your hair or trim your beard.
