As a California girl who has lived in the Northern California Sierra foothills for close to sixty years, I have always celebrated Christmas while enjoying the winter weather here. It can be warm and clear, perfect for a game of football on the lawn; rainy and blustery, best viewed from the fireside next to the sparkling Christmas tree; snowy and sharp, an expansion of white to rush through on a sled; foggy and mysterious, hiding views of our river below off and on with wisps of creeping misty coolness; or crisp and frosted, iced puddles calling to children's boots everywhere.
California vintage Christmas postcards usually celebrate our weather from the Southern California point of view, which is warm and citrus scented, colorfully flowered, and with a backdrop of lightly frosted mountains. Sounds good to me!
When winds are howling 'round your doors and frost is creaking through the floors,
just pack your grip, for nature stores a wealth for you on other shores;
Her sunny smiles await you here with all the Golden West holds dear.
The wide, warm west sends greeting, for the best of Christmas Cheer,
May the coming year be one of gold, like the orange pictured here.
Old King Cole is a cranky old soul, because he can't live out here,
for we're warmed with sunshine - don't need any coal, for Christmas or Happy New Year.
Snow capped mountains and orange grove. When I was a very little girl we lived in one of those orange groves with mountain views.
Palm trees and poinsettias. This postcard below reminds me of Santa Monica and the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean.
Date and fan palms on Palisade Drive. We painted our home a beautiful mellow green which was called Palisades Park, I love green houses and it seemed such a perfect California color choice!
Poinsettias at Christmas. The bracts which form the "flowers" only turn red when the days are short. I have a poinsettia which lives in the dining room in winter. It doesn't get a lot of light in there and will show us a bit of red by Christmas most years.
Private garden in what mansion? I will take that for my Christmas present!
Some California sunshine from 'neath her skies of blue. How I would love to stick my nose into those orange blossoms!
Our garden in midwinter. In our Kelsey winter garden we do get a rose to bloom once in a while. My son has a single blossom on his little pear tree, a little bit of nature's Christmas decorating.
California Christmas Greetings from Gold Country. Merry Christmas to all!
What a cool collection of cards! Send some CA warmth my way-- we're at the start of a deep freeze!!
ReplyDeleteWelcome back Tina. I've missed your posts. Being originally from So. Calif. I can relate to your postcards but I really miss that sunshine and warmth now that I live in Oregon.
ReplyDeleteOh, Tina - this was such a beautiful post!
ReplyDeleteLove all of the vintage postcards and the sentiments, and your memories and connections.
I still love to step on and break a frozen "ice puddle!"
Perhaps we don't ever get over that......
Love you!