This is one of my favorite poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I wanted to share it with you all - it's starting to feel like Christmas!
Christmas Bells
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."
Most of you probably have heard this as the hymn "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" but this is the poem that it's based on in it's entirety. I think that it's really appropriate with the world situation - we need to remember that all is not lost. A little bit of faith in humankind and the spirit of Christmas will get us a long way.
I wish all of you, friends of mine, a wonderful holiday. I wish for you a peaceful and happy time with your family and whomever you choose to celebrate with. Although I didn't get Christmas cards out this year (yet) I am thinking about all of you.
Merry Christmas!
12.25.2006
12.18.2006
and a life sized Mr. and Mrs. Claus tops it off
In the true spirit of Christmas, tonight my cousin and I decided to partake in one of our favorite holiday activities, looking at Christmas lights. Except we don't look at them to admire, we look at them to mock. Tonight D decided that he is going to make up a point system for the winner. If they have two incarnations of Santa, they get 5 points. If they have stray blinkers plus chaser lights, they get 7 points. If they have Santa and Frosty at the birth of Jesus, they get 15 points. You get the picture.
A sampling of what we saw tonight:
Santa cracking his whip at moving reindeer
moving reindeer
three white, colorless wisemen surrounded by Frosty and Santa
blue blinking lights
green rope lights leading up the stairs, looking like a cheap bar in the back woods
lit up trains that have wheels that move in locomotion - they actually hurt your eyes
a penguin that moved in and out of a giant igloo
a snow globe with fake snow blowing around in it
and to top it all off - a life size Mr. and Mrs. Claus crowding a front porch with no earthly way to pass it
We decided that white icicle lights are nice, classy. If you have colored lights that don't blink and are straight - they can be nice. Any blue lights or red lights should be banned.
And I truly apologize if anyone feels offended by this (maybe your family is the family with the random blinker and chaser lights). Christmas is truly one of my favorite times of year. But you know what - it's pretty fun to mock bad Christmas lights. You should try it. And let me know if you have any over 20 points. :)
Quote o' the day:
"Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone." -Charles Schulz
A sampling of what we saw tonight:
Santa cracking his whip at moving reindeer
moving reindeer
three white, colorless wisemen surrounded by Frosty and Santa
blue blinking lights
green rope lights leading up the stairs, looking like a cheap bar in the back woods
lit up trains that have wheels that move in locomotion - they actually hurt your eyes
a penguin that moved in and out of a giant igloo
a snow globe with fake snow blowing around in it
and to top it all off - a life size Mr. and Mrs. Claus crowding a front porch with no earthly way to pass it
We decided that white icicle lights are nice, classy. If you have colored lights that don't blink and are straight - they can be nice. Any blue lights or red lights should be banned.
And I truly apologize if anyone feels offended by this (maybe your family is the family with the random blinker and chaser lights). Christmas is truly one of my favorite times of year. But you know what - it's pretty fun to mock bad Christmas lights. You should try it. And let me know if you have any over 20 points. :)
Quote o' the day:
"Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone." -Charles Schulz
12.17.2006
frosty the fake snowman?
As I walked outside tonight, the frost shimmered on the grass and my feet crushed each delicately whitened, frozen blade. The night air was crisp and cool and I was only mildly chilly in my sweatshirt. It's been the perfect October weekend.
Except...
It's not October. It's December 17th. Christmas is a week away and we have NO snow. I'm not asking for much. All I want for Christmas is maybe a small snowstorm on Christmas eve. I can't say that I'm not enjoying the nice weather. I actually went for a run yesterday (let me tell you, it was rough) and I didn't freeze my ass off. I'm ok with that. But so help me, if there isn't snow on the ground by next Sunday, I will be begging Santa for a refund.
Yeah, we still have Christmas music, we've still done our Christmas baking (though significantly less than in past years), we still run around frantically trying to find that perfect gift and we still watch the plethora of movies that are on (thank you TBS, for giving me the opportunity to watch Runaway Bride not once, but three times and to CBS for showing Elf). But something about it is just not Christmas if the tacky Christmas lights and fake Santas and manger scenes are dusted finely so that the lights shine and twinkle at you from under their winter coats. I feel like I did when we spent Christmas and New Years in California, where the palm trees were decked out in twinkly lights. It's nice, but it's not the same.
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know. Where the treetops glisten and children listen, to hear sleighbells in the snow.
Quote o' the day:
"The snow itself is lonely or, if you prefer, self-sufficient. There is no other time when the whole world seems composed of one thing and one thing only." - Joseph Wood Krutch
Except...
It's not October. It's December 17th. Christmas is a week away and we have NO snow. I'm not asking for much. All I want for Christmas is maybe a small snowstorm on Christmas eve. I can't say that I'm not enjoying the nice weather. I actually went for a run yesterday (let me tell you, it was rough) and I didn't freeze my ass off. I'm ok with that. But so help me, if there isn't snow on the ground by next Sunday, I will be begging Santa for a refund.
Yeah, we still have Christmas music, we've still done our Christmas baking (though significantly less than in past years), we still run around frantically trying to find that perfect gift and we still watch the plethora of movies that are on (thank you TBS, for giving me the opportunity to watch Runaway Bride not once, but three times and to CBS for showing Elf). But something about it is just not Christmas if the tacky Christmas lights and fake Santas and manger scenes are dusted finely so that the lights shine and twinkle at you from under their winter coats. I feel like I did when we spent Christmas and New Years in California, where the palm trees were decked out in twinkly lights. It's nice, but it's not the same.
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know. Where the treetops glisten and children listen, to hear sleighbells in the snow.
Quote o' the day:
"The snow itself is lonely or, if you prefer, self-sufficient. There is no other time when the whole world seems composed of one thing and one thing only." - Joseph Wood Krutch
12.11.2006
and....you're done.
Last night of class. Food, readings and turning in the binder of neatly compiled pages that represent my entire fall. Which is gone now, and Christmas is in two weeks! Yikes... I think we were all a little bit sad that the semester was ending. We grew pretty close as a class, depending on each other to get through the semester. And it's exciting to think we've got the first semester under our belt. And I'm ready to loosen up and have some fun the rest of the week. Wahoo!
Only 14 shopping days left and I don't have a single gift. And I don't have any Christmas cards written either. I always manage to get things done, so I'm not too worried.
Quote o' the day:
"Maturity is a bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists, unless laughter can be said to remedy anything." - Kurt Vonnegut
Only 14 shopping days left and I don't have a single gift. And I don't have any Christmas cards written either. I always manage to get things done, so I'm not too worried.
Quote o' the day:
"Maturity is a bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists, unless laughter can be said to remedy anything." - Kurt Vonnegut
12.07.2006
the great salad dressing explosion of 2006
What a way to start the day.
I had a really good leftover salad from a lunch at Palomino yesterday with our direct mail company. I put it in my bag this morning along with my leftover pasta for lunch. I had also tossed in said bag some supplies seeing as how I'm going directly from work to dinner downtown and then to the Concordia Christmas Concert with a friend. Supplies including my hairbrush, my toothbrush and toothpaste, some makeup and my hat. Because it's going to be cold. Got to work and opened the bag to take the lunch to the fridge and lo and behold...there is blue cheese salad dressing on everything. Gross. And one of my coworkers with an office next to mine must think I'm crazy...with all the personal grooming items strewn about on my desk because I don't have a door to close and cursing at the salad in question. He asked me if I was 'all ready for the day.' Umm... clearly NOT.
Luckily - the bag in question is lined with plastic. So at least it didn't get on my clothes or in my car.
But seriously. This does not bode well for my day. Salad dressing, EVERYWHERE. Oy with the poodles already!
At least I have coffee.
12.05.2006
comfort and joy
Today was sort of a blah day. One of those days where you don't really feel like doing much. I actually got a lot done at work today, but I was not at my most social or even friendly. I hope no one thought I was crabby. I don't know if it's the end of the semester or what, but I am a-draggin'. When I got home from work today, I promptly put on pajamas and crawled into bed. I probably slept for about an hour and I know I'll pay for that later tonight, but I'm glad I did it. It felt good.
My sister got into a car accident tonight. She's fine, the car is fine, but it just reminded me of how much our roles are flipped sometimes. I'm the responsible one. Not to say that she's not, but had I not been home, I'm not sure she would have had any idea what to do. Of course, would any of us in that scenario? Probably not. We had some wine and pizza and watched Gilmore Girls, and I think she's doing all right now.
And now I'm sitting here, warm from the wine, the cats and the Christmas lights. I have a feeling that the next couple of weeks are going to be great.
And Paul Simon is singin' an American Tune.
Quote o' the day:
"To be a book-collector is to combine the worst characteristics of a dope fiend with those of a miser." - Robertson Davies
(I just really find that amusing. Ha.)
My sister got into a car accident tonight. She's fine, the car is fine, but it just reminded me of how much our roles are flipped sometimes. I'm the responsible one. Not to say that she's not, but had I not been home, I'm not sure she would have had any idea what to do. Of course, would any of us in that scenario? Probably not. We had some wine and pizza and watched Gilmore Girls, and I think she's doing all right now.
And now I'm sitting here, warm from the wine, the cats and the Christmas lights. I have a feeling that the next couple of weeks are going to be great.
And Paul Simon is singin' an American Tune.
Quote o' the day:
"To be a book-collector is to combine the worst characteristics of a dope fiend with those of a miser." - Robertson Davies
(I just really find that amusing. Ha.)
12.04.2006
scandahoovian
We had a bake-off competition today at work to raise money for the food shelter.
Ok... hold that thought. There is one of those flashing banners on my screen and Tula is going nuts. She keeps looking at the back of the laptop like she expects it to be there and then peeking back around and it's freaking cute...and I wish you could all see it.
Where was I? Bake-off. Yes. There was so much sweet stuff it satisfied even my enormous sweet tooth. But what was my favorite thing? Among all of the cakes and cookies? The enormous plate of lefse. Which hearkens to my Scandahoovian roots and also to my happy days as the co-president of the Scandinavian Club at Concordia. Our slogan? "Got Lefse?" We did lots of exceedingly dorky things, such as dress up in our sweaters and do the shoddish down 8th Street for the Homecoming Parade, make meatballs and kringla and all sorts of things for a dinner complete with making our own ornaments (nisse, hearts and the like) and go to the Nordic Roots Fest at the Cedar in Mpls once a year. We also had a retreat in WI every year where mostly we did lots of drinking, folk dancing and watching movies in various Scandinavian languages. (See, I told you, exceedingly nerdy.)
BUT...my absolute favorite thing to do was to sell lefse at the Homecoming game. You know you live in MN and go to a Lutheran/Scandinavian college when there's lefse at the Homecoming game. We'd buy like 8 cases of Freddy's Lefse and sell it for a dollar a piece. Butter and sugar your thing? We'd do it. You want brown sugar instead of white? Got it. Nothing? We can do that too? How about cinnamon and sugar? Or just butter? Possibilities abound. Lefse is IT, man. So go and find yourself some and make it up the way you like. And if you're lucky enough to have someone in your family that makes it homemade - LEARN how to do it. Me? I'm a flipper/roller. And I'm damn good at it.
One more class session left!!
Quote o' the day:
"Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh." - George Bernard Shaw
Ok... hold that thought. There is one of those flashing banners on my screen and Tula is going nuts. She keeps looking at the back of the laptop like she expects it to be there and then peeking back around and it's freaking cute...and I wish you could all see it.
Where was I? Bake-off. Yes. There was so much sweet stuff it satisfied even my enormous sweet tooth. But what was my favorite thing? Among all of the cakes and cookies? The enormous plate of lefse. Which hearkens to my Scandahoovian roots and also to my happy days as the co-president of the Scandinavian Club at Concordia. Our slogan? "Got Lefse?" We did lots of exceedingly dorky things, such as dress up in our sweaters and do the shoddish down 8th Street for the Homecoming Parade, make meatballs and kringla and all sorts of things for a dinner complete with making our own ornaments (nisse, hearts and the like) and go to the Nordic Roots Fest at the Cedar in Mpls once a year. We also had a retreat in WI every year where mostly we did lots of drinking, folk dancing and watching movies in various Scandinavian languages. (See, I told you, exceedingly nerdy.)
BUT...my absolute favorite thing to do was to sell lefse at the Homecoming game. You know you live in MN and go to a Lutheran/Scandinavian college when there's lefse at the Homecoming game. We'd buy like 8 cases of Freddy's Lefse and sell it for a dollar a piece. Butter and sugar your thing? We'd do it. You want brown sugar instead of white? Got it. Nothing? We can do that too? How about cinnamon and sugar? Or just butter? Possibilities abound. Lefse is IT, man. So go and find yourself some and make it up the way you like. And if you're lucky enough to have someone in your family that makes it homemade - LEARN how to do it. Me? I'm a flipper/roller. And I'm damn good at it.
One more class session left!!
Quote o' the day:
"Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh." - George Bernard Shaw
12.03.2006
sunday grocery shoppers...
Let me just start by saying that I hate Sunday drivers. They're the worst - poking along in the fast lane, taking their god damned sweet time. Move outta the way, buddy and let me get to where I'm going, for the love!
However, today I discovered something worse. The Sunday grocery shopper. Today, in between trying to get all of my laundry done, make lasagne and finish my schoolwork (maybe the other things were a distraction, you think?) I had to go to Target and the grocery store. Target was fine - people are usually good about moving because chances are, they're stopping to get something specific too. I was on a mission for ornament hooks and was in and out in about ten minutes. The grocery store however, was not fine.
I honestly think that every grope happy couple and single mom with three kids was at Rainbow today. And they were always in front of what I needed to get at! Plus, it was Sunday evening, so they were restocking things...not forgetting that they were also OUT of a lot of things. It was pandemonium and I just wanted to get out of there and get home to make my lasagne and to get my stuff done. But oh no. I was at the grocery store for probably an hour and a half...for a list of maybe 20 items. (It didn't help that I had a hard time finding cranberries. Stupid cranberries, tucked away in between the lettuce and the radishes!) And then I had slow people in front me on my way home...it was annoying, needless to say. Thanks for listening!
On the happier note, I put up the Christmas tree today. It's not real and piney like the ones we had growing up, but it will do. I got some ornaments from both my mom and my grandma, ones that they weren't using, so it feels homey. Plus not everyone in the world will have the same ornaments that I have. And that the cats now have something new to chew on. Grr... I'm getting a squirt bottle.
Countdown to the end of the first semester: 2 class sessions. Wahoo!
Quote o' the day:
"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." - Robert Frost
However, today I discovered something worse. The Sunday grocery shopper. Today, in between trying to get all of my laundry done, make lasagne and finish my schoolwork (maybe the other things were a distraction, you think?) I had to go to Target and the grocery store. Target was fine - people are usually good about moving because chances are, they're stopping to get something specific too. I was on a mission for ornament hooks and was in and out in about ten minutes. The grocery store however, was not fine.
I honestly think that every grope happy couple and single mom with three kids was at Rainbow today. And they were always in front of what I needed to get at! Plus, it was Sunday evening, so they were restocking things...not forgetting that they were also OUT of a lot of things. It was pandemonium and I just wanted to get out of there and get home to make my lasagne and to get my stuff done. But oh no. I was at the grocery store for probably an hour and a half...for a list of maybe 20 items. (It didn't help that I had a hard time finding cranberries. Stupid cranberries, tucked away in between the lettuce and the radishes!) And then I had slow people in front me on my way home...it was annoying, needless to say. Thanks for listening!
On the happier note, I put up the Christmas tree today. It's not real and piney like the ones we had growing up, but it will do. I got some ornaments from both my mom and my grandma, ones that they weren't using, so it feels homey. Plus not everyone in the world will have the same ornaments that I have. And that the cats now have something new to chew on. Grr... I'm getting a squirt bottle.
Countdown to the end of the first semester: 2 class sessions. Wahoo!
Quote o' the day:
"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." - Robert Frost
12.02.2006
cars and classical music
Today I spent most of my day doing the following things:
driving all over the freaking metro
spending money I don't have on Christmas decorations
sleeping
And I really should have been working on my paper that's due on Monday, reading the book I'm supposed to read for Monday and getting my final portfolio started so that I'm not freaking out about that next weekend. Because I have 6 of 15 to 20 pages written of my final work. Yikes.
I did, however, get the battery replaced in my car, which you know, is only a month old (they did it for free, thank GOD). I got a 'loaner' car for the three hours it took because there were so many people waiting and it was an Oldsmobile Alero, which is a fine car, but it's a lot bigger and heavier than my little Corolla. I'm sure people were amused watching me try to park it. Ha.
Has anyone ever noticed the driving on the freeway is like a ballet? Cars moving into lanes in tandem, darting back and forth, speeding up and slowing down. Watching cars that are at the bottom of a hill when you're at the top, you see them moving gracefully between lanes, creating patterns on the road and choreographing their way to wherever they are going. Maybe I'm the only one that thinks that, but try watching sometime - it's like a huge, progressive ballet. Especially when you're a classical music nerd like me and have KSJN on while you're driving.
And...back to work on the pressing question of "what do writers do?"
Quote o' the day:
"Life must be understood backwards; but... it must be lived forward." - Soren Kierkegaard
driving all over the freaking metro
spending money I don't have on Christmas decorations
sleeping
And I really should have been working on my paper that's due on Monday, reading the book I'm supposed to read for Monday and getting my final portfolio started so that I'm not freaking out about that next weekend. Because I have 6 of 15 to 20 pages written of my final work. Yikes.
I did, however, get the battery replaced in my car, which you know, is only a month old (they did it for free, thank GOD). I got a 'loaner' car for the three hours it took because there were so many people waiting and it was an Oldsmobile Alero, which is a fine car, but it's a lot bigger and heavier than my little Corolla. I'm sure people were amused watching me try to park it. Ha.
Has anyone ever noticed the driving on the freeway is like a ballet? Cars moving into lanes in tandem, darting back and forth, speeding up and slowing down. Watching cars that are at the bottom of a hill when you're at the top, you see them moving gracefully between lanes, creating patterns on the road and choreographing their way to wherever they are going. Maybe I'm the only one that thinks that, but try watching sometime - it's like a huge, progressive ballet. Especially when you're a classical music nerd like me and have KSJN on while you're driving.
And...back to work on the pressing question of "what do writers do?"
Quote o' the day:
"Life must be understood backwards; but... it must be lived forward." - Soren Kierkegaard
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