“There’s no place like home.”
Dorothy Gale said that almost 100 years ago and it’s true. So true.
No matter where I travel in the world I am ALWAYS thrilled when I come home and get to sleep in my own bed.
I bought today’s ornament 32 years ago when we relocated to New Hampshire. In fact, it was the first ornament I bought in our new home.
Covered bridges are very popular in NH and this one represents the State’s love affair with them.
Home. It’s where the heart is.
~ Peg
I’m gonna switch to the other tree that I have up and decorated in my house for the next few days of ornament sharing.
I told you a while back I have one tree decorated with ornaments from all the places we as a family have traveled, and places my daughter has traveled on her own. For today, it’s a shared vaca.
Several years ago the entire Jaeger family went on a cruise. It was my very first one and I’ll tell you this _ I get wicked seasick so you can imagine how wonderful the trip went for me ( note the sarcasm here, peeps.)
But…having said that, being all together and spending so much time together was a real treat. To commemorate the event, I bought this in the Bahamas:
It kinda looks like the cruise ship we too, took. Hee hee
But then, don’t all cruise ships look pretty much the same??
Until tomorrow, peeps.
~Peg
Filed under Writing
As an only child, I knew from the get-go I’d never have nieces and nephews related to me by blood. So when I married a man with 5 siblings, I was thrilled I’d get them via marriage.
I have 8 nephews and nieces and adore each and every one of them. They’re divided into common age groups and run the age range from 30 down to 16.
The two youngest gave me a Christmas ornament/gift several years ago when they were very young that I absolutely adore.
They don’t even care that I’m not an aunt-by-blood! I love that.
And I love them.
More tomorrow, peeps.
~Peg
Filed under Writing
I live in the woods. If you know me, you already knew that.
There is a wide variety of wildlife I can see out my office window every day. Birds, deer, turkeys, squirrels, the odd chipmunk. As a born and bred city girl I don’t know the differences between birds or anything else. I have trouble with dog breeds!
But I know we have a vast amount of different birds flying outside my window each day.
I have a friend who does know about birds. In fact, she gives me a bird ornament every year for my tree. Each of them are native to NH, which is cool, no?
Here’ the first one she gave me eons ago:
DOn’t ask me what it is. I think it’s a Robin but the odds are I’m wrong. I don’t really care what it is. I just love it!
I have several more on the tree but like I said, this is the first one and I always love a first-in-a-series, be it an ornament or a book.
More tomorrow, peeps
~Peg
Filed under Writing
I’ve made so many new friends since I became a published author. I can truly say I’ve been blessed that those friends are also readers of my work – a great two-fer in the relationship department. One of those friends, the lovely Jennifer Kerfien, sends me a hand-made ornament that she constructs every Christmas. They are so beautiful and they all sit in a place of honor on the tree. This one is my fav – made of pages of one of my books!
Honestly, every year she outdoes herself.
Jennifer and I share a love of reading, labradors, and having fun!
I am so blessed, peeps.
~Peg
Eons ago my daughter won the New Hampshire State Spelling Bee and competed in the Scripps National Spelling bee in Washington, DC.
It’s fairly impossible to explain how proud her father and I were of her.
Her entire extended family took a trip to Washington DC for 4 days to watch her compete. Thrilling doesn’t begin to describe it. Back then I was a frequent patron of a paint-your-own-pottery store in my home town and to commemorate the event, I made this ornament:
Every year when I put it on the tree my daughter groans. Too bad, I always tell her. This was an event so profound in her parents’ lives that it has to be remembered every year.
She still groans, but at least she lets me put it up, hee hee.
Such a happy memory, just what an ornament should be.
More tomorrow, peeps.
~Peg
Filed under Writing
I like pop culture, not gonna deny it. I’m a little out of the times this year because I’ve been busy with other stuff, but when my daughter was little, we had a ton of ornaments from tv shows, pop icons, etc.
Today I’ve got a trio of ornaments that I still put up on the tree because they are so stinkin’ cute and they represent girl empowerment to me.
The PowerPuff Girls was a TV show back in the day about 3 little girls who possessed extraordinary powers. But they were still little girls even though they flew around protecting the world from bad guys and that I think that was the greatest part of their charm. Even though they were superheroes they still had sister fights, little girl tantrums, and still needed to learn life lessons on each episode.
Blossom, Buttercup, and Bubbles were the cuties’s names and I bought these for my daughter when she was 7 years old.
They’re tiny, but they’re mighty.
Hee hee.
More tomorrow, peeps.
~Peg
Filed under Writing
Professions are easy to turn into Holiday ornaments. The other day I showed you one set of the nurse/doctor ones I’ve received over the years. Today is my retirement career.
You all know I retired from my job in 2015 when I got my first writing contract with The Wild Rose Press. The day I turned in my resignation was one of the happiest – and scariest – of my life. Happy because I was finally being given an opportunity to do what I loved, full-time. Scariest because…no income. The potential for income was there, but I knew it was going to take a few years ( read: several!) before I saw any substantial cash in the royalties department. I still can’t support myself to this day on what I make as a full-time writer each year, but it’s way better than when I first started out in 2015.
That year, for Christmas, I bought myself this ornament as a testament to my new career:
It’s perfect in so many ways, but mostly because it’s a. a typewriter, and b. pink.
LOL
I wish I had my own pink typewriter in real life. I have a writing friend who actually does. I’ll need to save up to get myself one, one of these days.
More tomorrow, peeps.
~Peg
Filed under Writing
So in a previous blog post I told you all that I have over 120 pairs of shoes.
Don’t judge. I’ve worn each and every one of them at least once. Many have had to be re-soled I’ve worn them so much. And despite what hubster thinks, I am not channeling Imelda Marcos. I truly love shoes and wear different pairs all the time.
I remind you of this because of today’s ornament. Several years ago I went shopping with a friend to buy shoes for a wedding. I would up with three pair that day because I couldn’t make up my mind which would go best with the dress. I fully intended to return the two that didn’t.
But…
I found two other outfits in my closet they went perfectly with them, so…
Again – no judging.
For Christmas that year she gifted me this ornament:
And I kinda think the text says it all.
More tomorrow, peeps.
~Peg
Filed under Writing
Do you believe in angels? I do and have since I was a child.
There’s something magical about believing in a being who is looking out for you from a distance. Everyone who knows me knows I love these celestial beings. And, because they also know I’m obsessed with tree ornaments, most of my friends have gifted me angel ornaments over the years. Here are just a few on the tree this year.
This one is made of glass and I wrap it in six sheets of paper each year when I store it because I don’t want anything to happen to it.
And of course, the Anna Lee angel that tops my tree that I’ve had for almost 30 years:
And that isn’t even all of them, kids.
Angels: they’re a good thing to have on your holiday tree.
Until tomorrow ~ Peg
Filed under Writing
Peggy Jaeger, Author 