All posts by Barbara in Rivertown

The Baboon Congress

Loose Time

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Today’s guest post comes from Barbara in Robbinsdale.

On a recent trip to the southeast and beyond, Michael and I had great fun visiting relatives and seeing sights. There was a carefully laid–out itinerary, with appointments to be had and expectations to be met all along the way.

But our fondest memories are of an unscheduled day and a half between destinations.

We were commitment free – the only task was to travel at a leisurely pace from Peachtree City, Georgia to Charleston, South Carolina. Since Savannah was in our path we made our way there, and spent a delightful afternoon walking among some old buildings and Colonial Park Cemetery.

Among our casual discoveries –

A riverfront dinner at One Eyed Lizzy’s and a relatively luxurious night at “Inn @ Mulberry Grove.”

The next day we only had to make a 2 ½ hour freeway trip. Rather than hurry along, we snagged a map at a visitor center and decided on a detour to Hilton Head Island. We had no reservations for any of the pricey resorts, but did manage to find a lovely public beach with amenities for retirees like a boardwalk and real rest rooms.

On the road to and from the beach, we drove for several miles past strip malls – but not your cement-and-asphalt-on-the-prairie ugliness to which much of North America is accustomed. These rows of shops are nestled in among long tall pines and live oaks draped with Spanish moss. They look like someone just threw out some strip-mall seeds, and the shops sprouted there amongst the trees. They beckoned. We stopped.

Michael making up the itinerary as he goes.

Not everything was small and charming. We found a Barnes & Noble, but I couldn’t bring myself to pay full price ($16.95 for the paperback!) for THE Savannah book everyone had been recommending, Midnight in the Gardens of Good and Evil. So we wished for a thrift shop, and a St. Vincent’s showed itself around the next bend – bought the hardcover Midnight… for two bucks. An inexpensive meal at a modest Dunkin’ Donuts capped a satisfying ramble.

It felt a bit like magic by then, and it was. There is nothing like free time. Even if you are retired, as we are, you fill up your days with commitments of one kind or another. Sometimes it takes getting out of Dodge to find that unplanned, open, loose time. Next trip I’m going to insert into the itinerary: one day to go “off road”, a day committed to no one, to do whatever presents itself.

When have you had a satisfying span of loose time?

The Baboon Congress

Art and Eat

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Today’s guest blog is a group entry by Barbara in Robbinsdale, Sherrilee, Plain Jane, tim, and a bystander who took a picture of the group with Sherrilee’s cell phone.

This is a two part story:

The Exhibit

Six of our “baboons” – Sherrilee, Margaret (PJ), Lisa, Linda, tim, and Barbara (BiR) – showed up at the American Swedish Institute last Friday to see the exhibit In Our Nature: Tapestries of Helena Hernmarck. ASI’s brochure describes them as “monumental works [that] immerse the viewer in the best of nature: lush blooms, rich green forest scenes, and sunny poppy pastures…” They’re not kidding about “monumental” – many of these tapestries took up an entire wall, and some of the walls of ASI’s new addition are massive. You have to be far away to see the “picture” in these tapestries; when you’re up close you see how color happens in nature, the shading and layering, as well as “on the loom.”

Sherrilee describes it this way:

Most of the tapestries were woven and hung in the same vertical direction – up and down as it were. But there were a few tapestries with horizontal weave and it completely changed the look of those works. The horizontal pieces seemed almost like photos with amazingly clear details. One of these pieces was called “Mossklyftan” done in 2007. Mossklyftan translates literally as “Moss Gap” and is a perfect name, as a clear brook runs down the gap between moss-covered stones. Standing back in the room, it looked like a lovely photo of a forest scene. Up close you could see all the individual bits of wool and linen that make up the whole. The warp, which showed through occasionally, was a beautiful shade of pink that you wouldn’t think would be a good color in a forest scene, but it was perfect.

Here is Mossklyftan from Helena’s website, photo taken by Lars Dahlstrom.

Helena’s motto was displayed in two languages on a wall at the beginning of the exhibit:

“My interest lies in capturing the image of a fleeting moment in the sustained and time-honored process of tapestry weaving.”

To our delight, PJ was able to read it to us in the Swedish – hard to describe how beautiful it sounds in the native tongue:

“Min önskan är att fånga det flyktiga ögonblicket och bevara det i bildvävnadens tidsprövande process.”

l to r: Sherrilee, tim, Linda in St. Paul, Lisa in Mpls., Barbara in Robbinsdale, and Margaret (PlainJane)

A bystander was kind enough to tag us in front of one of the poppy tapestries.

For more tapestry images, there is a slide show at Helena Hernmarck’s own website, along with an article written by one of the weavers who was in this summer’s weaving workshop at the ASI, which shows the tapestries that are here at ASI through October 14.

And if those aren’t enough links, PJ found a video showing how she does it!

The Food

Margaret describes the post exhibit activity: I’ll not focus on the exhibit but rather on the FIKA restaurant and its exquisite food. Possibly because of my Scandinavian background, I feel very at home at FIKA which is located in the stunning new, modern addition to the American Swedish Institute.

Tim and Linda had eaten at the cafe prior to viewing the tapestries, and Lisa and Sherrilee each had to get back to work. Barb and I were hungry, and Linda and tim kept us company.

BiR’s Quiche
PJ’s Salmon
tim’s Watermelon Radish Salad
Linda’s Roasted Beet Salad

(Food photos taken by tim on cell phone.)

Barb ordered the Kale Quiche with fresh baby arugula and a delicate pea sauce, and Cardamom Bread Pudding.

I had an open faced sandwich on dense, dark rye bread layered with watercress, a generous chunk of pan seared salmon drizzled with a scrumptious mustard sauce, and a dollop of quenelle of roasted red beets.

tim reported that he had the watermelon radish open-faced sandwich, and if memory serves, Linda had a roasted beet salad.

All reported that their food was excellent. Each entree cost in the neighborhood of $7.00 – $7.50, really a bargain in terms of quality and presentation. FIKA is well worth a visit, and if you time it right (after the lunch hour rush), there’s ample free parking in the Institute’s parking lot adjacent to the new addition. BiR wants to add that the coffee is also excellent.

Imagine you get to see your favorite kind of art, followed by a sumptuous meal of some kind. Design your own “art and eat” experience.

The Baboon Congress

Go With a Guide

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This is the final day of the 2012 Minnesota State Fair.
Today’s guest post comes from Barbara in Robbinsdale.

I had never really understood why there’s all that hype around The Great Minnesota Get-Together. My family didn’t go to the Iowa State Fair when I was growing up, and the Marshall County Fair was not thrilling. To me, the State Fair looked like a hot, crowded, dusty and smelly place that made me tired and cranky. Turns out the buildings are so old they aren’t even air conditioned. I would always try to resist buying too much fried food. I ended up walking clear out of my way to find things, retracing steps because I didn’t know where things were in relation to each other. I allowed myself only a few hours at the fairgrounds because I didn’t think there was much that interested me.

Until now, that is. I see that what you need is a “guide” who loves the fair and has been going for decades, really knows their way around so you don’t have to constantly consult a map. It helps if the guide likes some of the same things you like, especially a variety of foods and beverages. It helps if the guide will sit down when you want to sit down, and get you up and moving again with some new enticement.

Here are some things I’ve learned now that I have been guided at The Fair:

1. Take out a small loan to cover costs.

2. Bring a spare pair of comfortable shoes for when your feet get tired, in a backpack or some bag easy to sling over your shoulder, to hold all the stuff you will pick up along the way.

3. If you’re parking at a Shuttle Bus Lot, remember to factor in, time-wise (if you’re meeting someone), the fact that the shuttle will probably be making other stops before landing at the gate. And REMEMBER THE NAME OF YOUR LOT for the return trip.

4.If meeting your friends at the Fair, choose a place near something interesting where there are plenty of benches and freedom to browse. Rather than a set meeting time, pick a time range, i.e. “between 10 and 10:30”.

5. Give yourself at least an hour for the Fine Arts Building so you can find Hans’ (PJ’s husband’s) photo of Milwaukee Avenue.

6. Don’t try to avoid eating – just accept that you will eat and drink plenty of stuff you ordinarily wouldn’t, and it will not kill you. Try something you’ve never heard of, like (OMG) the Australian Battered Potatoes (heavenly without any sauce, thank you). If it looks like way too much food (largely because it’s the 4th food stand you’ve been to), you can split it with a friend, making it almost affordable, or take some home.

7. If there is an event (like ice cream tasting) scheduled at a set time, plan your itinerary around that, especially if Beth-Ann is going to win the prize for creating the ice cream flavor.

8. Don’t forget the Horticulture Building – there is beer sampling, and a display of seed mosaics not to be missed. (There are even rather funny political ones by left-leaning souls.)

9. Ask at an information booth – near the animal buildings – for directions to the llamas (staffers in the far flung booths only pretend to know).

10. It’s ok to let the llamas nibble on you fingers. BRING YOUR CAMERA (which I forgot) so you can get a photo of the llama giving your guide a kiss.

11. Be sure to see the chickens or rabbits, whatever is housed in the Sheep/Poultry Barn – you would NOT BELIEVE how many different sizes and colors of chickens there are! (Unfortunately, goats were not present that day.)

12. Let yourself get teary at all the beauty you will encounter – this only happened to me about a dozen times, as I observed such exquisite masterpieces grown or created by ordinary people among whom I spend my days here in Minnesota.

All in all, I had a wonderful day at the Fair, and can now understand why people go again and again (and again and again). Next time I’ll bring the camera.

(Add your own tips if you like.)

When have you relied on a guide?

The Baboon Congress

Win / Win

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Today’s guest post comes from Barbara in Robbinsdale, with assistance from Steve in St. Paul before he left for the long weekend.

It was a week ago today that a “Congress of Baboons” from in and around the Twin Cities showed up at Steve’s house in St. Paul, to rescue his and his neighbor’s yards from a very large branch that had fallen from a very tall tree. Here’s what we were dealing with:

It turns out quite a number of baboons know their way around a chain saw (Ben, tim, Sherrilee, Linda, just to name those present), and who could resist tim’s call to duty?

We ended up amazing ourselves with what a goodly number can accomplish in 3 or 4 hours. Limbs were downed and cut into manageable chunks …

… brush was cleared and four loads of it hauled away;

… and finally the last “threads” were severed and the biggest limb…

…hit the ground with a resounding thud. Steve said that, although he was in the house (possibly making Kool-Aid) at the time, he knew it by the way the whole house shook.

Then we rested:

There were thirteen of us including Steve, spouses, and teens.

The Crew: Catherine (mig), S&H, Lisa, tim, The Teenager, Sherrilee, Bill, Robin, Barbara, Linda, Michael (BiR’s husband), Ben

(Lisa and Robin recapped the event in more detail here
about 2/3 the way down.)

I understand how overwhelmed with gratitude is the person on the receiving end of the giving. Here is one of Steve’s “thank you”s:

In some ways it’s more fun to be on the “giving” end, and I’ve read articles to the effect that it really is easier to give than receive. Other writings cover the fact that it is natural to want to help. Even infants will become concerned when they hear another baby in distress, and toddlers will actively try to help when they see a need.

I’ve been thinking what were the motivators that got a dozen people out on a lovely July Saturday to hack down a hackberry tree. I’ve come up with these:

– we got to be outdoors, and it wasn’t 102° F., or even 95°
– those who know how to handle power tools got to hone their skill
– we got exercise
– we got Kool-Aid
– we knew at the end of the day we’d been useful
– community: we got to hang with other “baboons” – it was a party.

At the end of the day, we ALL felt good, at least mentally. It was a win for Steve, and a win for baboons.

What’s the best example you can remember of a Win-Win situation you’ve experienced or observed?

The Baboon Congress

The Screen Porch

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Today’s guest post is by Barbara in Robbinsdale .

The past week has been unbearably hot, and no doubt there’s more to come before summer is finished. Already the screen porch feels like a wise investment.

We had talked for years about adding something off the back of the house. There was already a long narrow “utility porch” (maybe 5’ x 10’) with 3 windows facing east. Last fall we started dreaming in earnest. A screen porch:

1) wouldn’t require a full foundation so wouldn’t cost all that much;
2) could make use of the lumber that’s been sitting in the back of the garage for the ten years since we to replaced the old garage;
3) would be in the shade by mid-afternoon (whereas our front porch on the west side becomes unusable by then) – we could eat out there on hot evenings, AND more to the point;
4) we could sleep there on a futon on hot, hot nights.

Enlisting the help of our neighbor, a contractor, we started in May. By the time I got the camera out:

The foundation was in place.

Next, the flooring was laid, and the room was framed!

The middle window
became…

…the doorway!

The knee wall was installed, outside and in.

The roof was finished, screening and the screen door were attached, the extra staircase was built, and the latticework was completed. Here she is in the half moon light.

So by the end of June, instead of installing the bedroom’s window air conditioner, I tried sleeping out on the screen porch. Made up the futon, locked the screen door… heaven. A little breeze wafted through almost immediately. I read by “book light” (no lamps out there yet) for a bit, and fell asleep before I knew it.

When has something turned out just as you planned it?

The Baboon Congress

Last of the Lefse

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Today’s Memorial Day guest post comes from Barbara in Robbinsdale.

One or more Baboons have expressed interest in hearing more about our son Joel, who died in September 2007 from an alcohol related accident, at the age of 26. Telling stories about Joel is one of the most healing things I do, so here you are.

Well, I finally did it. I threw out the remaining lefse.

This wasn’t just any lefse, not even just any homemade lefse. My son and I made this in December 2006, his last Christmas in the physical. This is one of my favorite things about Joel – he loved family traditions, and making lefse is something his grandpa had taught him. He truly enjoyed getting together with Family, was the one that would take videos of the little kids at Christmas and Thanksgiving, and then make video gifts for their parents. He was the fun “uncle” who would be on the floor playing with the toddlers.

Christmas 2004

When Joel was little, his favorite color was orange; I dressed him in that so he’d be highly visible on the playground. He loved cats from day one – Sox was absolutely appalled when he turned 9 months old and started walking. By the time he was eight, he was more reliable.

Like many children of Babooners, Joel put up with our beloved Morning Show (TLGMS) while growing up, and thanked me for it later – and yes, he appreciated ALL kinds of music because of it, from Classical to Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash, the Beatles.

Music is what made it possible for us to connect when he got to be 14 – Jerry Garcia had just died, and suddenly “my music” from the 70s was in the mainstream again. In music we had something that could start us talking.

Joel was smart, good looking, funny, and he shared my sense of humor. He liked helping people, and was a good listener – ended up being the Confidant in his group of friends. He was organized (!), practical, and resourceful. He became the medic on the hunting trips – had little vials of anything they would need: aspirin, antihistamine… tucked into the “slots” on his ammo belt.

Blues Festival in Mankato, 1997

An Aquarius, as an astrologer friend would tell me, he did “march to the beat of a different drummer”. When (at age 20) he and a buddy set off to look for an apartment, they ended up buying a little house a mile from ours, and rented out a room to at least one other friend to help make payments. We saw him almost weekly for dinner, followed by watching any DVD he would bring (i.e., the entire seven seasons of The West Wing). Or sometimes we’d do a special project like making lefse.

Last of the Lefse

And now, like many things, I have to let the lefse go. It smells stale and I see some (former) insects in the box. So I arranged and photographed it, then put some out for the critters and composted the rest. I still have my dad’s griddle – I might make lefse again some day, but I probably won’t do it alone.

What do you do to keep important memories alive?

The Baboon Congress

Little House in the Suburbs

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Today’s guest post comes from Barbara in Robbinsdale

The sun had just peeped over the horizon as Ba was starting her chores. Ba and Ha (not to be confused with Ma and Pa) live in a little stucco house on the edge of Sochacki Park. There is a big ravine beside their neighbors’ little green house, and then a bit of woods where the park begins. They can see snowboarders and cross country skiers during a winter when there is some snow. There are furry animals, too, and hawks and other birds. A catbird mimics other bird songs, and can even sound like a cell phone.

Ba filled the bird feeders, watered the house plants, and went down to the big upright freezer in the cellar for something to thaw for dinner. She threw a load of laundry into the washer, adjusted the settings and made sure the lid was closed tight. Then she put in 15 minutes on the stationary bike in Ha’s workroom while the clothes were washing.

After breakfast, Ba loaded the dishwasher and straightened up the kitchen. She washed out the zip-loc bags so she could use them again. It would be too wasteful to throw them away after just one use. Then she scrubbed the porcelain sink till it gleamed and she could almost see herself in it.

Later Ba would hitch up the horses (76 horsepower in the gas engine part of a Prius) and drive into town to visit her Ma. On some days she would walk an entire mile to get there, if Ha needed to use the car. Then she would put on her Gortex parka and her Reboks so that she would stay warm and safe. If it was very slippery she might use her Yak-trax.

As some of you may have guessed, I’ve been reading Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books again, and started imagining being Ma…

What would be your “chores” and daily “hardships” in a Little House chapter?

The Baboon Congress

G.O.A.T.LING(go)

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Today’s guest post comes from Barbara in Robbinsdale.

It’s time, Babooners, for the next round of additions to our Glossary of Accepted Terms, or G.O.A.T.. Every so often the bin gets full, and it has been a particularly rich half year since we last did this. At some point they will be added to the already existing Glossary “up top”. This time I left in the dates, because it really is fun to find out what in the heck was going on that produced the entries.

About a horse apiece – Close to equal, as in: “with regard to red vs white quinoa, I’d say it was about a horse apiece. Both are good and I couldn’t taste that one was better than the other.” February 12, 2012

Alpha Baboon – DC, or Dale Connelly, as in “I am thankful for Trail Baboons and the friends here as well as our Alpha Baboon, DC.” November 23, 2011

Baviaansverwisseling [from the Dutch words “baviaans” (baboon), and “persoonsverwisseling” (mistaken identity)] – attributing something (i.e. a blog post) to the wrong Babooner. September 20, 2011

Cheek turnee – the recipient of the compassionate act of turning the other cheek, as in: “many of us can recall being the cheek turner but very few cheek turnees.” January 9, 2012

Emotional hangover – a state of mind “that only mashed potatoes can address,” sometimes following a day in which a community has lost one of its favorite members, i.e. Tom Keith. November 2, 2011

Etiquette – …”a lubricant that allows people of all sorts to interact without friction.” October 3, 2011

Feisties – Baboon mothers who are extraordinarily resilient, strong, or tenacious. “Great mothers, Tim, Caroline and Sue; a trio of Feisties.” February 16, 2012

Flaming extrovert – an extremely gregarious Baboon, as in “Being a flaming extrovert, however, pretty much guarantees a good time and with 21 nightclubs on this monster ship…” January 26, 2012

Forgetful-compulsive – a new personality disorder, coined by the Alpha Baboon, in which the patient has both memory and control issues, exemplified by the following: “I forgot that last week I had scheduled Steve’s post to publish today, and then yesterday I compulsively wrote a new one of my own.” February 28, 2012

Gemutliche – Warm friendliness; amicability – snug, cozy, comfortable… Descriptions of a special cat. November 11, 2011

Inert – a particularly inactive level of activity in a person, i.e., “I took Latin in high school…I rather enjoyed it even though the teacher was somewhat inert.” September 20, 2011

Line camarerie – what happens when like minded people stand in line together for an extended time. “I love line camraderie when it breaks out.” November 12, 2011

Mondegreen – mis-heard lyrics to a song, as in: “They had slain the Earl of Moray/And Lady Mondegreen” instead of …”And Laid Him on the Green.” Sept. 16, 2011

Oxford comma – the final comma preceding “and” in a list, lovingly used by a number of Baboons. January 26, 2012

Pancake of glory – one way of leaving the planet (esp. involving a falling piece of an Upper Air Research Satellite), as in: “Let it land here. I am ready to go out in a pancake of glory.” September 22, 2011

Poemizing – creating poetry, or a reasonable facsimile thereof, on the Baboon Trail; as in: “Nice poemizing, DC and Tim.” February 2, 2012

Rock Bend Folk Festival – a FREE music festival in St. Peter the weekend after Labor Day, to which the Baboon Krista in Waterville devotes a good portion of her August (and maybe July). February 21, 2012

Rush Baboonbaugh – a spokesperson that would defend the rights of Baboons, probably in an outspoken manner. February 13, 2012

Snarky snort – a snort with a devilish little “heh-heh” to it. January 7, 2012

Tortured Acronym Rule – putting up to three extraneous letters in an acronym to come up with a better word, i.e., “SWIFT is short for Statewide Integrated Financial Tools… although “Statewide” may be one word, it’s almost two words, and we like the acronym SWIFT better than SIFT, so we’re going to invoke the Tortured Acronym Rule.” December 13, 2011

trailing preposition, trailing apology : What’s a trailing preposition? “thats a preposition you do while you are here on the trail i presuppose but heck thats ok you can do anything here on the trail. you dont need to leave no dang trailing apologies.” February 2, 2012

Typhonic winds of their own psychosis – in the realm of worrying: “Usually, there comes a point of ridiculousness where the person comes to realize how nutty they’re being. And, if not, at the very least, it’s entertaining watching them twist in the typhonic winds of their own psychosis.” September 22, 2011

Wasband – A person whowas one’s husband. Frequently used with glee at the past tense involved. (Not to be confused with Washboard.) February 8, 2012

Acronyms:

BuRP – Baboon Relocation Project (See Tortured Acronym Rule) January 10, 2012

IYCSSNTDSAAA – If You Can’t Say Something Nice Then Don’t Say Anything At All February 2, 2012

Pr³ – pressing priority predicament October 11, 2011

s&h – son and heir, esp. madislandgirl’s son and heir.

TWHQ – World Headquarters of the Trail Baboon Blog, as in: “it will all be worth it, just to say ‘I eat what they eat at TWHQ’ ”. January 13, 2012

When, if ever, do you use a dictionary or other reference? Paper or Digital?

The Baboon Congress

The Baldwin Acrosonic

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Today’s guest post comes from Barbara in Robbinsdale.

A few months ago we moved my mom from central Iowa to a lovely senior residence here in Robbinsdale. In mid-September past, this spunky little woman was uprooted from her home of 52 years. We knew that since her new apartment would be smaller than the old one, she would need to lighten up her belongings a bit, and bring just the things are most central to her life. The TV was left behind, but we brought the piano.

Hope (the fifth child in a family of seven kids) has loved music from day one. As a child she tinkered around like her mom did, by ear on their old upright piano that eventually became ours. She finally took piano and voice lessons in college when majoring in music.

I remember there always being a piano in our house – Grandma’s upright This is me in maybe 1951.

I had a great role model – Mom played a little pretty much every day – simple classical pieces, opera aria accompaniments, Broadway numbers, and (whenever she was teaching) music for the programs she would put on at school. I can remember falling asleep to strains of a Chopin Prelude, the haunting slow one (#20).

When we moved to Marshalltown in 1959, we lived for a year in an upstairs duplex. There was no way to get that big upright up the stairs, so they actually went into debt for a new piano. (This was very uncharacteristic for my father, who would, for instance, save up and pay for our next “new” car with cash.) I remember the day the delivery men huffed and puffed their way up those stairs with the Baldwin Acrosonic, a much smaller and prettier piano than the old upright — and it was NEW. It had such a beautiful tone, none of the keys stuck, and it had a light and easy touch.

Mom made sure my sister and I got piano lessons. Eventually, any combination of the three of us might sit down and play a duet from (something like) “59 Easy Piano Duets You Love to Play.”

She is still in love with that piano, which she plays often. At her new residence, it fits just fine on her living room wall, and she can practice to her heart’s content for accompanying the occasional sing-along there. It’s all possible because she still has her Baldwin Acrosonic.

What was the most memorable thing ever delivered to your home?

The Baboon Congress

Solstice Song Circle

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Today’s guest post is by Barbara in Robbinsdale.

Light is returning, even tho’ this is the darkest hour
No one can hold back the dawn.
Let’s keep it burning, let’s keep the light of hope alive
Make safe our journey through the storm.
One planet is turning, circle on her path around the sun
Earth Mother is calling her children home.

I sang this song over the weekend because it was the 3rd Saturday of the month, which means there’s Song Circle. This month it fell right before the Winter Solstice.

Song Circle is a group of aging hippies (and some younger, regular people) who meet monthly at various homes to sing together, led by a couple of folks with acoustic guitars and the occasional concertina, tambourine, or drum. The only requirements are a voice you’re willing to use, and showing up. There are other attractions as well – there is a plentiful supply of snacks, and in June and December there is a not-to-be-missed potluck. Once we’ve settled into the comfiest chairs we can find, we go around the circle as we take turns choosing the next song.

Talk about variety! We sing mostly from a spiral-bound book called Rise Up Singing, edited by Peter Blood et al, and with a forward by Pete Seeger (and there is a whole stack of the books available if you don’t own one), that provides the song lyrics, source, and chord progressions for the guitar-literate. There are hundreds of song lyrics, neatly organized both by title (if you’re lucky enough to know it) and topic. (A lot of the ones we sing were played on The Late Great Morning Show.) Of course, someone will always pop in with new song sheets that stretch our abilities and the skill of the guitarists. Depending on how many people show up on any given evening, we will get around the circle for two or three requests apiece.

December is particularly rich, with so many holiday songs to choose from, and there are extra booklets of Christmas songs, from the ridiculous to the sublime. This time I picked the above Light is Returning (lyrics by Charlie Murphy, tune: “original”). The words by themselves seem to indicate a quiet ballad, but no, it has a rollicking, boppy beat to it and sounds best sung with a throaty gusto. I also requested In the Bleak Mid-winter (but not too slow, please), and Bob Franke’s Thanksgiving Day as we were heading out. There was no need to stick with December – someone also chose an old Stan Rogers that I’d never sung.

I’m happy that we sing to celebrate Christmas and Hannukah, and especially glad to give a nod to the Winter Solstice. I am relieved that we’re almost there, and that even though the coldest days are still to come, the pendulum is about to start back in the other direction. Soon enough there will be more light, rather than less.

Share your favorite Winter Solstice songs, stories, poems, and customs.
If you don’t have any, you can create your own! Start here with an idea and give others the chance to help you develop it.