Good King Wenceslas/ See Amid the Winter's Snow

 

"Good King Wenceslas" is a song that I never heard until I was an adult.  It was on a cassette tape of Christmas songs that I bought in England in 1985. That particular version is very similar to the one that I have here for you, with the one male voice very deep and strong and the other male voice, in a high child's voice. Listen to it and see if you think as I do, that it is most effective that way.

It is appropriate that I share this with you today as it is St. Stephen's Day! (Saint Stephen is the first martyr of Christianity.) In my generation, many of the guys had the name of Stephen, shortened to "Steve". Thinking back on my childhood, I am remembering that in one of my classes, we had four boys named "Steve"!  (Also, in that very same class, we had four Michaels, all called Mike too!)  I think those eight guys all liked it as the teacher tended to ask questions of the few boys who were not "Steve" or "Mike"! 

Now, where was I before I got to thinking about all those STEVES and MIKES? Oh yes, music, of course!

I hope you all know that I love so much of the Christmas music! I love all the hymns and all the popular songs, and I love even the obscure strange ones that no one else knows! 

Sometimes you might enjoy a song in a most unexpected place! We were watching an episode of "Eastenders" on TV. (It is a long running series on TV, and I remember seeing it when the very first one aired! Richard watches it with me, bless him, even though I think it is a struggle sometimes!) Anyway, I hope you can picture it, we are watching it, and Richard is trying his best to stay awake and appear interested when we hear a choir that began to sing "See, Amid the Winter's Snow".  It was beautiful! It was a choir called "Somewhere 2 Sing" and it is an amateur choir!  We both enjoyed the singing and thought they were very good. I don't have a video of this choir but I found a video of the song that I like very much.  (It was also on that same cassette tape from 1985!)

THIS video is from the Cambridge Choir of King's College. Here are the lyrics: 

 

See amid the winter's snow
Born for us on earth below
See the tender lamb appears
Promised from eternal years

Hail, thou ever blessed morn
Hail, redemption's happy dawn
Sing through all Jerusalem
Christ is born in Bethlehem

Lo, within a manger lies
He who built the starry skies
He who throned in height sublime
Sits amid the cherubim

Hail, thou ever blessed morn
Hail, redemption's happy dawn
Sing through all Jerusalem
Christ is born in Bethlehem

Say, ye holy shepherds, say
What your joyful news today
Wherefore have ye left your sheep
On the lonely mountain steep?

Hail, thou ever blessed morn
Hail, redemption's happy dawn
Sing through all Jerusalem
Christ is born in Bethlehem

As we watched at dead of night
Lo, we saw a wondrous light
Angels singing "Peace on earth"
Told us of the Saviour's birth

Hail, thou ever blessed morn
Hail, redemption's happy dawn
Sing through all Jerusalem
Christ is born in Bethlehem

Teach, oh teach us, holy child
By thy face so meek and mild
Teach us to resemble thee
In thy sweet humility

Hail, thou ever blessed morn
Hail, redemption's happy dawn
Sing through all Jerusalem
Christ is born in Bethlehem

Feedback

 

Both of these hymns seem very English to me.  Therefore, I wanted to share them with you here since I am Georgia Girl with An English Heart!

And since I am from Georgia, did you know that the man who wrote "Jingle Bells" married a woman from Savannah, Georgia? Yes, indeed James Lord Pierpont was from Massachusetts but after he relocated to Savannah to be the organist and music director of the Unitarian Church of Savannah, he never returned North again! It is believed to have been written in 1857 so it is a very old Christmas tune for us Americans! (Although "Jingle Bells" is known all over the world.)

I really must visit Savannah again sometime; it is an interesting place to see!

No snowy photos for you but we have had some foggy days! All photos from the Monastery here in Rockdale County, Georgia.

Oh, and remember I told you I love touches of red! The amaryllis bloomed! Hope you all had a joyful Christmas and are looking forward to the new year.  

Last Christmas

 Hey!

Are y'all ready for Christmas? It's practically here!

"Last Christmas" by Wham was #1 last year in the UK and I just read on the BBC that it is #1 again this year!  In 1984, it did not go to number one, it was number two.  The song from Band Aid, "Do They Know It's Christmas" claimed the top spot that year.

Have I shared videos by Evan and James with you before?  Here is a video of them with their cover of "Last Christmas".

Really do like this song! I think these young guys do a fantastic job! George Michael was a genius songwriter, It is sad that he is no longer with us, but his music is much appreciated.

In my Christmas decorations, I love to have touches of red here and there. In honor of that, I am showing you a photo of the rose breasted grosbeak that visited us in October.  It is a juvenile; the fully grown male would have been bright red on his front side! (Rose breasted grosbeak, the name should tell you that!) 

Colorful umbrellas!  I've seen this done in several cities from around the world, but this is from the town of Conyers, Georgia, where my husband and I live!  Wherever you are in the world, hope you have a very merry Christmas.  

When You're Smiling (Autumn Leaves but NOT YET)

 Well, ALOE there!  (Here is a photo of Richard's ALOE plants!)

The final for "Strictly Come Dancing" is this Saturday in the UK. I have shown you some videos of Chris McCausland and his partner, Dianne.  It pleases me so much that they are in the final! 

Here is the video of them dancing to "When You're Smiling"!  I love it and I hope they win! (UPDATE as of Saturday Dec. 14th:  THEY WON!!)  Yay! This pleases me so much!

 Just in case you don't know the lyrics, I have them here for you! 

Guess what, this song as of 2024 is in the PUBLIC DOMAIN.  You can get out there and sing your heart out!

When you're smilin', when you're smilin'
The whole world smiles with you
When you're laughin', when you're laughin'
The sun comes shinin' through

But when you're cryin', you bring on the rain
So stop that cryin', be happy again
Keep on smilin', 'cause when you're smilin'
The whole world smiles with you

When you're smilin', when you're smilin'
The whole world, it smiles with you
When you're laughin', oh babe, when you're laughin'
The sun would-a come shining through

But when you're cryin', you bring on the rain
So stop that sighin', come on and be happy again
Keep on smilin', 'cause when you're smilin', baby
The whole world smiles with you

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Richard and I have been busy with lots of "end of year" kinds of things, but we have been able to enjoy our colorful Autumn leaves! They are very late this year we have noticed but no one else seems to think one thing about it! (Also, Richard and I just marvel at the colors while most folks just kind of yawn and shrug...what is WRONG with people!)

This photo and the ones following were just taken, yesterday! (Dec. 12th!)

This is a blueberry bush!  Can you believe that this gives you wonderful blueberries and then, you can enjoy these red leaves in the Autumn?

As my Daddy used to say when I would ask for a tree ID, this is "some kind of oak".

 

                                    Peace be with you all!

 (Photos taken at the Monastery, Rockdale County)

Richard is very good with plants (as well as photography!) 

This photo was also taken Dec. 12th, and it is in our backyard! 

The following are some photos from the end of November...

This is a hickory tree in our own backyard!  It is a beauty!

 

At the Monastery, the monks allow the gingko leaves to fall, and you just walk on a carpet of yellow...

On the way home from the Monastery, we sometimes stop in at Publix.  Richard took a photo of this tree in the parking lot there!

Hey! I promise I made a Thanksgiving meal. I really didn't just heat up a frozen pizza!  We had this the day AFTER Thanksgiving. I just had to try it.  How was it?  Well, I really liked it but then, I have very simple tastes! It wasn't really a pizza. It was like a croissant type of crust with some yummy turkey and seasonings on it.  I didn't think the green beans added anything to it but then, they didn't ask me. LOL!

Hope all of you are looking forward to Christmas! Be nice and NOT naughty!

American Smooth/ "America"/Red Tailed Hawk

 

American Smooth!  It is a ballroom style dance that consists of four elegant dances: the Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango and Viennese Waltz.  It allows for open movements, underarm turns and side by side choreography. It seems to celebrate the joy of dancing! Last week I shared a video from "Strictly Come Dancing" of Chris McCausland and his partner. They danced this past week to the song "Jump" and they showed the joy of dancing with the American Smooth! ("Jump" was written by Van Halen, but the version on this show was sung by Paul Anka and the arrangement is so very different, it will astonish you.)  What did the couple score for this dance? A perfect 10! 

Hope you enjoy the video as much as I did! I would give it a 10!

The beginning of the Christmas ads are beginning to be shown on TV! Many of them are not very good but there is one that just came out that I really like! It is an ad from Kroger, and I will see if I can get it on here...

There, isn't that just so wonderful?  It is called "Share Your Food, Share Your Heart" and the song is "Lonely People" by America!

It made me so happy to hear that song on that advert!  There is an English connection, you know.  The background of the band "America" is interesting to me, they were American lads living in London (their fathers in the US military) and became a band.  They called themselves "America" because they didn't want folks to think they were British trying to pretend to be American! Their songs from 1974- 1979 were produced by George Martin!  (I hope you know that name from the BEATLES!)  America (band) - Wikipedia

There, you may click on that above and read more about them, if you like. They also did the song "Tin Man" which I have also told you about in a post before! And "Sister Golden Hair"!

Also, in my last post I showed you a photo of a red shouldered hawk that was in our back yard.  I made a mistake and called it a red TAILED hawk but went back later and corrected it. Well, what do you think?  We saw that there would be a Bird of Prey demonstration at Arabia Mountain this weekend and we happily signed up! Guess what bird was there?  Yep, a red-tailed hawk! Why, you could have knocked me down with a feather! LOL!  Did Richard get photos? You know he did!  It was so great.  The two bird handlers were just wonderful, and especially so with the children. They took such delight in explaining and sharing everything about the hawks. Who enjoyed this more, the men with the birds or those in attendance? Hard to say for sure! 

The above are all photos of the red-tailed hawk but they also had a Harris Hawk....

This bird did not look familiar to us and that is because it is indigenous to Southwest Texas, Arizona and Mexico! 

Do you like the way I tied things together in a somewhat American theme? I am AMERICAN SMOOTH! 

Just so you won't forget, this is the red shouldered hawk that we had in our backyard! 

We All Shine On! (Must SEE Video!)

 

                                                Great Video- Please watch!

The video that I have here for you is from "Strictly Come Dancing".  (It is on the BBC.) The woman dancer is the professional dancer, and her partner is Chris McCausland, a blind comedian and actor. There, you read that correctly, he is a man who cannot see. (He was not born blind; he lost his sight gradually to retinitis pigmentosa.) The dance in the video was performed to "Instant Karma/ We All Shine On" by John Lennon. (I had the single: the B side was Yoko Ono singing "Who Has Seen the Wind". Anybody else have that record?) Not sure who is doing the singing on this song, but it is a great choice for this dance. Now, I'm not going to say anything more about the video until I finish this post....

So, how are you all doing these days?  After a very sunny October, we had a very cloudy beginning to November which has been a shame because you really want the sun to shine on the colorful leaves! It's been very warm but overcast, so very strange weather...we had zero rain the entire month of October, so we are hoping for rain which we are promised tomorrow! 

Richard managed to get a few nice photos when the sun popped out!

See? I told you we have colorful leaves!  Americans call it "Fall" and it really makes sense to me. That is a LOT of falling leaves!

We have a red-tailed  red- shouldered hawk that comes down in our back yard. (Sorry folks, I think I've got it right now!) Richard just got this photo today. Isn't that a beautiful bird? 

I hope you could all see the video that I gave you at the beginning of this post!  They cut the lights out during the dance and the audience was in complete darkness!  When the lights came back, the male dancer was .... oh dear, I don't know technical dancing terms, he was twirling his partner around in the air! Amazing! How can anyone dance without having eyesight? I think the answer must be...very carefully and thoughtfully. And lots of counting steps, I imagine.

For me, this comedian on this dancing show....it is hopeful and uplifting and cheerful.  Can't we all use those things just now?

And since my husband and I had only one child, you know I had to share this video, which is also the same comedian, Chris McCausland. For our one and only (also a Chris!) hope you think this is funny too!

Keep Your Eye On The Ball! (Ain't No Pleasing You)

 

Last night, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series against the New York Yankees in a come -from -behind victory that was something to see! The Yankees were ahead 5-0 in the 5th inning...but then, it all fell apart.  One of the things that seemed to portend bad things to come...Aaron Judge DROPPED a pop-up ball that should have been a very easy catch. When they did a replay on it, the announcer just said, "he didn't have his eye on the ball".  Oh my, that reminded me of the sports radio announcer that we had here in Atlanta when I was a kid! I just looked him up. His name was Jack Hurst, and he was on WQXI (Quixie Radio) and his sign off was a most memorable: "Keep your eye on the ball".  It seems to me that we can all use that advice in our daily lives, to try our best to keep focused on what is important and not to be distracted.  

Now back to the baseball game, Freddie Freeman was named the World Series MVP (Most Valuable Player) and rightly so.  He broke a record: he is the first player to have hit a homerun in the first four games of a World Series. In that first game, he hit a grand slam! (Bases loaded, which means four runs scored!) He played with the Atlanta Braves for years until he was traded to the Dodgers. There are some who are not too nice about Freddie's success with the Dodgers, but I am not one of them! I think Freddie Freeman is great, and I only wish him the best success.  Looks like my wishes have come true for him!

I mentioned to you that Aaron Judge dropped that ball.... I read today that he was pretty upset about it, I think the quote was that he would never forgive himself. Gee, I hope that he will! Anyone can make a mistake! That is another lesson that we need to remember!  Yankees fans are pretty rough, so I can only imagine what he might have to put up with from them. I like to watch good baseball, and they were both good teams, but someone has to lose. 

"Ain't No Pleasing You", that is a song that seems to go along with this post!  I am so happy to tell you that the video by Chas & Dave was recently restored and is now in HD! 

I have told you before how much I enjoy our National Anthem sung before our ballgames. I loved this young woman named Pearle Peterson who is only 19 years old!  She sang this on Oct. 26th in Los Angeles. No trills or odd interpretations, just straight up great singing. Enjoy!

Oh, and one more thing...do you know why the Dodgers are called that name?  They were originally the Brooklyn Dodgers and when they were first there, it was the early days of the trolley cars, and the ballplayers would have to "dodge" the cars on their way to the ballpark!  

All the artwork that I showed you of the Peanuts characters, we missed this one.  Richard stood just beside a busy street to take this photo for you!  You know I had to share Linus and Sally! Aren't they just adorable?

Charles Schultz did a great cartoon once; I wish I could find it for you.  It showed Linus being very happy about his team winning a ballgame and going on and on about how much the crowd was cheering and Charlie Brown's reply was : "How did the other team feel?".  I always think of that after the World Series celebrations.  There is a lot of wisdom from cartoons! (I might have the characters wrong who said this, but you get the idea!)

Take care and remember, "keep your eye on the ball!"

October Update (One Way or Another)

 

The kids in Rockdale County finally went back to school yesterday after having been out of school for three weeks due to the BioLab disaster. (They are meant to have had virtual learning at home, and I do hope that they were able to do some kind of learning!) It has been a time of stress.  For over a week after the huge toxic cloud, we were told to "shelter in place" and not to open any doors or windows. Then, we were told it was okay to go out but if you saw a giant cloud come over you, to go back inside!   And then, for a time we were told that it was okay to go out but to shelter in place between 7PM and 7AM.  (Because as some funny person said online, toxic air has a curfew!)  I have asthma and I usually don't have any problems with it but for the past few weeks, I have used my inhaler quite a bit. I hate to think of those who are suffering from much more serious lung problems than mine. There is a push now for Biolab to be shut down permanently and you all must know that I agree with that.  During these past few weeks there have been meetings with government officials.  One was shown as a live stream from downtown Atlanta with our state representatives listening to powerful speeches from those who were closest to the BioLab facility.  One of those who spoke gave such an impassioned speech about the dangers of BioLab!  I am sorry to tell you that just after his talk, he walked outside where he collapsed in the hallway.  He later died at Grady Hospital in Atlanta.  His name was Kenny Johnson, and he was the Rockdale County Soil and Water Supervisor. A hero, if you ask me.

We are told that the EPA checked the air on a regular basis and also that the water was checked three times daily and that we should not be concerned.  (What about the vegetables that people have in their gardens, are they okay to eat, or should we be worried of the toxic chemicals that might have settled upon them? For that matter, what about the soil for future gardens?)  We are in hopes that the Good Earth (with its precious air over it) will try very hard to recover.  

Millions have voted early in the USA.  There is a young woman who paints seasonal pictures on the windows in Old Town Conyers and I love the Peanuts characters telling people to vote!  

I am sure that you heard the news that Liam Payne died in South America. Such sad news- it seems it is all we get these days. Even though he was a solo artist, I remember him as being one of those very young men from "One Direction".  I had a video on my blog of them doing a video for charity and I really liked it, so I am sharing it again with you here...

My friends, I do hope that you are all doing well.  We are hanging in there! Take care and look out for each other.  My best to you always.  x