Sunday, December 28, 2008

Exhaling.....


I can finally say that the house is back to normal, the tree is down, the decorations put away and every last bit of Christmas cheer safely packed in boxes and rubbermaid containers, for next year. Until then, I can breathe a sigh of relief!

I don't have the patience for Christmas, I just realized that this year, I think the older I get the more annoyed I become with the whole rush of the season, the blowing of budgets and extravagant get togethers, I think it's just not for me anymore, I would be perfectly happy just spending a quiet day with the family, having a good dinner and exchanging one gift.

So with everything put away, I turned into a cleaning machine and I've dusted and mopped and scrubbed and vacuumed and reorganized every single room in the house, not one was left untouched, and it makes me feel good. You know that feeling you get when you walk into your house and every nook and cranny is clean and tidy and homey?


Yesterday we spent the day playing the Wii, I rocked it out on Guitar Hero by myself while everyone was doing other stuff, then we proceeded to a game of Mario and Sonic and the Olympics and can I just say, I hate Skeet? Hate hate hate skeet LOL
After getting my butt handed to me in that game, we switched to Carnival Games and boy was that fun. Have you played it?

By the time we looked at the clock it was 10pm, a whole day of Wii goodness, laughing and some frustrated emotions from loosers, chips and snacks, a quick break for a delicious dinner of Beef Stew with Potato dumplings and family time which is something that I absolutely love.

In the middle of all this I've been able to enjoy the PBS Series, honestly if you've never seen them and you like history and learning about old times, you will like these.

The one that struck me the most and made me really stop and think was The 1940's House. It really brought home the fear and hardship that these families had to endure during World War II.

The Hymer family were placed into the home complete in 1940's garb and then put through a series of simulations of what their day to day would have been like in that era, during The London Blitz.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

This was the beginning of the Blitz - a period of intense bombing of London and other cities that continued until the following May. For the next consecutive 57 days, London was bombed either during the day or night. Fires consumed many portions of the city. Residents sought shelter wherever they could find it - many fleeing to the Underground stations that sheltered as many as 177,000 people during the night. In the worst single incident, 450 were killed when a bomb destroyed a school being used as an air raid shelter.
Life was hard, everything seemed to take longer to do and the tools needed to accomplish something were not always available. For me the worst was the Food Rationing, I thankfully have never had to be in that situation and quite frankly don't know how I would react, but it can't be easy knowing you only have a few items to last you a whole week.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

If that wasn't hard enough to deal with, they had to build an underground shelter in their yard as well as keep up with the BlackOut Rules.

The blackout began two days before the war began. Under blackout rules, everyone had to cover up their windows at night with black material. This was to make it difficult for german bombers to find their target in the dark.
The street lamps were turned off and often people bumped into one another. Traffic accidents were common because car headlights had to be blacked out, and deaths from drowning increased as people fell off bridges or walked into ponds.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

And if you were caught not covering your windows you were heavily fined. At one point there was a Bomb Raid, the family gathered their supplies and the two children and ran to the back yard, the back door was left open for a few minutes while they were moving out of the house and the next thing they know they are getting a letter in the mail and being fined for not having followed the blackout rules. Goodness!

Anyway, I learnt a lot from watching this show. A couple of you asked me where I got the series from....well, I'm watching through Netflix but you can find them on Amazon too. If you're interested in taking a virtual tour of the home used for this documentary, you can go here.

Well that does it for me, I'm off to have my coffee and eat my oatmeal, not sure what else I'll be doing today since all the work was done yesterday, but I'm sure I could find something to knit, or watch, like Helen of Troy Disc 1. Yes, maybe that's what I'll do.

Have a great day everyone!

14 comments:

Michelle said...

Good morning Sandra,I know there really is alot of fuss over christmas.I will have to look for the pbs show on dvd it sounds fascinating.

P. said...

My tree and crib will be up to the 6 january, the three wise man day, Epiphany day.
I like very much the all process of Christmas, stressfull as it is, but I like it.

Mari said...

I love that PBS series - I don't think I could do it though! My house is back to normal too and I must say it's a relief to have things clean again.

Anonymous said...

Lol, I think we could all do with more Christmas peace and less Christmas fuss.

I'm very impressed you're all organised already. Our Christmas madness hasn't finished yet, we visit hub's Mom and Dad tomorrow for a Christmas dinner. I don't take the decs down until about 6th Jan.

I wouldn't have like to have lived during the blitz. Our Pastor tells us a few stories. His grandmother would refuse to go into the air raid shelter but would sit drinking tea in the kitchen while the bombs dropped around her! She survived.

Love and hugs

Sarah

All My Blessings said...

I'm glad it's over too but now I have to put it all away because I don't like to take it down too soon. I like to watch tv with the Christmas lights on. It's a warm feeling. Brianna and I watched the movie House Bunny the other night. It's not really my kind of movie but she likes it, I like to see her laugh.....Kae

The Raggedy Girl said...

Where do I start. Yes I love that feeling when every nook and cranny is perfect and when you putz around in your home moving things from place to place. I love doing that.

Thanks for the war review. Isn't that amazing. The funny thing is hubby and I were just talking about the black out the other night.

Roberta Anne

Stacia said...

That series sound absolutly fabulous. I love history and will be looking for that to watch in the quiet winter months.

Good to know I am not the only one who put away Christmas before the New Year.
When you clean and get the house back to "normal" it sure does feel good.

The kids received a Wii as well this year. Any good games you recommend?

Anonymous said...

I loved that PBS show, I liked Frontier house too. That Pict you posted of the guys with the hose...sorry but that is TOO FUNNY to me, remindes of a little boy I saw in a parking lot once,when ya gotta go....
Anyway, happy 2009 in your clean house! ;)
Tanna

the said...

I havent seen that show, but it sure looks interesting after you just talked about it! I might have to check it out.
Im glad Christmas is over too. I love it, I love everything about it, but Im always so happy to have the house back to normal and your right- every nook and cranny is cleaned!!!
Have a great Sunday,
Stephanie

Cheri said...

Don't laugh but my tree and decorations came down ON Christmas day! I love the decorations, but we had time after we opened our gifts before we had to head over to the in laws so down it all came.
It always comes down the next day anyway. Feels so good to have it normal again!

Melanie said...

I think it is the build up of the perfect Christmas that leaves one yearning for the regular (normal) schedule!
Melanie@Bella~Mella

Anonymous said...

I grew up hearing all about the black out time etc. because I was born in 1942, smack dab in the middle of it. LOL I guess I was walking before I ever saw a light bulb turned on. Of course I don't remember a bit of it but mom did tell me a lot about those bad times and all about food shortages.. which meant I grew up hearing "clean your plate, you might some day wish you had that food"

Jen said...

We got a Wii too....i want Wii fit though. Checking in to say hello friend. Our Christmas stuff will officially be put up tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

I absolutely love the sights and sounds of Christmas. It will be mid January before I relunctantly put everything away.

Gosh I think it's great all the cleaning and organizing you have gotten done. I have got to get busy and get my house in order.

Happy New Year!!