Happy Holidays

Quote of the Day:  I wonder as I wander out under the sky, how Jesus the savior did come for to die. For poor orn'ry people like you and like I. I wonder as I wander...
(I plan to sing this song on Christmas Eve during the prelude at my church's service. The tune and the words set me to pondering.)

Photo by Laura Radniecki Images

Happy Holidays from me and the boys!

The song, I Wonder as I Wander, has an interesting story. You can read about it in a beautiful picture book by Gwenyth Swain and illustrated by Ronald Himler. John Jacob Niles, who is credited for this song, was a wanderer himself, traveling about collecting folksongs. This one was sung to him by a young girl in Murphy, North Carolina. In the story that Swain describes, the girl and her father are traveling from place to place, telling their story, singing their songs, gathering just enough from the locals to be able to move on. I think they're trying to keep ahead of their pain because the mama in the story has passed, and they're grieving.

We all wander, don't we? And, I wonder...how can we make this a more beautiful stop on the Earth for each other? Here we are celebrating Christmas and other holidays, buying, baking, wrapping, sending. But, are we pausing? Are we living in the moment and cherishing our relationships? It's not all cheer and eggnog just because it's the holidays. Many people feel melancholy from recent changes in their lives. Someone might be missing who usually joins them around the table. And, while we cling to traditions, they can be cause for not being able to move on and make new memories.

We put up an artificial tree this year, for the first time. Bobby commented on it. I said I didn't think I'd ever go fake, but now that I have, I don't plan to go back. I said, "I am kind of a traditionalist." He said, "I wouldn't say that." That gave me pause. Maybe I am someone who can embrace change and do something a new way. (Embrace was my word for the year.)

"Christmas is a state of mind." I believe that quote comes from Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street, one of the many holiday movies I've watched while baking and wrapping and preparing my home for the holidays. 

When the tree goes dark, the wrapping tossed, and the meal cleaned up, what lingers are the words shared, the love felt, and the senses filled with the sights, sounds, smells, and memories of time together with friends and family.

I'll see you back here in the New Year!

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  What do you wonder as you wander?

Love is the Gift of Christmas

Quote of the Day:  First verse of Love Has Come to the tune of Bring a Torch, Jeannete, Isabella
Love has come - a light in the darkness!
Love shines forth in the Bethlehem skies.
See, all heaven has come to proclaim it;
Hear how their song of joy arises;
Love! Love! Born unto you, a Savior!
Love! Love! Glory to God on high!
(final line)
Love is the gift of Christmas,
Love! Love! Praise to you, God on high.

Mary Aalgaard, Andy Miller, Krista Rolfzen Soukup

I am all aglow with feelings of love this holiday season. (Don't get all excited. I'm not referring to romantic love. I'm still happily single.) I am basking in the warmth of friendship, the gift of local talents, and offers of generosity.

Andy's brother Nick manages Prairie Bay the best local restaurant in the Brainerd lakes area, where Krista and I had dinner on Saturday night. Andy stopped in for a quick bite of bruscetta (their specialty), and said hello to us before scooting back to warm up for the From Age to Age concert. The music was pure bliss. Andy's dad, George Miller, was a guest conductor for one of the songs. He turned to the audience and said that he was so proud of both his sons, one who feeds the body, the other who feeds the soul. After the song, Andy said that was one of the top three special moments of his life, to be conducted by his dad.

This professional choir invited the local 9th grade and high school kids to sing one song with them. What a beautiful sound and image they created together. From Age to Age currently has three sopranos, three altos, four tenors, and four bases, including the conductor and artistic director Andy Miller. Those 14 voices sound like a whole host of angels. The rafters were simply bursting. Patricia Lundeen was a guest accompanist for the songs that weren't done acapella. Their pitchman gives them one note, and they all come in perfect harmony. It is breath-taking. They sang many classics, including parts of  Handel's Messiah, but the song that moved me to tears was a new choral version of O Holy Night by Andy's friend and composer Karissa Dennis. It was her gift to From Age to Age to perform it, and their gift back to her to hear it in all its glory. This is the kind of encouragement and support in and for each other in the arts that I love to see, and hear.

Andy and I chatted afterwards. We thanked each other for our gifts, him for his talents and music, me for my articles and support of their group. He said that my words reminded him why they do what they do because artists can get bogged down in the daily grind, too. We rehearse and rework, and schedule, and meet with delays and frustrations, and wonder "Is it worth it?" I shared with him the best words I've heard from a musician/teacher, Kay Hoffland. She has been performing and accompanying musicians for years. She helped my sister and me with a show. After rehearsal she said, "You've worked hard. You've made it the best you can, now, enjoy." I saw the enjoyment in the eyes of the performers at this show. Andy was most definitely in his bliss.

Ah, and enjoy we did on Saturday night, the food, the company, the music, the Love of Christmas.  And, today, as I was rehearsing our "Little Drummer Boy" number with my boys and a couple others from church, I felt the joy. We got our tree up, not a real one, we sort of missed the deadline on that, but an artificial tree that my ex-husband dropped off because he felt badly about not getting a real one here, yet. See, he still helps us make the holidays bright. Before the boys went shopping with him, they gave me hugs and kisses and said to wait to decorate until they got home.

Like I said, I am all aglow with Christmas Love.

Peace to you as you prepare for time with family and friends. Let love be your theme as well.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  What surprises have happend already in your holiday prep? What are you most looking forward to with the holidays and new year?

Time to Wrap it Up and Relax

Quote of the Day:  Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat. Please leave a penny in the old man's hat. from the Nursery rhyme and Christmas Carol.

I start to sing that about this time in December. (I do like the Muppets with John Denver version.) I got my packages off in the mail today. I did a bit more shopping, and have just a few more things to purchase, then it's wrapping day for me. It is my own personal tradition to watch It's a Wonderful Life while wrapping gifts. I've been doing this ever since I was in high school.

Other favorites of the season:

Children's books:
Christmas Trolls by Jan Brett - favorite line, "Well, you can't  just take Christmas...if you want Christmas, you must be generous with each other."

Kids' movies:
Dr. Seuss's HowThe Grinch Stole Christmas the 1966 animated version narrated by Boris Karloff. LOVE the songs!

The kids like Unaccompanied Minors. They'll watch that any time of the year.

We all love Elf.

Song:
That's too hard. I'll name a few.
Christmas Carols sung in church - What Child is This? and Go Tell it on the Mountain. My favorite to play is Angels we have Heard on High. Love all those glorias in excelsis deos! 

Pop culture holiday songs:
Hey, Baby it's cold outside. (But, it has been overdone lately.)
Let it Snow! (Our theme song for Minnesota. I'm dreaming of a white Christmas!)

Choir song:
Ding Dong Merrily on High
Blow, Blow thou Winter Wind
And, anything by my favorite choir From Age to Age, directed by my favorite choir director Andy Miller.

promo photo of From Age to Age, used by permission

I will be pausing in the midst of holiday preparations to relax and enjoy their concert on Saturday night. If you're in the Brainerd area, here is their schedule:

Friday, St. Francis Catholic Church in Little Falls, 7:30.

Saturday, Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Brainerd, 7:30, with the 9th grade and high school choirs.

Sunday, 1:00, Union Congregational Church in Hackensack.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  What are some of your personal holiday traditions or favorites?



Pilgrims Trail

Quote of the Day:  We are all pilgrims on the same journey...but some pilgrims have better road maps. - Nelson De Mille, American Writer

I'm always thinking about the journey. I am a journey girl. One of my students once described me that way. We are pilgrims, setting off on our own adventures, finding the path that is right for us, hitting snags and washed out roadways, needing to find new direction when the place we thought we were heading doesn't exist anymore. I believe that some of us are spiritually connected to another time. Some people have visions of the future. They are the scientists and science fiction writers. What some have dreamed, others have invented or discovered.

Some people are connected to a time in history. They can't get enough of the stories, pictures, images, and culture. For me, that's the 1940's, the stories of World War II, not the battles, but the people trying to survive on the homefront here in America, and the people who were driven out of their homes, especially the Jewish people. I have written a couple of stories, had strong images of characters from that time, and had dreams of being a held prisoner and fearing for my life. Another character came to me this past weekend. Her name is Zelda Christine Blum Anderson. She wants me to tell her story.

Candace Simar seems to be filled with spirits of the settlers and native people in Minnesota and the Dakota territories of the 1800's. She has three books in her Abercrombie Trail Series, and told me she had dreams and visions of what will be a fourth installment. Candace has lived in this time through her research, writing, and speaking. She makes this time come alive through characters who are as real as any of your own neighbors.  Candace has a way of using all those details of pioneer life, the Sioux uprising, and survival in the early years of settlement in this area, and yet, her books never read like a history text. The details are natural, the dialogue realistic, and the characters are lively and interesting.

Candace is a local author. I bought her books are our local, independent bookstore, Turtle Town Books in Nisswa. I chatted with the owners. I picked up some items that a friend had called in and had set aside. I felt a sense of community. My mission this holiday season has been to support the arts and shop local and independent as much as possible. The interactions I've had with the owners and artists have been part of the spirit of giving.

Go. Create. Inspire!

And, support the arts and shop local and independent!

Journaling Prompt:  Do you feel a connection to another time and place? What is it? When is it? If it's the here and now, what is it that makes you glad to be alive in this particular moment in time?

Holiday Cheer

Quote of the Day:  from We Need a Little Christmas
Haul out the holly;
Put up the tree before my spirit falls again.
Fill up the stocking,
I may be rushing things, but deck the halls again now.
For we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute,
Candles in the window,
Carols at the spinet.
Yes, we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute.
It hasn't snowed a single flurry,
But Santa, dear, we're in a hurry;
So climb down the chimney;
.....
For we need a little music,
Need a little laughter,
Need a little singing
Ringing through the rafter,
And we need a little snappy
"Happy ever after,"
Need a little Christmas now.

My students and I brought some comfort and joy to the folks at an assisted living center in town. We're here in the memory care unit bringing back some childhood memories. All these students played a few numbers, then we sang a few favorites. What a way to lift holiday spirits.

That's all you need to do, folks. The perfect gift doesn't exist. The best made travel plans can be grounded by a snowstorm or unexpected emergency.  The impossible moment will never be achieved. All you really need to do is show up. Be present. Share your gifts and talents. Pay attention to those around you who need you. Then, you'll have Christmas in your heart all year.

From A Christmas Carol at The Guthrie to our small gift of music today, I know where the true spirit of Christmas lies. Next weekend, I'll be sitting back and enjoying the gorgeous music of my favorite regional choir, From Age to Age.

Go. Create. Inpsire!
And, don't get caught up in the crazy.

Journaling Prompt:  What does the true sense of giving mean to you?

With a Name Like Love, book review

Quote of the Day:  Courting new patrons is like licking honey off a thorn - you have to go real slow and be extra gentle. Tess Hilmo, author of With a Name Like Love, published by Margaret Ferguson Books, an imprint of Farrar Straus Giroux, August 2011. (It's still warm off the presses.)

I won my copy of With a Name Like Love by reading and commenting on Tess Hilmo's blog. I connected with her early on when I started blogging. She left an interesting comment on another blog, I clicked over to her, saw that we both love A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly, and the rest is history. Shortly after I joined her blog, she announced that her book had been accepted for publication - her first middle grade novel, and a historical mystery at that. I knew it was one that I'd want to read.

From the opening lines, I was emotionally involved with Olivene (Ollie) Love and her traveling family. I knew her longings. I felt the anguish of the small town they had just pulled into. Her father, the Reverend Everlasting Love, comes from a long line of tent preachers whose mission it is to bring the love of God to rural communities throughout the south.  It doesn't hurt that the good reverend has been blessed with a deep and soulful singing voice that melts even the iciest of hearts.  The story takes place in 1957, post World War II, yet, a sense of the lingering Depression. Times are hard. People are damaged and hurt. Families are in distress.

Ollie has made her first friend, a boy who is in a world of hurt. His father is dead and his mama in in jail. The mystery behind his death is tearing the community apart. What's a 13-year-old girl and her family of traveling ministers supposed to do?

Reading this book evoked similar feelings and images from when I read Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo, and a lovely picture book, I Wonder as I Wander, by Minnesota author Gwenyth Swain. Tears of tenderness sprang to my eyes during a scene about birthdays and cake, and I felt fear and anxiety wondering what would happen to Jimmy.

I've already recommended this book to a mother-daughter reading group. I'd give it to any preteen girl who likes history and mystery, and I hope my traveling friends, The Anderson's, at Hair in the Air blog, will get a copy. They will definitely relate to the life on the road and the longing for friendship.

The best place to order the books is either at your local bookstore, or go to Tess Hilmo's blog, watch her amazing book trailer, and order it from her independent bookstore for an autographed copy.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Do you have longings to sell all your possessions and hit the road? What would it take to unburden yourself and be adventurous?

Behind the Scenes at The Guthrie

Quote of the Day: I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being. - Oscar Wilde 

The window you are looking at with the blue light and the beautiful woman is in the main floor lobby of The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. My friend Denise and I had a backstage tour before we watched Charley's Aunt on Sunday evening. Carrie Monroe, who works in the Wardrobe Department, offered to show us where she works. Carrie and I met during the A-Z blog challenge last April. We have been cyber friends, enjoying each other's blogs, and met in person on Sunday.

Today, in the blogosphere, Alex J. Cavanaugh is hosting his monthly Insecure Writer's Support Group. I am part of that group and I am participating, but I'll have to admit that my insecurities are starting to fade.  I wrote about that overwhelming feeling I get when I'm in a large bookstore and think my book, if I ever publish one, will be lost in these rows and rows of books. You can read Friday's post, How Books Stack up against Kids. It probably fits better with the insecure theme.

Still, I'll have to admit that never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I'd be invited to the Guthrie Theater to watch and review plays, that people would want to read my reviews and respect my opinion and be drawn into my descriptions. My friend and publicist, Krista Rolfzen Soukup at Blue Cottage Agency, tells me, "You are a great blogger. People want you to write reviews for them. People love reading your writing." And, I start to believe it. I start to see how my writing is expanding, that this is what I was born to do. That it is connecting people and drawing them in and encouraging them to live out their dreams, too.

Which is how I got behind the closed doors of The Guthrie for a private tour. (The Guthrie offers guided tours at specified times. Check their website for details.)

We peeked into the remarkably clean workroom where they build the sets. The walls open up into huge doors so they can transport whole sets down the hall and onto the stages.

We saw the costume shop where they build costumes.

This board of costume sketches fascinated me. Carrie told us that the artist who designed the costumes for A Christmas Carol draws in the faces of the actual actors, making them so realistic.

Here's the one from A Christmas Carol that looked like one of the Whos down in Whoville.

The sketches for Charley's Aunt.

Here's Carrie showing us the sort of rough draft version of a costume. It starts out as a muslin mock-up, measured and fitted, before they ever cut into the fabric.

Denise asked where the fabric came from (she's a great question-asker and knows a few things about sewing). Carrie said they come from all over, some in the twin cities. This designer is from New York, so the fabric came from stores in New York City.

We saw hats and wigs and rows of neatly labeled fabric and costume pieces.

(Denise was particularly impressed with the organization.)

Head gear from previous shows.

Forms of heads!

Here's where Denise drooled.

Thanks, Carrie, for the great tour! We learned so much and had a great time. Denise also asked where all the shoes were. Carrie said that whatever is being worn for the shows are in the dressing rooms. Otherwise, they are stored off-site along with costumes and props that can be rented out, which is particularly helpful to schools and kids doing reports who need costumes.

Meet Carrie over at Kiwi's Life. Dare to do something new. Believe that you are capable and worthy of success in your art. You never know what doors will open for you.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Have you ever done something that felt so right, yet, never thought possible?

Charley's Aunt at the Guthrie, review

Quote of the Day:  'Charley's Aunt'...brought Brandon Thomas fame and fortune, and I have been told that when the evergreen farce was first produced on tour, the author and Penley had been so frightened by a friend, who declared that a man playing a woman's part would never be accepted by any audience, that the author played one of the characters himself in order to save a salary in case of a dire failure. Jessie Millward, from her memoir Myself and Others, 1923. Printed in the program about the show from The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. "After the play opened in December 1892, it ran for a record-breaking 1,466 performances."

(And, men dressed in drag, portraying women, have had numerous successful shows ever since. Two of my favorites: Tootsie and Mrs. Doubtfire.)

Nothing cracks us up like a man in a dress.

My guest for blogger night for Charley's Aunt, friend Denise,

a theater fan and one of the readers for the table reading of my play

Coffee Shop Confession.

Charley's Aunt by Brandon Thomas, directed by John Miller-Stephany, is a good, old-fashioned British farce. It's full of color, quirky characters, mistaken identities, ridiculous situations, and plenty of sight gags and physical humor. While the need for chaperones and guardians when courting young ladies is long gone from our American society, the desperation of young men trying to woe women never will be out of style.

This is a period piece. The set is elaborate and stylish, like we're looking into a classic doll's house.  The costumes were colorful and detailed, reminding me of Mary Poppins.  The colors on the girls' dresses were like cotton candy. Again, images of gazing into the doll's house.

Then, the scene changes and after we come back from intermission, a new set has dropped down and we see the back of the building. The actors are running in and out of the gardens. Some are trying to steal a moment together, while others are running to avoid too close of contact. This show is a feast for the eyes.

As the plot rises to hilarity and major confusion in act three, the outdoor set rises, the inside of the Drawing room glides forward, and the pressure is on to make things right. The forward and rear views of the set and the actors, the ins and outs of the plot, the total physical show, brought memories of Noises Off. The way the young men plot to get the girl, dupe the old lady, and ward off the guardian were similar to watching The Importance of Being Ernest several years ago at the original Guthrie Theater.

Besides the rascally antics of John Skelly as Lord Fancourt Babberly, also disguised as Donna Lucia d'Alvadorez, I loved watching the college attendant Brassett, played by Charles Hubbell. He truly embraced his role. His looks to the audience, action behind the boys' backs, and the quips of his asides, were delightful. His eyebrows and facial expressions said it all.

One thing that did feel out-dated in this script was the portrayal of the young ladies. They were gorgeous to look at, but had few lines, and none of the jokes. They were eye-candy, pretty paper dolls. Denise and I had ideas for rewriting the ending, wanting the young woman to have plans of her own once she broke free from her guardian.

Come back later this week to see what's behind this door!

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Have you ever watched a show where you wanted to rewrite the ending? How do you feel about the portrayal of women in plays?

How Books Stack up Against Kids

Quote of the Day:  Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. Groucho Marx

Favorite Photos Friday
(I had fun planning and setting the scene for this photo. I also had help from my two youngest readers.)

I've been thinking about books and the stacks and stacks upon rows and rows of them in big bookstores, like Powell's in Portland, OR. It's overwhelming. And, when you're a writer and think you might like to see your very own book on those shelves, you can feel a bit intimidated by all those books. I look at them and think, "Look at all these books. How could you ever find my book in all these shelves? And, who could ever read all these books?" I've even wondered, "Aren't there enough books already?"

I know, it's crazy. Then, I look at my kids and measure how books stack up with them. They read and read and read (they have more time than us grown-ups), and then they go get more books and read them, too. And, when they're done with that series, they look for the next great one, and I think if you asked them, they'd say, "There aren't enough books." Because I've watched it happen. They devour books the way my almost 14-year-old polishes off a pan of lasagna. As soon as it's gone, he's looking for more.

Those same young readers were less helpful after the stack fell.

"Hey, guys, come back!

We need to put them all back, now."

*sigh*

So, keep this in mind as you gaze at the shelves, view the movies, or watch the plays. Once you've experienced a great story, you start looking for the next one, and the next one might be yours!

Also, I'll put in a plug for smaller independent bookstores. Their shelves are far less daunting. The staff is friendlier, and they support local authors.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  What do you think a teen or preteen boy goes through faster - a shelf-full of books or a cupboard full of food?