Serious Kind of Crazy

This is some serious kind of crazy. Also, how can someone possibly be doing this and making sure the camera is turned on at the same time, let alone making certain shots?

cc from yukon white lights

On another note of craziness, someone (or some ones) stole a stuffed reindeer from the top of the roof of a Finnish spiced wine shop at the Christmas Market in Luebeck. Now, without knowing any of the particulars, but after studying the scene of the crime... the robbers had to have,

• a fair amount of brawn (the reindeer was heavy)
• a least one ladder (the roof was high)
• a means of transportation (rules out public transport)
• thought the idea would be funny thing to do (could be spice-wined induced)
• been ignorant of the fact that the police station was just two blocks away (so they might live here, but not be all that familar with the city infrastructure)

This might be a highly silly thing to say, but methinks the crime could have been a student prank. What do you think? 

Mood Booster

An old, but well worn Christmas song. Some of my childhood Christmases and all of my Christmases between the ages of 20 and 35 were spent in Grenada (the country of my heart). Maria of Letters from Grenada post today reminded me of all the wonderful Christmas songs I used to hear in the shops and on the radio.

"I want a piece of pork" was also one of my favourites. I know they are rather silly, but please listen to the text and let yourself float aways with the tide of silliness.



Christmas is officially over in our household. Phew! It was lovely, but I am so enjoying a few days off to do some work on various projects. Will let you know a bit more about them soon.

Goosebumps

Vérité put me onto this video of Troy Andrews (aka Trombone Shorty) and other New Orleans musicians playing "O'Holy Night". One of my favourite songs. And the way Troy Andrews plays the trumpet give me goosebumps.



Do enjoy. I wish each and everyone a very 4th of Advent. (Yes, people around here do send good wishes each of the four Sundays in Advent.)

Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker

My late childhood and teen Christmases were spent dancing various rolls for The Nutcracker at the large theatre in Montreal with Les Grand Ballets Canadiens. We started rehearsals in September. We had our normal daily course load, as well as extra rehearsals, which meant that we were at the studios All The Time. It also meant, I suppose, that I heard the music thousands of times.

The performances started about a week before Christmas and carried through with matinées and evening performances from Christmas to New Year’s Day.

As to the roles I danced, just about all except the solo roles. When young we got to play “the children” and we worked our ways up to “the angels”, “the lambs” (Les Grand Ballets Canadiens had a storyline twist to their version), “the snowflakes”, and “the waltzing plums” … actually, I seem to forget what those roles last corps de ballet were; I doubt we were the snowflakes or waltzing plums.



For many years, anytime I heard even the opening notes to any of the musical pieces of The Nutcracker, I’d run in the opposite direction. Yet, I love this video because it sort of treats Tchaikovsky’s music with sound portions of gusto and irreverence. Tchaikovsky would turn in his grave. And that thought makes me smile.

Aging

A dear friend sent me this article and podcast called After The Forgetting. Erica Heilman, the producer of the show, writes,

"It seems that once your memory goes, what’s left are the basic beliefs you’ve carried around for a lifetime about yourself and the world. Both Marj and Greg approach their lives with a lot of passion and curiosity and it’s what Marj is left with now that her memory is gone."

It is a hymn to mother/son relationships. Do listen. There are many stories contained in and between the words.

Darling Daughter

Got back from Berlin last night. My daughter went off with some family friends yesterday afternoon and bought a Christmas tree for our household.

In appreciation to you, my darling daughter, for your generous deed, I've made you this collage.

Something To Cheer You Up

Pam got me hooked on this blog even though I do not play the ukelele or particularly registered its cult value before.

Just to cheer those of you who are shovelling snow (Montreal) or shuffling through rain showers (Luebeck)...

Enjoy!

Glitches in Tastefulness

Generally, Germans collectively and individually tend towards delicate tastefulness when it comes to their Christmas decorations.

The trees lining the streets are strewn with white fairy lights.

The window decorations are often made of natural materials, like wood, or plants, glass or cloth.

Definitely, not the colourful plastic glaring glitter I so well remember from my Canadian childhood. (Sigh.)

Even so, there are a few glitches in tastefulness to be discovered in Luebeck.

A carousel squished in between a beautiful cathedral and historical monuments of the Middle Ages.

Or, how do like the new fashion of seat warmers looking like St. Nicolas’ hat?

“Special”, wouldn’t you say?

Note: I wrote this last Saturday, on St. Nicolas’ Day. A joyous celebration, when children wake to their boots filled with candy and small treats. Well, that is in most households. St. Nick actually showed up in our household after lunch. He must have been busy elsewhere.

First of Advent

It was the first of Advent last Sunday. Luebeck has been transformed into a Christmas wonderland. The Christmas market is open. The city is overpopulated with Swedes, Brits, and Italians (flying over with Ryan Air for the weekend).

Luebeck is a beautiful city at any time of year, but particularly charming during the holiday season.

For instance, a brass band plays music every Saturday morning in Advent, in the open living room windows of a resident down the way from our apartment. Crowds gather and listen to the golden tones, with smiles on their faces. We just have to open up our widows to hear the band play the classical compositions. It is a delight. This is one of the many traditions residences and business folk follow here.

I really think I could like Christmas, if I could just be an observer and there was nothing to do. Instead, I’m plagued with feelings of inadequacy about not finding any pleasure with the Whole Hurrah. My daughter had to remind me on Dec.1st that she didn’t have an Advent calendar yet. Ugh! Here it goes: scramble, scramble, stumble, thud… that’s me trying to dance with the Holiday Spirit.

Merry Christmas One And All

Merry Christmas one and all. For those who are celebrating alone, please know there are many with you in spirit. For those celebrating in the bosoms of family, embrace the good and appreciate the craziness of them all.

Craziness All Around

There is a craziness all around. My friends have all gone crazy. One is giving a year's worth of parties in one week's time. Another is going off on summer vacations (NZ) with a camper full of teenagers (yeak!). Numerous others are working against the clock in Scrooge's office, trying to get the impossible done before being let out to celebrate Christmas with their families.

So, I am off to do some yoga and then, and only then, will I throw myself into the masses of other crazy consumers valiantly trying to do last minute shopping. Wish me luck. If you don't hear from me tomorrow, I got lost under the shopping crowds.

Really, I am not a baker

As some of you know, I am not a baker. Most Germans are.

A few evenings ago, a friend reminded me of an episode where I exposed my ineptitude for baking before my son’s entire 3rd grade class.

His teacher asked whether I could come and help her and the children bake traditional Christmas cookies. I hinted to her that I was “not much of a baker”, which I hoped would translate as “not at all”, but she interpreted my message as “I’m a whiz, but a modest one”.

On the appointed day, she leaves me with a group of boys, a table of “stuff” and a recipe, a very complicated recipe, for making Lebkuchen. These are spectacularly delicious spice cookies covered in chocolate icing; a specialty from Nuremberg.

The boys and I struggled valiantly with the recipe, while all the other children, under the supervision of their teacher, produced one cookie rack after another of cinnamon stars, oatmeal crisps, almond-sliver vanilla trees… on and on and on…

The cookies racks were stacked high, waiting for their chance to go into the oven. This was somewhat discouraging for my guys. We were obviously not keeping up with the others. The more cookies the others produced, the more hectic the efforts at my table became, and the more ruffled I got under the collar (sorry, I can’t remember the correct form of this expression).

The boys sensed I was about to sink into a mire of a baking defeat. So, they rallied together and managed to make up two cookie racks of Lebkuchen blobs. The teacher came over to see at how we were doing. She expressed surprise at the (lack of) form and consistency of the unbaked cookies.

I assured her that once we put the icing on the cookies and put them in the oven to bake, they would come out perfect. The teacher looked at me and dryly replied, “It sounds as if you are hoping for a Christmas miracle. Here’s a tip; icing goes on after the cookies come out of the oven, not before.”

Here’s a wonderful story, Shame of the Snowman, written by Rebecca Front in the in the Guardian today.

Peeking Thomasina

Christmas was probably the most important holiday in our home during my childhood. My mother would start weeks beforehand to go out shopping for gifts. She would hide the wrapped presents in her and my father’s clothes’ closet and under their bed.

When she came back from a shopping spree, she’d close their bedroom door while she was wrapping the presents. If we stood outside the door, we could hear the paper rustling. My mother would get annoyed if she came out of her room and found us standing there.

I must confess that I was a professional (obsessive) present-peeker. While my mother was off foraging the shopping malls for more presents, I developed various refined techniques to peel off the scotch tape without damaging the paper and peek inside to see what was within those presents she had already wrapped. I would put the presents back in their original form and position in the closet with a thief’s cunning and precision.

The first year that I discovered my innate scotch-tape-peeling talents, I opened all the presents: mine as well as the rest of the family. This resulted in a Very Flat feeling of celebration on Christmas Day morning because I knew the content of all my gifts even before I was handed the packages.

From the next Christmas on, I only looked at other people’s presents and revelled in the fact that “I know what you’re getting, but I am not telling you!” Not that I would have actually taunted my siblings with this knowledge. Oh no, not me!

Holiday Motifs

The holiday season is coming up. I’ve made a few festive motifs for cards.

If you like any of them and would like to make up Xmas cards with the motifs, just give a shout.

I will make up the motifs to the right dimension and resolution that your online printing site requires and send the jpec files on to you.

My experience with my mypix has been very positive, but that would only work for Europe.

If you are from Canada or, the State, or Australia…

You might want to try another online printing company. Hee!

Though, now that I think of it, for those of you on the equator or below, interested in sunny holiday motifs, I’d whip up something for you as well.