Keeping the Christmas Traditions

Most of our Christmas traditions come from my Norwegian Gram and Swedish Grandpa J. - my Dad's parents.  I'm not sure we have any traditions from my Mom's side of the family because her Mom died when she was 15 so we never experienced their German Christmas celebrations.  I'm sad that I never asked about their German traditions before my Mom died.

My Gram J. was an amazing person.  She was always in motion and especially during the holidays.  She would make Swedish sausage using a cow's horn to stuff the casings with ground beef, ground pork, potatoes, onions and seasonings.  Her thumb was short and broad and very useful as she stuffed many sausages that we would devour on Christmas eve.  Homemade buns were another of her specialties and that baked sausage tasted so good wrapped in one of those buns that was buttered and spread with red jam.  Some of us stayed away from the baked lutefisk but those who ate it drizzled melted butter with onions over the top.  Her meatballs were so good and didn't contain any weird spices.  Lingonberries were served in a crystal dish.  There was always a wooden dish filled with mixed nuts in the shell with nut crackers and a pick.

The cookies were so plentiful...rosettes deep fried and covered with powdered sugar, krumkake rolled and dusted with powdered sugar, spritz of every color and sprinkled with colored sugars, refrigerator cookies with walnuts, fattigman deep fried to perfection, sandbakkels made in tiny silver tins and filled with some yummy filling, thumbprint cookies filled with jam, Russian teacakes, candy cane cookies, frosted sugar cookie cutouts, date cookies, pinwheels and other favorites.  The cookies were kept in all sorts of tins in the back hall that started at the top floor and ended at the basement level. It wasn't heated and kept anything stored there nice and cold in the winter.

Their Victorian style house had three floors with a small attic.  Families lived on each floor...my family of four (included my brother and I at that time) lived upstairs, Gram and Grandpa lived on the main floor and my Aunt and Uncle and eventually their five boys lived downstairs.  It was built on a hill so the lower level opened out to the backyard.  A dear friend who had immigrated from Norway, Randolph, rented a room on that lower level also.  When Gram wanted him to come up to eat with us, we would stomp on the floor in her bedroom and then he would come upstairs.  I always thought that was so much fun! 

Many years after my Grandpa died, Gram married Randolph and he moved upstairs.  It was a full house and my Dad and his brother were able to live there when they were first married and starting out.  When we moved to our new house, Uncle Earl's family moved up to the top floor.  It was a great way to begin and eventually each brother saved up and moved to a new house.

So on Christmas Eve, we all would gather at Gram's.  It was a house that was filled with wonderful smells that permeated the main front hall and invited us in to the festivities.  The sparkling tree with multi-colored lights stood in the front picture window.  The ornaments were plentiful - some antiques with isinglass windows in little red lanterns, silver multifaceted glass shapes, red felt Santa's, big round shiny balls - some decorated with shapes cut out of red tape, icicles, and tinsel and of course, the handmade paper snowflake ornaments from her grandkids. 

Our tree with spun glass Angel on top!

Gram had cupboards filled with dishes - tea cups in one, a pedestal ruby glass candy dish, silver platters, dishes and candlesticks, pink depression glass serving pieces, and oh so many gorgeous dishes and her good china in a small mahogany hutch that I watched over until recently.  Her special dishes with lots of pink roses and gold rims were always on the table at Christmas. 

Her mahogany Duncan Phyfe table with all the leaves added with matching and mismatching chairs, filled the dining room and we all sat together at that table with her good china and good silverware and candles all aglow. When the family grew to include my sister and another cousin or two we had a kids' table stuffed between the adult table and the stove that heated her house.  I still have the wicker rocker that sometimes managed to smash the glass of her teacup cupboard that sat next to the stove.  I think I get my collecting obsession from Gram!  I have her tea cups and the same cupboard that has had its glass replaced quite a few times.

All of the kids were so excited not only for the presents but just to be together with my Dad singing his carols and cajoling us to join in with him.  I remember  when my sister was about 3 years old, she would put a black olive on each finger tip and eat them off one at a time.  The windows were all steamed up from the previous days of cooking and from the crowd of people all in our Christmas finery.  We were almost shoulder to shoulder in her small living area.  But it never seemed crowded - it always seemed just right.

Once we finished eating and were filled beyond capacity, the dishes had to be washed before the presents were opened.  I'm not sure of the year it happened but the boys and men were relegated to the dish pan.  So the pressure was on to get everything cleaned up so we could pass out the gifts.  The gifts were always very special - something I had wished for or had written down on a list.  Santa always came to our house on Christmas morning with more gifts. 

Usually we went to church before we went to Gram's but if we didn't, there was a midnight church service.  I remember how difficult it was to keep my eyes open.  It was always cold and the snow had been shoveled so high to keep the sidewalks clear.   The candlelight service brought the meaning of Christmas to us in a magical atmosphere with the stained glass windows shimmering in the darkness of the church.  After all the activities and family fellowship, this was the perfect ending to the birthday celebration of Jesus.

And I think of all the pans and dishes used in the preparation of these feasts with no dishwasher!  We still make the Swedish sausage but now there are 8+ people who work to make sausage.  Granted we do make over 80# of sausage but instead of the stuffing horn, we recently purchased an electric grinder/stuffer machine to do lots of the work for us.  Well - the cookie part - we don't even get close to the kinds of cookies Gram made all by herself for weeks I imagine.  My Dad still loves lutefisk...the only one who does, but he goes out for the stinky fish!

Such were the labors of love that were involved in our Christmas traditions.  Our memorable traditions are even more memorable as I get older.  I am so thankful for all those memories.  Now its up to me with the help of my two daughters to keep as many of those traditions alive in our family.  I can still see my Gram working at her enamel table in her little kitchen with her decorative plates on the aqua walls making special treats for her loving family.  I hope she's proud of us - sometimes I think I can hear her laugh as we attempt to duplicate her traditional recipes. 

Merry Christmas to all and a special Merry Christmas to our Angels watching over us in this season!

Bonnie

Expectations

When you live in a northern state like Minnesota, you spend a certain amount of time waiting...expecting.  Here it is December 10 and another snow storm is looming.  Seasonal events for tomorrow have been rescheduled for next weekend when we hope the weather isn't an issue.  So all week we will watch the weather and determine if we can come together to make the Swedish sausage that is a part of our holiday celebrations each year. 

They say:  Biggest storm in recent years...about 18' for our area...maybe.  Gusty winds with blizzard warnings in the south.  Nasty storm system.  Ice expected mixed with snow...freezing rain ahead of the blowing mountains of snow.  Lots of water in the atmosphere...Arctic air to follow.  Ttemperature 0 degrees on Sunday and -10 degrees Sunday night.  Brrr.... 

I'm kinda excited - not about the snow but about being held hostage in my house during the storm.  Christmas is coming and I'm not that ready.  I have tons of projects started and expecting me to return and finish them up.  So now I have two days in a row, without interruptions, (except the usual cooking and cleaning), to start some and finish others.  

1.  I printed my Christmas letter so I can send out my cards. 
2.  Then I will make 16 altered art tag decorations for my friends. 
3.  I'm using the linings of jackets to make roses with pearl embellishments for other friends...like a pin or necklace piece.  
4.  Piecing two quilt squares for our Christmas block exchange on Tuesday.
5.  Blogger Secret Santa gift has to be in the mail by next Fri. - better determine what to make and get 'er done.
6.  Finish decorating house...got the tree decorated so just have to set other stuff about.
7.  Finish my grandson's bed roll quilt.
8.  Make 5 book bags for grands and great grands for the books we've bought for them.
9.  I would like to finish Stieg Larsson's third book, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.  It's getting to be the good part now.
10.  Whew!  Is it Monday yet?

Could I be expecting too much out of this snow storm???

Bonnie

10 More Things About Me...

1.  I love all things gingerbread, gingersnaps, and ginger ale!  Love the spicy part and refreshing taste.


2.  I'd never be able to live where its warm in the winter...no not.  I hate the ice of MN but the snow is manageable and lovely to look out the window and see the clean, whiteness of the land.


3. Birds, squirrels, pheasants and even the chipmunk can keep me entertained for the longest time.  They play out my window on the other side of my laptop screen so its very easy to stop and stare.  I fantasize about their lives and loves.


4.  Grazing is my preferred form of eating...not so interested in stopping what I'm doing to make a real meal.  My Guy has to have more balanced eating affairs however.  This week I spent one day all day preparing food so I wouldn't have to do the daily drudge of cooking.  Worked great - we still have stuff to eat so no kitchen duty for another couple of days!!!


5.  Life without my Guy would be pretty unbearable.  Speaking for myself, I hardly get angry at him anymore.  I guess I've gotten used to his ways and he to mine in a manner of speaking.  He is my best friend.  He is very tolerant.


6.  I will do just about anything to be able to stay in our home on our land in the country.  When it comes to the point where we can't handle some of the chores that go with having ten acres, I'll figure it out.  Won't move to town unless we're taken out of here kicking and screaming!


7.  I'm at peace with a minimal social life now.  I see my exercise and coffee friends three times a week and then I can come home and be satisfied.  I do need to see my family though too.  My guy really doesn't like to leave home and if he does, its a race to come right back as fast as he can.


8.  My next bigger challenge is to actually build something...maybe not my tree house but something like a gazebo or playhouse.  I have the winter to think of something manageable considering my skills.


9.  Pretzels are my favorite snack right now...not plain ones but chocolate or white chocolate dipped or peppermint sandwich type.  So good with the sweet chocolate and salty pretzel.  Yum.


10.  Getting ready for the holidays is fun.  And then suddenly its over except for the clean up.  Yuck!  I don't like to take the decorations down...its seems sad.  It's way into January by the time I pack the tinsel and garlands away.  We have a much smaller tree this year but I have enough stuff to decorate about 6 trees.  There is comfort in having so much Christmas stuff.

My Lovely Old Barn

She has stood here in this space for more than 100 years.  I fell in love with her the minute we drove in the driveway in the year 2000. 

Every weekend we would leave the bustling city and drive to the bucolic country looking for our retirement home.  While the description of most of the places listed in the acreage part of the real estate section of the paper did not in any way meet our expectations or their descriptions, we kept looking and hoping and wishing.

Then one weekend on the advice of the receptionist in my building whose friend had a farm for sale, we ventured up north to check it out.  Unlike other weekends, this one held hope - lots of hope.  First of all, lilacs welcomed us up the drive.  My Guy will vouch for this - as we drove past the bushes into the open area of the yard, I said, "I could live here."  The barn - the circle drive around the yard - the ten acres - the house from the outside - made me feel like I was home.  Then we looked through the house and I was sold.  I could have moved in that day.  I was in love.

I've always thought of my barn as "her" - a mother building who has housed many children.  How many calves were born in this barn, nourished in this barn, sheltered in this barn, were milked in this barn and maybe their lives ended in this barn.  Countless. 

Not many families have lived on this land...families who came here, lived here, loved here and stayed here until they couldn't.

Then last week I came home from the east and noticed my barn - her roof was sagging more than ever.  The sun had weathered the south side and the freezing rain added too much weight and finally the snow must have been just too much in her weakened state.  A couple of days ago, I took some winter pictures after the snow and ice.  It was very cold and I couldn't get a good shot of my barn.  So I took pictures of our trees and the yard so I wouldn't have to get my boots on and plow through the snow to get the picture of my barn.

Yesterday my Guy came in and said, "The roof gave way on the barn."  I went out to look and my tears froze on my face.  The one end of the roof had given way.  She has stood vigilant over this farm all these years.  Now her demise is more certain.

When we moved here, I wanted to use my barn for weekend tag sales.  My Guy said it wasn't safe.  The roof on the back side needed repair.  We asked his brother who knew something about fixing up old barns.  He crawled up in the hay loft to look at the damage.  The estimate was devastating...I would have to win the lottery to repair her roof.

I had envisioned using the wooden stalls where the animals had been corralled for my repurposed, recycled and refurbished goods.  I kept pushing to clean her up and power wash her and it would be so nostalgic and fun.  It never happened.  We never even stored much of anything within her walls.  Now we never will.

Her shell will probably stand longer than we will.  Built before 1900, she is  constructed of tamarack trees.  We won't be able to really access the damage on the inside until spring I guess.  Aging is a fact of life.  I know that - I just thought she'd live forever.  Sometimes I am surprised by the things that tug at my heart.  She did and does.  I love my barn.

Bonnie

Norma and Me - The Organizers



An old wardrobe that contains all my exercise clothes



Today Norma, my black and white domestic short-haired cat, and I are organizing my clothes in my bedroom.  We have been sorting and folding clothes to be stacked in my new cupboards I bought at a trash to treasure store in our little town.



I've probably mentioned that I have problems with obsessive collecting.  Doesn't matter if its hoodies or rusty treasures for my crafting...I need it and buy it and pile it up.  I'm trying to change my ways.  I'm not to the hoarder stage but that is my most fearful fear.  Being remembered as the grandma they found buried underneath her treasures one fateful day...not the picture I want to leave for the kids of my kids.

So Norma and I wander through the house trying to focus, stay upright, and away from the computer to complete our task.  As I sit here, Norma stands up against my desk and paws at my camera that sits along side of me on the desk.  She brings me back to reality and the line item that I mean to check off my list of "Things To Do" today.  So I get up from the comfort of my screen and I go back to the bedroom to try and find places for all the stuff that doesn't seem to have a place.  A wooden bowl filled with things I threw in there when we got back from Norway...a small container of bandages, the tie from the hood of a hoodie, a small journal (too small to write in), and other odd items. 



My newest screen door cupboard 


Norma keeps wandering off and so do I.  I guess we have done the best we could today considering our attention span for this organizing ordeal.  My wicker chair is cleared so I can sit and read in my room now.  That is a big positive.  When I can't sleep I can stay in my room instead of going into the livingroom in the middle of the night. 

 I guess its time to start another project...this one is almost done.  A few pictures to hang or set somewhere.  I keep covering up the walls so I lose room for picture hanging.  The screen door cupboard now covers the side wall and the back wall where pictures used to hang.  Oh well - another project for another day.  If it keeps snowing and blowing, I might be home for a couple more days.

I better go see if Norma is taking a cat nap - I might join her.  This organizing stuff is tiring. 


My helper...Norma Jean

Take care,

Bonnie

Defining Friendship

It's difficult for me to put my finger on what makes our friendships work so well.  Not sure I can define what it is that bonds us together at this point of our lives.   Maybe we really need each other.  Whatever it is - it is strong, vastly important and unconditional. 

Some have been friends for a long time and some friendships are new.  We are inclusive and welcome everyone to come to coffee after exercise.  There is no membership criteria and no dues.  If you don't have money for coffee, it will be supplied.  If you forget to pay, we will cover your debt. 

Most of our group of 15 -16 women meet three times a week at Curves in our small town.  Monday, Wednesday and Friday is on my schedule for Curves and coffee afterwards.  On very rare occasions, I have to schedule something else on those days at that time but only under emergency circumstances.  To meet with my friends is that important.  It is a constant in my life.  Some mornings it is why I get up and get going and get happy.

There is no gossiping, backbiting or other evil doing.  We are witty, crazy and laugh a lot about  anything.  We are caring, thoughtful and loving.  We are forgetful, inquisitive and empathetic.  We share ideas, knowledge, and experiences.  We come from every background and nationality.  We have multiple personalities...in the best sense of the words.  We are mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, great grandmothers, great great grandmothers and friends.  We are the best of friends. 

I am so lucky and thankful that I am part of this group at this time of my life.  After world peace, I wish this kind friendship for everyone everywhere.

Bonnie 

Easy baking ideas!

Tomorrow we are celebrating Thanksgiving...between the weather forecasts and work schedules - it was decided to declare tomorrow as Thanksgiving for our family.  And anyway, we can be thankful any day and every day.

So today I am baking.  Actually I'm using cookie mixes to make bars.  A pumpkin spice cookie mix has been turned into pumpkin bars.  The directions called for a cup of melted butter...couldn't be bad I thought to myself.  I frosted them using a can of cream cheese frosting.  I know - sacrilege.  They sunk in the middle for some reason, so we just had to sample them.  I thought about filling the low part with frosting but decided against it.  I'm not sure why.  My expert food sampler claimed that it was very good.  That's why he's my favorite guy.

Then I had a peanut butter cookie mix.  I had planned on making the cookies and sticking a chocolate star in each when I took them out of the oven.  Sounded like more work than I wanted to do so when I read the directions I saw that there was a peanut butter bar recipe.  According to the package you were to mix up the regular cookie directions and spread them in a 9 x 13 pan.  So that's what I did.  They baked for 15 minutes or so.  Removed them from the oven and I took chocolate stars and estimated where they should be - 7 stars by 4 stars - and stuck them into the bars.  When they cooled I cut between the stars and wa la!  Oops - another bar burglar!

Now my Dad is bringing the pies and they will be wonderful but no pumpkin.  So my Guy bought a frozen pumpkin pie and I decorated it.  I made a streusel using 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup pecans.  With the oven set at 400, I baked the pie for 15 minutes, then added the streusel and lowered the temp to 350 and baked another 35 - 40 minutes.  We won't be able to sample it until tomorrow...unless I can figure out how to steal a piece and skooch it together.  Hmm...

So all that baking only took less than two hours.  Had I made it all from scratch...who knows when I'd get to bed!  I roasted a turkey (we'll be having two turkeys) and cut it up and froze it on Tuesday.  Tonight I will make stuffing with sage sausage and cranberries.  Tomorrow I will warm the turkey and stuffing and make the gravy.

Then its over the river and through the woods to Jenny's house we'll go. 

Thanksgiving will be complete as we eat together and give thanks for family, friends and our bountiful lives.

Take care,

Bonnie

Gratitude Attitude

Today my life is like sitting in a warm tub of water - that all over good feeling before the water turns cool.  All is good and no conflicts. 

It's easy to be grateful when all the planets are aligned and the stars are shining bright.  It's those other days when its more difficult to appreciate my place in the universe.

I've read a couple of articles recently about how healthy it is to be actually, naturally grateful each day.   In looking for another challenge, I've decided to try my hand at this way of thinking.  One of the ways to cultivate and express this new way of thinking is to create a Grateful Journal.  Each day I will record and reflect on small and/or huge things I'm thankful for in my life.  Then on the days that I'm not feeling so good and grateful, I will have some recorded reminders to remind me.

I've heard of Thankful Jars.  Little strips of paper fill a decorated jar, daily a strip is removed, you write down something you are grateful for, and put it back into the jar. At some point you can record these little strips of paper or just take them out, read and review your thankful thoughts. 

An Affirmation Jar is filled with simple sayings like "You are the best listener" or "You have the greatest smile".  Each day a strip is drawn out, read and you begin your day on a positive note.  I see these as great gifts that are achieving multiple things - recycling a jar, an inexpensive gift and so thoughtful! 

I'm off to make a couple of these Grateful ideas! 

Today I'm grateful for having a place to express my thoughts. 

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Take care,
Bonnie

A Good Long Day!

It was cold and the drizzle began to freeze on the windshield as we made our way to the first of two clinics we would visit today.  Two appointments to follow up on my husband's tests.  One more test to go in January.  According to the experts, we can deal with this issue.  Good news.

He's a quiet one and never more so in a doctors' office.  I'm the one with the reputation for asking too many questions about his medical issues.  I'm inquisitive to a fault.  I have to go to the doctor with him from now on because he told me we were going to a neurologist when it was actually a urologist.  Even the urologist thought it was funny...along with his regular doctor, the nurse and my Dad.  Sometimes I can't help myself.

It makes my day when I can make him laugh so we had many laughs about this all day long.  He was still smiling at the end of the day - he was a good sport.  He is hard of hearing so it was my way of getting back at him for having to REPEAT everything!!!

I'm in awe because he is so calm and unworried...I think.  Difficult to tell sometimes.  Another good life lesson for me on how to behave when things get complicated.  He's stoic...I'm a drama queen.  He's brave and I'm not so brave.

Between doctor visits, we shop to pass the time.  Then we agree to grab a cup of coffee.  The manager of the small pretzel shop with very good coffee arrives with her small son.  It is evident that he is adopted...he's about five and his eyes are huge and he is animated.  I drift over to the counter to get a cover for my cup.  I learn she has a biological son in combat, a 19 yr. old biological daughter and three adopted kids...one with severe physical, learning and behavior problems.

She and her husband have had many financial issues in raising this special child.  They are getting caught up with their expenses.  Even with all these struggles, she knows raising these children is what they should be doing.  I'm so glad she shared her story.  We need these angels among us. 

This has been a day of revelations and lessons to be learned.  Life is good.

Take care,
Bonnie 

100 Words: Cold Inside and Out

It was 12 degrees this morning.  The power went off at 6:24 a.m.  We  bundled up in our quilts.  The TV was silent - the furnace was silent also.  By the light from outside, we read our books and waited.  My feet and nose got cold.

At 9:54 a.m., the lights came on...the furnace started.  The pipes won't freeze.

Now it's dusk - the picture outside my window is in black, white and shades of gray.  The air is cold - the flag barely moves.  There are gun shots...they hunt.  Be safe and run and hide.  Let the darkness protect you.  

I'm Intimidated But I Blog On!

I thought by reading the Blogs of Note that it might help me with my blogging. So far it has made me feel inferior. My competitive nature did not kick in after reading their wonderfully crafted and descriptive tomes. Because it worked opposite of what I expected, I decided not to tell any more of my stories.


In the past when life has been rough, instead of seeking the counsel of friends, I have crawled into a shell. During these times I have journaled. I write when my world is upside down. That is one of the reasons I decided to start a blog. Writing is an outlet for me but I wanted to expand when and what I write.


And I guess I'm stubborn - I've decided to get back on the horse and just continue blogging and plodding along in my own way. I will continue to blog until I bore myself. You may be bored long before I am. But I will slog on and write as I go.

Take care,

Bonnie

My Dad My Hero

Today is the day we honor our fallen and active military men and women and our veterans of all wars.  There is no mail - federal buildings are closed - many activities are planned. 

My Dad is a WWII survivor.  He quit high school to join the Marines when word of the bombing of Pearl Harbor spread throughout his neighborhood.  Many of his friends declared they wouldn't sign up to fight and possibly be killed.  There wasn't a moment's pause for my Dad to decide he would go to serve his country.

I grew up hearing my Dad tell stories of the war in the Pacific.  Many Dads didn't speak a word of their experiences.  I heard his stories many times.  He needs to talk about that time and he does to this day.  He is 86 and sometimes wonders why he has lived this long.  He still has much to accomplish and writes a newsletter his Marine Division.

As he talks I see him as the 17 year old high school kid whose parents wouldn't sign the papers so he could enlist and then wearing them down - they consent.  He completes his training and is sent off in a huge ship where he was almost crushed when transferring from the boat to the ship.  The ocean was so rough that as he climbed the chain ladders to board the ship the waves lifted then crashed the boat into the ship and at that moment hands lifted him up into the ship.  Then they sailed across the Pacific to land on unprotected island shores with snipers in the trees shooting at the young Marines running for cover holding their weapons above their heads to keep them out of the water.  Later when a fellow Marine was killed, he was told to pick up the large BAR weapon and carried it in many battles. He was wounded twice.

He isn't a large man but he is a huge hero.  His stories are detailed and he cries when he remembers the battles and the deaths of his friends.

We owe them.  We honor them.  I love him.

The Almost Completed PROJECT!

I read somewhere a while ago that people who constantly rearrange their furniture are not content with their lives.  I must be contented to the point of stagnation because I never rearrange my furniture neither do I repaint or redecorate. 

I'm feeling so out of character and this brings me to the project I began nine days ago.  Originally I wanted to freshen up the bathroom - the whole bathroom is different shades of off white - the walls, the tiles, the shower surround, the floor, and the ceiling.  I wanted to paint the walls a color.  

Only a week or so later:

1.  The ceiling is primed and painted cream.
2.  The walls are washed and painted Sedona Sand.
3.  The heat grate is sanded and painted cream.
4.  The bathroom is cleaned and the carpet is down.

Yay!!!  I think I'm done and it only took 8 days. 

Now the walls look so good that the shower curtain and window curtain don't thrill me.  They are made of many types of ribbons and trims in many prints and polka dots.  The curtain needs to be tied back or something but it doesn't matter - I will be looking for something different.  The project goes on...

 

Is this my winter of discontent because the scene outside has become so colorless?  Am I nesting?  Do I feel guilty because I don't change things?  Is this easier than cleaning the rest of the house?  Is this how I will clean the rest of the house by painting so it will be clean when I'm done?  Am I doing this because I really want to work on my mixed media/altered art?  Ugh!

I'm off to paint the hallway - only 5 doors and one doorway. It will probably take me 2 weeks because of all the trim.  But in the end there will be no confusing curtains.

I told the SO that he better keep moving or I might redecorate him.  Help me! Help me!

Take care,

Bonnie