Holiday Post mortem

Can I tell you how relieved I am Christmas is over? Gosh, I really worked myself up into a stress mess this year.

This Christmas was spent:

Listening to my partially deaf mother complain about the kids playing too loudly.

Watching my husband work his a$$ off making a gourmet meal for folks who would never invite us over because they "aren't gourmet cooks". (Gosh, I didn't realize we were so discriminating and such snobs, personally it think it is L A Z I N E S S.)

Never getting to sit down except to eat.

I turned to my husband after we had been cooking and cleaning for 8 hours straight (our own damn fault) and said, "I don't want to do this anymore".

Even our 13 y/o son who enjoys a house full of company said, "Mom, it's not fair to you and Dad to do all this work".

So put a fork in me, I'm done.

I am sorry to be such a Scrooge and I sincerely hope you had a relaxing holiday. (Whatever the heck that is.)

For my dear friends from the UK and Canada: Happy Boxing Day!
(I know this sounds way hypocritical after this bi+chy post.)

NORAD Tracks Santa

We enjoy watching Santa Claus on his journey throughout the World at the website of the North American Air Defense agency, NORADSanta.org. They have been tracking Santa by satellite and airplane since 1958.

I hope you enjoy these live pictures of the Jolly Old Elf and this puts to rest any doubt about Santa Claus being "real".

Our Evening in Hollywood "A Christmas Carol"

It was a wonderful evening at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood where we went to see a live performance of the play, “A Christmas Carol”. The Kodak Theater is in the heart of Hollywood and we got there early to walk around and check out the street scene. (Very different from our quiet little suburban outpost.) In front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater, we saw Yoda, Catwoman, and Charlie Chaplin posing with the tourists for tips. The area is full of restaurants and shops so we had dinner before the play at an Italian trattoria. It was “molte bene”, especially the thin crusted, wood fired stove pizza. Then it was off to the theater to sit my buns in possibly the same seat as Meryl Streep or Hugh Grant.

The venue is lovely; amazing acoustics, beautiful architecture with elegant sculptured wood panels and a mosaic of red on the walls. It is a suprisingly intimate theater for one seating 3500. The play was delightful despite some opening night glitches with the scenery and costume changes. There was one very memorable improvisation by Ebenezer Scrooge (Christopher Lloyd) after he wakes up Christmas morning and changes from his nightgown to suit and cape. Poor Ebenezer Scrooge had to go out to see Bob Crachit and his nephew, Fred with a zipper that just would Not Cooperate! Christopher Lloyd was wonderful, as was John Goodman as the Ghost of Christmas Present and Jane Leeves as Mrs.Crachit, Tiny Tim’s mum. Unfortunately, Gene Wilder and Jane Seymour were ill. Their understudies did a yeoman’s job as Jacob Marley’s ghost and the Ghost of Christmas Past. (“Who’s past?”…. “Your past, Ebenezer Scrooge”.) I love this line about how we all carry around our own past.

Dicken’s classic tale and the performance were magical and helped me recapture the season’s spirit. The modesty and poverty of Dickens’ story are current and timeless. I cried when the Ghost of Christmas Future showed Scrooge a grieving Mrs.Cratchit and rejoiced at Scrooge’s transformation. (“I’m as light as a feather, I'm as giddy as a school boy…”)

I feel blessed that my husband and I can share our love of the arts and the enjoyment of being together with our children.

Thank you and please accept my best for Many Blessings of the Spirit and the Season to You and Yours,

Martha


"Business! Mankind was my Business!" Jacob Marley

Christmas Carol at the Kodak Theater

Christopher Lloyd, Jane Leeves, John Goodman, and GENE WILDER, Here we come!!!! Our Christmas treat this season is to take the boys to "A Christmas Carol" at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. I'm very thrilled for the opportunity to see these wonderful actors in person at this venue. Each holiday season, our family attends a performance. In previous years, we've gone to the Four Irish Tenors and The Brian Setzer Orchestra Christmas Concert. Yikes, the time! Off to prettify for my trip to Hollywood.

Did your mama teach you that?

I know that I should know better and I usually know and do better, but sometimes, I just feel my "Jersey" coming out. (I grew up in New Jersey until I was 11 y/o.) The difference between people on the West Coast and people on East Coast is that the people on the East Coast will tell you to go to Hell to your face, out West they will likely gossip about you. Let's just put it this way, they are not used to polite bluntness. Like I said, I usually keep myself in line, but it must be the holiday spirit or some spirit making it self known, cause, JEESH!!
Okay, so here are my two examples which just happened. It's like I want to slap folks upside the head and say, "Did your Mama teach you that? Because if you she did, she's got some Splaining to do!!!"
I'm walking into my local branch of a Chain pharmacy and up pull two twenty something females, one of whom is smoking a cigarette. She throws the lit butt of her cigarette on the sidewalk, at my feet. And Merry Christmas to you too, I hadn't thought to put a smoldering cigarette butt on my list, but Heck, I am the Gal with Everything, Right? I said, "You dropped something, gee couldn't you have put it out?" She ignored me in the studied way of young adults and kept on walking. I overcame my disgust and borderline germophobia to pick up the lit cigarette and extinguish it on her windshield and tuck it neatly into the windshield wipers. Merry Christmas to you too.
Well, that's not the capper, I had more fun and games tonight at my husband's partner's Christmas party at his beautiful home in Pasadena. (I love Pasadena btw, and for you watchers of the Rose Bowl Parade, the viewing stands and parade route along Orange Grove Avenue are all ready!)
So, I'm at this nice party in chi-chi Pasadena and partaking of the beautiful buffet which included smoked salmon, ham, salads, rolls, and other yummies. In front of me, another guest, a medical professional no less, was also helping himself to the buffet with his bare fingers!! He scooped up the soft smoked salmon and ham with his Fingers !!! And the serving utensils were right there, sitting Right There, just waiting to be put to use. I made sure to cut my portion from the other side of the fish and meat. Wow, just Wow, the little kids at the party had better manners than this clown. The other guest at the buffet table and I were stunned.
I walked out to my husband who was talking to this man's wife and I said to her, "Your husband might want to use the utensils next time he goes through the buffet line." (I swear, I just freaking couldn't help myself. Of course I should have said something to the offending party, but I was rendered momentarily speechless, if you can imagine.) The wife smiled and said, "I've been married to him for 40 years, I can't change him now". Well, maybe you have, lady, and not to the Good.
Holy Cow! No harm done though (except if I get food poisoning or something), and it makes for a good story.

Thank you for stopping by and I send my best to you and yours for either civility or a good story, hopefully both.

Tertiary Mourning, Part Deux

I hope you breathe a sigh of relief as I spare you any more pithy comments. (At least for awhile.) It’s been very hectic between work (cold, flu, pneumonia, and RSV season) and the holidays. We still need to put the house back together after painting, attack the Mount Everest of laundry, start holiday food shopping and cooking, gift wrapping, and decorating. Our artificial tree is still safely ensconced in its’ box in the garage. Does the term “Deep Weeds” come to mind? It does for me. I was talking with my husband and we’re both fatalistic about it all. I mean what’s the point? It’s kind of like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic and it takes away that we are blessed, thankful, and appreciative of our abundance.

There is sadness and sweetness of the season IRL and in blogland. I still have been ruminating over “Tertiary mourning” and how it changed and touched me as both a giver and recipient of this type of authentic and unexpected caring.

Twenty two years ago, I was a witness of tertiary mourning when I watched my mother embrace another mother, a stranger, who also lost her much loved and missed child. The beauty and terrible grace of that moment lives within me still.

It opened my heart and mind to the power of this gift, a simple embrace, an acknowledgement. My mother at that moment, was and still is, extraordinarily brave. I think when we reach out to provide comfort we honor our lost loves. I thank her for her example by not being afraid to be present during grief.

I know her son, my brother is proud.

Some Mornings