Sounds and Sights of the Season

 

All in favor of listening to Christmas music the year around, say AY!

All in favor of leaving Christmas lights on the year around, say AY!

Since I'm the only one in this upstairs room, the AY's have it. 

I could listen to Christmas music and marvel at beautiful Christmas lighting every day.  

Maybe the fact that we don't listen to the seasonal music for 11 months makes it that much more special once Advent begins. 

What also makes this music special is its timelessness.

 We've listened to beautiful Christmas classics our entire lives, so they are as much a part of us as tying our shoe or looking both ways before crossing the street. 

We learned them at a young age, and at an old age, my ears love them more than ever. 

Christmas music has so much meaningful nostalgia to it---memories of past times and of people and places that are dear to us. 

Turning on the tunes every morning (I listen while I do my computer work) seems like a revival of sorts or maybe a little time travel back to the days of old when we were young and Christmas seemed so magical. 

People were always doing good for others (like my mother baking cookies and taking them to friends). Plus, we young'uns were expected to be good/nice so that Santa would be good to us. 

Occasionally, back in those days we would go to Midnight Mass, and, ironically, that was the only time I could easily nod off to sleep while waiting for Santa Claus.  

It was SO late and considering the fact that the Mass and many of the hymns were in Latin, little kid ears had a hard time paying attention. 

It was also very cold when we would leave the church and get into a cold car for the drive home. After those cold moments, though, would come the long-awaited, glorious time when we could open presents. If we hadn't already opened them and carefully taped them back together when no one was looking, of course. 

So, with all the gift-opening, there was a reward for staying awake during Mass.

Over the years, we turned flexible on attending the Christmas Masses as did the church.  I'll always remember Fr. O'Donovan, in his sweet singsong Irish voice rationalizing that we could have Midnight Mass at 9 p.m. because, after all, it was midnight in New York. 

Nothing like having a great share of your life in little ol' podunk Sandpoint guided by what was happening in a time zone three hours ahead of everything you had on your daily plan. 

We still encounter that these days when we aren't quite sure if the time listed for the basketball game is East Coast time or Pacific. 

Maybe we need to lobby for a bill in Congress allowing us to flipflop on time in the United States.  

One year the East Coasters get to have Midnight Mass first and know firsthand who won "American Idol."  The next year, the Pacific time zone folks get the nod. 

I don't know what we should do about Mountain or Center zones. Pretty crazy idea, but, heck, in this anything goes to suit ourselves world, it might work. 

Anyway, back to the timeless (no time zones needed) Christmas music that I listen to for a couple of hours each morning during December---listening freedom needs to get extended another 11 months.

We have to many past and wonderful and inspirational memories to savor that every single day of Christmas music conjuring them back up would be just fine. 

Maybe with that daily fix of good times past we would all be happier in the present. 

In the meantime, I'll just enjoy all that Advent brings upon us. 

Words from Pope Leo XIV to Cindy Wooden on the Papal Jet during this week's Papal visit to Turkey and Lebanon. 

Answering the question of @Catholic News Svc legend Cindy Wooden for whom it's the last papal trip after decades of covering the Vatican and before her retirement at the end of the month, Pope Leo teased Cindy that "just a year or two ago I too thought about retiring someday," to a good laugh of Vaticanisti on a plane. "You received that gift apparently - some of us will continue to work."

 

https://x.com/Guzik_Paulina/status/1996113463689597417?s=20

Speaking about the conclave, he said he thought everything was in the hands of God. "When I saw how things were going," Pope Leo revealed, "I took a deep breath. I said, 'Here we go, Lord. You are in charge, and you lead the way.'" 

💛💜💙💓

Cindy, a 1978 Sandpoint High graduate, has worked at the Vatican as a Catholic News Service correspondent and, later, bureau chief, since 1989. She has traveled the world with every Pope since that time. Cindy will retire at the end of this month.

From a colleague on the papal jet this week:   

 “The great Cindy Wooden is furiously clapped and whooped by fellow papal plan journalists as Matteo announces she’ll be retiring this month . . . . Many, many people indebted to her professional journalism will also personally miss her loads.”

💛💜💚💙

She's from Sandpoint, and we couldn't be any prouder. 

She has been so gracious and generous over the years sharing her amazing jet-setting and journalistic experiences with the folks back home AND hosting the many visitors who have connected with her in Rome. 

Wishing you a happy retirement, Cindy. 

There may be a lot of peace around the Lovestead this winter.   It's been a few years since we've seen doves in the yard. 

This year we have five regulars. They showed up earlier this week, and they seem to be wanting to stay. 

With so many of them, I've enjoyed watching the dynamics.  One particularly bossy, hardly peaceful dove with a great big round stomach keeps the others in line. 

One time yesterday it even quit pecking and took after two of its friends coming in for a landing.  

Once on the ground, they stayed clear of The Boss.

 From my observations so far, I figure there's a reason that bird has such a big stomach. 

I started putting out seed this week, and yesterday Bill and I agreed that the winter should be entertaining between the birds, the squirrels and the deer. 

As long as one species shares with the others, I'll keep filling the feeders.  Also, if the raccoons get wind of the goodies at the Lovestead, I may have to take a break from issuing the handouts.