What is a monkeybox?

When I was a little girl, we had a pet monkey named Amanda. My Dad worked in the produce business, so each night he brought home that days culls in a big box - spotty cucumbers, pithy apples, limp celery, moldy oranges and the like. We called it a monkeybox. It was really just trash, but my Mom would take each piece of fruit and trim it, pare it and cut it up to make a beautiful fruit platter for Amanda. Even though it was deemed trash by one, it still had life left in it and was good for the purpose we needed it. That's how I live my life - thrifting, yard saling, looking for another's trash to be my treasure.

Friday, December 26, 2014

The Day After

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.  It's funny to me that we do all the decorating, baking, cooking, shopping, wrapping and set up and then BAM it's all over in one day.  We kind of like to lay low and enjoy the house and decorations through New Year's Day.  Then I start packing it up and putting my regular old BORING not shiny, non glittery stuff back in the house.  

Christmas Eve we went to my Dad's house for the afternoon.  We SWORE no presents to each other  - but I had some old photos enlarged and framed for him and had him a custom photo calendar made plus I had an emergency gift card in my purse just in case he flaked on the deal.  And, he did - he had three big gift bags full of things for us.  Thank goodness for that emergency gift card!  :)  He always buys us groceries - fun things to eat up through the New Year - fancy cheese, carbonated grape juice, chocolates, fruit, Poppycock and stuff like that  - it's always fun to see what he finds.  This year included Spicy Pickled Peaches and Hot Pickled Okra.  So, we will have to try those.....

Christmas afternoon my Mom and Step Dad came over for dinner.  Our kitchen table is a) small, b) in the small-ish kitchen and c) covered up in my flea market crap right now, so I set up a table in the living room for us.  I only do this on Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter.  It makes me almost giddy to pick out what tablecloth I am going to use and then set the table.  I really need to get the kitchen where I can use my tablecloths all the time.  They make me so dad gum happy!  
This is the large tablecloth that Kim sent me in a swap.  It's long so it fit the long banquet table I used. I used the white dishes and gold silverware and then added in those fun red designed glasses I thrifted for 10¢ each this summer.  I added a paper straw because well, PAPER STRAWS ARE FUN. I normally make a favor or a treat bag for each setting, but I ran out of time, so one sad little peppermint was all they got.   I had all my aluminum pitchers at the Flea market until one day I realized that I could actually USE them, so I brought home the gold, green and red thinking those would get me through all the holidays.  

The centerpiece was an old red doughbowl filled with red and green ornaments and some gold glass garland.  


Yes, that is a minion in the center.  Kevin is our holiday mascot - our Elf on a Shelf.  He gets into all sorts of places and things.  He's onery.

Anyway, my table isn't that spectacular, but I had fun using my stuff.  After dinner we took it all down and opened presents.  We had decided to make it a small gift holiday - not too much and not too expensive.  All was going pretty good until we all got envelopes of CASH and then the Bean got a 32" TV.  Uh, here's a candle?  A book?  Whomp Whomp.  But, who am I to say you can't buy your grandson a giant TV?  Not me!

Well, there's dishes to do and things to put up and food to eat, so I better get busy on that.  Think I'll start with the leftovers!  :D  That cash is burning a hole in our pocket, so I wouldn't be surprised to see us out and about in a bit too.  Oh, well, it's Christmas - dishes can wait!  

Happy Day After!


9 comments:

  1. I won $30 on scratch offs,. I only need to get out to exchange some houseshoes I bought for the boy, he needs a size 13...dang big foot. I got a $50 hobby lobby card but will hang onto that and shop clearance with it.

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  2. What a great looking holiday table (smile). We won't be taking down our Christmas decorations anytime soon and I'm going to share your fabulous curtains on my blog. I just don't want Christmas to end. It's been so much fun seeing your vintage decorations.

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  3. Sounds like quality family time. Always nice to put together a table with all the collected this and that..yours looks great!

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  4. Grandparents are like that!! I like to give to my kids and my grandkids and don't expect much back. Being with them and enjoying their fun is the best part of Christmas for me!
    Love your table and hope you find some great goodies!
    hugs,
    Linda

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  5. I love your table! I have set one up in the living room many times. I don't like to cook and the table setting is my favorite part!

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  6. I put a card table in my living room, pushed right up to our Christmas tree, for our New Years dinner, for just my husband and I. We have plenty of room and festive decorations in my dining room and kitchen, but he living room is just a bit more special.

    It takes so long to decorate for Christmas, and it makes me feel so cheery, that I'm in no rush to take it down. We enjoy it all, including our huge real tree, until about the third weekend in January. However, I keep strings of white mini lights up in the rooms of my house on timers, to keep things bright for the long dark winter months. It has really helped reduce my post Christmas depression.

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  7. Damn relatives can't stick to the deal:)

    I'll be enjoying my Christmas crud until January 1st at least. Although I have to say that I was feeling claustrophobic in the kitchen today so I had to rearrange some stuff. OK, eat some stuff. All those little boxes and Tupperware containers of cookies and treats were driving me nuts, so I had to do something with them.

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  8. Looks like you and your family had a nice time on Christmas. Ours was great also. Fun gift of cash! I bet I know where to find you with a pocket full of cash (thrift store anyone?) Once about 5 years ago when my stepdad was still alive he and my mom gave each of us kids (there are 5 of us) an envelope for Christmas. Inside was $1,000! Didn't have any idea we were getting that and what a great surprise!

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  9. LOVE your table, it's beautiful! Sounds like you had a wonderful holiday. Grandparents don't have to follow rules when it comes to presents! My decorations will stay up until the day after New Year's, then the dismantling will begin. I always leave my mantle decorated through most of the winter - it's more "wintery" than Christmasy and it cheers us up during the long winter. Have a Happy New Year!

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