I'll be Home for Christmas

And by “home” I mean my home. My new* home. The one I just purchased. The final papers were all signed this afternoon so all I have to do now is wait for the keys. Well, and finishing my packing.

Exciting times, for sure! I take possession in a little over a week, on the 14^th, which just happens to be a little over a week before Christmas. What a nice and expensive present I bought myself this year. I hope the rest of my family isn't upset that I spent vastly more on myself than on all of them combined...

It's hard to wait. Last night I was wishing I could already start moving some of my stuff in, to clear out some space over here in my current place. Since the place has already been empty for who knows how long that technically could have been a possibility, but I'll just have to be patient and wait until it's officially mine.

Also, there are so many things I'd like (or need) to buy, but I've been telling myself to wait until after I've moved in to buy anything. Not only because I'd have to find a place to store it in this mess until then, but it would be a good idea to have a few days to let the layout, colors, etc. fully sink in so I can buy stuff that I'll know will look great there (not to mention the possibility of some great Boxing Day sales). But that hasn't stopped me from going to stores and browsing, though.

The one exception was a new box spring and bed frame. Since I'll actually have a spare bedroom now, having a bed to go in said bedroom would be a plus. And fortunately a friend said I could store it along the wall in his garage for a couple weeks, and we even went out in his van to purchase it. Of course, I'll use the new bed myself and leave the old one for any guests I may get. Don't worry, I did also purchase a new foam top for the old mattress so it hopefully won't be that bad... Maybe I should spend a few nights on it just to see how it is before anyone else has to use it. Worst case scenario, I do have a rather comfy air mattress that could be used.

I honestly can't believe how fast things have gone. Now I'm counting the days until I get my condo. And as soon as the actual time of day when I'll get the keys has been arranged, I'll have to start counting down the hours. If I assume, for now, that my realtor and I will meet up as soon as I can after work that Friday, then that means at this moment I only have about 212 hours to go!

* And of course, by “new” I actually mean new to me, not a newly-built condo. I did check out the pricing on one out of curiosity, and found that a smaller one bedroom unit still cost a whole lot more than my two bedroom one. New would have been nice, but I didn't want to pay anywhere near what they were wanting.

The Kitten's Yarn

Twas the day after Christmas and back in the barn,
A cute little kitten was playing with yarn.
“I am so happy, as happy can be,
For Santa brought a ball of yarn just for me!”

It chased that yarn ball as it rolled cross the floor,
And batted it 'round then chased it some more.
Until as it rolled it got stuck on a nail
And that little kitten, it started to wail,

“Oh no, my poor yarn ball! It won't roll around!
It now only sits there attached to the ground!
Is there not someone here to help me out?”
Then, in the corner, continued to pout.

It just so happens, right then I walked by
And paused as my ears caught the poor kitten's cry.
I'm a sucker for kittens, in distress or not,
So I sped up walking to almost a trot

And entered that barn so the scene I could spy,
Which was so sad it brought a tear to my eye.
So sad and forlorn was that little cat!
I walked over and gave it's small head a pat

Then I noticed the yarn ball that started this mess
And pulled it off the nail with much finesse.
But the nail was still there so lickety split
I found some stuff that worked well to cover it.

In front of the kitten I put the ball down
And almost instantly that kitten's frown
Was turned to a smile as it's heart filled with glee.
“I have my yarn ball back! Hooray! Whoopee!”

As I walked away with a smile on my face
I vowed I would soon voyage back to that place
And visit the kitten with the ball of yarn,
Which was happily playing out back in the barn.

Santa Claws

I don't have a Christmas tree, but here's a short cartoon about one.

Home for the Holidays?

I had a strange realization last night. In a couple days I fly out to spend Christmas with my family, but I'm really not “Going home for the holidays.”

After I moved out on my own, my parents moved a couple times themselves but those other houses still felt like home to me, even though I never actually lived in either of them myself. But it's different now after this third move, to Saskatoon.

Other than the rare times with snow on the highways or some other road obstruction, I've never had to travel for longer than 40 minutes to spend time with my family. With their other houses I always felt at home there, as I was able to visit frequently and spent a lot of time there so I was strongly accustomed to them. In fact, while I lived in this apartment, to me home was my parents' house.

This Christmas I'm going to a house I've never even visited before. I know, technically I have been there back in September when I helped them move. But really, the extent of my time in their new home was just spending a day unloading a truck into the empty house and eating a quick-and-easy KFC take-out dinner. I spent that night back at my brother and sister-in-law's place and flew back to Abbotsford the following morning. I have a mental image of what their unpacked-and-set-up home might look like but that's it.

And now, with the extra physical distance between us, it takes much more time and expense to visit. I probably won't get out there more than a couple times a year, so by the time their house might start feeling like home, they'll be moving again and it'll start all over. Although I will certainly look forward to all my visits to see my family (although that may change after experiencing a Saskatoon winter...), I'm not sure that I'll be able to view my parents' house as home ever again.

And thus begins the process of redefining what home means to me.

I Saw Three Ships Do WHAT???

There is a well known Christmas carol that has the lyrics:

I saw three ships come sailing in On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day

. . .

O they sailed into Bethlehem, On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day

Obviously, the songwriter did not do his research, as Bethlehem is nowhere near water. I don't know how these ships are supposed to have sailed in. From the satellite photos, there doesn't even appear to be a river near it, or at least not one capable of having a ship sailing up it!

But I guess it's always possible he was actually referring to an airship...

Coke and Egg Nog

Christmas is the time where we all get to enjoy our favourite seasonal drinks, many of which tend to involve egg nog. I used to always wonder why, if everyone loves it so much, egg nog is only ever sold around the Christmas season. If they made it year-round, wouldn't they sell a considerable amount more? But then it hit me. If egg nog was readily available the whole year it wouldn't be special anymore and interest would wane, and over time annual sales would probably only be a negligible amount more than it is currently, as a seasonal item.

But I digress.

When it comes to seasonal drinks, a personal favourite of mine for years has been Coke and egg nog. Usually when I divulge that piece of information, people react like I'm some kind of freak. Well, perhaps I am, but that's a whole discussion for another day. Whether they've tried it or not, people have a preconceived notion that this is a gross combination. I can understand not wanting to try gross things. I personally am turned off of trying oysters because they look so gross when I watch people eat them. However, Coke and egg nog is simply two decidedly non-gross things that happen to be mixed together.

Here's the puzzling thing. Ask those same people if they would like a root beer float and I'm sure they'd love to have one. When you think about it, it's actually quite similar—a carbonated drink with a dairy product added. And for a while A&W even sold root beer milkshakes. It really doesn't seem like much of a stretch from that to consider mixing Coke and egg nog. I've also heard of root beer and egg nog or ginger ale and egg nog as other good combinations, although I haven't personally tried them yet.

So here's your homework. At least once this holiday season, I challenge you to try some Coke and egg nog (I usually go with a 50/50 mix). It doesn't even have to be a whole glass if you're not too brave; just try enough to form an informed opinion. If you end up not liking it, that's fine. Everyone has different tastes. But I've known more than one person who initially thought it sounded disgusting and changed their minds after actually trying it.

Carol of the Bells

The Worst Christmas Songs Ever

Okay, maybe that title is a little strong, but these are some Christmas songs I really can't stand hearing — the “Play this song and I'll shoot the radio” kind.

Mary's Boy Child, by Boney M
I don't know if I've ever heard anything else by Boney M, but this song alone makes me unlikely to actively seek out their other music.

Little Drummer Boy
I don't know why, but this song really annoys me. And the worst part is that at one church I used to attend, one of the worship leaders really liked leading the congregation in this song during the Christmas season. I don't know about you, but Pa rum pum pum pum doesn't exactly seem like fitting Sunday morning worship music.... But I have to admit that I do really like Jars of Clay's version. But maybe I'm just biased because they're one of my favourite bands.

Wonderful Christmastime, by Paul McCartney
This is probably the most annoying Christmas song I've ever heard. Except, of course, that I love Jars of Clay's rendition... Seriously, I didn't even recognize the song the first time through their Christmas album. Then when listening closer to the song later I realized it was “that song I hate hearing so much,” but I still like it. Jars of Clay's, that is. Not Paul McCartney's. Nothing would make me like the original version.

Feliz Navidad, by José Feliciano
This song is just too repetitive. I could write the entire lyrics out on one line. Well, except for some of the Spanish part. I have absolutely no idea what is being sung there aside from “Feliz Navidad.” And guess what, when trying to find a Youtube video for this song I found that Boney M also performed it. So that makes two Boney M songs I've heard, neither of which I like.

Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer, by Elmo and Patsy
This is one of those songs that was funny the first couple times, but I got sick of really quick. I bet if Jars of Clay were to record it I'd like it... But when it comes to novelty Christmas songs, I don't think I'll ever tire of Bob and Doug Mackenzie's 12 Days of Christmas.

Santa Baby, by Madonna
I first heard this song when I was in grade 7, when it was my class' contribution to the school's Christmas assembly. I didn't like it then, and I don't like it now. Actually, it looks like Madonna wasn't the original artist. I found a video of a performance of it from back in 1953, by Eartha Kitt. But I should consider myself lucky. One day, as part of the background music playing in stores, my sister heard this song being sung by a man. I think I'd rather listen to Madonna sing it.

And for an honourable mention...
Okay, this really isn't a song I hate; just one that I think it is quite overrated — The Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah. Yes, it's a great piece of music. But I don't understand why most people's reaction to it seems to be like it's the best piece of Christmas music on the planet, and having the chance to hear it live, or take part in singing it, is like the audio equivalent of seeing a double rainbow. Like how lots of Christmas presentations end with “a special treat” of the choir performing it. My church has a long-standing tradition in its Christmas Eve service of ending with inviting anyone who wants to up onto the platform to sing it. I understand that it's hard to sing and have it sound good without lots of practice, but that alone doesn't make it worthy of all the hype in my opinion.

Christmas is Right Around the Corner!

I think I've just set a new record for me. It's not even the end of September yet, and this morning I started planning for the Christmas season. Usually, Christmas doesn't even show up on my radar until around mid-December. Sure, I hear other people talking about it and can't escape from it in malls and stores, but the extent of any actual planning I've ever had to do in the past was buying gifts, which rarely happened before the couple weeks leading up to Christmas.