Christmas

Back when we were tiny

~ MaryG ~ 2 Comments

What is your all time favorite automobile?

I’m not a car enthusiast, but I associate certain cars with certain events or periods in my life. For example, Honda minivans will forever remind me of my young parenting years. Those were the largest cars I ever owned.

On the other extreme, my parents owned a blue Volkswagen bug when I was very young. I have an early memory of stuffing myself into a tiny spot in the upper part of the back seat. I remember looking up at the interior ceiling. It had little dots or holes in the material and you could kind of blur your eyes and it created an optical illusion. The dots would seem closer than they actually were, like in a Magic Eye book.

I don’t have a photo of that car, but here I am, around the same time, stretching out my legs in my new red wagon. I fit perfectly!

Do you remember fitting yourself into a small space back when you were tiny?

Merry Christmas

~ MaryG ~ 3 Comments

How are you creative?

I’m up early (7:30am) thinking of all the parents of all the young children around the world who have probably been up for two hours already. Santa came! Woo hoo! Enjoy it…these years are a lot of work, but will fly by in the blink of an eye. (Sorry, I’m sure you’ve heard this once or twice – or like ten thousand times – before.)

I think my main creative outlet these days, besides singing and this blog, is photography. And I don’t even use a real (35mm) camera anymore, just my iPhone. Here’s a shot I got the other night on my way home from choir. I thought this deer was a holiday lawn ornament, then I realized he was real. I backed up my car, opened my window, and said “hey deer.” This made him stop munching the neighbor’s shrub and look up at me.

We’re not having a white Christmas here in New England, but at least we’ve got (rein)deer.

Christmas deer

Grant Us Peace

~ MaryG ~ 4 Comments

I hope you enjoy this recording that my choir made in 2021 during the pandemic lockdown. We each recorded ourselves singing alone at home and then sent the files to our choir director. She mixed them together using some sort of software and it really sounds quite good, especially considering she’d never done anything like this before. It was also very meaningful to the choir, and to the congregation, to hear our voices blended again after being separated for so long. Many were struggling with loneliness and isolation.

The text “Dona nobis pacem” means “Grant us peace.” The melody has been passed orally, although it is sometimes attributed to Mozart. English-language hymnals usually mark it “Traditional.” It is sung as a round, so you can sing any of the three parts at any time. You’ll never be wrong.

Beyond use at church, the round has been sung around the world in secular settings as a prayer for peace.

Here’s the music. Sing with us.

Merry Christmas.

Peace on Earth.

Puzzling

~ MaryG ~ 3 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What was the last thing you did for play or fun?
View all responses

In the past, I wrote about how we did a lot of puzzles during the pandemic, but then I decided I really only enjoy doing them once a year – at Christmas. It’s so nice to work on it together in the same room as the Christmas tree.

The only hard part is figuring out what music to listen to while we puzzle. I like the “Classical Christmas” station on Amazon Music, but after a while that tends to drive my husband out of the room. (To be honest, one too many versions of “Greensleeves” by the Celtic Women is annoying – even to me – and I love that stuff!) I came home the other day and he was working on the puzzle all by himself and listening to everyone’s favorite holiday band: Black Sabbath. 😂

I think we’ll finish by Christmas. We’re making good progress.

White Mountain Puzzles of Jackson, NH makes a good puzzle. Made in the USA. https://www.whitemountainpuzzles.com/

Checking in from Paris

~ MaryG ~ 2 Comments

What are your two favorite things to wear?

Bonjour from Paris! We’re having a great time, but it’s a little chilly. My puffy coat and headband are currently my two favorite clothing items.

They’re very busy getting ready for Christmas and the Olympics here. Very exciting! Sending good vibes and a delicious warm croissant to all of you, wherever you are around the world. 🥐 🇫🇷 🌍 ☮️

The Christmas Puzzle

~ MaryG ~ 3 Comments

What is your favorite hobby or pastime?

I sing in a choir, which I enjoy, but I wouldn’t say that’s a “hobby.” I don’t think reading or exercising are exactly hobbies either.

Google’s top definition of hobby: an activity done regularly in one’s leisure time for pleasure

I think doing puzzles is an actual hobby. A lot of people got into puzzles during the pandemic lockdown. We were in the habit of doing one 1000-piece puzzle per year, around the holidays, which we typically received in the mail as a gift from my sister-in-law. During the lockdown, we did additional puzzles, but I decided I really only like doing a Christmas puzzle. I’m a once-a-year puzzle hobbyist.

Our 2022 Christmas Puzzle
It was pretty hard, but fun, because it brought back memories of the film, like “You’ll shoot your eye out!” and the Leg Lamp.

Music sets Christmas apart

~ MaryG ~ 7 Comments

How do you celebrate holidays?

Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter are the only holidays we reliably celebrate together as a family. Thanksgiving is food. Easter is church and food. Christmas is church, food, presents, and MUSIC.

Christmas music is special and I’ve always enjoyed it. When I was a kid, I liked learning carols on the piano and singing along. We actually went door-to-door Christmas caroling in my neighborhood a few times. I also liked the kitschy Christmas albums that pop stars would drop, especially the Carpenters’ Christmas Portrait.

In high school, our annual holiday concert was a beloved tradition. The highlight was the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah. Alumni were invited up on stage to sing it with the students. The Music Director, Mr. Phinney, was known to leave the podium and walk around behind the tenors to help them out on their big string of high notes.

I’ve performed Christmas music with many church, school, and community choirs over the years. In my current Unitarian Universalist (UU) church, we do a candlelight service on Christmas Eve. It concludes with everyone singing “Silent Night” in the darkened church as a real flame is passed from person to person. On the last verse, the piano drops out, many sing harmony, and everyone holds their lit candle high for the final “sleep in heavenly peace.” It’s a beautiful moment.

Me singing Christmas music with my high school Double Sextette, 1980s
Very old sheet music that I still keep handy in my piano bench

Wassail

~ MaryG ~ 5 Comments

I’ll always remember a scene in one of the last episodes of Seinfeld where Jerry tells George to quit complaining.  (Grumpy George is tired of waiting for his 15 minutes of fame.)  Jerry says, “At least you have your health.”  George responds, “Health’s not good enough. I want more than health. Health’s not doing it for me anymore. I’m sick of health.” 

Back when it aired in the late 1990s, I was in my thirties. I remember laughing and thinking George had a point.  I mean, it’s nice to be healthy and all, but is this all there is?  Will I ever be rich?  Or famous?  Even for 15 minutes, like Andy Warhol had promised?

It’s funny how a couple of decades can change your attitude.  Now, I’m never “sick of health.”  I understand how fortunate I am to have it.  With so many friends and acquaintances my own age hit with truly serious diagnoses, from that nasty bitch Cancer to crippling clinical depression, I (almost) never take my own health for granted.

Yeah, my knee hurts sometimes, but I can still take a long walk outside or ride my bike to the next town.  I know I’m lucky.

Here’s to continued (or a return to) good health for all this Christmas.

Wassail (noun): an early English toast to someone’s health