Do You Hear What I Hear?

Do you ever pick up the wrong lyrics to a song, and then you're stuck with those forever, instead of the right ones?

I've done it myself, more often than I’d like to admit. To this day, when I hear that song "Every time you go away..." it's "you take a piece of MEAT with you" instead of ME. It changes the whole sentiment of the song, but it turns out I like it better that way, so that's how it goes in my head.

Christmas has been a prime time for lyric mangling at our house, and especially amusing with young children. When my sons were 3 or 4, they heard a new (to them) holiday song on the radio and began singing it in earnest. Over and over every day in the car, I heard the happy sounds of "Police La-Di-Da" going in the back seat. Repeat three times and then a bunch of jibberish. Never again will I hear "Feliz Navidad" the same way. (Later when I told them this story, they insisted that could not have happened...after taking Spanish in Kindergarten, they had learned the real words!)

Then about three years ago it was a different one. At school they must have heard or talked about the "12 Days of Christmas" -- honestly, one I'm not crazy about since it goes on and on and on. One night as we finished dinner, Trey and Brett wanted to sing it for us, but as Brett explained, it would be abbreviated to the "7 days" because that was all he could remember (relief!). The first time they performed it, the only thing we remembered was how they stopped and very dramatically sang, arms flung wide and in best operatic voice, "FIVE GOLDEN RINGS!!!!" We were hysterical for several minutes.

In later renditions we realized Brett hadn't really understood the Partridge in a Pear Tree part. Even after I explained what a partridge is, what a pear tree is, and why that might be the right lyric, he continued singing "a parge in a ginnabear tree," insisting that he could not sing it the other way. He may have liked it better because it was all his, and because we smiled when he sang it. To this day, I wonder what picture he had in his head singing it!

And just today we were driving along, listening to the XM holiday station. I wasn’t paying particular attention, focused on the obstacle course that is every road in the Metroplex these days. But then I heard a voice from the backseat say, “did he just sing ‘pay for pizza people everywhere’?” – and had to listen for a second to the song, and then translate. “No, sweetie…it was ‘pray for peace, people everywhere.’”

 

Sometimes it just works best to listen to the Muppets' versions of traditional tunes. In "Ringing of the Bells," Beaker, the Swedish Chef, and Animal join forces and the words don't matter -- which is great since they don't really use words anyway! I know it's not Pentatonix, but it's fun.

Aside from carols, Trey has been playing Beatles tunes on his guitar. You know, like “Hey Dude” (Mommy, why doesn’t that song ever finish?).  I can’t wait until he starts listening to Elton John. Hmmm...does he have a Christmas album? That would be very interesting…

Let's Eat : Beef Stew

Brrrr!

Anybody else a little chilly?

For many of us, it’s winter. For some of us, that’s unusual; others were expecting it (although maybe not quite as cold as it’s been this last week!). In Texas, we’re often running around in short sleeves and even shorts as the Christmas shopping escalates. The mall might be cool enough for a jacket but the outside air usually isn’t. So this recent cold-weather blast was an excellent opportunity to experience our holiday sweaters, hot spiced cider and crock pots filled with homemade soups and stews.

At our house we had one of our favorites, Paula Deen’s Old-Time Beef Stew. Link to her version, or use this one (slightly adjusted for my family’s tastes, and with the added comfort-food layer of mashed potatoes). It looks like a lot of ingredients, but it's not much work and you may already have most of what you need.

Old-Time Beef Stew over Mashed Potatoes

For the stew:

• 2 pounds stew beef
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1 or 2 bay leaves
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• Dash ground allspice or ground cloves
• 4 large carrots, sliced
• 3 ribs celery, sliced
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Brown the meat in hot oil. Add beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and allspice. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours.

Remove bay leaves. Add carrots and celery. Cover and simmer 30 to 40 minutes longer. Combine 1/4 cup water and cornstarch until smooth. Mix with a little hot liquid from the pot and return mixture to the stew. Stir and cook until bubbly.

For the potatoes:

• 3-4 large baking potatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Milk as desired
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Sliced green onions or chives

Peel the potatoes and cut into 1-inch chunks. Boil until tender, 15-20 minutes. Drain and mash with fork, pastry blender or potato masher, adding oil and milk to get the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste; mix the chives into the potatoes if you like.

To serve, place a serving of potatoes into a bowl. Ladle stew over the top, and if you still have the chives you can sprinkle them on top. This will serve 6-8 depending on how hungry they are!

Here's the stew, garnished with a few green beans!

Now that you have a warm dinner, how about that winter playlist? It doesn’t have to be Christmas carols, although those are great for December. If you think about it, there are lots of wintery songs, appropriate whenever there is a chill in the air:

·         A Marshmallow World [nice with some hot cocoa]

·         Baby, It’s Cold Outside

·         Frosty the Snowman [we all know he was made from Christmas snow…but the song doesn’t actually say that]

·         I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm

·         Jingle Bells

·         Let It Snow

·         Sleigh Ride

·         (I Love the) Winter Weather

·         Winter Wonderland

·         …you get the idea. Note how none of these songs refer to ice. Pretty, fluffy, romantic snow is the stuff these are made of! You may also have some favorite, newer tunes so feel free to mix it up. I'm kind of stuck in a music groove that happened 40 years ago.
 

And everyone needs a little winter décor, besides that damp pile of coats, gloves, hats and scarves taking up space on a perfectly good chair. I’ve got an extensive snowman collection, and "the chosen ones" come out this time of year (which ones, and how many, just depends on the year). It’s a winter thing, but since we decorate for Christmas in December my husband has come to think of the snow-crew as a Christmas thing.

We have the same conversation every year when Christmas has passed but the decorations remain. I’ll agree that the stockings and the tree and the nativity sets all scream “Christmas” but argue passionately that the snowmen and snowflakes are “Winter,” and therefore should stay up through January. I generally win, because I’m the one who packs up the inside decorations anyway…but it’s an annual post-Christmas discussion nonetheless. I suspect that maybe he feels like their little black eyes -- and there might be hundreds of those -- are watching us.

Some of my favorites...these make it out EVERY year.

  

He, sometime after New Year's: Why are there still snowmen on the mantle?

Me: I like them. Besides, they’re winter.

He: Not really. That one is wearing a red and green scarf.

Me: They’ve all got different colors. That one has a heart, so he might be for Valentine's Day. 

He: Christmas is over.

Me: I took down the stockings, isn’t that enough?

He: Seriously. Christmas is over.

Me: But winter isn’t.

He: (sighs) I’m going to China.

Me: Ha! They’re staying out until February then…

Stay warm, everybody!

 

 

Fa La La La La, part 1

I can’t help it.

This has been going on for years.

There is apparently not a cure.

I’m hopelessly attracted to holiday music. Not just singles, but entire albums. This isn’t new – I started with LPs (which I still have) and progressed to 8-track tapes and cassettes (no longer in the collection) and have countless CDs which have been picked up over the years. I'm going to guess I've amassed nearly 100 albums in all, but has that stopped me? No...every year I scour the holiday rack at Half Price Books and search new releases online. If I end up in a Virgin Record store (do those even still exist?) just go get coffee -- I’ll be awhile.

Rosemary Clooney. Johnny Mathis. Ella Fitzgerald. Percy Faith. Hampton String Quartet. Judy Garland. Frank Sinatra. The Carpenters. The Vocal Majority. Andy Williams. Steve Tyrell. Barry Manilow. The Chipmunks. Brian Setzer. Paul Anka. Mannheim Steamroller. Louis Armstrong. Dean Martin. Mel Torme. Elvis Presley. Glenn Miller. Harry Connick Jr. I've even got Christmas with the Rat Pack. (If any of those names sent you to Google, well, you're a lot younger than I am.) Everyone has recorded a Christmas album!

Never mind that, for the most part, there are like 14 songs that get re-recorded over and over and over on Christmas albums. And disregard the fact that a few of these albums should never have been released because they include ALL of the common 14 songs with unimaginative arrangements. (Back in the old days you just bought albums…there were no previews to listen to or reviews to read first on Amazon – you read the jacket, bought an album and took your chances...and I still do that.)

Of all the albums in my jukebox, a few do stand out as favorites. They’re the ones my husband and I scramble for each year, so they’re in our cars for the season. If you’re looking for some fresh music for your own car, you might consider these:

• Pink Martini – Joy to the World (2010) -– definitely not traditional, but it still sounds Christmassy in a world-traveler multi-cultural kind of way. Plus the CD cover is super-cool.
• Straight No Chaser – Holiday Spirits (2008) -– these guys really have their act together, and by that I mean they’re in perfect 10-part harmony. All their holiday albums are fun, but this one includes their version of “12 Days of Christmas” which is just priceless, and anything but dull and repetitive.
• Bette Midler – Cool Yule (2006) -– top to bottom, I love this one. It’s fun! And one that (for whatever reason) I don’t get tired of. My boys even ask for the record with the “red-haired lady” on the cover.

(skipping a few decades here...)

• Vince Guaraldi Trio - A Charlie Brown Christmas (soundtrack to the television show, 1965) -- a must-have album if you grew up in the era when we scoured the weekly TV schedule delivered in the newspaper to find out when all the holiday specials were playing. Without VHS or DVD copies, we had to stop everything and watch when our favorites were on.
• Steve & Eydie – That Holiday Feeling! (1964) – May your days be perky and bright! I love Steve & Eydie; you just know they’re singing with big smiles on their faces. The music is great but even better is this “personal” message printed on the liner notes. So 60’s!

 

• Bing Crosby – Merry Christmas/White Christmas (1945) – The ultimate classic.  You get more than Bing -- the Andrews Sisters are here too. Mele Kelikimaka is certainly not on every album; beware, it will stick with you for days! And I love this version of Jingle Bells.

So if you’re looking for some new old tunes to get your holiday spirit going, you might give one of these a try. They’re all on Amazon (where the links will take you) but I find great bargains at Half Price Books and online at hbpmarketplace.com all the time. Or maybe your parents or your favorite festive aunt -– you know, the one with the collection of holiday aprons –- has one of these tucked away that you can borrow. Ray Conniff, anyone? That says “get out the eggnog” to me!