Wishing All those in the Military a Very Merry Holiday Season

The 45-year old Christmas Day dinner menu has been a long-cherished memento from my Army days. Look over the wonderful foods we were served at Fort Belvoir, Virginia on Christmas in 1974. I wonder if the military still serves delicious food on this day. Many blessings to all the servicemen and servicewomen who are spending Chrismas far from home.

I decided to research the commanding officer, Lloyd B. McCabe. A picture of his tombstone may be seen at Arlington National Cemetery.

Fort Belvoir is 4 miles from Mount Vernon and about 16 miles from Washington, D.C.

Virginia -- Old Matchbook Collection #4

 All in Alexandria (Old Town), Virginia.

The Seaport Inn and Old Club Restaurant are probably from the mid-70s.

 Most are in Fairfax County and near Alexandria and DC.

Miscellaneous Virginia.

I have decided to part with my matchbook collection, but before I throw them away, I thought I'd share them. Hopefully a few will bring back old memories. This is the largest group of matches I have, and they are grouped into Alexandria, surrounding Washington, DC, and the rest of the state. The reason I have so many is because I lived here for 20 years.

Veterans Day -- Seeing President Carter, Princess Diana and an Old Army Photo of Me

I have celebrated Veterans Day in some pretty unusual and exciting ways. I got to see President Carter at the annual ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., and in another year, I got to see Princess Diana (and Charles).

Click on my blog posts about President Carter and Princess Diana.

Those were fun Veterans days, described above. But for the more serious side, I offer this. I worked at the Veterans Administration (VA) in Washington, D.C. for about six years. Later, I was at the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) a few blocks away from the VA and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. I remember walking by the construction for the memorial, but once the names were inscribed, it took a good year before I could go back over there and see it. I just didn't want to see the names, especially the name of somebody I knew. The picture was taken in October, probably 1990. Below, is a picture of me. Please remember this day and what it means to you.

Me at Fort Belvoir, Virginia
(A little follow-up, I still have my fatigue pants, jacket and great leather boots.)

Prince Charles and Princess Diana on Veterans Day. See My Photos!

The original date of this post, Thursday, November 12, 2009.

Every once and a while there is an article about Princess Diana, and I'm often reminded of when I saw her in person. Yesterday was the 17th anniversary of her tragic death. This post was written almost five years ago.

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November 11, 1985, three hours was a pretty exciting day. The three-hour wait to get a glimpse of Prince Charles and Princess Diana was worth the effort. I claimed my spot just about 7 AM on a rather nice sunny day in Springfield, Virginia, outside of Washington, DC. The sharpshooters and press were already in place at the mall parking lot, where the couple would soon be. They were going to open an exhibit of British merchandise (I think clothes) at J. C. Penney's. Once the motorcade arrived, everybody was so excited, esp. me, since I was at the barricade, and had a great view as they drove past me. The photos are the proof. Once inside the store, we all patiently waited to see what would happen when they left. Well, they both walk over to the crowds, and a lucky few got to shake their hands. There was a policeman in front of me much of the time, so I couldn't take all the pictures I wanted, he was just in the way. A pretty exciting day for Veterans Day.

The original Photo is below.

Another time, maybe in 1993, I was two blocks from where I worked and had heard that Prince Charles was going to visit the Octagon House in Washington, DC. at lunch, I went over with a few co-workers and waited a good hour, but he did show up. A quick wave to us, and he went inside. No press, and very little security. But it got better...I left work at 4:00 and walked by the House, thinking that just maybe I'd see him, and I did, with no wait at all. He must have been right on my schedule because as I walked by, he came out of the House. There were only a handful of people, and he waved and said, "hi." I'll always remember his lovely lavender shirt.

Princess Diana's parents. Edward John Spencer, Viscount Althrop and Frances Ruth Roche on their wedding day at Westminster Abbey - 1954.

Mabry Mill, Virginia -- Wordless Wednesday

Mabry Mill, Virginia

One of my favorite places, located on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We owned a summer house just a little over an hour away, so this was a frequent stop during our travels.

Advent Calendar -- Christmas Happenings

To write about something I remembered about Christmas, as a child, is rather hard, because I have so few memories. Surely, nothing worth sharing.  And, as a teen, I do remember some things, but those events aren't worth sharing either. I only have three memories as a child.  First, on Christmas Eve we opened gifts from our relatives, they all lived so far away, and therefore all gifts were mailed. I don't remember Christmas Day; it probably was like any other day. Second, we did have a tree, but I don't recall ever decorating it. Third, my sisters were six and four years younger than me and always received more gifts because of Santa.  One Easter, my mother called me into the living room where she was writing a letter, and told me there was no Easter Bunny. To which, I replied, "Does that mean there is no Santa Clause?" Her reply was, "yes" and that was that. (Note: The above flowers are the Santa Clause Shasta Rose.)

As an adult, I made the best of Christmas in my own way.  I took a number of day trips with girlfriends or boyfriends to New York City for shopping, usually for myself.  I loved Saks Fifth Avenue store (photo on left), and Macy's. 

My first year in Virginia was in 1974, and I went to Washington, DC to see the National Christmas tree for the first of many times. This photo was from that trip.  A very nice Christmas memory.

Because I worked so close to this location both at the DAR and Veteran's Administration, I also saw several of the First Ladies place the top decoration on the tree.   They were lifted up in a cherry picker.

My ticket stub from 1982.

For many years, I went to the Christmas Tree lighting, and was always able to get a ticket.  Fortunately, I worked a block or two away, so it wasn't a problem getting there after work.  One year, after the ceremony, I was walking towards the White House, on the way to get the Metro.  And, in front of me was Amy Carter, 6" away. Before March 1981 (when President Reagan was shot), it was pretty easy to get into any government facility, including the White House, without a pass. So, for several years, I would walk over there during my lunch break, and stroll through the President's house during the Christmas season.  It was so beautiful, and I never any lines to deal with, no long security checks, the guards did just a quick peek into my handbag.

Once I married, my husband and I had very nice Christmases and one year we took one of our many trips to Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia just before Christmas. It was special because we spent two nights there during the Christmas season, sharing Williamsburg traditions from the 1770s. I wish I had pictures, but don't.  Maybe you could enjoy their site Williamsburg at Christmas  However, I did take the below photos during the day. The entire town was decked out in decorations. See the Colonial Williamsburg webcams at Colonial Williamsburg webcams.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana on Veterans Day, See My Photos!

November 11, 1985 was a pretty exciting day. The three hour wait to get a glimpse of Prince Charles and Princess Diana was worth the effort. I claimed my spot just about 7 AM on a rather nice sunny day in Springfield, Virginia, outside of Washington, DC. The sharpshooters and press were already in place at the mall parking lot, where the couple would soon be. They were going to open an exhibit of British merchandise (I think clothes) at J. C. Penney's. Once the motorcade arrived, everybody was so excited, esp. me, since I was at the barricade, and had a great view as they drove past me. The photos are the proof. Once they were inside, we all patiently waited to see what would happen when they left. Well, they did both walk over to the crowds, and a lucky few got to shake their hands. There was a policeman in front of me much of the time, so I couldn't take pictures of him. Pretty exciting day for a Veterans Day.

The Princess is in the white suit, standing at the barricade directly in the middle.

Another time, maybe in 1993, I was two blocks from where I worked, and had heard that Prince Charles was going to visit the Octagon House in Washington, DC. So at lunch, I went over with a few co-workers and waited a good hour before he showed up. He gave a quick wave to us, and went inside. No press, and very little security. But it got better...I left work at 4:00 and walked by the House, thinking that just maybe I'd see him again, and I did, with no wait at all. He must have been right on my schedule, because as I walked by, he came out of the House. There were only a handful of people, and he waved and said, "hi." I'll always remember his lovely lavender shirt.