Christmas Eve

 

There is a lovely little Christmas hymn in the Children’s Hymnal for the Lutheran church.

The hymnal was compiled in 1955 and we used it every Sunday morning for the opening of Sunday School. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I discovered “The Snow Lay On the Ground.” Our keyboardist at church said she sang it all the time when she was growing up. I just loved it!

 

I searched youtube to find a version with all 4 verses and this was the best one. The words are just slightly changed on the first line of verse 2, but I sang the words to my hymnal anyway. Here are the words. I encourage you to click the link and then come back here for the words.

 

The snow lay on the ground, the stars shown bright,

When Christ our Lord was born on Christmas night.

Venite, adoremus Dominum;

Venite, adoramus Dominum.

 

(refrain)

Venite, adoramus Dominum,

Venite, adoramus Dominum

 

‘Twas Mary, virgin mild, of mother Anne,

That brought into this world the God made man.

She laid Him in a stall at Bethlehem;

The ass and oxen shared the room with them.

 

(refrain)

 

And Joseph, too, was by to tend the Child,

To guard Him and protect His mother mild.

The angels hovered round and sang this song,

Venite, adoramus Dominum

 

(refrain)

 

And thus that manger poor became a throne;

For He whom Mary bore was God the Son.

Oh, come, then, let us join the heavenly host,

To praise the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

 

(refrain)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRZW3HK5NfU  

***************

Sing out! Christ is Born! Hallelujah!!

A Merry CHRISTmas and blessed New Year to you all!

Thanksgiving At Walmart

 

I know it’s WAY past Thanksgiving, but I’ve talked so much smack about Walmart (and well deserved, IMHO) that I figured it was time for a positive review, since the negatives outweigh the positives usually.

 

99% of the time, Marv and I do the shopping together. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving I had to go out and get a few last-minute things before the kids got here that night. I expected nothing but stress and anger.

 

Plot twist!! It was actually a good trip! I got a good parking space, which means a lot to me. I try not to use my handicap placard unless I need it, and those spots are usually full anyway. But this space was a good one.

 

I got everything on my list! Except for the canned whole new potatoes. But I wasn’t in great need of them right away. I was only going to get them because I was at the store. But everything else was there! I even scored some toilet paper! It was only 1-ply, but so are leaves, and I’d rather use TP than leaves. The leaves were mostly brown and crunchy anyway.

 

Something I got that wasn’t on my list was Flurschen! It’s the candy that’s mentioned in the Winterhouse book series by Ben Guterson. It’s based on the candy that Liberty Orchards in Cashmere, WA makes. When I was growing up, it was called Aplets and Cotlets and was a fairly common thing to find. Haven’t seen it in years, though. You can order it directly online, but then you have shipping to deal with. I was in line at the checkout and there happened to be a display right next to me! Scooped up two different flavors.

 

So ya done good this time, Walmart…

 

January 2019 Rambles

As we were heading into the holiday season (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years) I was getting more and more stressed about petty things. The news on TV was always bad. People on Facebook were getting more and more angry. I started really envying bears.

I thought it would be so nice to have nothing to do except eat as much as possible before sleeping away the winter. Carbs galore!! Pizza! Mashed potatoes and gravy! French toast! Christmas cookie after Christmas cookie! And you don’t stop until you’ve broken the bathroom scale.

Then you take a nice hot bath, get your flannel jammies on, slip between the flannel sheets and snuggle up with the pillows. And that’s it. Bypass the whole mess. Maybe set the alarm for Christmas Eve, go to church, then back to bed. DOESN’T THAT SOUND NICE???

When I mentioned this idea to Marv, he just patted my knee and said, “You sound tired, dear.”

And I was.

It was still a strange season. For the first time EVER, Marv and I were alone on Thanksgiving. Which was OK. Very low key and quiet. We appreciate quiet more in our old age…

Christmas was the same. No one but us. And I have to admit that after the beautiful service Christmas Eve, coming home to a quiet house was nice. Christmas Day dinner was Stouffer’s lasagna. Awesome. Comfort food. Add it to my bear list…

Instead of partying with friends for New Year’s Eve, we had Lia with us this time. That is always a delight, no matter what. I played on the computer while Marv and Lia watched New Year’s Rockin’ Eve on TV.

So the holidays are over. We made it through 2018 with the grace of God. Seeing what kind of nonsense 2019 will throw our way.

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum – The word of the Lord endures forever.