“Who among us will celebrate Christmas correctly? Whoever finally lays down all power, all honor, all reputation, all vanity, all arrogance, all individualism beside the manger; whoever remains lowly and lets God alone be high; whoever looks at the child in the manger and sees the glory of God precisely in his lowliness.”
―
Merry Christmas! Keep it humble.
It was a busy weekend with a Christmas celebration at DN’s parents’ house as well as another round at our own little apartment.
We watched Rudolph, which is always delightfully old-fashioned and surprisingly full of curmudgeons. (Santa grimacing through the elf practice before declaring “Needs work. I have to go.” is a vibe.)
On Sunday, we hit the road for Lexington, KY, about 2/3 of the way to St. Louis. DN is an expert driver in all conditions, and we hit no traffic to boot. I slept through the winding roads of West Virginia, as I am wont to do. I took a traditional road trip selfie, the angle of which always makes my face look twice as large as DN’s.
See you this afternoon, St. Louis!
I’m a stress eater and it has been a stressful week. I’ve eaten so much chocolate that I feel like Bart:
Don’t get me wrong — my week wasn’t bad, just busy. In fact, my birthday on Wednesday was wonderful. I received loads of lovely presents, including this pretty party-platter from my sweet DP. I can’t wait to use it!
The Christmas spirit is so pervasive that I’m having a hard time focusing on work. Wrapping presents and baking are much more fun.
The tree is about halfway decorated,
and presents are appearing under it (albeit not in that photo). Christmas is almost here! It’s definitely time to dig out seasonal music, movies and books. I may be a little late to the party, but so what?
Prayers for all those traveling this week! Go slowly and keep both hands on the wheel, your eye on the road, and God in your heart!
As I have mentioned, I am reading the book of Luke, one chapter a day, in the month of December. I am enjoying it very much. It is all very familiar, but it is amazing how you forget specific things, such as this great passage in chapter 18:
9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
What a great reminder to all of us that we Pharisees need to be mindful of being sinners ourselves. “God be merciful to me a sinner!” indeed.
In other news, it took two days, but we finally got the big tree up! The boy came over twice!
We had to go to Walgreen’s twice to buy more lights! Are we getting old or what? Don’t answer that!
It is that time of year when TCM Remembers all the Hollywood types who have died during the year:
There are a lot of familiar faces in there, including Valentina Cortese, Albert Finney, Rip Torn, Stanley Donen, and, of course, Doris Day. I was surprised to see Herman Wouk included–I somehow missed that he died in his sleep at the age of 103 in May. He was an interesting guy who wrote some good books that were made into good movies. Also, it might be time to dust off The War Wagon (1967) in memory of Robert Walker, Jr., who played Billy, the demolition expert, so affectingly.
Anyway, I also just heard about a dear friend and fellow Episcopalian who died shoveling snow earlier in the week. Ruby had to be in her mid-eighties at least, but no one was going to tell her not to shovel her own driveway. I always said that Ruby would have made a good pioneer and, indeed, she died with her boots on, literally. I will miss her so much.
Into paradise may the angels lead you, Ruby. At your coming may the martyrs receive you, and bring you into the holy city Jerusalem.
On the brighter side, daughter #1 comes home for Christmas today. Daughter #2 and DN are driving here from Maryland and should arrive on Monday.
O God, our heavenly Father, whose glory fills the whole creation, and whose presence we find wherever we go: Preserve those who travel; surround them with your loving care; protect them from every danger; and bring them in safety to their journey’s end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Even I am getting excited.
Over the last few weeks, DN and I have been re-watching the show The Wire, an HBO drama that began airing in 2002. I don’t think I had heard of this show until I moved to the mid-Atlantic, but its setting of Baltimore makes it rather beloved around here. Not that it paints Baltimore to be a wonderful place to live, or something — somewhat the opposite. The show, created (and produced, written, etc.) by David Simon, follows the drug wars of the Baltimore projects, as well as the corruption that runs from the street cops all the way up to state senators.
Homicide detectives Bunk and McNulty
It is truly a good show.
I’ve written a lot about movies and shows that fall short; one of my personal pet peeves is when the theme of good and evil is deployed as a shortcut, or worse, is ignored altogether in favor of a sort of defeatist, cynical view that everything is bad.
On The Wire, there are good people, bad people, good people in bad situations, bad people in good situations, and everything in between — which is entirely the point. Bunk and McNulty believe that MURDER IS WRONG, but they’re also drunks and terrible husbands. The drug dealers, Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell, are masterminds of crime who perpetuate — and profit from — the basically third-world conditions of west Baltimore. And yet, the show respects their business acumen, leadership, and loyalty. (Really!)
Stringer Bell, played by a very appealing Idris Elba, and Avon Barksdale
And it is a nemesis of Barksdale’s crew, Omar, who shows Bunk and McNulty that even cold-blooded murderers draw a line: Omar doesn’t kill anyone who isn’t involved in the “game,” who isn’t connected to the drugs. As Bunk summarizes, “A man must have a code.” The complexities of those codes — and the Baltimore police’s unraveling of such codes and interrogations of its own codes — makes for a highly engaging show.
The “pit” boys
Well, I highly recommend the show if you have access to HBO or even want to buy Season One on DVD. Watching too much at a time can get intense — I’m definitely more prone to bad dreams if I overdo it, but I think it is worth it. What strikes me the most is that, over the course of a season, all of the characters learn, grow, and change as they come to better understand the conditions in which they’re working. How often do we see that in television and film these days? Not enough!
Added bonus: if you watch long enough, you’ll get to discover the provenance of this oft-memed gif:
The holidays can be stressful–lots of pressure (real or perceived) etc. etc. etc. I got my presents wrapped during the snowstorm on Sunday. And I finished all of my stitching projects. So now I’m just kind of basking in the glow of my Christmas tree. I’m pleased with my decorations this year–and if I had any friends, I would have had a party. Maybe next year…
So, I’m going to go through a few things that bring me daily joy.
I like to put my presents under the tree even though I’ll have to bring them to St. Louis.
These three kings are part of nativity set I bought after Christmas last year and was surprised to find in my closet this year! I love the whole set.
All of these things bring me joy.
My first of the Prairie Schooler Santas. In the cross-stitching world, these qualify as “highly collectible” and I’ve been lucky to find two large bunches for like 10 cents each at estate sales so that I’m really only missing the most recent years.
That Galleria Santa was a good one–even if that pink bench was extremely 1987.
I’ll leave you with some good, modern Christmas songs. These will get you dancing, with or without a glass of wine.
Here are the dual personalities back in 1959–sixty years ago! According to our mother’s penciled notation, the first picture was taken on Christmas Eve. I was dressed like an elf; I probably annoyed my brother.
The snapshot below was taken on Christmas morning. I remember those dresses–they were red with white pinafores.
The tree looks kind of sad, but I’m sure we thought it was beautiful. We had quite a haul from Santa.
I was 3 1/2, our brother was 8 1/2 and my sister had just turned one. Tomorrow is her birthday! We wish her a happy day.
In other news, we had a snow day yesterday. It snowed on Sunday and the weather folk presented dire predictions of ice and snow to come. The OM drove me to MoBap for my radiation treatment at 7:30 on Monday morning and we got there and home just fine. I had decided not to go in to work and it was a good call. It snowed most of the day.
You can hardly tell, but it was really coming down here!
I got out the Christmas tree ornaments in anticipation of the boy coming over tonight to take the tree out of the garage, put it in the stand and hang the lights on it.
I know, these pictures look the same every year. What can I say?
We didn’t get a chance to see the wee babes over the weekend, but they did go to the NICU reunion Christmas party where they got to see Santa. The wee laddie had his doubts…
…but Lottie was cool with it.
The boy also sent pictures of the babes frolicking in the snow on their snow day.
“I can’t move my arms!”
Well, that was fun, but here’s hoping MODOT has done its job and we can all get to work today!
I only have three work days ’til I am off for the holidays, and I can’t wait!
This weekend really felt like the beginning of Christmas, because we threw our not-quite-annual holiday party. I took off Friday to clean the house and prepare. Even so, we were down to the wire with our prep! This year was nearly derailed by burned scones at the final hour, but crisis averted — DN cut off the burned bottoms and every guest still complimented them.
We also served bagels with toppings, winter citrus salad, and chewy molasses cookies. I was very pleased with the versatility of our dining room table — ends down and leaf in made for the perfect amount of serving space. (No, we haven’t yet replaced the too-small sisal rug!)
My decor (Christmas and otherwise) makes me so, so happy. This party also served as a bit of a housewarming, as we haven’t entertained much since moving in. It was nice to put out all of our nice things, and people were very complimentary. (I think my friends know that I am a words-of-affirmation gal.)
I was tempted to provide a Bingo card for Christmas decorations–how many thematic tea towels can you spot? Needlepoint items? “Woodland creatures” would for sure be the free spot.
Nothing beats a cheese board! A while ago I learned to put out food in more than one location, and this year was the first time I had it together enough to realize it helps to put plates out in all of those locations, too.
And of course, DN always makes a party punch that keeps the crowd lively. This version is a batched French 75 (champagne, brandy, and lemon) with ice cubes that he froze with cranberries inside. Very festive. (FYI, the thematic tea towel protecting the mirror on the bar says “Christmas Spirits”!)
Well, we were exhausted by the end, but I always think it’s worth it to throw a party. People are generally grateful that someone has done so — everyone wants a chance to be festive! I am happy to oblige. I’ll be keeping this festive mood going for the next couple of weeks — I just have to get through 4 more business days and then the real fun begins!
Life gets busier and busier the closer we get to Christmas, and if we’re not careful, we’ll spend so much time getting things done that we won’t be able to focus on what’s really important. Yesterday, for example, I spent the morning distributing gifts with our Church and Community Giving Tree program. By the time I got home, the non-stop cheerfulness and smiling had taken its toll. What’s more, instead of feeling good about helping people, I had started to question the program itself: were we helping or enabling? Fulfilling a need or creating dependents? — Probably some of both. Feeling tired and deflated, I went home and took a nap. 
The nap restored some of my energy, but I still needed a spiritual boost. What better antidote than the Bible? I had taken up my DP’s challenge to read a chapter of Luke a day until Christmas, so back to Luke I went and was duly rewarded. I highly recommend reading the New Testament (Isaiah, too!), but don’t forget the nap — naps help us retain what we read (studies have shown!) and we awake feeling calm and renewed.
Have a great weekend and don’t stress!
*Luke 12:32
And the Lord will guide you continually,
and satisfy your desire with good things,
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters fail not.–Isaiah 58:11 (RSV)
What do you want for Christmas? All I want is the usual–for everyone in my family to be happy with the gifts I give them. I would also like my eyebrows and eyelashes to grow back. 😑
By the way, the wee babes turned three on Wednesday!
They are still pretty little, but they’ve come a long way, haven’t they?
One and a half pounds!
They never cease to amaze me.
Yes, Santa came to the NICU!
Although there are two weekends before Christmas, I know that this is the last weekend when I will actually be able to get much done, so that is my plan. Maybe we’ll even get the tree up. (Maybe not.) How about you?
While I am getting things done, I will be listening to Christmas music. Here’s one of my favorite carols, based on an old Longfellow poem, and sung by Casting Crowns.
You can read the poem here.
