Bittersweet Caroling

Yesterday, after a three year pause due to the pandemic, caroling returned to a historic building in downtown Binghamton, New York.

The caroling is open to the public, and I came to enjoy it, but also to see how it has changed.

I didn't take a picture of the outside of the building because I got there just about as the caroling was supposed to begin, so here is a picture from May 14, 2020.   This building was built in 1904 and will be celebrating its 120th anniversary next year.

It has a beautiful lobby full of marble.

The lobby ceiling.

Three of the murals in the lobby.

A closeup of the caroling.

The only thing I'm lacking is music.

I spent well over an hour trying to upload a video I took to You Tube.  I never figured it out - I kept getting a message that I needed to take a 30 second video of myself and wait at least a day for verification.  I also tried to upload it directly from my phone to the blog, but it was a 28 MB file and I don't know what ended up happening to it.

So why bittersweet?  Because fewer members of the public showed up.  Because there were fewer employees of the building's two major employers singing than in the past (I'm sure that hybrid work schedules had something to do with that).  Fewer people playing instruments.  It just wasn't the same.  

But is anything still the same?  Change is a constant in our lives.

The TV coverage (available on You Tube) had mostly interviews and next to no music, but no matter.

Here's a post from 2018 with the way it sounded back then.

I hope you take out a couple of minutes from your day and enjoy.

Book Trees #WordlessWednesday

Seen at the George F. Johnson Memorial Library in Endicott, New York.

A book tree in a display case in the lobby.
 

Book tree in the New Books section.

There are also outdoor displays (not of booktrees) but they involved inflatables and they had the air removed at the time.

Merry Early Christmas to my Wordless Wednesday readers who celebrate.

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for #WordlessWednesday.

Christmas Music That's Just a Little Different #MusicMovesMe

It's Monday, it's only a week before Christmas, and it's time for Music Moves Me!

Who are the Music Moves Me bloggers?  We're a jolly group into holiday spirit.   We blog about music each Sunday or Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video, please!)   Our head host is Xmas Dolly, and our co-hosts are Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, joined by the knowledgeable Stacy of Stacy Uncorked and yours truly.

For the month of December, we've traditionally had holiday music. There is so much Christmas music out there, and it's hard to decide where to go this week.

I think I know, though.  

Let's start with this one:  It's not a modern Christmas song (actually, it's a blend of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and Carol of the Bells) but a tribute born out of a modern war.  Here's Trans Siberian Orchestra with their cover of Christmas Eve/ Sarajevo 12/24.

Here's a six year old boy performing Little Drummer Boy with André Rieu and his Orchestra. This was one of my favorite carols in my childhood.

Remember Dueling Banjos?  Why not Dueling Jingle Bells from the United States Navy Band?  The song gets a little lost, but it's all good.

The House of Scotland Pipe Band and Deck the Halls.

Dropkick Murphys and The Season's Upon Us.  One of the funniest Christmas songs and videos ever.

I haven't posted any parody songs this holiday season.  I'll fix that omission now with Bob and Doug MacKenzie's Twelve Days of Christmas.  

And, because I can, let me end today's set with a Fairytale of New York tribute to the late Shawn MacGowan of the Pogues at his recent funeral.

I wish all my readers Peace, Love and Joy this coming week.

Join me again next week for another episode of Music Moves Me.

The Local Famous Christmas Tree #ThursdayTreeLove

I took this picture from a TV program on my television in late November.  I hope the TV network people don't mind.

This is the 2023 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New York City just after its tree lighting ceremony.

Just a few days before, it was growing peacefully in Vestal, New York, perhaps a mile or two from where spouse and I exercise walk on the Vestal Rail Trail.  To the best of my knowledge, I never saw it while it was in the ground.

It is (or was) a Norway Spruce, 80 feet (24.38 m) tall, 43 feet (13.11 m) wide, weighing 12 tons (10,886 kg).  Each year there is a hunt for the perfect tree for Rockefeller Center, continuing a tradition begun in 1931 by construction workers building the Center.  

It's considered a great honor for your tree to be chosen - it must fit into several specific requirements.  The homeowner or land owner doesn't get paid, but they can attend the ceremony if they wish.

Here's the story of the person who donated the tree - a social worker and assistant professor at Binghamton University.

It is lit daily, starting November 29, through January 13, 2024, with some 50,000 energy saving LED lights and a 900 pound (408.23 kg) star tops it.

I can be sad about the death of this 80-85 year old tree (its estimated age) but this tree will bring joy to so many people visiting or living New York City this holiday season.  After its reign is over, it will be milled into lumber for use by Habitat for Humanity.

And the donor will receive a new tree.

Joining Parul at Happiness and Food for #ThursdayTreeLove.

O Tannenbaum Christmas Trees #WordlessWednesday

Let's return to the O Tannenbaum exhibit at the Tioga County historical society and look at some more of the tree decorations.  These have some interesting origins.

 Minnie Mouse.

This tree has a backstory.  Above is this year's tree, which the family calls Kelli's Amusement Park Tree, in honor of Kelli Ford, who loved Amusement Parks and their rides.  She spent many happy hours with friends at the Tioga County Fair each year, and the family would go to an amusement park on their vacations.

The family decorates the tree every O Tannenbaum (the ornaments are auctioned off at the end of the exhibition).  Kelli Ford died in a car accident in 2004 when she was only 17. This tradition of the annual tree is a beautiful tribute to her family's love for her.

Finally, a Buffalo Bills tree.  The Bills are an American Football team out of Buffalo, New York, and many people in this area are their fans.

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.

A New Blue Christmas

Every year, it's become a holiday tradition on my blog to rerun a post from 2009 about Blue Christmases.  This year, I' not going to do it.  Instead, I am going to write a new post from scratch.

Many of us enjoy the December holiday of our faith or ethnic heritage, be it Christmas, Hanukkah, or something else.  But that feeling of joy isn't universal.

I've been there (more than once) but I haven't had it rough the way many in our world are having it now.

War.  Famine.  Fear of persecution.  Involuntary separation from family.  Sickness (COVID is on the rise here in the United States, along with the more traditional flu and RSV).  Death. Gun violence. Weather.  It's a long list.

There are the people in several communities in Tennessee who experienced tornadoes the other day.

There are the people in Texas, in Las Vegas, in Maine, and in many other places, who are suffering due to mass shootings these past months.  It's become an everyday occurrence.

Someone I work with lost his mother a couple of weeks ago.  Another person lost his father.

But they are supposed to be happy? Really?

At least in the United States, Christmas is everywhere, and I do mean everywhere.  It starts in August.

It's in full swing now.

Maybe you wonder why you didn't have the strength to decorate this year.  Or you wondered if you dared put out outdoor displays proving you were an "other":  not a member of the dominant faith. Or you are sick of the whole package.  You want out.

I'm here to say "Don't feel ashamed.  Don't question your feelings.  Don't put yourself down." 

I remember the year my father in law went to bed on Christmas night (we were there visiting and staying overnight) and was no longer with us the following morning.  We spent the day after Christmas planning his funeral and notifying family and friends.

I remember when my mother in law died the day after Thanksgiving, five years ago.  I so didn't want to be around Christmas.   My spouse, my grown son and visited relatives in New York City.  We didn't go into Manhattan. We didn't see the Rockefeller Center tree.  We didn't look at the decorated store windows in Midtown.   We avoided Christmas all we could.  On Christmas Day we went to a movie and then to a kosher deli for dinner.

That's what I needed and I'm grateful I had family to make it happen.

It has been said many times, many ways, that "Blue Christmas" is more than an Elvis song.  For those who have experienced loss:  loss of a loved one, loss of a relationship, loss of a job, loss of feelings of safety, the month of December is hard.  Wherever you go in these United States, you are surrounded by smiling Santas, by holiday decorations. There are endless carols blaring at work, at the supermarket, at the mall, all hinting that everyone is happy.  Except you.

It's OK to feel that way.   I can guarantee you are not alone, both in the secular world and the religious world.

 Several Christian denominations commemorate Blue Christmas with a special service on the day of the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year. These services recognize the grief and pain of those attending the services.  These services may be opened to those of all faiths or no faiths.  Other religions (such as Judaism) have their ways of recognizing this sadness, too.

I hope you find something to help you through the hard times.  And I hope that, eventually, things will get better for you.

Dreaming of a Classic Christmas #MusicMovesMe

 It's Monday, and it's time for holiday music.

Let's introduce the Music Moves Me bloggers. We blog about music each Sunday or Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video, please!)   Our head host is Xmas Dolly, and our co-hosts are Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, joined by the knowledgeable Stacy of Stacy Uncorked and yours truly.

For the month of December, we've traditionally had holiday music. Last week, we had a great variety.  There is so much Christmas music out there, and I have to admit, I'm a bit more partial to Christmas songs from my childhood.  More about that in a moment.

But first, as it is still Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, my first selection will be in honor of Time's Person of the Year, Taylor Swift.  Presenting Jewish a capella group Six13 with their 2023 Hanukkah song, Era-lution of Taylor Swift (Chanukah's Version).  Highlights of 14 Taylor Swift songs rewritten for Hanukkah joy await you.

The rest of my Christmas selections today were all written or co-written by Jewish songwriters.  I've blogged about this before and I have to admit, I am so thrilled to announce my first selection.

Brenda Lee and "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" have hit #1 this year on the Billboard Hot 100 (it only took 65 years!) and Ms. Lee has become the oldest artist (she will turn 79 on December 12) to hit #1, taking the crown away from Louis Armstrong.  Here Brenda Lee is in her first video for this song, joined (through cameos, not singing) by Trisha Yearwood and Tanya Tucker.  This song was written by Johnny Marks.

 This second song is also a Johnny Marks selection.  Here's Burl Ives and "A Holly Jolly Christmas".

In 1944, Mel Torme and Robert Wells, both Jewish, wrote "The Christmas Song", a personal favorite. I choose the version by Nat King Cole.  It's estimated that there are some 80,000. covers of this song, but the one I'm choosing is the original recording by the King Trio in June (yes, June) of 1946.  It has a different sound than later recordings by Cole.  I like the sound of this original recording, which was not released until 1989.

 

Winter Wonderland has a sad backstory.  This was co-written by Felix Bernard (Jewish composer) with lyrics by Richard B. Smith (not Jewish) in 1934 at a time when Smith was undergoing treatment for tuberculosis.   Sadly, Smith died the following year.  This recording by Perry Como dates from 1946.

And one more sad story.  Perhaps the all time #1 Christmas song, White Christmas, is another song written by a Jewish songwriter (Irving Berlin, born Israel Isidore Beilin or Baline in Siberia).  Sadly, Irving Berlin's son Irving Baline died on Christmas Day 1928, less than a month after he was born.  I'm partial to the Drifter's 1954 doo-wop cover.

And that's a wrap!  

Join me again next week for another holiday episode of MusicMovesMe.

Holiday Time Shadows #ShadowshotSunday

Shadows of the season.

Making up a table arrangement.

Seen in a bathroom showroom

Shadows under a highway overpass (the grey in the lower right is paint, not a shadow).

Joining Magical Mystical Teacher for #ShadowshotSunday.

Staying on Facebook

Right after October 7, I decided that I would quietly retreat from Facebook.  Until a week or so ago, I spent very little time on it, except for one private group related to blogging that I visited several times a week.

Why?  I was feeling Facebook was offering little of value to me, and I also did not want to be exposed to any of the hate that seems to be so prevalent on social media.

It was an interesting six weeks or so.  Slowly, I missed certain things and started to sneak back, although I spent little time on my personal news feed.

1.  Local news - what were businesses up to?  Were my favorite farm markets going to stay open past their traditional late October closing dates? (Global warming has made some of that possible).  What about the neighborhood Walgreens that had closed with no warning? 

2.  Were there any events - open houses for the holidays, for example, I was interested in?  I had actually missed a couple before I decided I needed to pay more attention.  Also, one business was getting ready to move. Our local newspaper seems to report local news days after it happened, which is too bad, because I try to support local journalism.

3.  Anyone getting married, having a baby, taking a trip?

4.  Anyone seriously ill or with a family member in that situation?

#4 is what did it for me, because it started out with two people I know in real life losing parents (one a mother, one a father) in the past 10 days or so, but then switched to good news, when I read yesterday that a real life friend's sister, who has been hospitalized for weeks, was released to start her long recovery.

So I'm back, officially - for now. 

I'm not sure when I'll start being active on my feed again (not that I was that active even before October 7) but I've made up my mind.

For now, I still need social media.

Songs for the Eight Days #MusicMovesMe

It's the first Monday of December and it's time for music.

Let's introduce the Music Moves Me bloggers. We blog about music each Sunday or Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video, please!)   Our head host is Xmas Dolly, and our co-hosts are Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, joined by the knowledgeable Stacy of Stacy Uncorked and yours truly.

For the month of December, we've traditionally had holiday music. For many (not all) of our Music Moves Me bloggers that means Christmas music, and I will have that starting next Monday.

As for today, the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah begins at sundown this Thursday, December 7, and runs for eight days and nights.

I believe that it's more important than ever to feature music related to Hanukkah.  These aren't necessarily religious songs.  You'll even recognize some of the artists.  But before I dive into my post, I am going to play one Christmas song in honor of the late Shane MacGowan of The Pogues, who passed away November 30 of pneumonia, a week after he had been released from the hospital.  He was 65.

I can not listen to this song without crying.  Here is their classic Fairytale of New York.

Let's start the Hanukkah celebration with a Neil Diamond song, a cover of a song first performed by comedian Adam Sandler on Saturday Night Live.  Here comes Neil (with a tiny change in lyrics) singing The Hanukkah Song .

The Muppets and Sesame Street characters sing the Hanukkah song Sevivon.

Did you know that Woody Guthrie wrote a Hanukkah song?  He did and here it is, covered by The Indigo Girls:  Happy Joyous Hanukkah.  The lyrics were co-written with his Jewish mother in law Aliza Greenblatt in the 1940's when Guthrie lived in Brooklyn (a borough of New York City) and was involved in the Jewish community in Coney Island.  After his death, the song was rediscovered in 1998 by Guthrie's daughter Nora Guthrie.

Then, there are the Jewish a capella groups who take songs we know and turn them into parody songs celebrating the holiday with a fun dose of education.  

Here is the Y-Studs, one of these groups, and their 2023 release:  You Can Light With Me (A Taylor Swift Hanukkah).

But here's my favorite of the Hanukkah parody genre.

Six13 and Bohemian Chanukah.  (The air guitar is absolutely amazing).

And that's a wrap.

Join me again next week for another episode of Music Moves Me.

North Pole #ShadowshotSunday

Here's a picture of the North Pole for your enjoyment.

I'm only kidding.  Yesterday there was an Ugly Sweater 5K run at one of our local parks.  Besides the North Pole, Santa was there to cheer on the runners.  This was also on the running path.

Runners had their choice of belonging to Team Santa or Team Grinch and ended the run with hot chocolate and cookies for all participants.

As for my spouse and I, we chose our normal walk through the park, as neither of us are runners.  Here's a shadow we encountered on the walk, as our cloudy skies broke for a while and we got some actual shadows.  

Joining Magical Mystical Teacher for #ShadowshotSunday.

Views from O Tannenbaum 2023 #WordlessWednesday

From O Tannenbaum, the annual Christmas display and silent auction held at the Tioga County (New York) Historical Society.

It's a Bee-Butterfly?  I think it's Bee-Utiful.

A decorated carriage.  After all, it's a historical society.

Gift Shop one view.

Gift Shop another view.  There used to be a wonderful store in the town called The Hand of Man and I see their hand in the gift shop.

The exhibits range from trees (I'll show more in December) to exhibits on vintage toys.

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for #WordlessWednesday.

The Wreath We Made

What should I blog about today?  For a while, I was out of ideas.

These were my choices:

1.  The 45 minutes plus I spent on the phone with two reps (and the automatic system) at Medicare on a bill that has already taken more of my time than it's worth, and the time of a billing advocate? (Maybe I'll blog about that one day)?

2.  The finding out that Microsoft had somehow updated my Photos app so I could no longer save photos from my iPhone the way I always have but insists I use something called OneDrive, whatever that is? (Should I waste more of my life to find out what One Drive is and how to get rid of it?)?

3.  My reserve list for ebooks at the New York Public Library.

But then I thought of #4, which needs a shout out:

4. A wonderful veterans program we've taken some classes because of?

Let's go with #4, which leads us to this Christmas evergreen wreath. 

Cornell Cooperative has been holding one hour evening classes (free of charge!) for veterans and a guest (in our case, me).  They average one class a month.  They actually do a lot more for vets, but we don't want to take advantage and not have a truly deserving vet (for example, one that served in combat) not be able to attend or get some needed help.

So far we've taken three excellent classes:  Flower arranging (all supplies provided), herbal make-your-own salves and the like (ditto) and wreath making.

The wreath making class was somehow rushed, but this is what my spouse made. (This time all we got was the wreath ring and the evergreen boughs/wire to wire the boughs onto the ring. We bought the little bows and the big bow at what I call the $1.25 store.  It used to be the Dollar store at one time.

Yes, it is far from perfect but it is ours.  Thank you, Cornell!

And now, let the Holiday season begin.

Daytime Light Festival Shadows #ShadowshotSunday

The Broome County Festival of Lights starts tonight.  

One of our local county parks, Otsiningo Park, is dressed up with lighting displays.  We saw them (from the highway) testing the lights on the evening of November 15 and it was spectacular.

The lights started to go up at the end of October, which was a bit strange (they were taking down the Halloween scarecrow contest and colored leaves were still on the trees) but I realized, after a time, that the display was larger than in previous years.  

During the day, the lights aren't visible but the displays cast some nice shadows.  Here is a small sample of shadows from earlier this month, when the lights were still going up.

One of the bigger displays.

Still under construction.

Hope you enjoyed the selection.  I'm sure they look lots better at night while lit.

Joining Magical Mystical Teacher's #ShadowshotSunday.

More Home for the Holidays #WordlessWednesday

I'm continuing a post that started yesterday.  We are visiting a mansion in Binghamton, New York that was started in 1904 and completed in 1907.  It was built for Alonzo Roberson, the owner of a lumber business and his wife, a school teacher. 

The mansion is now part of the Roberson Center and Science Museum.  

The museum and mansion are decorated each December and early January for Christmas and admission is included in the event, which is called Home for the Holidays.

Let's continue to explore the mansion and let the pictures speak for themselves.

Decorated in early bird?

White for the season.

Anyone for antique furniture?

I wish I knew more about antiques.

One more picture - Alonzo Roberson's wife and daughter.

 

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.

No Place Like This Home for the Holidays

I posted a picture on Facebook yesterday as my banner photo for my Ramblin' with AM page, and it was immediately popular.  I thought it was too late to post a photo of a room decorated for Christmas but got to thinking - don't we all deserve some more beauty?   Let's do it.

For years, Home for the Holidays has been an annual tradition at Binghamton, New York's Roberson Center and Science Museum.  Roberson dresses itself up with Christmas trees in every nook and cranny, but if you don't know the secret of Home for the Holidays, you will miss the best part.

A portion of Roberson Center is located in the Alonzo Roberson mansion, completed in 1907.  You access it from the upper floors of the museum.  For Home for the Holidays, the mansion is open to the public and its decorations are breathtaking.  So if you go, be sure to look for the sign pointing towards the mansion entrance.

Here it is! Let's go in.

And up the stairs. 

Could you imagine living here?

I was late this year getting to Home for the Holidays.  We had tried before Christmas but made the mistake of choosing a weekend, and we couldn't find a parking space.  So, we waited until December 30.

We could call this the red and blue room.

There's something about fireplaces.

And staircases.

Let's end today's post in this room.

I visited Roberson  for the first time in 1970, years before I moved to Binghamton.  In the summer of 1970, I was invited to visit my best friend's family, who summered in a rural part of New York State.  Her mother took my friend and me to Binghamton on an overnight.  I never dreamed the Binghamton area would eventually become my home.

I'm happy it did, though.

Want to see more?  Come back tomorrow for Wordless Wednesday.

Happy New Year's Day 2023

First, let's get these out of the way:

Yes, I stayed up until midnight.

No, I didn't drink anything alcoholic.

No, I didn't go to a party or have anyone over. (I will have a family member over later today).

Today, as we look ahead to what, hopefully, will be a better year than those in this second decade of the 21st century so far, I am reminded of some of what I blogged on January 1, 2020.  What I wrote is indented and my January 1, 2023 commentary is in red.

Although I gave up making New Years resolutions years ago, and don't choose a "word of the year", I am aware that this year is going to be a year of major changes in my life....understatement of the century.

I've let relationships drop.  I won't blame anyone but myself.  Now, I have to try to find some of those loose ends and reconnect them.  Another understatement. 

I am reminded once again of how short and precious life can be... and, since March of 2020, we've been reminded of that again and again.

So, New Years Eve was the perfect opportunity.  I texted, Facebook messaged, and spoke on the phone - and did some long awaited catching up.  For me, the days before New Years is still a time of catching up.

Now, I just have to keep these relationships going - easier said than done.  Old acquaintances should never be forgot.   They should always be brought to mind.  Still, so true.

What about you?

Let me end today's post with some memories of our recent holiday season, taken at the Endicott Visitors Center in Endicott, New York.  I will be sharing more photos at a future date.

This is the original building that later became Binghamton University. At one time it was known as Old Colonial Hall and is now a combination museum and banquet facility.  It was once the residence of the executive secretary of a famed industrialist of our area.

Candy cane Christmas.

A dressmaker's dream tree. 

May 2023 be a good year for you, dear readers.

My iPhone Time Machine

 Today is a day of reflection.  

This week, several famous people of my youth or early adulthood died, including Pele and Barbara Walters.  Pope Emeritus Benedict also died, along with a grandson of music legend Bob Marley.  It's dreary out today (although it's also mild).   Sickness is everywhere.  Although my spouse and I have dodged it (so far) my son caught "something".  He's better now. 

When I bought a new iPhone earlier this month, I transferred my thousands of photos to the new phone (why?  who knows) and I was able to bring up "2022" and relive some of the highlights of this interesting year.

Time seems to speed up the longer I live and I just want to yell "Stop!  Freeze!"

Photos allow you to do that, in a way.

February 20 local park

The year almost always begins in my part of New York State in a frozen world, and if it doesn't, it happens soon enough.

March 24 crocus, my yard

But finally, the world comes alive with flowers once more.

April 25, Binghamton, New York

Spring arrives.

It's time to get out and travel.  Here, June 14 along the Erie Canal in Macedon, New York.

Gourds, Ithaca, New York, mid October

But the warm season speeds by, and before you know it, it's harvest time.

The trees turn color.

The holiday season arrives.

And before you know it....(December 29)

So here we are.  I can't end a 2022 post without this picture, though.

May we all have a better 2023.

And thank you to my readers - I appreciate you all!

"See" you in 2023.