I know I posted this poem last year, by Longfellow, but it doesn't get old. So Merry Christmas, friends!
Christmas Bells
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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!
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!’
12.25.2007
12.22.2007
where pleasure moments hung before
I am finished with my Christmas shopping. Finally.
The mall was absolutely crazy today and as I darted through the Christmas shoppers, I was amazed to see that though I didn't think it was possible, Christmas has become even more commercial than in years past. All of the stores have their special 'Christmas wares' - you know what I'm talking about. At Target the boxes are red and have the word 'holiday' somewhere on them, and inevitably, the price somewhere as well. There are 'lists' of each stores special gift items, plus items that are sure to be a hit as stocking stuffers. You can even buy them pre-wrapped.
It's a little bit ridiculous. Now, I will admit that I do love Christmas. I love getting gifts for people and seeing them smile when they open the festive looking package. However, one of my holiday pet-peeves are those people, who, laden with bags, stop 'because there's another sale table over there - did you see it? we've got to go and look.' They buy for the sake of buying. Sales are infectious. You think you're saving money, but really, we just increase our spending every year a little bit more because the sales are all that much better.
Other things that drive me nuts? Clearly, today, tomorrow and Monday are when the last-minute shoppers are out. Clearly, I don't want to be wasting my time getting stuck behind the meanderers that have all the time in the world, seemingly. Also - people who swoop in and take your parking spot from the other side even though you have your blinker on. I also really dislike sales people that comment on your purchases as if they were in on the secret (even though I suppose they technically are).
On the humorous side - the absolutely hideous holiday dishes that seem to be popping up everywhere. I'm ok with the classy, mistletoe or Christmas tree ones - but NO SNOWMEN. Honestly - if I wanted a 24 piece place setting of Frosty, I'd have bought it when I was a kid. Apologies to anyone who actually likes that stuff. It's just not me. On the dishes side also, I heard a mother say to her kid today, "don't touch that, it's breakable, you touch and it breaks, it's glass and if you break it, I have to pay for it!" (Mind you, her voice got more and more shrill as she went on.)
The best part of my day was my trek to Ingebretsen's in Minneapolis - it's hard to not drool over everything. The beautifully painted (and probably mass produced) dala horses, the rosemaled dishes, and hand made nissen all make me wish I was grown up and had somewhere to put stuff like that. Someday.
And now, since I am done, I can sit on my couch, enjoy my Christmas tree, some wine and relax. I'm exhausted from schlepping all over town today and will not go out tomorrow. Naomi is in charge of the rest of it. And she's in charge of wrapping stuff. :) I think tomorrow will be a day to make Christmas treats for the family.
Quote o' the day:
"Isn't it funny that at Christmas something in you gets so lonely for - I don't know what exactly, but it's something that you don't mind so much not having at other times." ~Kate L. Bosher
The mall was absolutely crazy today and as I darted through the Christmas shoppers, I was amazed to see that though I didn't think it was possible, Christmas has become even more commercial than in years past. All of the stores have their special 'Christmas wares' - you know what I'm talking about. At Target the boxes are red and have the word 'holiday' somewhere on them, and inevitably, the price somewhere as well. There are 'lists' of each stores special gift items, plus items that are sure to be a hit as stocking stuffers. You can even buy them pre-wrapped.
It's a little bit ridiculous. Now, I will admit that I do love Christmas. I love getting gifts for people and seeing them smile when they open the festive looking package. However, one of my holiday pet-peeves are those people, who, laden with bags, stop 'because there's another sale table over there - did you see it? we've got to go and look.' They buy for the sake of buying. Sales are infectious. You think you're saving money, but really, we just increase our spending every year a little bit more because the sales are all that much better.
Other things that drive me nuts? Clearly, today, tomorrow and Monday are when the last-minute shoppers are out. Clearly, I don't want to be wasting my time getting stuck behind the meanderers that have all the time in the world, seemingly. Also - people who swoop in and take your parking spot from the other side even though you have your blinker on. I also really dislike sales people that comment on your purchases as if they were in on the secret (even though I suppose they technically are).
On the humorous side - the absolutely hideous holiday dishes that seem to be popping up everywhere. I'm ok with the classy, mistletoe or Christmas tree ones - but NO SNOWMEN. Honestly - if I wanted a 24 piece place setting of Frosty, I'd have bought it when I was a kid. Apologies to anyone who actually likes that stuff. It's just not me. On the dishes side also, I heard a mother say to her kid today, "don't touch that, it's breakable, you touch and it breaks, it's glass and if you break it, I have to pay for it!" (Mind you, her voice got more and more shrill as she went on.)
The best part of my day was my trek to Ingebretsen's in Minneapolis - it's hard to not drool over everything. The beautifully painted (and probably mass produced) dala horses, the rosemaled dishes, and hand made nissen all make me wish I was grown up and had somewhere to put stuff like that. Someday.
And now, since I am done, I can sit on my couch, enjoy my Christmas tree, some wine and relax. I'm exhausted from schlepping all over town today and will not go out tomorrow. Naomi is in charge of the rest of it. And she's in charge of wrapping stuff. :) I think tomorrow will be a day to make Christmas treats for the family.
Quote o' the day:
"Isn't it funny that at Christmas something in you gets so lonely for - I don't know what exactly, but it's something that you don't mind so much not having at other times." ~Kate L. Bosher
12.14.2007
I know what I know
Friends, the following was a part of The Writer's Almanac today. The whole poem is really good, so if you are interested in seeing it, click the link above. However - these last few lines really stood out to me and I felt the need to post them here for you to see. It's stunning!
Goodbye good friends. Alas,
some goodbyes are like death;
they bring the heart to earth
and teach it how to die.
Earth, here we come again,
we're going out to grass.
Think of us now and then,
we'll think of you. Goodbye.
From: "Farewell to Teaching" by George Johnston, from The Essential George Johnston. © The Porcupine's Quill, 2007.
Goodbye good friends. Alas,
some goodbyes are like death;
they bring the heart to earth
and teach it how to die.
Earth, here we come again,
we're going out to grass.
Think of us now and then,
we'll think of you. Goodbye.
From: "Farewell to Teaching" by George Johnston, from The Essential George Johnston. © The Porcupine's Quill, 2007.
12.09.2007
Can’t take a good day without a bad one
So today, i got ridiculously excited about Christmas and all that. I found a couple of recipes for candy that I wanted to try and I decided to make some bread too. The bread was just kind of a random, I want to make my own bread thing (Molasses Whole Wheat). It turned out deliciously.
The candy, however, was a different story. Let me preface this whole thing by saying that when we were little, my parents used to make a big deal out of Christmas. We used to spend a day making sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies and frosting them as a family. My dad used to make tons of candy and cookies and we'd get to help him with it. Now, not so much. So today I decided was going to be my day. I found a recipe for peppermint bark (really easy to make) and good too. The caramels, not so much. My caramels look like caramel sauce with a skin on the top of them. Sad. I'll have to try again and be more patient.
At any rate, that's the story of today.
Is it Christmas break yet?
"In journalism, there has always been a tension between getting it first and getting it right." - Ellen Goodman
The candy, however, was a different story. Let me preface this whole thing by saying that when we were little, my parents used to make a big deal out of Christmas. We used to spend a day making sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies and frosting them as a family. My dad used to make tons of candy and cookies and we'd get to help him with it. Now, not so much. So today I decided was going to be my day. I found a recipe for peppermint bark (really easy to make) and good too. The caramels, not so much. My caramels look like caramel sauce with a skin on the top of them. Sad. I'll have to try again and be more patient.
At any rate, that's the story of today.
Is it Christmas break yet?
"In journalism, there has always been a tension between getting it first and getting it right." - Ellen Goodman
12.08.2007
the future comes right ’round to haunt me
And one more C.S. Lewis quote for you all.
ONE more class left.
Quote o' the day (for my FRIENDS):
"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival." - C.S. Lewis
ONE more class left.
Quote o' the day (for my FRIENDS):
"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival." - C.S. Lewis
12.02.2007
got me looking so crazy right now
After hibernating this weekend because of the snow, I'll be ready to get back to work. But, it's been a great weekend. Why? Because yesterday, Naomi and I went on some errands to stock up for the weekend. Pizza, beer, cheese and wine, movies. And a shovel - the last one at Home Depot, in fact.
Today, I spent the day listening to MPR, reading, eating said pizza and drinking beer, watching the Vikings game. Then we decided to put up our tree. After getting it out of our dusty basement, putting it up, we decided it was kind of pathetic. So we went and got a real tree. We always had real ones growing up and it's exciting to have it here. It smells like fir tree, and once the branches settle, we'll get to decorate. Yay! Plus, I made Mexican hot chocolate last night and it was delicious! The other best part? Not having to go out, get ready and all that.
And now, back to the real world, because I've got to revise my paper and read a book for class on Wednesday. TWO classes left.
Quote o' the day:
"We do not truly see light, we only see slower things lit by it, so that for us light is on the edge--the last thing we know before things become too swift for us." C.S. Lewis
Today, I spent the day listening to MPR, reading, eating said pizza and drinking beer, watching the Vikings game. Then we decided to put up our tree. After getting it out of our dusty basement, putting it up, we decided it was kind of pathetic. So we went and got a real tree. We always had real ones growing up and it's exciting to have it here. It smells like fir tree, and once the branches settle, we'll get to decorate. Yay! Plus, I made Mexican hot chocolate last night and it was delicious! The other best part? Not having to go out, get ready and all that.
And now, back to the real world, because I've got to revise my paper and read a book for class on Wednesday. TWO classes left.
Quote o' the day:
"We do not truly see light, we only see slower things lit by it, so that for us light is on the edge--the last thing we know before things become too swift for us." C.S. Lewis
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