Sunday Salon --- Days before Christmas with songs and snapshots.

Weather: Grey, cloudy, rainy, and (yesterday) windy. Generally unpleasant. Wait. There is a break in the grey, we are running out for a walk with the dog!

First snapshot: Silly masks. Don and I wore these to church today. Mine makes me laugh every time I see myself. Even if I'm having a bad day, it looks like I'm having a great one.

Second snapshot and musical interlude #1: Picture Don and I in our car with our grandsons. This song, Jingle Bells by Barenaked Ladies, comes on the music station. Ian says "Grandma, make it get to the rockin' part." When it does, we all belt it out as loud as we can. We were singing so loud we missed the verse, "Jingle Bells, Batman smells, and Robin laid an egg." Ha! It was pure joy singing this favorite Christmas song with our grandson! 

Musical Interlude #2: Ian and I were listening to music in the car together when this song, Faeries by Mannheim Steamroller, came on. It is from the Nutcracker but Ian kept asking me to play it again because it reminded him of Halloween music. (Hall of the Mountain King, perhaps?) What do you think? Halloweenish?

Third and fourth snapshots: The grandsons and I went to see the reindeer at a local nursery. The animals were anticlimactic but I got a few shots of them in front of the mushrooms because nothing says Christmas like huge mushrooms.

Don't picture this: Sick: the whole family except Don got a terrible stomach bug this week. It started with Jamie, the youngest and spread next to his father, then brother, then mom. I was in agony for around 24 hours. Rita said the worst part (but I disagree) is knowing it it coming but not knowing when. She only has one bathroom at her house and it wasn't enough. Aren't you glad I told you not to picture THIS?

Musical interludes #3 and #4. Our church held its yearly cantata today, singing a combination of songs from previous years. My favorite was "Breath of Heaven." (This YouTube version is sung by a father/daughter duo, Mat and Savanna Shaw.) The homily was right after they sang, "Still, Still, Still." Our pastor, the father of two young boys, talked about the usual chaos at his home but at night when the boys sleep they are the picture of peace. We, too, need to still our hearts this Christmas season allowing God to fill it with His peace. After the homily the choir sang "Turn Your Heart to Christmas." (My husband warns that his arrangement of the song isn't very good and he doesn't want you to think it is his choir.)

Fifth Snapshot: Picture me listening to and finishing the book Crying in the H-Mart by Michelle Zaumer. It is an excellent memoir about a girl's relationship with her mother and the food he mother helped her to love. Watch for my review this week. Picture me also reading my Kindle Fire in bed each night as I make my way through Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout.

Sixth snapshot: 30. Our baby turned 30 yesterday. We will celebrate with her this coming week. In the photo she is loving up on one of her boys (I think it is Fred.) 

Seventh snapshot: Picture Don and I at the table frantically trying to get our Christmas cards finished and mailed off. We didn't realize that COSTCO no longer has a photo center at every store so what we thought would be a day turn around turned into a week turn around. If you usually get a card from us, it will probably arrive after Christmas. Sorry.

Final snapshot: after the choir sang a portion of the cantata last Sunday afternoon at a little church in Mineral, Washington, we stopped off at our daughter's home for a brief visit on our way home. While there, Rita showed us the little Austrian sweater that my sister had sent to her hoping that Jamie would fit it this winter. It is a sweet and sad story how my sister had the sweater. She and her husband were traveling in Europe in 1981. They wanted a baby but were having troubles conceiving. She bought the sweater with a future baby in mind. They did conceive and had a son but before he had a chance to wear the dear sweater, he was diagnosed with leukemia and he ultimately died from the disease. My sister tucked the sweater away in her cedar chest and found it this year. It made her so happy, yet broke her heart, to see the photos of little Jamie sporting the little wool sweater. Doesn't it look like he is modeling it? And yes, that is his tummy you see. And yes, he only has on one shoe.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

-Anne