It’s a Pink Saturday Parade for the New Year… Bring on the Rose Bowl Parade

Today I’m sharing a few fun parade pictures taken when we cruised on The Mariner of the Seas the week before Christmas. Hubby and I had never been on this Royal Caribbean ship now sailing out of Galveston, Texas, and we decided that a cruise would make the perfect gift to each other. We were sooo right! It was a Pink week from start to finish!  One fun treat was a parade right down the middle of the Royal Promenade. It’s as bright as anything…

With bright pink fish floating down among the crowds

 

It gets a little loud, but that was nothing compared to the night the crew celebrated the 80’s and their version of Disco Fever…bless their hearts, they tried to capture the era and the spirit…even though none of the dancers were even born then…and that late night parade was really spirited…

I will blushingly admit to enjoying their Y.M.C.A. Village People number…the costumes were right on!…especially the policeman…and the cowboy…Several nights later, in keeping with the Christmas holiday, there were Yuletide carols being sung by a choir…

And I found this colorful holiday tree with lots of Pink in one of the Ports of Call…

The Caribbean flowers were beautiful, but now for the greatest parade on earth…THE ROSE PARADE! It’s my very favorite part of New Year’s Day…I’ll be watching it while the Black Eyed Peas simmer and hubby makes his picture perfect cornbread to eat with the Hoppin’ John and turnip greens. I’ll bet our Pink hostess with the mostess, Miss Beverly over at How Sweet The Sound has Black Eyed Peas on her menu this weekend. Have a lovely weekend as you say a fond farewell to 2011 and celebrate the coming of a fresh new year. May everything about 2012 be PINK for you and yours. Thanks for stopping by…join me in using this Looking Backward and Looking Forward time to count our Blessings and to Pray for Peace.

Pink Saturday and Pink Christmas Cactus

Last week I had a happy surprise…Mother’s Christmas cactus is blooming…

 

It’s tucked away on the screened porch that we use as a makeshift greenhouse during winter. I was watering before leaving for a pre-Christmas vacation when it caught me by surprise…like a little gift from my mother who had passed away in April. It still had lots of unopened buds ., but by the time we returned…

Many more were open and looking festive for Christmas. They bloom at Christmas and have a lovely legend attached to their history.

 http://www.santalives.com/LegendChristmasCactus.html

The blooms will continue to open for the rest of the week and will finish around January 6. It’s a perfect and fitting tribute to Mother’s green thumb. I’ll admit to being a bit emotional when I first realized they were starting to flower.  I’ve been thinking of this first Christmas without my mother and how many ornaments she made over the years. So I got to work…

I am just finishing a set of ornaments that I made for my nieces using some of Mother’s  costume jewelry. Like this orchid pin…

I added it to a large gold ornament that has been tied up with gold ribbon…

And now a pin that would lie in the bottom of a jewelry box will now be enjoyed every Christmas for many years to come…

This Pink and red bee looks perfect sitting amid the ribbon on this oversized ornament…

I made three of these large ornaments…

One has the bee for Kate, another has an owl with bright aqua eyes for Kendra and for Kara,  the orchid.  Next year I’ll use some of Mother’s earrings to create smaller versions using some of our old family ornaments.  In 2009 Mother and I picked several of her Christmas pins and pendants to do the same thing with similar ornaments.

I’m glad she got to give those to her granddaughters while she was still with us. Now, the girls will have some nice treasures for their own someday trees.

We’ll be celebrating at my sister’s home with traditional Texas fare…tamales, chili, beans, queso, guacamole, and pecan pie.

We look forward to visiting each other as we stop by to get the list of Pink Saturday posts from Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. Thanks for stopping by Riverside Studios. May your Christmas be filled with Joy as you enjoy the Blessings of the Season. Pray for Peace. 

Retro Pinks for Pink Saturday

For Pink Saturday I’m sharing our dining room Christmas tree. It’s decorated with with vintage ornaments from my sweet hubby’s family.

I love the translucent look of the Chinese lanterns…

I’m sure the colors were brighter when they were new in the 50’s…but isn’t the softness nice?

Many are hand painted…

Others like this Silent Night look more like stencils…

A couple met an untimely end this year…

But I’ll vow to be more watchful as I add the beaded garland next year…Hope your week is Pink. Stop in to visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound to get the full list of Pinks for the week, and until we meet again…