A Poem To End The Year

Ring Out, Wild Bells

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,

The flying cloud, the frosty light;

The year is dying in the night;

Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

 

Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring, happy bells, across the snow:

The year is going, let him go;

Ring out the false, ring in the true. 

 

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,

For those that here we see no more,

Ring out the feud of rich and poor,

Ring in redress to all mankind. 

 

Ring out a slowly dying cause,

And ancient forms of party strife;

Ring in the nobler modes of life,

With sweeter manners, purer laws.

 

Ring out the want, the care the sin,

The faithless coldness of the times;

Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,

But ring the fuller minstrel in. 

 

Ring out false pride in place and blood,

The civic slander and the spite;

Ring in the love of truth and right,

Ring in the common love of good. 

 

Ring out old shapes of foul disease,

Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;

Ring out the thousand wars of old,

Ring in the thousand years of peace.

 

Ring in the valiant man and free,

The larger heart, the kindlier hand;

Ring out the darkness of the land,

Ring in the Christ that is to be.

 

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Our collection of vintage brass Christmas bells

Blues, Blacks, And Blends

Before I started taking aqua classes at the YMCA in 2023 I only got in the water once or twice a year. I took good care of my swim suits, and they lasted for years.

Now I take a class once or twice a week. I still take good care of my suits, but in the past two weeks two of them bit the dust. One had a strap torn off in the water extractor. The other had a tear in the material right in the middle of the chest right in the middle of a class. (Fortunately there was a double layer of material there, so no skin was exposed.)

If I wanted to continue taking aqua classes I would need to buy a new suit.

I had no idea of what brands would fit well without trying them on, so buying online wasn't the best option. And since it was off season for swimwear, buying in a store wouldn't be easy. I started by searching websites for stores in the area to see what was available and learned there wasn't much out there unless I wanted to get a pricey resort season suit from Macy's or Dillard's. Just in case the websites were wrong I popped into Target and a couple of off-price stores. No luck.

However, when I asked about swimsuits at Kohl's the associate told me there was a sale rack back by the coat section. There, I waded through suits and pieces of suits that were either way too big or way too small, but at the very end of the rack I found a nice-looking dark blue, aqua, and white print tanktini top in my size.

There was no coordinating bottom piece, but I was pretty sure the dark blue could coordinate well enough with a black bottom to a previous suit that was in the bottom of a dresser drawer.

The piece was there in the drawer, and if I lower my standards enough I think I can get away with it.

Five years ago today: The Bag That Gets Around

For Some People Christmas BEGINS On December 25th!

Ever since Christmas Eve it's been rainy. Today the rain was replaced by gloom but the forecast called for a high temperature in the mid-50s. Time to get outside!

I had two packages to mail and decided to walk them to the post office. It didn't take long for me to realize that the fleece jacket I was wearing was too warm, so I took it off and continued the trip in my shirtsleeves. Eventually I saw someone taking down their Christmas decorations. I get that it's a job better done in nice weather, but that made me sad.

In the liturgical calendar of the Catholic, some Orthodox, and a few Protestant churches the Christmas season starts on Christmas Day and ends on the Feast of the Epiphany, which celebrates the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child on January 6th. (Think of the Twelve Days of Christmas.)

The Journey of the Magi by Stefano di Giovanni

Before Christmas the focus in our church was on the season of Advent. Now we get to see the beautifully decorated sacristy and sing the familiar hymns. It's the only time of the year when I don't need to refer to the hymnal for the words. Following tradition, Hubby Tony and I won't take down our  decorations until more than a week from now.

A Wonderful Holiday

Christmas 2024 is in the books. It was a splendid day.

Hubby Tony and I treated ourselves to a big breakfast-bacon, eggs, cinnamon rolls, and strawberries washed down with plenty of fresh, hot coffee.

I got some lovely presents, including some crossword puzzle books and an assortment of herbal teas. Tony seemed to be pleased with his packages. And Pimento the Foster Cat declared that the discarded wrapping paper was the perfect present.

Son Donald joined us for dinner. I made a pan of Savory Spiced Baklava from the recipe that Liz wrote about a couple of weeks ago. The dish had two mixtures spread between layers of buttered filo dough. One contained butternut squash/chickpeas/spices. The other one had chopped chestnuts/breadcrumbs/golden raisins/broth. Both of these included sauteed onion/leeks/garlic. Layers also included crumbled feta cheese. I substituted conventional sesame seeds for the black ones the recipe called for.

Although the baklava could have stood on its own as a vegetarian entree we also had ham. Green salad and sourdough bread accompanied the main dishes. Dessert was gooey butter cake, clementines, and chunks of good dark chocolate.

The day flew by and before I knew it was over. I could hardly keep my eyes open, and the bed felt so good!

Five years ago today: A West Coast Christmas

Stretchy Pants

Enough said. Let the holiday eating begin!

Five years ago today: An Early Present For You

Let It Be Christmas

Hubby Tony and I went to a unique show last night at our community's performing arts center:

Let It Be Christmas is a musical theater production that uses Beatles songs to tell the story of Mary, Joseph, and the birth of Christ as a modern-day love story. The tag line is "The Gospel According to Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, George, and Ringo".

The main star of the show was the band, which included keyboard, guitars, bass, drums, and saxophone. Many of the musicians also handled vocals, and there was a trio of backup singers. The handful of acting parts were Mary, Joseph, the Angel, and a Narrator that moved the narrative along.

The show used dozens of Beatles songs, both snippets and complete versions. I started out trying to keep track of all of them, but eventually just gave into the experience. However, some of my favorite parings were:

• Mary and Joseph met ("I've Just Seen a Face")
• They fell in love ("I Feel Fine")
• And got engaged ("Till There Was You")
• The Angel came to Mary to tell her she was going to have a baby ("Blackbird")
• Mary told Joseph she was pregnant, and he broke off the engagement ("Yesterday")
• The Angel came to Joseph ("Hey Jude")
• Joseph did some sole searching ("The Long and Winding Road")
• He apologized to Mary ("Got to Get You Into My Life")
• Mary and David rode on a train to Bethlehem. They tried to find a hotel room and failed ("Help!").
• Jesus is born offstage ("Here Comes the Sun [Son]")
• Mary and Joseph came out holding a baby (John Lennon's song "Beautiful Boy")
• The finale ("Let It Be")
  

It was a very enjoyable evening

A Formula For Failure (And Frustration!)

My daily inspirational calendar told me today:

The words rang true. With a little research I found out that the thought was an abridgement of a Herbert Bayard Swope quote. His complete words are "I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure - which is: Try to please everybody."

Five years ago: What A Difference A [Couple Of] Days Makes

The Dental Work Diet

As a young child I fell and chipped my front two teeth. The damage wasn't significant enough to do anything, but as a young adult I had porcelain veneers applied. Later, when the veneer needed to be replaced I switched over to crowns.

I've taken good care of my teeth, but age is catching up with them. Recently I noticed that the gum line of the crowned teeth had receded enough that there was an unattractive gap at the top. I figured insurance would call any type of work in that area cosmetic, but my dentist disagreed. 

She took x-rays and sent them off to the insurance company for a predetermination. Several months later I found out the work was considered restorative and would be covered up to the policy limits. New crowns awaited!

Two Fridays ago I had an appointment to have the preliminary work done. I left with a temporary crown. This Friday I have a second appointment to have the permanent crown set in place. As I left the office, the assistant told me not to floss the area or bite into things.

I didn't realize how often I bite into things when I'm eating. Now, instead of chomping down onto food I have to cut or break it up into small pieces before wedging them into the back part of my mouth.

The process is annoying, but there's also an interesting side benefit. At the holiday parties I've attended, instead of a loaded plate of appetizers that I thoughtlessly eat while chatting with friends I've carefully selected items. A Ritz cracker can be broken into four pieces, with each topped with a dab of cheese ball. The result takes longer to prepare and longer to eat. (All the taste, fewer calories.) A Two-Bite brownie, whose name I usually take literally, tastes even better when divided into smaller chunks and savored one at a time. The same with deviled eggs and cocktail meatballs.

However, there are only a couple more days until I can go back to having foods that need to be bitten into... sandwiches, pizza, chicken wings, cookies, and fruit like apples and pears. I can't wait.

Five years ago: White As Snow

Mid-December Sights

Hubby Tony and I took a walk this afternoon where I saw several interesting things.

The neighborhood across the street from our condo has a house that loves Star Wars. During the Halloween season the yard had quite a few large decorations which were now repurposed for Christmas. There was a Stormtrooper wearing a Santa hat and carrying a candy cane:

Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader was guarding the front door. He was carrying his traditional light saber in one hand and a Christmas ornament in the other. At his feet there was a gingerbread person wearing a stormtrooper helmet:

Later I observed something unusual right in my own development. There is a row of arborvitae planted along the arterial road next to the condos. Earlier this year the water department was doing some work to install mains for a new subdivision just to the south and had part of our street torn up. Soon afterwards two of the arborvitae right where they had been working started to brown up. A neighbor said an arborist came out and determined the tree roots were still alive and they would eventually put out new growth (which never happened). Someone added ornaments to the tree closest to the road.

Five years ago today: Good To Keep In Mind

Office Conduct During The Christmas Season

(Thank goodness I'm retired and this no longer applies to me!)

 

To: All Employees

From: Management

Subject: Office conduct during the Christmas season

Effective immediately, employees should keep in mind the following guidelines in compliance with FROLIC (the Federal Revelry Office and Leisure Industry Council).

• Running aluminum foil through the paper shredder to make tinsel is discouraged.

• Playing Jingle Bells on the push-button phone is forbidden (it runs up an incredible long distance bill).

• Work requests are not to be filed under "Bah humbug."

• Company cars are not to be used to go over the river and through the woods to Grandma's house.

• All fruitcake is to be eaten BEFORE July 25.

• Eggnog will NOT be dispensed in vending machines.

In spite of all this, the staff is encouraged to have a Happy Holiday. 

~~Author Unknown~~

Five years ago: It's Closed And Ours!