Advent, Day Seven

(NB: Days Five and Six were celebrated with mulled wine and carols. Again. Oh yeah, and with that music video.)

Onto Day Seven:

'Nuff said.

The Best Christmas Music Video Yet

Funny AND heartwarming.

Click the title of the post for the original story.

And here's a word from Mariah Carey: 

At home for the fourth day of Advent

You're a mean one, Mr Grinch. You really are a heel. You're as cuddly as a cactus, you're as charming as an eel, Mr Grinch. You're a bad banana with a greasy black peel! (How the Grinch Stole Christmas, 2001)

Today I didn't get as much done as I wanted (when is that not true?). However, I have managed to clean most of my kitchen, and once clean, I made pumpkin bread with leftover pumpkin from the Thanksgiving muffins. I mulled wine (hello, winter comfort!), and have started roasting chestnuts for the first time ever. I hope they turn out well. None of them look like they're going to explode, which is a bonus. While I've been cleaning and baking and roasting, I've been listening to my Christmas music playlist.

For a late dinner, following a late lunch, I plan to have whatever is left of the wine, a slice or two of pumpkin bread, and a few chestnuts.

Next weekend I hope to get down to the Christmas Market (see this post and this one for details on last year's market trip).

This year for Christmas, there's something I'd really like. So if you're up there somewhere, Santa, please don't bring me another bike. I don't need any ugly sweaters, and I don't play much basketball. There's something kind of special that I want most of all... I want an alien for Christmas! Bring me an alien this year! I want a little green guy about three feet high, with seventeen eyes who knows how to fly... (Fountains of Wayne)

It's a Wonderful Life: Advent Days Two and Three

Dear George: Remember, no man is a failure who has friends. Thanks for the wings, Love Clarence

 Image of the movie poster believed to be from RKO pictures, found on Wikipedia

 
I had grander plans for today, but life and work intervened. However, I did manage to steal some well-spent time on a walk to the library* this afternoon, where I picked up It's a Wonderful Life, my favorite Christmas movie, probably ever. It's been my favorite since I was a child and we first watched it as a family when it was aired on one of the TV holiday specials. I finally cooked dinner (vegetarian 3-bean chili and whole wheat corn muffins), and I sat down to watch the film. The quote above may be my favorite quote, although it is never actually spoken by any of the characters. This movie always puts me in the best frame of mind for the holidays.

Yesterday, nothing special: I listened to some carols by Lionheart and Nat King Cole.



*I have just discovered how convenient it can be to borrow DVDs from the library (of course, they don't have everything, but it's much cheaper than buying when I have no TV to watch the specials!)

Highlights from the St Andrews Anniversary Ball, Macbeth, and Thanksgiving Dinner

Last weekend was a busy one for yours truly.

Thursday night involved a lot of meetings and work, per usual.

Friday I spent baking an apple pie and pumpkin muffins for the holiday (Thanksgiving) season. I went to dinner with another American in Canada, a friend of mine with whom I celebrated last year. We had yummy yummy food, chicken, and stuffing, and green bean casserole, and gravy... and then apple pie. I wish I had more apple pie.

After dinner, my friend and I went to see the Hart House performance of Macbeth, which was pretty amazing. It's been ages (high school) since I read or watched Shakespeare, so the language took some getting used to, but the play is a powerful one, and was well acted and very well staged at Hart House. My favorite part might have been the way the witches were displayed behind black cheesecloth/mesh screens, and light would shine above them at strategic times so they were hidden and then foggily revealed. Lady Macbeth was fun to hate, and Macbeth was played very convincingly. We dressed up to see it, which just adds to the fun.

Saturday night I went to the St Andrews Anniversary Ball, which was great. Great food, really fun dancing, lots of kilts and sgian dhus, and bagpipes.

The Wearing of the Green

Better late than never, right?

Out to find a celebratory drink with a friend this past Wednesday after receiving the best.news.EVER, I encountered seas of green-clad people, lines at pubs and bars, and some already drunk individuals (pretty confident this was no later than 8:30pm). It occurred to me at this point to remember not only was it Wednesday ("hump day" in some vocabularies), it was also MARCH SEVENTEENTH. Duh.

Happy Belated St. Patrick's Day!

At another point during the evening I started to wonder how St. Patrick's Day, or rather St. Patrick's day in the United States, came to be what it is: "Saint Patrick's Day is one of the leading days for consumption of alcohol in the United States, and is typically one of the busiest days of the year for bars and restaurants (source)." Because to my knowledge the way we (I use the term loosely) celebrate the holiday is far removed from the observances that take place in its originating nation. We Americans like to wear green, and consume massive amounts of alcohol.

In light of this question, I have finally remembered to look it up. I was curious, but since I have the internet, unlike Hermione I did not go to the library.

Anyways. Here's the link to my first source.

The green wearing part is pretty easy to figure out. It started with "the wearing of the green", or wearing a shamrock pinned to one's clothing. This term might have caused confusion, leading to the wearing of the color green as opposed to the wearing of a green shamrock. These days, green in America, if it doesn't necessarily mean Ireland, has no trouble being associated with it. Not to mention, if you read the article, it was even worn by Irish soldiers in rebellion.

The drinking, I discovered, is a bit harder to pin down.

Interestingly, it appears that for some time in Ireland, the kinds of observances we have here and now were expressly forbidden: "O'Mara later introduced the law that required that pubs and bars be closed on 17 March after drinking got out of hand (see above link for source)". The necessity for this law suggests that drinking heavily in Ireland was also customary on St. Patrick's Day. This contrasts with its origins as a religious feast day and holy day. A few years back, National Geographic interviewed a U.S. resident, born to Irish parents in England, illustrating the differences between Irish and American customs.

So, the answer to the question, when did Americans start to celebrate St. Patrick's Day by getting pissed (trashed, wasted, three sheets to the wind.... pick your slang) is very difficult to find (i.e. I haven't, yet. Maybe I will have to go to the library, after all...). The answer to the question, why do Americans drink so heavily on St. Patrick's Day, well, that one's a little easier to guess at: perhaps we're a ways removed from the holiday's more religious origins. Or, it could be because we (again, used loosely) like drinking, and any excuse will do.

Curses! Advent Update

Once again, my weekend Christmas plans were rudely disrupted by the weather. Sunday rained and rained and rained... I don't like walking around wet and cold, so I've postponed my Zoolights excursion. Not only that, but once we'd picked out the "perfect" (and my family always looks out for character as part of perfection) tree, we looked around the Christmas-y things on sale at the garden center, and stopped briefly to pick up lunch on the way home. Thus, the tree was by no means dry - in fact, it was too wet to contemplate stringing electrical lights on the damp branches. So instead of giggling and laughing and getting sticky everywhere while reaching around and hugging the tree did not happen - and my mom has plans to light and decorate the tree herself. :( Ah well.

In any case, I did bake cookies yesterday and last night. Mostly I played sous chef to my sister's master baker, but we had fun.

Tonight is a chores night (i.e. laundry) so it's not certain I'll get around to doing more than listening to holiday music, unless Netflix obligingly sends me The Christmas Carol, in which case I'll watch another holiday movie.

Advent, Days 11, 12 and 13

Today looks like another Christmas movie: A Christmas Story, this time - apparently the most-rented holiday movie on NetFlix. I've seen it before, but remember very little. I suppose I feel it's one of those classics I ought to know, because it's quoted so often. Also, I think quite possibly I'll find it amusing. And who doesn't need a little more laughter and fun in life?

This weekend will most likely resemble a holiday marathon. The family (at least, the women, who are all within less than two hours distant) have plans to congregate and bake, for friends, coworkers (and family, I do insist). Holiday cookies in my family come in at least four varieties - mostly because we love baking, decorating, and most especially (in my case) eating them.

Sunday equals Christmas Tree Day. Unfortunately we no longer drive out to a farm to cut the quote-unquote "best" tree. These days, we go in for much less exciting, but easier tree shopping. I.e., we go to the nearest garden center to pick one out. Then there's getting it home, setting it up in its little tray, and the funnest part of all - putting on the lights. That last is said only partly in jest...

Sunday I will also be going to the Zoolights at the National Zoo. Sunday is evidently "young professionals night" which should make things interesting. It's cheap, at $8 for a non FONZ member ticket. According to About.com, "Throughout ZooLights, the Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat will be open for extended hours for those who wish to bid farewell to Tai Shan before he departs for China in early 2010." - so I guess it's also a good time to see the panda.

Zoolights Schedule:
December 4-13, 2009 (Friday through Sunday nights) and December 18-January 2 (every night except Dec. 24, 25, and 31) from 6-8:30 p.m.

Playing Catch-Up - Backwards

Yes, it does happen to be easier to remember things backwards sometimes. Thus:

Advent, Day 8: Christmas Dinner at La Cote D'Or, an excellent little French restaurant near East Falls Church Metro. The menu included escargot (I had one - I've had them before and feel ambivalent towards them), mushroom soup, lamb, "salmon in love with sea scallops" (the best, most excellent seafood I've had, maybe ever) and chocolate profiteroles (a little disappointing).

Advent, Day 7: This day gets as far as listening to Christmas music. Definitely more in line with opening a perforated door in a piece of reinforced paper and either taking a moment to look at a cute picture, or gobbling a tiny hunk of yummy chocolate.

Advent, Day 6: Christmas roll at Maneki Neko, a tiny, excellent (and reasonably-priced) sushi restaurant in Falls Church. Again, not much involved here.

Advent, Day 5: This was the day I was supposed to got to Scottish Christmas Weekend Walk, but it snowed. And snowed, and snowed, and snowed. So I stayed inside after some Christmas browsing and watched Jane Austen movies.

Washington DC Sober Ride

Sometimes working for the government is surprisingly useful... an email I just received, for your edification (especially if you live in the Washington, D.C. area):


*** FOR INFORMATION ONLY ***
The Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) 2009 Holiday SoberRide program will be offered from 2200 to 0600 each night, beginning Friday, 11 December 2009 and ending at 0600, Friday, 1 January 2010. To receive a free cab ride home (up to a $50.00 fare), please call 800-200-8294 (TAXI) or #8294 (TAXI) on your AT&T wireless phone. You must be 21 years of age or older to use the SoberRide service.

Click here for more information: http://www.wrap.org/soberride/

Even if you don't live in this area, it might be worthwhile looking into other regional sober ride programs.

Advent, Day 4: With stories from Days 2 and 3

To "begin at the beginning and go on till [I] come to the end, then stop":

December 2 turned out to be cold, wet and rainy, and my determination to go to the US Botanic Gardens to see their Holiday Magic display wavered. I did go, however, and even though the walks to and from Metro stations were wet and dreary, it did not rain. Skip ahead to the foyer, whereupon entering I was given an unnecessary brochure (at the exit they have a basket to recycle brochures - how neat is that?).

The minute I walk into the first courtyard, with trees and flowering plants lining the edges and two pools in the middle on either side of the enormous Christmas tree (decorated with a train running round its base), I take a deep breath. I continually forget how relaxing botanical gardens are. I figure it's the higher oxygen content of the air, mixed wtih greenery all around and above...

To get back to the point, an artist has created miniature models of all the most important monuments and buildings on and around the Mall, including the Capitol, the Supreme Court, the Smithsonian Castle, the Washington Monument, Jefferson and Lincoln memorials .. etc. out of resin and bark and flowers, leaves and mushrooms! Each one is burnished bronze in color, with amazing detail. Then I moved on to the West Gallery, which holds the trains. 45-foot train tracks, the scent of cedar and pine, fairies made out of twigs and leaves, and little villages - the three little pigs holding off the big bad wolf, little red riding hood walking unsuspecting into the forest, fairy homes, and Santa's Village. All in miniature. I walked around happy and wondering for awhile before heading out.

Yesterday, my efforts to create my own Advent calendar failed - or at least, what I did followed more along the lines of simply opening a paper door and either reaching inside for a tasty bite of chocolate or glancing at a picture. I listened to holiday music. Yep, that's it! No time for more because I had tickets to the hockey game. Even without Ovechkin, the game was a rout, Alexander Semin putting up 2 goals and at least one assist, and Fehr, Bradley and others contributing to the SIX goals scored by the Caps! I also rediscovered why I don't eat any but kosher hot dogs. It was Dollar Hot Dog Night, so I tried one. Bleh. Not an experience I need to repeat. On the way home we caught a glimpse of the National Christmas Tree, or whatever they're calling it... it looks slightly boring to me, but you didn't read that here.

Tonight, it's a movie called Merry Christmas, about international soldiers on the front on Christmas Eve during World War II.

Advent, Day 5: Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend

It's already 1 December (Happy Advent everyone!) and although I have a freebie tonight (per the Nutcracker ballet I saw last Friday), I'm already behind on planning my Advent Calendar Events.

So let's just get right down to it, shall we?

First big event: the Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend, in downtown Alexandria, Va. Hosted by the Campagna Center, whose programs help young children in academics. This weekend is one of the largest fundraising opportunities for the non-profit organization. Events from the 3rd to the 5th of December include:

Christmas Marketplace (frustratingly only available on Friday, 9-5pm, leaving those of us with day jobs out of luck)
Heather and Greens Sale (Saturday at The Campagna Center, 418 South Washington Street, Alexandria)
Children's Tea Party (sold out)
Taste of Scotland ($100, it's really a scotch tasting)...

...and, most importantly of all (perhaps), is the parade: 11am-1pm Saturday morning, representing 100+ Scottish clans dressed in clan tartan. It will be followed by a massed band concert at King and Royal Streets.

Although I won't be attending this, for anyone interested in interior decorating/designer homes, the weekend includes a tour of select homes in Old Town, Alexandria, decorated for the holidays. It starts at 11, runs until 4pm in the afternoon on Saturday. Tickets in advance are $30, at the door are $35. So I'll be there on Saturday, I hope to see at least some of the parade and maybe stop by the band concert. And grab some Scottish munchies, if possible. Because that's the most important thing. ;)

Advent, Day 3: The National Christmas Tree

Okay, I know. Not only did I completely fail this past week to do anything seriously Christmas-related, I also failed to write.

At any rate. Thursday of last week I did unintentionally almost do something that I'll put on my advent calendar. I got a ride home from the hockey game (a unique experience, not taking the Metro), and as we drove down Constitution, we glimpsed the white lights and green ... I'd say foliage, but we weren't so close... of the National Christmas Tree. Of course, we had to look past all the white tents and trailors there for the celebration.

Advent, Day 2: U.S. Botanic Gardens Christmas Display

Okay, so this business of blogging about my plans (every day) for the next month or so, before the plans actually play out, takes more effort than I expected. And more time. Whoops!

So, briefly: Tomorrow I'm going to arrive at work just a bit early so I can leave a bit early, and go walk around the U.S. Botanic Gardens, that has put on a holiday display from November 26-January 10. Details here. If an hour's not enough, a repeat trip will at least make one day's planning much easier.

This weekend (or Monday) look for reviews of all the holiday activities I've been up to.

Advent: Day 1(ish)

I am aware that December has not yet arrived. However, my countdown must start early as I have a Christmas event scheduled for Black Friday. No, it is not shopping. I vow never to be in any location that might be termed a "mall", whether strip or the regular kind, nor shall I ever be found in any kind of store, on Black Friday. I have a large, fiercely defended personal space sphere, and crowds make me irritable. As in, step-on-toes and elbow-nudge irritable.

No, on Friday evening, I have plans to go to the ballet! The second ballet I've been to as an adult, and specifically, this time I have tickets to see the Nutcracker at the Kennedy Center (playing Nov 24-29). Though not the first time I'll have seen the Nutcracker, it will be the first in so many years I can't remember much about the last time, except that my father started snoring halfway through.

I look forward to it with a great deal of anticipation - I love Tchaikovsky, he was brilliant, and the Nutcraker is one of my favorite suites. Not to mention the costumes, and the story, and getting to sit in good seats, to dress up in fancy evening clothes, and to down a small, overpriced glass of wine at the intermission... I can't wait!

Happy (Almost) Advent!

I love advent calendars. Always have. The pretty pictures, the Scrooge stories (a really excellent one year I'll never forget told a very abridged version)... the more glitter, snow, trees, historical buildings and people, the better. My favorite was one I bought in a very out-of the way little shop in Verona, run by a little old friendly lady, who probably saw three people a day walk through her shop doors. It was glittery, and had snowy trees, and such pretty little pictures! I was so enamored I brought it home with me in my luggage just to open the last few days. Probably had glitter in my suitcase for weeks afterward...

Well, as most people know (or should know), paper advent calendars equal not so good for the environment. And those cloth ones you can put chocolate in, I've never really gotten into. So I've decided this year to do something hopefully a little more "green" (and no, the fact that I haven't had the time, energy or ability to find the perfect advent calendar this year (nobody makes them anymore!) had nothing to do with my decision..). Anyway, the plan is to do something Christmas-y every day from the first to the 24th. That's the plan. We'll see how well it works. Oh, and did I mention I also plan to document this attempt here? Well, that's part B of the plan. Some events I may have a chance to write about before they actually happen, so if anybody lives in or near DC, it might be helpful. I make no guarantees, however.

Thanksgiving Anticipation

I think it's funny that after Thanksgiving, everyone generally feels as stuffed as the turkey that got roasted full of good things like bread and apples or rice and raisins. Turkey's revenge, perhaps?

No matter, I'm still looking forward to the cooking and the wine and the feasting and the wine, and of course the good company and the wine... Seriously though, sometimes Thanksgiving is even better than Christmas. I say sometimes because I have had one perfect Christmas, and it didn't occur the same year I went to the perfect Thanksgiving.

This time of year always brings back good memories of hosting my own feast, sometimes with a chicken (oven too small), sometimes at a friend's apartment (kitchen too small) while in Scotland. For three years I organized Thanksgiving dinners, because I couldn't bear to be away from home and not celebrate one of my favorite holidays. This year I'll be making biscuits, squash and a pumpkin tart I can't wait to try, because I've never made a tart before. If any of the recipes are successful, I may just share them here, if anyone is interested.

What could be more enjoyable than good food, good company and good wine? Not much, in my humble opinion. Though maybe in three months it is possible that I'll rate a beach, a cocktail, and and an umbrella higher on my list of "best things ever".

OUT: Haunted House. IN: Haunted Ship

Ladies and Gents, it's that time of year again. Time to get your spook (or fright) on. Time to eat too much yummy candy and dress up in too-revealing ridiculous costumes or wear unnerving face paint. Time to carry scythes and machetes, fairy wands and red tridents (the glorified fork, not the gum).

Historical Side Note: Tridents were used in gladiatorial contests in Rome and throughout the Roman Empire during the more ancient part of Western history. A retiarius traditionally carried a trident, as well as a net to "fish" for his opponents. Unfortunately for the poor fisherman gladiator, he also had less armor. He's the nearly-naked one bleeding from the calf.

(courtesy Brooklyn College Classics Department)

Okay, history lesson over.


Back to Halloween. There's the monster Nightmare on M Street pub crawl (bar crawl if you're from the States), which is good fun, and there're your generic haunted houses...

And then there's Ghost Ship Barry. Seriously, if you can make it down to the Navy Yard (Eastern Market or Navy Yard Metro stops) the day before Halloween (still a weekend, given the spooky holiday falls on a Saturday this year), the sailors really have too much fun with the decorations and the being-scary. Early in the evening is reserved for the little bitties, but later on the sailors are given free reign to scare older children and adults out of their wits. I went last year and had a ball. Note to those looking for a less-scary experience: contrary to popular belief, the front of the line is the least scary. Or so I found. More info can be uncovered here. In fact, the link provides other Washington Navy Yard/US Navy Museum events this month.

Memorial Day

Many people, myself included, forget that Memorial Day is not just another federal holiday - albeit one with parades, festivals, flags and flowers - but is also a day to remember the soldiers, sailors and pilots who fought and perished in our nation's wars. Here's the government's official version on the origins of Memorial Day and other interesting tidbits, covering "Confederate Memorial Day" observances, the "Moment of Remembrance" established in 2000, and even Pericles. (Pericles??)

Incidentally, the poppies in Britain, her colonies and even elsewhere in Europe are ... disturbingly evocative, once you know the story. The short version is that after the Napoleonic Wars, the first flowers to grow in the grave fields of Flanders.

Demonstrating my distressing lack of cultural awareness, the Women's Military Memorial (Women in Military Service for America Memorial, for long) has been holding "one of the major Memorial Day programs in the nation's capital" for 12 years, and I've only discovered it for the first time today. Interestingly enough, the memorial has been on my radar for awhile now, because I've been planning a visit to find records of my maternal grandmother, who was a Lt. Nurse in the Army in World War II. Who deployed to South East Asia. Which is rather exciting!

So. As I prepare for my holiday, I'll take a moment to remember the fallen. And the poppies. And the survivors.

Earth Day Reprise

Contrary to my earlier, premature post, I did end up doing something Earth Day-related last Wednesday. One of my favorite educational programs at the museum is Victory Gardens (see this post for more details)

Last year on Earth Day I helped children make their own victory gardens, which really was a lot of fun. This year, I had other work to do, but I did manage to take a quick break to make one of my own (if anyone remembers my pumpkin and other vegetable garden experiment, that started out as a victory garden). This time, the seed options were more limited, but I chose alfalfa sprouts, which I consider to be very yummy on sandwiches and in salads. It's currently residing in the bottom half of a regular, small water bottle. I planted them last Wednesday, and already today I think I might need to get a bigger holder for them! I have so many little sprouts they pushed up a pile of dirt. I'd love to have a sprout garden, so I could just cut out sprouts and put them in my lunchtime sandwiches/salads .... Well, I'm quite pleased at any rate. Especially that Earth Day didn't pass completely unobserved by me.