All That Glitters...

I have been so busy the past 2 weeks that I have missed the ESN scavenger hunts.  So I am playing catch up tonight by going back to the search for "Sparkles".   This makes me think of "a few of my favorite things."  Two things that I NEVER get tired of are Christmas Lights and Firework Displays.  Every year it is a thrill for me to ride around town to see the houses and yards all decorated and lit up for the Christmas season.  I remember my Daddy taking the whole family driving around San Antonio to see the Christmas lights.  This was way back when it was a lot more expensive to put up the outdoor decorations and it was usually the more affluent areas where you would find the most lights.  One year my aunt and cousins were visiting from out of state. Daddy loaded all of us into the car--a two door Chevy club coupe.  Back then; we hadn't heard of seatbelts and it was not uncommon to pile a bunch of people in a car and go.  Iit was cold weather so being close was not uncomfortable.  I'm sure we were crammed in and wrapped up, but we had a lot of fun.  As we drove around areas were we considered the homes to be mansions, we saw some outstanding displays in yards and Daddy would comment,"Mr. Moneybags lives there" or "That's Mr. Deep-pockets house!"  We laughed when my cousins thought that those were real names of the residents.  Daddy's wit was of a very dry sort.
One time in the 50's we took my grandma who was pretty much house bound out to see the lights.  It was a bit late in the season and most of the actual Christmas lights had already been taken down.  The surprising thing is that Grandma didn't even realize it, because she was so awe struck by all the normal city lights.  Maybe we should all step back and appreciate the every day things with fresh eyes.  So many things we take for granted because we are so used to them being there.
The other things that I always enjoy are Fireworks displays.  I have seen many fireworks. The furthest back, I can remember is at Fort Sam Houston on the 4th of July when Alaskan Statehood was official and the next year when Hawaii was recognized as a state.  Since then, we have seen the fireworks over Lake Livingston (TX) when my kids were young and over the Mississippi River as a finale of the New Orleans World Fair with my youngest daughter, at the Ft. Worth botanical gardens with kids and grandkids, and one year at New Year's in the Church Parking lot courtesy of  the man who ran a fireworks stand across the road. One of the best I've seen  was this year's 4th of July when hubby on the spur of the moment said let's go out to see the fireworks at the high school.  We got there just as they started and it was an outstanding display.   When we lived near Lake Livingston, I remember my youngest and I were writing letters to grandma. I told her to draw a picture of the fireworks to send to Grandma. She jumped up and down excitedly, threw up her arms and said, " Look Grandma!" "See the fireworks!" "Boom!" "Boom!" That is sort of the excitement I feel over seeing fireworks.

If you are still looking for Christmas "sparkle" for your house be sure to checkout Pence Christmas Tree Farm

They have so many beautiful ornaments including these Pink and Silver Starbursts.

Or checkout My Book Barn for set of 4 vintage glass ornaments.
These bring back some memories.

Or you can add some sparkle or glitter to your surroundings with these lavender soya tea lights from White Oak Art Designs

And how about these USB lights from Frandy's to add "sparkle" to your computer work area?

I am so excited about getting out our Christmas tree this weekend and putting all the treasured ornaments on it, turning on the lights and seeing the "glitter" and sparkle.  It is so fun to me to put up the tree and enjoy each ornament and little what-not.  So many of them have special memories of times gone by and special people that are associated with them. It will also be fun to put the big Santa out on the porch and the lights over the camellia bushes in front of the house. Will post pictures later.
Check out the ESN photos today to find something to add glitter and bling to your life.