Today's poem by Rosemary and Stephen Vincent Benét

On Abraham Lincoln's birthday, I thought I would post a poem I learned as a child.  I've never read anything quite like it, and though it is probably a "children's poem", I find it even more meaningful as an adult and mother. 

            Nancy Hanks 

by Rosemary and Stephen Vincent Benét 1933

If Nancy Hanks
Came back as a ghost,
Seeking news
Of what she loved most,
She’d ask first “Where’s my son?
What’s happened to Abe?
What’s he done?”

“Poor little Abe,
Left all alone
Except for Tom,
Who’s a rolling stone;
He was only nine
The year I died.
I remember still
How hard he cried.”

“Scraping along
In a little shack,
With hardly a shirt
To cover his back,
And a prairie wind
To blow him down,
Or pinching times
If he went to town.”

“You wouldn’t know
About my son?
Did he grow tall?
Did he have fun?
Did he learn to read?
Did he get to town?
Do you know his name?
Did he get on?”

Hoping for a blog post without the word "hay"?? Not quite yet!

Yesterday our young friend delivered nine bales of hay from a town about an hour north of us. There won't be more from that source, but we are so grateful. And on Wednesday we will go again to the next state for those five bales we are allowed. The animals are smiling.

Here is the lad himself.

And the hay.

Hay, again

Today Tom took two trips to get hay. The first was the feed store in the next state - the place where you can get five bales a week. And who knew that five bales would fit in a VW Golf! He put down the back seat, and voila!

That truck in the first picture is Matt's old, now dead, S-10, a truck much loved by those who had one. You can't get small trucks anymore. They are all huge - too huge in my estimation - and they cost a fortune.

Trip two was to a lovely place a few towns away. Turns out the guy cuts many fields and then sells the hay. Tom got four bales there, which were a bit bigger than the first load. So, nine bales in the barn. Money in the bank. I think we are going to try and sign up for next year's hay. Although I don't get political here, I am going to say that it has been a stress this year getting hay and feed at our usual store. It is one of the stores in the big town next to us where they refuse to wear masks. Most of the stuff we get is outdoors, but Tom still has to go inside for dog food, bird, and deer food. He's been going to another place sometimes, but the store is the only show in town when it comes to hay. I think it would be lovely to drive down to the new person's place once a week and get lovely, local hay.

So, there we are. Good for now. Haven't heard back from our friend yet, but that may well be another source. A tentative "whew". 

Hey, hey, hay

 So here we are on Groundhog Day. Tom went in to the farm supply store, and there was no hay. And there will be none till Friday. We have Nebby the donkey and eight sheep who need hay twice a day. Tom drove out to visit a farmer from whom we bought our raw milk for years and years who now raises meat cows. He said he didn't have any extra at all. He said because of the drought last summer there was a scarcity of hay all over. But his daughter's partner has some hay and he gave Tom her number. In the meantime I called a feed store in the next state, some 30 miles away and asked if they have any. She said yes, but she knows they are going to run out so they are allowing a customer to buy only five bales a week. That sounded great to me! I also texted a young friend (who is going to become a first time father this year at almost 43 years old) who knows everyone in the north country. He said he'd get back to me. He does know a guy. Tom came home and we are now going to get some hay from each of those sources, and then buy more at our store on Friday. But still, it is really worrisome. Our next call will be to a few towns north of us where the drought wasn't so bad.

It isn't enough to have a virus and discord in the country. We have to be fearful about the most basic of basics, hay.  

January Book Facts

To save myself doing so much work at the end of December, I am really going to try and do the stats each month.

Read 9 books

children's books - 5 

mysteries - 4

Kindle - 6

print - 3

by men - 3

by women - 6

By the years:

1900-1909 - 1

1940s - 2

1950s - 1

1960s - 1

2010-2019 - 1

2020 - 3

January books

January - 9

1. The Purple Onion Mystery (aka Murder on Friday) - book 7, and last, in the Spike Tracy series 

by Harriette Ashbrook

mystery 1941

Kindle

finished 1/2/21

Sorry to say farewell to Mr. Tracy. I've so enjoyed these books.

2. The Theft of the Iron Dogs aka Murderer's Mistake - book 28 in the Robert Macdonald series

by E.C.R Lorac

mystery 1946

Kindle

finished 1/10/21

One of my favorite books in the Macdonald series. He goes back to an area, and sees some of the people he met in a previous book, Fell Murder. Such good characters, and she was a really good writer. I've read she's getting a lot of acclaim since being re-introduced through the British Library Crime Classics series. She deserves every bit of the praise.

3. The Railway Children

by Edith Nesbitt

children's fiction serialized in The London Magazine 1905, published as a book in 1906

Kindle

finished 1/14/21

Best book of the month! I loved it so much. She is a great writer, and I plan to read more of her this year. Wonderful family relationships. Realistic children. Life in the "olden days" when kids could pretty much live their own lives during the long days. 

4. The Owl Service

by Alan Garner

children's fiction 1967

Kindle

finished 1/16/21

I really wanted to like this, but I mostly felt it was odd. I don't want to say too much because it is a good story to come to fresh. I am interested in the mythical stories about old England and Wales, but this one just didn't strike my fancy.

5. Murder in Vienna - book 42 in the Robert Macdonald series

by E.C.R. Lorac

mystery 1956

Kindle 

finished 1/21/20

Still loving Lorac so much. What a terrific character Macdonald is. It is one of those series where you don't see him at home, or with relatives. It is just him on the case, yet readers get to know him as a person.

6. Kamala and Maya's Big Idea

by Meena Harris; illus. by Ana Ramirez Gonzalez

Children's book 2020

print

finished 1/24/21

7. Joey  The Story of Joe Biden

by Jill Biden; illus. by Amy June Bates

Children's book 2020

print

finished 1/24/21

8. The Fatal Flying Affair - book 7 in the Lady Hardcastle mysteries

by T. E. Kinsey

mystery 2020

Kindle

finished 1/27/21

I love this series! It is historical fiction set in the pre-WWI years. Awfully good relationship between two women, both of them strong and interesting. 

9. The Boy, the mole, the fox and the Horse

by Charlie Mackesy

illustrated fiction for adults and children 2019

print

finished 1/27/21

My main print reading is a very big (and wonderful book) about Churchill and the Second World War but I did read a few children's print books this month. 

I heard about The Boy...  from The Duchess of Cornwall. And then I saw it everywhere, so I bought it. I must be missing something. I think it is a perfectly fine children's book, but I am not one of the many adults who've written about how wonderful it is. I thought it rather simple and bland and not surprising or interesting. Probably I'm the only reader in the world who thinks this, but there you go. 

The book about President Biden was really quite wonderful. We got it for all the grandchildren for Christmas. It is quite detailed about things in his life. I think it will show children that ordinary people can do great things as children and may even be President someday.

This book about Kamala Harris and her sister, Maya written by Maya's daughter was based on a story the writer had always heard. It isn't necessary factual but is a good story. I didn't care for the illustrations. 

The Duchess of Cornwall reads "My Heart's in the Highlands" on Robbie Burns' birthday.

I've been all over trying to find a video to show you here, but this is the best I can do. I so hope it will work. It is also on Facebook if you are there.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKeso1nAvIN/

The Duchess of Cornwall reads Robert Burns' "My Heart's in the Highlands". He was born 262 years ago today.

There's a nice piece about him here. 

Tom and I drove to Cambridge, Massachusetts many years ago in a snowstorm driving a red Dodge truck to go to a "Burns' Night". It was great fun. In those days, we were big fans of Jean Redpath. She was there, as was Norman Kennedy. The host was Robert J. Lurtsema, who I wrote about on the blog here. In fact, someone commented on that post just last month!! It warmed my heart. I just reread it and saw that I had mentioned the Burns' Night, and the red truck!

Followup about The Simpsons

 This is quite mind-blowing. Because I copied and pasted right from the site, you have to scroll over a bit to read it all but it is worth the trouble. Wow!

'The Simpsons' seemed to get it right again -- by predicting part of the inauguration

By Travis Caldwell, CNN

Updated 2:01 AM ET, Fri January 22, 2021

Social media users noted the parallels between Vice President Harris' inauguration outfit and Lisa Simpson from a 2000 episode.

(CNN)First things first: No, "The Simpsons" cannot actually predict the future.

Yet, as the longest-running sitcom in US history, the timeless series often finds itself aligning with "life imitates art" moments that happen years after airing.

This week, for example, users on social media couldn't help but wonder at the latest coincidence between Vice President Kamala Harris' outfit during the inauguration and Lisa Simpson's outfit in an episode from 2000.

In "Bart to the Future," Lisa assumes the presidency and asks the now-viral line, "As you know, we've inherited quite a budget crunch from President Trump."

Lisa Simpson as president in the 2000 episode "Bart to the Future"

In the episode, Lisa wore a purple jacket and pearls. At Wednesday's inauguration, Harris wore a purple jacket and pearls. With Harris serving immediately after Donald Trump's presidency, comparisons by viewers were readily made.

The similarities with the inauguration didn't stop there for Simpsons fans. Actor Tom Hanks appeared as a host during a virtual concert Wednesday evening, which aimed to keep with President Joe Biden's theme of national unity in a time of crisis.

In "The Simpsons Movie" from 2007, Hanks in a cameo role pitches a proposed new Grand Canyon at Springfield, the hometown of the Simpsons.

'The Simpsons' remain our psychics

"Hello. I'm Tom Hanks. The US government has lost its credibility, so it's borrowing some of mine," he says.

At the end of the scene, he says, "If you're gonna pick a government to trust, why not this one?"

Speculation over the show's prescient abilities is nothing new. Fans claim the show predicted, among other instances, the Siegfried and Roy tiger attack, smart watches, "murder hornets," and Disney buying 20th Century Fox.

The show's longevity and its exhausting of possible sitcom scenarios have even been referenced in other comedies, including the "South Park" episode, "The Simpsons Already Did It."

When asked in 2016 about predicting a Donald Trump presidency so far in advance, writer Dan Greaney told The Hollywood Reporter, "It was a warning to America."

"And that just seemed like the logical last stop before hitting bottom. It was pitched because it was consistent with the vision of America going insane," he added.

Today's picture seen on Instagram

 I laughed so much when I saw this.

Quote du jour - Goodnight Sweetheart

 I've just started watching my DVDs of Goodnight Sweetheart - third time I will have seen it, I think. 

A woman in 1940 lights up a cigarette. A man who has time-traveled from the 1990s says it is "very bad for your health." 

She says, "Everyone knows they're good for your nerves. And there is no point worrying about a cough carrying you off when a bomb could land on you any second."

It was a year ago today...

...that we picked up the kittens. 

And you can see them now in the blog header! We are so thankful for Gemma and Maisy!

The Reading Room on instagram

 

If you are on instagram, you might be interested in this reading group! To find her, just type into the search 

duchessofcornwallsreadingroom 

I've read that one of the books is The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse by Charles Mackesy. 

2020 Book Facts

 2020 was my year of discovery! I discovered several new writers, and raced through their work.

Harriette Ashbrook. Who has heard of her? Yeah, I thought not. Well, she writes a terrific series starring the younger brother of the Manhattan District Attorney. As is the case with so many fictional second sons, this man lives a very different life from his successful sibling. Spike Tracy is a bon vivant, a boulevardier as Bertie Wooster is. He is also a brilliant detective, who sometimes sits unnoticed while noticing everything and everyone. I really like him. She wrote seven books starring Spike and I loved each one. She has another series as Susannah Shane with Christopher Saxe as the detective, but just one of the books is available. She lived to be only 47, and it is very hard to find much information about her. I did find a blog piece here. 

E.C.R Lorac, whose real name was Edith Caroline Rivett, is much more famous, yet was unknown to me. I began reading her work last year, and am still going strong. Not all is available, but I read what I can. You may read more about her here. 

A more modern writer I discovered only to find out she had died in April 2020 is Sheila Connolly. It made me so sad for her, and for her myriad readers. There is a very nice tribute here, in which the series I read, one right after the other, is featured.

I only have two posts about the 1920s here and here, but I've had quite a great year reading. I read seven books published then, and one about Hadley Richardson. You will read in the first link that we had planned to visit her grave in Tamworth, New Hampshire but that went the way of so many things in the year of the virus. It will be one of the first outings when this thing finally ends! I've also kept on a special shelf all the books I have that were published in or are about the decade and hope to continue each year reading more. 

I hardly ever write about one book that was my favorite or the best, but for 2020 it is easy. Electric Eden by Rob Young. I have owned this book for a very long time, and decided I would read it with my breakfast every day instead of a magazine, and then I began reading it other times of the day as well, and then there were times I couldn't put it down, though it took me two months and twelve days to read! And I bought four books that were referenced: News From Nowhere by William Morris, A Shropshire Lad by A.E. Houseman, The Celtic Twilight by W.B. Yeats, and The Owl Service by Alan Garner. I also bought a vinyl version of an album I had bought on iTunes years ago, Vashti Bunyan's Diamond Day. There was much stopping and looking up all kinds of music and musicians. You Tube was a tremendous place to find most everything. I felt like I was in college again, really studying and really learning. 

I loved reading some James Herriot books, some of which I had read a long time ago. And Galsworthy's Forsyte Saga was so excellent. I can't praise those books enough.

And I am delighted that I read 17 print books this year. 

I read a few books published in 2020. The 2020s have begun! 

Without further ado, as they say, here are my stats for the past year. And, note to self - this year do these stats each month instead of tallying at the end of a year.

In 2020, I read 70 books. 

3 Children's fiction

11 Fiction

2 Graphic nonfiction

41 Mystery

13 Nonfiction

53 Kindle 

17 Print 

22 by men

48 by women

By the years:

1 - 1900-1909

7 - 1920s

6 - 1930s

5 - 1940s

4 - 1950s

3 - 1970s

4 - 1980s

4 - 1990s

3 - 2000-2009

26 - 2010-2019

7 - 2020s

I'm not bothering to count rereads or library books anymore. I hardly read any of the latter, and the rereads are so few that it doesn't matter to me how many there are.

Tom's 2021 Reads

 Only a collecting post

Books Read in 2021

January - 9 

1. The Purple Onion Mystery (aka Murder on Friday) - book 7, and last, in the Spike Tracy series 

by Harriette Ashbrook

mystery 1941

Kindle

finished 1/2/21

2. The Theft of the Iron Dogs aka Murderer's Mistake - book 28 in the Robert Macdonald series

by E.C.R Lorac

mystery 1946

Kindle

finished 1/10/21

3. The Railway Children

by Edith Nesbitt

children's fiction serialized in The London Magazine 1905, published as a book in 1906

Kindle

finished 1/14/21

4. The Owl Service

by Alan Garner

children's fiction 1967

Kindle

finished 1/16/21

5. Murder in Vienna - book 42 in the Robert Macdonald series

by E.C.R. Lorac

mystery 1956

Kindle 

finished 1/21/20

6. Kamala and Maya's Big Idea

by Meena Harris; illus. by Ana Ramirez Gonzalez

Children's picture book 2020

print

finished 1/24/21

7. Joey  The Story of Joe Biden

by Jill Biden; illus. by Amy June Bates

children's picture book 2020

print

finished 1/24/21

8. The Fatal Flying Affair - book 7 in the Lady Hardcastle mysteries

by T. E. Kinsey

mystery 2020

Kindle

finished 1/27/21

9.The Boy, the mole, the fox and the Horse

by Charlie Mackesy

illustrated fiction for adults and children 2019

print

finished 1/27/21

February - 5

10. A Shot in the Dark - book 1 in the Mydworth mysteries

by Matthew Costello (with Neil Richards)

mystery 2019

Kindle

finished 2/6/21

11. A Pint of Murder - book 1 in the Madoc and Janet Rhys series

by Alisa Craig 

mystery 1980

Kindle

finished 2/20/21 

12. The Old Woman Who Named Things

by Cynthia Rylant

illustrated by Kathryn Brown

children's picture book 1996

print

finished 2/22/21

13. A Little Night Murder - book 2 in the Mydworth mysteries

by Matthew Costello (with Neil Richards)

mystery 2019

Kindle

finished 2/24/21

14. Murder at Melrose Court - book 1 in the Heathcliff Lennox series

by Karen Baugh Menuhin

mystery 2018

Kindle

finished 2/27/21

March - 4

15. The Black Cat Murders - book 2 in the Heathcliff Lennox series

by Karen Baugh Menuhin

mystery 2019

Kindle

finished 3/5/21

16. The Splendid and the Vile

by Erik Larson

nonfiction 2020

print

finished 3/15/21

17. The Curse of Braeburn Castle - book 3 in the Heathcliff Lennox series

by Karen Baugh Menuhin

mystery 2019

Kindle 

finished 3/19/21

18. Inked Out - book 2 in the Snug Harbor series

by Karen MacInerney

mystery 2021

Kindle

finished 3/23/21

April - 5

19. Sable Messenger - book 2 in the Inspector Knollis series

by Francis Vivian

mystery 1947

Kindle

finished 4/2/21

20. The Threefold Cord - book 3 in the Inspector Knollis series

by Francis Vivian

mystery 1947

Kindle

finished 4/8/21

21. Something in the Water

by Catherine Steadman

mystery/thriller 2018

Kindle

library book

finished 4/10/21

22. The Swiss Summer

by Stella Gibbons

fiction 1951

Kindle

finished 4/20/21

23. Convenience Store Woman

by Sayaka Murata

translated from the Japanese by Ginny Tapley Takemori

fiction 2018

Kindle

library book

finished 4/22/21

May - 6

24. The Plumley Inheritance - book 1 in the Ludovic Travers series

by Christopher Bush

mystery 1926

Kindle

finished 5/4/21

25. High Wire in Nuala - book 9 in the Inspector De Silva series

by Harriet Steel

mystery 2020

Kindle 

finished 5/7/21

26. Dandelion Cottage

by Carroll Watson Rankin

children's fiction 1904

Kindle

finished 5/9/21

27. Sweet Bean Paste

by Durian Sukegawa

translated from the Japanese by Alison Watts

fiction 2017

Kindle

finished 5/12/21

28. Before the Coffee Gets Cold - book 1 in Before the Coffee Gets Cold series

by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

translated from the Japanese by Geoffrey Trousselo

fiction 2015

Kindle

finished 5/17/21

29. The Consequences of Fear - book 16 in the Maisie Dobbs series

by Jacqueline Winspear

mystery 2021

Kindle

library book

finished 5/23/21

June - 3

30. Cold Case in Nuala - book 10 in the Inspector De Silva series

by Harriet Steel

mystery 2021

Kindle

finished 6/15/21

31. Citizens of London

The Americans Who Stood With Britain In Its Darkest, Finest Hour

by Lynn Olson

nonfiction 2010

print

finished 6/7/21

32. A Shropshire Lad

by A.E. Housman

poetry  

Dover Thrift Edition published 1990

first printing was 1896

finished 6/18/21

July - 4

33. The Affair of the Christmas Card Killer - book 1 in the Lord Kit Aston

by Jack Murray

mystery  2018

Kindle

finished 7/3/21

34. The Whitstable Pearl Mystery - book 1 in the Whitstable Pearl mysteries

by Julie Wassmer

mystery 2015

Kindle

finished 7/11/21

35. Murder-On-Sea - book 2 in the Whitstable Pearl mysteries

by Julie Wassmer

mystery 2015

Christmas

Kindle

finished 7/20/21

36. The May Day Murder - book 3 in the Whitstable Pearl mysteries

by Julie Wassmer

mystery 2016

Kindle

finished 7/28/21

August - 4

37. Murder on the Pilgrims Way - book 4 in the Whitstable Pearl mysteries

by Julie Wassmer

mystery 2017

Kindle

finished 8/6/21

38. Disppearance in Oare - book 5 in the Whitstable Pearl mysteries

by Julie Wassmer

mystery 2018

Kindle

finished 8/13/21

39. Murder Fest - book 6 in the Whitstable Pearl mysteries

by Julie Wassmer

mystery 2019

Kindle

finished 8/24/21

40. Murder on the Downs - book 7 in the Whitstable Pearl mysteries

by Julie Wassmer

mystery 2020

Kindle 

finished 8/28/21

September - 5

41. Strictly Murder - book 8 in the Whitstable Pearl mysteries

by Julie Wassmer

mystery 2021

Kindle

finished 9/2/21

42. Dear Hugo 

by Molly Clavering

fiction 1955

Kindle

finished 9/7/21

43. A Study in Stone - book 1 in the Devonshire mysteries (a short novel)

by Michael Campling

mystery 2019

Kindle

finished 9/8/21 

44. Valley of Lies - book 2 in the Devonshire mysteries

by Michael Campling

mystery 2020

Kindle

finished 9/17/21

45. The Colors of All the Cattle - book 19 in the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series

by Alexander McCall Smith

mystery 2018

Kindle

library book

finished 9/21/21

October - 4

46. "Murder Isn't Cricket" - book 4 in the Doctor Harry Manson series

by E. and M.A. Radford

mystery 1946

Kindle

finished 10/3/21

47. Murder Between the Tides - book 3 in the Devonshire mysteries

by Michael Campling

mystery 2020

Kindle

finished 10/19/21

48. The Road to Grantchester - prequel to the Grantchester series

by James Runcie

fiction 2019

Kindle

finished 10/26/21

49. Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death - book 1 in the Grantchester series

by James Runcie

mystery 2012

Kindle

second reading

finished 10/31/21

November - 5

50. Sidney Chambers and The Perils of the Night - book 2 in the Grantchester series

by James Runcie

mystery 2013

Kindle

second reading 

finished 11/8/21

51. Sidney Chambers and The Problem of Evil - book 3 in the Grantchester series

by James Runcie

mystery 2014

Kindle

finished 11/16/21

52. A Child's Christmas in Wales

by Dylan Thomas

autobiographical prose poem 

Christmas

published in Harper's Bazaar 1950

recorded by the author BBC Radio 1952

my edition New Directions 1954

print

finished 11/16/21

53. Sidney Chambers and The Forgiveness of Sins - book 4 in the Grantchester series

by James Runcie

mystery 2015

Kindle

finished 11/24/21

54. Sidney Chambers and The Dangers of Temptation - book 5 in the Grantchester series

by James Runcie

mystery 2016

Kindle

finished 11/28/21

December - 8

55. Sidney Chambers and The Persistence of Love - book 6 in the Grantchester series

by James Runcie

mystery 2017

Kindle

finished 12/1/21

56. The Bishop's Wife

by Robert Nathan

fiction 1926

Christmas

Kindle

finished 12/3/21

57. Mrs Lorimer's Quiet Summer 

by Molly Clavering

fiction 1953

Kindle

finished 12/5/21

58. Because of Sam

by Molly Clavering

fiction 1954

Kindle

finished 12/10/21

59. Murder Jigsaw - book 2 in the Doctor Harry Manson series 

by E. and M. A. Radford

mystery 1944

Kindle

finished 12/18/21

60. Edward Speaks At Midnight

by Pamela Terry

illus. by Kevin Nichols

children's picture book 2015

Christmas

print

finished 12/18/21

61. Who Killed Dick Whittington? - book 6 in the Doctor Harry Manson series

by E. and M.A. Radford

mystery 1947

Kindle

finished 12/27/21

62. Lucy & Tom At Christmas

by Shirley Hughes

children's picture book 1981

Christmas

print

finished 12/28/21

Quote du jour/John Lennon

 "... happy new year. Let's hope it's a good one, without any fear."

John Lennon (1940-1980)

Warren Haynes - New Year's Eve

For all of us who have lost loved ones, or just plain had a tough, tough year "watching time go by."

"New Year's Eve"
(feat. Railroad Earth)

Next year's gonna be better
Next year will surely be the one
And it's right around the corner
Hell, it's just about begun
So what am I still sitting here for
When everyone's inside?
What am I doing drinking whiskey
And looking for a place to hide?

Yeah, old buddy, I sure miss you
You and old "What's his name?"
And I know if y'all were here now
This party wouldn't be so damn lame
There'd be dancing, and fighting,
And cussing, and laughing
Raise our voices to the sky
Bring the new year in right
Instead of watching time go by

Yeah, sometimes I wonder what
The world would be like
If I didn't have strangers as my best friends
I'm sitting here on new year's
Thinking 'bout old friends and old times
We'll never see them again

Yeah, sometimes I still wonder what
My life would've been like
If I didn't have angels at my defense
I'm sitting here on new year's
Singing 'bout old friends and old times
We'll never see them again

But next year's gonna be better
Next year will surely be great
Well, I guess I should say "This year"
Geez, how did it get so late?
What am I still sitting here for?
When did everybody leave?
What am I doing here drinking whiskey?
Oh yeah, it's New Year's Eve

Quote du jour - Call The Midwife 2020 Christmas special

The fellow tipping his hat is none other than the wonderful Peter Davison playing the ringmaster of a circus that comes to Poplar during the Christmas season.

These are the last words of this excellent episode, again spoken by Vanessa Redgrave.

And so it is Christmas. As eternally different as it is the same. We come together, drawn to the place that we call home or where we are simply welcomed in. We can be broken, but we still belong. We can be fragile, but are valued all the more. We each have our place, our part to play, our seat at the table, and our purpose. The future will not be unwrapped just yet. We can't know if it holds the things we dream of, and if only for today, that is exactly as it ought to be. For now, the moment holds us in its arms. We are as safe as a child once was, beneath a star and swaddled in a manger. There is no darkness that is of any consequence, and yet not one space that is not filled with love.

Keith Urban - I'll Be Your Santa Tonight (Official Music Video)

I just discovered this song! Don't know how I missed it last year. The only thing better than Keith Urban is three Keith Urbans. Haha!

 

"Just Breathe" - Live At Austin City Limits - Pearl Jam

On his 56th birthday, thought I'd share an older song sung by Eddie Vedder. In my very most humble opinion, he has the best voice in rock music.

Today's poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I was looking at my 2020 Susan Branch calendar and saw that the last piece of verse she noted on the December page is the last verse of this poem. It is quite fitting for our very strange and sad year. Ah, Longfellow. Always and forever one of my favorites. He puts his whole soul into his work. And I've just ordered a brand new biography of him! So excited.

This was first published in 1838. His first wife had died just a few years earlier after a miscarriage.

Here is an 1840  portrait of him done by Cephas Thompson.

A Psalm of Life

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
What The Heart Of The Young Man Said To The Psalmist.

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
   Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
   And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
   And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
   Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
   Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
   Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
   And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
   Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world’s broad field of battle,
   In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
   Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
   Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,— act in the living Present!
   Heart within, and God o’erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us
   We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
   Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
   Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
   Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
   With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
   Learn to labor and to wait.

Quote du jour/George Bernard Shaw

 I am currently watching a New Zealand show on Acorn TV called Nothing Trivial, and I just saw a quote from George Bernard Shaw that I had never heard before.

"A happy family is but an earlier heaven."

Isn't that just the best!

Here's a picture of the man. 

Lukas Nelson - Focus On The Music (Quarantunes Evening Session)

 

Gotta focus on the music
Focus on the heart of things
Focus on the peace that music brings

Musicians have been very creative in getting their music out there. This "quarantune" was an early example. You can see it is as homemade as it gets.The singer, the guitar, the recording device.

There were three evenings in the past few months when music did "carry me merrily and gently down the stream".

The first one was early on, in March. Chris Smither was on what is called a Parlor Room Home Session. He is a longtime time favorite of Tom and I, and it was a delight to see him in his own home. He told stories and sang his wonderful songs. I was transfixed. The music was just what I needed when everything had changed so much in such a short time. You may watch it here. Just to let you know, it takes a few minutes before he appears.

The second one was Keith Urban, live streaming on Amazon Music. An hour in which I thought of nothing. I just basked in the music. There are several videos on YouTube from the show. Here is one where Keith sings with Pink.

The third was a live stream of Farm Aid. You may find most (all?) of the performances here. I hope that address works, but if not, just go to YouTube and type in Farm Aid 2020. This is where I first heard Lukas Nelson, and I've since bought an album, and follow him on Instagram where he often posts videos. Lately he's been doing something called Soundcheck Songs where his band Promise of the Real explores "songs and artists, some well-known, some more obscure, that have influenced us as a band in one way or another." These are also on YouTube on his page. Farm Aid introduced me to other artists I'd not heard before like Black Pumas, whose album I've also bought. You may see a Tiny Desk Concert of them here. 

And speaking of Tiny Desk Concerts, they are a wonderful music source to visit, if you haven't already. The main page is here. 

Music gives solace to my soul and is as necessary as air, never more than in this strange and sad year.

The birthday pals

 Yesterday the birthday pals, Tom and Hazel celebrated their special day. And indeed, this one was particularly special, numerically speaking! Hazel turned 7 and Tom 70 which means he is, for this year TEN times older than she is!! 

And turning seven is in itself a special day. There is quite a quite a wonderful article here, if you are interested. It isn't necessarily exactly seven. Kids develop differently. But it is right around seven that is a real milestone in one's life.

If you watch the Up series, you'll remember that the first episode began with these words:

Give me a child until he is seven, and I will give you the man.

I've looked it up and they have been variously attributed to Aristotle, Francis Xavier, and the Roman Catholic Jesuits. 

"Six or seven or eight" is in Rogers and Hammerstein's South Pacific. I'll quote the whole song because it is so moving. 

You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!

There's a lovely version done by James Taylor here. 

So, it is a big deal to be turning seven!

I thought I'd put up pictures of Tom and Hazel over these seven years. Most of them on or near their birthday.

The first one, the very first time Tom held her, one day after she came home from the hospital - February 9, 2014. If you don't know her story, you made read it here. 

December 5, 2014

December 6, 2015

December 5, 2016

December 5, 2017

December 7, 2018 (opening a coconut)

November 28, 2019

And this year

In this strange year, she had a drive-by birthday party. People stayed in their cars, everyone wearing masks, and gave her presents! Margaret's text to me said, "overwhelmed with the love". There have been many things that have been wonderful in spite of the virus, and this party was certainly one of them. 

Queen - Thank God It's Christmas (Official Lyric Video)

This is, hands down, my favorite Christmas song - not hymn, but popular song. That voice. I've read it ranged four octaves. 

 "It's been a long, hard year"

 "We live in troubled days" 

I couldn't find a live version, but I think the video is very special, and the bonus is that you can read all the words.

 

Wham! - Last Christmas

I figure someone else must love this song as much as I do!

 

Addendum: The next day, this showed up on the BBC Radio 2 feed on Instagram!