merry christmas said the littlest angel

A photo I snuck at one of the Christmas festivities this year . . . The littlest angel was earnest in everything she did. Made me smile!

bela fleck & 12 days

Because I just can't seem to stop myself from posting Christmas stuff... Here is 12 days of Christmas with each day in another time signature, another key. Holy smokes . . .

pink martini sets the holiday table

Hi everyone --

This week I give you (drum roll, please) . . . INSPIRATION! 

Enjoy!

christmas arrives at the timberlakes

Hi everyone! 

Christmas has arrived at the Timberlakes. NPR has been turned off and Christmas music is on. This is a big deal -- Phil has several days worth (like, 30 hours or something) of Christmas music and he starts it right after Thanksgiving and on it goes. Current favorite? Putumayo's New Orleans Christmas.  A good friend of ours gave us Sufjan Stevens' Songs for Christmas which is a fun album with a true, homemade flavor. And then there's this odd Rotary Connection album (Peace) Phil found at a Chicago thrift store. Here's how they do Silent Night. Gotta say, it's kind of great when the Rotary Connection shuffles to the top of the ipod. It shakes you a little.

We don't do a lot of lights and decorations at our house -- (Mom, thanks for the wreath! It's great!) -- but then again, the city provides so much. I like walking downtown Chicago this time of year to see the Marshall Fields (whoops, no, MACY'S) windows, the big tree, the festivals. And when it gets cold, I like dashing into Intelligensia Coffee to get warm and a cup of coffee. The Sears Tower is ringed with green and red square lights. Other buildings use red and green flood lights on their antennae (have no idea what those things are...), some spell words with office windows and (I think) imaginative use of curtains. 

Last weekend, we attended a lovely madrigal dinner produced and directed by my father-in-law. This weekend Phil performed his one-man show on Jacob Marley (link to Tom Mula's script and book). I love this show. It never ceases to make me well up.  Call me a wimp, a softy. I own it. 

I'm also eating seasonally so everyday food has become part of the celebration.Fall and winter means squash, chestnuts, cranberries, root vegetables, fresh dried beans (yum). This last week, I made my first mushroom soup, and ate brussels sprouts.

(More on brussels sprouts later -- I promise. It went well. Dare I say, I liked brussels sprouts? I did. Good old Julia Child. My mom is excited. It is a metamorphosis of the daughter she knew -- the one who only ate peanut butter sandwiches, hamburgers and pizza.)  

And fires in the fireplace! Hot apple cider! Hot chocolate! Coffee and Baileys . . . I think I'm going to have to try to make a Tom and Jerry this year -- my grandparents' favorite holiday drink. And our weather here has suddenly turned very, very cold which is making this seem like the holidays have indeed arrived. 

So I am enjoying the holidays. The only thing I could use a little help on is Advent. What I'd like is some sort of study guide, because here's the thing -- I've got this study plan I use to read the entire bible and it always ends up in Revelations and the minor prophets in December. Yeah, the whole end of the world thing. Good gravy. It just isn't that festive, know what I mean? Anybody have an Advent reading guide they like? All suggestions welcome. 

Finally -- I know you're wondering -- why the Seasame Street/Muppet video above? Because we, here at the Timberlakes, always start our holiday season by playing a Seasame Street CD. It was a free, sample CD I got when I worked as a children's bookseller. I brought it home and somehow it became a favorite. The first track on the album is Sesame Street singing "I Wish You a Merry Christmas." Now this isn't quite what we listen to, but I hope you listen and smile. Anyway, who doesn't like getting a glimpse of Jim Henson again?

What gets you in the holiday spirit?

Amy

P.S. I'm moving these letters to Monday -- just FYI!