Last Week of Advent

Sunday was the fourth Sunday of Advent.  We forgot to light the wreath here at home.  I had a voice recital that evening, and chores from Saturday left to finish, so I guess it got lost in the shuffle.
Things are beginning to feel more Christmassy, but the weather is not.  Far too warm here in Central Oklahoma for me to believe that it is December.  I miss my cold blustery weather. 

Trying to find my way to the Christmas spirit, I wrote this poem today:

Seeking Christmas
By C.K.Armistead 2015

It seems we notice
Only once a year
That Christmas time
Is drawing near.
When, if we really listened,
We would always
Hear
The singing of the angels
Bidding us forget our fear.
For Christmas to keep working,
For it to make a difference
In our living,
We must remember WHY it
Is coming,
And not live for the getting,
But the GIVING.
It comes not to fatten
The bank accounts of merchants,
Or to fill the seats of
Theater-like mega-churches,
It comes not to depress us,
Or to give us "all the feels",
It comes to remind us
That even in great darkness,
Light can be found
It comes to tell us of
Love without bounds
To tell of hope renewed,
To remind us
That we are LOVED
And that joy and love we feel
At Christmas to be near
SHOULD be seen
Every day of the year!

In our church, Advent is the season that begins the church "new year".  We start the cycle over with Advent, waiting in expectation for the One God is sending us, Christmas celebrating His arrival, and on from there through the church year, celebrating and meditating on his life, and what it means to us today, how it should change us, make us better.  Often, it is easy to get stuck in routine, but this tradition does not cause that for me, I find a comfort in the liturgies, the rituals that have been around far longer than I, words that focus my thoughts on Christ, and on what His works, words, and sacrifice mean to me here and now.  There is a comfort in that structure, one that makes it easier for me to travel on in this journey, like a well-marked trail leading on.

So, as our season of anticipation nears its end again, I wish for you a joyful and meaningful celebration of the arrival. May the love that came to earth that night make a difference in those touched by it so that the world may be a better, more loving, more peaceful place.

It's Already Time For The THIRD Advent Candle To Be Lit!

This week we light the pink candle, the third candle.  Pink, or more properly rose, because this is the week we rejoice and celebrate with joy the coming of the savior.

The liturgy will be a little different, we will of course light the different colored candle, we will be almost ready to move to full-tilt celebration mode that comes on Christmas Eve. (Next Sunday is still a time of solemn preparation, though.) 
This reminds me that though the Christmas tree is up and decorated, I still have LOTS to do before Christmas Eve arrives.  There is still the small matter of unfinished and unsent Christmas cards, cookies to be made.  (Only a few, we can't eat too many, and most of our friends are in similar circumstances!) 

The tree went up today, as any of my Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram friends know.  I shared a lot of pictures.  Meeting all  my ornaments again is always fun and full of memories.  I also think I felt my Pop hanging around telling me where the bare spots were.  We decorated many Christmas trees together over the years.  I always miss him at Christmas.  He was my Pop, I was his Baby Girl, and he spoiled me.  At Christmas he seemed to approve of my singing because I did it at church.  He always discouraged the serious pursuit of music or writing, the two things I enjoyed most, because they weren't practical. ( I sometimes wondered if it was because he thought I wasn't very good.) 
He loved Christmas more than any other adult I've ever met except for my Uncle Dick, his older brother.  They both got almost childlike at Christmas time.  It was good to see them share happy memories, because they had so many that weren't so happy.  Pop was a teen  during the Depression.  Even his relatively well-off Grandfather, who was a physician, was for the most part paid in farm produce by his patients during those years.  At least they had enough food...

On another subject, I have found new music to listen to, not Holiday music, but many renditions of Burns' songs, which I love.  The artist is Dougie MacLean. I found him because my friend Gillian mentioned him to me on Facebook.  Gorgeous stuff.  Relaxing.  Here's a link to Ae Fond Kiss  It's my favorite of Burns' songs.  This is a lovely rendition.  Thanks, Gill! ;-)

My sister has taken to buying me the "Beauty of Birds" ornaments that I collect each year.  She is carrying on the fine tradition all of them started when I was little.  She spoils me.  Still.  Even though we are both grown-ups now.  Now, I have several more special memories of trips to Mom's to help Susie with the yard work that I bring out and polish as I hang the ornaments on the tree.

This year's Beauty of Birds Ornament

 

 

 

Time now for me to try to get some rest so I can do all that needs to be done in preparation for Christmas.  This week is the week to remember that amid all the rush and bustle, we are supposed to be happy, to live with joy, because the Gift of Love is being born into the world!  May that Love be in our hearts, may it shine in our smiles, and show in our actions all year long. 
As Bing sang "It's not the things you do at Christmas time, but the Christmas things you do the whole year through."

This year's tree.

As The Second Week of Advent Begins

 I STILL haven't started on the Christmas Cards, and I have not done any more decorating.  This year, things feel like they are really getting away from me.  There are no lists made, so I am adrift.
Yesterday, I did a bit more decorating.   The Christmas cards are still sitting untouched on the corner of my desk.  There are songs I should rehearse, for a recital is coming.  I should think about the few gifts I intend to buy, and the tree still needs to go up.
There has been a bit of bah, humbug! about our house this year.   We do not have children,  so there's no one counting on us to do the holidays up big.  However, we DO have our small traditions,  and I will likely put up the tree, we will have a good dinner on Christmas Eve, probably smoked brisket this year, and we will go sing at church as usual.

I have been trying new things lately.  I've found a stylus that actually works with the Android phone and both tablets.  Since it makes typing on the phone easier,  I am using it to test the mobile Blogger app for this post.  I can add photos directly from the phone this way, I hope.
I have added photos of the Christmas lights, the decorations up in the house so far, (including Baby Jesus hiding out in the shot glass in the drawer of the liquor cabinet so we don't lose him before Christmas Eve.)  There's also a shot of tonight's sunset with pretty contrails through the clouds, and a picture of these styluses . (Styli?)

That's about all I got tonight.  More as the season progresses.

Sunset from the library parking lot this evening.  Lovely bright contrails.

The Christmas lights this year.

Decorations here

Decorations there,

Decorations on the mantle,

Manger on the piano, awaiting Baby Jesus

Baby Jesus waiting safely in the liquor cabinet until Christmas Eve

The beautiful, useful styli. Also ballpoint pens.

So, now that I have saved what I typed on the phone, I had to come back to the desktop interface to finish it up properly for posting.  I could post short bits from the phone, with maybe one picture, but for my usual posts, the desktop with my trusty keyboard and more powerful text editor are going to be my tools of choice. 

As for the Christmas decorations and our unusual seasonal ennui, I guess I'll just have to work on it!  

 

"Tis The Season...

Advent has begun, which means we start getting ready for Christmas.  In our worship, in our music, around the house, and hopefully in our hearts as well.
Around our house that means putting the decorations up a little at a time, and listening to Christmas music again.  I have uploaded some of our Christmas cds to the Amazon Cloud, I also have purchased a couple of new ones, since the  old ones get cloying after awhile, even though I love them.

The music now on the cloud, the computer, and my mobile devices for the season includes:

 40 Most Beautiful Carols.  Lots of Anglican sounds here, also some by Chanticleer.  Good, traditional carols.

Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra  One like some of the ones Mom used to play.  Classics.

The Andy Williams Christmas Album
One of the several my Mom ALWAYS played.  I grew up on this one, know all the songs by heart, still love it.

Another of Mom's favorites that I also love.  The one I downloaded is not EXACTLY like this, but has all the same songs.

Have owned a copy of this album in one form or another since the year they did the TV special and the album came out. LOVE it! Little Saint Nick has to be one of my all-time favorites.  Sung by Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem!

Pink Martini Joy To The World

This is one of my new finds.  Love it.  All kinds of holiday songs, including a Hanukkah song that sounds like it's mostly in Spanish.  Immediately thought of the best man at our wedding, Paul Londynsky, who grew up Jewish in the middle of Panama.  (The Canal Zone.)

The Statler Brothers Christmas    One Mom played a lot the last few years I lived at home.  Kinda corny and very Country, but I still like it.

Silver Bells, A Bing Crosby Christmas Anthology
This has more on it than the one my Mom always listened to, but is familiar enough to make up for it.  It just isn't Christmas without Bing!  (Or Frank, or Andy, or Doris!)  Not at our house, anyway.








I also put the indoor lights up in the windows this evening, since I was home.  I have to go to work tomorrow, supposedly from 9 to 1, but they have already said the earliest we would open would be 10, and it's going to be determined in the morning whether we open at all.  Guess I'll be awaiting a phone call...

Anyway, here's a picture of the lights, and one of the driveway covered with sleet that is frozen into a nice hard crust.

Since that phone call that tells me whether I work in the morning or not is going to come awfully early in the morning, I guess I better start preparing for going to sleep. 
Sure am thankful for electricity, natural gas, a sturdy house, and the means to keep it warm!