Thursday, December 05, 2019

Sharing the Holidays With Friends

Began a cloudy, blah morning with breakfast, then made my bed and sorted through the junk and mail on top of my printer. As soon as I finished that, I pulled out the Christmas tree. I wanted to get the actual tree up before Amanda arrived. Got the lights and gold tinsel garland on, too, though the lights took me a while. They tend to get tangled in the tree branches when I put them on.

Incidentally, my tree is fake. I had a very large, ancient heater in my living room when I lived in Wildwood in the early 2000's and didn't trust a real tree within a hundred miles of it. My current tree was an early Christmas present from Mom in 2002. Besides, not only could I not afford a new tree every year, but I could never get even a small real tree home on my bike.

Ran documentaries on Christmas history as I worked. Christmas Past discusses the holidays in England, via the stories of people who lived through it, including a genuine Downton Abbey-esque aristocrat, a woman who was evacuated to the country during World War II and her first nice Christmas there, and two Scots who celebrated their first holidays period in the 1950's. Christmas Unwrapped is more-or-less the same deal, with more emphasis on how the holiday began and holiday traditions in the US. TV Guide Looks at Christmas has Lea Thompson going into the history of how Christmas on TV has been represented over the years, from a Howdy Doody special to A Charlie Brown Christmas to Pee Wee Herman's 80's variety show.

Went out to wait for Amanda promptly at 11. She didn't arrive until 11:30. She claimed she ran into traffic and road work on the White Horse Pike. At the very least, that gave me the time to round up my trash can and bring the mail inside.

We had lunch in Collingswood at The Pop Shop. Unlike Jessa last month, Amanda was able to find a parking spot, right down an alley and across the street from their building. Despite it being noon, they were dead when we arrived, with only one other family with two adorable toddlers dining there. Amanda and I both had grilled cheese. She had the Everett with cheddar, portobello mushrooms, spinach, and onions. I had the Bettlewood, dripping with Swiss cheese, grilled chicken, scallions, and garlic mayo. We shared a big basket of tasty dark fries.

Amanda decided that it would be easier for her to pay for lunch, rather than figuring out how to split it. I offered to buy our tea and coffee at Common Grounds Coffee House around the corner from my place. She had a peppermint mocha coffee with a chocolate peanut butter cake pop. I had a chai latte with a red velvet cake pop. We enjoyed our treats in the back corner of the room, chatting in a quiet shop with only the barista and one other woman there.

Went back my apartment after we finished. As soon as we got in, we exchanged gifts. She gave me containers of pump soap, body lotion, bubble bath, as well as sleep socks from Bath and Body Works (where she works on occasional weekends), along with a plastic cane of Hershey's candies and a box of Swiss Miss peppermint hot chocolate. She loved the little Christmas-themed Hello Kitty clip I gave her.

After we put away the gifts, I showed Amanda episodes of Match Game. We kept them on in the background while we decorated the tree. I have so many ornaments, I really can't decorate it alone anymore. I have plain glass balls I bought at Family Dollar and fancy glass ornaments Mom bought from gift shops in Cape May. We hung a Lucy Ricardo ornament Mom gave me, an Older Force Awakens Han Solo I got from a half-price sale at a closing Hallmark, a Disney Cinderella and Yogi I picked up at after-Christmas sales, several resin bears, and all kinds of gingerbread and snow-themed pieces. There were clothespin soldiers Mom made, glittery and translucent icicles I bought from Family Dollar years ago, and dangling beaded ornaments my cousin Samantha put together one year.

We worked so well together, we had the tree fully decorated by 3. Since we had time, we dressed the bears and put them under the tree. Mom started this tradition when Dad gave her a big white teddy bear from K-Mart in 1987. She put him on her hope chest, then added several more stuffed animals and put them in old Christmas baby outfits and scarves and hats. She got tired of doing it by the 21st century and turned the remaining bears and their accessories over to me, and I have my own bears to go with them.

Finished the remaining decorating after Amanda headed out. I have a lot of holiday stuff for such a small place. Loaded Beanie Baby bears onto the DVD shelves, including my green bear angel Gift and white angel Herald. Mom's hand-made stuffed "gingerbread people" were organized around a garland on the TV stand. Holly the porcelain doll and the mini-Nutcracker guard the CDs and records next to the tree. Two cheerful porcelain bears in Santa suits stand watch over the CD player. The collectible Winter Cinderella doll in her gold and white gown went on top of the wardrobes with the other collector's toys. The big resin Santa statue, small porcelain bears, and roly-poly Clement and Rudy musical toys all went on those newly empty shelves in my bedroom. A small tree decorated with tiny (non-working) lights and garland went on the other bookshelf.

Watched Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as I was doing this. Rudy is an adorable baby reindeer with a big problem. His nose glows bright-red, something that's looked down as shameful at the extremely conformist North Pole. Good thing he makes friends with fellow misfit Hermie, an elf who wants to be a dentist, and miner Yukon Cornelius. They finally learn from their encounters with the Island of Misfit Toys and the Bumble Snow Monster that being a little different isn't such a terrible thing...and you never know when a disability might save someone's holiday season.

Did How the Grinch Stole Christmas as I ate a quick leftovers dinner. This is the original version of the tale of the Grinch, a nasty green fellow who lives over the Whos on Mount Crumpet, and the year he decides he's tired of their noise and steals their holiday goodies. Boris Karloff is the Grinch himself  here, as well as the narrator. Thurl Ravenscroft of Tony the Tiger fame introduces "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch."

Headed out after dinner. I saw an advertisement for a holiday bazaar on West Clinton on the marquee at City Hall. The "bazaar" was on West Clinton, but it wasn't really much to look at. The block where Common Grounds and a few other restaurants and offices are hosted several tables of hand-made goodies and a cart with edible cookie dough. I saw nothing I absolutely needed and moved on.

I thought Oaklyn's Parade was supposed to be at 6:30. There was no one at City Hall when I arrived. I strolled down to WaWa and bought a Peppermint Mocha Hot Chocolate, then returned to City Hall...to discover when I looked it up online and checked out the digital sign at the Fire Department that our parade had been moved to 8 PM. Seems Gloucester Township's parade was at 6:30, and the Oaklyn Fire Department was due to be in that, too. I decided that was too late to be out on a cold, windy night and walked home instead.

Made Double Chocolate Chip Cookies from a fudge cookie mix while finishing Rick Steves' European Christmas, which I started during dinner, when I got home. It's a merry little Christmas all all across the continent that gave us some of our most cherished winter traditions. The British make mini-mince pies with their little ones, decorate trees with cookies, and watch the kids at their local school sing carols. The gorgeous Christkind angel welcomes visitors to the marketplace in Munich. Parisians skate on top of the Eiffel Tower and buy gifts at fancy department stores, while rural families in Burgundy enjoy a huge feast. Rural Italians enjoy a living nativity, while Austrians decorate their tree away from children's eyes. Bringing home and decorating the tree is a family affair in snowy Switzerland.

Finished the night after a shower with The Girl of the Golden West. I go further into this western vehicle for Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

The Girl of the Golden West (1938)

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