Merry Christmas and a belated Happy Chanukah, Festive Festivus and Whatever Else You Celebrate

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For your viewing enjoyment, Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart sing a holiday duet for you. May all you who celebrate Christmas have a lovely Christmas Eve, a Merry Christmas Day and a wonderful weekend of fun, festivities and family get-togethers. And everyone else enjoy their weekend and time off!

Merry Christmas!

And for those who don't celebrate Christmas, have a wonderful, stress-free and relaxing day!

And here is Diva in the obligatory "dog wearing antlers in front of the Christmas tree" photograph, wishing you all a great day. Enjoy!

Scene at a Post-Christmas Celebration

It is one of our annual traditions to have Christmas Dinner over at our friends, E and M's, house. This year due to various circumstances, we had said dinner two days after Christmas instead of on the day itself. This gathering includes friends and family members, including Friend #2's kids, her cousin S, and my elderly mom and aunt. Some of you will remember meeting Friend #2 during the incident of the camel milk.

E and M are consummate hosts and dining at their table is one of the pleasures of life. The atmosphere is serene, holiday music tinkles in the background, their Christmas tree sparkles. Somehow all of the food is ready at the same time, nothing is sitting around becoming cold while something else isn't quite done (which is what happens to me when I try to give a big dinner party). We end up sitting around the table after a delicious meal chatting with conviviality about all kinds of things.

Last night we got onto the subject of strange unidentified types of pork meat that are local delicacies in different parts of the country. First we started talking about that New Jersey tradition, known as Taylor Ham or more generically as pork roll. Friend #2 and I got into a discussion of whether the best version of a Taylor Ham sandwich would be Taylor Ham with Egg and Cheese on a Hard Roll, or whether it only needs the Taylor Ham and Cheese. I was pulling for the inclusion of the egg.

Then my mother started talking about Philadelphia Scrapple. My father, who grew up in Philadelphia, always liked it and my mother would make it for him in a frying pan, frying it up until it was brown and crispy and then serve it with maple syrup.

The conversation turned thence to Spam. Because what would a discussion of strange meats made with pig parts be without Spam? I heard on the radio the other day that it was being reported that President-Elect Obama had dined the day before on a Spam specialty in his native Hawaii, as if this was something strange and unusual. Obviously the reporters did not realize that Spam is a staple in Hawaii. Brought there by the U.S. troops during World War II, Spam is one of the most beloved foods in the Islands, and they even have Spam recipe contests. So it is no surprise that the President-Elect chowed down on one of the native Spam dishes.

I have my own fond memories of Spam. The night of the Great Blackout of 1965 we lived in upstate New York near Rochester, and the kitchen of our modern circa 1960 split-level was fully powered with electricity, not natural gas. So when the lights dimmed that November afternoon and then went out, we had no way to cook anything for dinner. We weren't the type of family that had a grill for these occasions; my father not the typical suburban dad who ventured out armed with charcoal and lighter fluid to start fires in the family Hibachi. So we had to make do with what we had, which happened to be a can of Spam and a can of Del Monte green beans. We ate our cold Spam (which thankfully was pre-cooked and ready to eat in its spiffy blue and yellow can, even though it would have been tastier heated up) and cold green beans for dinner while we listened to my father's transistor radio tuned to station WHAM, which was talking about looting taking place in downtown Rochester - which later turned out to be untrue. At the time we were all wondering if the Russians had something to do with this terrible event (it being 1965) and anything terrifying seemed somewhat possible even if it was only looting.

Where was I going with this? Oh yes, Spam. So during the course of this conversation the following exchange took place:

Mauigirl: "What about Spam? That's another good one!"
Mauigirl's mother: "Oh yes, Spam."
Mauigirl: "We used to have Spam a lot!"
Friend #2: "Spamalot???"
Mauigirl: "Spamalot!"
Friend #2: "Maybe that's where they got the idea for the name of the show!"

At this point the Christmas plum pudding was brought out, aflame with 151 Rum (the only thing that really burns properly) and we all sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," especially the part about the Figgy Pudding, which we sang more than once - and then the rest of dessert was served, including E's wonderful homemade chocolate truffles and cookies, as well as the pudding and its requisite "hard sauce." All was silent for a short time while delicacies were consumed.

I hope you too are continuing to enjoy the holiday season. And as Tiny Tim was wont to say, "God Bless Us Every One."

Merry Christmas to All!

Sharing the title song of my favorite Christmas Album, the Chieftains' "The Bells of Dublin."


And, for those of you who are feeling exhausted or worn out by Christmas, the marvelously cynical "St. Stephens Day Murders" from the same album.



In case you can't make out the lyrics, here they are:

I knew of two sisters whose name it was Christmas,
And one was named Dawn of course, the other one was named Eve.
I wonder if they grew up hating the season,
The good will that lasts til the Feast of St. Stephen

For that is the time to eat, drink, and be merry,
Til the beer is all spilled and the whiskey has flowed.
And the whole family tree you neglected to bury,
Are feeding their faces until they explode.

Chorus:

There'll be laughter and tears over Tia Marias,
Mixed up with that drink made from girders.
’Cause it's all we've got left as they draw their last breath,
Ah, it's nice for the kids, as you finally get rid of them,
In the St Stephen's Day Murders.

Uncle is garglin' a heart-breaking air,
While the babe in his arms pulls out all that remains of his hair.
And we're not drunk enough yet to dare criticize,
The great big kipper tie he's about to baptize.

With his gin-flavoured whiskers and kisses of sherry,
His best Chrimbo shirt slung out over the shop.
While the lights from the Christmas tree blow up the telly,
His face closes in like an old cold pork chop.

Alternate Chorus:

And the carcass of the beast left over from the feast,
May still be found haunting the kitchen.
And there's life in it yet, we may live to regret,
When the ones that we poisoned stop twitchin'.

Regular Chorus Repeat

Please be sure to listen to the music that goes with it!

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas! And if you don't celebrate Christmas, enjoy a peaceful and happy day with "no deeds to do and no promises to keep"! (One of my favorite lines from Simon & Garfunkel).

Christmas Eve - To Hope and Forgive

As many prepare
To celebrate on Christmas
Let's try to calm down.

We may hate Warren
But Obama may have reasons
To expose his views.

Firedog Lake's claiming
Obama's for Creationism
For picking Warren.

But Obama said
He would try to unite us;
Why are we surprised?

It's only a prayer
It's not a cabinet post
We have to forgive.

OK, that's as much haiku as I can make out of this issue. I am feeling as if, no matter the outrage that this choice has inspired, that we're losing sight of the forest for the trees. Obama is not pro-creationist just because he has Warren speak. He is not anti-gay either; and I'm sure he does not espouse the same attitudes as Warren about gay marriage.

And we have to remember that Warren's own supporters are giving him a hard time for accepting the offer as well. There is anger on both sides.

Perhaps Obama knew just what he was doing. E.J. Dionne discussed the issue in his column today.

"Although I support gay marriage, I think that liberals should welcome Obama's success in causing so much consternation on the right. On balance, inviting Warren opens more doors than it closes.

Warren has some decisions to make, too. He would do well to apologize for comparing gays to pedophiles, and also for comments...deriding mainline Protestants for not caring much 'about redemption, the cross, repentance.'

...And liberals need to understand what it means to build a durable majority. Doing so requires not just easy gestures but hard ones. Here's a prayer that by calling in his friend, Obama took a risk worth taking."

As someone elected on a platform of hope and change, it is inevitable that Obama will disappoint many people on every side of every issue. No one can be all things to all people. In Obama's defense, he has never claimed to be anywhere near as left-wing as many of his own supporters (to say nothing of the right) have expected him to be.

Obama is a practical and shrewd politician. He is cerebral and does not govern by his "gut" the way George W. Bush loved to do. Being cerebral means contemplating many sides of issues and listening to other voices besides those that agree with his views. Isn't this what we wanted? Isn't this what we asked for after eight long years of ideological lock-step?

This is a man who believes "the perfect is the enemy of the good." He will no doubt compromise in order to find a "win-win" solution that at least accomplishes some of what he wants, while accommodating other factions who may not want the same goals at all. Not all of us will agree with some of these decisions. But we can only hope he does not go as far as Bill Clinton in this regard. We can only wait and see how it plays out when he actually becomes president.

I have never seen supporters of a candidate so quickly turn on him over one single choice that he has made before even becoming president. You can bet the Republicans wouldn't turn on their candidate so quickly. I know symbols are important. But he also chose a pro-gay-rights pastor to give the benediction. Why isn't that symbol also important?

I'm not saying that Obama shouldn't be criticized, and he does need to come out and reiterate that he disagrees vehemently with some of Warren's repugnant views.

And certainly in the coming months as he actually starts to make policy, I will hold his feet to the fire as much as anyone. But he isn't even president yet!

I was watching Keith Olbermann's end-of-year wrap-up the other night and he was showing the cheering crowds in Chicago when they announced Barack Obama had won the election. It made me sad to think that all those happy faces so soon had become cynical and disillusioned.

It also made me remember something Mr. Spock once said in one of my favorite Star Trek episodes:
"After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing, after all, as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true."

The reason for this is, reality can never live up to our expectations. But to quote another great philosopher, Mick Jagger, remember:

"You can't always get what you want...but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need."

In the spirit of the Christmas season, whether you are religious or not, let's try a little forgiveness. President-Elect Obama is going to need all of our help and support to get through the utter mess the Republicans have left this country. There will be time enough to criticize in 2009. Let's give it a rest right now and enjoy some holiday peace and hope.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all.

Sunday Afternoon Haiku

Sunday afternoons are always iffy. Sometimes I can forget for awhile that the next day is Monday; sometimes I can't. It started back when I was a kid and had to go to school the next day. Now it's work that I'm trying to avoid.

And it's worse in the winter when it starts getting dark at 4:15. And the holidays are looming and I'm not ready. Not even close!

In honor of my melancholy mood, I will post some holiday haiku:

Once upon a time
I couldn't wait for Christmas
Now it's more like dread.

I miss those old days
When Christmas meant excitement
Now it's just a chore.

Rush to get a tree
Hurry up and decorate
Then take it all down.

In between all that
You have to buy the presents
And then wrap them all.

Order stuff on-line
No malls this close to Christmas!
Gifts arrive daily.

Send out Christmas cards
Or perhaps "Seasons Greetings"
With the yearly note.

"Another year passed
Here's what we've been doing...
Hope you all are well."

Plan out Christmas Day
Should we have beef or turkey?
Beef is easier.

Then Christmas Eve comes
We watch "A Christmas Carol"
And then it's all good.

Our own ritual
Instead of going to church
It still does the job.

It still reminds us
The real meaning of Christmas
Is love and giving.

The Christmas tree glows
The radio plays carols
Peace and love to all.

There's still no Santa
And our gifts for each other
Are not a surprise

But for a moment
The magic will still return
When Christmas Eve comes.

Our favorite version of "A Christmas Carol" - the one with George C. Scott as Scrooge.

A Very Trolly Holiday

As promised, I'm posting the pictures of the trolls festooned around our living room. In this picture you can see them on top of the revolving bookcase and the neighboring table.

Here they congregate on the radiator cover, next to my great-grandmother on my father's side (in picture to left).

Here they gather on another side table, up against a picture of me as a baby in several poses. (DH rescued this treasure from my mother's house when she was moving and decided it belonged in the living room. I am not sure).

And here they are, in all their glory, on the piano. Most of the ones in this group are the oldest trolls I have. I began collecting them when I was 9 years old, back in the early 60's. The one with orange hair, in the middle, in the second row from the bottom, is Samantha - my first troll.

And here is the Nativity Scene. "Joseph" and "Mary" are in the middle (blue hair and white hair), and "Baby Jesus" lies in front of them. They are surrounded by an eclectic mix of animal trolls (to the right), trolls dressed as animals or reindeer, trolls dressed as angels (front left in red and white), trolls dressed as Santa or elves, and more. There are also some other non-troll animals surrounding the scene.

And, just because it's time for a picture of Diva, here she is - wrapped in her blanket, lying on our bed and ready to go to sleep. The blanket is actually the colors of the flag, which is faintly sacreligious, I realize, but someone gave it to us, and Diva loves the fleece. So it belongs to her. Being a short-haired dog she needs to keep warm at night! And after all, she is an American Pit Bull Terrier, so maybe it is appropriate after all!

Post-Christmas haiku:

Friends and family,

Together at Christmastime

What more could you want?

The Christmas Meme

I've been tagged by Nick of This Is It with the Christmas Meme. So, here we go:

The rules: Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog. Share Christmas facts about yourself. Tag random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. Wrapping or gift bags? A little of both. If it's something difficult to wrap I'll usually use a gift bag; if it's something easy like a shirt box or a book, I wrap it. No ribbons, only stick-on bows.

2. Real or artificial tree? Real - always. Our family always had a real tree when I was growing up, and now that I'm an adult I have kept to the tradition; however, I have stopped getting a full size tree and instead put up one that is about 3-1/2 to 4 feet high - much faster to put up, and faster to take down on that dour, depressing day when it finally has to go. I would never dare get an artificial tree because then nothing would force me to take it down (such as dropping needles or becoming a total fire hazard) and it might just stay up till Memorial Day. Or maybe I would just leave it up all year. I get lazy.

3. When do you put up the tree? It varies depending on what day of the week Christmas happens to be. I try to get it up a good 10 days ahead of time. However, this year it went up on December 23! The latest we ever put up a tree was the first year I was dating my husband; we got one on Christmas Eve and put it up at his apartment.

4. When do you take the tree down? January 6, which is Twelfth Night. This was always the tradition for our family. However, during the days after New Year's Day and the following weekend, the tree is always a forlorn reminder of the now-past holidays, and I am relieved to take it down when I finally get around to it.

5. Do you like eggnog? I adore really good eggnog. With dark rum in it. Unfortunately I quit drinking alcohol almost three years ago, so can no longer have the rum.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Books, especially the year I was 12 - lots of books by Jack London and Albert Payson Terhune, about dogs.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, probably the most unique version of the Nativity that you've seen. I make one with my trolls. There are two trolls that play the part of Mary and Joseph, and one that happens to be lying down so he's the baby, and then I have a cow, a bull, two horses, and an elephant (all trolls) looking on. Also a couple of trolls that are dressed as angels.

8. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? There are no bad gifts.

9. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards? Mail. I send out about 50. I've made it easier the last few years by using printed labels for the envelopes and I do a Christmas letter now for the few people that I need to send a yearly update to. I used to hand write a personal note on those cards but my writing is so bad now it was impossible. But I still write something personal at the bottom of the letter.

10. Favorite Christmas movie? A Christmas Carol. The one that was made for TV in the 1980's with George C. Scott as Scrooge. I used to like the Alistair Sim version but now prefer this one.

11. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I only buy on-line for Christmas now; in fact, I started shopping on-line about 10 years ago at least. I refuse to go anywhere near a mall within the month before Christmas. We don't have that many gifts to buy anymore anyway so it's not as big a deal as it used to be.

12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? I don't really have any one traditional thing that's my favorite. One family tradition is to always have the Christmas pudding with "hard sauce" (so called because of the brandy in it, I assume).

13. Clear lights or colored on the tree? I was brought up with colored lights on the tree; then when we bought our house, we went to a more Victorian looking tree with white lights. But sometimes I get in the mood for the colored ones. This year I have colored lights and gold garland on the tree.

14. Favorite Christmas song? I have many favorite songs. My favorite album of Christmas songs is "The Bells of Dublin" by The Chieftains. I love the song "The St. Stephen's Day Murders," which is rather a dark tale.

15. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home in our neighborhood. The last few years we have begun a new tradition of having Christmas dinner with both our friends and family together. Since our closest friends all have relatively few family members in the immediate area, it is fun to combine all the families and eat together. We end up with between 12 and 15 people, and everyone pitches in and brings something.

16. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Let's see...on Dancer, on Dasher, on Blitzen...No. I can't remember them all. And don't ask about the 7 Dwarfs either.

17. Angel on the tree top or a star? Brought up with a star, but now put an angel on top (DH comes from a family that does the angel).

18. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning? Morning. When I was little I was allowed to open one present on Christmas Eve.

19. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Only one? I could list many. But I guess the worst thing is not being able to go into New York City because the traffic and crowds are impossible this whole month.

20. Do you decorate your tree in any specific theme or color? No. For a couple of years I got into putting red velvet bows on the tree, and then stopped that. I like seeing a mixture of all different things on the tree.

21. What do you leave for Santa? I don't remember ever having that tradition in our family; we didn't leave Santa a snack. I'm surprised he ever left me anything.

22. Least favorite holiday song? "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth."

23. Favorite ornament? A red glass ball with the furry face, paws and tail of a squirrel attached to it. I used to have a pet squirrel so I'm very fond of squirrels.

24. Family tradition? Just before Christmas, perhaps it was Christmas Eve, our family would just go riding around the various nearby neighborhoods and look at all the pretty lights on the houses.

25. Ever been to Midnight Mass or late-night Christmas Eve services?
Yes. The Congregational church I went to when I was growing up always had an 11 p.m. candlelight service on Christmas Eve that we would go to. And then after DH and I got married we used to go to Midnight Mass at the nearby Catholic church for quite awhile. For the past 8 or 9 years we haven't been going, but tonight my mom asked me to take her and my aunt over to her church at 5 p.m., as they had a candlelight carol service. It was a lovely service and I'm glad I went; having it at 5 p.m. was more convenient than the late night hour.

So that's it! I am not going to tag anyone because I know that everyone is going to be way too busy on Christmas Day to be doing Christmas memes on their blogs. But if anyone wants to do this meme, please feel free!

***

I am finally ready for Christmas. I got my 50 cards mailed out on Sunday, and I managed to get a tree yesterday at a place that was selling trees, wreaths, and other Christmas paraphernalia; they didn't have little trees but offered to chop the top off one of the big trees, which was very nice of them! And they only charged me $25. Sometimes it pays to wait till the last minute.

Today my friend's daughter came over and we put up all my trolls in the living room. They are festooned all over the piano, and on every available surface in the living room. I'll try to post some pictures in the next couple of days!

Merry Christmas to everyone and I hope you're enjoying your holidays!

A haiku for the day:

Christmas Eve is here
The tree is finally up
And so are the trolls!

Best Dressed Holiday Homes!

I have been missing in action since Tuesday because on Wednesday evening I came down with the Dread 24-Hour Virus. I think my parents used to call this the "grippe." Starts with stomach (we won't go there...) and then the next day you lie in bed all day, unable to move, unable even to blog, while you shiver and ache. And then presto! Exactly 24 hours later, you feel normal again.

At any rate, I'm back, not quite as good as ever, but close, and on a lighter note I thought I'd post a link to the Best Dressed Holiday Homes from This Old House.

Hat tip to Baristanet for bringing this fun contest to my attention!

This collection of pictures includes traditional exteriors and interiors, as well as "over-the-top" displays that have everything but the kitchen sink in them and have lights that go on and off in time to music. (See the overall editors' choice and the other two video entries). Be patient, the video ones do have ads first, but they're short.

I remember when I was much younger there used to be one of these "over-the-top" houses in Little Falls, New Jersey, that people would come from miles around to look at. It had lights on every conceivable surface, reindeer and sleigh on the roof, and the garage was opened up as Santa's Workshop with moving figures of Santa, Mrs. Santa, and the Elves. Going to see this house was part of our family Christmas tradition!

More recently, there used to be a house that overlooked the Garden State Parkway that was lit up with literally millions of little white lights - it actually stopped traffic on the Parkway as people slowed down to look at it.

It's nice to see that, although those two examples of wondrous excess are sadly gone, there are still others out there following the tradition of American Over-the-Topness. (New word I just made up).

I know that it may be politically incorrect to applaud people for wasting electricity on such a grand scale. But I have to admire anyone who has the energy, determination and know-how to put up displays like this.

Me, I haven't even gotten around to putting up a tree yet this year! And the extent of our outdoor decorations is a wreath on our door.

Whatever the extent of your decorating, I hope you're enjoying the holiday season in your own way! Me, I'll be putting up my collection of trolls around the living room this weekend. We all have our traditions!