Tag Archives: Christmas

Christmas Archives

julafton carl larsson

Julafton, by Carl Larsson, 1904

Happy Christmas Eve to you!

Cooking, baking, visiting, listening, erranding and (hopefully) relaxing are the priority today, so I thought I’d give you a touch of Christmas past.

It’s interesting to see how this week has changed for me over the years. I imagine some of you have similar evolutions when it comes to the holidays:

To My Ancestors: A Little Modern Grinching (2010)

Holiday Nomming (2011)

Happiest of Holidays to You! (2012)

Merry Christmas! (2013)

Stay safe, warm and happy!

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Merry Christmas!

colorful celtic merry christmas banner

As is the custom among my people, allow me to wish you a Merry Christmas!

If you do not celebrate Christmas in one of its current incarnations, I hope your own holidays, if you observe them, have been/will be wonderful, and that your December 25 is one of peace, happiness and fulfillment.

Here’s some of the music I like to hear during this season. Enjoy!

 

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A Little Warmth


I have to step back for a minute and pretend it’s summer.

For the most part, I feel like I’ve been doing really well this year – not being too much of a grinch, hating on the snow or dreading the frequency of social obligations. Having a child helps a lot. Small things like Christmas lights and falling snow take on a new magic when you watch someone else discover them.

But. This is the lull. My birthday has passed, Solstice and Christmas are well over a week away, and I want a break from the snow (which Just. Kept. Fallingthisweek).

My mood is less candlelight and hammered dulcimer, and a little more free-moving and laid back. There is anticipation and appreciation in the air. Things are good physically, mentally and professionally, and I just want to bask for a while.

So, as I’m due to be creative, please visit the letters to my ancestors (above links), and groove to one of my favorite live Umphrey’s McGee covers (above video). The footage is not the best available, and not from a show I attended, but this rendition and video of Toto’s Africa is where I am today.

Happy Friday!

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Have a Holly, Jolly Birthday!

woman face blue hat winter I was due to be born on December 20, 1980.

I was, in fact, born on December 10, 1980, right in the middle of my parents’ move to their newly built home.

My feeling is that I dodged a nearing bullet with those 10 extra days. My mother, however, might have disagreed at the time.

Having a non-summer birthday is bad enough, but celebrating this close to Christmas makes it even less ideal. I have to stop and say – please don’t think that my birthday was ever over-shadowed, or that I’m to be pitied. My family and friends have always been more than generous, and I have every reason to be appreciative.

Still, the older I get, and especially after having Iris, it becomes harder to get excited about my birthday. The tree is up, gift lists are made and I’ve even given into the music (but not the sappy crap. I hate sappy, sentimental Christmas music, and there is oh so much of it…). And really, unless they raise the drinking age to 41, those milestones don’t hold the same excitement.

I suppose I should look on the bright side, count my blessings for those 10 extra days, and get over it. But in reality, I’ve got my eye on June 10. I am literally jubilant in May and June, and would probably make a better birthday girl then anyway.

For the moment, my birthday is still December 10, and I plan to celebrate with a donation, a dance party with my child (who has her own sense of comedic holiday timing) and probably pasta. Bring on 33!

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From My Family to Yours…

family at dinner table

Another Christmas here and gone. Except in my family, most of the parties are yet to come.

With the deaths, births and marriages of the past couple decades, the Reilly, Borst, Mitchell and Barnes clans have had to rearrange our old holiday traditions. Pretty much all of our get-togethers happen between Christmas Day and New Year’s.

Today we’re on the road, headed to southern Ohio to visit my dad’s side of the family. That trip has become especially fun in recent years as our two cousins on that side are well into their teens… It’s been great to watch them develop into two smart and funny individuals.

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“Don We Now” the Holiday Game Face

humand head on figurine

I certainly do my share of holiday grinching. I make it no secret that this time of year drives me a little bit crazy, what with the get together scheduling, making sure to see those home for a few days, traveling to visit relatives and spending a ton of money.

Don’t get me wrong – I love holidays and celebrations and time with friends and family. It just feels like we have to squeeze these very important things in because the rest of the world wants us to ultimately remain working drones and mindless consumers.

Ideally, we’d all get a week off in which to visit, cook, eat, exchange modest but meaningful gifts and celebrate the various religious, cultural and seasonal aspects that we hold dear. But we don’t. Those of us who live in the winter clime must bundle up and accept the mayhem.

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To My Ancestors: A Little Modern Grinching

My Dear Dead Relatives,

Why, oh why did you ever choose to settle in Michigan? Why did you select this region of unreliable summers, and predictably drawn-out winters?

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