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Christmas for Days
Dec. 28th, 2019 09:16 amIt turned out to be a busy yet fun Christmas for us :)
I worked my normal schedule and also played three Christmas services for St. James Cathedral.
This is my third year playing with them, and it's a pleasure every time. People are really welcoming, the services are nice, and the musicians they gather together are usually fun and professional people.
One of my favorite things about playing at this church is getting to hear Adam Brakel play. He's just SO DANG GOOD.
This year I was surprised when he offered to have me record his performance. I've been kind of sneaking footage of him over the years, because some people don't like to be recorded and I was pretty much too shy to ask him outright. I think he found one of my videos online, and figured that I was too shy to ask. I can't be the first.
Anyway, the services were nice and it was good to have a gig. I am woefully out of practice, but with a buttload of reverb and a massive organ it's hard to tell. I didn't ruin Christmas with my playing anyway :P
Before and after these services I was working at CapTel. There seemed to be fewer calls coming in, but each call was a lot longer, relatives catching up and stuff like that. I wish I could have had Christmas off, but it also felt nice to help people communicate with their family and friends over the holidays.
On Christmas Day, Jameson made us a beautiful beef tenderloin roast with asparagus and a horseradish sauce.
We ate and watched Emmet Otter while opening Christmas presents. I can't open the ones from my parents yet because we're all waiting until January 5th to open them together via Skype! Too many of us had to work or travel on actual Christmas Day this year it seems.
So, presents! I got Jameson a Freddie Mercury vinyl box set, a The Office-Themed game of CLUE, and a gift card for Banana Republic so he can get himself some new undies! His parents sent him some cool art for the wall above his piano, and a Nintendo Switch!! He received a few other things from his parents and his brothers, like gift cards and a new floatie for the pool.
Jameson's parents got me a shirt from Ivory Ella, some elephant-themed socks, and a beautiful framed artistically-rendered photo of my niece Elliotte and I. They also got us the latest Half-Baked Harvest cookbook that I'm super excited about, it features easy and quick recipes that you can pre-make or freeze or make in under 30 minutes! Just what we need!
I was honestly amazed by what Jameson got me this year. None of it was on my wishlists, and yet all of it was stuff I definitely wished I could have! He noticed that I like Nathan Pyle's Strange Planet comics, so he got me some of the shirts! He also got me a big case of flavored teas, knowing that I love to bring hot tea with me to work :) The tea he gets me, I call it "boyfriend tea" and I keep it in a special place in the kitchen <3
You guys, he got me a burrito blanket!! I mean come ON. This is exactly the type of thing that I want in my life!
Finally, there was this HUGE box sitting next to the tree. I opened it and was thrilled to find a planter! An elevated gardening planter, big enough to house tons of plants, deep enough to grow root vegetables. This is something that I've wanted for a long time, but always had to say "someday" because there wasn't enough space or time or a safe place for plants to grow. But now...we are in a house, and the pool deck is big and sunny.
I was really, really touched by this gift. It means a lot to have a place...you know? A safe place to be, and to grow things over time. That just means a lot more than words can say. I'm very excited to start growing fruits, vegetables, and flowers :)
The day after Christmas I woke up a bit early and made us some breakfast. Some Kodiak pancakes, bacon from Lucky's Market, leftover deviled eggs, and buttermilk biscuits! I've made them several times by now and thought they'd be good with some of the local blueberry preserves and some homemade whipped cream. Mmmmm!
After that I researched plants and vegetables while Jameson set up his Switch. After a while I went to the gym, where I had my last one-on-one session with a trainer. I was surprised to find that my resting heart rate has gone down by ten beats since joining the gym! Not sure if I was just more relaxed or if it has to do with actually working out. Either way, all of my other measurements were exactly the same so it was nice that the one change was a good one!
On the way home I stopped by Lowe's to look at the plants in the garden section. They had some really nice veggies and herbs...I was tempted to buy some right away! But I gotta exercise patience because it's not really planting season yet! And I need to get the planter ready to go first. So I looked and drooled over the possibilities, then came home to eat lunch and chill :)
Later on we watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and I made us some hot cocoa from scratch. My mom always insisted on making her hot chocolate on the stove rather than from a premixed pouch, and since I had all the ingredients on hand I figured why not! It was very easy and way better than instant! Cocoa powder, sugar, salt, milk, vanilla. Marshmallows, chocolate chips, whipped cream, cinnamon, candy cane. Perfect.
Once again I'm going to procrastinate on sharing my upcoming life changes. The thing is, there are multiple ways things could go and I don't know what's going to happen. I have to wait a little longer and see which path opens up.
I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy Hanukkah (or start to Hanukkah).
I worked my normal schedule and also played three Christmas services for St. James Cathedral.
This is my third year playing with them, and it's a pleasure every time. People are really welcoming, the services are nice, and the musicians they gather together are usually fun and professional people.
One of my favorite things about playing at this church is getting to hear Adam Brakel play. He's just SO DANG GOOD.
This year I was surprised when he offered to have me record his performance. I've been kind of sneaking footage of him over the years, because some people don't like to be recorded and I was pretty much too shy to ask him outright. I think he found one of my videos online, and figured that I was too shy to ask. I can't be the first.
Anyway, the services were nice and it was good to have a gig. I am woefully out of practice, but with a buttload of reverb and a massive organ it's hard to tell. I didn't ruin Christmas with my playing anyway :P
Before and after these services I was working at CapTel. There seemed to be fewer calls coming in, but each call was a lot longer, relatives catching up and stuff like that. I wish I could have had Christmas off, but it also felt nice to help people communicate with their family and friends over the holidays.
On Christmas Day, Jameson made us a beautiful beef tenderloin roast with asparagus and a horseradish sauce.
We ate and watched Emmet Otter while opening Christmas presents. I can't open the ones from my parents yet because we're all waiting until January 5th to open them together via Skype! Too many of us had to work or travel on actual Christmas Day this year it seems.
So, presents! I got Jameson a Freddie Mercury vinyl box set, a The Office-Themed game of CLUE, and a gift card for Banana Republic so he can get himself some new undies! His parents sent him some cool art for the wall above his piano, and a Nintendo Switch!! He received a few other things from his parents and his brothers, like gift cards and a new floatie for the pool.
Jameson's parents got me a shirt from Ivory Ella, some elephant-themed socks, and a beautiful framed artistically-rendered photo of my niece Elliotte and I. They also got us the latest Half-Baked Harvest cookbook that I'm super excited about, it features easy and quick recipes that you can pre-make or freeze or make in under 30 minutes! Just what we need!
I was honestly amazed by what Jameson got me this year. None of it was on my wishlists, and yet all of it was stuff I definitely wished I could have! He noticed that I like Nathan Pyle's Strange Planet comics, so he got me some of the shirts! He also got me a big case of flavored teas, knowing that I love to bring hot tea with me to work :) The tea he gets me, I call it "boyfriend tea" and I keep it in a special place in the kitchen <3
You guys, he got me a burrito blanket!! I mean come ON. This is exactly the type of thing that I want in my life!
Finally, there was this HUGE box sitting next to the tree. I opened it and was thrilled to find a planter! An elevated gardening planter, big enough to house tons of plants, deep enough to grow root vegetables. This is something that I've wanted for a long time, but always had to say "someday" because there wasn't enough space or time or a safe place for plants to grow. But now...we are in a house, and the pool deck is big and sunny.
I was really, really touched by this gift. It means a lot to have a place...you know? A safe place to be, and to grow things over time. That just means a lot more than words can say. I'm very excited to start growing fruits, vegetables, and flowers :)
The day after Christmas I woke up a bit early and made us some breakfast. Some Kodiak pancakes, bacon from Lucky's Market, leftover deviled eggs, and buttermilk biscuits! I've made them several times by now and thought they'd be good with some of the local blueberry preserves and some homemade whipped cream. Mmmmm!
After that I researched plants and vegetables while Jameson set up his Switch. After a while I went to the gym, where I had my last one-on-one session with a trainer. I was surprised to find that my resting heart rate has gone down by ten beats since joining the gym! Not sure if I was just more relaxed or if it has to do with actually working out. Either way, all of my other measurements were exactly the same so it was nice that the one change was a good one!
On the way home I stopped by Lowe's to look at the plants in the garden section. They had some really nice veggies and herbs...I was tempted to buy some right away! But I gotta exercise patience because it's not really planting season yet! And I need to get the planter ready to go first. So I looked and drooled over the possibilities, then came home to eat lunch and chill :)
Later on we watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and I made us some hot cocoa from scratch. My mom always insisted on making her hot chocolate on the stove rather than from a premixed pouch, and since I had all the ingredients on hand I figured why not! It was very easy and way better than instant! Cocoa powder, sugar, salt, milk, vanilla. Marshmallows, chocolate chips, whipped cream, cinnamon, candy cane. Perfect.
Once again I'm going to procrastinate on sharing my upcoming life changes. The thing is, there are multiple ways things could go and I don't know what's going to happen. I have to wait a little longer and see which path opens up.
I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy Hanukkah (or start to Hanukkah).
