December 12

Christmas in Old Quebec City, Canada

'Twas in the Moon of Wintertime

arranged by John Rutter

and performed by The Cambridge Singers  

'Twas in the moon of winter-time
When all the birds had fled,
That mighty Gitchi Manitou
Sent angel choirs instead;
Before their light the stars grew dim,
And wandering hunter heard the hymn:
"Jesus your King is born,
Jesus is born,
In excelsis gloria."

 Within a lodge of broken bark
The tender Babe was found,
A ragged robe of rabbit skin
Enwrapp'd His beauty round;
But as the hunter braves drew nigh,
The angel song rang loud and high...
"Jesus your King is born,
Jesus is born,
In excelsis gloria."

 O children of the forest free,
O sons of Manitou,
The Holy Child of earth and heaven
Is born today for you.
Come kneel before the radiant Boy
Who brings you beauty, peace and joy.
"Jesus your King is born,
Jesus is born,
In excelsis gloria."

I have written extensively about this carol in previous years.  It is one of my favourites, and not just because it is said to be the very first Christmas carol written and sung on Canadian soil;  in or around the date 1642.

I love it mainly because it is a example of respect between two cultures working together to establish a "common ground" and understanding.

Father Jean de Brébeuf was a Jesuit missionary who was sent from France to the New World. From what we now know as "Old" Quebec City, he traveled West, and eventually settled near where I live, in a place called "Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons", in what is now Midland, Ontario. Father Brébeuf was a truly great man, and he loved and admired the people he was sent to serve. Like any good teacher, he understood that he had as much (if not more) to learn from the Huron people as they did from him.

 A prime example of this was in his understanding of the necessity to preserve and record the Wendat language. As a scholar, he excelled in the study and acquisition of languages, and he demonstrated a significant ability to represent sounds in writing. He is also said to have mastered the native oratory style, which used metaphor, circumlocution and repetition, in order to tell a story. He was the first to record the existence of compound words in the Wendat language, and this enormous breakthrough in the study of Native language became the foundation for all further Jesuit linguistic work.

 Father Brébeuf wrote what is now referred to as "The Huron Carol" in the Wendat language. The song's original title is "Jesous Ahatonhia", which means "Jesus is Born". The melody is based upon a traditional French folk song, "Un Jeune Pucelle". In 1926, Jesse Edgar Middleton translated the carol into English. The story of the Nativity is told in such a way that it "blends" the two very different cultures: Jesus is born in a lodge of broken bark, rather than a stable, and wrapped in rabbit skin, rather than swaddling clothes. He is surrounded by hunters, rather than shepherds, and the name used to refer to the Creator, Gitchi Manitou, originates from the Algonquian dialect. Brébeuf seemed to understand that the Native people would never simply abandon all of their traditional beliefs, and made a great effort to make his Christian teachings more acceptable for the Huron.

The Martyr's Shrine
Midland, Ontario

In 1649, Father Jean de Brébeuf, along with several other Jesuit priests and many native converts, was captured by the enemy of the Huron tribe, the Iroquois. The priests were taken to the occupied village of Taenhatenteron, where they were subjected to ritual torture. While enduring the unthinkable, it is said that Father Brébeuf was far more concerned for his fellow captives than for himself. Apparently even the Iroquois were amazed by the bravery shown in his stoic, silent suffering. He was finally burned to death on March 17th. Beatified in 1925, he was canonized as a saint in 1930. He is now a patron saint of Canada.

 Last summer, I had the opportunity to travel to Quebec City with my eldest daughter, who was embarking on a five-week French exchange. While there, we toured many churches and cathedrals, including the beautiful Jesuit chapel.

We were welcomed by a charming gentleman who spoke mainly French, "with a little bit of English".  He was delighted by our questions, and happily toured us around the beautiful sanctuary, rich in art work and steeped in history.  One of my favourite parts of our afternoon was when he beckoned us over to a pew stall.  He pointed down towards the floor as he moved the kneeler back and forth.  A deep groove had been worn in the wooden floor beneath the little legs of the kneeler:  an indication of just how many people had worshiped in that very place.  

In my rusty highschool French, I attempted to express how much I have always admired Jean de Brébeuf, especially as he had worked and been martyred so near to where I live. He led me towards the gilded wooden altar-- upon which carvings of sheaves of wheat represent the bounty of the New World-- and gestured to the left. There was Father Brébeuf. His remains do not rest in the chapel, however.  Jean de Brébeuf is buried at the Church of St. Joseph, at what is now the reconstructed site of Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons.  He will always be remembered in the work and beautiful music for which he sacrificed his earthly life. 

December 11

Le Message des Anges

performed by the vocal ensemble "Le Petit Sablon"

Les anges dans nos campagnes 

Ont entonné l´hymne des cieux, 

Et l´écho de nos montagnes 

Redit ce chant mélodieux : 

Gloria in excelsis Deo 

 Bergers, pour qui cette fête? 

Quel est l´objet de tous ces chants? 

Quel vainqueur, quelle conquête 

Mérite ces cris triomphants : 

Gloria in excelsis Deo 

 Ils annoncent la naissance 

Du libérateur d´Israël 

Et pleins de reconnaissance 

Chantent en ce jour solennel : 

Gloria in excelsis Deo

 Cherchons tous l´heureux village 

Qui l´a vu naître sous ses toits 

Offrons-lui le tendre hommage 

Et de nos cœurs et de nos voix : 

Gloria in excelsis Deo 

 Bergers, quittez vos retraites, 

Unissez-vous à leurs concerts, 

Et que vos tendres musettes 

Fassent retenir les airs : 

Gloria in excelsis Deo

This traditional seventeenth century French carol originates from the Languedoc Region, and has gone by many titles, including "Échos de Bethléem", "J'entends là-bas dans la plaine", and "Les Anges dans nos Campagnes".  It was published in Paris in 1842, and was likely introduced to French Canada at about that same time.  The English version of the carol was translated in 1862 by James Chadwick, who was the Roman Catholic Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, in the north-east of England.  Because "Angels We Have Heard on High" became popular so quickly in that area, it is often referred to as a "Cornish" carol, as described by R. R. Chope, and featured in Pickard-Cambridge's Collection of Dorset Carols.

December 10

Lo, how a Rose e'er blooming 

performed by The Vasari Singers

 DET är en ros utsprungen av Jesse rotoch stam. 

Av fädren ren besjungen den står i tiden fram,

En blomma skär och blid,

Mitt i den kalla vinter i midnatts mörka tid. 

 Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming from tender stem hath sprung! 

Of Jesse’s lineage coming, as men of old have sung. 

It came a floweret bright amid the cold of winter,

When half spent was the night. 

 This German traditional carol, set to an anonymous verse, was first published in the Speyer Hymnal in Cologne in 1599.  The version here today was commissioned by The Choir of King's College Cambridge, and was first performed at their "Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols" in 2009.  The music was composed by Michael Praetorius, and this choral arrangement was composed by Jan Sandström.   The anonymous verse was translated

 into Swedish by Thelka Knös, and into English by Theodore Baker.

In which I could sing "Hallelujah"...

...because the "Heart Blanket" is done, just in time to welcome a baby boy.

**WHEW**

Maybe I'll settle for a little celebratory "Tequila" instead:

Because after knitting 108 tiny little hearts, I deserve it.

December 9

Mrs. Beeton's Christmas Plum Pudding

a classic recipe set to music by John Harle,

performed by The BBC Singers

For as long as I can remember, my dear old dad has never failed to deliver The Classic Line From the Kitchen during the grand finale of our family's Christmas Dinner:

"IS EVERYBODY WATCHING???!!  Here it comes!!!

Damn...  could somebody hand me another match?"

December 8

Little Tree

poem by e.e. cummings, set to music by Eric Whitacre

and performed by the BYU Choirs

little tree 

little silent Christmas tree 

you are so little 

you are more like a flower 

 who found you in the green forest 

and were you very sorry to come away? 

see     i will comfort you 

because you smell so sweetly 

 i will kiss your cool bark 

and hug you safe and tight 

just as your mother would, 

only don't be afraid 

 look     the spangles 

that sleep all the year in a dark box 

dreaming of being taken out and allowed to shine, 

the balls the chains red and gold the fluffy threads, 

 put up your little arms 

and i'll give them all to you to hold 

every finger shall have its ring 

and there won't be a single place dark or unhappy 

 then when you're quite dressed 

you'll stand in the window for everyone to see 

and how they'll stare! 

oh but you'll be very proud 

 and my little sister and i will take hands 

and looking up at our beautiful tree

 we'll dance and sing 

"Noel Noel"

"Be of love a little more careful than of anything."

--e.e. cummings

December 7

"Christmas is Coming"

by Vince Guaraldi, performed by Dave Benoit, 

for the album"40 Years:  A Charlie Brown Christmas"

It's hard to believe that it's been over 40 years since the first Peanuts animated film appeared on our television screens.  And after reading about the history of this program, it's even harder to believe that it made it to our television screens at all.

Judging by the choppy and primitive animation style, it will not come as news that "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was produced on a shoestring budget.  However, when Charles M. Schulz was later approached with the idea of making improvements to the original film and soundtrack, he did not hesitate to veto the idea immediately.  After all the good fights that had been fought to produce "A Charlie Brown Christmas" on HIS terms, Mr. Schulz was not about to allow anyone to change a single thing-- not for the sake of "progress", or even the availability of a bigger budget.  

One of the many nits chief network executives picked about the show was its absence of a laugh track.  How, they attempted to reason, would the American public know what was meant to be funny, unless it was explicitly indicated?  Charles Schulz was adamant in his refusal, stating not only his faith in basic human intelligence, but also his fans' understanding and appreciation for the Peanuts characters.  This did not stop chief executives from creating a version that included canned laughter, just in case Schulz changed his mind.  He never did.  Although it was never actually used on television, the dumbed-down "unauthorized" version of the film apparently makes an occasional appearance on the internet.

Executives also had qualms about the decision to use actual children to voice several of the characters, rather than hiring adults.  Although Peter Robbins (the voice of Charlie Brown), Christopher Shea (Linus) and Tracy Stratford (Lucy) were experienced young actors, others had some difficulty.  Kathy Steinburg, the little girl who played Sally, was so young that she couldn't read, and had to be cued one line at a time, throughout the entire production.

Apparently, the inclusion of jazz music composed by the great Vince Guaraldi was also felt to be an inappropriate choice for what CBS considered to be a "children's program".

Clearly, the Powers that Be had completely missed the point of what the "Peanuts" comic strip was actually all about.

As I'm sure you can all imagine, the BIGGEST fight that Charles M. Schulz had with the network was about the inclusion of Linus' monologue.  Schulz, who was a deeply spiritual man, wanted to not only include the story of Christ's birth, taken from the Gospel of Luke, but he also insisted upon using the King James Version of the Bible as the script.

Executives tried every argument they could think of to influence him to cut the scene.  They were convinced that the American public would completely loose interest in the show and change the channel...  And when it became clear that they weren't going to win, they tried using a threat:

"We will, of course, air it next week, 

but I'm afraid we won't be ordering any more."

Schulz was nonplussed.  He is reported to have said:

"If we don't tell the true meaning of Christmas, who will?"

The rest, as they say, is history.

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" aired for the first time on December 9, 1965, and immediately became a critical and commercial hit.  

In spite of all, the network's fears, Schulz had not over-estimated the public.  People "got it".  They loved every minute of the film, and found the primitive quirkiness of the production to be completely endearing.

Best of all, though, was the critical reception of Linus' monologue, which executives had railed so hard against.

Dorothy Van Horne, of The New York World-Telegram, wrote:

"Linus' reading of the story of the Nativity was, quite simply, 

the dramatic highlight of the season."

For many of us... it still is.

December 6

"If Ye Would Hear the Angels Sing"

composed by Peter Tranchell, lyrics by Dora Greenwell,

and sung by The Choir of King's College, Cambridge

I f ye would hear the angels sing 

‘Peace on earth and mercy mild’, 

Think of him who was once a child, 

On Christmas Day in the morning. 

If ye would hear the angels sing, 

Rise, and spread you Christmas fare; 

‘Tis merrier still the more that share, 

On Christmas Day in the morning. 

Rise and bake your Christmas bread: 

Christians, rise! the world is bare, 

And blank, and dark with want and care, 

Yet Christmas comes in the morning, 

If ye would hear the angels sing, 

Christians! See ye let each door 

Stand wider than it e’er stood before, 

On Christmas Day in the morning. 

Rise, and open wide the door; 

Christians, rise! The world is wide, 

And many there be that stand outside, 

Yet Christmas comes in the morning.

December 5

Some Children See Him

Music by Dave Gruskin, Lyrics by Wihla Hutson and Alfred S. Burt,

performed by James Taylor

Some children see Him lily white, 

The baby Jesus born this night. 

Some children see Him lily white, 

With tresses soft and fair. 

Some children see Him bronzed and brown, 

The Lord of heav’n to earth come down.

 Some children see Him bronzed and brown, 

With dark and heavy hair. 

 Some children see Him almond-eyed, 

This Savior whom we kneel beside. 

Some children see Him almond-eyed, 

With skin of yellow hue. 

Some children see Him dark as they, 

Sweet Mary’s Son to whom we pray. 

Some children see him dark as they, 

And, ah! they love Him, too! 

 The children in each different place 

Will see the baby Jesus’ face 

Like theirs, but bright with heavenly grace, 

And filled with holy light. 

O lay aside each earthly thing 

And with thy heart as offering, 

Come worship now the infant King. 

‘Tis love that’s born tonight!

I am extremely fortunate to live and work in one of the most culturally diverse communities in North America.

And every, single day, it is not lost on me that I go to school to teach children...  but more often than not, it is the children who teach me.  From them, I learn more than I ever imagined I could.

As a middle-aged, pink-skinned woman, I am the minority, and often a great curiosity to these delightful little people.  They constantly pepper me with questions:  

"How old are you??" 

"Do you have a husband?"  

"How many children??" 

"Are you wearing MAKE-UP??"

One child saw me knitting, and immediately wanted to know, "Do you have GRAND CHILDREN??"

(I confess:  I immediately went shopping for new face cream, once the final bell rang that day...)

The children I teach proudly proclaim themselves to be "Brown", and range in shades from a delicate milky-almond to the most robust deep chocolate you can imagine.  

They are all beautiful.  Every, single one of them.  

I never tire of hearing tales of their families and home life.  In many cases, extended family members live all in one home, and I often have tremendous difficulty sorting out who are the sisters-and-brothers-or-cousins of whom.  The bonds are intense, and everyone looks after one another.

Many are brand new immigrants to this country.  When I begin the process of booking parent-teacher interviews, the invitations are sent home translated into no fewer than five different languages.  As responses trickle in, I ensure that the correct translators are available to be present, so that we can communicate with one another.

Sometimes, though, words are not necessary.

During the early days of my first teaching placement several years ago, a worried grandfather who did not speak a word of English appeared at my classroom door.  Using hand gestures and facial expressions, he did his best to convey to me that he wanted to know if his newly-arrived grandson was adjusting to his new school.  It took a few minutes for me to fully understand who he was, and what it was that he wanted to know...  but when I smiled and began speaking gently as I pulled books and drawings out of the little boy's desk, the grandfather began to relax and smile, too.   He eventually turned to leave, and I walked him to the doorway of my classroom.  He made a slight bow, and then chastely kissed my hand in an expression of gratitude.

Few gestures have ever carried as much meaning for me as that one did.

No matter who we are, no matter what part of the world we come from...  our children are our treasures.

Between them, my students celebrate nearly every, single holiday and religious observance on the calendar. There are a great many times of the year when I need to be sensitive about scheduling assignment due-dates and assessments.  When children have been absent from class, I always make a special effort to build time into our schedule for "community circle", when we all sit down together to talk and share.  When I begin asking questions about what it was like to go to celebrate in a Temple, or a Mosque, the children fairly burst with information: what they wore, what they sang, what they ate, how they danced...  It is always fascinating.

Several children have brought me copies of a sort of "comic book" which depicts the lives of their Gods-- I have been allowed to keep them to read, for as long as I like.  A group of little girls once offered to let me join their dancing group, and enthusiastically demonstrated the steps that they knew.  Last year, one sweet thing brought me a beautiful clay lamp, as I had mentioned my admiration for the observance of Diwali, and had said that I would like to light a candle with my own three girls.

"My kids", as I call them, are always incredibly generous with their knowledge and understanding.  

And for the most part, they take one another's differences completely in stride.

One of the loveliest sights of the winter is the beautiful Holiday Tree that is put up in the foyer of our school.  The ornaments are as diverse as the students in attendance, and symbolically reflect the many different celebrations that occur during the year.  These trees bring everything and everyone together, in one enormous, beautiful display.

I'll never forget that first year of teaching, when for the first time, the community circle discussion about "Christmas" ventured beyond presents, and the fat, bearded visitor in the red suit.  To be honest, it had not surprised me that so many families had chosen to adopt the "Western" tradition of including a visit from Santa Claus in their holiday plans.

"My kids" finally asked me what my children and I would be doing over the holidays.  I began to tell them about the decorations, the arrival of family, the preparation of the dinner, and of course, our Santa Claus...  

But I also told them a little bit about church, and all the beautiful music, the pipe organ and the choir.

Their enormous brown eyes betrayed their amazement as I spoke:  clearly they had never considered this before.

"You mean you're CHRISTIAN??!" exclaimed one little boy at last.

"COOOOOL!!" said another.

Never before in my life had I ever been considered a "novelty" for this reason.  It was yet another instance when I felt so grateful and proud to be a citizen of a place that is truly a "multicultural mosaic".

The next day was Friday...  the last day before our two-week school break began.  We had a class party, did special crafts and activities.

But before we all left for the day, a little girl approached me shyly.  She pushed a package wrapped in crumpled grey tissue paper into my hands.

"Here," she said.  "My dad took me out last night.  I got this for you.  To help you celebrate your Christmas."

I carefully undid the lashings of scotch tape, and my gift was revealed.

It was a crude plastic figurine depicting the Virgin Mary, in all of her alarming dollar store glory.

It remains one of the loveliest gifts I have ever received, and is still one of my most prized possessions.

"Some children see Him..."

I have learned so much during these extraordinary years.

I've learned that the real truth is this:

It doesn't matter how any child sees Jesus.  

A great many children really don't know very much about Jesus, if anything at all.  

They don't need to.  They have their own traditions; their own ways of understanding, expressing and celebrating Love.

What really matters-- really, truly matters-- is how children see one another.

I'm pretty sure that that's what Jesus thinks is most important, too.

December 4

"Sleighride"

music by Leroy Anderson, lyrics added by Mitchell Parish,

and performed (mercifully) by Sam Bush

I know what you're all thinking...

"She's cracked.  She HATES this piece.  And it's not even Monday yet..."

You're right.

I am.  I do.  And it isn't.

This piece is all wrong for me.  The words don't even mention Christmas.  They sing about pumpkin pie, which is actually more of a reference to Thanksgiving, for crying out loud.

But the words (which weren't actually penned for the tune until two years after it had been published and performed as a purely orchestral arrangement) aren't the only thing that is annoying about this piece.

The composer began writing "Sleighride" during a heatwave in July, 1946. Presumably, even he found the whole project so unbearable, it took him nearly two years to finish the damn thing-- which he finally did, in February, 1948. 

(Probably just in time for Valentine's Day.  I'd be willing lay a bet.)

Admit it, though-- the art work I've found for today is interesting.  

(Do you have any IDEA how hard it is to come up with an illustration of a Christmas Carrot?!)

Intrigued?

I actually like Sam Bush's guitar and mandolin arrangement.  The sound of it makes me think of the work of another artist I particularly admire:  the great Django Reinhardt.

So I began searching for something-- ANYTHING-- interesting to say about this piece, besides the usual complaint that normally, I hate the sound of it, right down to the fake whip-cracking and the last jingle bell.

As you may know, in the very last few bars of the orchestral version, there is a part for trumpet that IF done properly (and that's a big "if"), sounds very much like the whinnying of a horse.

In the early days of this piece, it was apparently traditional for the trumpet player who performed this part to be allowed a special "curtain call" of his own.  At the end of the performance, the conductor would single him out with a gesture, and the trumpet player would make a spectacularly exaggerated bow.

As he arose from this posture, he was ceremoniously presented with...

An enormous bouquet of carrots.

(And that's not Christmassy at all, either.  More Easter.  Just sayin'...)

Joyful.

Because I have a "thing" for flash mobs, especially when it comes to good music.

And, because of the miracle that a BANK (of all institutions) provided some lucky Spaniards with a little bit of much-needed joy.

December 3

"The Annunciation"

by Carl Heinrich Bloch

"Hymn to the Virgin"

music composed by Benjamin Britten, set to a c 1300 verse,

and performed by The Cambridge Singers

Of one that is so fayr and bright 
 Velut maris stella, 
Brighter than the dayes light, 
Parens et puella: 
Ic crie to thee, thou see to me, 
Levedy, preye thi Sone for me 
Tam pia, 
That ich mote come to thee. 
Maria! 

Levedy, flour of alle thing, 
Rosa sine spina, 
Thu bere Jhesu, hevene king, 
Gratia divina: 
Of alle thu berst the pris,
Levedy, quene of Parays 
Electa, 
Maide milde, 
Moder es 
Effecta.

Edward Benjamin Britten was born in the East Suffolk town of Lowestoft in 1913 on November 22:  the Feast of Saint Cecilia, patron saint of music.  His mother was a keen amateur musician, and encouraged all of her children to develop their own interests in music.  Of the four offspring, young Benjamin was the most enthusiastic of them all.  At first, it was mathematics and the pattern of the dots and lines on the paper that captured his interest.  He confessed that one day, he took a "drawing" of a musical manuscript he had made, and demanded that his mother attempt to play it on the piano.  The look of horror on his mother's face upset him considerably, but thankfully, her response did not dampen his enthusiasm.  He was soon enrolled in music lessons, and by the age of ten, was studying both the piano and the viola.  He was fortunate to have teachers who encouraged him not only to practice, but also to attend concerts.  It was at one of these concerts that he first heard Frank Bridge's orchestral poem "The Sea", and experienced a life-changing moment.  He was, in his own words, "knocked sideways".  An introduction was soon arranged for Benjamin and Frank Bridge, and Bridge took the boy on as his pupil.

Benjamin Britten's childhood years were remarkable, and he produced a great many works, some of which were of a very high standard. They include a symphony, various other orchestral pieces, works for chamber ensemble, suites for solo piano, drafts for Masses, the symphonic poem "Chaos and Cosmos", and many songs.  All of these works now form the extensive collection of his juvenilia at the Britten-Pears Library.

Even after leaving home to become a boarder at Gresham’s School at Holt in Norfolk, he pursued his musical passion and was extremely prolific.  In spite of terrible homesickness, he wrote, performed and listened to music at every opportunity, and often sat up in bed reading musical scores.  From this time come his settings of poems by Walter de la Mare, Hilaire Belloc, and the orchestral cycle "Quatre Chansons Françaises", with words by Victor Hugo and Paul Verlaine.

"Hymn to the Virgin" was one of Benjamin Britten's earliest religious choral works, and was written before he left Gresham's School:  he would only have been about fourteen or fifteen years old.  The piece was published in 1930, and first performed at a concert given by the Lowestoft Musical Society in St. John's Church on January 5, 1931.  Britten was then just eighteen years of age.

Many years later in 1956, "Simple Symphony" (a piece based upon works included in Britten's collection of juvenilia) was recorded.  The composer wrote this little portrait of his younger self to be included on the sleeve note:

"Once upon a time there was a prep-school boy. ... He was quite an ordinary little boy ... he loved cricket, only quite liked football (although he kicked a pretty "corner"); he adored mathematics, got on all right with history, was scared by Latin Unseen; he behaved fairly well, only ragged the recognised amount, so that his contacts with the cane or the slipper were happily rare (although one nocturnal expedition to stalk ghosts left its marks behind); he worked his way up the school slowly and steadily, until at the age of thirteen he reached that pinnacle of importance and grandeur never to be quite equalled in later days: the head of the Sixth, head-prefect, and Victor Ludorum. But – there was one curious thing about this boy: he wrote music. His friends bore with it, his enemies kicked a bit but not for long (he was quite tough), the staff couldn't object if his work and games didn't suffer. He wrote lots of it, reams and reams of it."

December 2

"You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch"
performed by The Tennessee Tech Trombone Choir

It's Monday.

Which means that we take a look at the "lighter side" of Christmas music, to help us along with the idea of stomaching the week ahead.

I always loved this movie when I was a kid...  but not for the reason you might think.

Oh, yes, it's WONDERFUL that he eventually found the true meaning of Christmas, and that his heart grew to the point of practically bursting out of his chest.  He even footed the bill for all the celebrations.  Whoopee.

I like the "Before" from this before-and-after story.  I like the Bad Guy.

Every year, I plopped my tiny bott down on the old red chesterfield in front of the tv.  And I simply couldn't WAIT for the part when the Grinch came up with his idea... his awful idea... his wonderful, awful idea.

I loved that smile, and all its curlicues.  I love it still.

So here's my Grinch in all his glory, performed on the only instruments truly perfect enough to honour the occasion:

An entire CHOIR of brass trombones.

You're welcome.

December 1

"There Is a Star"

performed by The BYU Combined Choirs and Orchestra

lyrics by 19th Century minister Joseph Martin

It's the First of December!

Welcome, one and all, to the sixth season of the Musical Advent Calendar here at "I Can Fly, Just Not Up"!

I hope that you'll find our musical selections in celebration of the Christmas Season to be a restful interlude from all the hustle and bustle leading up to the Big Day.

It's sad but true that the "busy-ness of life" makes it necessary that we remember to schedule a little time for ourselves every once in awhile.

It's not easy.  Trust me, I get it.

My regular readers know that I'm a mother to three rapidly growing girls, juggling a career as a teacher with a side-gig at a knitting store.  If I'm not tap-dancing as fast as I can at the front of a classroom, or helping to facilitate other peoples' yarn habits, it's a pretty safe bet that my rear-end is firmly glued to the driver's seat of the New Blue Loser Cruiser.

We are ALWAYS on the go; rarely at home.

I confess, I AM THAT WOMAN standing in the grocery line knitting a sock while I wait, usually during the five-o'clock arsenic hour, while the kids are engaged in various extra-curricular activities...  Yes, I am that obsessed with not wasting a single moment of my waking hours.

Meditation?

Hah!

"You're a long time dead," my Grandmother used to say.

THAT'S when I'll catch up on my sleep.

But Christmas...

That's a whole other level of stress, altogether.  Talk about having to try to be all things, to all people.

We mothers of the world MAKE Christmas.  We INVENTED it.  The Holy Mother herself did the best she could for her family, under the circumstances in which she found herself, that first Christmas Eve.

At this time of year, my gift to you, from one busy person to another, is this:

A golden opportunity every day, from now until December 25, to sit down and rest.  Just BE.  Don't do anything, don't cook anything, don't wrap anything.  Put your feet up, and close your eyes.  NO mental list-making!!  And no worrying.

Just listen.

Christmas is coming, whether we attend to all that racket out there or not.  It doesn't have to be a perfect, grand production.  In fact, it's often more memorable if it isn't.

I'm casting my mind back, now, to several years ago when I was expecting 13 for Christmas Eve Dinner. The brand new dining set had all arrived, EXCEPT FOR THE TABLE'S FOUR LEGS.  I seriously considered throwing the linen on the floor, nipping out to the Dollar Store for chopsticks, and serving everything Japanese-style.  My main concern, however, was that if, even by some miracle, I managed to get the majority of the adults comfortable on their knees...  would they ever be able to get back UP?!

Happily, the crisis was averted literally minutes before my guests all arrived.  The table legs had been found by the delivery company in another van, in another town.  The owner himself, along with his two sons, made the long trek back to our place and finished assembling the furniture, on an evening when they all should have been in their own homes, celebrating with their own families.

I was so grateful, I packaged up and gave them the three big tins of Scottish shortbread I had cranked out in preparation for my company's arrival.

We may have been shortbread-less that Christmas Eve, but we were all able to gather around our table.

Those three guys didn't HAVE to search high-and-low, and then come back with those table legs that night...  they could easily have just gone home.  I would have understood if they had-- two of them had young children of their own.

They didn't just practice good business that day.  They re-affirmed my belief in the goodness of human beings:  that doing what's right and what's kind is more important than doing what's easy.

And that right there, folks, is the true essence of the Christmas spirit.

Sometimes we just need to calm ourselves and slow down a little bit to realize that it's here with us, all the time.  It's all around us.

We just need a good excuse to stop, to look around, and notice.

The music here every day will be your excuse to do just that.

Enjoy.

Happy, and In Love.

THERE'S a post title for you...

And it's all come to me in just two days.

Why so happy, you might ask?

Well, I've discovered music from my distant past that I thought was lost to me forever.

When I was a deeply unhappy and disgruntled early highschool student, I used to spend Friday nights alone doing homework in my bedroom.

(Yes, I was THAT POPULAR in grade 9.  We won't elaborate, and no, we will NEVER share photographs.)

One thing that I always looked forward to was the ten o'clock program on a London, Ontario radio station, when they would play an entire album of newly released music, with no breaks, and no commercials.

One night, they played music that literally stopped me in my tracks.  It was an album of flute music that I had never heard before...  a mix of pop and the most extraordinarily innovative "jazzed-up" classical technique.

I had discovered the great Steve Kujala, and his album "Fresh Flute".

It was some of the most joyous, imaginative sound I had ever heard.

During the first song, I frantically rummaged around in my desk drawers until I found a blank cassette tape, and snapped it into my "boom box". (God, remember THOSE??!)

I confess.  I pirated a copy of that album that night-- minus the first song, of course.

And I played it over and over again...  through those long, lonely nights of homework and studying...  I played and listened until that tape finally warped, then snapped altogether.

These were the days long before CDs appeared on the scene...  and it was all but impossible to get my hands on a vinyl copy of the music, small towns being what they were, and specialty record stores being scarce.  NEVER MIND even bothering to look for it in our local Woolco department store...  At the time, if it wasn't Beethoven's 5th (souped up to sound like disco), ACDC, or Chicago (those were the days when Peter Cetera was King of the Monster Ballad), you weren't going to find it in MY hometown.

Time passed, and I cheered up a bit...  I found some friends, cut my hair, and fell into the theatre.

But I've never forgotten that music, and how much it meant to me.

Over the years, I've looked it up-- first, through our subscription to the Columbia Record Club, and then on the brand-new "inter-web": on Youtube and on Itunes.  To no avail.

Until last week, that is.

Last week, as my eldest daughter stood in front of a music stand in her room, diligently practicing her university audition pieces over and over and over again... I decided to give it another try.

And JOY...  There he was:

Through this Youtube video, I finally clapped ears-- 

and for the first time, EYES-- on Steve Kujala.

Better yet??

Through a private seller in Australia (God Bless Amazon!!!) I found the lone copy of the "Fresh Flute" album-- on CD!!-- left on the planet.

I can't even begin to tell you the emotion I felt yesterday, when I fetched it from my mailbox, and slid it into my computer.  I hadn't heard these sounds since I was a sad, tired and lonesome fourteen-year-old.  THIS was the music that made a difference.

"This music has so much positive energy that it's impossible to be in a bad mood after listening to it.  It is overflowing with beautiful melodies," writes Bob James, on the very first page of the liner notes.

And writes Mr. Kujala himself:

"...all of the songs express my true inner feelings on the positive and uplifting virtues of life.  While living in this turbulent world of ours, I have found joy in the privacy of my musical thoughts.  I hope that by sharing them with you, this joy will be yours, too!"

Oh, it was...  It was.  And now, it is, some thirty years later.

Thanks, Steve...  I feel like a kid again.

Happy.

******

Now, for the IN LOVE part.

Today, I bought a pair of THESE:

THESE, my knitterly friends, are ADDI TURBO SOCK ROCKETS.

They are the "Cadillac", if you will, of the sock-knitting universe.

They are expensive.

And, they are WORTH EVERY PENNY.

Go hence, knitters, and purchase a pair. 

 Then, get yourself a heavenly sock yarn.

I chose this:

Heritage Silk Paints by Cascade

85% Merino Superwash Wool, with 15% Mullberry Silk

(YES.  SILK.)

Colour 9812. 

( I call it "Sherlock", but that's probably because of my current appreciation

 for the work of  Mr. Benedict Cumberbatch.)

Now, the next thing you need to do, is go to verypink.com, my friends.  Because that is the place where you will find a series of excellent tutorial videos that will teach you the Magic Loop method of knitting socks:

Bye-bye, DPNs...  there's a "new guy" in town.

And he's currently rocking my socks.

Delicious.

They made me a "cake" in the sand centre today.

This?

Is why I LOVE teaching Kindergarten.

An Early Christmas Card.

I woke up this morning to a message from one of my dearest friends.

We met fortuitously nearly a decade ago, when I noticed a car bearing British Columbia licence plates parked on the road outside our school.  Who, I wondered, was this newcomer?  I had lived in BC for five years, myself, before my first child was born.  With my tiny Wee Three tucked firmly in one arm, I leaned up against the vehicle to wait and see who this addition to our community might be.

I finally saw her strolling up the path, with her own little girl in tow.  The four of us blinked at each other for a moment, and I swear, it was one of those rare times when you feel as though you've known someone for a lifetime.  We "recognized" each other, without ever having met before, and quickly fell in step with a friendship so firm, I couldn't imagine being any closer if we were actually sisters.  Together, we've faced life's greatest joys, and ruts so deep and dark, it didn't seem as though we'd ever be able to pull each other out.  But, for the past nine-and-a-half years, we've been a team.  And that has made ALL the difference.

Amazingly, even another cross-country move hasn't altered the relationship.  We may not be able to car pool our kids anymore, and our Thursday afternoon knit-alongs have had to become far less frequent.  But, we can still exchange a flurry of text messages, and schedule marathon telephone calls (sometimes firmly locked in our closets, to deter interruptions from various progeny).  Whenever we DO arrange to clap eyes on each other, it's as though no time has passed-- we just carry on right from where we left off.

That's pretty special.

She "gets" me, and likes who I am, warts and all.

She and her kids are my chosen family.

It's true that the long-distance thing can be a bit of a wrench, though.  There are absolutely times when I wish she was closer, that I could just nip 'round the block, plop my behind down in one of her cozy living room chairs, to knit and chat till our fingers fall off.  I don't think we've ever run out of things to say to one another-- but we're also comfortable spending entire afternoons together in near silence.

Today's message made me laugh till my sides ached.  But it also tugged at my heartstrings:

Imagine if you will...

I sat this morning in Francesco's, a quaint little cafe, sipping on a hazlenut latte, just passing the time knitting whilst waiting for Miss M. to finish up her art class next door.

When suddenly o'er top the faint bluesy acoustic guitar Christmas music, I heard the barista loud and clear, in his best Bing Crosby, from the back room singing:

"It's beginning to look a lot like bullsh*t..."

I kid you not.

And oh, how I wished you were with me.

Missing you so,

xoxoxo

I miss you, too, my dear.  I miss you, too.

* * * * * 

SHE KNOWS exactly how I feel about "that kind" of Christmas music-- and the commercialized wind-up towards Christmas in general.

She also knows that for the past few months, I've been searching high and low for some of the finest musical selections (and some of the silliest, too, don't worry!) of the season.

Last year's Musical Advent Calendar was a celebration of five years of good music, and I took the opportunity to post encore performances of my most favourite selections.

This year, there may be a few familiar tunes, but I'm making every effort to ensure that most days, you will be hearing something new, unique and wonderful.  Something that will lift your heart, soothe your spirit, and prepare you for the days ahead... 

DEFINITELY not what you'll be hearing over the loudspeakers in your local mall.  Thank goodness.

As of December 1, and continuing on until Christmas Day, drop by for a reprieve from the ordinary!  Grab a cup of something hot, put your feet up, and turn up the volume.

It's nearly Christmastime!

Random stitches.

It's cold outside, people, and winter will be here before we know it, whether we like it or not.

I've been busy whipping up a few things in an attempt to keep my progeny warm and toasty over the next few months!

I started with Child Number One, who is now seventeen.  (I KNOW.  I can't believe it either.  But she must be, because I rarely clap eyes on her unless she's riding shotgun in the Loser Cruiser while I'm driving her somewhere.  Usually, she's ensconced in her bedroom doing homework most of the night.  She streels through my room at about 1 AM, whispering remembrances of the unholy hour she needs to be driven to school for band in the morning, on her way to use the "good" shower in my ensuite bathroom.  There should be a "Hinterland's Who's Who" television vignette featuring The Teenaged Night Owl.  Now THAT would be a helpful public service announcement.)

Most seventeen-year-olds are extremely particular about the clothes they wear-- even here in the Great White North, where style would not seem to matter as much as the NUMBER OF LAYERS you put on your body before braving the elements.  Child Number One has an elegant style of her own, it is definitely true.  But she cares considerably less about the importance of outdoor-warmth than I, her long-suffering mother, do.  Hence, when it came time to purchase her a new winter coat, I knew that unless I kidnapped her from her bedroom, or lured her into the Loser Cruiser with the (false) promise of a trip to Dairy Queen, I would NEVER get her to the mall to try on, much less purchase, a parka.

The benefit of having a seventeen-year-old who is particularly studious is that she checks her emails quite frequently.  So, in order to preserve my own sanity, I perused the Land's End online catalogue, forwarded her snapshots of my top five choices, and indicated the one that I would be most likely to purchase for her.  Most importantly, I also gave her a TIME LIMIT:  if no preference was indicated within several days, an order would automatically go in for the biggest, fluffiest ankle-length version, complete with fake-fur-trimmed hood.  

Needless to say, I had an answer fairly quickly...  and I was able to begin knitting accessories to go with the coat even before I received an order confirmation.  (Victory in the Clothing Department is fuel for productivity, that's for sure.)

The hat?  Is "Who?", by Sara Aramoso-- and it's brilliant.  A quick and easy knit, it's a miracle of cable stitches that form a ringlet of tiny owls all around the wearer's head.  I've made several in a blue-and-grey shade of Pacific Colour Wave.  It's a beautiful superwash merino wool that is soft enough not to feel "picky" around the wearer's forehead.  The colours blend together so nicely as it knits up, I've chosen two more shades to make hats for Child Number Two and Wee Three, as well:  one blue-and-green, and one orangey-red (which is slightly weird, for owls...  but at least I'll never lose that kid in a snowstorm.)  I've added two little sequins for the eyes of one of the owls, and hope that the girlies remember to wear them just a little to the right or left of centre...  We'll see.  

The scarf was a simple choice-- and not a scarf at all.  The Gaptastic Cowl is all the rage right now, the pattern being inspired by an overpriced machine-made article of clothing available for sale at a certain clothing store.  Ahem.   The yarn is another Cascade superwash merino in a chunky weight, made in Peru-- it feels divine, and drapes so nicely when knit up on slightly larger needles (I used a 9 mm, when the ball band called for a 6 mm).  It's knit in the round on an odd number of stitches, so that the seed stitch pattern forms automatically, thus alleviating the need to keep track of rows-- I just kept on knitting mindlessly 'till the two skeins were used up.  Child Number One can wrap it twice, if she wants a more casual look when her jacket is undone, or (the more likely scenario) three times if it's DAMNED cold, and she wants something snuggled up to her chin!

At this point in the year, all of my girls are still wearing fingerless gloves.  I don't quite understand it, being the type of person whose fingers are the very FIRST body part to succumb to cold and threaten to drop off as soon as fall arrives.  I am a mitten-and-glove kind of girl-- preferably ones that stretch right up to my elbows.  No matter how hard I try to look stylish in them, I always find myself curling my hands up into balls inside the palms of my fingerless gloves, in order to stay warm enough during dreaded yard duties.  However, half-mittens are better than no mittens at all, and keep the mother-and-child relations from boiling over every morning.   I dutifully crank out at least three pairs of the fingerless kind every year, as soon as I feel a nip in the air.  Maine Morning Mitts is a divine pattern, in a simple K2, P1 rib, which makes the material almost a double-thickness.  I had some Noro Keuryon kicking around from a previous project, and so made my first pair out of that.  I then found a skein of Cascade "Jewel", a Peruvian highland kettle-dyed wool, in the silkiest deep, dark purple.  Gorgeous.  The older girls are still fighting over those ones.  The last pair will have to be for Wee Three:  it's an outrageous self-patterning yarn named "Sunshine", in Splash by King Cole.  (Needless to say, they're going to go perfectly with her bright orange hat.)  I'll need slightly smaller needles for that pair, but they'll knit up well to fit her smaller hands.

And as an aside...  The Maine Morning Mitts pattern was written by the wonderful and prolific Clara Parkes, whose latest book "The Yarn Whisperer:  My Unexpected Life in Knitting" is now available for sale, and has become on of my favourite reads of the year.  It would make a fantastic Christmas gift for any knitterly friends you may have...  or better yet, pop one under the tree for yourself!

There is one other "little" article that I'm making every effort to set aside a certain number of minutes per day to work on.  After many years of dedicated work in our district school board, Child Number One's favourite music teacher and his wife are expecting their first baby, who is set to appear on the scene sometime in early December.  It was this amazing teacher who changed my daughter's life by handing her a flute and showing her how to play, more years ago than I care to remember.  He is the type of educator who looks past the "student" and take a sincere interest in the child.  He started with a timid, self-conscious little girl, and has brought her along and encouraged her to become an extremely talented, confident young woman.  I am more grateful to him than I could ever express in words... and it is for this reason than I am tackling a very special pattern.  It's called "The Heart Blanket"...  and if I didn't "heart" this little baby so much, I confess that I'd probably be tempted to attack this half-completed project with garden shears, and then run over the whole mess, needles and all, with a steam-roller.  I don't know why the pattern eludes me...  I've even written the chart out explicitly in words, IN ENGLISH, and copied it onto a spread-sheet.  Every time I finish a row, I grab a pencil and dutifully check in another box...  to no avail.  With every single repeat, I've had to tink out AT LEAST two or three rows, to figure out where the hell I went wrong.  Which is frustrating, to say the least.  

Confession (and slight worry):  I think it might be bad karma to swear this much when lovingly creating a gift for a newborn.  

**Sigh.**  

There are, of course, many, many other projects on-the-go in my arsenal.  I was under the illusion that I had my "UFO" habit under control (and by UFO, I mean "Un-Finished Object").  Last summer, during the worst of the July heatwave, I retreated into the air-conditioning of my sewing room and spent a good week or two combing through the stash.  I spent hours sorting and thinking and desperately trying to be "realistic" about my Habit...  Eventually, projects that were driving me mad (but that I was too stubborn to give up on) were ripped out, the yarn steamed and re-wound, and each collection of skeins secured in enormous zip-loc bags for future consideration.  However, to my dismay I realized that all my efforts had been (mostly) in vain by some point in late September.  It was then that I deemed it necessary to weed all my "summer" knitting projects out of the myriad bags and containers that I have placed round the house, in order to make more room for the "fall/winter" projects.  

I had unwittingly done it again.  And now there's a whole new pile-up of crazy tossed into wicker baskets in my basement, waiting patiently to be sorted.  

Will it ever end?

I doubt it.

(Actually...  I hope not.)

Lullaby

In memoriam

Sir John Tavener

Composer

1944-2013

So many people hold the death of a significant person in their lives to be a "turning point";  a moment in time from which all others are measured.

I don't mean to sound trite when I confess that that person for me is Diana, Princess of Wales.  I am "of that age", after all.  Most certainly, as a young girl, she was The One whom I held up as the ideal perfection.  I followed her carefully staged romance, engagement and marriage, besotted by the "fairytale".  Her clothes, her hair... the style of her was of constant fascination to me.

As I grew older, of course, the cracks in her public persona most certainly began to show.  She was far from perfect-- just like the rest of us.  With such a troubled background, minimal education, and the inexplicable lack of support and compassion from those placed around her, she could not possibly have been expected to survive.

Her death shook me to the core.  But it is a few moments of the hauntingly beautiful funeral service that will be forever burned in my brain, for as long as I live:

The finality of that closed box, 

draped in scarlet, gold and blue, in the cavernous Abbey.  

A circlet of white rosebuds; the gut-wrenching sight 

of the card inscribed: 

"Mummy"

Two small boys, one with his head buried in his hands.

And the sacred lullaby by Sir John Tavener,
lifting a soul to heaven.  

"The important thing about music is not what one writes down...  It is what is left out.
One should move towards silence."
--Sir John Tavener