Living between waves and wineries
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)
The latest Pacific storm is supposed to show up in my neighborhood tomorrow or Friday. It makes for some great waves today. Warm temperatures and beautiful clear sunsets to enjoy for the moment.
I was checking out the latest news online this morning and the first two faces I saw were those of Karl Rove and Larry Craig. Is it Halloween already? Talk about rushing the season! Pretty scary stuff.
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.”
Here are some more beachy decor pictures I have saved. For those of you turning on the heat, raking leaves, and getting ready for snow, these pictures should warm you up just a bit. A touch of the beach works anywhere. The clean blues, creams, whites, and natural elements always refresh my soul.
Here is a favorite ocean quote as an added gift…
“Sponges grow in the ocean. That just kills me. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be if that didn’t happen.” Steven Wright
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.
