Sustainable Saturday - Tasting New York

The weather outside was frightful (no, not really - it was 10 degrees F but no snow falling and little wind) but indoors, it was so delightful.

In the Binghamton, New York area, for the first time, we have a weekly winter farmer's market in a permanent indoor market.

What can you sell in an indoor winter market, besides the usual honey, meat, eggs, baked goods and crafts (not that there is anything wrong with that!)?   How about (not pictured) tomato/basil saison (a type of ale, and it was good.)  How about local Portobello mushrooms?

Farmed trout from Bainbridge, New York?

The last of the late fall veggies are still available - here, golden beets and carrots.

Garlic, onions and potatoes.

Parsnips, daikon radishes, and turnips.

Taste New York was out there, too, featuring various New York commercial products.  (I want my spelt chips - just sayin'....)

An overview of the market.

So, what does New York taste like?  Well,  spouse bought some yellow potatoes and a parsnip for some delicious potato latkes.  Yes, Hanukkah is over but this market put me in the mood.   There were apples for sale, too, but we have homemade applesauce in the freezer.  If you want the recipe for potato/parsnip latkes, I'll post it.

Day seven of the #UltimateBlogChallenge #blogboost.

Skywatch Friday - The New Year

This is the season of clouds, unrelenting clouds, and time for another Skywatch Friday. (Come visit the site, and visit other bloggers posting their Skywatch pictures).

This was taken about two and a half hours before sundown on New Years Eve.  The line of light touching the hills is a boundary between lake effect clouds and sunny skies further away, I suspect.

Fast forward to January 4, when the sun actually made an appearance in advance of a cold wave, and these sundown photos.

Sky of yellow

And sky of red.

Visit #SkywatchFriday, and admire the sky from all over our world.
Day six of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost.

International Blog Delurking Week

We are all guilty of it. 

There's a blog out there, somewhere.  You like that blog, and you may even read it regularly, but you never leave a comment.

Maybe you are shy.  I get that.  I'm shy, too. 

Maybe you want to admire the blog post from afar. You feel you have nothing to add.

Maybe you've taken a vow of Internet silence. 

But, once a year, the blogging community asks you to break your silence.   This is the week.  It's International Blog Delurking Week, and it lasts another few days.

Thank you, Stirrup Queens, for continuing this meme in 2017.  And thank you, Laurel at Alphabet Salad, for reminding me.

The badge?  Go to Stirrup Queens and grab it.  It's OK.  It's free to all.  Melissa Ford, the owner of the Stirrup Queens blog, is generous.

You can just comment below, where it says "Post a Comment", and say "I'm here!"

Or tell me your favorite food.  That's good, too.  Or, just tell me where you live.

I love my readers, and I would love to know that you are one of them.  Thank you, if you have commented before.  And thank you for commenting today, if this post moves you.  It's easy, assuming Blogger is cooperating.

I look forward to hearing from you today.

Day five of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.

Winter Wonders - Walking on New Years Day

An amazing New Years Day in the Binghamton, New York area of upstate New York.

Blue skies.  Sunshine.

What a day to take a walk in the park.  Or, if not in a park, on a walking trail.

My spouse and I occasionally exercise walk on the Vestal Rail Trail in nearby, Vestal, New York.

From time to time I've enjoyed taking pictures of wildflowers on the trail, and have even taken pictures of a creature or two.

But normally, I don't walk on the trail that much in the winter.

Wednesdays on my blog are a day of seasonal meanderings.  Winter is a time of snow where I live.  I have several readers who live in areas that don't get snow,and want to see snow.

This New Year's Day, though, not only was the trail itself free of snow but, in some of the small natural areas, water was running and snow was melting.

Then, yesterday, it rained for most of the day. And today, I am waking up to relatively warm temperatures ahead of a cold spell.

What a way to start the New Year.

Day four of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.

Dogs, Doves and Determination

The Rose Parade has taken place for 127 years now in Pasadena, California, usually on the first day of January.  (It is not held on Sundays, so on days where January 1 falls on a Sunday, like this year, the parade is held on January 2.)

I watched it, thousands of miles away, at my home in upstate New York

Creating a float takes hundreds of hours and lots of determination.  The rules seem simple - floats in the parade must be covered in natural materials.  So, every visible surface on every float you see is decorated in flowers, bark, seeds, walnut husks, or other natural materials. Flowers, seeds and more must be glued on individually.  Some materials are so fine that volunteers use tweezers.  Since most of the materials are perishable, they must be installed on the floats hours or days before the parade, by hundreds of volunteers.

The best floats receive awards.

The work is tedious - but, look at what this determination produces.

This float was called Doing Good in the World.

In this closeup, you can see some of the natural materials.

There are two other floats I would like you to see.   One float featured surfing dogs.  Yes, several dogs surfed, on real water, carefully monitored by handlers.

The float with the dogs was the largest and heaviest float ever in the Rose Parade. It is successfully rounding a corner which lessor floats have become hung up on.

The other float paid tribute to victims of a tragic shooting last year at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida.  Several survivors of the shooting rode on the float.  Doves were released to honor the 49 dead.  A large flowered dove hovered over the float.

It was a beautiful tribute, but sad, knowing that so much violence still remains in the world.

Again, determination - determination to continue forward after experiencing something like that, was on display.

A lesson in determination for day 3 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.

Music Monday - A New Beginning

Today, January 2, is my first Music Monday of the year. 

2016 was not a good year for the world of music.  It is time for a new beginning, as I feature some songs about beginnings.

Beginnings - Chicago

From the Beginning - Emerson, Lake and Palmer (a group who lost two members in 2016 - Greg Lake and Keith Emerson.)

(Just Like) Starting Over - John Lennon

Finally, from one of my favorite singers, the late Karen Carpenter - We've Only Just Begun by The Carpenters.

Why don't we all sing these songs today, so 2017 will be inspired to be a better year for the world in general?

When I listen to these songs, I realize how many great musicians die relatively young.  Even when I was considering these particular songs, I remembered tha  Karen Carpenter was only 32 when she died from complications of anorexia.  John Lennon was only 40 when he was killed.  Greg Lake was only five years older than I am.

Our time here is limited.  I am determined, this year, to make some kind of difference.

Day 2 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.

Whispering Determination

Welcome to 2017, and a new Ultimate Blog Challenge. 

The Challenge requires 31 posts in 31 days. It's a discipline all bloggers need at least one time in their blogging lives.

For 2017, I chose a word - determination - as the word that will guide me this year.  This coming year will demand a lot from us. Today, as the beginning of my year of determination,  I remember someone from years ago who showed me determination from a deep place inside her.

On my Christmas tree each year is a simple ornament.  But the story behind it is less simple.

Many years ago, the company I was working for was bought by a new owner, along with a couple of other local businesses.  Two offices were combined into the office where I worked, and Pat came into my life.

Pat was many things - an experienced worker, a loving mother and grandmother, and a woman who love crafts - needlepoint, tole, and more.

Her and her husband, a building contractor, restored a house in Maine, New York, and had a loving marriage. 

Every year, at work, we would have a small gift exchange at Christmastime. Pat's contribution was always a Christmas ornament - usually made by her, or one made by another craftsperson.

One December day, Pat called her co workers together.

A couple of months ago, she said, she had found a lump on her neck.  She went to the doctor, who immediately ran tests.  It was cancer.  Not only that, they found cancer all through her body.  Doctors ran more tests, trying to find where the cancer had originated.  It turned out to be lung cancer. She had perhaps 18 months to live.

Pat was only able to work a couple of more months.   We all kept in touch after she went out on permanent disability.  It was a small office, and we were close to each other.  We knew each other, our spouses, our children.  Pat had to prepare her children and grandchildren. 

Pat always conducted herself with dignity and determination, and the months after the diagnosis were no exception.  By her example, she showed us how to face death with dignity.

Our office, in the next months, fell apart due to poor management.  One by one, we left.  By the next Christmas, several of us were unemployed.  As each co workers quit the job,  they started to spend time with Pat every Tuesday when she felt up to it.  When I left, I joined them in the Tuesday outings.

The Tuesday before Christmas in 1997, Pat gave us our final gift - the gift of her presence.  We took her out to a local restaurant, and she gave us a tour of her house - something that took great effort.

By January of 1998, we suspected the end was near.  She could not walk more than a few steps without losing her breath.

Pat died on February 13, 1998, a day short of Valentine's Day, a week after suffering a stroke and lapsing into a coma.  In my last visit to her, five days before her death, she lay on a bed, under home hospice care.  Her favorite country music playing.  I held her hand and whispered in her ear.  I don't know if it was my imagination, but I am positive she gently squeezed my hand.

In September of 2011, my neighborhood was flooded and we had several feet of water in our basement.  We were so fortunate, compared to many of our neighbors.  The next months were hard for us and many other in our community.

When we cleaned out our basement, I found that several of the homemade ornaments Pat had given me were ruined.  There was no way to salvage them.  But the ornament you see above, a needlework Pat made, had survived in a box above the water level.  Yes, Pat was watching over me.

Every year the ornament goes on our tree, a sign of survival, caring and love.


Time marches on, and things change for us all.  But Pat lives on in my heart, even after all these years.  Every year, I gaze upon the ornament she gave me, the ornament she stitched with her own hands.  It whispers determination.

One day, my time will come, and I hope I can face it with the same dignity that Pat did.  For now, I will be content to face 2017 with courage, dignity, and determination, through all 2017 will demand of us.

I am Determined to complete the challenges of 2017 and the Ultimate Blog Challenge.  Are you?

What Word Does 2017 Need?

In 2016, I started the New Year by choosing a word - Determination.

And then I totally forgot about it.

I had said I was determined to make a difference - great or small.  I don't know if I did.  But 2017 is not going to be 2016. 

In the United States, we have an incoming administration that is scaring many of us.  Hate is on the rise.  Minorities are fearful. 

Hand of Man, Owego, New York, 2015

The angels of our world seem to be in short supply, and powerless.

from Hanukkah House museum, Binghamton, NY  2012

Snowbabies may be cute, but this is quickly becoming a time for more than cuteness.

Those of us who choose a #WOTY (Word of the Year) are making our choices.  There are so many good words to choose from - love, happiness, explore, simplicity, daring greatly, enable, gratitude, and more.  They are all good words.  When I thought of mine, this word popped up right away.

We need, for 2017..... Determination

Perhaps I chose my word a year early.  NOW is the time for determination.

DETERMINATION - not to stay silent if speaking out against hatred is needed.

DETERMINATION - to stand up against events that need standing up against.   I think about authors who have written books that have changed the world.  It is possible.  I must remember that one person CAN make a difference.  Could a blog post change the world?

DETERMINATION - to make my voice heard if the quality of life of my brother in law, who is developmentally disabled, is threatened.  

DETERMINATION - once again, that I will grow my writing, and my photography, no matter what my personal challenges are this year.  Even if it only grows a little, it will be a victory.   

Today, I link with #FridayReflections at Everyday Gyaan and  Laurel at Alphabet Salad.  
Will you join us?   Have you picked a word for 2017?

Tomorrow, I join the Ultimate Blog Challenge.  Let's see what determination can do.
  
To all my readers, near and far:  HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Skywatch Friday - Last of 2016

This is the last #SkywatchFriday post of the year and I will leave you with two shots.

A rare midday sunny sky in our part of upstate New York. Nothing unusual here except that the sun is shining and you can see blue sky.

Christmas sunset.

May your 2017 be merry and bright, with only beautiful skies, and the best sunrises and sunsets.

Please visit other Skywatch Friday sites, and a Happy New Year to you.

A Broken Heart?

Can someone die from a broken heart?

Once again, 2016, the year that will not quit, has struck, taking actress, singer and humanitarian Debbie Reynolds from us late yesterday, at the age of 84.

Coming a day after her daughter Carrie Fisher died at the age of 60, we first thought the news that she had been rushed to the hospital after suffering a stroke during planning her daughter's funeral was one of the fake news pieces that clog social media and the Internet.

Alas, it was not.  The sad news came as I was preparing for bed.

So, once again, a short musical tribute.

"Good Morning", where Debbie sings and dances in the movie "Singin' in the Rain".

Tammy, from 1957, a #1 hit song recorded when Debbie was 23 years old.

And, from the 1973 movie Charlotte's Web, a song, Chin Up.

What a career she had. Movies. TV shows.  Voices in cartoons.

It doesn't surprise scientists that Debbie Reynolds may have died from extreme stress brought on by the death of her daughter.  It turns out mother and daughter were extremely close.

And, in fact, I believe this happened to my cousin's husband years ago.  His mother died from cancer, and several days later, his father died from a heart attack.

Nor does it surprise scientists that we, the public, can be so distressed by the deaths of people we don't know.

Now, Debbie Reynolds has joined her daughter.  May the Force also be with her.

Why don't we honor both of them today by telling someone important in our lives how much they mean to us?

Winter Wonders - May the Force Be With Her

Yesterday, there was a disturbance in the Force.

Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Lea in the original Star Wars movies, died yesterday at the age of 60. 

2016 continues its streak of being fatal for performers.

Why did I like Princess Leia from the first time I saw Star Wars, on a hot Wichita, Kansas summer day in 1977?  I was a young 24 and Ms. Fisher, 19, was on her way to fame - and, sadly, extensive drug use.  Perhaps it was self-medication (she had bipolar disorder).  Perhaps it was a byproduct of her acting genius. But, I didn't know any of that then.  To me, Princess Leia and her courage and spunk made those movies.

I had been a fan of science fiction since I was around 10 and read Robert Heinlein's Have Spacesuit - Will Travel, so I became one of millions of Star Wars fans.  Never fanatic, but I enjoyed the characters of Obi-Wan, Yoda, Jabba the Hutt, Hans Solo, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, and, yes, even Darth Vader.

Especially Darth Vader.  But most of all, I loved my Princess, the one who was - as we would say today - a badass.  Never passive.  She was as brave as all the others, and, unlike the others, even fought once in a slave bikini.

Now, the Princess is finally at peace, one with the Force.

I can't say anything that hasn't been said before so I will, instead, talk a little bit about Star Wars music.

My husband purchased Star Wars and other Galactic Funk, a disco adaptation of the Star Wars soundtrack, when it came out in 1977.  Now, we own it as a CD.  You can enjoy it, too, courtesy of You Tube.

This past month, my spouse and I saw the first three Star Wars movies again.  I will have those memories forever.

May Princess Leia forever rest in peace, and may the Force always be with her.

Happy 2600th Post - A Hanukkah Potpourri

Today I am posting my 2,600 blog post, and I have decided to make it a delightful mix.

For the past month, we in the United States have been deluged with the music of Christmas.

But now, Christmas is over, and it is the third full day of Hanukkah. (Here is an explanation of the holiday, .)

Today, for your enjoyment, some music of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, both traditional and modern.  Some are children's songs that teach.  Others are religious in nature.

But first, a few non religious "fun" facts about Hanukkah: (here is another take):
1. One of the fun parts of Hanukkah for children, besides helping to light the Hanukkah candles, is singing songs about the holiday, and playing a game called Dreidel.  When my son was young, I used to play dreidel with him using Cheerios.
2.  Hanukkah is a time to eat fried foods, as foods should contain oil in them.  A favorite is latkes, a fried pancake commonly made with grated potatoes and onions.  More on latkes below.
3. Another favorite is jelly donuts, or sufganiyot.  One will easily set you back some 600 calories, and, nowadays, they are filled not only with jelly but with every imaginable filling.


As this is not a religious blog, I will concentrate on the secular songs, mostly contemporary. But before we get started, how about those sufganiyot?  Want to see how they are made?

And now, some music.

This first song, by Six13,  is a play on "Hamilton", an extremely popular Broadway play in our country.

Next, a traditional children's song called Dreidel, by Shir Soul.

Next, it's time to cook Latkes, as in Latke Recipe, back to the Maccabeats.




A modern song called "Candlelight" also by the Maccabeats. 

A final song, a jazz song called "Hanukkah Lovin'" by Michelle Citrin, for fans of contemporary jazz.

As a year-end bonus, here's a recipe for latkes, a favorite dish for Hanukkah, made with grated potatoes, onions, matzoh meal, and, sometimes, parsnips.  They are normally fried since one of the themes of Hanukkah is cooking with oil - i.e. frying. But I've gained too much weight this holiday season, and, when it comes time for latkes,  I am going to turn to this recipe.  Or something similar.

Another way to cut down the calorie count is to incorporate other veggies into the latke - such as zucchini.   I love them topped with my unsweetened (homemade) applesauce.

Thank you so much to you, my readers, for making this 2,600th post possible.  Without your reading support and comments, I never would have made it this far.

May your days be merry and bright.  And may all your latkes be crispy and light.

Music Monday - Last Christmas

It was Christmas night when I read the news on Facebook - singer George Michael had passed away at the age of 53. As of right now, the cause of death stands as heart failure.

I thought - when will it end?  So many singers have passed these last twelve months.  But, I had already planned a post on Hanukkah music. I decided to run it tomorrow. 

Here is a selection of hits.  First, Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, from 1984, in the Wham! years.  Get up and dance to this for your Monday morning.

Careless Whisper, from 1984, also with Wham!

Faith.  I so love the beginning of this song, from 1987, and George Michael's first solo album.

A 1991 live performance of "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", an Elton John Song, with Sir Elton John himself.  John was one of many artists who expressed their shock at Michael's death yesterday.

In his 53 years, George Michael only released eight albums - three with a band, Wham! and five as a solo artist.


Finally, one more George Michael song (from 1984) with a title that seems somehow appropriate for this most untimely death.  "Last Christmas".

There were so many other songs I could have chosen from, but I am saddened today.  Too many artists gone this year - too many to name, and I don't even want to do a retrospective. 


This is my last Music Monday of 2016.  Let us hope that 2017 is a kinder year to the music community.

A Christmas Visit to the Circus

 Merry Christmas to all of my readers who celebrate this holiday.

At the Tioga County Historical Society's annual Oh Tannnenbaum fundraiser this year in the small town of Owego, New York, one of the themes was the Circus.

For many of us, we have memories of attending a circus and being amazed.

It bought us Joy.

Won't we buy a virtual ticket and pay a quick visit to a Christmas Eve circus?

Posters.

Old circus toys.

I only had one visit to the circus, in my late teens. (A certain relative knows what is coming).  My then-boyfriend (now my husband) was told by his Mom to take his little sister to the circus. So we went down to Manhattan (I grew up in New York City) and saw the Ringling Brothers/Barnum & Bailey Circus at Madison Square Garden.

But not for long, because my little future sister in law was a bit overwhelmed by all the noise, smells and action - and we ended up having to take her home.

I've never been to the circus since.  But at least, at Oh Tannenbaum, I was able to visit it once more, at least briefly.

I will leave you today with a song sung by Pentatonix.

Tomorrow, a post in honor of Hanukkah.

Local Saturday - On the Cusp of Two Holidays

We are on the cusp of two religious holidays here in the United States - a major one for Christians, Christmas, and a minor one for those of the Jewish faith, Hanukkah (why minor? I'll explain later in the coming week).

Blogging about an annual public caroling event in downtown Binghamton, New York, has become another holiday tradition on this blog.

On the last work day before Christmas, people working in the Security Mutual building, a historical building dating from 1904, gather in the lobby to sing Christmas songs at noontime.

Part of the beautiful lobby.  I believe the murals (which are on two sides) were added in the 1980's.

The lobby's Christmas tree.

Here is a selection of songs from Thursday's caroling.  I am not an experienced video taker, and it shows.  I also did some panning so you could see the beautiful historic Security Mutual marble lobby, something members of the public can only see at this time.

Jingle Bell Rock

O Christmas Tree

Jingle Bells

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree.

Tomorrow, another Christmas post.

Meanwhile, Hanukah begins tonight at sundown.  Last year, in the lobby, symbols of the two holidays sat side by side.  I will blog more about Hanukah later this week.

To my readers of the Jewish faith, may we light the darkness once again, and think of the days ahead.

Skywatch Friday - Winter Solstice Edition

Today, for #SkywatchFriday, some photos taken from a highway (I was not driving) in upstate New York.

December 19 sunrise, with a plume of factory smoke.

And two photos of the same sunset, on December 20, the last fall sunset of the year.

A few minutes later.

Wishing my readers a happy holiday season.

Join with other participants in Skywatch Friday, to view the sky from all over our world.

A Christmas Carol

Classics are classics because they are timeless.

No matter what your nationality or religion, a story written over 100 years ago still teaches us eternal truths.

"A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas" by the British author Charles Dickens, was published on December 19, 1843.  It had an autobiographical element but also combines various Christmas legends and traditions.

If you call a miserly person "Scrooge", or declare "Bah, humbug!" you are channeling Ebenezer Scrooge, the main character in this story.  The character of Tiny Tim, a minor character in the novella, lives on in our collective memories. 

In the story, Scrooge, a successful businessman lacking the most basic emotions of humanity such as love or kindness is visited by his dead business partner, Jacob Marley. Marley's ghost has a warning for his former partner - the ghost, who was a lot like Scrooge while alive, has been walking the Earth these past seven years, unable to atone for his sins.  It is too late for Marley but it isn't too late for Scrooge.  Scrooge, said Marley's ghost, would be visited by several ghosts and given his last chance to develop the best in human qualities.

Three ghosts follow Marley's ghost - the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet to Come, to instruct Scrooge.

At the end of the experience, Scrooge is a changed man.

Here is a quote from the book:

“No space of regret can make amends for one life's opportunity misused”

The book, more commonly known as "A Christmas Carol",  was an immediate success, and has never been out of print.

This is the only (or so I read) surviving clip of an adaptation of A Christmas Carol on film, from 1901.

In this 1935 adaptation of a play based on the book and brought to film, Scrooge is played by Sir Seymour Hicks, considered a great man of the British theatre.

In these times we are entering, the story of A Christmas Carol is more important than it has been in years.  As Dickens said, so many years ago:


“They are Man's and they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance and this girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased.” Some things about our world never change.
 
But, perhaps, like in the story, there is hope. Scrooge changed for good, and did not return to his old ways.  Rather, the book ended like this:

“And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!”

Winter Wonders - Winter Has Arrived

Every Wednesday from now until spring begins in March, I will have a winter-related post.

Winter began today at 5:44 local time.

Today, a building in the small community of Maine, New York, with an old-fashioned commercial on its side.

For my fans in places that rarely see snow, the coming months should be a treat for you.  Not only that, but I read a news article yesterday saying that Binghamton, New York leads the eastern United States in total snowfall so far this season.

Yay, us.

Happy Winter!  Happy holiday season.

Determined?

Determination was my word for 2016.  I chose it the last day of 2015, and then I promptly forgot I had chosen it.

Until now.

I am determined not to forget a word I chose again.  The world won't let me forget, either.  In retrospect, it was a good choice for 2016.

The world has changed in these last 12 months.  It is grimmer.  We are going into a new year with a new President who takes office on January 20, and there is both hope and fear for the future.

Living in our new world takes determination and other qualities. 

It is time for me to choose a word for 2017 (assuming I do choose one).  In the meantime, here is my post from December 31, 2015:

West side of Binghamton, New York, 2015

It's time to sparkle.

I am blowing off the dust from my blog, which hasn't been refreshed in a while.  I updated my blogging template, as my regular readers (thank you for coming!) will note.

I joined a blogging challenge for the first time in several months.  I read several older posts for inspiration.  I went to a sparkling wine tasting, and tasted, for the first time, Dom Perignon, Cristal, and even the Pol Roger Champagne served at William and Kate's wedding reception.

DETERMINATION

DETERMINATION will be my word for 2016.  (My word for 2015 - DIFFERENT - well, 2015 was different, all right).  I'm being more careful with my word for 2016.  I am:

DETERMINED that I will attain certain goals, which I will not reveal to my blog readers.  (Why?  It is said you are more likely to succeed if you don't announce them.)

DETERMINED that the essential "me" will not be swallowed up by the need to help with the needs of my elderly mother in law and my developmentally disabled brother in law.

DETERMINED that I will grow my writing, and my photography, no matter what my personal challenges are this year.  Even if it only grows a little, it will be a victory.   Even if, at some point, I decide to no longer blog daily, the fact that I have for nearly five years is a victory.

This past year, I learned once again just how precious life can be. The 39 year old son of someone I went to high school with died in a freak accident, leaving a young child and a pregnant wife.  My best friend from childhood died from cancer. A former co worker is gravely ill as I write this, and probably will not survive her illness. It would be a terrible thing to waste the opportunities I have been given.

Of course, it could be just the Champagne talking, but I don't think so.  I was buoyed by a couple of recent comments on my blog, one by a reader who said she would miss me if I stopped blogging, and another one who extended an invitation. (That second person has no idea how introverted I am in real life but...hey, one can grow in ways other than blogging, too.).

I know I have something of value to share with the world.  I am determined to make a difference, small or large.

So....please join me tomorrow as I start a new year of blogging, and a year of determination.

Will you be choosing a word for the coming year?

Music Monday - Christmas Music Written By Jews

This seasonal post has become one of my favorite features on my blog.

Tioga County, NY Historical Society "O Tannenbaum 2015"

Why do Christians in the United States dream of a White Christmas?  Why is it so important that snow is on the ground?

White Christmas (the song, as sung by Bing Crosby) is the best selling single of all time.

It may surprise you that White Christmas was written by a Jewish song writer.  It may also surprise you that Jews are responsible for many other beloved Christmas songs.

My quest to find out more started in 2010, reading a NY Times Op Ed.  There are a number of these songs, and other bloggers and writers have done the research for me:  I thank them, including the wonderful people at Mental Floss and this article. (a must read, based on extensive research).

Some may argue that these are NOT Christmas songs, but rather songs about what I would now call the "secular Christmas". True, these are not hymns.  But it is true that the American celebration of Christmas incorporates many aspects of non-religious symbolism - this ground has been covered by other writers.

I consider them Christmas songs.  I think, in particular, few would argue that "I'll be Home for Christmas" isn't one of the most heartfelt Christmas songs every written.

(Note, I have not done any of this research myself.  I am not a musician or a music expert, just someone who likes to listen to well written music.  So if I end up spreading wrong information, I apologize.  I did try more than one source, but - as you well know- you can't trust everything you read on the Internet.)

Additionally, in the past year, I have discovered a wonderful blog and - hey, great minds! - John Holton of The Sound of One Man Typing has also blogged about this very topic. I welcome you to visit John's blog and read even more - a lot more - on this topic.

Here's my list:

1.  White Christmas:  Irving Berlin lived to 101, married a Catholic woman back when that type of intermarriage was extremely scandalous (to both families) and defined Christmas for entire generations of American Christians.  (Incidentally, he also wrote "Easter Parade" and "God Bless America".) The next time you wonder if you will be having a white Christmas, and if you can't figure out exactly why that should be so important, well....blame Bing Crosby and Irving Berlin.

2.  Silver Bells:  this one is another movie song, and talks about the bells of the Salvation Army "in the city". (I always assume it is New York City.)

 Another Bing Crosby classic.

 3.  Winter Wonderland: the author of this song was a Jewish man from Brooklyn.  The air must have been a lot less polluted in those days.   When I grew up in the New York City of the 1950's, a snowy day was more like a Black Crusted Snow Wasteland.

4.  The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire):

The Nat King Cole version is one of my favorite songs, ever.  This brings back so many memories of the holiday season in the late 60's in midtown Manhattan and the vendors who would sell roasted chestnuts.  The fragrance carried for blocks.  For this song, we thank the Jewish songwriter Mel Torme.

Jack Frost would certainly nip at your nose in NYC.  The climate there is so damp, it feels way colder than it really is.

5.  Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow:  the duo, both Jewish, who wrote that song, also wrote "The Christmas Waltz".

6.  I'll be Home for Christmas.

As an almost-history major in college, this song makes me think of my aunts and uncles who served during World War II.  For this, I chose a version sung by Frank Sinatra.

Finally, something I picked up in my research:  remember Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.  It would seem that Johnny Marks, the author of that song (and also "Rockin' Round the Christmas Tree" and "A Holly Jolly Christmas")  was Jewish.

Think of the themes of these songs:  Missing your home.  Childhood nostalgia.  Enjoying a season of lights and happiness. The different child (or reindeer), scorned by others, who becomes the best of all.  These are universal themes, and this is why these songs, I think, are so appealing, no matter who wrote them.