After a very late night on chat, on which we learned with relief that Rodney had made it safely to his mother's house for Christmas, after a harrowing 13 1/2 drive in the snowstorm that just hit from North Carolina northwards, we awoke around ten to still cloudy skies. However, the clouds cleared as the day progressed, but it never got much warmer. I don't think it topped 40°F today, which was fine with me. Wonderful weather for Christmas shopping. (Certainly better than 70s—I remember the first Christmas I was in Georgia and flew to Rhode Island, having to leave wearing my coat, hat, boots, and gloves because it would have taken a second suitcase to hold them, and it was about 72°degrees!)
Since it was almost eleven, we just grabbed a Special K meal bar out of the cupboard and split it, since we were planning to have lunch at our destination, Discover Mills. Ostensibly we were going out there (about an hour's drive) to check out the calendar store. James likes to get an aviation calendar each year and this store usually has the best choice. Also, I wanted to go to the Bass Pro Shop. If you've never seen one of these, it's a funky camping/hunting/fishing/outdoor living type amalgamation of a store, with a big fish tank of game fish and a waterfall and a rock climbing wall and at this time of year they even have a Santa Claus, outdoor outdoor-themed ornaments and lights, and gift items. We found we had a couple of extra presents to find, and Bass Pro was the perfect place to find one, as well as another we were working on. We found some neat stuff, and I discovered their bird suet was all 99¢ each, even the berry/peanut/fruit kinds, which are all over a dollar now at Lowes! I bought seven different kinds, and some collapsible cups, and a light that clips to your hat brim.
Anyway, the first thing we did was eat lunch at Johnny Rocket's. I had a cheddar grilled cheese sandwich, not because I had to, but because I wanted to. I love everything about this place except the music. WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE SO LOUD? I should not have to shout to be able to talk to the waitress or to James across the booth from me. Sheesh.
We also passed by Bath and Body Works, which supplied another gift, and I discovered they had the mid-sized "lambie" figures on sale. This one has a brown face, so you can see its cute little stitched eyelashes.
We did get to the calendar place, although James did not see anything as unique as he wanted. He did get a discount calendar with jets on it, and bought a gift for a friend. I lucked out: not only found a New England Seasons calendar for work, but a Boston calendar for my craft room (with a lovely shot of Quincy Market in the snow), and a small Susan Branch calendar for the guest room. Enjoyed having Jen and Meggan this year and hope to have more guests next year. Shari says she thinks she will be able to come to the Twelfth Night party, so...that's one!
Of course if I don't finish wrapping gifts she will have nowhere to sleep. I now have three more to wrap!
Before leaving we popped in at Books-a-Million, and there was the December Country—yay! snow pictures!
We stopped at the Sandy Springs Trader Joe's and got some chicken and baby salad greens for supper, plus more Christmas goodies and another pumpkin tart. There were fresh balsam and cedar swags and wreaths outside and I contented myself to not being able to have them in the house by taking a few good sniffs. Mmmn!
Also stopped at MicroCenter for a small gift, so I think we really are done now, then fed the car and bought a newspaper (got a double paper, only to find there were no coupons this week—what goes? the next two weekends are the holiday weekends!) before heading home.
We had the Asian salad for supper, then watched the Grinch and A Very Merry Cricket, then while James baked some cookies, I watched four Christmas-themed Ask the Manager episodes (1980, two from 1981, with Joe Dimino, and Dan Berkery's first Christmas show in 1982). James has had a wild hair to bake some of the "Splenda and spice" cookies from the Splenda cookbook for a couple of weeks. These are bite-sized cookies which are supposed to be cinnamon-y, but he has fiddled with the recipe enough that they almost taste like gingerbread. He's also fiddled with an alternate recipe and makes a chocolate batch, with sugar-free Hershey's syrup.
And now we are watching Apollo 8: Christmas on the Moon. Talk about bringing back memories! Remember the astronauts reading from Genesis on Christmas Eve...when they played that clip I got goosebumps all over again.
20 December 2009
Christmas Crackers
This appears to be a series of five minute films made for BBC television about different aspects of Christmas. Here they are in order:
"Nativity Tales"
"Making Merry"
"Commercial Christmas"
"Santa Claus"
"Festive Food"
"Green Christmas"
"A Time for Giving"
"Christmas Past"
"Christmas Climate"
"Christmas Animals"
"Nativity Tales"
"Making Merry"
"Commercial Christmas"
"Santa Claus"
"Festive Food"
"Green Christmas"
"A Time for Giving"
"Christmas Past"
"Christmas Climate"
"Christmas Animals"
19 December 2009
A Great Christmas Story
Daniel Taylor had this wonderful story linked on his blog. I wanted to link it, too, since it's such a wonderful story!
(This made me nostalgic as well—'cause I've been to that farmer's market. On the 1978 California trip with my parents, we got tickets to see Match Game, which was filmed at CBS Television City, and we ate lunch at the market. I know it was 1978, because they still had a poster up from CBS: On the Air, their 50th anniversary special which had aired earlier that year.)
(This made me nostalgic as well—'cause I've been to that farmer's market. On the 1978 California trip with my parents, we got tickets to see Match Game, which was filmed at CBS Television City, and we ate lunch at the market. I know it was 1978, because they still had a poster up from CBS: On the Air, their 50th anniversary special which had aired earlier that year.)
18 December 2009
It's Time for Cookies...
...but it took a while to get there.
I had all the ingredients and the equipment set out, the recipe in front of me, had mixed all the dry ingredients—and then noticed the light shining in the wine bottle. There was something on the surface of the wine. It looked...oily. Eh? Opened the bottle and sniffed.
Okay, I'm a total wine dork. My paternal grandfather used to say I wasn't really Italian because I didn't like pepper or wine. Frankly, unless it's a sweet wine or sangria, it all tastes sour to me. Wine is to cook with (and not those nasty cooking wines, either). But this didn't smell right, either.
Now, it's tough being Italian in Georgia. In Rhode Island I could have popped in the car and driven to any liquor store (never mind driven up to the State Line Liquor stores in New Hampshire over leaf-peeping weekends) and found hearty burgundy wine. I called three liquor stores close to the house and none of them had it. Even worse, one was a wine store and the clerk had never heard of hearty burgundy wine. One clerk at a liquor store thought I was looking for a brand name ("Hardy").
Sigh. Good thing I hadn't started pre-heating the oven.
So I headed out into cold, miserable, mucky, grey weather (it was so dark the outdoor lights were on all day, a perpetual "dusk"), on the way to Harry's Farmer's Market, which was the only place I knew I might find it. (You can use regular burgundy, but it doesn't have the rich taste, nor does it turn the dough a proper color. Hearty burgundy is the closest I can come to my dad's father's wine, which was so dark it almost looked like grape juice. He had a "cold room" wine cellar off the basement and pressed his own grapes.) On the way, I noticed the big liquor store on Delk Road, Mink's. So I stopped there.
Again, the first clerk I talked to didn't know what I was talking about. Apparently there is an Australian brand of wine called "Hardy's"! I had to write down "hearty burgundy" for him ("hearty"—"hearty"; it's an adjective that means "strong"), and he went to ask the manager, who knew exactly what I was talking about. And there he found the nice bottle of Gallo and I went home, only an hour behind.
I had the SiriusXM Holiday Pops channel on all afternoon, and they were playing nice choral carols, like something you might have heard on the radio in the 1930s. I made two batches of wine biscuits (about 75; I lost count when I was putting them in the bowl). I make them now in mom's big green and patterned mixing bowl; it's a sweet tie to the past. By the time the second batch was ready to go in the oven, the first batch was ready to come out.
I had almost forgotten to eat and then all I had was a sandwich bun and some leftover turkey broth from a mug. So by the time I got the second batch I was exceedingly lightheaded and I went downstairs twice looking for the old cigar box Mom kept her recipes in when it was sitting right smack in back of the loveseat in my craft room under my nose.
I decided to try Mom's almond bars again. I made some last year and the batter was very sticky and I used almond extract, which was too strong. This year I used the Splenda baking mix sweetener and was expecting the dough to be very sticky again. Instead it was dry. I added a tiny bit more oil to it, then gave up and added, like I did last year, the rest of the egg mixture that I used to glaze the top of the wine biscuits. And before I shaped the dough I spread some canola oil on my hands so it wouldn't stick!
The little dough loaves shaped perfectly this time and baked nicely.
So now the table is set with Christmas cheer and Christmas food. And the house smells like cookies, smells like memories—smells like Christmas.
(Followed by soup for supper and then by a doubleheader of Dickens: Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol and Mickey's Christmas Carol, and now The Small One...braced for tears...)
I had all the ingredients and the equipment set out, the recipe in front of me, had mixed all the dry ingredients—and then noticed the light shining in the wine bottle. There was something on the surface of the wine. It looked...oily. Eh? Opened the bottle and sniffed.
Okay, I'm a total wine dork. My paternal grandfather used to say I wasn't really Italian because I didn't like pepper or wine. Frankly, unless it's a sweet wine or sangria, it all tastes sour to me. Wine is to cook with (and not those nasty cooking wines, either). But this didn't smell right, either.
Now, it's tough being Italian in Georgia. In Rhode Island I could have popped in the car and driven to any liquor store (never mind driven up to the State Line Liquor stores in New Hampshire over leaf-peeping weekends) and found hearty burgundy wine. I called three liquor stores close to the house and none of them had it. Even worse, one was a wine store and the clerk had never heard of hearty burgundy wine. One clerk at a liquor store thought I was looking for a brand name ("Hardy").
Sigh. Good thing I hadn't started pre-heating the oven.
So I headed out into cold, miserable, mucky, grey weather (it was so dark the outdoor lights were on all day, a perpetual "dusk"), on the way to Harry's Farmer's Market, which was the only place I knew I might find it. (You can use regular burgundy, but it doesn't have the rich taste, nor does it turn the dough a proper color. Hearty burgundy is the closest I can come to my dad's father's wine, which was so dark it almost looked like grape juice. He had a "cold room" wine cellar off the basement and pressed his own grapes.) On the way, I noticed the big liquor store on Delk Road, Mink's. So I stopped there.
Again, the first clerk I talked to didn't know what I was talking about. Apparently there is an Australian brand of wine called "Hardy's"! I had to write down "hearty burgundy" for him ("hearty"—"hearty"; it's an adjective that means "strong"), and he went to ask the manager, who knew exactly what I was talking about. And there he found the nice bottle of Gallo and I went home, only an hour behind.
I had the SiriusXM Holiday Pops channel on all afternoon, and they were playing nice choral carols, like something you might have heard on the radio in the 1930s. I made two batches of wine biscuits (about 75; I lost count when I was putting them in the bowl). I make them now in mom's big green and patterned mixing bowl; it's a sweet tie to the past. By the time the second batch was ready to go in the oven, the first batch was ready to come out.
I had almost forgotten to eat and then all I had was a sandwich bun and some leftover turkey broth from a mug. So by the time I got the second batch I was exceedingly lightheaded and I went downstairs twice looking for the old cigar box Mom kept her recipes in when it was sitting right smack in back of the loveseat in my craft room under my nose.
I decided to try Mom's almond bars again. I made some last year and the batter was very sticky and I used almond extract, which was too strong. This year I used the Splenda baking mix sweetener and was expecting the dough to be very sticky again. Instead it was dry. I added a tiny bit more oil to it, then gave up and added, like I did last year, the rest of the egg mixture that I used to glaze the top of the wine biscuits. And before I shaped the dough I spread some canola oil on my hands so it wouldn't stick!
The little dough loaves shaped perfectly this time and baked nicely.
So now the table is set with Christmas cheer and Christmas food. And the house smells like cookies, smells like memories—smells like Christmas.
(Followed by soup for supper and then by a doubleheader of Dickens: Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol and Mickey's Christmas Carol, and now The Small One...braced for tears...)
British Christmas Films
"Santa Claus" from 1898
"Scrooge, or Marley's Ghost" from 1901
"Dreams of Toyland" from 1908
"Making Christmas Crackers" from 1910
"Christmas Under Fire" from 1941
"Christmas 1946" theatre greeting
"Christmas is Coming," a short film in silhouettes from 1951
Lagninappe (not Christmas, but fascinating just the same): "Old London Street Scenes" from 1903
Lots more old British films here.
"Scrooge, or Marley's Ghost" from 1901
"Dreams of Toyland" from 1908
"Making Christmas Crackers" from 1910
"Christmas Under Fire" from 1941
"Christmas 1946" theatre greeting
"Christmas is Coming," a short film in silhouettes from 1951
Lagninappe (not Christmas, but fascinating just the same): "Old London Street Scenes" from 1903
Lots more old British films here.
17 December 2009
Christmas Music 12-17-2009
More from the CD collection:
• "A Leroy Anderson Christmas," Leroy Anderson and His Orchestra (except for "Sleigh Ride," done by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops)
Great collection of Christmas music arranged by Leroy Anderson, who is most famous for his arrangement of "Sleigh Ride," which became a Boston Pops signature Christmas tune. Along with "Sleigh Ride" and another Pops perennial, the medley "Christmas Festival," there are medley arrangements for brass, strings, and woodwinds. Great background music for work or party.
• "Perry Como's Greatest Christmas Songs"
Ahhh, Mr. Relaxed himself. After Bing Crosby, Perry Como was my mom's favorite singer, so we heard a lot of Mr. C around our house. This is a nice collection of sacred and secular, all sung in Perry's mellow style, including the two songs that were standards at our house, "I Saw Mommy Kissin' Santa Claus" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Hubby says he grew up on Gene Autry's "Rudolph," but it was Perry's version which held sway in our home.
• "A Christmas Collection", Volumes 1 and 2, Greg Miner
These are two interesting CDs I bought at Daedelus Books in Maryland several years back: Christmas music played on rare or interesting instruments. Along with the usual guitars and lovely things like dulcimers and harps, there are bluegrass-with-banjo arrangements and even some sitar versions of secular and sacred Christmas music. Well worth seeking out if you like unusual Christmas music.
• "Christmas in an Irish Castle," The California Revels
The Revels folks invite you to imagine an old-fashioned Christmas in Ireland: waits, Wren boys, feasting and of course whisky flowing freely! Toe-tapping dance music mixed with more thoughtful sacred melodies and even Irish narrative to help you envision an Irish feast. Sláinte!
• "Christmas Live!", Mannheim Steamroller
Live Christmas concert, with all my favorites (check out a previous post), including "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" and the haunting "Silent Night." Oh, yes. Wish the newest album hadn't featured vocalists. All good vocalists, you understand, but I don't buy Mannheim Steamroller to hear vocals.
• "Christmas Favorites by the Hollyridge Strings"
60s favorites finally released on CD: Christmas instrumentals in a bright, bouncy lounge style. These pieces of music were used as background themes for ages; if you're old enough, you probably remember them on local ads and television commercials. Their version of "Santa's Got a Brand New Bag" is particularly recognizable. Time travel to another era with these smooth Christmas tunes.
• "A Leroy Anderson Christmas," Leroy Anderson and His Orchestra (except for "Sleigh Ride," done by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops)
Great collection of Christmas music arranged by Leroy Anderson, who is most famous for his arrangement of "Sleigh Ride," which became a Boston Pops signature Christmas tune. Along with "Sleigh Ride" and another Pops perennial, the medley "Christmas Festival," there are medley arrangements for brass, strings, and woodwinds. Great background music for work or party.
• "Perry Como's Greatest Christmas Songs"
Ahhh, Mr. Relaxed himself. After Bing Crosby, Perry Como was my mom's favorite singer, so we heard a lot of Mr. C around our house. This is a nice collection of sacred and secular, all sung in Perry's mellow style, including the two songs that were standards at our house, "I Saw Mommy Kissin' Santa Claus" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Hubby says he grew up on Gene Autry's "Rudolph," but it was Perry's version which held sway in our home.
• "A Christmas Collection", Volumes 1 and 2, Greg Miner
These are two interesting CDs I bought at Daedelus Books in Maryland several years back: Christmas music played on rare or interesting instruments. Along with the usual guitars and lovely things like dulcimers and harps, there are bluegrass-with-banjo arrangements and even some sitar versions of secular and sacred Christmas music. Well worth seeking out if you like unusual Christmas music.
• "Christmas in an Irish Castle," The California Revels
The Revels folks invite you to imagine an old-fashioned Christmas in Ireland: waits, Wren boys, feasting and of course whisky flowing freely! Toe-tapping dance music mixed with more thoughtful sacred melodies and even Irish narrative to help you envision an Irish feast. Sláinte!
• "Christmas Live!", Mannheim Steamroller
Live Christmas concert, with all my favorites (check out a previous post), including "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" and the haunting "Silent Night." Oh, yes. Wish the newest album hadn't featured vocalists. All good vocalists, you understand, but I don't buy Mannheim Steamroller to hear vocals.
• "Christmas Favorites by the Hollyridge Strings"
60s favorites finally released on CD: Christmas instrumentals in a bright, bouncy lounge style. These pieces of music were used as background themes for ages; if you're old enough, you probably remember them on local ads and television commercials. Their version of "Santa's Got a Brand New Bag" is particularly recognizable. Time travel to another era with these smooth Christmas tunes.
16 December 2009
Santa Claus is a Woman Because-
• The vast majorities of men don't even think about selecting gifts until Christmas Eve and only go for a last-minute shopping spree.
• For a he-Santa, there would be no reindeer because they would all be dead, gutted and strapped on to the rear bumper of the sleigh.
• Even if the male Santa did have reindeer, he would inevitably get lost up there in the snow and clouds and then refuse to stop and ask for directions.
• For a Santa man, there would be unavoidable delays in the chimney, where the Bob Vila-like Santa would stop to inspect and repaint bricks in the flue.
• He would also need to check for carbon monoxide fumes in every gas fireplace, and get under every Christmas tree that is crooked to straighten it to a perfectly upright 90-degree angle.
• Men can't pack a bag.
• Men would rather be dead than caught wearing red velvet.
• Men would feel their masculinity is threatened...having to be seen with all those elves.
• Men don't answer their mail.
• Men would refuse to allow their physique to be described even in jest as anything remotely resembling a "bowlful of jelly."
• Men aren't interested in stockings unless somebody's wearing them.
• Having to do the 'Ho Ho Ho' thing would seriously inhibit their ability to pick up women.
• Finally, being responsible for Christmas would require a commitment.
A tip of the hat to April on "Christmas to the Max."
• For a he-Santa, there would be no reindeer because they would all be dead, gutted and strapped on to the rear bumper of the sleigh.
• Even if the male Santa did have reindeer, he would inevitably get lost up there in the snow and clouds and then refuse to stop and ask for directions.
• For a Santa man, there would be unavoidable delays in the chimney, where the Bob Vila-like Santa would stop to inspect and repaint bricks in the flue.
• He would also need to check for carbon monoxide fumes in every gas fireplace, and get under every Christmas tree that is crooked to straighten it to a perfectly upright 90-degree angle.
• Men can't pack a bag.
• Men would rather be dead than caught wearing red velvet.
• Men would feel their masculinity is threatened...having to be seen with all those elves.
• Men don't answer their mail.
• Men would refuse to allow their physique to be described even in jest as anything remotely resembling a "bowlful of jelly."
• Men aren't interested in stockings unless somebody's wearing them.
• Having to do the 'Ho Ho Ho' thing would seriously inhibit their ability to pick up women.
• Finally, being responsible for Christmas would require a commitment.
A tip of the hat to April on "Christmas to the Max."
14 December 2009
CHRISTMAS BOOK REVIEW: Wishin' and Hopin'
by Wally Lamb
The subtitle, "A Christmas Story," is a bit of a misnomer, but the last half of the story does take place at Christmas, so...close enough for this humorous memoir about Felix Funicello, whose only "claim to fame" so far in his ten years has been that he's distant cousins with former Mouseketeer/singer/movie star Annette Funicello. But in October of 1964, life changes for Felix: his fifth-grade parochial school teacher, Sister Dymphna, suffers a nervous breakdown and his class gets a lay teacher, a French-Canadian woman with a decidedly Gallic outlook on life (and the curriculum, since they now have French lessons); his mom gets in the Pillsbury Bake-Off semifinals; Felix himself and his pals will be in a future audience of the local Ranger Andy television show; and an outrageous Russian student joins their class. Into this heady mix stir the usual class teacher's pet, Felix's growing awareness of the opposite sex (partially stimulated by his slightly older best friend), and the approaching class Nativity pageant.
It all turns out to be a very funny, very true portrait of a 1960s Italian family in southern Connecticut, a "slice-of-life" story that reaches its hilarious conclusion at the Nativity pageant. If I have any complaint with this book, it's that Lamb almost throws in TOO many 1960s references...hair scrunchies, references to TV and radio personalities, references to the newfangled idea of "subscription television," etc. in an effort to portray the era. But for me it didn't overwhelm the sheer fun of the story--and it even ends with an American Graffiti-like "whatever happened to" epilog which provides the tale with a perfect capper. Enjoyable, especially for nostalgia buffs and those who, like me, remember the early 1960s.
The subtitle, "A Christmas Story," is a bit of a misnomer, but the last half of the story does take place at Christmas, so...close enough for this humorous memoir about Felix Funicello, whose only "claim to fame" so far in his ten years has been that he's distant cousins with former Mouseketeer/singer/movie star Annette Funicello. But in October of 1964, life changes for Felix: his fifth-grade parochial school teacher, Sister Dymphna, suffers a nervous breakdown and his class gets a lay teacher, a French-Canadian woman with a decidedly Gallic outlook on life (and the curriculum, since they now have French lessons); his mom gets in the Pillsbury Bake-Off semifinals; Felix himself and his pals will be in a future audience of the local Ranger Andy television show; and an outrageous Russian student joins their class. Into this heady mix stir the usual class teacher's pet, Felix's growing awareness of the opposite sex (partially stimulated by his slightly older best friend), and the approaching class Nativity pageant.
It all turns out to be a very funny, very true portrait of a 1960s Italian family in southern Connecticut, a "slice-of-life" story that reaches its hilarious conclusion at the Nativity pageant. If I have any complaint with this book, it's that Lamb almost throws in TOO many 1960s references...hair scrunchies, references to TV and radio personalities, references to the newfangled idea of "subscription television," etc. in an effort to portray the era. But for me it didn't overwhelm the sheer fun of the story--and it even ends with an American Graffiti-like "whatever happened to" epilog which provides the tale with a perfect capper. Enjoyable, especially for nostalgia buffs and those who, like me, remember the early 1960s.
13 December 2009
A Day of Lights and the Glitter of Tinsel
Oh, it's been a busy weekend preparing for Christmas.
Usually I put up the tree on my birthday, which was Friday, but James hadn't brought the tree upstairs yet, and I still had the Rudolph tree to put up. So I did so, and had to fix a couple of other things. Then I cleared off the coffee table so it would be ready for me to sort out ornaments.
I felt myself starting to obsess about this and had to slow myself down.
We had to get up early for Hair Day on Saturday, as our hairdresser, Sheri, was going to a Christmas party. We brought cornbread to go with the main dish, different kinds of chili (Alex made three! a white turkey chili, a regular chili with pork, and Cincinnati chili), and gingerbread (unlike Sook, it's not "fruitcake weather" for me, but "gingerbread weather"). Before we went to the hobby shop, we stopped at Kroger for milk and things. No worries about the milk staying in the truck; it was colder than the refrigerator outside, a chill day with temps in the thirties.
While we were at the hobby shop I took the opportunity to go to the hardware store across the parking lot and buy a space heater for our bathroom. With that big picture window in it, it's never warm enough in there in the winter. (Saturday night it was about 57°F in there; in 16 minutes it had raised the temp 10 degrees.) The owner was exceedingly grumpy that I used a coupon and that I paid with my credit card.
We were keeping an eye on the weather. We were supposed to drive out to Birmingham tonight to our friend Shari's Christmas party, but they had been predicting a hard rain since Thursday. Now, as the forecast settled out, it looked like the periods of rain were supposed to be worst at 5 p.m. (when we would be driving out there) and 1 a.m., when we would be coming home. Plus, last year we went to Hair Day and Shari's party on the same day, too. Between Ron and Lin's cats and Shari's cats, I ended up riding home from Birmingham with a burgeoning allergy attack.
So we reluctantly decided not to go, and instead stopped at BJs on the way home for something we'd forgotten, then came home. We had one of those Hormel packaged meat dinners, beef with bourbon sauce, with some white rice. Pretty good. Then we moved the rocking chair into our bedroom and James brought the tree up, and the box with the ornaments, and I commenced to decorate, since we wanted something Christmasy.
I just took my time. I didn't start until after eight, and we had to fluff the tree and, ::sigh::...get the lights working...parts of two strings were out...we just pressed at them; the bulbs must have been loose, because that did the trick. And refasten the lights to the branches, as taking the tree up that narrow staircase isn't conducive to tight lights. LOL. I was even on chat for a while as I put the last set or two of ornaments on the tree. You see, James found a chat program for the Droids. He set his up, then helped me set mine up. Yep, I can chat on the phone now!
I just decided to wait until today to put on the tinsel. James said last night, "You know, you don't have to put on tinsel." Well, yeah, I do. Our trees always had tinsel. [By "tinsel," I mean silver icicles, of course.] My grandparents' and relatives' trees always had tinsel. Garland is okay for the smaller trees, but it's not really a Christmas tree to me unless there's tinsel. It makes the tree live, and breathe.
(We were talking about tinsel last night on chat. Jen said she had only ever know the light, mylar stuff. Pretty much so did I. Lead tinsel was banned by the time I was growing up. I had relatives who still had it, because as a prudent, non-wasteful person, you removed it from the tree and returned it to its holder till next year. In fact, we did the same with the mylar, unless it got too wrinkled. And I did so when I moved out on my own. But the tinsel they're making today is thinner than the mylar tinsel from back then. It's like that fluffy "angel hair" that was once popular for trees. It's so thin and frangible that I have to remove it after Christmas and toss it. Makes me feel wasteful.)
Didn't get to bed until two, and had a nice sleep in, then went to Costco for lunch...cough...we were actually looking for a gift, but they didn't have it. Lots of nice samples for Christmas: chocolates, crab cakes, lobster spread, salsa, meatballs, cocoa and biscotti, potstickers, chicken nuggets, cheesecake, garlic chicken pasta, gouda cheese...
Found the gift in Best Buy, so we're all done. One may need augmenting. I'll see when I wrap.
Anyway, spent the rest of the afternoon tinseling the tree. When you're starting at the back, on the first branch, you wonder if it's worth it.
When you're halfway through and your back is hurting, you wonder if it's worth it.
When your hands are cold and the static electricity is making the tinsel stick to the carpet, you, the end table next to the tree, and the fireplace hearth, you wonder if it's worth it.
When it's finished, and James pushes the tree inch by inch back into the corner (because it can't be decorated in the corner, as there's no way to get to the back) on the unstable carpet, and all the lights are plugged into the timer and it turns on...yeah, it's worth it. Every single aching muscle.
And then, although I had said I would do it later, I vacuumed because I couldn't stand it anymore. And then I sat in front of the tree and put the manger set up, figure by figure, the one bought piece by piece by my mother from the bins at Woolworths and W.T. Grants and Newberrys...the Holy Family, the angel, three kings, three camels and the camel driver, the ox and ass, the man offering eggs, the boy playing the flute, the shepherd, and a flock of sheep and one goat and the sheepdog, all in or around the wooden stable. I bought one of those lights for it, the ones that go in village houses, and it has a yellow light bulb, of course, so the Baby Jesus is softly illuminated with heavenly Light.
Somewhere in the middle of all of that we had some thin steaks for supper with ramen noodles, and I finally got to sit and watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
And now we are having our annual Remember WENN Christmas chat party. We gather in the chat room and watch the episode "Christmas in the Airwaves" together. Always great fun!
Usually I put up the tree on my birthday, which was Friday, but James hadn't brought the tree upstairs yet, and I still had the Rudolph tree to put up. So I did so, and had to fix a couple of other things. Then I cleared off the coffee table so it would be ready for me to sort out ornaments.
I felt myself starting to obsess about this and had to slow myself down.
We had to get up early for Hair Day on Saturday, as our hairdresser, Sheri, was going to a Christmas party. We brought cornbread to go with the main dish, different kinds of chili (Alex made three! a white turkey chili, a regular chili with pork, and Cincinnati chili), and gingerbread (unlike Sook, it's not "fruitcake weather" for me, but "gingerbread weather"). Before we went to the hobby shop, we stopped at Kroger for milk and things. No worries about the milk staying in the truck; it was colder than the refrigerator outside, a chill day with temps in the thirties.
While we were at the hobby shop I took the opportunity to go to the hardware store across the parking lot and buy a space heater for our bathroom. With that big picture window in it, it's never warm enough in there in the winter. (Saturday night it was about 57°F in there; in 16 minutes it had raised the temp 10 degrees.) The owner was exceedingly grumpy that I used a coupon and that I paid with my credit card.
We were keeping an eye on the weather. We were supposed to drive out to Birmingham tonight to our friend Shari's Christmas party, but they had been predicting a hard rain since Thursday. Now, as the forecast settled out, it looked like the periods of rain were supposed to be worst at 5 p.m. (when we would be driving out there) and 1 a.m., when we would be coming home. Plus, last year we went to Hair Day and Shari's party on the same day, too. Between Ron and Lin's cats and Shari's cats, I ended up riding home from Birmingham with a burgeoning allergy attack.
So we reluctantly decided not to go, and instead stopped at BJs on the way home for something we'd forgotten, then came home. We had one of those Hormel packaged meat dinners, beef with bourbon sauce, with some white rice. Pretty good. Then we moved the rocking chair into our bedroom and James brought the tree up, and the box with the ornaments, and I commenced to decorate, since we wanted something Christmasy.
I just took my time. I didn't start until after eight, and we had to fluff the tree and, ::sigh::...get the lights working...parts of two strings were out...we just pressed at them; the bulbs must have been loose, because that did the trick. And refasten the lights to the branches, as taking the tree up that narrow staircase isn't conducive to tight lights. LOL. I was even on chat for a while as I put the last set or two of ornaments on the tree. You see, James found a chat program for the Droids. He set his up, then helped me set mine up. Yep, I can chat on the phone now!
I just decided to wait until today to put on the tinsel. James said last night, "You know, you don't have to put on tinsel." Well, yeah, I do. Our trees always had tinsel. [By "tinsel," I mean silver icicles, of course.] My grandparents' and relatives' trees always had tinsel. Garland is okay for the smaller trees, but it's not really a Christmas tree to me unless there's tinsel. It makes the tree live, and breathe.
(We were talking about tinsel last night on chat. Jen said she had only ever know the light, mylar stuff. Pretty much so did I. Lead tinsel was banned by the time I was growing up. I had relatives who still had it, because as a prudent, non-wasteful person, you removed it from the tree and returned it to its holder till next year. In fact, we did the same with the mylar, unless it got too wrinkled. And I did so when I moved out on my own. But the tinsel they're making today is thinner than the mylar tinsel from back then. It's like that fluffy "angel hair" that was once popular for trees. It's so thin and frangible that I have to remove it after Christmas and toss it. Makes me feel wasteful.)
Didn't get to bed until two, and had a nice sleep in, then went to Costco for lunch...cough...we were actually looking for a gift, but they didn't have it. Lots of nice samples for Christmas: chocolates, crab cakes, lobster spread, salsa, meatballs, cocoa and biscotti, potstickers, chicken nuggets, cheesecake, garlic chicken pasta, gouda cheese...
Found the gift in Best Buy, so we're all done. One may need augmenting. I'll see when I wrap.
Anyway, spent the rest of the afternoon tinseling the tree. When you're starting at the back, on the first branch, you wonder if it's worth it.
When you're halfway through and your back is hurting, you wonder if it's worth it.
When your hands are cold and the static electricity is making the tinsel stick to the carpet, you, the end table next to the tree, and the fireplace hearth, you wonder if it's worth it.
When it's finished, and James pushes the tree inch by inch back into the corner (because it can't be decorated in the corner, as there's no way to get to the back) on the unstable carpet, and all the lights are plugged into the timer and it turns on...yeah, it's worth it. Every single aching muscle.
And then, although I had said I would do it later, I vacuumed because I couldn't stand it anymore. And then I sat in front of the tree and put the manger set up, figure by figure, the one bought piece by piece by my mother from the bins at Woolworths and W.T. Grants and Newberrys...the Holy Family, the angel, three kings, three camels and the camel driver, the ox and ass, the man offering eggs, the boy playing the flute, the shepherd, and a flock of sheep and one goat and the sheepdog, all in or around the wooden stable. I bought one of those lights for it, the ones that go in village houses, and it has a yellow light bulb, of course, so the Baby Jesus is softly illuminated with heavenly Light.
Somewhere in the middle of all of that we had some thin steaks for supper with ramen noodles, and I finally got to sit and watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
And now we are having our annual Remember WENN Christmas chat party. We gather in the chat room and watch the episode "Christmas in the Airwaves" together. Always great fun!
CHRISTMAS BOOK REVIEW: The True Gift
by Patricia MacLachlan
Siblings Lily and Liam look forward all year to Christmas on their grandparents' farm, where they will help Grandpa with the chores, take snowy walks, withdraw books from "the lilac library," and shop in the small village nearby for Christmas gifts. But this year Liam is worried; their favorite farm animal, "White Cow," is now alone and seems unhappy. And if it takes everything he has, Liam will make sure White Cow is no longer sad.
It's hard to put a finger on an era for this book. It reads as old-fashioned, almost 1940s, with no television, computers, videogames—the kids are actually voracious readers!—or even radio in sight. On the other hand, MacLachlan refers to "chapter books" and a volume about "the emotional lives of cows," which no one in the 1940s would have cared about. Not pinning the time down is probably deliberate, to make the story seem timeless, and in the end it does. It's a good-natured, sweet book about two kids who do a good deed, something you might read aloud on Christmas Eve by the light of the Christmas tree to younger children. Older kids might find it "corny."
I loved the beautifully detailed black-and-white illustrations as well.
Siblings Lily and Liam look forward all year to Christmas on their grandparents' farm, where they will help Grandpa with the chores, take snowy walks, withdraw books from "the lilac library," and shop in the small village nearby for Christmas gifts. But this year Liam is worried; their favorite farm animal, "White Cow," is now alone and seems unhappy. And if it takes everything he has, Liam will make sure White Cow is no longer sad.
It's hard to put a finger on an era for this book. It reads as old-fashioned, almost 1940s, with no television, computers, videogames—the kids are actually voracious readers!—or even radio in sight. On the other hand, MacLachlan refers to "chapter books" and a volume about "the emotional lives of cows," which no one in the 1940s would have cared about. Not pinning the time down is probably deliberate, to make the story seem timeless, and in the end it does. It's a good-natured, sweet book about two kids who do a good deed, something you might read aloud on Christmas Eve by the light of the Christmas tree to younger children. Older kids might find it "corny."
I loved the beautifully detailed black-and-white illustrations as well.
Blast from the Past: Christmas 1974
This was produced by Bill Melendez, which is why the animation looks vaguely like the "Peanuts" stories. Jimmy Osmond rather yowls the title tune, but otherwise this is pretty sweet.
Yes, Virginia, There is Santa Claus, Part 1
Yes, Virginia, There is Santa Claus, Part 2
Yes, Virginia, There is Santa Claus, Part 3
Yes, Virginia, There is Santa Claus, Part 1
Yes, Virginia, There is Santa Claus, Part 2
Yes, Virginia, There is Santa Claus, Part 3
12 December 2009
CHRISTMAS BOOK REVIEW: Christmas Miscellany
by Jonathan Green
Call it "Christmas 101 Lite." This charming, gift-book size volume, first published in Great Britain, answers the questions about our most cherished Christmas customs—like: What's myrrh? Why do we send Christmas cards? What's a figgy pudding?—with a British slant (Christmas crackers, plum pudding, etc. are included). The particular charm of this little volume are the illustrations, which are taken from Victorian magazines, "scraps" of 19th century illustrations, old Christmas postcards, and a few recent things, like a 1963 postage stamp. The light tone of the author and the colorful illustrations combine for a fun-to-read book that could be left out on a coffee table or in a spare room for guests to peruse. A worthy addition to a Christmas library.
Call it "Christmas 101 Lite." This charming, gift-book size volume, first published in Great Britain, answers the questions about our most cherished Christmas customs—like: What's myrrh? Why do we send Christmas cards? What's a figgy pudding?—with a British slant (Christmas crackers, plum pudding, etc. are included). The particular charm of this little volume are the illustrations, which are taken from Victorian magazines, "scraps" of 19th century illustrations, old Christmas postcards, and a few recent things, like a 1963 postage stamp. The light tone of the author and the colorful illustrations combine for a fun-to-read book that could be left out on a coffee table or in a spare room for guests to peruse. A worthy addition to a Christmas library.
11 December 2009
Linda's Top 10 Christmas Songs
Per Ivan's informal challenge...but, sorry, in no particular order (it being understood that these will probably change...maybe by tomorrow...LOL!):
Nat King Cole, "The Christmas Song" — So many versions, but this one just says "Christmas" to me.
Mannheim Steamroller, "Silent Night" — What an arrangement; nearly breaks my heart.
The Carpenters, "It's Christmas Time/Sleep Well, Little Children" — I love to sing along with the first half of this one and try to keep up; the second half makes me feel soft and warm and safe.
Andy Williams, "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" — Gets all those happy Christmas juices going! (Trying to figure out which other of the songs on the first side of Andy Williams "red album" I would pick, as I love 'em all; probably "Kay Thompson's Jingle Bells." Talk about a song that gets your pulse pounding!)
Bing Crosby, "White Christmas" — Another "safe and warm" song, and reminds me of my mom; but I have to admit, "Do You Hear What I Hear?" would come in a close second.
James Galway, "Shepherd's Pipe Carol" — Almost impossible to pick one from Galway's Christmas album, but I think this one edges out the rest...the sense of joy is tangible.
Johnny Mathis, "I'll Be Home for Christmas"? — always makes me cry.
The Singers Unlimited, "Bright, Bright, the Holly Berries" — One of the standards on Providence's old "beautiful music" station WLKW
From the Charlie Brown Christmas album, "Christmastime is Here" — Probably the most perfect of the post-1960 carols.
Bruce Mitchell, "Joy to the World" — Great, great instrumental arrangement from the Narada Christmas album.
With honorable mentions to:
John Denver, "Aspenglow"
Nancy Wilson, "The Christmas Waltz"
Oh, yeah, and the album version of John Denver and the Muppets "We Wish You a Merry Christmas": "Figgy pudding! Figgy! It's made with figs!" "Oh!" "And bacon!"
Nat King Cole, "The Christmas Song" — So many versions, but this one just says "Christmas" to me.
Mannheim Steamroller, "Silent Night" — What an arrangement; nearly breaks my heart.
The Carpenters, "It's Christmas Time/Sleep Well, Little Children" — I love to sing along with the first half of this one and try to keep up; the second half makes me feel soft and warm and safe.
Andy Williams, "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" — Gets all those happy Christmas juices going! (Trying to figure out which other of the songs on the first side of Andy Williams "red album" I would pick, as I love 'em all; probably "Kay Thompson's Jingle Bells." Talk about a song that gets your pulse pounding!)
Bing Crosby, "White Christmas" — Another "safe and warm" song, and reminds me of my mom; but I have to admit, "Do You Hear What I Hear?" would come in a close second.
James Galway, "Shepherd's Pipe Carol" — Almost impossible to pick one from Galway's Christmas album, but I think this one edges out the rest...the sense of joy is tangible.
Johnny Mathis, "I'll Be Home for Christmas"? — always makes me cry.
The Singers Unlimited, "Bright, Bright, the Holly Berries" — One of the standards on Providence's old "beautiful music" station WLKW
From the Charlie Brown Christmas album, "Christmastime is Here" — Probably the most perfect of the post-1960 carols.
Bruce Mitchell, "Joy to the World" — Great, great instrumental arrangement from the Narada Christmas album.
With honorable mentions to:
John Denver, "Aspenglow"
Nancy Wilson, "The Christmas Waltz"
Oh, yeah, and the album version of John Denver and the Muppets "We Wish You a Merry Christmas": "Figgy pudding! Figgy! It's made with figs!" "Oh!" "And bacon!"
09 December 2009
CHRISTMAS BOOK REVIEW: Christmas Traditions
by Helen Szymanski
Like Szymanski's previous collections, these are short pieces in a "Chicken Soup for the Soul" type of vein. There are some sweet stories that even contain some ideas for new Christmas traditions, like placing love notes on a Christmas tree or sledding in the moonlight, but several of the stories sound rather commonplace rather than being extraordinary. Some good ethnic and vintage pieces, though; all in all a mixed bag of nostalgia. In short, if you like these types of stories, you will enjoy this book.
Like Szymanski's previous collections, these are short pieces in a "Chicken Soup for the Soul" type of vein. There are some sweet stories that even contain some ideas for new Christmas traditions, like placing love notes on a Christmas tree or sledding in the moonlight, but several of the stories sound rather commonplace rather than being extraordinary. Some good ethnic and vintage pieces, though; all in all a mixed bag of nostalgia. In short, if you like these types of stories, you will enjoy this book.
Christmas Music 12-9-2009
More cassettes:
♥ "Christmas," Mannheim Steamroller
The original! I remember listening to this in 2004, driving from Plymouth to Quincy—we'd keep finding stations playing Rush Limbaugh; when one would fade out another would come up, and all he was playing was this album. From a funky "Deck the Halls" to a jazzy "Good King Wenceslas" to the slow-building "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," and an arrangement of "Silent Night" that will break your heart.
♥ "Wassail! Wassail! Early American Christmas Music," The Revels
This is one of only two albums I have with "Twas in the Moon of Wintertime" ("The Huron Carol") which I recall learning in school. A Canadian priest translated the story of Jesus to the Huron people in terms they could understand: Jesus is the son of the Great Manitou and is wrapped in rabbit skins rather than swaddling clothes. Between the songs are a folksy narrative telling the Christmas story and Jean Ritchie's Appalachian memories.
♥ "A Gift of Song," Mason Williams
Mr. Classical Gas himself. Guitar, of course, plus other woodwinds and percussion. Very pleasant "Seventies Sound."
♥ "A Music Box Christmas," Columbia Records
Love this one—sounds like authentic music boxes. I have some Porter "music box" albums that sound like they are actually synthesized music box sound (actually, some of them must be as the songs are modern ones). On this you can hear the twang of the metal along with the tinkling of the tunes.
♥ "Christmas," the Singers Unlimited
Mixed choral heavily featuring women. A staple of beautiful music stations at Christmastime some thirty years ago; I remember most of them being played on WLKW out of Providence.
♥ "Christmas," Mannheim Steamroller
The original! I remember listening to this in 2004, driving from Plymouth to Quincy—we'd keep finding stations playing Rush Limbaugh; when one would fade out another would come up, and all he was playing was this album. From a funky "Deck the Halls" to a jazzy "Good King Wenceslas" to the slow-building "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," and an arrangement of "Silent Night" that will break your heart.
♥ "Wassail! Wassail! Early American Christmas Music," The Revels
This is one of only two albums I have with "Twas in the Moon of Wintertime" ("The Huron Carol") which I recall learning in school. A Canadian priest translated the story of Jesus to the Huron people in terms they could understand: Jesus is the son of the Great Manitou and is wrapped in rabbit skins rather than swaddling clothes. Between the songs are a folksy narrative telling the Christmas story and Jean Ritchie's Appalachian memories.
♥ "A Gift of Song," Mason Williams
Mr. Classical Gas himself. Guitar, of course, plus other woodwinds and percussion. Very pleasant "Seventies Sound."
♥ "A Music Box Christmas," Columbia Records
Love this one—sounds like authentic music boxes. I have some Porter "music box" albums that sound like they are actually synthesized music box sound (actually, some of them must be as the songs are modern ones). On this you can hear the twang of the metal along with the tinkling of the tunes.
♥ "Christmas," the Singers Unlimited
Mixed choral heavily featuring women. A staple of beautiful music stations at Christmastime some thirty years ago; I remember most of them being played on WLKW out of Providence.
06 December 2009
Remember "The Raccoons"?
Here's their Christmas outing, with Rita Coolidge as the voice of Melissa and Rupert Holmes as Dan the forest ranger.
The Christmas Raccoons, Part 1
The Christmas Raccoons, Part 2
The Christmas Raccoons, Part 3
The Christmas Raccoons, Part 1
The Christmas Raccoons, Part 2
The Christmas Raccoons, Part 3
05 December 2009
03 December 2009
"Holiday Gifts" 1900
Expensive ones, too. This is the first article in the December 1900 edition of House Beautiful (yes, the magazine's been around that long)!
Do note the use of "holiday," proving that its use today is not simply a politically-corrected modernism.
Do note the use of "holiday," proving that its use today is not simply a politically-corrected modernism.
02 December 2009
Christmas Music 12-2-2009
This time from the CD collection:
• "Holiday Pops" with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops.
One of my very favorites! Contains "Tomorrow is My Dancing Day" which makes me want to dance! Also a toe-tappin' swing version of "Good King Wenceslas," the classic "Christmastime is Here" from A Charlie Brown Christmas, and one of my recent favorites, the triumphant "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas!" from Home Alone 2 which brings in Christmas with ringing voices. "Yes!"
• "Narada: The Christmas Collection" (various)
Contains one of my all-time favorite arrangements of "Joy to the World," done by Bruce Mitchell and a lilting version of "I Saw Three Ships" by David Arkenstone. Nice quiet New Age arrangements of traditional carols—chill-out music.
• "A Traditional Christmas" (various artists)
A more traditional album, with well-known singers. Stirring version of "O Holy Night" by Bing Crosby; what lovely pipes the man had. Andy Williams' "A Song and a Christmas Tree" (a takeoff of "12 Days of Christmas") is a favorite. Peggy Lee, Lena Horne, Al Martino, and more...and of course the incomparable Nat "King" Cole singing "The Christmas Song." Would it be Christmas without it?
• "Piano Winterlude" (David Huntsinger)
I found Huntsinger's "Autumn in New England" many years ago and fell in love with it, then much later got his "New England by Piano," but didn't know about this one, which once upon a time was for sale at Michaels with other instrumentals and I didn't buy it, until a few years ago. Hunted up a copy posthaste...don't regret the search. Huntsinger's style is closer to Tim Janis than to George Winston, but more subtle.
• "A Victorian Christmas Revels" (the Revels)
The Revels organization started out doing recreations of medieval Christmas revels in the Cambridge, MA, area. Now there are different Revels groups across the US and they also have springtime, summer, and other shows, but the most famous of these is still their Christmas Revels, which, each year, highlight a different culture or time period, with period music and costume. This outing recreates Victorian England, with traditional carols as well as a visit to the great Victorian equalizer, the music hall, where such ditties as "Down at the Old Bull and Buch" and the humorous "Don't Have Any More, Mrs. Moore" add to the entertainment of the day. Much fun.
• "Simple Gifts: A Windham Hill Collection" (various)
More New Age, perfect for a rainy day such as today. Lovely melancholic pieces like "New Trees at Knockaun" and "Snow Shadows," plus more traditional fare like "Adeste Fideles" and "O Holy Night." George Winston does "Greensleeves," there's the lilting "In Bethlehem City," and it finishes up with an instrumental version of How The Grinch Stole Christmas's "Welcome Christmas."
• "James Galway's Christmas Carol" (James Galway, of course, and chorus)
Flute music with chorale accompaniment as sweet as Christmas candy and less fattening. This is one of those albums that just says (sings?) "Christmas" to me: the delightful lilt of "Shepherd's Pipe Carol," "Fantasia on 'I Saw Three Ships'" which makes me want to do an Irish jig, the lyrical "Past Three O'Clock," and the achingly beautifully sweet "Sheep May Safely Graze"—and twelve more lovely pieces. Should be in everyone's Christmas library.
• "Holiday Pops" with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops.
One of my very favorites! Contains "Tomorrow is My Dancing Day" which makes me want to dance! Also a toe-tappin' swing version of "Good King Wenceslas," the classic "Christmastime is Here" from A Charlie Brown Christmas, and one of my recent favorites, the triumphant "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas!" from Home Alone 2 which brings in Christmas with ringing voices. "Yes!"
• "Narada: The Christmas Collection" (various)
Contains one of my all-time favorite arrangements of "Joy to the World," done by Bruce Mitchell and a lilting version of "I Saw Three Ships" by David Arkenstone. Nice quiet New Age arrangements of traditional carols—chill-out music.
• "A Traditional Christmas" (various artists)
A more traditional album, with well-known singers. Stirring version of "O Holy Night" by Bing Crosby; what lovely pipes the man had. Andy Williams' "A Song and a Christmas Tree" (a takeoff of "12 Days of Christmas") is a favorite. Peggy Lee, Lena Horne, Al Martino, and more...and of course the incomparable Nat "King" Cole singing "The Christmas Song." Would it be Christmas without it?
• "Piano Winterlude" (David Huntsinger)
I found Huntsinger's "Autumn in New England" many years ago and fell in love with it, then much later got his "New England by Piano," but didn't know about this one, which once upon a time was for sale at Michaels with other instrumentals and I didn't buy it, until a few years ago. Hunted up a copy posthaste...don't regret the search. Huntsinger's style is closer to Tim Janis than to George Winston, but more subtle.
• "A Victorian Christmas Revels" (the Revels)
The Revels organization started out doing recreations of medieval Christmas revels in the Cambridge, MA, area. Now there are different Revels groups across the US and they also have springtime, summer, and other shows, but the most famous of these is still their Christmas Revels, which, each year, highlight a different culture or time period, with period music and costume. This outing recreates Victorian England, with traditional carols as well as a visit to the great Victorian equalizer, the music hall, where such ditties as "Down at the Old Bull and Buch" and the humorous "Don't Have Any More, Mrs. Moore" add to the entertainment of the day. Much fun.
• "Simple Gifts: A Windham Hill Collection" (various)
More New Age, perfect for a rainy day such as today. Lovely melancholic pieces like "New Trees at Knockaun" and "Snow Shadows," plus more traditional fare like "Adeste Fideles" and "O Holy Night." George Winston does "Greensleeves," there's the lilting "In Bethlehem City," and it finishes up with an instrumental version of How The Grinch Stole Christmas's "Welcome Christmas."
• "James Galway's Christmas Carol" (James Galway, of course, and chorus)
Flute music with chorale accompaniment as sweet as Christmas candy and less fattening. This is one of those albums that just says (sings?) "Christmas" to me: the delightful lilt of "Shepherd's Pipe Carol," "Fantasia on 'I Saw Three Ships'" which makes me want to do an Irish jig, the lyrical "Past Three O'Clock," and the achingly beautifully sweet "Sheep May Safely Graze"—and twelve more lovely pieces. Should be in everyone's Christmas library.
01 December 2009
Vintage Christmas Recordings
What did Christmas music sound like at the turn of the last century? Recorded sound was still a novelty in the 19th century and the early 20th century recordings sound much different (even discounting crackle and pop of old records) than today. Check out these free MP3 downloads from archive.org...you can play them on the web or download the whole album or the individual tracks.
Some of the tracks, like "Christmas Time at Pumpkin Center" and "Uncle Josh Plays Santa Claus" are humorous recitations. In "Come and Spend Christmas With Me," you will hear the singing style of the time. "Santa Claus Hides in the Phonograph" had Santa speaking directly to children, a novelty back in 1922!
Internet Archive—Free Download: Voices of Christmas Past - 1898 to 1922
Some of the tracks, like "Christmas Time at Pumpkin Center" and "Uncle Josh Plays Santa Claus" are humorous recitations. In "Come and Spend Christmas With Me," you will hear the singing style of the time. "Santa Claus Hides in the Phonograph" had Santa speaking directly to children, a novelty back in 1922!
Internet Archive—Free Download: Voices of Christmas Past - 1898 to 1922
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