Ghosts of Christmas Past - Mine

For Christmas, we went to Illinois to stay with my folks.  It had been a few years since we had done this and when I stepped into their home, I found myself thrown back in time.  I had forgotten all the crafts I had made for them over the years and it was wonderful to see my crafting Christmas past.  I wish I had kept some of these for myself when I created them long ago but at the time when you make 100 of something, you are really sick of looking at it. It was at the time in my crafting career when I was doing lots of craft shows.

 Santa stuck in a chimney.

 

 

 A Lucia commemorating my mother's Swedish heritage.

For breakfast one morning we went to the Stockholm Inn.  It was Christmas Eve and packed.  We came in the back way and we could tell it was going to be a long wait.  I asked the hostess how long the wait would be and was told 40 minutes to an hour.  We decided that would be too long (I'm so impatient when it comes to things like this) and we made our way through the restaurant to the back entrance.

Right by the back door was a long counter with only a few taken seats.  Even though we could sit across from each other, we could sit next to each other .  I suggested eating there and we all agreed.  The waitress, Carmen, was a hoot and put on quite a show for us as the chairs quickly filled.  We had to wait a long time (30 minutes) for our food but it was worth the wait.

A gentleman sitting down from us sat down and asked Carmen if she had any Wheaties or Cheerios.  She said, "Honey, if you came in for that kind of food, you better just get up and head out to the nearest grocery store and make it yourself.  We don't serve that kind of food here."  She was hilarious. 

Rocketman isn't the type of guy to split a meal but it's a favorite thing I do with my mom.  We both get plenty of food without leftovers.  We went with a bacon and cheese omelet and it was delicious.  My Dad got their famous Swedish pancakes and Rocketman went for a ham and cheese omelet.  We even were serenaded for a time and sang a round of "Jingle Bells."