The Sixth Day of Christmas

On the sixth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

I've never really thought about the verses of this song before, but some of them don't make sense. Do geese really lay eggs in the winter? The only experience I have is with the ubiquitous Canadian Geese that have taken up residence (and have become pests) here; they only nest in the spring.

I think it would be interesting to eat a goose egg. They're four times bigger than a chicken egg, and according to my research the much bigger yolk is very firm, almost custard-like, and makes a richer baked product. Unfortunately, I won't be enjoying one this year. Maybe in 2010.

Here's a fable from Aesop about geese:

THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGGS

A man and his wife had the good fortune to possess a goose which laid a golden egg every day. Lucky though they were, they soon began to think they were not getting rich fast enough, and, imagining the bird must be made of gold inside, they decided to kill it in order to secure the whole store of precious metal at once. But when they cut it open they found it was just like any other goose. Thus, they neither got rich all at once, as they had hoped, nor enjoyed any longer the daily addition to their wealth.

Moral: Much wants more and loses all.

The Fifth Day of Christmas

On the fifth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

Just like yesterday, today's verse also has an error. Originally the fifth day's gift of golden rings referred to ring-necked birds such as the ring-necked pheasant, not jewelery (or napkin rings, as The Chic Chauffeur suggested). However, I'd rather have gold the metal rather than more birds or napkin rings, so we're going with that.

Today I checked out gold rings, as well as other types of jewelry, when I went to a jewelry store at the mall to redeem a coupon. Last year when I signed up for this store's loyalty program I must have given them my birthday, because somehow they knew I have one coming up. Earlier in the week they sent me an email which offered me a pair of freshwater pearl earrings. All I had to do is come into the store to collect them. I don't really need another pair of pearl studs, but I couldn't pass up the chance to get something for free.

Son Tony came with me on the adventure. Fortunately, the Christmas frenzy was over at the mall. I scored a premium parking space in the garage, the return I made at one of the department stores went quickly, and we didn't have to deal with hordes of crazed shoppers on our way to the jewelry store.

This mall has a lot of places to buy jewelry. There are four dedicated stores, several kiosks, and three department stores offering merchandise. The store we were headed for was on the top floor at the intersection of two aisles. The entire storefront is open; you can enter it from either side.

Although one of the associates was busy, there was another one just standing there; she immediately asked if I needed some help. I gave her the coupon, and followed her as she walked to the sales desk, admiring the shiny rings and necklaces as I walked past them. It only took her a few minutes for her to enter something into the computer, then she gave me a small drawstring jeweler's bag and told me to have a great birthday. I was amazed that she didn't try to show me something else or pressure me in any way.

I was skeptical about the quality of the giveaway, but the earrings are quite nice. They're button shaped (not perfectly round, but flattened on top), and silver-white in color. The posts are only 10 Kt gold, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth!

The Fourth Day of Christmas

On the fourth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

I like to think that the composer of this song was a woman. Today her true love sent her more birds...four calling birds. However, they're not what you might think. According to the Wikipedia entry, over the years some errors have slipped into the original version of the song; one of them occurs in today's verse. The four calling birds were originally four colly birds, another word for a blackbird.

With that in mind, I started thinking about blackbirds. A little research revealed that the colly birds in the song (Old World Blackbirds) aren't the same as New World blackbirds. They're actually a completely different species. Although both groups contain birds of all colors, many of them are black, like the grackles, cowbirds, and occasional red-winged blackbirds I see in my area.

Other information:

• In the nursery rhyme Sing a Song of Sixpence four and twenty of them were baked in a pie.

• The SR-71 Blackbird plane was a reconnaissance aircraft used from the 1960s through the 1990s.

• The Blackbyrds was a rhythm and blues group in the 1970s.

• "Blackbird" is a Beatles song from the album The Beatles (AKA The White Album).

Time for a sing-along:

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Black bird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
all your life
you were only waiting for this moment to be free

Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise,
You were only waiting for this moment to arise,
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

The Third Day of Christmas

On the third day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the third day of Christmas, your true love gave you…chickens. Female chickens, or hens, to be precise. But not just any hens--French hens. Ohh la la!

Chickens are one of the most popular domesticated animals in the world. There are hundreds of hybrids, but Wikipedia lists six types in the category "French chicken breeds": Bresse, Crèvecœur, Faverolles, Houdan, La Flèche, and Marans. I wonder if the author of the song had a particular breed in mind?

I don't know about you, but when I think of chicken, I think of dinner. However, I wasn't in the mood for elaborate French food, so I decided to go with a simple Oriental-inspired meal. In honor of today's hens I baked some frozen popcorn chicken and served it with spicy mustard, stir fried broccoli with garlic and a bit of sesame oil, and cooked some rice.

Somehow I think the chickens would approve.

The Second Day of Christmas

On the second day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

What exactly is a turtle dove? Wikipedia says:

The Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur), also known as European Turtle Dove, is a member of the bird family Columbidae, which includes the doves and pigeons...a New World dove of similar appearance and behavior to that of the Turtle Dove is the Mourning Dove.

Oh....ok. I'm familiar with Mourning Doves. We see them year round at the bird feeder. They nest on the porch columns in the summer, and I watch the fledglings learn how to fly. I enjoy hearing their mournful call, although the whistling sound they make when they fly away can be a bit annoying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I got out of bed this morning, the grass was covered with a light blanket of snow, and fluffy flakes were still flying through the air. The skylight in the kitchen was completely covered, which lent a surreal quality to the room. The snow finished an hour or so later; there was less than an inch of snow in total, and nothing on the streets.

After lunch I went out to fill the empty bird feeder on the deck, leaving a trail of footprints on the snow-covered slats. Some time later I looked at the feeder from the kitchen window and saw quite a sight: four mourning doves were perched on the feeder tray, another two were in the red bud tree next to the deck, and a seventh bird was on the deck rail. Their dark feathers were a wonderful contrast to the white snow.

I grabbed my camera, but the birds were gone before I could get a picture of them. Even through the closed window, I could hear them as they flew away.

The First Day of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
A partridge in a pear tree.

In the everyday world, I've been inundated with Christmas sights and sounds since before Thanksgiving. However, in the liturgical calendar of the church, the Christmas season is entirely different. It starts on Christmas and ends on the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6th), which celebrates the visit of the three kings to the Christ Child.

The twelve days in the song The Twelve Days of Christmas are the period from the day after Christmas (December 26) to Epiphany. In honor of partridges and pear trees, here's part of the present I received from my niece in our family Rob Your Neighbor game:

The wonderful faux pear is more almost seven inches inches tall, and looks great on the bookshelf in the family room (although it may find a permanent home above the kitchen cabinets after the holidays).

Merry Christmas

Years ago I took my Christmas planning seriously (think Martha Stewart). However, over the years I've become more laid back about the whole thing. Maybe too laid back. When I woke up today, I realized the extended family will be at the house tomorrow for dinner. I've made the menu and done the shopping, but hadn't thought at all about what the dining room should look like. It needed attention to make it company-ready.

One of my goals today was to stay out of any kind of store, so I had to decorate with what I had around the house. There's a box of Christmas linens I've acquired over the years, but many of them aren't big enough for the dining room table when it's stretched to its maximum length. After a bit of searching, I found a length of green material in my fabric stash that could pass as a tablecloth. A quick spin in the dryer removed the wrinkles.

The table centerpiece was pretty simple. A friend gave me a lovely hurricane candle last month. It had a removable top, and she filled the bottom with a beautiful fall garland. I replaced it with a piece of evergreen and silver garland. I found a pair of napkins in the linen box that I'd bought on clearance a few years ago. I refolded them and arranged them on either side of the candle.

The table is set creatively but tastefully. I used the plainest set of china, which is actually two different patterns, but both have silver rims so they coordinate well. The silverware is a mashup of styles. Most of the pieces came from my parents' set, but over the years I've supplemented with other pieces. If you look closely (and I hope you don't), there are also several types of white napkins.

I'm almost ready for the big event, but the table will need a few last-minute details tomorrow. I'll have to light the candle and remove the small stacks of dessert plates I've stacked all over the empty spaces so the cats don't decide to take a nap on the table tonight!

Mr. De Mille, I'm Ready For My Close-up

When I got to the gym today, there was much more action than usual. Turns out they were filming a commercial.

I was there to take a group class, but I was a bit early. I went to the locker room and put my things in a locker, then sat down at a machine to do a bit of exercise while I was waiting for the instructor to arrive. A woman carrying a clipboard came up to me and asked if I was going to be there long. I explained I wasn't, but she still had me sign a waiver form in case I showed up in the background of one of the scenes.

There was a small section roped off in the middle of the main room. The object of interest seemed to be a plate machine, although they'd also moved an abdominal machine close to the first one and perpendicular to it. A large light provided enough illumination to make the immediate area much brighter than normal. A camera mounted on a massive tripod stood next to the light. Several technicians were fiddling with the equipment while an official-looking man ordered them around. Two actresses were in chairs by the front desk having their makeup done. They were pretty normal-looking, which I think the target market this gym is going for.

When the instructor for my class arrived, I moved to the group class room. It has a glass wall in the back that overlooks the main area, so I was able to occasionally look behind me to check on the progress of the filming. It wasn't all non-stop action. The actresses would take their places, get some instruction, and "work out" for a few seconds before they stopped. This was repeated over and over. All the people in the class were feeling sorry for one of them; it looked like she was working so hard! Later I found out she was actually using foam free weights--what looked like a 45 pound disk was actually just a couple of pounds.

They class ended, and I headed for the locker room (going the long way so I "accidentally"walked in the camera's path). I showered, changed my clothes, and got all my stuff together. As I left the building, the crew didn't show any signs of being finished with their filming.

I suspect the commercial will start airing after the first of the year, just in time for people's New Year resolutions to kick in. After watching all the work that went into it, I'm looking forward to watching it.

Drummer Boy

Today we went to Grace Church to see a friend's son, who was one of the drummers performing in their Christmas extravaganza, Drummer Boy 09.

Grace Church is one of the largest non-denominational churches in the area. We were told to arrive quite early, and I'm glad we took the advice. About a block from the complex, traffic stopped. It was stop and go until we reached the entrance to the parking lot, where there were people dressed in orange jumpsuits directing cars. After we parked, we followed the crowd towards the building.

The first thing we saw when we entered was people. A lot of people milling around. Standing in line at the coffee bar. Sitting at small tables eating, drinking, and chatting with their friends. It was hard for me to realize I was in a church. Again following the stream of people, we headed towards the auditorium, which had two levels-the main room and a second floor balcony which wrapped around three sides of the huge room. The area was so big that not everyone could see the stage, but there were jumbotron screens on either side of it to show the action.

Although we arrived 45 minutes before the start of the program, the room was almost filled up. We grabbed a place in the second pew from the rear on the right side. Soon we heard an announcement that there was no more room in the auditorium, but "overflow seating" was available in an alternate area. Ten minutes before the hour, there was another announcement that anyone who was saving seats should release them for people who were already here. At showtime, the place was packed.

We had been to a version of the show two years ago, so we knew what to expect. Right after the house lights went down, the spectacle began. The program was a little Stomp, a little Blue Man Group, and a little Trans-Siberian Orchestra with an African and Brazilian flavor. I didn't recognize a couple of the songs (but they conveniently put the words up on the screen), and they put a unique contemporary spin on the "classic" carols. The big production had dozens of percussionists, and a few singers and dancers (including two awesome tap dancers). The sound system really showcased the music, and the light show rivaled anything I've seen at a concert-there were even some lasers flashing around the darkened auditorium.

Halfway through, the pastor got up and said a few words, the ushers passed the basket, and then the lights were lowered again for the second half. When the stage was crowded with performers and huge drums were lowered from the ceiling of the auditorium, I figured we were coming up on the culmination of the program. I was right. The pastor came out for a few more words, then an on-stage duo led the congregation in a short sing-along before everyone started heading back to their cars.

Here's a video of last year's program that gives a taste of the spectacle:

Can You Relate To This?

I saw this on Going Crunchy's blog. It was too good not to pass on. Enjoy.