Merry Christmas (2021)

It’s a perfect day. It is Christmas Eve but days like this happen every once in a while for no apparent reason. In some ways today is nothing special. We are hanging out with Odie who happens to be semi-quiet at the moment. The temperature is going between -19 and -20 C, and the sky is a brilliant blue. It’s actually pleasant in the sun.

    We had a dump of snow last night and when we went out to shovel this morning Richard got warm enough to take off his parka. The snow was powdery so it wasn’t terribly heavy work although my Fitbit did tell me I got 23 minutes of cardio out of the activity. We don’t often shovel snow together, but today, as I was walking down the hall I saw Richard putting his keys in his pocket. I asked him if he was going to shovel the snow. He was and I was just on my way to the back door for my coat and boots. We decided to do it together. It goes much faster that way. We did the front walk, then the deck. I don’t know why I want to shovel the deck. Maybe it’s because I love to see the warm rich colours of the wood as I look out the window. Maybe it’s because I imagine taking a chair and a cup of tea to sip in the snowy landscape. I haven’t actually gotten the chair or the tea but if the deck is clear the possibility is there.

    I have wonderfully warm clothes. I wore the down ‘duvet’ that is slime green and that I got years ago for half price at MEC. I hate the colour, although I have friends who love it and I’ve had compliments on it while I’ve been shopping. There’s no accounting for taste, mine or anyone else’s. I wore the sealskin mitts that I bought from a hunter in Pond Inlet, and I topped the outfit off with a toque I crocheted just the other day. The pattern said you could finish it in an hour. Um, not in my universe! I pulled the thing down at least 6 times but ended up with a result I’m happy with. Oh, and I wore my new boots. They are actually a Christmas present but Richard wanted me to try them on to make sure they fit and once I knew what they were, I saw no point in having him wrap them up and put them under the tree even though he offered.
    

    They are Wind River X-ice and the only boots that CBC Marketplace found to really be anti-slip. (This is not a commercial.) I won’t say I can’t slip in them but if I don’t push off too hard with my toe they are amazingly steady on ice. I’m still careful crossing slippery streets but it’s nice not to have to do the ‘senior shuffle’ quite so much.

First coat of poly on the uke

   

 
 Another reason today is perfect is that I’m done making Christmas presents and have been for about a week. This has never happened before and I found myself a bit at loose ends because I had time to spare. I’ve been able to concentrate on getting ‘Lilred’ my current ukulele ready for finish. Every time I thought I was ready to go and get the finish, I found another flaw that I needed to take care of. This could go on forever, of course, so today I finally dunked the cotton pad into the polyurethane and wiped on the first coat. Because we’re not going anywhere for Christmas I’ll be able to babysit the finish which takes about 3 hours to dry between coats. I should be able to get another coat on shortly and then keep building up coats over the next few days. I haven’t worked enough with this finish to know exactly how to handle it to get the best results so it will be kind of fun figuring it out. The nice thing is that it’s a thin finish and I can always sand it down and start again if I need to. I don’t think it will come to that.


    Tonight we will head off to the Christmas Eve service, masked and triple-vaccinated. I’ve only missed one Christmas Eve service in this church since I was about 14. In 2019 we had the privilege of visiting family in Vancouver and attended a late service there. Last year we had shower curtains up to make individual booths for the singers and there were no people other than those involved in the service in the sanctuary. This year we have a cap on numbers. People signed up ahead of time and vaccine status will be checked at the door.

    Two years ago we had barely heard of Covid 19 and last year there were no vaccines by this time. This year we thought we might be getting out of the woods when Delta and then Omicron descended. We had just started to invite people, one or two at a time, to see our newly renovated house. That’s on hold again. With all the changes I’m becoming a bit more used to plans being cancelled and I think I’m calmer when things don’t work out the way I want them to. There are still days when I’m just plain mad at all the upheaval in the world in general and my world in particular but then I have days like today when I’m both happy and content.

    I have a house that is now a delight to live in. We have heat and running water, sunshine, snow, and sparrows in bushes loudly expressing their opinions. Odie looks at me, blinks his eyes, makes purring noises, and laughs whenever we do. Most importantly, though, I have kind and generous people in my life. Although we won’t be gathering in person again this year, it doesn’t matter so much. Christmas Day will be slow and casual and there are many ways I can contact those who enrich my life. I may not be able to hug them but I hope that will come. So Merry Christmas. I hope 2022 will bring good things to each of you each day and if, like me, you have days when you’re just plain cross at the whole world, may the memories of perfect days when there is really nothing special going on, lighten your mood if only for an instant.

Christmas Eve 2014

I can't believe that it's Christmas Eve again.  Christmas seems to creep up just a little faster every year.  Despite that,  I have all the presents wrapped and under the tree. I think this may be the first time ever.  Usually I'm  wrapping presents after the late Christmas Eve service.  Last year I was still making Christmas presents and arranging IOU's for some people whose gifts weren't finished until after Christmas.

Maybe part of the reason I'm ahead this year is that I took part in three Christmas craft fairs starting in early November.  I had to have things finished in order to sell.  The craft fairs were fun, largely because of the other vendors I met.  I had a great conversation with one guy who is a student and makes a bit of extra money turning pens all year and selling them during the Christmas season. He says he doesn't make enough to offset his school fees but at least it offsets the amount he spends on materials and pen-making supplies.

I understand exactly what he means. I'm extremely grateful that I don't have to pay the electric bill with the proceeds from my woodworking.  The fairs were still worth it for two reasons: I did make a bit of money to offset production costs and I was able to move some of what I made out of the house. If you do any kind of craft there comes a point when you need an outlet otherwise the work just piles up around your ears. Some of the things I thought would sell well didn't and some of the things I wasn't sure about sold out. Perhaps with experience I will get better at discerning which is which. In the meantime, the things that didn't sell will give me a start on stock for next year.

Most of my sales were to friends and some people bought things out of the blue. One woman contacted me through my website saying she was unable to get to one of the fairs and wondered if I had any ornaments left.  I did and, as I was out and about the next day anyway, I delivered them to her at work.  She told me she would be sending them to family in Nova Scotia. I'm delighted that some of my work will be making the trip part way across Canada.

Some people want cooking spoons made from our green ash tree that was cut down in early November.  They are willing to wait until after Christmas for their orders and I'll be starting on those once the turkey soup is made and the wrapping paper tidied up.  I've been out of the shop for several days now and I miss it.  It will be no hardship to get started on the next batch of projects,  some for others and for us.

The lead-up to Christmas has been a great deal of fun.  We've had time to visit with friends and attend parties for the various musical groups we belong to. For the first time we shared a Chanukah dinner with friends and it is one of the highlights of this season.  Christmas Day will be quiet and relaxed. Richard's brother is with us tonight and Richard's dad will join the three of us for dinner tomorrow. We're cooking a turkey roll rather than a whole bird but there should still be enough left over to make soup on Boxing Day. That's almost as good as the Christmas dinner.

At this time of year I'm prompted to consider all the people who make our lives so rich.  Whether you celebrate Christmas, Chanukah or the winter solstice, whether your gatherings are with family or friends, whether your celebrations are large and noisy or small and quiet, I wish you much love and laugher.  Thank you for being part of my circle. Good wishes and good times are among the most precious of gifts. All the best tonight, tomorrow and throughout 2015.

Just another Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve once again.  Christmas seems to be coming around faster each year. Anyone else notice that? Christmas is a time when I slow down a bit and think of all the people who are important in my life. I appreciate those of you who constantly encourage me to keep at this blog irregular as it is. Thanks for reading it and letting me know that what I say is worth saying.

To those of you who get an ear-full every so often. Thanks for listening to me. I live my life with my mouth open and can't imagine how I'd survive without your ears. To those of you with whom I laugh, I hope we will always be able to find amusement in life.

To those of you who teach me music, thank you for your patience with my stubborn fingers and my brain that is slow to memorize.

To those of you with whom I sing, thanks for making music with me and for steering me in the right direction when I get totally off the track, either note-wise or with the order of things. 

Some of the earliest Christmases I remember include singing. My grandfather had a grand piano in his living room.  He didn't play but it was his dream to own a grand piano.  My mother played Christmas carols and I sat beside her on the piano bench and sang.  At later Christmases, after I joined the junior choir, I remember walking through the snowy night to the church carrying my choir gown which was white with a giant maroon bow.  I thought it was the coolest thing ever.  The junior choir led the processional from the basement, where we got organized, up the stairs and into the sanctuary. The processional hymn was always "Once in Royal David's City."  There was no sermon on Christmas Eve.  The minister's wife told a story instead.  Later I learned that the minister's wife used to start looking for stories at the beginning of January.  I don't remember any specific plot-line but there was a sense of magic that came to a climax with the dimming of the lights and the singing of "Silent Night."

When I was in grade 8 I had music vocal from Marilyn Perkins and singing became even more important to me.  By that time there was quite a gap between what Marilyn was teaching us in school and what the choir leader at church was expecting.  As soon as I could persuade my dad to let me,  I stopped going to St. Matthew's United Church and began going to Scarboro United where Marilyn was the choir leader. I began attending the late service on Christmas Eve at Scarboro.  It was a communion service and I have a strong image of my parents walking up the aisle to take communion standing side by side while I watched from the choir. By that time things were pretty chilly between them but for that moment the chill was gone.

When I worked in Banff I missed a year of singing in the church choir but I drove home Christmas Eve before nightfall and was in the pew for the late service.  I was in the pews rather than the choir loft on one other Christmas Eve when I had such a bad cold I could hardly talk.

Since Richard and I have been married, we have always been in the choir loft on Christmas Eve. When we have traveled at Christmas, which hasn't been often, we have chosen to fly on Christmas Day rather than miss the late service. In a few hours we will, once again, sit in the loft and sing and, as I look out at the families who have come together tonight, I will think of  my friends and family: those I see often, those I see seldom, those whom I have rediscovered after many years, those who have known me for decades, those who have become friends more recently and those who are here in body no longer. I will think of Marilyn who gave the gift of music to so many, and of my mother who played the piano all those years ago.  I will think of the Jorgensens' where, for many Christmases, we sang carols around the piano.  And I will think of each of you who give me the gifts of music, laughter and friendship throughout the year.

So on this night,  please know that my life is rich with the gifts you give and for that I am grateful.  May peace be with you. Shalom.  Namaste. As-salamu alaykum.