Living between waves and wineries
For the great Gaels of Ireland
Are the men that God made mad,
For all their wars are merry
And all their songs are sad. –G. K. Chesterton
In honor of my Irish great grandmother and in preparation for my long awaited trip to Ireland this summer, here are my favorite Irish songs. Links are to Youtube performances. Some are sad, some are rowdy, and some just beautiful.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” — Dr. Martin Luther King jr, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, April 1963
I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive goodwill will proclaim the rule of the land…Most of these people will never make the headlines and their names will not appear in Who’s Who. Yet when years have rolled past and when the blazing light of truth is focused on this marvelous age in which we live — men and women will know and children will be taught that we have a finer land, a better people, a more noble civilization — because these humble children of God were willing to suffer for righteousness’ sake. Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech (Dec 1964)
We must move past indecision to action. We must find new ways to speak for peace in Vietnam and for justice throughout the developing world, a world that borders on our doors. If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight.“Conscience and the Vietnam War” in The Trumpet of Conscience (196
So my daughter-in-law had these cute jammies on for Christmas. Lots of Rudolphs on soft fleece. Then you look closely at the pattern. Why does Rudolph have a brown nose and a red tail? Made in the the USA? I don’t think so.
Gloria in excelsis Deo. Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.
Glory in the highest to God. And on earth peace to men of good will.
The message has been the same for over two thousand years. When we will listen?
Vivaldi’s Gloria: Et in Terra Pax
“Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man? Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm the storm with his hand? Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod? When you kiss your little baby you’ve kissed the face of God.”So many wonderful Christmas songs to choose from. I have about fifty on my MP3 playlist. Here’s a sample, a list of great tunes to help you pass the time on that long drive to your loved ones’ homes, wrapping packages, cooking, or anything else. Some of pop, others are not, but they all fill me with joy and remind me of special times past and hopes for special times to come.
I just came back from a short trip to Tennessee. Yesterday I had breakfast in Tennessee, lunch in St. Louis (airport), and dinner back behind the Red Door. The weather went from downpour on the way to the Nashville Airport, to freezing sunless cold in St. Louis, to a mild, glorious sunset on the way to the Red Door. Lots of Christmas displays and music in all three airports and cheery flight attendents. Must be what Santa feels like as he eats his cookies and drinks his milk in so many places and time zones on Christmas Eve.
WHAT sweeter music can we bring,
Than a Carol, for to sing
The Birth of this our heavenly King?
Awake the Voice! Awake the String!
( Robert Herrick)
Here is the list of some of my favorite things to sing at Christmas that I found on Youtube. Beautiful music from different times and places.
Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern (Bach, J.S. - BWV 1 - 1.)
For Unto Us a Child is Born (from Handel’s Messiah)
Gloria (From Vivaldi’s Gloria)
Dona Nobis Pacem (Bach’s B Minor Mass)
O come, O Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by thine advent here
And drive away the shades of night and pierce the clouds and bring us light. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel.
Advent begins on Sunday. For all of you who want to ease away from the commercial side of Christmas, embrace Advent. Start with the online advent calendar from Beliefnet. It will inspire you each day of the month. If you have never had an advent wreath, make one. The United Methodist Church has a great resource on how to include this lovely symbol into your holiday season. Finally, listen again to “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”
The last week of November is upon us. I spent last week in Arizona. Not my choice for a Thanksgiving location, but family dictates it. Too dry, dusty, and bare for me, but being with those I love and sharing food, wine, music and stories made it just right. I spoke with friends in the Midwest whose children spent Thanksgiving morning making snow angels. Think I’d rather look at the cactus, than slide around the icy streets.
My pumpkins and mums that are sitting next to the red door are still are looking good, but I’m itching to replace them with something more winterlike. I saw this lovely pot at a local winery (of course). I think it would make a nice winter arrangement to replace the mums and pumpkins.
I’ve started compiling my winter music lists. I’ll do a separate Christmas list later. There are so many choices that I wanted to limit this year’s list to a nice blend of upbeat sounds of seasonal joy, nostalgia, and some good winter storm music. I’ve divided the list into two parts: classical and pop. Here are my choices for classical.
Lieutenant Kije Suite, Op. 60: IV. Troika (Prokofiev)
Concerto for Violin in F minor, Op. 8 no 4/RV 297 “L’inverno” (Vivaldi))
Serenade no 13 in G major, K 525 “Eine kleine Nachtmusik”: 2nd movement, Romanza (Mozart )
Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117 Footprints in the Snow (Debussy )
Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” - 2nd movement-Adagio (Dvorak)
A welcoming display at a local winery near the red door invites everyone inside to find the perfect wines for the coming Thanksgiving feast. I found a really nice article about turkey and wine pairings that might help those who are wondering which wine to buy. Assuming that the main course is turkey, I suggest serving sparkling, chardonnay, and pinot noir at your feast since everyone has such different tastes and all three go well with the bird. Something from Laeticia for the sparkling wine, a Zaca Mesa chardonnay, and a Wild Horse pinot noir? So many choices.
The leaves on the vines are starting to change, the Central’s Coast homage to autumn. Besides getting ready for our own Thanksgiving, I attended a harvest dinner at one of our favorite wineries and enjoyed an amazing five course dinner paired with the winery’s best wines. The chef was French, the winemaker American, and one of my dinner companions someone who has lived on three continents. A satisfying evening.
