It's hard to believe this year is over; I'm not sure I'm ready for another year of fighting COVID and taking the precautions, because I'm in the vulnerable group. I'm finding it hard to understand the vaccine reluctance; I thought it was an answer to prayer.
At church on Christmas Eve, at least half of us still wore our masks, even though the county mandate ended on the 23rd. The small brass band accompanied the carols. But I missed something that had become a tradition here; a mom playing the keyboard, and her son on bass, doing the Mannheim Steamroller version of Silent Night. She has been ill and is still in rehab, so it didn't happen.
We actually attended a performance of Mannheim at the Lied last week, and heard their arrangement of all kinds of Christmas music, again. Someone asked if I had heard them before? Well, yes, I think at least three times; plus, I have them on vinyl, cassette, and CD. She laughed and said I need to buy the Blu-ray now.
They are amazing musicians. There is even a harpsichord, the instrument most of the music by Bach was composed on; except for the organ, of course. He was the consummate writer of music for organ.
So, other than that, it's been a quiet holiday. I even skipped the traditional oyster stew on the 24th, in favor of cherry soup, because I knew my girls did not like the oysters.
They helped put out the luminara, and it was a perfect night for it, with no wind, and warm temperature. The neighborhoods to the west have done it for years, and we usually drove around there after the church service. This year, we received notice that the Boy Scouts would prepare the sacks with sand, and the votive candles at a nominal price, as a fund raiser, and an encouragement to join the group. Turns out I was the only one in our cul de sac that did it. I thought they were beautiful.
So, we will meet at Kay's for our feast today, Tuesday. We waited because Randa was touring with Fiddler on the Roof and had to perform in Boston on the weekend. She had a delay to her flight yesterday, along with thousands of others, but got here eventually.
And, if you're interested, the show will be in Omaha in February, and it looks like there is a bus going from Norfolk for the Saturday production. I did the Lion King like that, and it is the way to go! Transportation, lunch, and performance all included, with someone else doing the driving, which I like.
Happy New Year!
