My Christmas Top Ten

I love top ten lists and Christmas so here is my list of my top favorite Christmas traditions. It's hard to narrow the list down, but here's my best attempt:

10) Clothes: Yes, that's right, clothes. I love dressing up and I love winter clothes. I love coats and scarves and gloves and turtlenecks and fuzzy socks and different shades of red and green. I love getting Christmas dresses and making my poor nieces wear the dresses I wish I could wear. I love feeling snuggley all day long. I'm thankful that the weather is cold enough right now to merit my wearing winter weather clothes.

9) Decorations: It begins right at Thanksgiving break. I decorate my classroom with twinkle lights, ribbons and garland. Then I go to my mom's house and we decorate her tree (I refuse to let her do this without me). We talk about the history of all of her ornaments and where they all came from. We stare at the tree from afar with lights on and off and then move one ornament 2 inches to the right or decide to switch a red one with a white one to get a good balance. We then make Dad come and give his opinion which is always, "Beautiful!" Mom has to occasionally corral me in as I dance away to listen to music or get something to drink and get distracted. It's a great time.
   Then I get to my tree with my roommate which takes us at most ten minutes to select and then a little longer to decorate. It's an eclectic tree filled with ornaments that were mostly gifts from other people. We get a wreath and put up our lights which are on a remote. We then joke about who must bear the difficult burden of turning the lights off at night (a task that requires the pressing of one button).

8) Movies: I love Christmas movies! The Cheesier the better. I've written many blogs about this subject so I don't think I need to expand much on this except that I love Elf, BFC, and White Christmas probably the best.

7)eggnog/ cocomotion: I love eggnog. The end. I love cocomotion. Cocomotion was a gag gift my mom gave me several years ago that has become a beloved appliance. Everyone was getting coffee machines and I don't drink coffee so mom got me a hot coco machine instead. It both stirs and heats the hot chocolate to a perfect temperature. Not too hot and not too cold. It is a miracle machine that makes chocolatey goodness and I hope it lasts another ten years.

6)  gifts: Yes, I have a million people I buy presents for and yes, I'm sure I could spend that money on better things, but there is a special thrill when you find the perfect gift for someone and you can't wait to give it to him or her. On Christmas day there are so many presents at my Aunt and Uncle's house that we feel a sense of gluttony, but it doesn't stop us from all buying for each other.

5)music: I love listening to my favorite Christmas albums (which I've also blogged about). There are just some songs that whisk you back to your childhood or make you suddenly feel like Christmas is really here. I love listening to the KOST. My brother Paul and I leave each other fake KOSTmas wishes on our phones. We'll call each other up and leave cheesey messages and dedications for the Christmas season. It's one of the few times we hope the other doesn't answer the phone so we can leave a long and sappy message and dedicate real or fake songs to each other.

4)  singing: I know this seems like a repeat of the previous one, but I consider this one different because this is not just listening to music, but singing it out. I love to carol with people (I've gone three times this year) and I especially love singing special music stuff at church: choir songs, songs with the kids, tight harmonies with my mom and aunt, or the one note chorus on Christmas night. The one note chorus was started by my roommate and her sister and was quickly stolen by my family. We sit in a circle and start to sing a Christmas song, but each person only sings one note at a time. So I would sing the first note and then the person next to me would sing the next note and so on and so on. I love singing "Angels We Have Heard on High" this way because the Gloria is super silly.

3)  play at church: The Christmas play is a big part of my season. In fact, I think about next year's play before this year's is even done. I love how great our kids are, how much they memorize, how skilled they are as actors, how willing they are to do what I ask of them, and how sweetly they sing of the gospel of Christmas. And if all else fails there is always the magic that happens when the youngest ones sing Away in a Manger. It's a fun night and a great reminder of why we celebrate - Christ's birth means that we are saved from our sins, at peace with God, and adopted into His family forever!

2) candle light service - On Christmas Eve we have a candle light service. I love the music and the atmosphere and being with my church family on this special holiday. But the ultimate best part is at the end. All of the lights go out, we all light candles and stand around the edge of the church in a circle and sing "Silent Night". It's so beautiful and so wonderful - that's when Christmas feels most real.

1) Christmas day with the family - like a giant slumber party with the people you love the most in the world. I guess that's exactly what it is. My family all crowds into the beach house with our presents, people, snoring, suitcases, and food. We stay up too late, get up too early, eat food all day and unwrap presents for hours. Some people come later because they have other families to go to. Some leave during the middle of the day to celebrate at other homes, but everyone comes back at night for dinner and stockings. Grandma gives us her own stockings that she prepares during the whole year. She buys so many things that go with each person. From mugs to hair ties, from lip gloss to books, her stocking stuffers are what some people would consider full blown presents. And she does this for anyone who happens to be there that night. If you are celebrating Christmas night with us, you will have a stocking. She's amazing.

I love Christmas because it is beautiful, it is sentimental, and it is filled with food and family. I think that the ultimate thing about Christmas is that it allows us all the opportunity to reflect on the real meaning of Christmas. This is not some ethereal unknown feeling of joy or wonder. The real meaning of Christmas is that God in His mercy came to earth in the most humble of forms, and revealed himself to the most humble of people. God did this to save a broken people from their sins and collect them as his own children. The miracle of Jesus and how we get to celebrate that openly is why I love this season so much.

The Mendelssohn Effect

I was home alone the other night. I don't do well with that. I am an extrovert in the truest sense. I can sit and do nothing. I can be still and be quiet. I just want someone else there doing that with me. I hate being alone for extended periods of time - especially when I don't have a project to complete.

So I was sitting at home trying to watch pointless TV (my favorite kind) and I was feeling down. I was thinking about all the things wrong in the world (this is what I do when I'm home alone) and I was starting to get to a bad place. I shook myself, figuratively, and said, "You are an independent and free woman. You have a free night, so spend it as a free woman should. Go out and do something. Go alone. Have fun!" I listened to myself and changed my clothes. I didn't look particularly cute, but I didn't look like I had just come from my dark room with my thirty cats, either. I decided to go to Barnes and Noble (one of my two 'happy places') and either spend my gift certificate or just browse. I like to get lost in the shelves and feel the books. I like to see the Cheesy Christian Romance Novel section and realize that I've read every book in it. I like to calculate the percent of the books I've read on the 'classics' table (is that double nerdy or triple?).

I felt like an independent woman and I congratulated myself for my positive courage. I got in my car feeling strong and ready to face the world. My radio came on and the beginning of Mendelssohn's Wedding March from Midsummer Night's Dream came trumpeting through my speakers. I laughed so hard I had to stop driving. Courage came crashing down as I continued driving. "Laugh it off, you can blog about it."

I made it to Barnesy and I started perusing. I went to the teen fiction section and avoided the temptation to talk to strange teens about book choices (I do this a lot. I have in fact recommended the Twilight and Uglies series to several kids that I didn't know). I wandered through Christian fiction (I did call my daddy just to hear a friendly voice). I heard an author talk about how he got into writing as I looked at the math section. But as I exited my safe harbors, I discovered that Valentine's day had struck a magic decorating stick on the rest of the specialty tables. The cooking section was all about pink hearts and cooking for two. The movie section was classic love stories and music for the mood. The children's section had kiddie versions of Corduroy's Valentine's day and the all time classic, "I'll love you forever." A woman opened a book and it played music - that's right, Mendelssohn's Wedding March!

I decided to check out my cousin's picture of her cake that was recently published in a prominent magazine...a wedding magazine. I picked up the Knot and decided not to buy it. After an hour of meandering, I decided to drive home. I felt good about my night of independence. I shopped alone and made a fun night out of it. I am woman, hear me laugh heartily at Mendelssohn.

World of Strings makes world of difference

In the previous blog, I wrote about a rather discouraging interaction with the slightly stoned and incompetent worker at Whittaker Music. Well, here is the complete antithesis to such melancholy drama - the World of Strings.

I found the store and entered through an old doorway into what might be a stringed heaven. Dana, my trusty sidekick, joined me as we walked past guitars and music books. A somewhat stringy haired young man made eye contact with me and asked, "What can I do for you?"
"I need a new string for my dulcimer," I replied as I lifted my case slightly.
"Ok, do you need a full set or just one string?" I held back the shimmering tears as I said, "I just need the bass string."
"Well, let's take a look. Do you have the old string?"
I tried to old back the growl as I said, "No, the first store I tried lost it."
"Ok," he was totally mellow too, but in a non-annoying and productive way. He looked at my manual and saw the range of diameters and said, "Yeah, 21, that will be fine." I followed him to the string drawers as he searched for my string. "This so much better than my last experience..." I proceeded to tell him about my last experience and he laughed a little. "Yeah, that store's gone downhill since they changed owners." He knew exactly what kind of loop I needed and said, "I don't have a 21 but I have a 22 and the difference won't be that noticeable."

He then restrung and tuned my dulcimer while I looked at dulcimer books and bought some ukulele books for my grandpa for his birthday. I walked into a room that was all string basses (I drooled for one, but I can't buy one until I have room for it).

Overall, the experience was joy-filled and so rewarding. I now am learning new ways to play my dulcimer (with awesome fingerings that the guy showed me) and better chords (I've been guessing this whole time). I will go back to World of Strings anytime I have any instrument issues (or when I want to drool over some uprights). Thanks, World of Strings, for putting my faith back in music stores and mellow musicians.

Mellow Musicians Make Me Mad

I play the dulcimer. It's a beautiful wooden instrument with four strings. It's easy to play and is a great American instrument. No one knows what it is. Well, almost no one. My father attempted to build one for my mother and it ended up being a catalyst for their relationship. My mother purchased one for my father on their 25th wedding anniversary and I stole it. A month ago, I broke the bass string on this instrument. I was advised to go to a music store and buy a new string.

I preface this with one addition, I am well aware of the rarity of my instrument and that my restringing a dulcimer is probably something few people who work at a music store have done. And still, I am peeved.

I entered Whitaker's music store with my broken string and my manual that described the range of diameters of my bass string. The only person in the store was the clerk who strummed his guitar, playing no song in particular. He smiled politely as we entered and continued his strumming. I walked toward him with determination and said, "I would like to replace the string on my dulcimer. This is the broken string." He continued strumming and smiling vaguely to himself. I waited and he didn't respond so I continued, "The manual says it should be between, .014" and .021"." No response.

Finally, he put down his guitar and said, "Sure, a dulcimer, uh yeah." His sarcasm was dripping from his lips and I handed him my string. "Huh," he eloquently commented. "It could be like a guitar string, but does it have to have this loop thing at the end?" I agree that this is a valid question and one to which I did not have an answer. So I went back to the car and brought in my dulcimer. Before I continue, I feel the you cannot understand this experience if you are not reading his words in the proper tone. You must imagine every surfer/hippie that has ever been parodied and mix that with early twenties garage bander, then slow it down twenty fold. This is our guy.

"Oh, yeah, of course a dulcimer," he said as he took it from the case and screwed up his face in confusion. Yeah, I get that it's a strange instrument. Get me a string. "So what made you pick up this?" "It was a gift from my mother to my father and I stole it." "Stealing is good," he smiled as he tried to place the dulcimer on some sort of stand and as it slid off the stand, he removed it.

We spent the next 10 minutes with him trying to replace my string. If I interjected anything, he would get confused and need to start over. He paused once to help another customer and then returned with my broken string in his hand. He seemed to have forgotten what he was trying to do because he tried to restring it with my broken string. "Nope, that won't work. Oh, wait, what am I doing? That's your string you came in with." He then tossed my string over his shoulder and tried to attach a violin string. He unwound it and realized it was too small. "Maybe we could try a cello string?" He looked to me as if I was the one who knew what to do. I shrugged and did not hold much hope. He walked back toward his cabinet of strings, did not pull out any more and said, "I don't think I have any strings long enough. Did you try online?" "No," I replied, thinking I thought a music store might be a little more helpful that the internet.

I packed up my instrument and asked for my string back. "Uhh...huh, that's weird. Where did it go?"

"I saw you throw it over your shoulder."

He looked up in utter dazed astonishment, "I did? No."

"Yeah, remember you accidentally tried it back on my dulcimer and realized it was the wrong one and threw it over your shoulder."

"Really? That's weird." He then looked for it for another 5 minutes.

"That's ok. I'll just go."

"No, this is really ********. You like come in here all wanting help and stuff and not only can I not help you, I make it worse by losing your string. {expletive}"

"It's fine."

We left the store and my friends and I just started laughing. "Wow," I said, "that would have been the biggest waste of time, except I write a blog and that made that experience awesome."