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The Blue Balloon
Monday was the first nice day this year, where it was actually warm enough to sit out on the front porch and enjoy a cup of coffee without shivering between sips. I can’t recall, specifically, what I was daydreaming about— but my thoughts were suddenly interrupted when out of the corner of my eye, the sight of a light blue balloon drifting across the front yard came into view.
It was hovering for the most part, about a foot or two above the ground, dragging its fresh and clean, matching blue ribbon behind it. It would pause momentarily, the ribbon appearing to latch on to anything in its path— but then the balloon would tug at the ribbon and it would resume its journey.
When it reached the sidewalk that runs from the porch to the front gate, it suddenly lifted up, dancing its way through the branches of the lilacs that border the path, about ten feet in the air. By this point, I was thoroughly mesmerized and couldn’t help wondering where it was going and where it had been.
Did it escape from some unlucky child’s birthday party? A child, sheepishly letting go of the ribbon under the disapproving glare of their parents— Who, minutes before had told them not to let go?
Was it tied to a sign, alerting passersby of some impending open house or sale? Bored by the inactivity, did it tear itself free with the first convenient gust of wind that came to its rescue?
Had it drifted down, sorrowfully, from someone’s memorial balloon release? After climbing high in the sky, helping some poor mourning soul release some of their pent-up grief— it drifted far out of sight and had started its own descent in search of a final resting place?
Whatever had been its original, intended purpose, it had suddenly assumed a life of its own and become a part of mine.
As I followed it, I found myself getting very philosophical. My head filled with metaphors… all because of this silly blue balloon.
There are things happening all around us that often go unnoticed. Life is happening all around us. Sometimes it’s refreshing to let go of our all important tasks, open our eyes, and see things with a new, undetermined clarity.
Like this balloon, people drift in and out of our lives. Some stay for a while, becoming friends or co-workers, while other simply pass through hardly noticed. This is not to say that there is not always some impact, great or small.
Some of us find ourselves wandering, searching, exploring life– propelled by the winds of change, adapting to our surrounding, then moving on until we find the place we belong.
After a while, the balloon ended up being trapped between the front shrubs and our fences. The wind was picking up and the temperature was starting to drop. The balloon started to deflate and was forced to roll about, back and forth, trapped in the narrow path between the shrubs and fence. The ribbon continued to wrap around rocks and twigs, holding on as long as it could, until the wind would once again give the balloon the momentum to break free.
I went back to my tasks, for a time— but then later, went back out to check on the blue balloon. It had somehow freed itself from its spot and was all the way across the yard to the west. I’m not sure how it got there but it was now dirtied and shriveled, appearing to finally be at the end of its journey.
It got dark, I forgot about the blue balloon and life went on.
When the sun came up Tuesday morning, I thought to look for it again. I went to where I last saw it, looked all around, but it was gone. I had thought its life was over— I was wrong. It journeyed on.
I’ll let you fill in the metaphors here.
Happy travels.
My Technology Challenge: Storing Media
I love music. All kinds. The problem is I have so much of it! If it’s not already loaded on my computer, I can’t usually find what I want, when I want to listen to it. Why isn’t it all loaded on iTunes, you may ask? Well, I did have 22,000 songs loaded (no, that’s not a typo) but I didn’t have enough space on my computer to load any more. In fact, for the past year I’ve been fighting to get by with about 50 GB of free space on my 500 GB hard drive. Needless to say, my computer was running slow and any time I downloaded something new, it usually required deleting something else.
I’d tried storing media on an external drive– years ago– but the communication between the two drives was just too slow. I’ve been wanting to do some video editing and the only way was to clear some space. I got a 2 TB My Passport external drive and have now begun the process of moving files and ripping all my music, pictures and video. After moving all my iTunes media from my computer to the drive, I got back nearly half of my hard drive’s storage and I immediately noticed a difference in my computer’s overall operating speed.
Now I find myself surrounded by CDs, in the middle of uploading six bankers boxes to my drive. Then finally, I’ll have immediate access to all my music in one place. (I’ll back it all up, of course.) That is— as long as iTunes doesn’t mysteriously start deleting songs again.
What’s that, you say? Have you ever gone to listen to an album you’ve loaded and found songs missing? This is a regular occurrence for me. I’d say probably 2/3rds of the albums I’ve ripped from CD are missing an average of two songs. This has even happened with mp3s I’ve purchased through Amazon.
For example, I went to listen to Michael Jackson’s Thriller album and all the song tracks were there– except one… Thriller. How is that even possible!?!
The only albums that appear to be safe are… digital albums purchased from iTunes. Coincidence?
It might not entirely be an issue with the iTunes app but the files are no where to be found on my computer. It could also be partially due to the cataloging of the Gracenotes Media Database and the constant updates that occur between the two. But that doesn’t explain how the files disappear from the computer. I can listen to an album one week and all the tracks are there– the next time I go to listen… two or three songs are missing– and the disappearing songs aren’t consecutive in the playlist (album) making it more of a mystery.
Sometimes an album gets split into multiple locations, or playlists making it frustrating when you want to listen to a complete recording. The only way to do that, when this happens, is to manually create a new playlist with the song files. Sound complicated? It shouldn’t be this hard. Understandably, these issues occur, caused by human or computer database error. In the long run, this technology is still relatively new and will continue to improve over time.
As I add more CDs to my digital collection, I have noticed more frequent communication with the Gracenotes Database, hopefully, cleaning up the files. I still have a huge stack of discs that aren’t recognized in the database. This will required, should I decide to add them all, that I enter the titles of each album, song, artist for each individual song track. After that, iTunes gives you the option to share/send the information to the main database for better recognition. It’s a lot of work for the ability to access music but the future convenience of it will make it worthwhile.
End Note: Since I started this process, I’ve gone from just over 2,000 albums in my digital collection, to over 4,000– and so far, no more songs have been lost.
Yet.
Little Gifts of Love: Celebrating Relationships
It’s Valentine’s Day and millions of people will be rushing around today, purchasing cards, flowers and chocolate to celebrate a commercial holiday. Few people will actually stop and recognize what they should really be celebrating– the little everyday acts of love, mostly given without thought by the person who loves them.
Love is that fresh cup of coffee you wake up to in the morning, the umbrella waiting for you by the door and the freshly shoveled driveway when you come home to the hot meal waiting for you on the table. It’s working a boring, mundane job, day after day, that keeps a roof over your head and it’s picking up the slack when times get tight. Too often we come to expect these things and forget the expression of love behind them.
No matter how you choose to celebrate today, take a moment to remember the things that are truly important.
In the Stephen Sondheim musical, Passion, the character Fosca describes her love as, “Loving you is not a choice, It’s who I am.”
Expressions of love are all around us everyday.
We just need to remember to take the time to notice.
The Long Road Home
Roxie as a puppy. 2003.
When I saw her– I knew it was time.
I told her it was okay.
She looked at me and took her last breath
and she was gone.
I covered her with a blanket, up to her chin and I laid on the floor with her, waiting for Michael to come home to say his goodbyes. Cash sat beside me. Then laid down resting his head on Roxie’s paws. It was breaking my heart. His sister is gone and I’m not sure if he understands that. They’ve spent nearly every moment of their lives at each others sides, other than vet visits. What must he be thinking now?
Collins, our cat was back and forth, through the house meowing. Though I didn’t see him pay any particular attention to Roxie, it was clear he knew something was different.
The morning started out like any other. I woke up early, made coffee and was working on another blog post. Michael got up at the usual time, let the dogs out, gave Roxie her pills and fed them breakfast. Michael told me later, that when he got up and was getting dressed, he told Roxie how exceptionally pretty she looked this morning- sitting up, posed on the bed.
When Michael left for work, I opened and closed the gate for him. Soon, after I went inside, the babies wanted to go out again.
Our normal routine.
As I was putting on my shoes and coat, dogs underfoot, I noticed Roxie’s legs kind of buckle (and immediately thought she was having a stroke), I grabbed her– but she steadied herself and she seemed to quickly recover– dancing around again, wanting to go out… not to potty… but to eat snow.
We came in, I gave them a treat and they settled down for their first nap of the day. Because I was up and down between the first floor and the basement, they settled on the landing, between floors– so they would be close and not miss anything. Everything seemed pretty normal– until I went to see if they wanted to go out again and Cash came but Roxie didn’t get up.
In October, Roxie was diagnosed with diabetes insipidus causing non-stop drinking and urination. Luckily, I was able to be home with her, drive her to Aurora to be properly diagnosed and begin the process of finding the right dose of medication to counteract her chemical imbalance. Those actions gave us three more months of life… three more months of love… and three more months of utter joy.
We don’t have pets… they are our children. We love and care for them like human children. I’ve found as I get older, the deeper and more intense that love is. I think if you’ve ever raised and lost a furry child, then decided to have another– you love them even more. You truly appreciate each moment with them more. Those precious moments are little heavenly gifts.
Even when you think you’re prepared– when the time comes, the grief is still devastating.
On our way home from the Vet, Michael said he just wanted to eat something and take a nap. Both of our heads hurt– we were probably dehydrated from all the tears. So we got burgers and an extra fry for Cash.
I don’t think either one of us really slept. Drifted in and out maybe. It’s hard to escape the emptiness. I couldn’t get comfortable because I didn’t have Roxie pressed up against me. There was a hole in the bed. A hole only dwarfed by the one in my heart.
Roxie,
I’m not sure how I’m going to sleep tonight. Nap time and bed time were always your two favorite times of day.
Tonight there will be no endless face-licking… no digging in the blankets… no big, fuzzy, teddy bear butt in my face. No big sigh letting us know you’re finally ready to fall asleep.
Tonight there will just be silence… and big empty spot in the bed that I’ll try to fill with memories of all the warmth and love and companionship you’ve given us for almost eleven years.
You’ll always be our princess.
Goodnight Sweet Baby Girl.
Roxie. Spring 2013.
My Five-Layer Zebra Cake Recipe
My FIve-Layer Zebra Cake garnished with dark, white and milk chocolate chips.
I am, by no means, a professional baker but I do like to cook and experiment with recipes whenever I get a chance. I made two Red Velvet cakes last week so for my birthday I thought I’d try something different.
- There are five alternating layers of chocolate and white cake, sandwiched between alternating layers of chocolate and buttercream frosting.
- I found the original buttercream recipe too small. So in addition to the changes I made, I doubled the ingredients to allow for generous layers of buttercream and a little extra if you decide you might want to decorate with it. (maybe swirl it in with the chocolate.
- This cake only takes three hours from start to finish, including cooling and frosting time. The finished product is a tall cake, comprised of five full-sized layers.
White Cake Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 5 eggs, room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Chocolate Cake Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup cocoa
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder or (one Starbuck Via packet)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup hot coffee or (1 cup boiling water)
Buttercream Frosting Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 stick), softened
- 5 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
- 5-8 tablespoons heavy whipping cream (you can substitute half-and-half or milk)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Chocolate Frosting Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (3 sticks), softened
- 1 cup cocoa
- 5 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder or (1/2 Starbuck Via packet)
Decorations/Garnish
- 1/4 cup each of dark, white and milk chocolate chips (add more or less as desired)
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare three 9-inch round cake pans coated well with shortening (or butter) and flour them, removing all excess flour. (Do not coat with nonstick baking spray.)
- Cream together the butter and shortening with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Slowly add sugar about a cup at a time, making sure to fully incorporate each cup before adding the next. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well before adding another.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add it to the butter and shortening, alternating with the buttermilk, until completely combined Next, add the vanilla extract and mix the batter on high until combined. Scrape the bowl as you go, making sure everything is mixed well.
- Batter will be extremely thick (stiff). Evenly distribute cake batter between the three cake pans and place pans into oven. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. Remove from the oven and let cool briefly in cake pans, then cool completely on a baking rack.
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by greasing and flouring. Do not coat with nonstick baking spray.
- Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder to a large bowl for mixing. Mix well to combine. (I could not find espresso powder but found a Starbucks Via packet worked perfectly in its place.)
- Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix well until well combined. On low speed, carefully add the hot coffee to the batter. Mix on high speed briefly to make the batter fluffy.
- Distribute cake batter evenly between the two cake pans. Bake for approximately 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry.
- Remove and allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool on a bakers rack.
Buttercream Frosting Instructions
- Place softened butter into the bowl and using a mixer, cream the butter until it is smooth and fluffy.
- Add confectioner’s sugar, small amounts at a time and periodically mix on high to keep it light.
- Add vanilla and salt and mix well.
- Add heavy whipping cream until the frosting is smooth, fluffy and workable. If you like firm frosting, add more confectioner’s sugar. Just remember if it is too firm it will be more difficult to apply to the cake. For a soft cream frosting, add more heavy whipping cream.
Chocolate Frosting Instructions
- Pour cocoa in a large bowl for mixing.
- Cream together butter and cocoa powder until blended. Scrape well throughout the process as the cocoa will tend to stick to the bowl.
- Alternate adding sugar and heavy whipping cream to the cocoa mixture in small amounts. Periodically, turn mixer on high speed briefly to keep frosting light. Repeat until all the sugar and cream have been blended.
- Last, add the vanilla extract and espresso powder and mix well.
- If frosting seems too dry, add more heavy whipping cream, a little at a time until it reaches a smooth consistency. If it appears too moist, add more confectioner’s sugar, a little at a time until it’s smooth and creamy.
Assembling the Cake
- Place the first layer of white cake on you cake platter and then frost the top with a generous amount of buttercream frosting.
- The second layer should be chocolate, topping with chocolate frosting.
- Continue alternating white- chocolate- white with a layer of frosting between each until all five layers are assembled.
- Frost the entire cake with the remaining chocolate frosting and you can blend in the remaining buttercream, or use it for more precise decorating.
- Use the chocolate chips for decoration by sprinkling them on top of the finished cake and carefully pressing them individually into the sides of the cake as desired.
Now cut yourself a big hunk of cake and enjoy!
I hope you enjoy this tasty treat! You can also make just the chocolate cake or the white cake with your choice of frosting.
- The coffee and espresso powder are barely noticeable and add a richness, not really a coffee flavor to the chocolate cake and frosting.
I promise the next recipe I share will be especially for those health-conscious people out there looking for delicious alternatives to mundane cooking. I’d love to hear to comments!
It’s Just Another Day
After a relaxing, rather uneventful birthday– I’m not sure what I expected when I got up this morning… but being that my life follows the Big Brother slogan, “Expect the Unexpected”… I should have been prepared.
We decided to have a few people over tomorrow evening for New Year’s Eve and Michael and I were discussing it this morning before he left for work. I decided to run to Jewel and get some salt for the driveway because the back was a solid sheet of ice.
I warmed up the car and pulled around to the front gate but it wouldn’t open. I thought the battery in the remote was frozen but it was lighting up. It took me a few moments to notice some of the Christmas lights outside were also off, so I figured the breaker must have flipped.
I went back in to tell Michael he might have to use the other gate, checked the breaker and it just kept tripping when I tried to reset it. Oh well, I figured I’d try and fix it later.
So, I went and got salt. I came back home, got out of the car to close the back gate…. then BAM! Full body-slam on the ice. Luckily, I was wearing my puffy coat and my ski cap (which Michael refers to as Pippi Longstocking) and they thankfully cushioned my fall. I wasn’t hurt– just a little rattled. I spread the salt and went about my day.
When I got around to messing with the breaker again, I figured one of my light connections outside might be continuing to trip it, so I disconnected them. Of course I was wondering, Why couldn’t this have happened AFTER New Years? Because now I had to get the lights working again for our guests coming over tomorrow night expecting to see them.
I went back in to get some things so I could try switching out some cords. While I was there, I decided to plug in the big Christmas tree and… nothing.
N-O-T-H-I-N-G.
What?!?
Yes, after checking all the breaker boxes– The outlet was on the same breaker as the gate and the outlet the lights were plugged in to outside. What idiot wired this place? (The trials and tribulations of an old house.)
I went back out, put down the cords, noticed the ice wasn’t melting enough– and I let my ADD take over and I was back on the road to get for more salt. But, instead of going back to Jewel, where I knew they had salt… I decided to waste an hour of my time, driving from place to place to find that it (the salt) was either way overpriced or sold out. (Thank you Ace Hardware and Home Depot!) So I ended up– back at Jewel– for more salt. (I cleaned them out.)
I got back home, spread more salt… now totaling around 200 lbs!
Oh wait, what was I doing?
Oh yeah, then back to my lights. I re-ran cords, connected them to a different outlet… lights working… done.
Back inside…. re-ran the cord through the foyer to a different outlet… big Christmas tree… working.
Breaker…
Not working. Fried. Dead…. and no remote gate. (Sigh.)
The ice did start to melt in the driveway but I put down another 25 lbs in the heavier areas anyway.
So, basically… I spent the whole day just to get back to where I was when I went to bed the night before.
What next?
Oh yeah… it’s snowing again.
More shoveling, more salt ahead.
Just another typical day.
Over the Hump: Turning 51
Last year I celebrated my 50th birthday, December 29th– at 12:01 am (my official birth time), in my favorite city in the world: New York– standing in Times Square. This year, the moment was spent snuggled in bed with my babies, Cash and Roxie. Two vastly different scenarios but both equally appealing and memorable.
I can’t say I’ve looked forward to this birthday the way I did the last but I haven’t dreaded it either. Turning 50 was magical. Why does turning 51 feel like it just sounds so much older? I’m now officially over the half-century hump.
I’ve always said age is just a number and it’s more about how old you feel. Better put: it’s how old you act. Measured that way, I must seem pretty schizophrenic to some people. Believe me, the old adage, act your age means very little to me. Acting your age assumes that you know how someone in your shoes should act. How can you actually know that, if you haven’t already experienced it?
I think society still expects that once you reach a certain age, there are certain behaviors that should be adopted to exhibit a perceived level of maturity. As our population ages and life expectancy increases, some of those presumptions are also changing. Nevertheless, I’d prefer to be referred to as an old, crazy, creative guy than someone that acts their age. Being 50-plus may not be considered old anymore but I think it’s still considered something worse by the younger generation: boring. I hope I never fall into that category.
I’m pretty lucky. Most of the people I know– my age and older are active, adventurous mold breakers. In their seventies, my parents are extremely active and constantly on the go. One of my friends that just retired has basically traveled the world, non-stop this past year. So I have some great examples going forward.
I’ve had plenty of time to reflect and to reevaluate my ambitions over this past year. What is clear, is that there are still so many things I want to accomplish, places I want to visit and things I want to experience in this short lifetime. I want to leave my mark, my thumbprint on the world– in some way, making it a better place. I’m still not sure how I accomplish that. Whether it be through my writing, some action, or some impact through connecting with others… I guess only time will tell.
My fiftieth year was in many ways a difficult one. A big year for change. At the same time, it was year full of affirmations. So even though I may be over the half-century hump–it’s certainly not all downhill from here. Onward, upward… so much to do, to see… to create. There are many new adventures ahead.
Live life, love those around you… and above all else: Be Yourself!
Sounds of the Season: My Top 12 Favorite Christmas Recordings
I thought I’d share some of my favorite holiday music with you to help you get in the Christmas Spirit.
As a kid, my favorite thing was to turn all the lights off in the house, except the Christmas lights, pull out all the old Christmas records and crank up the stereo.
When I started putting this list together, I was wondering if I should include some of my old favorites that are out of print. As luck would have it, I found several of them in various formats! I’ll start by mentioning a few more sentimental favorites from my childhood that aren’t readily available.
Firestone and Goodyear released some great Christmas collections when I was a kid. Many are out of print but a few have managed to be released and re-released commercially and fewer still are available as mp3 downloads. I realize many people won’t appreciate these vintage recordings the way I do because the style and recording quality may feel too outdated.
Firestone – Your Favorite Christmas Volume 1 (MLP7005) My parents owned this album and my Grandma had Volume 3. Lots of choral renditions with soloists here. Very nostalgic. I was able to get a clean, digitized copy and I;ll admit, I kind of miss the skips and scratches I remember from our old worn out record.
Goodyear – Great Songs of Christmas, Volume 6 Featuring many prominent artists of the day. If I think of childhood Christmases, I immediately think of the New Christy Minstrels’ version of We Need A Little Christmas found here. It also includes the best-ever version of Let It Snow! by Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme.
Goodyear. Christmas Is (P11417) Another popular artist collection– I can actually remember the excitement of following my Mom into Goodyear to buy this one. I played The Carpenters, Merry Christmas Darling — so many times, I nearly wore it out.
MY TOP 12
O here’s my most current top twelve. I did try to rank these album as best I could– saving the best for last. I hope you find some new, or maybe remind you of some familiar choices!
Number Twelve
Wrapped In Red by Kelly Clarkson New this year, I hate to list it in last place but it hasn’t had the opportunity to stand the test of time. Clarkson co-wrote five original songs on the album that vocally, once again shows her versatility as an artist. Pop, country, traditional– there’s something for everyone. Undoubtedly, the song I’ll have listened to most this season, will be the original, Winter Dreams (Brandon’s Song). Contemporary and upbeat, I can’t get enough of it.
Number Eleven
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Burl Ives Pure nostalgia wins this album a spot on my list. Watching Rudolph on TV was a family holiday tradition. It was years before I knew Burl Ives wasn’t a snowman in real life.
Number Ten
White Christmas by Bing Crosby One of the best-selling Christmas albums of all time, White Christmas (1945) has the distinction of being the longest, continuous in-print recording in the U.S.. second only to the musical cast album, Oklahoma! (1943).
Number Nine
When My Heart Finds Christmas by Harry Connick, Jr. A long time favorite. Connick’s smooth crooning warms you from the inside out.
Number Eight
Home For Christmas by Amy Grant I love this album. Re-released and expanded as The Christmas Collection, Two of my all-time favorites are included: Breath of Heaven (Mary’s Song) and My Grown Up Christmas List.
Number Seven
Faith: A Holiday Album by Kenny G Currently only $7.33 for both the CD AND the MP3 (Auto-Rip) version through Amazon. I love a good soulful instrumental album and this one hits the spot. The perfect background for holiday parties or after dinner music and cuddling by the fire.
Number Six
The Christmas Collection: The Best of Vanessa Williams: 20th Century Masters Originally released as Star Bright, this collection is hard to beat. I’ve always been a big fan of Williams and this recording is one of her best. It’s a terrific bargain, currently only $4.99 and you receive both the CD AND the MP3 (Auto-Rip) version.
Number Five
Christmas! Christmas! Christmas! by Karen Mason A live recording by Chicago’s own, Karen Mason. Mason still tours a version of this cabaret production annually, which is brimming with humor, heart and holiday joy. It’s a gem!
Number Four
Ally McBeal: A Very Ally Christmas From the hit TV show featuring Vonda Shepard as well as performances by the rest of the cast. Shepard may not have Adele’s dazzling technique but she certain has her heart and soul. Most notable on this album is Robert Downey, Jr.’s heartbreaking rendition of River. Amazon doesn’t currently have the album available for download but it is available on iTunes.
Number Three
Noel by Josh Groban I can’t resist Groban’s warm smooth voice. If you are looking for a male artist whose sound is a little more traditional– check this one out. You can get both the CD AND the MP3 download together in this version from Amazon Here.
Number Two
A Christmas Album by Barbra Streisand A perennial favorite, re-issued three times and never out of print, this 1967 album is always on my playlist. It was the best-selling Christmas Album in 1967, spending five weeks at #1 and is believed to be one of the best selling of all time. ( It is not listed in the Top Ten on the Billboard chart, which only records sales from 1991.) It’s probably my most listened to Christmas recording. Over the years, I owned it in every format (except 8-track tape) and I love every song. Streisand’s rendition of Ava Maria remains my favorite to this day. Not bad for a Jewish girl from Brooklyn. You can purchase the CD AND the MP3 download together in this 
version from Amazon for only $4.99 Here.
My Number One Favorite Holiday Album of All-Time is:
Christmas Wonderland by Bert Kaempfert Recorded in 1963, this all instrumental album is timeless. I grew up with it and some of you may recognize tracks that were used frequently in seasonal commercials. I spent years looking for it on CD and finally found it a few years back. It was remastered and re-released in 1997 on CD and cassette. It is currently not available as an MP3 download but new CDs are available through Amazon.com starting at $23.99. If you are looking for a great one, I highly recommend it.
Free (and Cheap) Holiday Music at Amazon.com:
Here are some free Holiday MP3 album downloads available as of today (12/17/13):
Green Hill Christmas Music Sampler – Twelve songs by various artists. FREE.
Green Hill – Christmas Music Sampler: 20 Holiday Favorites – Free Download.
Free Must-Have Christmas Masterpieces – Four more songs; various artists. FREE.
Tons of Music For Only 99 Cents:
Big Christmas Box – 280 tracks including a large chunk of Handel’s Messiah for a total of over 13 hours of music! Only 99 cents.
And For Those of You Stressed Out By the Holidays:
Green Hill – One Hour Of Spa Music: An Exclusive Amazon Sampler – Great Artists in this free 9 song download.
Dream Music: For Sleep & Relaxation (Exclusive Amazon Digital Sampler) – 24 free Tracks to help you sleep and relax.
I apologize in advance if any of the prices or links aren’t accurate but they are all current as of this posting. (12/17/13)
Happy listening!
Winter Dreams: A Photo Essay
We had a beautiful snow yesterday– so at my Dad’s request, I took the opportunity to shoot some photographs around the house. I hope you enjoy them! (If you click on the photo, you’ll be taken to a larger image.)
Decking the Halls For The Holidays: Part Four- The Easy Holiday Centerpiece
Accenting the home for the holidays can be as much fun as decorating the tree. It can also be challenging if you aren’t sure what to do. You can always go out and buy a floral arrangement, accent or centerpiece but I find so many items available are overpriced for their marginal quality.
Why not create your own?
You can add charm and warmth to a room with a few small groupings of holiday accents. It’s real simple to create a beautiful centerpiece for your dining table, fairly inexpensively and in a matter of minutes. I’m going to walk you through the steps to creating one simple arrangement and then I’ll share some additional ideas and suggestions to get your creative juices flowing.
I always recommend that you start with an idea and with items you already have on hand. Then purchase only what you need to complete your project. It’s easy to re-purpose bowls, baskets, greenery and other accessories with just a little thought and imagination.
The Easy Holiday Centerpiece
I didn’t purchase anything specifically for this project. All the items I used are inexpensive and easily attainable if you decide to duplicate it for your own home.
Material List:
A Decorative Bowl
Pine Cones (assorted sizes)
A Small Bundle of Cinnamon Sticks
Assorted Artificial Fruit (floral picks)
Artificial Leaves
A Floral Berry Pick
Wire cutters
Your bowl can be as plain or decorative as you want. A basket would also work for this project.
I actually used three bags of pine cones I had on hand, in three sizes (S, M, L)– some of which were painted gold. Of course you can use pine cones you find outside; or they are available, by the bag, at most craft and home stores. (Home Depot has big bags of scented pine cones for under $5, as an example.)
You can use any kind of artificial fruit you’d like. They are available in a wide variety of types, colors and finishes to choose from. I used 2 pears, an apple and 4 pomegranates for this one.
For the leaves, I had used the flowers from an artificial poinsettia bunch for another project; then, cut the leaf stems off and used the leaves for this one. I didn’t have any wire cutters handy so I used an old pair of pruners to cut the stems. You might also find that an old dull pair of scissors will do the job just as well.
I only used one berry pick (stem) as the final accent. The stem was easy to separate and pull apart in sections but could also be cut apart. Again, different sizes, colors and finishes are available and can work well here.
First. lay out your materials so they are all visible and within reach. Remember, there is no wrong way or right way… just your way.
Next, dump your large pine cones in the bowl. Arrange them loosely. As you continue, you can arrange them any way you like.
If using painted pine cones, add the large ones and you can mix them slightly with the unpainted ones or group them on top. Adding them separately gives you the ability to make sure they are visible accents and don’t become buried in your arrangement.
Add all your medium pine cones to the mix. I literally just dump them on top and move a few around to balance them out among the larger ones already in the bowl.
Add the fruit to the bowl. You’ll want to start paying attention to the shape of your centerpiece at this time. Also, make sure you mix up the colors and kinds of fruit you are using for balance.
The cinnamon sticks are next. I randomly placed mine, sticking them in between the pine cones. If you want a more formal look to your arrangement, you may want to start placing things in your arrangement, more symmetrically.
Add the leaves or greenery. You may choose to use more or less, depending on your taste. Use just a few to accent or more to blend all the elements together.
Now, add your small pine cones. let them fill the gaps and voids and make sure to allow some to lay on the leaves and fruit.
At this point, you may want to rearrange some of your elements and get them exactly where you want them. Make sure to look at your project from all angles so it looks good from anywhere in the room. You can always add or subtract items as you go. The final step is to add the pieces of your berry stem as the final accents to your centerpiece.
You’re done! Congratulations!
Here are a couple other examples you may want to try. (I used the same style base bowl in all three examples here.)
For this next centerpiece, I used a large pineapple finial as the center, placed in the bowl, surrounded it with artificial evergreen picks and then accented it with smaller berry and fruit picks.
For my foyer table, I used the same general idea, placing a small tabletop Christmas tree in an urn and sat it in the center of a bowl, then added pine cones, topped them with grape clusters (evenly spaced) and then inserted cinnamon sticks between the grapes. On the tree, I used a large number of crystal berry picks inserted throughout the tree with white poinsettias around the base of the tree in the urn.
I hope you’ll find these ideas useful. If they inspire you to create your own centerpiece, please share them with me. I’d love to see your unique creations!
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