Thursday Thirteen - 87 - 13 Things About Our Christmas Eve

- 1











Three Christmasey sister/cousins.



- 2

Auntie stirs the lobster bisque. Mmm...

























- 3

Hugs for new arrivals.










- 4

Time to fill the plates with our Christmas Eve Feast!










- 5

I wait all year for this...






And much jollity ensues.











- 6

Mmm...time for squares and coffee.









- 7

Time to move to the music room.




Our trio of myself, my sister and my mom sing The Night before Christmas.




My sister sings Christmas Time is Here (Charlie Brown Christmas.)




Out come the rhythm instruments. Even more jollity ensues.




My cousin Julianne's daughter plays a flute duet with her Nanny.




My cousin Charlie's and fellow blogger Heather's daughter plays a guitar duet with her granddad.





Clap-clap-clap-clap-clap-clap-clap





- 8

Christmas Eve is magical for kids.



















- 9

In our family, silliness is seriously encouraged.







- 10

Hugginess is also a family trait.













- 11

Chatting and chatting...




...and chatting and chatting...









- 12

When you're little, Christmas Eve can tucker you out.

















- 13

Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas to you!

Happy Holidays!

With love from my husband and I to you.

Wordless Wednesday - 79

Poetry Train Monday - 80 - The Night Before Christmas

For today's Poetry Monday I'm giving you a sneak peek into a song I'm performing on Christmas Eve with my mom and sister.


It's from the Christmas on the Town CD by Halifax's The Novelty Salesmen, a huge favorite of ours.


This is Mom and me singing away last Christmas Eve. After Auntie Noel's luscious lobster bisque dinner, which I wait for all year, we move into the music room for some Christmasey fun.

That's Auntie behind us with her flute, waiting on a cue. Uncle Charlie is at the keyboards behind Mom.


That's my sister singing a song last year.



This is my cousin's daughter with her granddad (my Uncle Charlie) playing her flute.


And this is my fellow blogger Heather's daughter Emily, with Julianne's daughter Laura giving us a tune. I can't wait for this year's program!



CLICK HERE to listen to the song. On the sample player, scroll down 9 selections until you get to The Night Before Christmas.

The bold lines are sung by the bass (in our case, Mom) and the lines in italics are sung by the tenor (in our case, me.)


The Night Before Christmas (arranged by Paul Simons)


(It was the night)

Night before Christmas

(And all)

All through the house

(Not a creature)

Creature was stirring, not even a mouse
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
In the hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there

(What a night, what a night)

Mom in her kerchief

(And I)

I in my cap
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap

Then what to my wondering eyes should appear
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer


(What a night!)

Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen!

(What a night!)

Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen!

(What a night!)

What a night, what a wonderful night
It's one fantastical, fabulous night!

(What a night, what a pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa
What a pa-pa-pa Pa-pa Pa-pa-pa-pa
What a night)


With a little old driver, so lively and quick
I knew in a moment it must be Saint Nick

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot

So up to the house-top the reindeer all flew
With a sleigh full of toys, and Saint Nicholas, too

More rapid than eagles

(What a night, what a night)

His reindeer they came

(What a night, what a night)

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!


(What a night!)

Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen!

(What a night!)

Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen!

(What a night!)

What a night, what a wonderful night
It's one fantastical, fabulous night!

(What a night, what a pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa
What a pa-pa-pa Pa-pa Pa-pa-pa-pa
What a night)


He spoke not a word

(What a night, what a fabulous night)

But went straight to his work
And filled all the stockings

(What a night, what a fabulous night)

Then turned with a jerk

And laying a finger

(What a night, what a night)

Aside of his nose
And giving a nod up the chimney he rose

He sprang to his sleigh

(What a night, what a night)

To his team gave a whistle
And away they all flew

(Like the down of a thistle)

But I heard him exclaim

(What a night, what a night)

As he drove out of sight
"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"


(What a night!)

Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen!

(What a night!)

Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen!

(What a night!)

What a night, what a wonderful night
It's one fantastical, fabulous night!

(What a night, what a pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa
What a pa-pa-pa Pa-pa Pa-pa-pa-pa)

Merry Christmas...

- original poem by Clement C. Moore, this arrangement by Paul Simons

Check out the other stops on the Poetry Train.

Welcome! Welcome, to Julia's Astounding and Astonishing Awards Extravaganza

Ho! Ho! Ho! Tis the season for awards, it seems. Gather round, come in! Come in! Come out of the snow, the heat or whatever ails you. Here in Halifax it's chilly, Christmasey and hustley-bustley. Let the staff take your coats. Gather up your sparkly clutch bags. Let's walk into the auditorium for the awards ceremony.




The lights dim. The curtains open. Heather strides onstage.





She's handing out the Christmas Spirit Award.









"I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time;
a kind, forgiving, charitable time;
the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year,
when men and women seem by one consent
to open their shut-up hearts freely,
and to think of people below them
as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave,
and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys."

- Charles Dickens

"Here are the rules for the Christmas Spirit Award," Heather says:

"You must be a true Christmas lover to receive this award.
The person to whom you give the award must also be in love with Christmas.
Link back to the person who gave you the award.
List 5 things that you love about Christmas. If you can't limit it to 5 things, then keep going till you run out of space!
Pass the award along to as many people as you like. That can be 1 or 50. It's up to you! But keep the Christmas cheer going!
Let your recipients know that you have tagged them by leaving them a comment. Also, link back to the person who gave you the award."

Oh, thank you, Heather! ((hug)) I'm very honored to receive this. I'll list my five things at the end of the ceremony, when I pass the awards along.

Right now I'd like to share a little piece of what lives in my heart all year round when anyone says the word 'Christmas':




Let's welcome Thomma Lyn now, who's presenting the Brillante Weblog Premio 2008 Award.








"Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted."

- John Lennon

((Hug)) Thomma Lyn! Thank you so much. Your Tennessee Text Wrestling is a place for soothing reflection, as you invite all your readers to hike up the mountain with you, to look around and marvel at the glory of nature. And the poetry from the masters you share with us is a balm for my creative soul. So I'm very humbled by your award *blushing*

In honor of the spirit of this Brillante Premio Award, enjoy this art piece by Bob Miller, exploring the colors and waves of light through prisms and mirrors. Take a moment to enjoy the brilliance that lives inside each one of us.
















Great Attitude and/or Gratitude

"To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring."
- George Santayana

Thomma Lyn invites Wylie Kinson and Ann from Fractured Fiction to join her at the podium.

"Blogs which show Great Attitude and/or Gratitude," Thomma Lyn says. "Wylie, you're a perfect example. Your pop culture pulse crackles with attitude - it's where Julia gets a lot of her late-breaking entertainment news. And your gratitude for the important things in life, like your own family hikes through the woods, or philosophical talks on a long car trip - these shine out in your blog like heavy curtains thrust aside to let in the sun."

"Thomma Lyn," Wylie says, giving her a playful nudge. "You know Ann's contagious enthusiasm for books dwarfs my passion for all things cutting edge and fabulous. Ann shares splashy book covers and makes everyone add to the TBR Mountain Range. And she posts hilarious captioned pictures from Icanhascheezburger that make Julia spew her morning coffee through her nose. What better attitude is there than that?"

"Stop it," Ann says, shoving Wylie into Thomma Lyn. "Julia - get up here already and wheel this lemonade cart outta here!"

((hugging Thomma Lyn, Wylie and Ann)) Thank you so much! Come on - let's go get a glass of this stuff and watch Mikhail Baryshnikov show Attitude and Gratitude at getting the chance to perform in A Chorus Line:














"Wherever you go, go with all your heart."

- Confucius

Joanna D'Angelo from missmakeamovie takes the stage. "I'm here to present the I Heart Your Blog Award. I invited Julia to join our group blog this year and we've enjoyed many heartfelt comments-conversations over all things filmic, political and especially about the heart it takes to be an artist. Come on up, Julia." She passes me the award - here's another ((hug)) for Joanna.

I've enjoyed blogging with the missmakeamovie women so much, Joanna. Everyone knows how passionate I am about ballet, and my passion for film runs neck and neck with dance. My need for non-mainstream film/TV and books is fed daily at our blog. I got my first peek at the Flight of the Conchords from a missmakeamovie post. I'm extremely honored to accept this award from you, who manages to continue your own filmmaking career while tirelessly promoting Romance on Facebook and scheduling our blog posting schedules. Thank you so much.

Let's watch


this clip















from I Heart Huckabees featuring Jason Schwartzman and Mark Wahlberg. It's another peek into the heart of me.

Kailana takes the stage next. She's handing out the You Make My Day Award.








"If you don't have a smile, I'll give you one of mine."

- Author Unknown

Kailana is a busy, busy fellow Maritimer with an enormous appetite for books. Not only does she read, she spurs herself through themed reading challenges that boggle my mind at the scope of them. She started her own after her dog Sandy passed away, so I signed up for my first reading challenge - her Four-legged Friends Challenge. Because I had to find books that featured an animal as a main character, I got a refreshing detour from my usual reads. And I discovered an author I now love - Mercedes Lackey.

"Yeah, yeah - enough, already," Kailana says, ducking into the wings to drag me back onstage. "Take the darn award, would ya?"

((hug)) for you, Kailana. Thank you for this - I've mentioned to everyone how much your Blog Advent Tour meant to me last year when my heart was aching with the loss of my gram and soon after, my father-in-law. You made my day every time I clicked another link in the tour, to another post about Christmas. So I'm very touched that you're passing this along to me.

Here's a bit of fun that makes my day:








"Wimps lift weights, cheerleaders lift people."

- Author Unknown

*applause* as Toni and Karina walk up to the podium.

"My little ole blog serves up life's daily journeys," says Toni.

"And mine dishes up the skinny on a Boston city gal's dramas and dreams," says Karina.

"My fabulous life is filled to the rim with trips to Christmas tree farms fraught with edge-of-your-seat plot twists," says Toni, gesturing me to join them once more at the podium.

"And mine is overflowing with tales of romance, office intrigue, spiritual awakening and sexy boots," says Karina, handing me a martini glass beckoning with a Blue Monday.

"Just how fabulous are you, Julia?" they ask me in unison.

Kissing them on the cheek, I raise my martini glass in salute to them both, and then to you.

Darlings - if I were any more fabulous I'd be under glass at Tiffany's. Thank you Toni, Karina...and to all of you for making my blog so very much fun! And because I'm so fabulous, I'm going to indulge in a sweet little treat. Care to join me...?



*fanning self*

*sipping my martini*

Now - to pass on the awards. I'll begin by returning to Heather's request for 5 things I love about Christmas:

1 - The National Ballet of Canada's production of The Nutcracker

2 - homes lit up with Christmas lights

3 - Christmas trees

4 - Auntie Noel's lobster bisque which she makes with love for all of us each Christmas Eve

5 - Blackadder's Christmas Carol

Now, because this is a multi-awards presentation, I won't keep to the suggested amounts for passing them along. Most of them request 5 or 7 recipients. The Attitude/Gratitude Award asks for 10. For this event, however, I'll keep all awards to 2 nominations each.

This year's Christmas Spirit Award goes to:

Kailana and
Marg

The Brillante Weblog Premio 2008 (nearly 2009!) Award goes to:

Sans Pantaloons
Shelley Munro

The Great Attitude and/or Gratitude Award goes to:

Mimi Lenox
Sandy Carlson

The I Heart Your Blog Award goes to:

Claudia
Gautami Tripathy

The You Make My Day Award goes to:

Amy Ruttan
Bobbi

And the I'm Fabulous Award goes to:

Jennifer McKenzie
Patty Szymkowicz

Thursday Thirteen - 86 - 13 Christmas Trees

- 1

Christmas Eve 1967












That's 3-year-old me with Mom, in front of our tree in Royal Oak, Michigan. The stocking behind me is the same one I use today.



- 2

Christmas morning, 1969











My sister, Dad and me in Royal Oak. The tree looks like it had little decorators this time.



- 3

Christmas Eve 1976













This was the tree my Mom, sister and I remember so fondly in my Dartmouth, Nova Scotia home where I did most of my growing up. We got the tree ourselves while my dad was on a business trip, and decorated it late at night, singing away to Christmas records. We got hungry and halted the decorating to eat fried eggs and toast at 11:00 at night. It was all very zany, spontaneous and spirited.

You can see my Christmas carol book I was working on at the time. Early scrapbooking, when there wasn't an industry attached to it. I loved sitting in the glow of the tree lights, listening to music.



- 4

Christmas morning, 1979






Myself and my sister, waiting until Mom put the turkey in the oven. Once upon a time, that was my favorite way to sit - cross-legged on the floor or on my bed. This was a great Christmas - my mom took home a cardboard lipstick display from work that looked like a Christmas fireplace, and hung Laura Secord lollipops from the pegs. That was from Santa, of course ;-)


- 5

Christmas Eve, 1995








Fast forward 20 years to Toronto. I'd been living there for a decade by then. This is Donna's home where I used to be a live-in nanny to Claire. My mom had flown to Toronto for that Christmas, and Donna invited all of us over for the evening. That's my sister Michelle, Donna and myself chatting away. I started off working for Donna, but she immediately became a wonderful friend and extra family to me.



- 6

Christmas morning, 1995











That's Brad and me the next morning at my sister's Scarborough, Ontario apartment, ready for prezzies. When I lived in Toronto, I often put up three trees: my own, then I'd help with my sister's, and my mother-in-law knows I'm a Christmas Maniac and that the only cure for that is to allow me to help with her tree, too...



- 7

Christmas week, 1996












The following year we all converged on my cousin's home when they lived in Sackville, New Brunswick. My sister flew up, but Brad and I took the train. Mom & Gram and Auntie & Uncle drove up from Yarmouth and Halifax. Julianne's husband Stephen hadn't become accustomed yet to our overboard Christmas Frenzy. He just kept shaking his head in disbelief at the enormous mountain of gifts. (His family generally goes skiing for Christmas.)

I unloaded all the gifts and piled them around the tree. I loved it. This was an extra special Christmas, as my cousin Julianne's daughter was born during this celebration.


- 8

Christmas Day, 1998








I know there's a tree there, somewhere. It's been completely obscured by Smiths.

This was our last Christmas in Toronto. My brother-in-law Ken and sister-in-law Anna hosted Christmas Day out in Rockwood (they now live in Ottawa.) How I miss my Smith Christmases. This will be the first Christmas without Brad's dad, so I really wish we could all be together.

Back row: My husband Brad, his brother Jeff, their dad David, his brother Ken

Middle row: Brad's mom Joan, Jeff's wife Violetta with her daughter Pamela in front, Brad's sister Karen holding her nephew Francis (Ken's & Anna's son)

Front row: Me, Ken's wife Anna and their son Peter - I miss everyone... :-(



- 9

Christmas morning, 2000






This was our second Christmas in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, and Brad & I hosted the Christmas morning festivities. That was our apartment upstairs at Gram's. A more intimate Christmas with just Gram, Mom, Brad and I. We didn't have our dog Xena yet - we got her the following Easter. That's Brad sitting on the couch and Mom beside the tree.

I have great affection for this tree, because Brad had been put on a brand new medication for his bipolar disorder (Risperdal) and was enjoying Christmas in a whole new way. He felt great (not manic) and actually bought new Christmas ornaments because he fell in love with them, and helped me decorate the tree for the first time ever. Yes, I really love this tree.


- 10

Christmas Eve, 2004












This was the fourth Christmas after Gram had agreed to relocate from Yarmouth to Halifax so our family could see one another whenever we wanted, without a huge trip in order to do so. Julianne and Stephen had also moved back to Nova Scotia with their daughter Laura, left. My other cousin Charlie and his family, as well as my sister Michelle, had moved back here from Toronto. That's Charlie's and fellow blogger Heather's daughter Emily at right on her Uncle Stephen's lap. Our joy at being all together again was indescribable.

A real Christmas Eve at Auntie Noel's and Uncle Charlie's - the way it's supposed to be.


- 11

Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada Christmas Potluck

November, 2007

Last year's Christmas party for my writers' group came as a welcome breath of air for me - I spent nearly all of last November in the hospital with Gram as she began her journey to the next life. This party gave me some time to renew my spirit and my energy before rejoining my mom as we watched over Gram.

Shown here are Judith James, my cousin Julianne MacLean and fellow blogger Anne MacFarlane by the little tree where our Yankee gift exchange presents awaited.


- 12

November 30, 2007








Seen in the background on the bureau is the mini Christmas tree my sister brought into the hospital so Gram could have a last look at Christmas before she left us. Michelle also brought in her beautiful quilt she made, which you can see covering Gram, as well as Christmas CD's which we played for her, whose whole life was filled with music. Gram's spirit shone when she played her piano, and my sister wanted to make sure her departure was filled with sweet melody.

I spent a very special evening sitting beside Gram's bed, with my mom taking a turn to head home for a shower and a few hours' rest. My sister Michelle and my cousin Julianne joined me. I held Gram's hand the whole time, and Gram squeezed my fingers to let me know she could hear us as we talked to each other and to her. Three sisters/cousins/friends and their grandmother, and a very precious evening under a tiny glowing tree I shall never forget.


- 13

Christmas morning, 2007













This is our Christmas tree last year, which Mom put up in the spot where Gram used to sit in her chair. We filled her absence with the joy of Christmas, and let the lights of the Christmas tree shine where we missed Gram so much.