Sunday, December 02, 2012

Great Christmas Tree Tour: Winnie Griggs



When I was a little girl we celebrated Christmas with my mother’s parents.  My grandmother had this wonderful little tabletop tree the had built-in bubble lights .  She didn’t put any ornaments on it, just plugged it in and let the lights bubble merrily away.   The table she set this on was at the perfect little-girl height and I would stare at that tree for long intervals, mesmerized by its beauty.   

Years later, when my grandparents were gone and we were cleaning out their home, my sister laid claim to that tree.  Then, several years later, she told me that she had never been able to get it to work, but couldn’t bear to throw it out.  Knowing I was a collector of family memorabilia, she asked if I wanted it.  Of course I jumped at the chance to have it, if merely for the nostalgia of it.  But imagine my delight when I got it to work again.  It is beginning to show it’s age (it is over 50 years old!!) but I still love looking at it and watching the merry bubble lights, just as I did at my grandmother’s all those years ago.


Since I don’t have my ‘big tree’ up yet, I thought I’d take this opportunity to share that little table top tree with you.  Here it is pictured sitting on the old singer treadle sewing machine I also inherited from my grandmother.    I’m also a collector of vintage nativity scenes and you can see a few pieces from my collection displayed around it.

**********************************************************************************************************


Can she drive away not one, but three suitors?

Free-spirited photographer Regina Nash is ready to try.  But unless she marries one of the gentlemen her grandfather has sent for her inspection, she’ll lose custody of her nephew.  So she must persuade them - and Adam Barr, her grandfather’s envoy - that she’d make a thoroughly unsuitable wife.

Adam isn’t convinced.  Regina might be unconventional, but she has wit, spirit and warmth - why can’t the three bachelors he escorted here to Texas see that?  He not only sees it, but is drawn to it.   His job, though, is to make sure Regina chooses from one of those men - not to marry her himself!

Can Reggie and Adam overcome the secrets in her past, and the shadows in his, to find a perfect future together?




PLEASE SHARE ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER TO GET THE WORD OUT. xoxo

14 comments:

  1. Winnie,

    What a very neat heirloom! I don't remember ever seeing on like that. It is nice when you inherit something you remember admiring as a child. I have three of my grandmother's ornaments too.

    BTW, the Singer's pretty neat too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Rose - Thanks! I've never seen another like it either, part of what makes it special to me. And how neat to have some of your grandmother's ornaments!

      Delete
  2. Such fun. My grandmother had one of the ceramic ones with the lights but I have never seen a bubble light tree!

    I agree with Rose, the Singer is cool too.

    Peace, Julie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Julie! Ooooh those ceramic ones are pretty too! I just love all things Christmas. And yes, that singer is one of my prize possessions.

      Delete
  3. Oh, that ol' Singer reminds me of my grandmother's! And I, too, have a Nativity Set collection. Not vintage, though. I just don't have enough room to display them all.

    Merry Christmas, Winnie!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Another nativity collector - how cool! I also have many more than I can display at one time so I rotate them in and out each year.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bubble lights were on our tree when I was young and I've loved them ever since. My husband and I buy the new ones and make night lights out of them and keep them out all year round. (Buy basic night light, unscrew that bulb and screw in bubble light.) I have a couple of the old burned out bubble lights from our family's tree of 50 years ago, I bet. I incorporate them into my Christmas decorating because they evoke such pleasant memories. I love your little tree, Winnie. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh what a great way to use these pretty lights all year round! Some of these lights are the original ones - I even have the box they came in. But I may steal you idea and buy some new ones to use around the house.

      Delete
  6. I love the tree and the bubble lights--and I have almost the same sewing machine cabinet, but mine has lots more dust on the metal parts!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL Liz - mine got dusted just for the occassion! Otherwise it might bear a closer resemblance to yours...

      Delete
  7. Winnie, I love the baby tree and the bubble lights! Wow, I'm hobbling down memory lane right now looking at those lights. How awesome that you even have the box they came in! Merry Christmas to y'all.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Awww I really loved this story. It's really sweet and for some reason reminds me of my great aunt lol but I loved it! If anything else, it is definitely worth all the memories it provokes : ) Thank you so much for sharing!
    Hannah

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Hannah - and yes, the memories it evokes are truly sweet.

      Delete