The Goose is Getting Fat!
Christmas is coming soon! It's such a unique time of year, isn't it? Town here has been terribly busy, and we've been running around getting the house ready for our kids to visit (they've made it here safely.) We've been making lists, baking, cooking, cleaning, wrapping gifts, taking cats to the vet (nothing major), calling relatives, running to the post office, and all the while listening to Christmas music, because it's the most wonderful time of the year (or so they sing.) :)
My mom always loaded our record player up with a stack of albums. They would each wait in line, one would play to the end, the record player's arm would pause, move outward and upward, click against the bottom record in the pile, which would then fall into place, and the music would start again. I think, if I remember correctly, we could load and play 4-6 albums before having to flip the pile over to start it up again.
Many of the albums we'd listen to are ones I still play: Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby (did you know his first name was actually Harry?!), Perry Como, Andy Williams, Barbara Streisand (her "Jingle Bells" is my favorite version of that song), and Frank Sinatra. Over the years, I added Harry Connick, Michael Buble, Sufjan Stevens, Tony Bennett, and The Blenders (an acapella group from North Dakota). We listen to Pandora's Christmas stations in the car, I find interesting albums and concerts on YouTube, and we even just sing while we go through our day. One of my favorite listens this year has been Sting's concert, "A Winter's Night" from Durham Cathedral in 2009, which you can find at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfViC0fThiU. Even the cats get relaxed listening to some of the Christmas albums. And just like any other memory trigger, listening to some of the same songs every year brings back recollections of Christmases past.
This will be the last post until after Christmas -- I hope everybody has a very, very merry holiday with friends and/or family. No matter how you celebrate, I do hope the best for you now and in the coming year. Merry Christmas! - Theresa