Holiday activities and songs

I'm a soprano, so I love Christmas carols, because many of them are written in a high key. Consequently, I am a happy person this time of year, and sing daily without even trying. I try to sing every day all year (I firmly believe that you get better at anything you do every day, one reason I want to write (i.e. blog) daily, but we won't get into that...). Anyway, it's no challenge to sing daily this time of year! I suppose I could sing Christmas carols all year, though, so perhaps I'm limiting myself. Anyway, I digress. My point was that I have had several opportunities to sing recently, as well as chances to just have some holiday fun.

The holiday season has officially kicked off on the island, starting with the annual OPS Tree Lighting and Wassail party last Wednesday. I missed the actual tree lighting as usual (one of the down sides of being late to everything...see my blog dated 4/12/07), but still enjoyed the wassail, cookies, and seeing friends at the party. There were many terrific confections, but my favorites were the marshmallow chocolate snowmen, and Jamie's haystacks. Yum!

The following night (Thursday 12/6), the Annual Ocrafolk Christmas Concert was held at Deep Water Theater. The Madri-gals sang a few songs a capella as usual. This is our 3rd year performing, and each year we have added a new lady (the first year, it was Sundae, Jamie, Marcy and me; the next year DeAnna joined us, and this year we were further balanced when Kitty added her lovely alto voice to the mix). The six of us sang 3 songs for the show: Masters in This Hall, The Holly and the Ivy (one of my personal favorites), and Away in a Manger. The entire show was excellent, with performances by musicians from Ocracoke, Hatteras and even one from the mainland (John Golden). Jamie reprised her sultry rendition of "Santa Baby", and also sang "Blue Christmas" with our island Elvis (aka Bob Ray), to add some fun touches to the show. Philip told a story about the wreck of the Ariosto on Christmas Eve 1899. John Golden led a sing along of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer", including teaching all the adults the "extra" words so that the kids in our lives will think we're cool. April Trueblood from Hatteras and 2 of her friends performed an achingly beautiful rendition of Silent Night, and we finished up the evening with the entire room singing a handful of carols picked out by audience members. It was a great show, and I've heard nothing but compliments from all who attended it.

This past Saturday was the night of the annual Christmas party at Jimmy's Garage, which was well attended as usual. This is the biggest potluck every year on the island. There were large quantities of fabulous food, as usual, and I ate so much my stomach hurt, also as usual! This year's over-produced item was deviled eggs. There were so many plates of deviled eggs it was nearly funny. DeAnna said "I didn't get the 'bring deviled eggs' memo, did you?" which made me laugh. I love deviled eggs, so the fact that there were 14 (I'm not kidding...) kinds to choose from wasn't an issue for me! During the party, I was blessed to hold Charlotte (Marcy's sweet daughter, age 4 months) while her Mommy sang with Martin and Friends. She is a doll, and I enjoyed singing along with the music to her.

On Sunday, it was time for some Christmas shopping, as the School Road shops (Books to Be Red, The Hemp Shop, Zillies, Indulgence, Eleven Eleven, Ocracoke Restoration Company, and The Gathering Place) hosted their annual Holiday Open House, including treats and drinks for holiday shoppers. The Gathering Place had hot wassail, which I'm sure was delicious, but the fact that it was 72 degrees (yes, you read that right...it has been unseasonably warm here recently) outside kept me from drinking it. I did enjoy a glass of white wine while browsing through Books to Be Red, and I have to tell you that shopping while drinking wine feels decadent and heady. I highly recommend it!

Tonight was the annual United Methodist Women potluck and gift exchange. This was another evening with copious amounts of wonderful homemade food. After the meal, Rosemary read a couple of selections from a book called Angels Love Kids. Then Marcy and Jamie led us in singing Christmas carols. The fact that my very favorite (O Holy Night) was one of the choices made me even happier than singing carols does usually. But what blessed me the most was closing my eyes and listening to a roomful of women's voices singing together. It was peaceful and lovely.

I have had a mild cold, which seems to be on its way out now, thankfully. But the TheraFlu I have been drinking while typing this blog is starting to take effect, so I'd better be off to bed. I'll be singing Christmas carols in my dreams...