Finally, our Christmas celebrations have come to an end, as Epiphany Mass was this morning and we attended our sixth and last Christmas party today. Don’t get me wrong; I enjoyed them all. In fact, I’d have to say it’s been quite a few years since I enjoyed the season’s parties this much. But six parties in a little over two weeks is a lot for me to take.  That many parties in two months would be a lot for me. It’s a good thing I like the people in our families so much.

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I found this a while back and thought I’d save it for the actual season.  I’m not normally a fan of blinking Christmas lights, but if you can use them this well, go for it.  (The music’s not bad either.)

It’s Christmas Eve, so rather than write one of my long-winded screeds, I’ll settle for some short notes tonight.

In case anyone who comes here hasn’t checked out the St. Rose web site yet, I should mention that we’re having a Midnight Mass tonight, in addition to the regular Mass times of 8:00am and 11:00am tomorrow.  There will be Christmas carols before Mass at 11:30 tonight.  I don’t know if the organ repairs are finished yet; but with or without it, I’m sure the choir will be singing tonight.

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We just got back from the “Christmas Memories” concert put on by the Quincy Symphony Orchestra. I’d recommend it, but it looks like it’s a one-time show; so if you weren’t there, you’re out of luck. At $15, the tickets might seem a bit pricey, but it’s nice to know that you’re supporting a Quincy institution and most of your money isn’t going off to Hollywood or China or someplace.

I’m resistant to the way people keep celebrating Christmas earlier and earlier, and then dropping it by about 3pm on Dec. 25th. (Salvation Army bell-ringers who were out by mid-November, I’m loooking at you.) I try to pace myself so I still have some Christmas spirit for the real Christmas season: the twelve days after Christmas. I guess you have to make an exception for Christmas concerts, though. Who’s performing one on Dec. 26th? I don’t listen to Christmas music on the radio or see seasonal commercials on TV, so I’m not in much danger of overload.

Anyway, I thought it was great. I learned that I need to sit closer to the music next time, though. Lots of people behind us had ants in their pants or something and couldn’t sit still, so the constant rustling and my poor hearing made it hard to hear some of the quieter pieces. They did the Mannheim Steamroller version of Silent Night, which has long been a favorite of mine, and I just couldn’t hear it very well. Next time: up close.

They had a harp ensemble that was pretty cool, although I definitely don’t know anything about harp music. I think there were eight harps (and harpists), which is about eight times as many as I would have guessed existed in Quincy. Apparently, thanks to a lady who has been teaching the harp in Quincy for 62 years, Quincy has more harpists per capita than any other town or city in the United States. This town sure excels at some unusual things.

There were two choirs, one adult and one youth, and they both sounded good. I could have done without the karaoke portion of the program, personally—I’d rather listen to people who have practiced the songs together for weeks than the random crowd around me—but it seemed like people who can sing enjoyed singing along. I especially liked the choirs singing Christmastime is Here from the Charlie Brown Christmas show, and the song the Whos in Whoville sing together in the Grinch show (the cartoon, not the Jim Carrey abomination).

All in all, it was a nice time with a lot of good music, and I hope to attend some of their future performances. When people complain that Quincy doesn’t have enough big-city entertainment options, they should know we do have a pretty darn good symphony you don’t have to drive to St. Louis to see.

I love the nuts in the shell that the stores start putting out this time of year. Some places have them year round now, but I like to save them for winter like we did when I was a kid. Since they’re still in the shell, they’re about as fresh as can be, and not roasted in nasty hydrogenated oil or coated with sugar or any of that nonsense. The pecans at County Market are even fairly local, coming from somewhere in Missouri. Cracking them open slows me down, so I can’t gorge myself on them until I’m sick like I can with canned nuts.

The only downside is the nutshells. It’s impossible to crack these things without pieces of shell occasionally flying away. It’s just a given that we’re going to sweep some up this time of year, and eating them in bed is a very bad idea. They’re worth putting up with the shells, though. I like them all, even the Brazil nuts, which can be a bear to crack open. Sort of takes me back to those childhood Christmas mornings when we woke up to find presents under the tree—and nuts, malted milk balls, hard candy, and my mom’s peanut brittle in bowls on the table. I can’t really eat the other stuff now, but I can still have the nuts. They were always my favorite anyway.

To me, the best tasting ones are black walnuts, which we harvest at least every other year, but for those you need more than a standard one-handed nutcracker. For those, you need a hammer, a brick, or an industrial-sized cracker. Then the pieces of shell are really flying. They sure taste great, though, and they’re full of nutrition. I need to try to work some into a low-carb cheesecake somehow; that’s sounding very good right now.