Wassail, Wassail All Over the Town (or the Unitarian Church in Towson, at any rate)
First, Amy and Tom invited us to carpool with them to a Wassail Celebration. Based on what little I know of old British/English traditions, it was a fairly authentic descendant of the old celebrations. There was a welcome from a rather pagan-looking man in robe and beard, poetry, a highly humorous extended "St. George and the Dragon" skit with delightful costumes (the large bearded man portraying the lovely princess was a delight, as was the doctor with a CD strapped to his head as part of his costume) and contemporary political references. And of course lots of music, mostly participatory singing of the lesser-known Christmas carols such as The Holly and the Ivy and Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabella (my choice). We also recited many blessings for the apple harvest. Being the granddaughter/niece of apple farmers I happily took up the duty of holding an apple-tree branch to be a tree. Definite pagan influences there. Oh, and the food--everything from Tom's pumpkin bread to any type of cookie you could want to hot spiced cider. Then more music starting with including Tom and Amy performing seasonal songs old and new, recorder players, guitar, and a juggler (who played pennywhiste while standing on a giant ball!)
Anniversary Trip
The following (or was it the preceding?) Sunday Ken and I went on my library's Staff Association bus trip to New York City. This was the third anniversary of our first official date, and we celebrated by going back to all the places we'd been together then. We started at Kinokuniya Books,
an international Japanese bookstore with all kinds of manga (hey, I was in heaven) and other books in both Japanese and English. They also have an incredible stationery section on the second floor. We picked up some little Christmas treats (a scented pencil for niece Rachael, and sparkly colored pens for niece and nephew Sheila and Brian.)
Next we had lunch at what I'm sure was the same Japanese restaurant we'd been to three years ago. The sushi and miso soup were certainly just as good! Then, up to the Frick Gallery to admire the portraits. We walked down along Central Park, and just when we were getting tired we came across St. Thomas' Episcopal Church, which has renowned boys' and mens' choirs--and we were only 10 minutes late for sung evening prayer! So, we heard some beautiful music and a good sermon, as well as an Advent reading or two.
Of course we checked out several stores' holiday windows (one store had an incredible array of snowflake designs all over their multistory storefront, which lit up in different patterns to the tune of "Carol of the Bells." Amazing!) And of course there was Rockefeller Center and the Christmas Tree.
Guests and Hosts
The week before Christmas we went up to New Jersey for Bev and Joe's legendary Christmas party--excellent food, a wonderfully decorated house (Bev and Joe are commercial designers-- they invented those gorgeous ribbons with wires in them that you can bend into all sorts of creative bows and shapes), delightful hosts, a chance to chat with many of Ken's relatives. And then two of the later highlights:
1. A visit from Santa. The kids were going crazy with anticipation, and sang "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" (with the oldest "kid" Evan accompanying on the piano) till he showed up with candy canes and little gifts.
2. Then came the carol singing, with Joe playing old and new favorites. This is of course one of my favorite parts (that and the shrimp-cocktail tree appetizer...)
The next day we slept late at Ken's aunt Bonnie and uncle Ed's house, visited with them, and Ken napped while I helped Bonnie finish trim the tree. And then we had the adventure of...
Driving into Philadelphia! (Yay) It was worth it because we met our friend Stasa at her friend Laura's house, made a good dinner out of Solstice-potluck leftovers (Nif made an excellent carrot/sprouts/whatever was in the fridge salad), and chatted with fellow statistical-outlier types on many topics including fanfiction (yes, there were people there besides me who knew what it was, though I did have to define 'shonen ai').
We were delighted to be hosts ourselves that night to Stasa, and Ivan was just as pleased to have her visit (amazing as he's quite shy with strangers. ) In fact, the next morning when she was in the shower, he was waiting outside the bathroom staring at the door. I figured he was waiting for his breakfast (his bowl is in the bathroom) but no, when Stasa got out I put the food in and he ignored it. This is unheard of--our boy is always begging eagerly for food every morning and eats like we've been starving him for days instead of for 12 hours. So I looked around--and he was gazing at Stasa as she pulled on her sweater. I think my position as Ivan's Mistress would have been in danger if she'd stayed much longer!
Next up, a pictorial Christmas tour!
Next we had lunch at what I'm sure was the same Japanese restaurant we'd been to three years ago. The sushi and miso soup were certainly just as good! Then, up to the Frick Gallery to admire the portraits. We walked down along Central Park, and just when we were getting tired we came across St. Thomas' Episcopal Church, which has renowned boys' and mens' choirs--and we were only 10 minutes late for sung evening prayer! So, we heard some beautiful music and a good sermon, as well as an Advent reading or two.
Of course we checked out several stores' holiday windows (one store had an incredible array of snowflake designs all over their multistory storefront, which lit up in different patterns to the tune of "Carol of the Bells." Amazing!) And of course there was Rockefeller Center and the Christmas Tree.
Guests and Hosts
The week before Christmas we went up to New Jersey for Bev and Joe's legendary Christmas party--excellent food, a wonderfully decorated house (Bev and Joe are commercial designers-- they invented those gorgeous ribbons with wires in them that you can bend into all sorts of creative bows and shapes), delightful hosts, a chance to chat with many of Ken's relatives. And then two of the later highlights:
1. A visit from Santa. The kids were going crazy with anticipation, and sang "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" (with the oldest "kid" Evan accompanying on the piano) till he showed up with candy canes and little gifts.
2. Then came the carol singing, with Joe playing old and new favorites. This is of course one of my favorite parts (that and the shrimp-cocktail tree appetizer...)
The next day we slept late at Ken's aunt Bonnie and uncle Ed's house, visited with them, and Ken napped while I helped Bonnie finish trim the tree. And then we had the adventure of...
Driving into Philadelphia! (Yay) It was worth it because we met our friend Stasa at her friend Laura's house, made a good dinner out of Solstice-potluck leftovers (Nif made an excellent carrot/sprouts/whatever was in the fridge salad), and chatted with fellow statistical-outlier types on many topics including fanfiction (yes, there were people there besides me who knew what it was, though I did have to define 'shonen ai').
We were delighted to be hosts ourselves that night to Stasa, and Ivan was just as pleased to have her visit (amazing as he's quite shy with strangers. ) In fact, the next morning when she was in the shower, he was waiting outside the bathroom staring at the door. I figured he was waiting for his breakfast (his bowl is in the bathroom) but no, when Stasa got out I put the food in and he ignored it. This is unheard of--our boy is always begging eagerly for food every morning and eats like we've been starving him for days instead of for 12 hours. So I looked around--and he was gazing at Stasa as she pulled on her sweater. I think my position as Ivan's Mistress would have been in danger if she'd stayed much longer!
Next up, a pictorial Christmas tour!
