Author Archives: Jennie
17 Days of Christmas
Really? How can Christmas be coming so soon? Somehow seventeen seems closer than eighteen did — more than one day sooner. Thanks to all of you who are following the countdown; my readership has soared exponentially. Twenty is exponentially more than three, right?
One of my December guilty pleasures in the past two years has been The Sing-Off on NBC. Not only do we have Ohio’s own Nick Lachay (a graduate of Cincinnati’s Walnut Hills High School) as host, but I am privileged to be allowed to participate in the University of Rochester’s a cappella alumni chat room during the television broadcasts. It’s fun to be snarky with people who have been performers and know what these contestants are going through. It’s also fun to laugh at the judges’ comments, although Ben Folds and Shawn Stockman have some respectable musical chops. I’m not so sure about Nicole Scherzinger. She looks pretty, though.
If you missed it, you can download the episodes online. Here’s episode one, where all the groups were introduced. I was hopeful for Eleventh Hour, high school kids from Kettering, Ohio, but they didn’t have the chops to compete with adults. Whoops, I gave you a spoiler. Sorry. One of the groups has a young woman who graduated from the middle school where I teach. The Backbeats is a “supergroup” from southern California. Rachel is the one who’s turned sideways in the promotional photo. Awkward.
I hope you take some time to watch The Sing Off. These are real people, actually competing to win something that is meaningful to them — some money and a recording contract.That’s what I love about music — it’s the level plane in the world. If you’ve got it, people will recognize it.
18 Days of Christmas
I’m a band geek. There’s no getting around it; I was probably born with the band geek gene and will live with it until I die. Despite what Glee might lead you to believe, it’s not the worst thing in the world. In fact, most of the time, it’s pretty fun to be a band geek.
Hubby and I both play in the American Wind Band (we’re not in this photo; it was taken before we joined), and tonight we had our Christmas party. We did an ice breaker, so for today’s post, I’d like some audience participation. Here’s your questions… please answer in a comment.
1. Who has traveled to at least five of the seven continents?
2. Who has lived in four or more states?
3. Who regularly participates in three or more musical ensembles?
4. Who has lived in his or her current home for 30 or more years?
5. Who has performed music as an adult on two or more instruments?
6. Who can play a high school or college fight song by heart?
7. Who has a college degree in music?
8. Who loves opera?
9. Who loves jazz?
10. Who has played his or her instrument for more than fifty years?
11. Who earns his or her living in music?
12. Who has performed outside of the U.S.A.?
At Christmastime, there’s nothing better than a great piece of Christmas music. Here’s one of my favorites, “Christmas Day” by Gustav Holst. We played a band arrangement of this, but I also love the words. There’s no video, just listen to this fabulous choir and orchestra.
19 Days of Christmas
Did you grow up with the traditional reading of Clement Moore’s “The Night Before Christmas”?
In our house, the Family Singers did it one better — we sang it! My mother was a piano teacher, and spent many an hour practicing Ken Darby’s wicked score that set Moore’s immortal poem to song. Every Christmas Eve our family would gather around the piano and sing our hearts out.
This year, when my family gathered for Thanksmas, we didn’t have a piano player that could tackle this score. My mom is in a wheelchair and none of the rest of us have had the time to practice this bear of an accompaniment. Thankfully, we now have the magical invention called YouTube, so here’s Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians singing it in 1955. We were able to sing along with the computer, and so can you. I highly recommend that you add this tradition to your Christmas Eve.
20 Days of Christmas
One of the most rewarding parts of writing a blog is when people actually respond back to you. I was thrilled to get this link from my dear friend M.K., who suggested I share it with my readers. She’s right; it’s perfect for the beautiful snowy days here in Chicagoland. (If you don’t have snow, imagine that you do…)
Everywhere, everywhere, snow sifting down,
a world becoming white, no more sounds,
no longer possible to find the heart of the day,
the sun is gone, the sky is nowhere, and of all
I wanted in life – so be it – whatever it is
that brought me here, chance, fortune, whatever
blessing each flake of snow is the hint of, I am
grateful, I bear witness, I hold out my arms,
palms up, I know it is impossible to hold
for long what we love of the world, but look
at me, is it foolish, shameful, arrogant to say this,
see how the snow drifts down, look how happy
I am.
“Manna” by Joseph Stroud, from Of This World. © Copper Canyon Press, 2009.
21 Days of Christmas
Online shopping. Need I say more?
How did we do Christmas back in the olden days? Remember, we spent hours at the crowded mall and bought the “perfect” present which the recipient then returned. I’ll take an Amazon Wish List any day.
22 Days of Christmas
One of the most wonderful things about Christmastime is anticipation. There’s a certain extra spark to our anticipation at this time of year. I wonder what impromptu parties will happen; I wonder how many people will come to our band concert; I wonder what our family trip to points West will bring. I am also anticipating an addition to our family with the birth of a new grandnephew. What a blessing for all of us at Christmas; thanks, Vanderbilt Wife and Mr. V, for timing your pregnancy so perfectly!
As I write this on Friday night, we are anticipating LOTS of snow tomorrow. Although I didn’t take this photo, it could have been taken in my back yard during winter snows. I have a zillion errands to do tomorrow, so snow will interfere with my plans, but I just can’t help but be thrilled with the possibility of waking up to the pristine whiteness of brand new snow. I hope that the reality will equal the anticipation. See you on the flip side.
23 Days of Christmas
In my house, it’s not Christmas until we watch Love Actually and White Christmas. I have to work up to it, though, so I take a tour through my Christmas videos every year.
This year, I started with The Holiday
The thing I love most about The Holiday is that England is practically a character in the movie. The quaint village that Winslet and her brother (Jude Law) live in is my dream vacation destination, with a Cotswold stone cottage complete with a staircase that requires you to bump your head every time you come down, an under-the-stairs loo, and a sign on the gate announcing the name of the cottage. I wouldn’t be upset if Jude Law came over for a little nightcap, either.
Back in Los Angeles, Kate Winslet’s character and a once-famous movie writer, played charmingly by Eli Wallach, help each other to break out of their downhill spirals. Jack Black is the unlikely hero who charms everyone he meets, including Winslet.
All’s well that ends well, of course, so with twenty-three days left until Christmas, watch a sappy Christmas movie. It will lift your spirits and remind you of what’s right in the world.
24 Days of Christmas
One of the miracles of being a teacher is that there seems to be a never-ending supply of food that appears in the teachers’ lounge. My school is no exception, and every Wednesday we have the further treat of special breakfast provided by staff members. Each little group has its own theme; some groups pick Halloween and some pick Thanksgiving. We have patriotic breakfast themes and we have sports themes. On December 1, 2010, we celebrated the first day of Hanukkah.
I feel very privileged to work with colleagues who understand and respect the diversity of humankind. It does not offend me that the religious holiday of many of my friends was honored in my public school teachers’ lounge. On the contrary, it makes me recognize the miracle of living in a large city where diversity is the norm rather than the abnormal. At Christmastime, when Christians are celebrating our own miracle, I find it good for my spirit to be reminded of the miracle of light that Jesus himself must have celebrated.
Rabbi Laura Geller presents both a historic and a modern-day reflection on the miracle of Hanukkah in her article in the Huffington Post. In it, she discusses the courage that the Jews had to escape Egypt and to have faith for their future.
“What is the real miracle of Hanukkah? It is the miracle of human courage that empowers us to take risks for the future even in our imperfect, uncertain world. It is the courage, even in the darkest of times, to create our own light.”
On this 24th day before Christmas, remember that each of us can create our own small light in a dark world that desperately needs courage and faith for the future. With all of us working together, respecting our differences and celebrating our oneness, we can create a new miracle.
25 Days of Christmas
Where are my Christmas mugs? I have carefully saved all of the school gifts with candy in them and snagged the leftovers that other teachers would have thrown out. I even bought a few to round out my collection. I lovingly amassed a dozen Christmas-themed mugs, not worrying about whether they are tacky or not. Aren’t Christmas-themed dishes just inherently tacky? I don’t care, though. I love the ritual of changing out my mug shelf every December.
We are UNDER CONSTRUCTION and there is no clear indicator that said construction will be done by Christmas. We are having two bathrooms remodeled at the same time, leaving us one to share. (I love my husband dearly, but it’s been many years since I had to regularly share a bathroom, and completion can’t come soon enough.) And my Christmas mugs appear to be a casualty of the packing process.
I’m so bummed. I want my coffee this morning in my mug with the angel handle. Is that asking too much?
