My mother and my aunts used to sing this carol in German, because that’s how they learned it from their mother, and she from hers. And I break into tears when I hear it, because it brings them back to me.
Speaking of Christmas trees, I’ll still tired from yesterday. We have this nice little tree and I wanted to set it up in the living room so I could trim it today. Ah–but it doesn’t fit in the bucket, the stem’s too long. I’ll have to saw four or five inches off it. Which I must do outdoors–where it’s freezing cold and raining. Well, how long can it take, just to saw off a little bit?
Answer: If you’ve only got a rip saw, designed only for sawing with the grain, it’s going to take you a freakin’ long time! Wrong tool for the job, but the only tool I had. Eventually I sawed through it enough to knock off the rest with my hand. I’d’ve gotten an A in Shop for that, if you overlooked the fact that I used the wrong tool.
Brought it back in and set it up, and now it fit… and in just another minute or two, Robbie was camped out on the blanket under it. That sort of made it worthwhile.
Suppertime. Chinese food tonight. Plus Christmas present for the lady who runs the restaurant. One little problem, though: by now it’s so blisteringly cold, my car doors are frozen shut. Ditto Patty’s car. If I want our supper, I’ll have to walk. It’s only half a dozen blocks or so, but the wind practically took my face off.
So today we’ll vacuum up a bit, and I’ll decorate the tree, and we’ll listen to Christmas carols while we do it, and there’s duck for supper.
May the Lord bless your Christmas–as Tiny Tim observed, “God bless us, every one.”
P.S.–Just wonderin’: why are the Vienna Boys Choir wearing sailor suits? Not much call for a navy in Vienna, one would think.