Tag: christmas

Seven Christmas Songs I Love (Plus 2) – Part 1

I loved gregmce‘s recent series of posts about the Seven Christmas Songs that he loves. So I started compiling a list in my own head to see if I could do as well as he did – could I slim down my 1400+ collection of Christmas songs to seven? Well, no, I couldn’t. But I got it down to nine! I was impressed – I figured I’d have at least 12.

My other big issue is that the music that I love is, well, not always what others love. So finding examples on YouTube like he did – not so much luck. But I’ll do my best.

The first song I picked to focus on illustrates my love for the King’s College Choir. I suspect that my love of boys’ choirs and the like is due to seeing The Box of Delights and a PBS special on the King’s College Choir on Christmas Eve at an impressionable age. I wore out my dad’s audio tape of Christmas Eve at Kings (but not before ripping the songs from it that I can’t find anywhere else!) My last.fm Christmas account shows King’s College Choir as my most played group, which is partly due to my owning so many of their Christmas albums.

My favorite piece that they do (and I have several favorites) is “Remember O Thou Man.” Of course, YouTube doesn’t have that, nor does Last.fm. (Indeed, it’s one of the songs I “rescued” from the Christmas Eve at Kings album.) But I found a nice, rather upbeat, version on YouTube if you’ve not heard the tune before.

In addition to “Remember O Thou Man,” I recommend the King’s College Choir doing “Alleluya” and “The Sans Day Carol.” I’ll talk more about “The Sans Day Carol” in another post.

The Shorts win at Christmas Again!

My Christmas season is mostly all post Christmas this year. Christmas Day was just time for the kitties to open their stockings & me to open their present. They got cat toys in the stockings and a new water fountain and a new litter box mat as their present. They liked the cat toys and were “eh” about the other gifts.

Mom, Dad and I went to Tokyo Peking for lunch, and it was tasty, tasty. Our plan was then to go see Sherlock Holmes, but it was sold out when we got to the theater. No matter, we made plans to watch the 7pm showing. This was a good plan – we all enjoyed the flick.

The 26th was the Christmas party for mom’s side of the family. We had a nice time at my Aunt Charlene’s. Lots of good food, plenty of conversation, and seeing cousins I don’t get to see very often. The girls (first cousins, once removed) are all taller than me now (or nearly) and all pretty. I had picked up some wooden boxes for them then wood-burned designs on ’em and stained them. They all turned out nice. (Took photos and will post one of these days.) Had also baked some beer bread for the adult ladies present (aunts & first cousins). Returned home that night to do laundry (I’d stayed at mom & dad’s for Christmas night).

Yesterday, I got back to the folks early in the morning so that by 9am we could zip up north & east to meet with Amy & Rachel and Rachel’s dad (who was driving them there from his place in PA). The girls had picked a place that was about halfway between them and us. So we just had a two & a half hour drive or so. We left early so we got there early. We met at Troyer’s Dutch Heritage Restaurant (and gift shop). Good place to meet up & eat.

We all ordered the buffet, but alas, Rachel’s dad had to get back to PA for a party that he & Rachel’s mom were attending (along with their two exchange students). (Alas, Rachel’s mom wasn’t feeling well enough for the 5+ hour car ride, so we didn’t get to see her again.) The food was good, and then we headed back home.

After a short stop in Columbus so Amy could see her old apartment complex again, we got back on the road and then the snow began. Pretty much as soon as we got into Miami County, the snow started. And didn’t stop for many hours. We wound up with over 3″ of snow.

After a bit of a rest at the house, we loaded the car with gifts & cookies for dad’s side of the family. More gifts were exchanged (especially for my cousin, whose birthday was yesterday. I made sure to get her a present specifically for her b-day and wrap it in regular paper because it’s annoying to get birthday presents wrapped in holiday wrap. It’s an identity thing or something.)

As I’d mentioned, it was snowing. And the roads were pretty bad when we headed back to the house. But mom was driving (and she’s actually had to drive in crappy weather before, unlike me & dad who are teachers) and she got us home safely (and slowly). We then relaxed and watched the Da Vinci Code. And then bedtime.

Today was Christmas for us. Although none of us were late risers, we got started a bit late. After stockings and then breakfast, we started present opening. It was 9:58am. We go in order, starting with the youngest (Rachel). I passed out one present at a time, so we could savor the unwrapping. And there was a bit of a break midway. But at noon, we were finished. Mom had the most pressies (no surprise there!) but dad fared well too. And I made out like a bandit.

I am now the proud owner of Beatles Rock Band. And I also got a microphone, a guitar, and a drum set for the Wii. Sweet! Also got some DVDs (yay, the War Games!), a book, some CDs, and some nice clothes. Amy & Rachel also got me some herbs from their garden and a University of Minnesota sweat shirt (which is where Rachel is attending for her Masters degree).

Mom, Amy, Rachel and I went to Hothead Burritos for lunch, and picked up a Subway sub for dad. Now we’re vegging. Amy’s balancing her checkbook, Rachel’s on her laptop getting caught up on Facebook and e-mail, and I’m writing this.

Tomorrow, elsaf and judiang will arrive, for even more Christmas fun! So yay, Christmas!

The Holidays have been GOOD to me

I’ve been busy. Mom noted that I hadn’t updated my LJ since Christmas Eve. So while judiang‘s taking a short nap (to get rid of a suspected MSG headache), I’ll see if I can get caught up on my shenanigans.

Christmas Day: Amy called me at 7:30am to inform me that everyone was sitting around drinking coffee, but nothing else was happening. They would continue to do so until I got there. So I got ready and headed next door. They gave me a cup of hot cocoa (yummy) and when I was done, we went into the living room to open our stockings. Santa really likes us – he brings us stockings even though Amy & I are in our 30s and Rachel will soon be joining us. Heh.

After we examined our stocking goodies (nice things like 1GB flash drives & bath salts & socks were in ’em) we had breakfast. Amy & Dad made eggs & sausage, mom had baked a sour dough coffee cake. Everything was yummy.

It was now time to open presents. I handed out presents one or two at a time to folks and we went in order of youngest to oldest. It took a couple of hours and once again, we won at Christmas. 🙂 I got lots of nice things – Treehouse, Fluxx & Monty Python Fluxx from the girls (all Looney Labs games and mucho fun). Shirts, a nice outfit, Logitech wireless mouse, new barcode reader (my old one went kaput), books, and other things from the parental units. I got the girls a record player that hooks to a computer for ripping albums into MP3s. Mom got a JBL external speaker system for her new iPod Nano (well, new for her – it’s the 2nd gen I gave her for her birthday a few weeks ago). It’s red like her Nano & her Shuffle. 🙂 Dad got some books he’d asked for and some toys which he hadn’t. Heh.

We eventually had Christmas dinner – chicken casserole, green beans, cottage cheese, cranberry sauce (from the can), etc. It was very yummy as usual. Later we had apple pie & ice cream for dessert. (It was a free apple pie from Market Day. I’ve been lucky – this is the second free pie I’ve gotten from ’em. And like the first one, it was wonderful.) Mom, the girls, and I played Monty Python Fluxx and enjoyed ourselves. Rachel won the first game and I won the second. We switched to pinochle with me & Amy as partners. We kicked butt. Twice. Heh.

There was a lovely sunset that day, so I tried to get some photos of it. I haven’t downloaded ’em yet to see how they turned out. If they turned out OK, I’ll post ’em later. We spent the end of the evening planning for the Anderson gathering the following day.

Boxing Day: The plan was that Rachel and I would go to Kroger in the morning to get a few key items. I was called in the morning to say that we needed to head out even earlier than planned. No problemo. I headed next door and daddy made me an Egg McMikey sammich to-go. I took the last of the apple juice with me as my to-go beverage and Rachel drove us to Kroger. We got a number of things required, but not everything. So I recommended the Dollar Tree (which I needed to go to) for some things and Meijer for the rest. The only thing we were unable to find was a “live” centerpiece that was on sale. (Everything else Christmassy was on sale – even at the Dollar Tree.)

We got the house ready & food prepared. In lieu of an expensive “live” centerpiece, I trimmed a few pieces of mom’s holly shrubs to serve as decoration. A few bright red ornaments were added, too. It was minimal, which made it look rather nice. I also had a few things I was preparing for the dinner. I molded my cheeseball onto my tree-shaped plate. Made some Reuben dip. Baked some corndog minis.

When 2pm arrived, we all sat in the living room awaiting family. And they began to pop in. Surprisingly, Uncle Doug was first. Eventually, all of the Andersons were present – for the first time in years. Even my second cousin Eric and his boy (Little Eric) came. Yay! It was lovely to see everyone. Food was consumed, presents were exchanged, Apples to Apples was played. We had a nice day.

Folks were gone by 6:30, which is when we all collapsed. Heh. We cleaned up the place and vegged for the rest of the evening. Mom & I discovered that the frozen fruit dish she made was very tasty when mixed with vodka and Sprite.

Saturday: We shopped on Saturday. After a lunch of leftovers, we headed to Piqua for the mall. There were some exchanges made and new things purchased. I got a couple of small cutting sheets (about the size of a half sheet of paper and nearly as thin) and some silicone egg poachers. We did a booze run on the way home, too. Needed more gin, apparently. Heh.

Sunday: Our main task was to play pinochle and get mom’s card quota back up. (Amy & I still won. Then later, Rachel & I won.) We also played a couple of rounds of Treehouse. That evening, we reconvened at my house for “dinner & a movie.” Although I had originally planned to cook something, that would have required me going somewhere, which precluded playing cards. So we wound up ordering pizza from the local. We started off by watching Amy’s photos from Guatemala. Our first attempt at hooking her laptop up to my TV didn’t work, but putting the photos on CD and playing ’em in my DVD player did work. They looked gorgeous on my TV. Our movie for the evening was Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Monday: Our last day with the girls. *sniff* We went to Tipp City for a day of shopping & eating. Actually, we started out by eating. We went to Harrisons, a nice restaurant in Tipp. I had their French onion soup and their chicken salad sandwich on sourdough. I also had an amaretto sour. Tasty tasty. We then visited nearly all of the antique stores in Tipp looking for a broach for Rachel’s new purse. (Long story – maybe I’ll tell it some day.) We wound up with 3 good choices for it. Mom bought one of ’em, while Rachel bought the others.

Monday evening was a time of card playing (mom & I won) and the girls’ packing. We finished up the day by sitting around and watching the Rachel Maddow show. Heh.

Today: This morning, I set my alarm to get next door before 7:30am. The girls wanted to get off by 8am – they did pretty well & were on the road by 8:15am. I then spent time straightening up my house since my brain has been AWOL and I had confused the 30th with Wednesday. I thought Judi was arriving Wednesday, the 30th. Well, the 30th – but that’s Tuesday. Heh. And then my brain went even more AWOL while I explained to the folks that I was head out around 1:30 to pick up Judi, whose flight gets in at 12:58pm. *sigh* Thankfully they corrected me.

In further brain-fartness, I got confused at the airport and went in the wrong lane, thus missing out on parking. I went through the gauntlet again and parked. Judi managed to find me, somehow. And thankfully her luggage arrived as well. (Yay- she’s moving again!) We headed to the Bookery so we could get our DWMs and then to Jeet India for our Indian Fud. Yum. On the way home, I stopped at Kroger for a few essentials. A call to the folks got a few essentials for them as well. I wound up calling Judi, who was resting in the car, because I’d left my bags in the car & wondered if she’d bring some to me. She did. Yay!

We’ve got no real concrete plans for the rest of today. We might go see a movie. We might stay in. Tomorrow we head to Aunt Becky’s for cards & Chinese Fud. *slaps forehead* I forgot to see what sort of sparkling wine dad wanted for the toast tomorrow night. Well, either tonight or tomorrow, Judi and I will be oot & aboot again, so we could get some then. Hooray for the Holidays!

Merry Christmas!

We (the folks, Amy, Rachel & I) had a lovely time tonight at Aunt Becky’s house. With six kids under age 16, there was a lot of excitement about the holidays. And plenty of toys as gifts. (I even got a toy from Becky. And Deanna gave my cats some cute cat toys.) I gave folks a “chemistry toy” (although it’s almost art) this year which turned out to be a hit. I hope the Andersons (whom we’ll see Friday) will enjoy it as much as the Shorts did. 🙂

Anyhoo, tomorrow it’s just the five of us. I think we’ll have a wonderful Christmas. Probably the best ever. (Well, they usually are.) 🙂

Merry Christmas to all of you as well! I hope Santa was good to you this year!

Busy Times over the Holidays

I’ll begin by stating ditto what Judi said.

judiang has been picking on me because I haven’t been posting enough about the holidays. The fact of the matter is that I’m too zonked by the end of the day to post much of anything. I’ve been a busy little beaver since Dec 21st, the last day of school.

The food poisoning or whatever it was helped to keep me from overeating throughout the early festivities. Indeed, my first day to eat normally was Thursday the 27th.

Here’s a run down of my holiday thus far:

  • Friday Dec 21: Last day of work until 2008!

  • Saturday Dec 22: Amy & Rachel arrive in the evening (I spend most of the day cleaning the house.)

  • Sunday Dec 23: We do some shopping and see The Golden Compass. (Only Rachel and I have read the book thus far)

  • Monday Dec 24: Christmas Eve! I spent some time working on Amy’s laptop trying to get it to run at the speed it should. I backed up their files onto my PC so they could at least wipe the laptop if needed (but it might not need it now). Amy & I fixed haystacks (taco salads) for folks for supper and we watched Ocean’s 13 and had supper. The girls spent Christmas Eve night with me.

  • Tuesday Dec 25: Christmas! After a difficult night of little sleep, the girls and I headed next door to mom & dad’s for Christmas. We first opened our stockings, then had breakfast (I might have those two reversed) and then spent 2 hours opening presents. It was lots of fun! After some resting in the afternoon, we went to dad’s sister’s house for Christmas with the rest of the Shorts. It was fun to see the little kids enjoying their many presents. 🙂

  • Wednesday Dec 26: It was mom’s time to play hostess. She made Grandma Anderson’s noodles, mashed potatoes, ham (from MarketDay), sweet potatoes, asparagus, and other stuff for dinner. Amy made garlic green beans. I baked some Bob Evans rolls (and due to a miscount, had to pick up some more rolls from Bob Evans) and made a cheeseball (one of two – the other went to the Short’s the night before). And then we waited for mom’s brothers and their families. As was expected, they were late. Heh. But folks showed, ate, chatted, hugged, etc. It was a very fun day. And we all collapsed when they left.

  • Thursday Dec 27: Our last day with the girls. We spent it playing cards and chatting and eating leftovers. Then I drove everyone to the airport (since they had Wine Time right before it was time to go) and we said buh-bye to the girls and wished them a safe flight.

  • Friday Dec 28: No rest for the wicked – Judi and elsaf were to arrive. Although Elsa got off late, she still made it before I had to leave to pick up Judi. Indeed, as the ditto above states, she didn’t arrive in Ohio until after 10pm (she was supposed to arrive at 1pm) AND we had to drive to Columbus to get her. If we’d known her luggage (with presents) wasn’t flying with her, we might have just said “Nah…” 😉

  • Saturday Dec 29: A very full day indeed. Elsa made us French toast & sausage, we went to the airport for Judi’s luggage (yay, presents!), we headed to Fairborn for the Bookery and used bookstore (made $3 on some used books I had brought along) and Indian Fud. I had originally planned to take them to the Air Force Museum, but we decided to shop instead. Mall time then time at Bed Bath & Beyond and finally Sweeney Todd. After the movie, I drove us to Clifton Mill for the beautiful Christmas lights. Then back to Troy for a late supper at Ruby Tuesday (we were the last ones there). Back home, we watched the Doctor Who Xmas special and then opened presents. Whew!

  • Sunday Dec 30: Today. I’m exhausted after thinking about yesterday. Today we had French Toast and sausage again. Elsa and I then went to Kohl’s where Elsa bought me some nice flannel sheets for my birthday. Then on to Meijer for some more groceries we needed. Finally back home where Elsa cooked up a nice lunch of pineapple chicken rice. Then we put in a new door handle for the den door – thanks to some advice and tools from dad, we were successful with only a little bit of scuffing of the door (that’s visible – just barely). Elsa also made us a lovely supper of beer cheese soup and crepe suzettes – yummy! I took some photos of the burning crepes which I hope to post later. We watched Shrek 3 during lunch and Bend it Like Beckham after supper. We also watched A Wish for Wings that Worked (that Judi gave me for Xmas), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (do I really have to say which version?) and Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer. And now I’m zonked.

Merry Christmas! (or Happy 25th!)

Today has been a lovely Christmas for my family (as I said to everyone afterward, “We win at Christmas!” whereas my sister responded “Or if we didn’t, we came in second.”) I intend to write more details later. It’s currently Nap Time, but I’ve been working in my house (cleaning up the bedding from the girls’ sleep over last night, getting Linus & Lucy’s present installed, etc.) This evening we go ’round to Aunt Becky’s for the Short Christmas gathering. Should be fun!

So Merry Christmas to those of you playing at home and Happy 25th for the rest of you!

Christmas Traditions Meme

Gakked from indefatigable42.

Welcome to the “Christmas Edition” of getting to know your friends. Repost in your own LJ with your answers if you’re feeling the holiday cheer.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Wrapping paper – preferably with very simple holiday patterns and only red, green & white. (Polar bears and snowmen make nice holiday patterns.) But there are gifts that need gift bags, so I’ll use ’em if needed. Presents that I receive? I don’t care how they’re wrapped – they’re gifts! Ooooooh! Yesyesyesyes!

2. Real or Artificial tree?
Artificial tree. I love the smell of a real tree, but the needles are hell. And the kitties + artificial tree are dangerous enough of a combo.

3. When do you put up the tree?
When I finally get around to it.

4. When do you take the tree down?
When I finally get around to it.

5. Do you like Eggnog?
Not the drunken stuff – but Meijer’s low fat custard style eggnog is very yummy!

6. Favorite Gift you received as a child?
I loved all my gifts, but the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie poster holds a special place in my heart.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
I don’t think so.

8. Hardest person to buy for?
Usually it’s mom, but this year she’s been one of the easiest for me.

9. Easiest person to buy for?
Dad – get him physics toys and he’s a happy camper. 😉

10. Worst Christmas gift ever received?
Heck, if it’s a gift, it’s a wonderful thing.

11. Christmas Cards?
I’m no good at Christmas cards – I love getting them however. (BTW, thanks drox!)

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
The Muppet Family Christmas (TV special) and The Muppet Christmas Carol (movie). But Miracle on 34th Street (original) and A Wish for Wings that Work are close seconds.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
When I get around to it.

14. Have you ever “recycled” a Christmas present?
Don’t think so.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Pritnear everything.

16. Clear lights or colored or both on the tree?
Clear. Or a single color (red are pretty).

17. Favorite Christmas Song?
“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” (though I don’t have a definitive version of it). Just about anything that Julie Andrews sings that’s Christmassy.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Home, sweet home.

19. Can you name Santa’s Reindeer?
“On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer & Vixen, on Comet, on Cupid, on Donner and Blitzen.” Oh, and Rudolf.

20. Do you have an Angel or a Star on top of your tree?
I have an angel cuz it’s the ornament that I got for my first Christmas. Fiberglass hair and all!

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning?
Gah! Christmas Morning, of course! (Maybe *one* present on Christmas Eve.) Though with Amy & Rachel not always being here on Christmas day itself, sometimes Christmas isn’t on the 25th for us. 🙂

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
I love it all. I’m part Elf.

23. Favorite Christmas tradition?
Having Amy (and now Rachel) spend the night Christmas Eve (which we might get to do again this year). When we were very small, we had the same room. When we split into two bedrooms, for Christmas Eve, we’d spend the night together, alternating bedrooms each year.

24. Family member you always try to stay away from during the holidays?
Don’t have anyone I avoid – I love seeing the family at Christmas.

25. Do you attend any actual religious services in celebration?
Not anymore, though I do miss the “midnight” service at the UCC in town.

judiang, you should do this meme, if you haven’t already. (I haven’t gotten caught up in my flist yet so you might have already done it.)

Holiday Swag

Yesterday was Christmas for my family. We had a late lunch of sandwiches and/or salads and Munchies. And then we chatted or read or slept or played Sims (well, just Judi for the Sims). But eventually we couldn’t stand the suspense any longer and at 4:30pm, Amy began passing out presents for opening.

We always do the “take turns” bit of unwrapping in my family. And we went in order of youngest to oldest. So Rachel started, followed by Amy, me, Judi, dad, mom. (The difference in dad & mom’s age is 6 months, but she is the older…) It was lots of fun unwrapping and seeing what folks got and seeing their expressions when they opened your presents. I, for one, had a blast with Amy & Rachel’s gifts. Rachel decided maybe she’d like some ice skates from LL Bean since they look more gym-shoe like and, thus, more comfortable than what she’d had in the past. So I told her that I’ll see about getting her some ice skates. And I did! And with Amy’s gift, I made up a Netflix-style service of my own DVDs. I call it Flicks DOT Net and made up a logo & everything. She got several pre-paid envelopes for the DVDs, and a list of my collection for her to mark up requests. We’re shooting for 5 at a time and we’ll see how it goes.

The surprise gift of the afternoon were these little wind-up flashlights that mom’s cousin got everyone. They’re LED lights and very easy to get lit. We had a blast cranking and shining and I’m happy to note that I’m not the ONLY one who looked into the lights. We took a break about an hour into the unwrapping and wound up finishing just a little before 7pm.

We had supper in mom’s “new” dining room. Chicken casserole, green beans, Brussels sprouts for mom & Amy, cottage cheese, cranberry sauce from the can, and vino. It was an excellent supper and we toasted Christmas and families.

We stayed there til after midnight and finally mooched on home with our swag. And boy did we do well! I have placed my holiday swag under my tree and taken a photo of it.

As you can see, I received many nice things. (The teddy bears are just decoration.) Several items of clothing from the parentals: 4 turtle neck shirts, 2 vests, corduroys and socks (which I picked up today). A Brit’s Pub shirt from A&R (from the English pub near their place). Dad’s toy (that the thing on the left with the nails in it) from this year. A Robopet from the parentals – yay toys! Books, a CD, and DVDs from the folks, elsaf and judiang. Wrap-around hearmuffs from the folks (all of us got a pair). The aforementioned flashlight and a box of gardening tools from mom’s cousin (the box of tools is under the clothes). A lovely photo of A&R in a motherboard-style frame from the girls which is currently on my kitchen counter and thus not in the photo. And some book uprights for when I finally get my bookshelves built (from m&d). The two wrapped presents there are birthday gifts – one from Elsa & one from Judi. I get to open then tomorrow.

Today, Judi and I headed off to Fairborn for my monthly(ish) trek to the Bookery Fantasy and Jeet India. We both got $50+ worth of stuff. And we had Indian Fud at Jeet. Wonderful buffet. We also went to the Evil Puppy Mall where Judi hugged a baby Pomeranian for a bit. At the Walking Place, I bought socks from mom as well as socks from me. (Well, they were buy 3 get 1 free, so I got 2 pair from mom and 2 pair from me). I love Fox River Socks!

For the third time since my holiday began, Judi and I visited Best Buy. This time, I was going in with the intent to get some speakers for my iPod for the kitchen and/or living room. (They’re portable enough for both – or even my bedroom should I desire.) I got a nice set of Logitech speakers for $150. And I’ve tested them out and they are nice. Judi got herself an external soundcard for her laptop.

After a short stop in Meijer for the last of my groceries for tonight and tomorrow, we returned home. Judi immediately plopped onto the sofa for a nap and I worked on getting things ready for tonight’s New Year’s Eve gathering. We’re playing games and eating food and watching movies and stuff.

I hope all of you have a Happy New Year! I certainly intend to do so!