The last day of November, and it’s sunny and cold here today.
November is a tiring month for me, and I’m always glad when the 29th is over. Although the sharp grief is past, I can’t forget it’s the date when my dad died – much too young – suddenly, after a heart attack. Many years ago. Sometimes when I think about those days it feels like a few lifetimes ago.
I’m looking forward to December. I’m not real big on some of the hoo-hah that goes on in the name of Christmas. But I enjoy seeing (other peoples’) decorations, even the tacky garish ones. 
And I like a lot of Christmas music.
Allow me to highly recommend some:
Cindy Horstman’s two CDs: Christmas Harp and Christmas Harp 2. Utterly beautiful solo jazz harp. I’ve had these CDs for years and have never tired of listening to them. I’ve given more than a dozen of them as gifts. Right now I’m importing them into my iTunes library so I can take them with me on my iPod.
Baroque at Christmas. “We were going to do Brahms or Beethoven for Christmas, but we’re BAROQUE!” – Scarlet Rivera & Tommy Eyre with The Newport Chamber Orchestra. I found it in a bargain bin somewhere; it’s a fine companion for the season. Traditional Christmas carols alternate with less obviously “Christmas” music, in a satisfying combination.
Winterlude - Instrumentals for a Contemplative Christmas. One of a series, I think. Another bargain bin find, certainly not elevator music but very good quiet-times listening.
And any CD you can find with the original rendition of Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer. And rousing choral versions of Joy to the World, Hark! the Herald Angels Sing, and the Hallelujah Chorus. Although probably not all on the same CD.
Wishing you all the joys – contemplative, heartwarming, and just plain silly – of the season.
I have my favorite Christmas tunes too, that I grew up with listening to on vinyl.
Tony Bennett The Christmas Album Snowfall
The Sinatra Christmas album
And my all time favorite (Don’t laugh too hard, please) is John Denver & The Muppets A Christmas Together
Laugh? Me? The one who actually listed “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” in this blog post?
Anyway, what’s not to like about John Denver and the Muppets’ Christmas album? I may see if they have it at the used CD store next time I’m in there.
My dad died in November, too. The same night my son was born. So November is a bittersweet time for me.
Suz, thank you for this post. Your new header is really nice! I want to take pictures of my tacky garish Christmas tree, but I don’t know how. Will you do a tutorial on taking pictures of ornaments and of trees? Or do you know where I can find one on-line?
I know what you mean about November and grief.
Thanks for the kind words, Seester and FF. And Seester, what an astounding thing: one soul going and one arriving on the same day. That thought gives me a little chill, of a good kind.
Oh, FF, the only thing I know to do with digital photography is to learn to use your own camera by experimenting, and reading the owners manual, and experimenting some more. Really. I took the header photo with my snazzy new digital SLR, and I promise all I did was point and shoot and later edit out some dirt on top of one of the ornaments with my photo editing software. Which isn’t even Photoshop, which 99% of people seem to use, but Paint Shop Pro.
Good luck!
My own dad died on January 16th, when he was only 50. Each holiday season feels like a long, inexorable march towards his death for me, though that feeling gets less and less over time (this year will be 11 years). This year we’ll be with my husband’s family, who generally cheer me up and have been very kind and welcoming to me.
Whenever i hear the word Baroque, i think of a Linda Richman-type joke my mom and I came up with when we used to sing in the church choir: “Discuss, I’ll pick a topic: 17th-century chamber music: if it isn’t Baroque, should you fix it? Discuss.”